KAZ WAS GOING TO THROTTLE KUWEI YUL-BO. The cons of keeping that boy alive was starting to seriously outweigh the pros. Kaz, Inej and Wylan were working on the highwire Inej would use for the silos while Jesper tried to explain to Kuwei how they would reach the embassy. The Shu boy suddenly seemed to lose all progress regarding his Kerch, forcing Jesper to repeat himself about fifty times, his gestures getting more and more wild each time. Maybe Kaz could throttle them both.
Last night, Kaz had seen to Per Haskell while Inej staked out Van Eck's latest security. Jesper and Wylan had been gone all day to Olendaal, hopefully to Saint Hildes. Nina and Matthias were out right now in Little Ravka to rally Nina's refugees. Asra had slept through it all.
Just after midnight, once they were done scheming and planning, Asra had claimed a quiet corner and blanket as her own and huddled down to sleep. Kaz hadn't expected her to do it, honestly. When he returned from dealing with Haskell he'd expected to find her sat silently over a cup of coffee, waiting. He'd have sat beside her with his own cup. They'd have been quiet, like they used to.
She sleeps like she's dead, the thought had come to him like a punch to the gut. She was still there, curled up in her blanket, out cold. Exhaustion, Kaz knew. He doubted she'd slept while under Van Eck's keep, and after a while even people like them simply had nothing left to give. He knew it was good she was resting, but the rest of the night felt lonely somehow without her at his side. He didn't know why.
Morning came, they all woke. Asra didn't. Everyone took care to be quiet as they departed in their pairs. Asra didn't stir. Even when Jesper and Kuwei started their borderline, one-sided screaming match, she stayed still and quiet in the corner.
Jesper threw his hands up. "Can't we just wake up Asra to tranlate?" He said.
"No." Kaz said.
"Yes." Asra said at the same time.
They all jumped, turning in their seats to look at her. She stood, kicking the blanket away, and stretched her arms high above her head, back arching slightly, a soft groan escaping her lips. Her shirt lifted and Kaz didn't look as her stomach was exposed. She headed over to their table, leaning one hand on it slightly as she stood beside Kaz. With her other hand, she grabbed the nearest cup of coffee and sipped. It was Kaz's coffee. He didn't say anything about it.
Without any prompting she turned to Kuwei and started lecturing him in very good, very irritated Shu. Kuwei nodded along, though he looked sulky. Not long after, Nina and Matthias returned. Inej waved them over to the table.
"Did you manage to contact the refugees?" Inej asked, clearing Nina a spot to sit at.
"Everything went smoothly aside from breaking a few windows and nearly getting shot." Nina said.
Kaz looked up from his work, interest piqued.
"Big trouble in Little Ravka?" Jesper asked.
"Nothing we couldn't handle." Nina said. "Please tell me there's something to eat."
"You're hungry?" Inej asked as they all stared in pleasant shock. Her appetite had been non-existent since parem, and Kaz took its return as a good thing.
Nina curtsied. "Yes yes, Nina Zenik is hungry. Now will someone feed me before I'm forced to cook one of you?"
"Don't be ridiculous," Jesper said. "You don't know how to cook."
Asra rummaged through their remaining food and offered it to Nina. She grabbed a few crackers.
"What happened at the tavern?" Kaz asked.
"The refugees are hiding at the embassy." Matthias said. "We met -"
"Their leader." Nina cut in. "They'll be waiting for word from us. Oh, Asra, before I forget," she reached into the pocket of her skirts. "Do you know Tatiana Semyonova?"
It was the barest thing, her reaction. A slight lift in her shoulders as they tensed, the set of her jaw as if bracing for a hit, the smallest flalter in her gaze. Kaz still saw it though. Where words had so often failed them, he'd gotten good at watching instead.
Asra straightened. "Why? What happened?"
"She told me to give you this," Nina held out a small note, neatly folded in half. Asra snatched it from Nina's hand and flicked it open. Nina frowned. "What is it?"
Asra brought the note to her face and sniffed. She frowned. "Bad. I need to go."
"What?" Jesper said.
"It's almost eight bells." Kaz said. "It's too late to deviate now."
"Nina can manage the guards on her own and Inej doesn't need a net. You'll manage." She was already heading for the door. Nina caught her arm.
"It doesn't even say anything. It's just a target sign and a the symbol for the Fruits pleasure house on West Stave. Tatiana's indentured to that place. What does that have to do with you?"
Everything seemed to still. The tension slipped subtly from Asra's frame, though the action looked forced. She made herself look at Inej, who was looking at the girl like she'd only just met her.
