I was woken up by the sound of a door opening and closing. There was a blindfold covering my eyes; plus, my hands and feet were tied to the chair I sat in. From the tap of his cane I knew it was Kaz, but why he kidnapped me I wasn't sure. He stopped in front of me and pulled the blindfold down.
He looked well rested for once which caught me off guard. Everyone was talking about how little he had slept since his Wraith vanished. No one knows why she left, if she was kidnapped, or what happened to her, well they thought no one knew.
"So, do you know why you're here?" Kaz asks, he almost sounds bored.
"Not a clue honestly, does it deal with your runaway spider?" I respond testing the waters.
I see his jaw set, "It may, but what matters most is are you willing to be cooperative?"
My brows furrow, "Is there really much choice with you?"
I see the faintest smile touch the corners of his lips before he responds, "I need you to be my new spider."
Now that, I was not expecting. I thought he knew that Inej and I were close friends, or maybe he does and he just isn't playing that yet.
Either way the shock must've shown on my face because this time he allows himself to smile before he asks, "Why are you so surprised?"
"Because you kidnapped me to give me a job offer." I answer flatly with a raised eyebrow.
It didn't add up and I didn't like it. Kaz studies me for a moment, I'm not sure what he's thinking about but I could tell it was not about me.
"Would you have willingly talked to me when we both know you saw Inej the day she vanished?"
I don't let the surprise show on my face this time, "I suppose not but all of this was a bit much Kaz, now untie me please."
"Not just yet, we have more matters to be discussed. So, you did see her before she left?" His voice was smaller and he avoided my gaze.
"You didn't know?"
"I had suspicions but you just confirmed them," now he held my gaze.
"I did." If he thought I'd tell him more than that he was truly stupid.
He shakes his head and sighs, "Is she safe?"
Where is she? Is what he meant.
"Of course, she's the Wraith." I answer plainly.
"Why'd she go?" This time his voice was raspier, if I was dumb I would've thought he may've been crying, but I know what betrayal sounds like from him.
"Kaz you'll have to find her to know," now I sound bored. When his eyes met mine, I could tell my answer would not suffice.
"I will ask only one more, why?" He holds my gaze till I look away.
"It's not my business to tell Kaz, all I will say is that she's safe and she's happy."
His demeanor changed a little, he stretches out his bad leg, rubbing above his knee.
"Who else makes her happy?" He almost seemed to be asking himself.
I look at him again, he was rather good looking, if I were Inej I probably wouldn't have left his side but that's also because he owns the Barrel. Power means everything here. Inej knows that and she knew what she was costing him by leaving. She had told me she wouldn't forgive herself but she also couldn't stay, not if it meant putting everyone at risk.
"No one," I hear him say, pulling me back to our situation.
"Pardon?"
"No one else makes her happy like we do. So why? Who threatened her?" He was solid now, his voice demanding.
I sigh, he wasn't going to untie me till I told him but I'd sworn to her it would stay between us and though Brekker could be monstrous, Inej was the Wraith.
"This is all I will give you, nothing more because if she ever sees you again you're dead, she had to leave or the club and perhaps even the entire Barrel would burn if she didn't. She's made some powerful enemies during her travels hunting slavers, she's cost people business, she said she'll bear it alone and only when it's safe will she come back."
Kaz takes this in and gives himself a moment to process the information. As he did he gets up from his seat and begins untying my hands. Once he finishes he get on one knee to see to my ankles.
I fight the immediate urge to stand and stretch in case he had anything else to talk about.
"Why do you want me as your spider?" I ask curiously, there weren't many other people for the job but I was inexperienced compared to the other options.
"Considering you were one of Inejs' few friends I, for whatever reason, feel she's probably been training you in secret even if you hadn't realized. She ever take you running over the rooftops? Show you how to move unnoticed through a very crowded room?" He sits back down, again stretching out his leg.
I think over what he said and realized he was right. Again, he must've seen it on my face because now he asks, "How long has she been doing it? That's probably when she first realized she may've gotten herself into trouble. Also get a better poker face."
"Over a year..." I mumble staring at the floorboard.
Why did I not question her lessons? She made it seem like a bonding act, showing me secret ways through the city only she knew, teaching me to read lips when we weren't within ear shot, how to spot your target without actually looking at them.
When I look at Kaz I could not mistake the pain in his eyes, a year is a long time to keep something from your friends. But Kaz wasn't her friend, he was her equal and I knew that this was a serious blow to their trust. Even if she returned who knew how long it would take for Kaz to forgive such a betrayal, if he even would.
"Beautiful, you're more trained than I could've hoped. Do you know how to defend yourself?" He sounded doubtful, I hadn't grown up in the Barrel, I grew up very far from it.
"I guess you might as well know now since you'll probably end up finding out eventually. I'm grisha, I grew up in the Little Palace and have served for the Second Army, I'm a Corporalki, I trained both as a healer and a heartrender thanks to a special decree from King Nikolai," I explain.
He raises his eyebrows in surprise, "Well that certainly is good to know, did you run?"
"I would never, I was on a mission and a group of slavers found me, there were 15 of them and one of me, but I got it down to 6 before they were able to restrain me and knock me out," I further explain holding his gaze, I didn't usually tell people how I ended up on this cramped island but there's no point in lying to Kaz.
