χαρμολύπη | K. Brekker

one

The rain was especially harsh that night.

The night Cecenia Brudev gave her soul to Kaz Brekker.

The rain whipped against the windows, drowning out the sound around her as she sat on a chair in front of the large desk. Said desk was cluttered with papers and a few trinkets, much less organized than Cecenia would've pinned Brekker as. The smell of the Crow Club was one that radiated comfort in Cecenia's senses, filling them with the smell of warm drinks and and light sound of laughter. The laughter was provided by Jesper Fahey, Kaz's infamous sharpshooter whom she had met only moments prior. He was charismatic to say the least.

Cecenia was uncomfortable with the circumstances in which she was introduced to the Crow Club, but there was no way of telling by the stoic expression which she had put on as soon as Dirtyhands had stopped her in the street. She was currently supposed to be on a job, one in which would pay for at least a weeks worth of food. Sitting where she was now, she knew that there was no way that job was getting finished tonight.

"You're what I like to call, the Barrel's Shadow, dear Cecenia." Brekker started, the "shadow" just raising an eyebrow slightly. She had heard many nicknames in her four months of living in the barrel, and she had to say that Shadow was by far the most flattering. It was first muttered by a merchant whom Cecenia didn't recall the name of, and by the time it had reached the streets, it was all she was known as.

The name Cecenia Brudev was thrown away by those who payed for her services, Shadow taking over her senses. Glazing over her mind as she made an effort to forget who she was before.

"It's a common name now." She replied calmly, her tone matching Kaz's almost too well. He examined her, his harsh, cold eyes memorizing her.

"Id like to offer you a job, Shadow." He stated, catching the girl off guard. Her face didn't express this, but Kaz could tell by the way her pupils dilated slightly that she was not expecting the words to leave his mouth. In all honesty, he hadn't either. He knew she would be a good investment, the finest one he may ever make, but he hadn't planned to offer it to her just yet. Something about her calm aurora seemed to confirm his decision for him. She would be quick and silent, blending in with the shadows that seemed to watch over her with a protective blanket at all times.

"Why?" Cecenia asked, curiosity getting the best of her as she stared at the man sitting across from her. He couldn't have been more than a year or two older than the nearly sixteen year old girl, but the way his calculating eyes seemed to peer into her soul, she would've assumed him older.

"You'd be a good investment. Someone I know I could trust to get the job done quietly and quickly." Kaz Brekker used the term trust lightly in these circumstances, that Cecenia knew easily. She couldnt help but feel slightly flattered at his words though. Her mind ignored the first part easily, repeating the second in her mind multiple times.

"I barely know what I'm even doing, Brekker." She admitted, quirking her right brow up as his face morphed into what Cecenia would call a smirk.

"I know. You're a natural."

With that, the decision was final. Kaz had found his final permanent crow for the mean time, and Cecenia had finally found what was as close to a home as you could get in Ketterdam.