Shedding The Armour | A Kanej Fanfiction

chapter four - merciful

Now that the initial wave of panic had subdued, Kaz was able to think more clearly. Pretending to listen intently, Kaz concocted another plan to break free and find Inej. There was no way he was going to go along with the guy no matter what he said: most of the barrel gangs didn't have a sense of honour or morals, in any sense. As soon as he would do what he wanted him to do, Kaz and Inej would probably be killed off and that wasn't an option, even if the Barrel was likely better off without him.

That chipped-tooth bastard was still moving his mouth and Kaz realised with a startle that he hadn't been listening to anything the man was saying. It didn't matter anyway because Kaz wasn't going to do it.

Kaz interrupted him. Schooling his usually icy features into an beautifully innocent and angelic demeanor, Kaz sweetly asked, "Can you fetch me a glass of water?"

For a millisecond, the guy seemed to believe him as he began to turn his back to Kaz. A big mistake. And he seemed to realise it too. He swiftly turned around.

Smiling his toothy grin, he said, "You can't think I'm that stupid. You know that I'm not that foolish to believe a word that comes out of your filthy, lying mouth." For minutes after that, he kept talking and taunting Kaz, thinking he had won because he had thwarted his escape plans.

Kaz waited and waited and waited.

Just for the right moment.

The right time.

When the man momentarily stopped talking to take a much needed breath, Kaz wasn't surprised. However, he was surprised by the fact the man hadn't died from the lack of oxygen to his brain. But, this was the perfect point to shock the guy. Kaz, finally free of the rope, flew at him.

By asking him for water as an obvious ruse for escaping, his kidnapper had lowered his guard, thinking Kaz wouldn't be idiotic enough to try something funny again so soon after. Finding the sharp pins, he used for lockpicking that also doubled up as tiny weapons, in the lining of the blazer's arm, he sawed through - remarkably quickly he thought, considering his arms were bound - the rope that held his wrists together. The man's loud voice had covered up the sounds of the resistance the lockpicks met against the binding.

All the anger that had been boiling up underneath the surface, unleashed. Kaz didn't hold back, not after the horrific things he had said about Inej.

His fists clenched and his knuckles went white. He didn't care for whatever shred of humanity was left inside him after his brother's death; he just let the monster within take control. The man didn't have a chance to even fight back as Kaz beat him bloody. One hit had his nose broken and bleeding, one punch in the stomach had him doubling over, and a quick swipe of his legs had him on the floor.

A few more strikes and he was barely able to move. After quickly assessing whether the man would be able to move, Kaz retrieved his cane that was against the table upon which the pitchers were placed.

Already Kaz's leg stopped hurting as bad in thanks for the support. He drew one of his hidden blades and held it over the man, ready to plunge it into his heart. The man closed his eyes which made Kaz hesitate. Suddenly, he whispered, "Please don't kill me. Who will take care of my wife and our precious baby. Please have mercy on me and my family."

Kaz's hand wavered above the man. He thought back to Inej and her Suli proverbs that she threw at him daily, it was almost a routine for them now. One especially, sprung to his mind, one she said a few days ago. be merciful for they are blessed, as our ancestors welcome us in the next world . This made him reluctant to kill the man: he could at least try to be somewhat good even if he didn't believe. Kaz held out a hand to help him up and quietly said, "Get up. Be grateful that I decided to spare you today, Mr.--" His eyebrows raised in question.

"Luca Romanoff." he gruffly replied.

"Mr. Romanoff, be extremely grateful that i have let you go today. Don't squander this chance; turn over a new leaf and be an honest man for your family." Kaz turned away at this. He began to walk away before he heard the quiet, high pitched squeal of a blade being drawn. He swiftly turned around, only to get stabbed with the dagger in his left shoulder. Luca twisted it further and further and Kaz suppressed the screams that were threatening to rip from his throat. As Kaz had noted before, this man had a death wish.

"Bastard." Kaz hissed as bright red blood stained his blazer. Starting to feel the blood loss, he dropped the hand that was holding his cane and now using the hand that was free, he drew his hidden knife and gutted him. "Its a pity really, I was hoping to keep this blade clean for at least another day."

He harshly twisted it for a few moments and after hearing his shrieks of pain, he yanked it out and stared at the blade. "I made the wrong decision of thinking you would make the choice to be a better guy. But now, your family will wonder where you are when you don't come home tonight. You made a huge mistake by betraying me and now your paying for it."

Leaving him to die curled up on the floor, Kaz picked up his cane and tried not to look injured as he staggered through the streets, with only one destination and goal in mind: Inej.

Thanks for reading this chapter 🙂. I honestly can't believe that I've surpassed the 50 reads mark. I'm so grateful to all of you guys. If you liked the chapter please vote, it would help my story get seen more. If you have any ideas that I can try to incorporate into the storyline or any characters you want to appear in the coming chapters (like Jesper, Nina etc), please comment. I would welcome any suggestions.

~saachiherondalexx