"And yet you didn't bring down any of the crew that brought you here?" He asks skeptically.
"I saw the crow tattoo on their forearms before I noticed anything else, I knew I wasn't going to be killed without speaking with you first," I answer simply.
He looks at me with his brows a little furrowed, "Well, to let you know, you should probably let one of them see you hurt someone soon, or hell one of them, so they know not to mess with you."
I raise my eyebrows a little but I wasn't completely surprised, Inej had told me about the crew some, "Thanks for the advice, are we done now?"
He gives me one nod before standing up and putting out his gloved hand. I took it and matched his grip before we gave one tight shake and let go. I hated that it caused a small sensation to build in my chest.
"I'd prefer if you stayed at the Slat, you can take Inejs old room, it's not much but a room for sleeping anyways, and this probably goes without saying but, the deal is a deal," he says as he walks to the door and though he said preferred I know it's not a matter of choice.
He looks over his shoulder when he reaches the door since I haven't responded. I give one stiff nod and he smiles a little, "Thank you for being so cooperative Evelina."
Then he left.
*******
I hear a soft knock at the door of my new room. I walk over and open it cautiously to see Kaz standing in the hall, he was dressed down a bit, his coat and waistcoat were off and his sleeves rolled to his elbows.
"What business?" I ask wearily, I'm not prepared to go on a mission right now.
"I need to talk to you about the mark," he says tapping his forearm that has the crow and cup tattoo that symbolized being a part of the Dregs.
I open my door the rest of the way and walk back to my bed. I sit down and wait for Kaz. He comes in and closes the door behind him, I hadn't noticed the vile of ink he has with him till he sits at the foot of my bed.
"I'm sure you noticed that Inej didn't have the symbol but everyone else apart of this gang does, I can't extend the offer I gave her to you so if you are serious about replacing her as my spider I need you to wear this mark," I know this was partly because she left, he probably feels like this will give him some type of security.
But I'm not too keen on the idea of anyone seeing the crow and cup on my arm, it's a warning but also a target for anyone brave enough to try and mess with the Dredgs.
"You couldn't reconsider? I know the safety that you feel the tattoo will give me but it will also put a target on my back like it has your crew, they see that mark and they know you're running with a dangerous crowd but they also know who they're dealing with. We could use leaving me unmarked to our advantage."
I see him consider it for a moment, let the thought turn over in his head.
"I'm sorry, I can't run that risk, I'd rather they know, if anything it'll just help remind you to stay sharp, or you could just wear sleeves,"
A small smile forms on my lips, but it leaves as I sigh, "I suppose I could, but I hope you know you still need a needle, if I bleed the ink into my skin it'll only last so long."
He pulls one out from his glove and I get an uneasy feeling that it was not sanitary. I wash my arm and start keeping my pulse at an easy, steady rate; I also grab his needle and run it under hot water and kvas that I had in a flask.
When I sit back in front of him I saw his gloves were off. I don't know why it surprised me so much, I thought he'd just tattoo with them on but I guess it causes issues. He must've noticed that I was staring at his hands because he chuckles a little and shakes his head.
"Were you expecting blood stained hands Evelina?" He asks as he put the needle into the vile of ink.
"No, I always could tell your hands were normal, they're actually quite nice, I just wasn't expecting for them to come off this soon," I explain.
"Did she tell you anything about my hands?" There's an uneasy edge to his voice.
"Just not to touch them, or any part of you really, I'm just assuming you're very claustrophobic but don't want anyone to know," again I let myself smile as I speak.
"That is not the reason, but thank you for listening to her," he leans forward to get a better look at my forearm.
"Alright, you ready?" He asks taking my wrist in his hand and extending my arm out so that the back of my hand was resting on his thigh.
He's a little stiff, a small sweat had broken out over his forehead.
"I am but are you sure you are?" I try to say mockingly.
He nods once then begins tattooing me, his free hand stretching the skin on my forearm. It doesn't hurt as badly as I had thought it would. I look over at him and notice that he's beginning to pale, I'd go as far as to say faint; so I couldn't help but to search for his pulse. It was beating hard and panicked, almost as if he was drowning.
I reach across and slowly begin to calm his pulse. I'm sure if he could tell what I was doing but his breathing began to come easier, his forehead still has little beads of sweat but he relaxes a bit. I want to do more for him, I wasn't sure why I did but I just want to help him.
There's no helping a man like Brekker, just understanding.
That's what Inej had told me when I asked if she was helping him with his affliction.
"Did you slow my pulse?" Kaz asks as he dips the needle in the vile again and wipes the excess ink and blood from my forearm.
"Little bit, seemed like you were gonna have a heart attack," I answer looking at his handiwork.
"Thank you, but don't ever do that again unless I ask," then he bent back to his work.
He grabs my wrist again, pulling it closer to him so in turn I'd have to move closer. My hand could've been on his hip if it was angled properly. He had started the tattoo rather strange, working from the bottom of the cup up. It actually looks really nice, a bit more delicate than the one on his own forearm. I just sit and wait. And though he hadn't asked me to, I made sure to keep his pulse at a normal rate.