The Fox and The Crow [Kaz Brekker]

chapter 13

Italics - Sign Language

Kaz and Daemon watched from the sidelines as the troupe approached the front gate. The two were wearing guard uniforms they had stolen.

A guard pulled a man from beneath one of the carriages and they took that as their que.

"The Sun Summoner! I just want to see her!" the man screamed.

Immediately, a group of guards including Kaz and Daemon worked to apprehend him. He was pushed to the floor. Guns pointed in his face.

"All right, that's enough. Do we really need the entire corps for one man? The rest of you, post up now."

Daemon and Kaz walked right through the gates with the other guards, glancing at Jesper, Inej and the Conductor as they passed.

Daemon was confident in their plan. She and Kaz would walk the route that the Sun Summoner would take to the dinner event, looking for a point where they could safely ambush without too much attention.

Daemon noticed Kaz limping worse, which was expected since he wasn't allowed to bring his cane.

"If you need to find somewhere to rest, it's fine. I can do this alone," Daemon signed.

She only received a harsh glare in reply, though she saw it was laced with pain and discomfort. They reached the end of the hall and Kaz pulled out the small copy of the blueprints. There was supposed to be a door here, but it was just wallpaper.

"Secret door?" Daemon offered.

Kaz nodded and began tracing his fingers over the wall to find some sort of seam in the wallpaper that would indicate an opening. But it was flawless.

Daemon froze when she heard footsteps down the hall and quickly dragged Kaz to the side just behind an open door. Kaz was able to peek through the crack of the door and see how a Grisha woman was able to get through. He immediately noticed the two identical outfits on dressing mannequins.

Kaz signed to Daemon, "There will be a double. That's where we flush out Arken."

Daemon blinked in confusion, "Arken?"

"The Conductor."

Daemon nodded. She hadn't even bothered to learn the man's name, to be honest. Well, she hadn't really cared, so there was no point. All she knew was that he was suspicious. And she was just happy that someone else finally realized it.

~

The group met back in the troupe's trailer just before sundown to talk about their findings and talk about the next part of the plan. Jesper had just told them he saw Alina Starkov.

"You sure it was her?" Kaz questioned.

Jesper nodded, "I'm telling you, she's part Shu."

"When exactly did you see her?"

"Just after midday."

Inej pointed to a space on the blueprints with her pencil, "What's in this room?"

"Fitting room. It's where she'll go to change for dinner."

"And that's where we'll grab her," Arken added.

Jesper agreed, "Out of the way, clean lines of sight, easily controlled space. I like it."

Daemon clicked her tongue, "Problem with that."

"What?"

"It doesn't have a door," Kaz answered.

"It doesn't have a door?"