The Phoenix and the Crow

A Flicker of Amazement

The gunshots didn't let up as grunts were barely heard from the hall. "It's over, Brekker!" Pekka shouted over the gunfire. Kaz pulled out two small bombs from his pocket and a lighter. He tried to start the lighter but no flicker of fire came from it. He cursed under his breath before Y/N scoffed, "Oh, hand it over." She pulled the bombs from his hands, snapped her fingers, and lit the fuses before throwing them over to the other side of the desk. Kaz stared at her as she brought her hands over her ears. His eyes were calculating as if trying to solve the puzzle that was her. A flicker of amazement flashed through his eyes but vanished as quickly as it appeared.
Y/N quickly shoved her thoughts away, "Ears!" She shouted at him and he quickly covered his ears right before the bombs went off.
Y/N sighed out loud as she cleaned up the soiled rags and dumped the blood-infested water down the drain. "It's a miracle she's alive." She said, dragging herself out of her own thoughts of the moment just hours before.
Nina scoffed, "I'm no healer, but she would've been fine." The inferni nodded, "Probably... I just don't do blood." The heartrender rolled her eyes, "How you were a lieutenant-general of the second army, I don't know."
"Even I'd like to know how I got the position." Her eyes glazed over as a memory of the Darkling flittered through her mind, "You know, never mind. I don't want to know." The reminder of his dark eyes scanning over her made a chill run down her spine.
Nina watched her with saddened eyes, knowing vaguely about the girl's past from hushed whispers and rumors that spread like a wildfire through the little palace. It was a known fact that the General had a soft spot for the inferni since the moment he brought her in. Where she came from, no one knew. Everyone knew better than to prie into her business given her relationship with the Darkling. Were they a couple? It was never confirmed, but it was suggested strongly through actions.
Muffled voices snapped the two out of their separate trains of thought.
"We should go update them on Inej." Nina shot her a smile as she walked out of the room.
Y/N pulled herself out of her chair and followed, down a winding hall to the room where the muffled voices were heard.
"You don't take down a lion by cutting off his tail." Kaz's grave voice spoke harshly.
"I'm sorry, you've been on safari when? We're putting out lives on the line." The resentment in Jesper's tone was as clear as the night sky outside the tomb windows.
"I thought you preferred it that way."
The two grisha shared a look before making their presence known. Wylan was the first to turn toward them, "Is Inej going to be okay?"
Nina ran her hands over the waist of her dress as she spoke, "Um... I wouldn't call myself the most proficient Healer, but she'll not be a permanent resident here."
"Not yet anyway." Jesper threw a glare at Kaz.
"Technically, no one gets buried here anymore. When the firepox plague hit years ago, so many people died that the crematoriums all got backed up, so they had to float all the dead bodies in the harbor." Wylan said.
As the young chemist spoke Y/N noticed Brekker tense up at the mention of the plague. His shoulders stiffened and his hands clenched, causing the leather around his knuckled to tighten around his fists.
"That's enough!"
The four people behind him froze in mild shock and slight fear. The sound of shuffling papers was heard before he turned around, handing the papers to Jesper.
The sharpshooter's eyes glanced down quickly, "Appelbroek?"
"Pekka has a glass factory there, but there are no sandpits in Appelbroek. So cartage fees would kill all of his profits. Find out what he's really up to." Kaz turned to Wylan, "If you want to help, instead of spurting useless historical facts, go with Jesper."
The pair was quick to leave the room, closing the door behind them.
All who were left were Nina, Y/N, and Kaz. Silence settled for a moment before the Heartrender spoke up. "Not that you asked, but you might want to consider grounding your Wraith for now. I always wanted to be a Healer, but that doesn't mean that I'm any good."
Kaz cut her off, "If I need you again, I'll let you know."
If glares could kill, he would be six feet under, two times over. Y/N and Nina shared an infuriated look, neither moving to make their leave.
"All the guards who work the fights at Hellgate are loyal to Pekka and on his payroll. All but one."
"The fights?" Y/N's voice surprised her as she gave voice to her thoughts.
"Hellshow. It's exactly as you'd imagine. Find a guard names Hiemstra. He has a port-wine stain across his brow. He'll get a message to your Fjerdan."
"Can we trust him?" Nina asked.
"We can trust he doesn't want Pekka to know what I have on him."
Nina nodded slightly and moved to the door as Kaz spoke up once again. "What you did tonight made you a Crow." He turned to Y/N, "You as well. Keep a low profile. You'll both be in Pekka's sights now."
