CHAPTER THREE
vol i — bloody fjerdans!

KAZ HAD SENT DINARA BACK TO THE
Crow Club, wanting to keep her out of trouble. To him the club was the safest place she could be in a city like Ketterdam. Kaz would do anything to protect his Shadow, wanting nothing more than to lock her up and keep her hidden from all the dangers in the world ( but even he knew that it was impossible ). He knew better than that though, seeing as wherever trouble was, Dinara wasn't far behind — whether it be a random alley or just a normal bar fight, she was there, front and center. The thing about Dinara — she's dangerous — mayhem being her middle name. When she caught up to Jesper, she stayed a distance away from him, not wanting to ruin the silence that encompassed them.

After the rush of a moment like that she needed to calm down, not wanting to feel the want to lash out and kill someone, staining her hands red with their blood. She found it poetic really, the ability to hold someone's life in your hands, watching as light fades from their eyes, you being their tether between life and death, only to cut the cord between you. Dinara let out a sigh, wishing that she could do that in the very moment, but instead having to settle with the adrenaline rush that was a gun being waved around, shots flying through the air, and fistfights breaking out. Her mind drifted to the scene where Kaz had willingly put his life on the line made red push its way into her vision, fists clenching at her sides, the want to slap the boy upside his head for causing worry like that.

No matter how much she liked to think that she knew Kaz Brekker, the fact would always be that she didn't. She could know what he was thinking during a heist, what he wanted stolen, the way he liked the papers shuffled on his desk, but she would never know the before. The before was dark shadows in his mind, bile rising up in his throat whenever he thought about it, the pictures of Jordie and the harbor flowing through his mind like a never ending movie. He wanted to keep her away from it, keep her safe in the ways that he could, choosing to keep her in the dark about everything, seeing it the only way to not have her safety compromised. Dinara may never understand the things he does, like willingly putting himself in danger just to feel something other than greed or revenge, but Kaz Brekker ( no matter what they said ) always had a reason for what he did.

Despite Dinara wanting to have a quiet walk, she felt the hair standing up on the back of her neck, there was someone watching her, having a feeling she knew who it was. She let out a sigh, wishing that she could just send Inej far away, unable to disturb her. Hoping that Inej would get the hint, she allowed herself to ignore the presence, not speaking a word to the Wraith ( thought it was short lived due to feeling her presence even longer ). "What do you want Inej?" Dinara had stopped talking, peering into the darkness where she knew Inej was.

"To talk," Inej spoke. She had walked out of the shadows, revealing herself to Dinara, hoping that the dark-haired girl would listen, but knew she probably wouldn't ( damn stubbornness ).

"Well, get on with it, Wraith. You have until I get back to the club," Dinara snarked, not wanting this. She had kept walking, figuring out that if Inej wanted to talk this badly, she could at least walk with her.

"You knew about Kaz's plan. The whole time. Why didn't you tell me? Why did you think that I had to be kept out of the shadows?" Inej questioned, her voice hard as she wanted answers.

"It wasn't my place. Yes, I knew about the plan. I do the dirty work around here. Getting secrets out of people, killing people, torturing. I do everything that stains my hands, yet feel no remorse. So, when Dirtyhands wants me to do something for him, one task that he can't ask you to do, I do it." Dinara informed. Her eyes had hardened over, not daring to look at Inej, knowing if she did she was probably going to end up killing her.

"The fire? Kaz told me that it was just a ploy. How did you do that?" Inej asked, her mind trying to figure out how it worked.

"I gave him all the information on Bolliger and Geels. The part about his girl was true, but the part about some of the Dregs waiting outside her building wasn't true. A big lie. The sirens were pure luck. Kaz knew that, so he ran with it." Dinara said, continuing on her walk. "Why are you following me? Shouldn't you be on your way back to the Slat?"

Inej looped her fingers through each other, pulling them. She appeared nervous, Dinara had that effect on people. Kaz's second in command, so people naturally fear her, scared she would go running to Kaz. "Kaz is sending me on a job."

Dinara tilted her head in a questioning manner. "What kind of job is required at the Crow Club?"

Inej sighed. "Rojakke."

Dinara chuckled. "Oh that idiot. He's skimming isn't he? Don't answer that, it was rhetorical. I already know the answer. So what do you have to do? Cut his hand off or a finger?" Inej's eyes grew wide, not understanding how Dinara knew all this. "I know all, remember that, Inej."

"He's a good dealer though. He has a family to feed. I don't understand why Kaz wants me to do this. Why can't you do it?" Inej flails her arms around, wanting to get an answer out of Dinara. She looked up to the girl, not that she would ever let her know, not wanting to feed her ego.

"Well, Kaz thinks that you are the best person for the job. And to be quite honest, it isn't messy enough for me to be involved. Not quite like torture and not quite as bloody. It's the perfect opportunity for you to get some blood on your hands." Dinara snarked, as the two walked up to the front of the Crow Club. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have more important things to do. I don't not want to deal with the fact that you can't get rid of a card dealer on your own."

