Chapter Text
Kaz Brekker didn’t need a reason. That’s what everyone in the Barrel whispered about Dirtyhands, and the other corners of Ketterdam, too. Inej never really believed this. Kaz was skilled at devising complicated schemes and weighing all of the possibilities at each step. You can’t be a strategizer and not need a reason. That just didn’t make much sense.
Regardless, Inej knew she certainly needed a reason. She was a bit weary of being told half of the plan. The rest would always reveal itself- just in time. Did Kaz trust her too much, thinking she would understand more than what he said out loud, or did he not trust her enough? Inej did what she had to as a member of the Dregs, but she hated being expected to kill without cause. He could’ve at least told her why they had to meet here, at Third Harbour. This was where the upper ranks of the merchers received and sent out shipments of expensive goods. It was bound to be crawling with both the stadwatch and stakeholder’s private guards. It wouldn’t be worthwhile to steal anything- there was no way they could bribe or blackmail so many individuals, and there would be no point to do it here anyway.
So of course there must be a deeper reason. Inej knew the secrets of half of the stadwatch and plenty of the Merchant Council’s staff. It was a given she would be able to identify the majority of the personnel present tonight. Did Kaz expect her to figure out the purpose of all this on her own? If so, he would be disappointed in her. Inej just sat perched on the balcony of an office building, with the dock in clear sight. She had had trouble finding a place to wait where she wouldn’t be visible, even at this time of night. Near the Harbour, bonelight illuminated a wide swath of space with a greenish glow. Typically, Inej had no problem concealing herself with the natural shadows found in the contours of the city, but she wanted to be cautious tonight, when she was uncertain of her purpose. Inej opened her palms, allowing a darkness, hazy as the bonelit air, to pool in her hands. As she spread her fingers, she cloaked herself in the shadow. Inej imagined her silhouette blended seamlessly with the night.
Sometimes, she wondered what her family would think of her power. Most of the techniques that Inej utilized in the streets of Ketterdam had been learned on the tightropes and swings; shadow summoning was simply a tool to assist with these skills. When Inej imagined seeing her family again and telling them all the things she had to do here in Ketterdam, the use of her power didn’t really stand out from the rest. She had been forced to become a different girl in the city, and the discovery of her power was just one facet of that other girl. Would her family even recognize her? They would probably be worried at first, maybe even suspicious, for they knew the previous shadow summoner was the cause of so much misery and the martyrdom of Sankta Alina, but Inej would reassure them. She didn’t have lofty ambitions for power or a twisted sense of greater good, like the Darkling. But she could only have that conversation if she ever saw her family again- right now, with the possibility so distant, she couldn’t think about what she would say to them.
A few figures paced below along the perimeter of the Harbour. They were clearly stadwatch. Kaz had yet to make an appearance. It seemed like by this point, there should have been a change of shifts- the same stadwatch guards had been patrolling this area for quite some time. Usually they changed rounds on the half hour. Inej watched as three men decked out in the livery of various merchers joined them. They were talking- Inej couldn’t quite hear them from her position on the balcony. She slid down along the gutter soundlessly, until her feet made contact with the ground. Here, she was less than ten feet from the nearest guard. It would be nearly impossible to remain hidden here, if not for the inky darkness that Inej wove around herself.
It became obvious rather quickly that they were talking about Kaz.
“The whole Dirtyhands thing is bullshit, of course,” a stadwatch guard with a grizzly beard was saying. “I’ve heard, from very reputable sources, that he’s actually a sun summoner.”
A guard in crimson livery guffawed. “I think that’s bullshit. If anything, ‘dirtyhands’ would be a reference to being like the Darkling- you know, all dark and evil and whatever.”
Inej shook her head at this. She knew real darkness; she had experienced the worst of human depravity. In her time in the Menagerie, Inej had seen the embodiment of cruelty wrapped up in a beautiful blonde woman dripping with diamonds and clothed in the brightest of fabrics. She was not such a fool to think colors meant morality. Things were not so simple.
“Not sure what that sort of Grisha category would be,” the guard added. “I’ve only ever heard of Darklings having the power- darkness summoning? Anyway, I’m pretty sure the only sun summoners were those folks who were around in the Fold, and their power faded after a day or so. And like I said, only Darklings get Darkling powers so this Brekker couldn’t have it. ”
“There was only one Darkling, I thought we all knew that by now,” the first man interjected.