The girls shared an annoyed glance before the brunette made her leave.
Y/N stood silently by the other door watching Kaz sort through a few more papers as he zoned out on the wall in front of him. "Inej." He looked up at met y/e/c eyes with a fire behind them.
"Down the hall." Y/N nodded to the door behind her and held her breath as he limped past her.
~
"What's yours?"
Y/N barely heard Inej's voice as she walked down the hall quietly.
"The limp. The cane." Kaz's voice sounded strained as if it hurt him physically to speak.
Her stomach turned involuntarily as she watched them from the doorway.  Kaz stared at her as she brought her hands over her ears. His eyes calculating as if trying to solve the puzzle that was her. A flicker of amazement flashed through his eyes but vanished as quickly as it appeared. She felt her heart clench at the memory, her mind still trying to find the reasoning behind it.
It was simply amazement. Kaz had never worked closely with a grisha, let alone the most powerful grisha in their class. She'd learned at an early age that some people get amazed at the slightest sign of power. And she picked up quickly that Kaz Brekker was one of those people. Even if he held his composition together.
If the look on his face was simply amazement, why did she replay that moment in her mind more than she'd like to admit?
Dragging herself out of her spiraling thoughts, she cleared her throat. Dirtyhands and the Wraith moved apart and turned to her. Kaz stared at her for a moment, the familiar flash of amazement flew through his coffee-brown eyes before they turned to stone once again.
"What's the safest way from here back to the Slat?" Kaz asked. The grip on his cane was tight, making the leather gloves flex with his hand.
"Rozenstraat onto Buysberg. Why?" Inej answered, her voice tense.
"We need some new blood." Kaz limped heavily towards the door and glanced one last time at Y/N before disappearing down the hallway.
Y/n turned to Inej with a small teasing smile causing the suli girl to look down and hold her bleeding arm. "It's not what you think."
Y/N calmed her beating heart and internally sighed, "Believe me." She huffed as she walked into the room to get a better look at her wounded arm. "'Cause I was just thinking that he's shit at first aid." She picked up a clean rag and poured the disinfecting alcohol onto the fabric. "You might need a hand with this before I accompany Nina to the Hellshow." She winked at the Wraith and they both chuckled. She started cleaning the cut along her forearm making Inej gasp at the stinging.
Y/N bit back her smile in sympathy and shook her head slightly, "I'm sorry."
~
"Well, isn't this fun?" Y/N wrinkled her nose in utter disgust as they walked through the stands of the area inside Hellgate. Nina shot her a sharp glare causing the inferni to raise her hands slightly above her waist in surrender, "Right, sorry."
The slow cranking of metal against metal echoed in the arena over all the shouts and loud conversations from the crowds. The two grisha women walked closer to the metal cage, Nina grasped the thick bars between her hands tightly, as if willing the metal to bend at her will. They both watched as a tall man walked out from under the gate.
"Matthias." Nina's voice was barely heard over the cheering around them.
The two men in the ring stood there for a moment before the one with 'cannibal' written on his back lunge first. A strong punch to the Fjerdan's jaw caused his head to snap to the side, and with no time to recover another blow was aimed at his stomach.
After taking a few more hits, resulting in the Heartrender flinching at every grunt, the Fjerdan finally snapped. He threw a jaw-snapping punch at the smaller man, spun around, and threw his elbow back landing on the man's collarbone. The latter fell to the floor giving Matthias an opening to continue his attack. He picked up a leg and dragged the man on his back before crushing his leg in his grasp.
The roar of the crowd grew loud enough to leave the inferni's ears ringing. Nina called out to Matthias as she moved along the ring's metal cage. Y/N followed her keeping a cautious eye on their surroundings, not placing a single valchka coin's worth of trust in the people around them. Her cautions played out to be right when arms circled around her holding her arms apart. Nina struggled against the tight grips, shouting at the guards to let them go.
"Rare thing, Heartrender, to know a new fighter by name." The heavy accent from the Wanderling Isle made Y/N turn around in shock. Pekka Rollins stood before both women, still struggling in the grips of their captors. "Hellgate's a rough spot for a Fjerdan to make friends. A good woman would do all that she could to see her man free."
The two grisha shared a look before Nina turned back to Pekka and asked with a strained voice, "What's your price?"
He leaned closer to the Heartrender, "Bring me Kaz Brekker or I'll see to it that your Fjerdan's next fight is to the death."