Heartbeats In Shadow - Kaz Brekker

planning

We were in the middle of our plan to get inside the grounds of the Little Palace, and all was going well. Inej, Jesper, Arken, and Marko were standing next to their cart, getting all their papers checked by the darklings guard. Kaz and I were standing far away from the rest of the group, both of us dressed in my father's guard uniforms. While it was risky to have me so close to people that could recognize me, we both agreed it was the best option.

Kaz noticed a disturbance under one of the performance carts, and ran to grab the man hiding beneath. I ran next to Kaz, hoping I was convincing enough in my effort to seem 'official'. I dove beneath the cart, grabbed the arm of the man, and dragged him out. He was fighting in my grip, and Kaz grabbed his other arm to assist me.

"The Sun Summoner! I just want to see her!" The man was shouting, as he managed to break out of both our holds. We ran after him, and Kaz hit him with the butt of his rifle. He collapsed to the ground. The guard who was checking the group's papers approached us.

"Alright, that's enough!" He said. More guards had approached and had formed a circle around the man, I was holding one arm and another guard whose name I did not know was holding the other.

"Do we really need the entire corps for one man?" He continued. I began to walk forward, dragging the man along with me. Kaz followed with the rest of the group.

We were inside the Little Palace. I never would have guessed we could infiltrate the most secure place in all of Ravka so easily, but we had. Kaz and I were on a 'patrol' together, walking the halls. Our real motive was to find a way to get the others out of Little Palace unnoticed. I noticed Kaz's limp had progressively been getting worse and nudged him over to rest against a wall out of sight for a moment.

"Are you alright?" I asked him.

"Yeah, I just need a minute," He began to lightly massage the place his leg was bothering him the most and was grunting in pain. He was unable to have his cane while we were in the guard's uniforms, and not having its assistance was taking a toll on him. We began to walk once more, directly towards a closed door. Kaz slowed, pulling out a card that had the blueprints on it. I took a glance at it and realized there was something that did not coincide with the map.
"Isn't there supposed to be a door here?" I asked him. He nodded silently, and we both froze as we heard footsteps approaching from the end of the hallway. I grabbed his arm, threw open the door present on the opposite wall, and dragged him in behind me. I left the door open a hair, just enough so we could see the 'door' but not be noticed.

The footsteps had come from a materalki and two servants. The materalki walked up to the wall just where the door was and began to move her hands in a manner that suggested she was using her power. I understood now, there was a Grisha lock in the door. I managed to get a peek inside the room, it was a fitting room. The only strange thing about it was the presence of two different kefta's made for the sun summoner. Each Grisha only got one kefta, and the only circumstance where it would be replaced was if it were completely destroyed. They were using a decoy.

Kaz and I managed to slip out of the palace, and outside where the festivities were being held. We climbed into a carriage and trusted that Inej, Jesper, and Arken would be joining us soon. They climbed in one by one not long after us, and we began to talk strategy.

"I'm telling you," Jesper started, "She's part Shu." This took me by surprise. Most powerful Grisha had only ever been Ravkan, but there was no reason she couldn't have been from someplace else. There were Grisha all over the world, but Ravka was the most welcoming.

"When exactly did you see her?" Kaz asked.

"Just after midday."
"What's in this room?" Inej questioned, looking at Kaz and me. I decided to answer.

"It's a fitting room. It's where she'll go to change for dinner." I neglected to voice my concerns of a decoy, realizing they wouldn't know as much about Grisha rules as I did.

"And that's where we'll grab her. Out of the way, clean lines of sight, easily controlled space. I like it," Jesper said.

"I'd like it too if it had a door." Kaz then responded, shocking the rest of the group.

"It doesn't have a door?" Inej questioned in a hurry.

"Not one that we can use," I said quietly.

"You can't open it?" Kaz asked me.

"What am I going to do? Move the shadow in the gears? No, I can't open it. Only materalki can."

"Is there no way to pick the lock?" Jesper voiced.

"Actually, there is. I can get through the door." Arken said, making all our attention directed at him.

"How?" I asked, wondering. As far as I knew, there was no way to manipulate it unless you were a materalki.

"The locking mechanisms are Fabrikator-designed. Iron cogs that slide into place without a latch. But, for one of us to open it, we'll need a lodestone. With a minimum 2,000 gauss external strength." I scoffed in disbelief.
"And where the hell are we going to get one of those before the fete?" I asked.

"Hard to find, yes.." Arken continued.

"You have one, don't you." I then said. He reached into his bag and pulled out the small stone. He handed it to Jesper.

"You don't want to keep it in your pocket for too long. Not if you're intending on having children someday," He said, chuckling, as Jesper made a horrified face, taking it and placing it in his pocket gingerly.

"All right, Arken grabs the target," Kaz said, surprising all of us.

"You want the new guy to grab the million-kruge package?" Inej asked, slightly angry.

"The new guy knows his way around Grisha locks," He countered, giving us all a pointed look. "Our futures depend on this. The rest of us will be setting up a lynx flush."
"We are?" Inej asked again. Jesper shrugged in her direction, and Arken made his confusion obvious.
"What's a lynx flush?" He asked.

"Lynx are pack hunters. Very smart. They'll clear a path for the prey." I was worried about this plan as It would make it obvious we were attempting something to my father and the rest of the Grisha.

"Ah. So, I grab the Summoner, and you clear the path?" he clarified. We all nodded.

"That's right. We do it before dinner." Kaz said. "Arken, you grab, Inej, Vik and I clear, Jesper, make sure there's a fast way out." Jesper smirked, and we all went our separate ways.