A Coin Has Two Sides || Kaz Brekker x OC

8. A Deal with the Devil

Once Winnie had finished her explanation to Kaz Brekker, she looked desperately at him. Analysing every little flinch, blink, breath, just to see what he was thinking.

Of course, Winnie was not an oversharer.

She had left out all the parts about her fathers' sins towards her and the traumas of her past and filled Kaz in with the absolute barest minimum she could.

That she was the missing Grisha, a shadow summoner, daughter to the Black Heretic and in need of protection in Ketterdam to stay off his radar.

Kaz spent the next minute or so thinking to himself. What Winnie would've given to hear his inner dialogue out loud.

Eventually, Kaz turned to her and asked, "What exactly do you have to offer me in return?"

Shit.

He had got her there.

You absolute idiot. You came to negotiate for two extremely important things and forgot to bring anything to bargain with.

Winnie blamed it on the stress of her recent escape job as well as the new dangerous environment she was thrown into.

Kaz seemed to understand what she was thinking as he smirked before standing from his seat.

"You see, a runaway from the Little Palace. New to Ketterdam. I am almost willing to bet my entire Crow Club that you have absolutely nothing worth the value of the things you are requesting from me."

He paced around the desk towards Winnie who was lost in frantic thought.

"I will admit, it takes a lot to spike my curiosity Miss Marth. You succeeded in that way. Now, if you don't mind, I have other business to attend to."

But just as he was about to open the door to leave Winnie responded with an answer that a past version of herself would slaughter her for.

"My abilities."

Kaz stopped dead at the door.

"Interesting", he whispered before turning to face her once more.

"My abilities as a shadow summoner. They will be at your disposal. If you give me what I asked for."

"And what makes you think your Grisha abilities will be enough?"

"I am one in a rare bloodline of Grisha. I have been trained since an early age to develop my ability making me extremely powerful. Not to mention, useful", Winnie negotiated.

"I hesitate to point out having you use your ability will spread the word of your location to everyone in Ketterdam and it won't be long until it reaches the very person you are hiding from. Seems a bit foolish", Kaz negotiated back.

This is what Kaz loved about deals. Sure, it was a verbal agreement, but it could just as well be two people sword fighting on a battlefield. Each one trying to outwit the other. But there will always be a winner, and Kaz would be damned if it wasn't him.

"Well, that all depends on your side of the deal, Mr Brekker", Winnie took a step in his direction. "If you really are as powerful as they say then I should be able to use my abilities to your liking whilst remaining safe under your protection. The perfect deal."

Shit. She's smart. Kaz thought to himself.

"And what about the watch? You are only offering me one thing; I see no deal surrounding the first request."

Winnie took a couple of steps back from Kaz. She briefly considered forgetting the watch. There was only a small chance she would ever run into Gerik and Demius again. There were excuses she could use if she ever did. Her safety was her first priority.

Instead of her logical reasoning, she found herself saying, "Your protection."

Kaz simply responded by raising an eyebrow.

"From me", she added.

Kaz Brekker never laughed. He would rather cut out his own tongue than show someone they had amused him, especially a smart-ass girl from the Little Palace who was already besting him at his own game.

But in this instance, he found her threat so empty he let out a short, sharp cackle.

Winnie didn't flinch at his reaction and held the deathly serious expression on her face firm.

"Was that an attempt to threaten me, Miss Marth?" Kaz finally responded and walked around her side back to his desk.

"No. Not a threat. A deal. You won't have to worry about me harming you in exchange for your watch."

"And what has possibly compelled you to believe that is a fair deal? I am one of the most powerful men in Ketterdam. Even if you ever managed to kill me, you'd be a dead woman."

"Was that an attempt to threaten me, Mr Brekker?" Winnie responded playfully.

Kaz simply scoffed and turned away from the girl who was pulling at his nerves more than anyone had in a very long time.

"Believe me when I say if I wanted you dead, you'd be dead. This deal guarantees your safety. If you ask me, it's an easy one to accept, considering it's in exchange for a measly pocket watch", Winnie continued.

"Oh really?" Kaz sneered. "Prove it."

Winnie froze momentarily. She had promised herself to never use her abilities. Only in an emergency. But this could be considered an emergency, right? Her protection was on the line.

In an instant, she summoned the shadows as they crept their way up towards the Bastard of the Barrel and flung him against the wall, choking him.

Winnie stood there, waiting to see the look in his eyes tell her he's had enough.

But Kaz was a stubborn man, even if it meant his death, he isn't willing to give into a deal with the likes of this girl where she came out on top.

But he wasn't ready to die. Not whilst Pekka Rollins still roamed free. So, he gave in and looked at the blonde girl to signal her to stop.

However, to his surprise she looked at him with a sinister expression. Her eyes were not the same as they were before. There was a darkness to them that Kaz could recognise in an instant. A gaze of evil.

Before he took his final breath, Winnie snapped out of her trance and dropped him.

When she did, she heard a faint whisper from a voice eerily similar to her fathers.

Good girl.

"The pocket watch", Kaz said whilst getting his breath back. "Why does it hold value to you?"

"That doesn't concern you", Winnie spit back.

Kaz stood there in disbelief, but with his business personality taking the lead, no one could ever tell.

How was this little Ravkan girl forcing him to show his hand? How has a girl who has never engaged in business before beaten him?

It was with these questions that he realized something.

He would rather have her with him than against him.

And with that, he held out his hand.

"The deal is the deal", he stated.

Winnie reached over and shook his hand creating a bond between the two equals who had no idea what lay in store for them.

She had entered the battlefield with the devil, and she had won.

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Ok so I know this entire chapter is just one scene but like COME ON. The tension? Hello? They have so much room for growth lol. I hope you liked it. I think I'll write some chapters like this, but it will be a rare occurrence because I have to keep the story moving along.