chapter five, the ambush

OVER THE NIGHT and the next morning, the plan was slowly coming together even if it seemed like it will be impossible to achieve it. Kaz made sure to talk with every person individually about the plan, about what he expected them to do. And now it was Lavender's turn.

Kaz told her that he has found them a ship, everything was going under control. Her main task was to keep them alive and well.

"The more Matthias talks about the Ice Court— the deadlier it sounds," Lavender started as soon as Kaz finished talking as they both were in that small office-like room.

"That's why Jan Van Eck sends us to do it," he replied, leaning back on the table to sit down, holding the cane in his lap as he looked at the woman.

"What about Nina? I am sure they will have amplifiers and they will sense her out and lock her away," she pointed out.

"I have a plan for that, too. I know Jesper is a Grisha," he announced and her eyebrows quickly shot up, before she looked down, nodding.

"It doesn't make any sense— clearly Jan Van Eck doesn't have thirty million kruge to spear. Something doesn't add up," Lavender expressed her doubts.

"The council will get us the money, Van Eck is a mere pawn in this," he answered, tugging his gloves up.

"As if the council would support a criminal heist," Lavender blabbered as she didn't believe all of this.

"You haven't been in Ketterdam, Miss Fahey. People can buy anything with money and council wants to get Bo Yul-Bayur," Kaz simply replied, his eyes focused on her as being with her just like this brought him some weird calmness.

"I know about Ketterdam enough, Brekker," she mumbled, his thoughts roaming around: don't say that again, don't say my last name... "It's a suicide mission and you know that well."

"If you wish to not participate— you are free to go. You are not essential in the plan," Kaz bitterly replied, catching her stare that was slightly confused, but a little smile crept on her face.

"Once your life will be in danger, we will see about that," Lavender shrugged her shoulders slightly as she straighten her back.

"Is that a threat, Miss Fahey?" Kaz implied, his face a little bit amused.

"You remind me of someone," Lavender started, bringing some sort of panic in Kaz's chest, "I knew a person in my life that was driven by greed, but not in a bad way— he just needed to survive. However, humans are driven to greed instantly, then we lack common sense and everything gets ruined," Kaz knew about who she was talking about. "He was a good person, a caring one, but greed swallowed him."

"You speak as if he is dead, do you wish the same for me?"

"I don't wish death to anyone— I intend to keep them alive. I do not know if he is dead, Ketterdam has a way of taking everything you cared about from you and burning it," Lavender exclaimed, sending memories in Kaz's head.

Kaz knew she was talking about Jordie. She was smart and she knew that if he would be alive, he would be beside Kaz, like always.

For some reason, hearing her speak about Jordie made his heart ache, just because there was another person who knew his brother.

"Unlike the person you know, I make greed bow to me," Kaz simply replied, placing the cane on the floor. Didn't Jordie think the same too?

Both of them hold a stare for a few seconds as she was trying to decipher if he remembered her, but he seemed cold and distant like always and that brought sadness to her heart, way more than before.

"You are a little bit boastful, Mister Brekker. It's not always a good trait about someone," Lavender pointed out.

"Is it not? Being boastful makes your day and that's all you need in a town like Ketterdam," he replied simply, his eyes fixated on her, only on her.

What happened to you, Kaz? I want to know what happened after the plague, Lavender thought, her eyes pleading.

"You know you won't be able to spend the money if you are dead," Lavender remarked.

"I wish to have a pleasant afterlife," he answered.

"Greed bows to you, but death is always behind you, waiting for you to fall. Let's hope you have someone that will catch you before it's too late," Lavender exclaimed and she walked out of the room as it was getting too much for her.

Kaz sighed as soon as she left and tightly closed his eyes. He didn't have anyone to catch him, he was all alone. He could sense her anger towards him, he could sense her regret and he swallowed her emotions deep inside of him. He suffered when she died, now he is suffering because he can't tell her the truth.

He hated when someone was right about him.

𓄿

LAVENDER WAS MAKING her way through the West Stave to the Fifth Harbour. It was barely sunset and she was wandering the streets of Ketterdam, trying to reach the boat Kaz has found them.

All of them were going separately not to cause any unwanted attention and once Lavender was left alone— that's when she felt the uprising fear. During the past day, she didn't talk with Jesper or with anyone else except Kaz. The mood was gloomy between them all, the knowledge of doing something insane was affecting everyone.

Lavender wanted to run away since only now she realized that she was going to die, she was going to see others die and she won't be able to help them. How will father feel once he will find out? He will be left all alone.

