⌜ chapter fifteen ⌟

Kaz, Inej, and Jesper walk back over to the carriage, heading to the back where the trunk is sitting. The three then watch as the lock turns red-hot before popping out of the trunk all together, making it so that the lid will open.

The lid lifts, and then they all see Alina as she pops her head up to look outside. Her dark eyes land on the holstered gun on Jesper's hip, and she climbs out of the trunk before landing on her feet in front of the three of them.

"We don't want any trouble." Jesper tells her.

"Neither do I, so I'll just be on my way." She turns and tries to walk past Kaz, but he quickly raises his cane and places it in her way.

"Clearly you want out of East Ravka. We can help you." He says, and Inej nods as Alina looks at her. "We have a secure route through the Fold."

"I prefer to travel alone."

"Don't be rash." He tells her. "You stick with us, everybody gets what they want."

"I'm not being anyone's captive ever again." She says as she looks between the three of them, then her gaze settles on Kaz. "So step aside and let me pass."

"I'm afraid we can't let that happen." Their leader says.

Alina lets out a burst of light from the palms of her hands, momentarily blinding Kaz and Jesper, but Inej saw it coming. She shielded her eyes in time, but still let Alina get away from them. She tries to run around the side of the carriage, but quickly skids to a stop when she sees Arya leaning against the side of it.

Alina tries to raise her hand to blind Arya the same as she did the others, but Arya's faster than she is. She grabs her arm, fingers curling around her wrist, and she twists her arm, forcing Alina to spin and end up with her back against Arya's chest.

She quickly raises her free hand, and Arya reaches out to grab it as well. A ball of light manifests over her palm and Alina clasps her hand with the other girl's. Arya screams as her palm burns, and then she shoves Alina away from her as she quickly retracts her hand. Alina runs off, and she doubles over in pain as she clutches her aching hand to her chest.

"Bitch." Arya hisses through clenched teeth.

Inej looks down at her, remorse in her eyes from not helping her, which resulted in her getting hurt. Kaz then blocks her view as he walks over to Arya, and she groans in pain as she straightens up, leaning against the side of the carriage as she rests her head back. She looks over at him, seeing him rub his eyes before they settle on her again, and he blinks a few times.

"Are you alright?" Kaz asks, and she nods, but even having to strain his eyes, he can see how tight her jaw is. "Would you tell me the truth if the answer were no?"

Arya scoffs, a half smile tugging at her lips. "Probably not." She admits. "But I'll be okay."

"Come on. Let's take you somewhere you can take care of that." He says as he looks at the hand that she's favoring.

Jesper and Inej go to look around for Alina, and Kaz leads Arya to a pub where he asks the bartender there if they have anything she can use to wrap her hand. He gives them some gauze, and then Kaz goes into a bathroom with her so that she isn't alone.

Arya runs her right hand under cool water from the faucet, and her breathing is labored as her face contorts in pain. After a few more moments, she turns off the water and then stands there motionless to let her hand dry without aid from anything else, not watching to touch the burn and irritate the skin if she doesn't have to.

"Let me wrap it for you." Kaz says as he crosses the small distance between them.

"I can do it."

"I know." He nods, and she looks up at him, seeing the hint of worry in his eyes.

She turns to face him, holding her still trembling hand between them as he unrolls the bit of gauze that they were given. He's careful as he winds it around her injured hand, not wanting to hurt her any more than she already is as he tries to help her.

Once her hand is wrapped, Kaz's gaze returns to her face as she continues to stare at her now bandaged hand. He can clearly see the pain there, but despite how much she's obviously hurting, there's no trace of tears.

"I haven't cried from the pain of a burn or a cut...or a bullet since that day."

"Are you sure you're alright?" He asks, and Arya nods as she looks up to meet his eyes.

"I'm okay." She tells him. "But I'll be better if you buy me a drink."

"Right, then. Let's get back out there."

Kaz and Arya get a table, and he orders them each a beer. Neither of them says a word as they slowly drink from their glasses. Her mind keeps replaying things that have happened over the last six weeks: conversations, passing remarks, jokes made in good fun, things that she's seen, that night they spent in the field outside the barn, but one thing keeps replaying in her mind no matter how much she tries to push it away.

"Like I said, our futures depend on this."

Inej walks in then and she sits down across from Kaz. "No horses missing at the stable, so..." She tells them.

He nods. "So?"

"What?" She asks when he doesn't look up.

"Are you going to tell me how the target got away?" He questions as he turns his gaze to her, and she takes a deep breath.

"I let her go."

"You were hired to do a job."

"Yes, the job was to pick up a fake for an easy million kruge." She says as she leans forward. "We found a living Saint who can summon the sun."

