LEGENDS

ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴄᴇɴᴛ ᴏꜰ ᴋʀᴜɢᴇ

CHAPTER TWO

KETTERDAM HAD A WAY OF rotting at someone's mind from the moment they stepped onto the docks. It could've been the stench of the air, the haze of flashing lights near the clubs and gambling dens, or it could've simply been the people available for company. It didn't really matter, Kirsi guessed. No matter which option pulled you down, if you stepped foot into the city, you belonged to it- and that meant drowning in a sea of sins.

Despite this, Kirsi couldn't help but think of Ketterdam as a sanctuary. Before they had stepped into the crime-ridden city, Kirsi and Thea had only experienced the downside of a war-torn homeland. They were used to the sins of man flourishing around them- but now they had somewhere safer. Not safe by any means, but safer. Ketterdam was like a dam; the crime was controlled and kept under watch by the law.

Still, this didn't mean that the rot hadn't pulled at Kirsi's own mind. On the contrary, she would've bet heavy kruge that she'd become one of the worst in the city's limits. She was a member of the Dregs, one of the most notorious gangs in Ketterdam in recent years. Not only this, but she was a member of the Crows, a subset of the Dregs which housed some of the greediest, most ruthless children the Barrell could breed. She'd cheated, she'd lied, and she'd stole. She'd bribed men and she'd murdered them.

Yes, Kirsi was willing to bet that Ketterdam had stripped her of her soul and spat her back out as the abomination she was, which is why this new job bothered her enough to set her teeth on edge. She hadn't left Ketterdam since she'd arrived ten years previous. The city owned her, and she felt a strange sense of anxiety when she thought about leaving its hot, dank streets behind.

"Everyone we've talked to denies any knowledge of safe passage through the Fold." Kaz sported his natural frown, as usual.

"Maybe it's because- oh, I don't know- there isn't a such thing?" Kirsi deadpanned, picking off a piece of lemon loaf and popping it into her mouth. "Just a thought."

Kaz side-eyed the girl and was quick to ignore her unhelpful remarks. If he hadn't been Kaz 'Dirtyhands' Brekker and she hadn't been Kirsi 'The Pain In Dirtyhand's Ass' Kastellanos (trademark pending, of course) he would've thought her sarcasm was amusing. He certainly enjoyed watching rival gang members becoming flustered during conversations with the girl. But maybe it was just because then, someone besides himself could see how difficult she was to deal with.

"What about Drakos? Do you think he'd have a way, or know of someone who would?"

Kirsi flashed Kaz a deadly, very annoyed glance. It had been weeks since she'd talked to the smuggler who'd managed to get both her and Thea out of Kespa when they were children. She was still mad at him for a card game gone wrong. She'd caught him cheating, but it had been too late, and she'd lost over two hundred and fifty kruge to the man.

How do you lose this often, Jesper?, she'd questioned.

With a lot of patience and optimism, of course, had been his answer.

Unfortunately, patience and optimism had been two things that Kaz had quickly realized Kirsi lacked greatly. This would be a problem, if they were going to get that million kruge.

"I'm not talking to that bastard." She growled, crossing her arms over her chest. "Not until I get my two hundred and fifty kruge back."