The guard in crimson ignored this correction and continued. “How would there even be another Sun Summoner? Would he have to be Alina’s kid then? So much for the ‘bastard of the barrel’...”
Another stadwatch guard, a young man with a crisp new uniform and a thick mustache, furrowed his brow. “He would still be a bastard. She wasn’t married before she died. Technically that’s illegitimate, right? But the logistics wouldn’t work out. Brekker is what, seventeen or eighteen, and Alina was probably the same when she died. That doesn’t make sense.”
This discussion of her saint was making Inej’s stomach turn. And, regardless, their parentage didn’t matter; this kind of power wasn’t necessarily inherited. Alina had been an orphan from a nameless village, not the daughter of some mighty Grisha. Inej didn’t know Kaz’s family, but she was certain his background wasn’t much grander than that of his predecessor. Inej herself had come into her power not long ago. Nina would say that she had always been Grisha and had always had this power, and perhaps that was true. Or perhaps it was different for those with her abilities. All Inej knew, was that one night in the Menagerie, she had prayed for darkness to swallow her, and her prayers had been answered.
The guard in crimson made a sound of agreement. “Exactly, thank you Rutger.” He turned to the first stadwatch guard. “Your sources are bullshit, Henk.”
Henk threw up his hands. “Why does it even matter? I don’t even know why you all are gossiping about some Barrel teenager.”
“Because if we’re going to deal with this Barrel teenager, I want to know whether he’s going to hit us with shadows, light, or nothing at all.” Inej’s heart sunk. It had also become obvious rather quickly that they were expecting Kaz. Did he know? Could she warn him?
“I think at a minimum, he’ll hit you with his cane,” said a new voice. Inej peered through the thick darkness to look at the man’s face. He seemed familiar.
Rutger greeted the man with a nod. “Eamon.”
Oh Saints. Eamon was a member of the Dime Lions. What was he doing here? How did he know Kaz was supposed to come to the Harbour tonight? There must’ve been a leak.
Inej inched further, as close as possible without brushing against the guard before her. She wrapped darkness around herself more tightly and gripped the handles of her knives.
She didn’t know that much about Eamon. Inej knew the identities of every Dime Lions member, of course, but he was a fairly recent member. Not that Inej could see how his secrets would be particularly useful in this situation.
“Thanks for meeting me here, gentlemen,” Eamon said. “I’m not expecting Brekker for a while- we have a distraction prepared.” Inej tried not to think too much about what the distraction could entail; Kaz would want her to focus on the valuable information she could gather. Already, she had identified every person present and knew that they were working with the Dime Lions. “Now, what do you have for me.”
Henk took out a piece of paper and passed it to Eamon. It was too dark for Inej to read it. “These are all of the expected shipments at Third Harbour for the month. Plus when the jurda’s coming in at the other Harbours- still not sure why you all care so much about jurda, but that’s not my business.”
Eamon flashed a dimpled smile. “Not mine either. Boss’s orders, you know how it is.”
The guards chuckled in agreement. “Do you know what he wants with Brekker?” Rutger asked.
Eamon shrugged. “I figure the same as all of us- to get him out of the way. It was lucky that Doughty overheard Big Bollinger talking to Kaz about coming down here tonight. He told Pekka, and it just came together. Two birds, one stone; I get the shipping plans, you get your money, we all knock the Dregs down a few pegs.”
It was like it always was. The pieces of Kaz’s plan started to piece together. There would be no reason for him to chat with Bollinger about meeting Inej. The information had been leaked intentionally. Kaz wanted her here to collect information about this exchange, then to help him with whatever set up he had prepared. Or least that’s what she thought.
Inej waited a few more minutes to see if she could glean any more valuable information. However, it seemed that anything they wanted would be on the shipping papers Eamon had. In the meantime, waiting to ambush Kaz, the men had resumed their conversation theorizing on whether Kaz was Grisha. She unsheathed two knives. Sankt Petyr in her left hand. Sankta Alina in her right hand. Inej wondered if her saints would find it ironic.
Inej padded through the shadows, until she was directly behind the nearest guard. The darkness expanded to encompass him, isolating the pair of them from the others. His breathing hitched as he opened his mouth, asking ‘What’s-”
“Shhhh,” Inej murmured. She held a knife to his throat. She was close enough to feel him trembling. “If you want to live, stay quiet.” The darkness felt heavy, muffling her voice to keep it from escaping the shadows. She pushed the man to the floor, where he was helplessly stuck with no sense of direction, then continued wading through the darkness.