Inej couldn't say another word, as Dinara had melted into the shadows, crawling through the crowds of the club. Dinara knew better than to get too drunk, knowing she had to watch out for any misguided people wanting to scam Kaz out of his money. She went over to the bartender, giving him a wink as she reached over the counter and grabbed a full bottle of Kvas. Sure the drink was slightly disgusting, but it gave a good burn. Dinara lived for the thrill of life, always wanting to chase death. It's what terrified people, knowing she was slightly psychotic. The inner-physco of her mind is what drew Kaz to her, unable to look away, falling for the devil inside of her. The way she could play mind games without batting an eye was entrancing.

Her natural beauty was amazing, drawing attention in a crowded room, plaguing his mind of just her. It was scary to him, terrifying really. She had him in the palm of her hand and she had no idea. Dinara could make Kaz do anything she wanted and he would have no quarrels against it. So Dinara sat in the upper area of the club, leaning against the doorframe of Kaz's room. The bastard had locked it, keeping her from entering. Sure, she could pick it, but she was too tired to even do that. Waiting for him to come back was much more fun, placing a bet with herself, wondering if he was coming back bruised or not.

( ...⛓... )

DINARA HAD GONE BACK TO THE SLAT, waiting for Kaz, knowing that he was going to be back sooner or later. She was sitting on his bed, facing the door as she nursed her liquor, patiently waiting for him to come back. Her eyes had scanned over every detail of his room again and again, trying to keep herself from snooping around his papers, knowing that he would kill her if she did ( and she wasn't in the mood to die tonight ). Dinara was starting to get worried, knowing that Kaz was never out this late, starting to worry about the boy even though he could take car of himself, just wishing that she knew what was going on.

"Jurda parem." Those were the two words that Kaz had said when he walked in his bedroom door, seemingly knowing that she was going to be there waiting for him.

Dinara perked her head up, titling it in a questioning way, as her eyes scanned over his face."Why do you look so bad?" She pausing a moment, thinking about it more and realized what happened, letting out a loud laugh, her head tilting back. "You got jumped. Oh this is great. By who?"

Kaz just shook his head, annoyed at the girl. "Van Eck. Wanted to show me something for a job." Dinara's head perked up at the thought of money, her and Kaz were similar that way.

"Okay. What does jurda parem do? I'm assuming it's going to be doing something with Grisha, am I right?" Kaz nodded his head, wanting to see if she could work this out. "Okay, so, how strong do they get? Assuming I am on the right track."

"One of them went through a wall." Kaz said, waiting for what he said to hit her. Dinara's eyes grew large, her mouth falling open a little bit. "Yeah, my reaction too. I had a talk with Inej, turns out Rojakke gave her some trouble. Didn't feel the need to step in?"

"Nope. She could have handled it. She did." Dinara said, wondering what the point is of this, as Kaz went to switch out his shirt. "How much money?"

Dinara's eyes scanned over his body, taking in all of the muscles and scars. She had never questioned the tattoo on his arm, the big R, knowing that it meant something to him, but allowed him to keep the secret. "Thirty-million."

"Shit. That's a lot of kruge." Kaz nodded his head, throwing on a new shirt. "How long are we going to be gone? And where are we going?"

"A few weeks, maybe a month. The Ice Palace." Dinara snapped her head up, not expecting that answer. "Yeah, I know. It's going to be a tough one, but I have a plan."

"Of course it's the damn Ice Palace, it's never easy is it? Plus, I know you have a plan and I trust it 100%." Kaz tilted his head at her words. "You have my trust, Kaz Brekker, don't make me regret it."

"I won't, you know that." When Dinara nodded her head, he went to probe her about the small things, wanting to keep her healthy. "Did you eat?"

"Kaz Brekker asking about my well-being? That's new." Kaz raised an eyebrow in response, just wanting her to answer the question. "Yes, I did eat, don't worry about me."

He nodded his head as he snapped on a new pair of gloves, happy with the response from her. His hands reached for his cane, heading towards the door, not worried about leaving Dinara in his room alone, knowing that she wouldn't cause too much trouble. "I'll be back in a few hours. Move the DeKappel we lifted from Van Eck's house to the vault. I think it's rolled up under my bed. Oh, and put in an order for a new hat."

"Say please." Dinara snarked, batting her eyelashes at the boy, wanting to get some personal pleasure before agreeing.

Kaz let out a sigh, bracing himself for the flights of stairs he has to go down, looking over his shoulder at Dinara, eyes closing for a second before looking at her. "Oh please, my darling Dinara, my biggest treasure ever, won't you be a doll and acquire me a new hat?"

Dinara cracked a smile, happy she got that out of him. She had decided that she had enough of his room, wanting to go annoy Jesper about something small. "Have a long trip down, sweetheart." She walked around Kaz ( being careful not to touch him ) as she leaped onto the banister, sliding down flights easily, leaving him in her dust.

still not over THE kaz brekker getting his ass jumped