She didn't put her mind around why she agreed to do this so quickly? Of course, she wanted to be there for Jesper, but she would never do something crazy like that. Kaz was the answer. As soon as she saw the man, her mind became bland and her choices became unbelievable. Was she doing this also for Kaz?

Lavender stepped into the district where tons of Menageries were plopped together, tourists walking around, mesmerized by the exotic views even if there was nothing exotic. Girls and boys that worked in the pleasure houses were forced to be there, they were sold by the slavers even if slavery was forbidden in Kerch.

As she walked through the crowd, her eyes fell onto a woman that stood out from the other. She was wearing a long white gown, while on her back stood peacock feathers and a diamond choker was wrapped around her neck. She looked fancy, but the stare on her face was unwelcoming.

Then suddenly she looked with who the woman was speaking and Lavender halted in her steps— Inej? She saw how the peacock woman was holding the dark tunic of Inej's and a man behind her was holding Inej in her place so she wouldn't run.

Lavender found out in the past few days that Inej was called the Wraith, the spider of the Barrel since she was able to move without any sound— she was deadly. And now, Inej stood there as if she was paralyzed, her eyes blinded with fear, making her hands shake a little bit.

"Excuse me? The woman looks clearly uncomfortable— she probably lost her way!" Lavender loudly exclaimed, putting their attention on her instead of on Inej.

"I was just telling her that she would look lovely in my House of Exotics," the peacock woman replied in a sly voice, smiling— but it wasn't a welcoming smile, it was threatening.

"By the look on her face— she is not interested. I would suggest for you to let her go. As you know, forcing someone to be in a pleasure house if forbidden by law," Lavender stepped closer, noticing that the man behind Inej was horribly tall and muscular, but she could take him down in case of an emergency.

Inej's eyes were full of relief as she saw Lavender here and that she didn't just pass them silently.

"What a shame, indeed. You would be a lovely collection, too," the woman exclaimed, placing her hands on her waist, "but I don't accept women with scars," the woman pointed out her scars on the neck.

"Pity, now, if you are done with whatever this is. I will escort this woman from this district. Shall we?" Lavender softly smiled at the Suli girl, receiving a mere nod.

The man behind her released his hold off Inej and the Wraith quickly made her way to Lavender and they both wandered further into the crowd, not looking back once or slowing their pace.

"Thank you," Inej murmured, placing her hood on her luscious dark hair.

"No need to thank me. That woman gives me creeps, she had no right to attack you like that," Lavender replied, rushing alongside the smaller girl to the harbour as they were already late.

Both of the girls started to run as they both wore some sort of sailing clothes, not to raise tons of suspicion. Lavender's heels were tightly placed in her bag, but without them, she felt as if she was naked.

Soon enough the docks revealed in front of them, and they noticed Kaz and others standing there, but something seemed off. The boat was behind them— why weren't they already on it?

"Something's wrong," Lavender exclaimed, catching Inej's attention and they both halted, the air thickening around them.

"Kaz!" Inej shouted and quickly after that, their ship blasted into the air as a loud explosion hit them all, the force of air pushing them all to the ground.

Lavender fell down harshly on the ground, bruising her knees in the motion as fog and smoke surrounded them all, burning their eyes. Lavender felt that Inej was gone and the red-haired woman got back on her feet— her mind buzzing with endless thoughts.

They were fucked. Their transportation exploded and now she heard countless of shouts all around her, gunshots blasting through the air, screams echoing in pain. Lavender felt as if she will die as the smoke was getting in her lungs, minimizing the capacity for her to breathe in normal air and she started to violently cough.

Lavender's hand dropped to her bag and she took out her revolver, as a knife was in her other hand, both of her bags over her shoulder. She squinted her eyes to see better and she jogged forwards, where before the explosion she saw stacks of barrels.

She ran forwards, hitting the barrels as a man got behind her and grabbed her, squeezing her waist in the motion. "Little lady got lost, didn't ya?" The man roared in her ear, causing panic to creep up in her heart. His grip around her was tight, but she kicked back with her feet, hitting him on his crotch. He got loose of her and she turned around hitting him with the hand that held a tiny knife in it, piercing his cheek.

"You bitch!!" The man screamed, grasping the bloody wound on his face and she didn't wait for anything else and just ran further into the fog. She hoped to hear Jesper's voice or anyone's, but she only heard unknown shouts and shots fired.

In the near distance, she heard someone boastfully yell: "Ghezen! I got Brekker's Wraith!" his voice echoed loudly, making Lavender quickly run to the source of the sound.