"I've never paid for a night there, or anywhere. I know the owner of the Fruits. We're friends. We have a code." Her words were halting, almost rambling. She held up the note. "We talk through perfume. This smells of roses. That means business. That means my family which means I need to leave. Deyanira could be in trouble."
"Deyanira Ruiz?" Inej said. "She runs the Fruits."
Asra looked like she wanted to disappear and never come back. "Look, she treats her girls and boys well. She doesn't deal with slavers. She's the best an indenture can hope for and she's my friend and I won't let one of my brothers or sisters tear her to pieces because I wouldn't take the bait. I need to go."
She pulled herself from Nina's grasp and was gone without another word. The door slammed behind her, echoing throughout the tomb.
"Should we stop her?" Nina asked.
I'm leaving. Her words came to him again. Every time he looked at her they seemed to float to his mind like corpses the harbour. He didn't know if he could make her stay. He didn't think he had the right to try. "No." Kaz said. "Let her go. We found a boat for your refugees. It's leaving at eleven bells for Os Kervo."
"Good." Nina nodded, again reaching into her pocket. She produced another piece of paper, this one significantly larger, and flattened it on the table. It was a wanted poster for Matthias. "We need to get out of town as soon as possible."
"Damn it." Jesper said. "Kaz and Wylan are still in the lead."
He pointed to the rest of the posters they'd found and hung up. Kaz was currently worth the most, joint with Wylan's old face. Inej was in second, then Jesper, now Matthias. Only Asra, Nina and Kuwei were yet to be gracing the Ketterdam walls. Nina had never met Van Eck, Kuwei was obviously too valuable to be made public, and Kaz guessed Asra's illustrious mother had something to do with her anonymity.
"One hundred thousand kruge!" Matthias shot Kaz a disbelieving glower. "You're hardly worth that."
Kaz felt himself smile. "As the market wills it."
"Tell me about it. They're only offering thirty thousand for me." Jesper said.
"Your lives are at stake." Wylan said. "How can you act like this is a competition?"
"We're stuck in a tomb, merchling, you take the action where you find it." Jesper said.
"Maybe we should all go to Ravka." Nina said, tapping Inej's wanted poster. "It isn't safe for you to remain here."
"It's not a bad idea." Kaz mused.
"You'd go to Ravka?" Inej asked.
"Not a chance. I'd lie low here. I want to see Van Eck's life come apart when the hammer falls." And maybe, when everything had settled, he could worry about this mother he'd heard so little about it. A name would probably be a good start.
"But you could come." Nina said to Inej. "Asra could come too. Jesper? We could bring Colm too."
She'll kill all of you just to hurt me. Kaz couldn't see Asra running off with half his crew. She was going it alone. He didn't like it. He didn't like any of it.
"No way." Jesper said. "I want Da to get his money as fast as possible and then get back to Novyi Zem. I'm not going to sleep easy until he's safe on the farm. We'll hide out at his hotel until Van Eck has been discredited and the sugar market goes crazy."
"Inej?" Nina asked.
She shook her head. "When I go to Ravka it will be on my own ship, piloted by own crew."
Oh yes, his Wraith was running off across the sea too. Just after they left Fjerda, what felt like ages ago, Inej had told him. She was going to hunt slavers. Kaz had nodded. She'd long since earned her freedom, and the slavers their retribution.
Jesper raised his brows. "Since when are you a seafarer? And what sane person would want to spend more time on a boat?"
Inej smiled. "I've heard this city drives people mad."
Kaz didn't need reminding of the madness that drowned this place. He checked his watch. "We're coming up on eight bells. Van Eck is gathering the Merchant Council at his house for a meeting tonight."
"Do you think they'll devote more resources to the search for Wylan?" Nina asked.
"Probably. It's not our concern anymore. The noise and people coming and going will provide good cover for Wylan and me to get the seal out the safe. Nina and Inej will hit Sweet Reef at the same time. We'll have to see if Asra makes it. The guards patrol the silos' perimeter constantly, and it takes them twelve minutes for them to make it round the fence. They always leave someone to watch the gate so be smart about how you approach."
He placed a vial on the tabel. "This is coffee extract. Kuwei, Jesper and Nina, I want you all wearing plenty of it. If those Shu soldiers really can smell Grisha, this might throw them off."
"Coffee?" Kuwei repeated, sniffing.
"Clever." Jesper said. "We used to pack illegal shipments of jurda and spices in coffee grounds to throw off the stadwatch dogs. Confuses their noses."
"Let's hope the Kherguud work the same way." Nina said, dabbing the coffee generously on her wrists and behind her ears.