Kaz leans toward her as he holds up a silver coin. "A good magician is a good con artist. The trick..." He takes the coin in his other hand and then it's gone when he shows her both of his palms. "...is to make it look real."

"This is different." She argues, shaking her head. "You saw her summon with your own eyes."

"The best illusions are the most convincing." He leans back in his seat. "That's the game."

"You can hide behind your cynicism, but I believe she's the real thing."

"I don't see you falling to your knees to worship every Heartrender or Squaller we meet."

"This is different." She insists. "Her power is a miracle. I won't betray my faith."

"Pious as that may be, we cannot work effectively as a crew if you're making decisions based on religious zeal."

"Is that a threat to return me to Heleen?" She questions, and he leans forward again in his seat.

"Either we get the target or Heleen gets the Crow Club and Pekka gets whatever's left." He tells her, and her eyebrows furrow as she looks at him.

"Wait. Why would Heleen get the Crow Club?" She asks, and he looks down before getting to his feet and walking away from them. "Kaz. What did you do?"

Inej looks at Arya after he's gone, but she's not sure that she heard anything that they said. She's staring at her right hand as her fingers of her uninjured hand tap the half-empty glass in front of her.

"You haven't said a word since I got in." She speaks up.

"I find it best to keep my mouth shut while others are in the middle of a pissing match." Arya says, and she just looks at her. "Besides, you weren't here while he was stewing in his anger in silence nearly the entire time you were gone."

"I'm sorry about your hand."

"Are you?" She questions as she lifts her gaze to her. "Because I saw you while I was trying to fight her alone. You just stood there and watched, you did nothing."

"I know you don't understand my beliefs-"

"I understand what it means to have faith, Inej." She cuts her off. "But you heard Kaz yesterday — all of our futures depended on this. And you let her get away."

Her eyebrows furrow as she looks at her. "You think we won't still help you get home if we fail?"

"I can't risk it, Inej." She tells her, and Kaz is listening to their every word a few feet away from the girls. "I lost everything: my father, my brothers, my home, my own damn world. I've got nothing."

"You have us." She argues.

"So what then, I'm supposed to give up? Never go home?" Arya questions. "This isn't my world, this isn't my life, Inej. You have Kaz and Jesper — two friends who would sacrifice everything for you. I had my brothers, and I have to get home to them. I have to make things right, I have to save them before they get themselves killed...if they haven't already. Nothing else matters."

"Nothing?" She echoes. "We're talking about a Saint. Someone who could save my world."

"If you'd seen the things I've seen, you wouldn't believe that any Saint is gonna come and solve all of your problems for you." She shakes her head. "She's not a Saint. She's just a girl who can manipulate the light, the same as that Inferni manipulated the fire. Maybe, maybe she can bring down the Fold, but are you really willing to bet everything on that?"

"Maybe I am." Inej nods, and then she hesitates for a moment. "Answer me this — has nothing here mattered to you? Not me, not Jesper...not even Kaz?"

Her eyebrows furrow as she looks down, her gaze landing on the glass in front of her. She can't meet her eyes as she answers her question. "Not more than my brothers." Arya tells her.

» » » « « «

It's after nightfall when Jesper makes his way into the pub, walking over to the table that Kaz and Arya are sitting at. "The alarm trigger is set." He tells them as he sits down beside the brunette. "Horses are ready, and I've stashed the rest of our gear. What's the matter with you?"

"Nothing." Arya says.

"That's a lie. Is it your hand?" He asks, and she shakes her head. "Arya, what is it?"

"Inej hates me now because I told her that my brothers are more important to me than you three, and Kaz hasn't said a word since he got back to the table." She tells him, figuring he might as well know as well.

"Of course they're more important to you." Jesper says, eyebrows furrowed, and she looks up at him, shock evident on her face. "They're your family; you've only known us six weeks."

"You're not mad too?" She asks, and he shakes his head.

"No, of course not." He says, and she lets out a breath of relief as she leans into his side, and he wraps his arm around her.

"If we don't move soon, the Black General will be on top of us." Kaz says, and Jesper looks over at him. "We can't waste anymore time looking for the girl."

"I just settled our tab with the last of our coin." Inej says as she walks back over, sitting in her seat at the table.

"We're really gonna leave empty-handed then?" Jesper asks as he looks between Inej and Kaz, keeping his arm around Arya.

The brunette at his side looks over at Kaz, but he refuses to meet her gaze. Her jaw tightens as she looks away from him, and her eyebrows furrow as she tries to seem unfazed.