Her breathing was off, her head was pulsing, she couldn't breathe in any more air— her lungs were burning, her vision was blurry from the smoke, but she kept on running towards the boastful yell.

Soon enough she saw a ginormous man holding Wraith down with a knife in his hand. The man seemed off as if he was made from all of the worst materials in the world. His grin was sly and dangerous and Inej tried to stab him.

"Hey! Asshat!" Lavender whistled, seeing how the man sharply stuck his knife into Inej's ribs and Lavender gasped running there to her and yanking Inej away from the man, feeling how limp her body was getting.

"Oh, look, another one," he grinned slyly, but Lavender didn't hesitate and cocked her gun at him and shot right at his left knee, making him yell out of pain and grasp Lavender instead of the Suli girl. His knife slashed through the side of the red-headed woman and the way she hissed in pain brought him joy. "That's what you get for crossing me," he gritted out the words.

"That's what you get for crossing me," Lavender scoffed and she cocked the gun down to his hip and pressed the trigger, a bullet stuck into his tissue within seconds. Lavender kicked his bad leg, feeling how the blood from her side was oozing down her leg, but she didn't waste a second and she grabbed Inej, placing her hand over her shoulder and she started making their way further.

"There is the real Ferolind," Inej weakly exclaimed, pointing out to the direction they had to go. Lavender didn't ask questions and she surely walked forwards, trying to stay awake. She couldn't blackout, the woman she was holding was dying.

      Lavender felt how the smaller woman was getting limper and more heavy, so Lavender slightly shook her, hearing Inej hiss in pain. "Stay with me, Inej, stay with me," Lavender chanted, hearing how the man that she shot in the hip was growling in pain and walking behind them both.

     "I will catch you— I will murder you both!" The man grunted, making Lavender whine out in pain since Inej's body was pressing to her wound at her side.

     "You want another bullet in your hip?" Lavender's voice was hoarse and slightly whiny as she kept on going with Inej, panic crippling in her body.

     Keep on going, for Inej, for Jesper, for everyone, for... Kaz, Lavender kept chanting in her head, her eyelids growing heavy, Inej's weight didn't help her stay awake either.

      Lavender as if she couldn't anymore— everything was foggy, her body ached like hell and she just couldn't go further. Until a voice appeared beside her: "Stay awake, Fahey," Kaz implied, grabbing Inej's other hand and pushing over his shoulders, helping Lavender with the weight of the Suli girl. "Let me carry her," he hoarsely said, his body leaning to Inej as he was still limping.

      "Shut up, and go. I don't want to make your leg worse," Lavender snarled as they both kept on going further. She had so many questions, but it wasn't the right time to ask, maybe it will never be the right time to ask.

       "Keep talking, Wraith, don't slip away," Kaz nudged the hurt woman and she moaned in pain, her eyelids opening and closing slowly.

      "It hurts..." she whispered as both Kaz and Lavender could feel how the Suli girl was slipping away.

      "Just make it to the schooner, Inej. I will make you stand on your feet in no time," Lavender exclaimed, going further and further.

      Soon enough, the real Ferolind appeared on the view and Jesper's eyes widen as he saw his sister with wounded Inej. He quickly ran to them, grabbing the poor Suli woman in his hands and giving a brief look to his sister— she was hurt too.

     "Get her below, now," Lavender grunted out, her head dizzy as she took the bags off her shoulder and watched the lean male get down with the woman in his hands.

     "Get us out of here," Kaz yelled, as the sailors were already stationed to leave and he was about to turn to Lavender, but she was already making her way down to the belowdecks and that's when he saw the blood that was sinking through her tunic and her pants. Fuck, fuck, fuck...

      Unbelievable guilt rushed through his chest as his bad leg was aching enormously. His head was still buzzing, some shots behind him heard as the ship was still not moving: "Specht!" He yelled the sailor's name as the anger was bubbling inside of him, "Get your crew in shape before I start cracking skulls," he grunted out, seeing how Specht saluted him and disappeared.

     Finally, the schooner moved.

     Kaz felt as if he wanted to punch someone so bad. Preferably the one who did this to his Lavender. Inej was hurt and he had no idea what to do if she would die. She was a necessity to his plan.

     "Fuck," Kaz grunted out, grabbing his cane and moving down to the belowdecks. For some reason he knew that Lavender will do everything to save Inej, but what if Lavender dies?

     What if she dies again?

𓄿
Author's Note:

-Thank you so much for 500 reads- it really means a lot to me. Please vote and comment, it really helps me be motivated to write!

-Thoughts on the chapter?

m.n