"Your refugees better be ready." Kaz said to her. "How many are there?"
"Fewer than we thought. Fifteen and um... some of the people from the embassy too. A total of seventeen."
"Plus you, Matthias, Wylan and Kuwei." Kaz said. "Twenty-one. Specht will forge the letter accordingly."
"I'm not going." Wylan said.
Jesper clasped his hands together on the table. "No?"
"I'm not letting my father run me out of this city again." Wylan said.
"Why is everyone so determined to stay in this miserable town?" Nina grumbled.
Jesper tipped his chair back, eyes flicking over Kaz. Kaz waited for him to put it all together. "You knew. You knew Wylan's mother was alive."
"Wylan's mother is alive?" Nina said.
"Why do you think I let you two go to Olendaal?"
Wylan blinked. "You knew I was lying about the quarry."
Jesper jabbed a finger at Kaz. "You shouldn't have sent him to Saint Hilde blind like that. It was cruel."
"It was necessary."
Wylan's fists clenched. "Why?"
When this is over, I'm taking my share, killing Van Eck, and leaving Kerch. Her voice had been flat, sure. "Because you still didn't understand what your father really is." Van Eck was a dead man.
"You could have told me." Wylan argued.
"You were angry. Angry wears off. I needed you righteous."
Wylan folded his arms over his chest. "Well, you've got me."
Kaz folded his hands over his cane. "It's getting late, so everybody put away your poor Wylan hankies and set your minds to the task at hand. Matthias, Jesper and Kuwei will leave for the embassy at half past nine bells. You approach from the canal. Jesper, you're tall brown and conspicuous -"
"All synonyms for delightful."
"So you'll have to be twice as careful." Kaz finished.
"There's always a price to be paid for greatness." Jesper said.
"Try to take this seriously." Kaz said, patience wearing thin. He'd never really got over Jesper tipping off Pekka Rollins. Since that day of Vellgelulk, Kaz hadn't been looking at his sharpshooter the same way he used to. "Move quickly and get everyone to the docs no sonner than ten. I don't want you hanging around and drawing attention. We meet at Third Harbour, berth fifteen. The ship is called the Verrhader. It sails the same route from Kerch to Ravka several times a year."
Kaz pushed himself to his feet. "Stay smart and stay quiet. None of this works if Van Eck gets wise."
"And stay safe." Inej added. "I want to celebrate with all of you when that boat leaves the harbour."
Jesper raised a hand. "Will there be champagne?"
"I'll be there, and I'm effervescent." Nina said.
There would be no big goodbyes or well-wishes. They got to packing up their gear and tools. Kaz waited for Wylan in the doorway to the tomb, watching him talk to Jesper. Wylan slid his satchel over his shoulder. Jesper fixed the strap. Wylan blushed. Kaz called out so they'd stop.
He and Wylan made their way to Van Eck's estate. Getting in was easy enough. Wyaln made a bit of a fuss getting up the wall and through a window, something Kaz and his leg thought was ridiculous, but all the same they soon stood in the office.
Something in him said it was all too easy, but Kaz ignored that as Wylan got to burning through the safe door. Soon, he had the seal in his pocket, protected with padding made of Van Eck's kruge. He was making idle conversation, and somehow the reading thing came up.
He was dimmly aware of the irony. Two cripples, robbing one privillaged bastard of everything he had and hopefully ruining his whole life in just one night.
"When people see a cripple walking down the street, leaning on his cane, what do they feel?" Kaz asked Wylan. The merchling didn't answer, just looked away like everyone did at the mention of his limp. Almost everyone. He answered for him. "They feel pity. Now what do they think when they see me coming?"
Wylan almost smiled. "They think they'd better cross the street."
"You're not weak because you can't read. You're weak because you're afraid of people seeing your weakness. You're letting shame decide who you are. Help me with the painting." Together, they hoisted the thing up and placed it in front of the safe again. "Think on it, Wylan. It's shame that lines my pockets. Shame that keeps the Barrel teeming with fools ready to put on a mask just so they can have what they want with no one the wiser for it. We can endure all kinds of pain. It's shame that eats men whole."
"Wise words."
They whirled around. Kaz's breath caught. His head swam. His blood roared in his ears. Stood smirking in the doorway, Pekka Rollins and his Dime Lions were the picture of smug.
"Kaz Brekker." He said. Mocked. "Philosopher crook."
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Author's note:
This chapter is so late and it's not even that good I'm so sorry GCSEs have been handing me my ass lately
But the I've already written the next few chapters and most of them are quite good! :D see ya next week, promise