CHAPTER ONE

"No." Arya spins around when she realizes that she's no longer in the woods outside of her family's estate. Her green eyes land on the rift that she came through just in time to see it start to close. "No, no, no. No!" It shuts before she can make it back through, disappearing like it was never there, ultimately leaving her stranded in a place that she knows nothing about. "Damn it!"

Taking a deep breath, she starts looking around the room for anything that could be of help to her, but there isn't much that even looks familiar. Everything appears to be foreign and the objects seem to be antiques, though they look as though they're new.

"What the hell did she do? Drop me in the past in another country?" The brunette mutters as she moves around the room.

She suddenly hears faint footsteps making their way toward her, and she looks for a place to hide. But aside from the shadowy corners, there doesn't appear to be anywhere to get herself out of sight. The space is too open and there isn't much in the way of large furniture.

"Who are you?" A male voice gets her attention, and she turns to face him.

He doesn't appear to be much older than she is, but the scowl on his face makes him look older than he is. He's dressed in all black, aside from the simple golden design on the otherwise black vest that he's wearing over a button-up. He has black gloves on; one hand is clutching the top of a cane. And his dark hair is combed back.

"I'm lost." She tells him. "Would you mind telling me where I am?"

"That isn't what I asked." He says as he moves forward, out of the doorway that leads into the bathroom she's standing in. "Who are you?"

"What? You want a name?"

"It's a start."

She grinds her teeth as she looks at him. "Arya."

"And what are you doing in my house?" He questions.

"I told you, I'm lost." She repeats, and he just looks at her. "If you won't tell me where I am, I think I'll go find someone who will."

The teenager tries to move past him, but the cane in his hand strikes out, blocking her path. Her jaw tightens as she looks from the thin end of the cane to the large figure in his hand, then her gaze returns to his face.

"It's bad manners to keep a woman trapped in your presence." She says, her green eyes locked on his blue ones.

"You're the one who broke in."

"It was a mistake. One I'm trying to rectify." Again, the brunette tries to move past him, but he blocks her path with the cane again. "Keeping putting that thing in my way, and I'm gonna shove it up your—"

"You broke into my home, and I don't know what of my things you've gone through. I have no idea who you are, so you're not leaving that easily." He says, and she narrows her eyes.

"I haven't gone through anything, and my being here is a mistake." She repeats. "Does it look like I have anywhere to put anything of yours?"

"I don't know what to make of what you're wearing." He says, and she looks down at her clothes: black combat boots, blue jeans, a tank-top, and a blue flannel.

She looks back at him, but then her gaze flickers to the right before her green eyes land on him again. "Apparently breaking into your house isn't very hard." She tells him. "Especially when you leave the window open."

He turns his head to his left and sees that the window is, in fact, open. "Hello, Inej." He greets, and a figure comes out of the shadows.

"So it's okay for her to break in, but you won't let me leave?" Arya questions.

"I know her." He says as he returns his attention to her. "So... Who are you?"

"I told you my name."

"Who do you work for?" He asks, and she chuckles.

"Myself."

"Doing what?"

"...Extermination."

"What do you kill?"

"Things twice your size and ten times your strength." She tells him. "I was serious about what I'd do with that cane if you don't get it away from me."

"What business do you have here?"

"I don't even know where here is." The brunette tells him. "All I want to do is get home to my family."

"Ketterdam." He says, and the anger disappears from her features as her eyebrows furrow, and she glances between the two.

"What?"

"That's where you are." He tells her. "Where are you from?"

"Ketterdam..." She mutters as she looks away from them. "Son of a... That bitch."

He looks at Inej for a moment before his gaze returns to Arya. "What's your problem now?"

"I'd love to tell you where I'm from, but unfortunately, you've never heard of it." She tells them, and they exchange a confused look. "I am so screwed."

"Where are you from?"

"Virginia." Arya says as she looks back at him. "And I seem to have misplaced my red slippers."

"I don't understand." Inej speaks up for the first time.

"I pissed off a powerful woman with a very powerful friend, so they dropped me in another universe." She tells them. "She wasn't too keen on the idea of me killing her."

"You're insane."

Arya shrugs. "It's been said." She agrees. "But being crazy doesn't make me a liar."