Inej wasn’t sure how long to wait for Kaz. She didn’t know if he expected her to incapacitate or kill all the men- he might be planning to question them. Or did he want her to take out all of them now, and he wasn’t planning to show up at all? It would be so much simpler if he would just tell her the plan!
She just had to go by her own judgement for now. And she preferred not to kill when possible. Instead, she spread her hands, and let a thick darkness sink in, as if it was mist from the water. Inej had succeeded in concealing her power from common knowledge by taking inspiration from her environment, as she did now. It was better if this was kept a secret. Kaz had never said that explicitly, but he would have no authority to control her like that regardless. It was her choice, and Kaz’s suggestion. Kaz himself didn’t strictly hide or flout his power. People had their suspicions, though, about both of them. Inej was fairly certain that she was the only person with whom Kaz casually used and talked about sun summoning openly. But maybe she was just flattering herself.
The guards looked around, confused. The darkness was fog-like, not dark enough to completely extinguish their vision, but surely it was disorienting. Inej herself didn’t experience the effect. They stood tensely, waiting for a fight to arrive.
And the fight arrived, with the steady beat of a cane. Kaz, finally. He stood at the border of the darkness. “I see you all waited for me,” he said.
Rutger cocked his gun, but Inej reached him before he could aim. The darkness gathered to an edge, an extension of her knife, and she Cut through his wrist. He shrieked as his hand fell to the cobblestones below with a dull thud. He was the one who had spoken so disrespectfully about Sankta Alina. Inej didn’t feel much sympathy for him.
Another guard drew his gun, and Inej’s blade found his throat. She spun a thread of shadows before the eyes of a third man, temporarily blinding him, and pushed him to the ground.
It was only a minute before she felt Kaz’s back against her own. He must’ve navigated through the darkness with only a wisp of light- she hadn’t noticed any brightness in the fog. Together, they faced the reality of being vastly outnumbered. Typically, they never fought side by side; Inej rarely had her feet on the ground. There was a rhythm to it, as if they shared a heartbeat.
Rhythm or not, they were only two people. Even Grisha have to yield to sheer numbers, at least when they’re untrained. Eamon had made his way through the shadows, and his gun was pressed to Kaz’s forehead.
“Who do you think will be the lieutenant after I kill you?” he asked. “Not your Wraith, of course. She’ll be dead, too. I just want to get the exclusive for Pekka- you know how it is.”
“Good question.” Kaz’s raspy voice didn’t waver. “I’ll have to think about it, at another time, of course.”
“Doesn’t matter who it is. Dregs won’t last an hour without you.” Inej had to agree with that. They would be lost without Kaz.
“I’m flattered,” Kaz said drily. Inej desperately searched for clues of what to do next. They were stuck; certainly if she made a move, Eamon would shoot Kaz. Then, Kaz flexed his gloved hand, and as he gestured, there was a quiet click.
Inej knew what that meant. She deftly tucked her head into her arms. Even behind her hands, there was a flash of brightness.
“Oh fuck!” she heard Eamon say as Kaz shone a stream of light directly into his eyes. The light reflected off the special Fabrikator-made mirrored gloves, resulting in an intense beam that would probably blind the man for a significant period of time. Uncovering her eyes, Inej witnessed Kaz smoothly liberate Eamon of his bag, which she knew to contain the shipping information.
There were still men surrounding them. Kaz turned to her. “Let’s go.” They hurried to the edge of the fog. Inej summoned a swath of shadows, wrapping a deep darkness around the guards. They would stagger around until sunrise, at the least.
Inej followed Kaz into the maze of buildings outside the Harbour. She cloaked them in shadows, in case anyone was tailing them.
Finally, Kaz turned around to face her. “That was messier than I wanted it to be.” He was bleeding from his forehead, but Inej was certain the blood on his knuckles was someone else’s
“It wouldn’t be so messy,” Inej responded, “If you would’ve told me the plan!” Kaz Brekker always had a reason. That much was clear. Inej just never knew what it was.
Kaz laughed at her exasperation. “You think Kooperom is still open? I could use some waffles after that.”
They got waffles.