An explosion outside startles the people in the pub, and Arya grabs Jesper's arm, still hating the sound. She sees the flame through the window, and she takes a deep breath to calm her nerves, trying not to think of the last time she saw an explosion.

"Our alarm." Jesper looks back at Kaz.

"Split up." Their leader says as they each rise to their feet. "Much easier to take a Grisha one-on-one than a whole squad of them. Rendezvous at the fountain." He tells them, and they all head for the door.

They make it outside and then see a group of the Grisha that were making their way up to the pub. The four of them all stop, and recognition seems to flash across one of the Grisha's face.

"No!" She suddenly screams.

"Move!" Kaz orders, and the four of them scatter.

"No!"

"Shit." Arya hisses as she slides down a hill, avoiding a fireball that was intended for Inej; it misses both girls.

The brunette's running down an alley when a gust of wind blows through and throws a large object into her path. She trips, rolling over it, and then she lands on her right hand when she tries to break her fall so that she won't slam her head on the ground. She groans as she rolls onto her back, clutching her arm to her chest.

Footsteps growing nearer register in her mind, and she pushes herself up. The man reaches for her, and she ducks under his hand before throwing her elbow into his rib cage. It doesn't seem to affect him much, and she quickly realizes that she's gonna have to go for his exposed skin.

She isn't able to land very many blows that actually hurt the Grisha, but he's beaten her pretty good pretty fast. Arya ends up pinned against a wall as he blasts air at her face, making it impossible for her to breathe as he walks over to her.

"Fortunately for you, we have orders to bring you back alive." He says. "We know a bit about you: skilled fighter, incredible with guns and knives, good in cards...come from a world that isn't this one. Am I doing alright so far?" He asks as he lets her breathe.

She gasps for air as she sinks against the stone wall behind her. Dark hair's a tangled mess over her face, but her vision's good enough for her to see the slip between the ends on the front of his kefta — her best shot at winning.

"Mhm." Arya nods. "Not afraid to go for the kill."

The brunette swings her arm up and plunges her knife into his chest, going between ribs to pierce his heart. He groans as he looks down at her, and her jaw tightens as her eyes seem to darken, and then she pulls the knife back.

He falls to the ground, and she gasps, choking back a sob as she looks down at his body. The knife slips from her hand, and she stumbles to the side before quickly running down the alley, trying to put some distance between her and what just happened.

It's early the next morning now, and Arya's wandering around lost as the sun slowly rises in the sky above her. Eventually, she sees Kaz slip into an alley not far from her, and she quickly runs to catch up to him, desperately wanting to not be alone anymore. She knows that she can't handle another fight on her own. Her feet skid behind him when she sees the man standing on the other side of the alley, and Kaz turns his head just enough to recognize who's there.

"I know you kidnapped my Sun Summoner." The Black General says as he takes slow steps toward them, and Kaz backs up until he's standing at Arya's side. "And now you're going to tell me where you stashed her."

"We didn't take her." Kaz tells him. "She fled on her own."

He looks between the two of them, his chin held high. "Where is she?" Neither of them says anything, and Arya gets her hand on her gun as Kaz takes another careful step backward. "I won't ask you again."

"I don't know. It was pretty clear she wasn't interested in being a captive anymore." He says, and the general looks between them again. "She's probably halfway to Novyi Zem by now." He tells him, and they both take a step back again when they see the shadows creeping up from behind the Grisha; Kaz is farther back than Arya.

"You should have stayed in Ketterdam, Mr. Brekker." He walks forward, bringing the dark cloud of shadows with him.

Arya sees when Kaz tosses his cane up into the air, quickly catching it as he throws something past her. There's a blast of light, and the general shields his eyes; Arya stumbles back when Kaz disappears from her side, and then she falls to the ground.

The light disappears, and she looks around, only to find that Kaz is gone. There's a noise behind her, but she can't bring herself to look away from the Black General to see what's crumbling. His gaze falls back on her, and she forces herself to her feet.

"And you must be Arya Salvatore." He smiles. "How nice of your...boyfriend, is it? Well, Mr. Visser must've been mistaken. But how nice of Mr. Brekker to leave you to me."

Her jaw tightens as her fingers curl around her gun. She's weary to pull it out, since it's in her left hand, but she can't shoot with her right.

"My apologies, I haven't introduced myself." He continues. "I'm General Kirigan, and I'm very interested to hear about how you ended up in our world when I'm told you're from a different one."

Arya raises the gun and fires off a shot, hitting him in the chest.

"Sorry to disappoint, but our keftas are bulletproof." He says as he raises his hands again, and the shadows follow suit. He swings his hand, and a dark mass shoots at her, slicing into her right leg. He's only trying to wound her so that she can't run; he wants her alive.