Inej hesitates as she glances at the man, then her gaze settles on Arya again. "You said you've killed things twice his size?" She asks. "Ten times his strength?"

"Yeah. So?"

"I think she can help us." She says as she looks back at her friend.

"Why? What information do you have for me tonight?" He asks as he looks back at her.

"A lead on a job. A big one." She tells him. "Enough money to change lives."

"It doesn't take much to change someone's life in the Barrel."

"A million kruge." She says, which clearly captures his attention.

"What's the name?"

"Dreesen. A wealthy merchant."

"Dreesen." He nods. "I've heard of him. He could afford it. Question is: what's worth a million kruge to him?"

"He's looking for a crew willing to cross the Fold into East Ravka and bring back something." She tells him. "Which is where I think she could be useful." Inej glances back at Arya for a moment.

"The Fold?" He echoes. "Well, of course, certain death pays a million. He didn't say what he wants nicked?"

"No." She answers. "But he's taking meetings tonight, starting at midnight."

"Tell me you followed him." He says, and a smirk crosses her lips.

"He brought someone in from a ship." She tells him. "Took a way back house in the Garden District to avoid attention."

"Clearly that worked well, considering this conversation." Arya mutters, and they both look over to see her leaning against the sink a few feet behind the man dressed in black.

"I would have followed him inside, but Dreesen's hired some private security." Inej continues, regaining his attention. "I would've had to use my knives to get closer."

"Private security." He mutters. "Anyone we know?"

"A Zemeni man. I think his name is Tendo. You know him?"

"Yeah. He gambles at one of Pekka's clubs. So I won't have leverage on him. But Pekka will." He tells her, and then looks back at Arya. "Have you ever killed a creature before?"

She smirks. "It's my job."

"What weapons do you use?"

"Preferably?" She raises her eyebrows. "Guns. But I make do with whatever I can get my hands on."

"You help us with this, we'll help you get home." He tells her, and she narrows her eyes.

"I'm supposed to believe that you even know how?" She questions. "Or believe me, for that matter?"

"I don't care what you believe — that's the deal...or I can kill you for trespassing." He says, and an amused smile plays at her lips.

"It's bold of you to believe that you'd stand a chance."

"What other options do you have?" Inej asks, and she then turns her gaze to her, though not letting him out of her sight. "If you're telling the truth, it's not likely that you know anything about our world. Do you have money? Transportation? Know where to go if you do find some form of transport? Can you read the language? Do you have clothes to blend in?"

"What's wrong with my clothes?" Arya questions, irritated that they've both made comments about what she's wearing.

"The problem is, you look like you're from a different world. And most people here don't take too kindly to outsiders." She tells her. "You don't even sound like any of us."

"Why? Do you all sound British?" She asks, and Inej only looks confused. "Okay, so maybe a little quid pro quo is in order." She sighs, and then the man turns and walks away from them.

"Kaz," Inej follows him into a connecting room. "I got this lead from one of the girls at the Menagerie. They tell me things in case you'd buy them out, like you did with me."

"I didn't buy you; I'm paying off your indenture." He argues as he leans over a desk.

"You know what I mean." She persists. "This one girl, Kesh, she has skill. She's like me."

"I only invest in the one-of-a-kind." He says as he looks back at her. "She isn't like you. No one is."

"What's a Menagerie?" Arya asks as she walks into the room that they're in, and Inej glances in her direction.

"None of your business." Kaz says, and she rolls her eyes as she sits in a nearby chair.

"So? What's our move now?" Inej asks, and he hesitates for a moment before standing up straight.

He then looks at a painting that's hanging on his wall. "You're the one of us who believes in a higher power." He says, and Arya scoffs. "If we're going to survive a round trip through the Fold, we'll need a miracle or two."

"What is that?" Arya asks as she gets to her feet, walking over to look at the painting as well.

"Darkness that's home to monsters that kill anything that tries to pass through it." He tells her. "It takes more lives than it spares. Are you sure you want to go through?"

"Monsters don't scare me." She says as she looks back at him, her green eyes meeting his blue ones. "I'll do whatever it takes to make it home to my family."

—

"Tell us how to safely cross the Fold." Kaz says as he, Arya, Inej, and their friend Jesper stand across from a woman who's seated at her desk.

