Heartbeats In Shadow - Kaz Brekker

prologue

I've always hated Ketterdam. The dirty grime covering everything I can see, the women posing at entrances to brothels, and most of all, the smell. Saints the smell. Even though I despise it, the city provides the most protection from my father. General Kirigan. The second most powerful man in all of Ravka, whom you might better know as the Darkling, or the commander of the Second Army. My father fell in love with a heartrender centuries ago, and out popped me nine months later. I am a rarity, having two grisha powers. I can summon the darkness like my father, but I also have the abilities of a heartrender. I don't agree with many of the decisions my father makes, which is why I am escaping the confines of the Little Palace. I asked Baghra, my grandmother whom I love dearly, to help me get out of Ravka, and she obliged with a smile. I went around the fold, got on a ship, and ended up in Ketterdam.

I am wandering around the barrel aimlessly, looking for a place that looks somewhat decent for a drink. Just up ahead, there is a place that is lit on the outside and has rumbling laughter coming from inside. I knew immediately that was where I wanted to be. I made sure I had a steady grip on my bag and wandered inside. The thing I wasn't expecting was for there to be an amplifier sitting outside, testing for Grisha abilities before you could walk inside. I muttered a quick, "Shit" under my breath as I held out my arm for her to take. She widened her eyes in surprise, and yelled, "Boss, we've got one!".

My heart was pounding out of my chest. I didn't know who this woman's 'boss' was, and I really didn't want to reveal my main power quite yet. I was extraordinarily surprised when I saw a man neatly dressed in a businessman's clothes, and walking with a cane in my direction. My heart slowed slightly, but I began to feel his. It was pounding with excitement, for what I wasn't sure. He approached me, and his grey eyes looked me up and down.

"Come with me." He ordered, without a hint of emotion.

I obliged and walked with him inside the club. It was filled to the brim with strange men and women, most of whom were drunk. He lead me up a small winding stairwell into what seemed to be an office? When I spotted a beautiful picture of the fold perched on his wall, my breath hitched with the reminder of what my father did.

He startled me by asking a simple question. "Who are you and where do you come from?"

I didn't know how to respond. Do I tell him the truth? That I came from Ravka and am on the run from my father? That didn't seem like the best option, so I went with the next best one. A lie.

"I grew up here. I'm looking for a place to get some work and a decent place to stay for the time being.", I responded. I ignored the question about my name, that would come once he has my trust. I listened to his heartbeat, trying to see if he could tell if I was lying.

"Do you know who I am?", the man asked me, cocking his head to the side slightly. This question took me aback. How was I supposed to answer that?

"No, am I supposed to?" he then began to chuckle darkly, but there was no humor present in his laugh.

"If you grew up in Ketterdam, you would know who I am." Shit. What was I supposed to do now? I could lower his heart rate to knock him out, but I could hear another heartbeat waiting outside of the room, ready to burst in. That wasn't an option.

"Then enlighten me, sir." That was the only decent response I could come up with in that short of a period of time.

"I won't tell you anything about me until I know who you are. So I'll ask you again. Who are you, and where do you come from?" At that point, I knew I had no other option but to tell part of the truth.

I rapidly said, "My name is Viktoriya Safin, and I come from Ravka. I'll ask my question once more. Who are you?" I could feel his heart quicken from my response slightly, but from what I couldn't tell.

"My name is Kaz Brekker and this is the Crow Club. Welcome.", he responded with a hint of sarcasm. I thought we were done with the interrogation portion of the evening after this, but I was proven wrong.

"I'll get right to it. What kind of Grisha are you?"

"Heartrender" I responded with ease. While that wasn't the whole truth, he wouldn't know any better.

Kaz then quietly muttered, "I could use a heartrender." His voice grew and he looked towards the dark corner of the room as he asked, "Inej, what do you think?"

I was startled to see a girl emerge from the shadows, the heartbeat I heard before must have been hers. She looked me up and down, much like Kaz did when he first saw me and said, "She could be useful. She seemed surprised when she saw me. Are you sure she's a heartrender?"

I didn't even wait for a verbal response from Kaz to raise Inej's blood pressure. It produces quite the ugly headache and produces excruciating pain while I do it. I took a few steps toward her, and Kaz began to smirk as he looked at me standing over her.

"When a Grisha says what they are, It will do you well not to question them. Is that clear, Inej?" I spat out her name with disgust and waited for a response. Once she nodded her head, I released her heart and looked at Kaz, who was still smirking.

"Yes," he said, "You'll do quite nicely."

Kaz then explained how the dregs worked, where I would be staying, and my responsibilities as the dreg's heartrender. To say I was excited would be an understatement.