corvus//kaz brekker

fourteen

Nina, Jesper, and Inej are sitting in my room with me. Apparently Kaz had a meeting with all of them. I wasn't invited. Apparently two Grisha have come all the way to Ketterdam on the orders of Prince Nikolai to help us in finding the Neshyenyer. Alina needs the blade to kill the Darkling's nichevo'ya. Kaz agreed but decided on my behalf that I wasn't an option.

"Not an option?" I ask.

"I know. No idea where he could have gotten that idea from," Jesper remarks.

Nina is using her Grisha powers to remove the brand from my wrist. "And when I'm done, she'll never be an option again."

"Is that my hat?" Jesper asks.

"You hate that hat," Inej reminds him.

Jesper scoffs.

"But why wouldn't he tell me about a job for the Sun Summoner?" I ask.

"Because he'd rather push you away than admit he feels anything for you," Nina argues. Jesper gives her a look. "Oh, was I not supposed to say that out loud?"

"I, for one, love that you did," Jesper says. Nina laughs as Jesper puts the hat on before quickly taking it off. "Yeah, I hate this hat. Listen, I don't know what happened between you two, because no one in this bloody band of broken dolls can confab worth a damn. But I know Kaz. And I know you. And I thought you would at least like to know why we were doing this. For your Saint."

I look down at my wrist. All the color from the Menagerie brand is gone. It's all truly finally gone. I'm free from that part of my life.

We head downstairs.

"I see you couldn't help yourself, Jes," Kaz remarks. "You have your freedom. Why would this be what you choose to do with it?"

"I'm not here for you," I tell him. "I'm here for Sankta Alina."

"So much for, 'What happens to Saints is fate'," Kaz states.

"I'll secure my own passport," I assure him.

Getting to Shu Han is relatively easy. Tolya, one of the Grisha sent by Nikolai, tells us it's Suntsa Sar. The Shu Han festival of the dead. Inej, Zoya, Tolya, and I stop to pray at one of the shrines.

"Mother, Father... We hope you're well, rested and fed," Tolya prays.

"When the Fold moved, your aunt..." Nina starts. Zoya shakes her head. "Zoya, I'm so sorry."

"Who here hasn't lost someone?" Zoya tells her.

Kaz walks over to us. "You two, we have a teatime to make."

I watch from a roof as Kaz, and Nina meet with the woman we hope can lead us to the Disciple and Neshyenyer. I'm surprised to see Kaz take his gloves off to participate in the ceremony.

I'm supposed to follow the woman when she leaves but Kaz is freaking out. A woman bumped into him and without his gloves and I know he's panicking. Nina only makes it worse when she puts her hand on his.

I find Kaz trying to get through the crowded street. I shove him down to the ground away from the crowd. He's breathing heavily. Clearly upset and panicked.

"You were supposed to follow her," Kaz tells me.

"I couldn't leave you. Not like this," I tell him before putting his gloves in the ground next to him.

We regroup to come up with a plan two to get the blade.

"Ohval's not just a fence," Kaz states. "She's The Disciple."

"What... what tipped you off?" Wylan asks.

"Her teacup," Kaz explains. "When she set it down, she did so without a sound."

"And her heartbeat never fluctuated once," Nina adds. "It held at one beat a second like a clock."

"So, she can control her heart rate and her emotions," Tolya says.

"Those are useful skills for a thief," Wylan states.

"This is where you tell us where the blade is," Jesper tells Kaz.

"Ohval has it. Her signal to the waitress to spill tea on me told me as much," Kaz states.

"It's as if I know you," Jesper remarks.

"And if she's not going to sell it to us, we'll just have to take it," Kaz states. "After Nina and I ordered the tea, I had Tereza follow the tea shop employee who was sent to notify Ohval."

"She lives just outside the city," I explain. "When she stopped at the tea shop, she placed an order at the apothecary that she'll be picking up tonight. I watched her at home a while, no one came or went except her."

"While she's out of the house, Nina will tail her to make sure she stays out of the house. The rest of us will grab the blade," Kaz explains.

Zoya scoffs. "You don't seriously expect me to break into this woman's house."

"Uh, why do you think we're here?" Jesper asks.

"I'm a soldier, not a thief," Zoya insists. "Why else would I need you criminals?"

"There's much less of a difference there than you think," Tolya tells Zoya.

Nina laughs.

"You just keep eating your walnuts," Zoya says. "I'll go with Nina."

Nina coughs. "Are you sure you don't need me? I mean, Zoya can tail Ohval."

"Nina and Zoya will wait for Ohval at the apothecary," Kaz instructs. "Follow her. If she starts heading home, buy us some time. Distract her."

We head to the home that belongs to Ohval. Tolya is drawing a floor plan in the dirt.

"This house is traditional," Tolya explains. "It has a specific layout. We enter through the front courtyard, antechamber, middle courtyard, main chamber."

"We sweep the entirety," Kaz instructs. Wylan steps up to the front door. "How long will it take you to set up?"

"I can have the door open in about five minutes," Wylan tells him. "And if Ohval trips it, we have two minutes before the firecrackers go off to get out."

"Even if she returns prematurely, we cannot leave without the blade," Inej insists.

"Yes, the future of Ravka and my payment depend on it," Kaz states. "I'm aware."

"It's more than the future of Ravka at stake," Tolya argues. "If we fail, Shu Han, Fjerda, Ketterdam, and beyond, they'll feel the weight of the Darkling bare down on them."

"Way to up the stakes," Jesper remarks.

Kaz gets the front door unlocked. We make our way towards the antechamber. It's only a moment before Kaz gets that door open too.

"Jesper," Kaz says. "We're going in. Close the doors behind you."

"Spread out," Kaz instructs.

"I sense a heartbeat," Tolya tells us.

"I thought the compound was empty," Jesper says.

"It's faint," Tolya explains. "Further in the house."

Tolya takes a step and suddenly the doors close. They won't break and none of us can get them open.

"It's impenetrable," Inej states.

"The frames are made of metal," Kaz states.

"They're Durast-made," Jesper says.

I can hear a mechanism cranking. "What is that?"

"That does not sound good," Jesper says.

"There's something in the air," Tolya warns.

I turn and see a red gas coming from a vent. I try to cover my nose and mouth, but I can't stop coughing.

"This is how we die," Jesper states.

I feel lightheaded before my eyes close fully and everything is black.