The brunette groans as she grabs her thigh, gritting her teeth. Then she fires again, hitting him in the same spot. He stumbles back a step, his jaw tightening in anger. Again, he raises his hand, but she doesn't let him swing again. Instead, she fires another shot, then another. A total of five bullets leave her gun, and he clutches his shoulder, his body now angled away from her.

Arya takes advantage of the distraction and turns around, running from the alley as fast as she can possibly manage. She just keeps going, having absolutely no idea where she's going, but wanting to get as far from General Kirigan as possible as quickly as her legs will carry her.

"Arya!" Jesper calls, and Kaz turns to see the brunette stumbling from the same way that he came not long before.

"Saints." Inej mutters when she sees the other girl clutching her leg with her injured hand, and holding her gun to her left side. She's covered in dirt and blood, and looks worse than any of them.

"Whoa, hey. Arya-"

"Get off of me!" Arya shoves on his chest when he tries to reach for her, and he catches her gun when it slips from her grasp.

"It's me, gorgeous. I'm trying to help you." Jesper says as he reaches for her, but she moves back, stumbling again.

"I know who you are. And I've had enough of your help. I don't need anything from any of you."

"What are you talking about?" He questions, eyebrows furrowed as he looks down at her.

"I'm such an idiot." She pants, still trying to hold her injuries. "I actually let myself believe that you were my friend. I answered all of your questions about my world, my family; told you everything about myself. I told you all exactly how to play me. I should've listened to Arken and left after the first time you called me Kaz's pet. That should've been my first clue. God!"

"What the hell are you talking about? I am your friend."

"And I'm supposed to believe that?" Her eyebrows are furrowed as she looks up at him. "Kaz is your boss; you do whatever he tells you to do. And he just left me for dead against the man that your people call the Black General. Kirigan sliced my leg open with a Goddamn shadow!"

"Wait, what?" Jesper looks over his shoulder at Kaz. "You left her alone against the Black General?"

"It should've been my first clue to cut my losses after you kept calling me Kaz's pet."

"I was kidding." He says as he turns back to her. "I didn't mean it."

Arya moves her skirt as she tries to see how bad her leg is. "Strangled by Pekka's men, treated like an animal on a leash, nearly killed by volcra in a metal box, talked to like I'm garbage, backhanded by some creep who doesn't like to hear no, putting my life on the line in a royal palace filled with magic freaks, burned, beaten, smothered by a damn airbender, then sliced into and threatened by the shadow boy." She grumbles. "And for what? People who don't give a shit whether I live or die. Just as expendable as Arken. God, I am such an idiot. I'm gonna get myself killed before I even get close to getting home."

"Alright, hey." Jesper moves toward her, placing his hands on her shoulders. "Look at me, will you? Thank you, there she is. Are you alright?"

"No!"

"Okay, stupid question." He takes a deep breath. "I didn't befriend you for any reason other than the fact that I happen to enjoy having you around. I didn't do it for Kaz, and I never thought he'd leave you behind anywhere. Now will you let me take care of you? Please?"

Arya pauses as she looks up at him, tears welling up in her pain-filled eyes. "Will you get me out of here?" She asks, and he nods as he pulls her to him.

Jesper wraps his arms around the distraught brunette, keeping her upright as well as trying to comfort her. Then he looks over at Kaz. "Neither one of them can manage a horse. Not even riding double." He tells him, and Kaz tears his gaze from Arya to look at him.

"Who's hurt?" Arya asks, then her gaze lands on Inej. "Oh my God, the Inferni."

"She's dead, and Inej will be alright." Jesper quickly tells her. "We have to come up with another plan." He says as he looks back at Kaz, who nods.

"That's a pretty nice ride." Kaz says, and Jesper turns to see a black carriage.

"Yes, indeed it is." He smirks. "Can you lean against the fountain? I'll be right back, I promise."

"I've got the shock and mild anger under control now. I'm fine." Arya tells him.

"Mild?"

"Okay, shock and rage. Either way, I'm fine now, and you don't have to coddle me." The brunette says. "Just get us the hell out of here."

Jesper leaves her leaning against the fountain as he and Kaz approach the carriage. Jesper drives out the guy inside, and Kaz knocks him out with the head on his now broken cane. Once they're ready, Jesper helps the two girls into the carriage.

"There's a barn a little over a day's travel from here." Kaz says, looking at Jesper. "You think they'll be okay in the carriage for awhile?"

"Can you two stop bleeding?" Jesper asks the girls, then he looks back at their leader. "Those were two very different hand gestures, but I think they both mean the girl's are alright." He tells him, and then he and Kaz ride with the reins for the horses.