BOMBS AWAY ➤ kaz brekker

all is fair in death and only death

It turned out that Esther was not entirely useless to the Dregs after all.

As she had descended from the bridge with Inej, coming up on Kaz's gang, she had begun to fear that she would be able to offer nothing to them, or, even worse, she would make a fool of herself if she tried to do anything. She was good at making explosives - Wylan's knowledge of chemistry and her instinctual talent for making things burst into flame made for the perfect demo team - but in an actual fight, she doubted she'd be much good. She could use a grenade, but she would risk hurting someone she wanted to protect. And she wasn't an amazing Inferni. She could summon flames, yes, but it was barely strong enough to be considered a passable party trick. Plus, there were probably all sorts of rules that she had to follow, the law of these cutthroat killers that had sprung up with the growth of even more gangs. If Kaz kicked her out, she'd have nowhere else to go. 

But when the first shot rang out, echoing loudly, something inside her came to life. A barely restrained intuition that she knew would bring great results. Suddenly everything around her seemed to fit in to a greater understanding. She could feel the atoms of each object around her, sensing how easy or hard it would be to light it on fire. It was the beginnings of a flame, the exact moment before the fire catches hold and begins to roar to life. She knew little of Grisha power, but she knew that using it, really using it, would be the best thing in the world. And she would use it to keep herself and her allies alive.

She couldn't hear Kaz's conversation, but she heard the groans of someone in horrible pain. She ran her eyes along the rooftop, where the shot had come from. In the darkness, she thought she could just make out a huddling shape - someone poised to pounce from above. And judging from the way that she could pick the figure out among the shadows, they weren't Inej. They weren't holding a gun either, judging from the way they held themselves - like a tiger, ready to prey upon something much smaller and weaker than itself. There was no doubt about it. An assassin had joined the fray.

Peering around the arch, she looked onto the scene unfolding. Big Bolliger lay groaning on the ground, and Jesper knelt beside him. Kaz stood there with his cane against the ground, impervious as ever. The man standing across from him looked nervous. His eyes kept flitting up to the rooftops. Kaz said something to the man, causing him to fidget anxiously. Jesper cried out for help and Kaz must have denied him quickly, because a look of confusion flashed across the sharpshooter's face. 

Then, Esther saw the flash of a knife from above, silver in the dying light of the moon.

She watched as the pale blade drew back, aimed to kill. And whoever was attacking was targeting Kaz tonight. 

I need to get up there, she thought. But how? Well, she wasn't Inej, but she could definitely climb. She'd spent much of the days after Kaz and Jordie left their farm up among the trees, hiding from her sister. And the wall to the left was conveniently lined with windows. It would be a stretch, but she could potentially climb up using the windowsills. But would it even be worth it? The assassin could have Kaz killed in the blink of an eye. Yet they made no move. Esther thought the figure seemed more tense. Whatever the cause of it was, they were completely still. If she didn't get up there fast, she would miss her time frame, and then it would be all over for Kaz.

Ignoring the looks of the other Dregs members stationed outside, she darted past them towards the building. Up close, she could see how far apart the windowsills were. They jutted out enough for her to stand on, if she stayed on her toes and pressed against the wall, but there was more distance than she had thought there was from her previous angle. No matter. She tried to remember how beautiful it had been, high above the world, hidden by emerald green leaves, giggling nervously when she thought of her sister's angry face. She tried to channel her childish fearlessness, and began to climb.