"The Fold?" She echoes. "If I knew safe passage through that, I'd be wealthier than the whole Merchant Council."

"You told me you brought in girls from Os Alta." Inej argues. "The other side."

"Yeah, the hard way. I lost a few to those damn volcra too." She tells them, and they leave soon after that.

The four of them then end up in an alleyway, talking to a man that Jesper led them to. "Nah, there's no trick to it...except how it makes people disappear from time to time." He says as he glances between their group.

"I heard you bragging of a way to make a path." Jesper says.

"I was taking kruge from a tourist. A little lie." He tells them. "The Fold keeps those Ravkan bastards and their Grisha attack dogs in check. Can you imagine how dangerous it would be if it wasn't there?"

They leave in search of a new lead, and Arya steps into Kaz's path, irritating him. "Do I really have to follow you three around to watch your consistent failures?" She questions.

"I don't trust you. Therefore, you stay where I can see you." He says, and her jaw tightens as she looks at him.

"Fine." She concedes. "I'll just see how long it takes the tension in your jaw to snap as you continue to fail."

"I think having you around is good motivation. I can't wait to get rid of you." He says, and she smiles sarcastically as he moves around her and keeps walking.

The four of them end up outside of a makeshift ring to talk to a boxer that Kaz knows about.

"Just go around it." He tells them; his accent sounds more Russian to Arya.

"It stretches all the way north to the Fjerdan border." Kaz says, and the boxer nods.

"Yeah. So go to Fjerda." He says, wrapping his hand in preparation for the fight. "March through the permafrost."

"How long will that take?"

"From here?" He shrugs. "Four months. Maybe five."

"We don't have that kind of time."

"Either you take your time, or you take your chances." He says as a bell rings, then he walks away from them.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm impatient and love risks." Arya says. "Where's our next stop?" She asks, but instead of finding someone else to talk to, they end up back where they started — the club that Kaz owns. They sit in a section separate from the other people there.

"Here's what I don't get." Jesper speaks up.

"We're gonna be here all night." Inej muses, and he looks at her.

"Rude." He spats, and Arya smirks. "Why haven't they tried going under it? Just dig a tunnel."

"Tried that. More than a century ago." Kaz tells him. "Something...heard them digging."

"So it was made hundreds of years ago by that crazy Grisha—"

"The Black Heretic." Inej supplies.

"Yeah. The one who controls shadow, right? They've got one in their army now, don't they — General Kirigan?" Jesper says.

"Your point?"

"Well, if one of his kind made it, can't he...unmake it?"

"You mean destroy?" Arya asks, and he smiles as he looks at her.

"Beautiful and smart." He says, and she smirks as she shakes her head at him.

"Have you ever put out fire by adding more fire?" Inej questions.

"Then what's the opposite?"

"A Sun Summoner."

"Right, then, one of those."

"Doesn't exist." Kaz tells him.

"Doesn't exist yet." Inej says as she glances between the two.

"Dreesen comes into town, doesn't waste a minute. Sends out for a crew to steal something, doesn't specify what." He says, and they all look back at him. "What? Is it heavy, is it large, is it worth more than a million on the black market?" He asks. "Maybe he doesn't know."

"We can let this one go, Kaz." Inej tells him.

"Sounds like a trap anyway." Jesper reasons.

"A trap would sound easy." He argues. "This is something else."

"Boss, boss." A man gets their attention as he rushes toward them, talking to Kaz. "We intercepted a note from Dreesen."

"Did you now?"

"It's for the owner of the Orchid. Says they require the services of a Heartrender. Tonight."

"A Heartrender?" He echoes. "Why?"

"Doesn't say. Just they need it before midnight." He tells him.

"You don't bring in a Heartrender unless you need an answer out of someone who isn't willing to talk." Kaz says thoughtfully, then he gets to his feet. "That's how we get this job before anyone else. Bring Dreesen a Heartrender."

"Boss," He starts again, and Kaz stops walking away. "Just one problem. Pekka Rollins knows."

"Pekka Rollins." He mutters through clenched teeth before walking away from them.

"You should stay with him." Inej tells Arya. "He doesn't trust anyone, and you still want his help."

"When exactly did I put on a leash?" She mutters as she gets to her feet, then she goes after Kaz, following him up the spiral stairs that lead to his living quarters above the club.