Kaz had wound up at Councilman Hoede's house.
He knew that was where he was before they even entered the estate.
The reason for that knowledge was because Hoede's estate had been bordered off and placed under quarantine. Stadwatch guards constantly placed on watch there.
There were rumours that it had come as a result of a firepox outbreak, which is why Kaz's skin crawled when they walked up to the entrance.
Without Inej, there was no way to know if those rumours were true.
However, Kaz found out for himself that the quarantine was no result of firepox.
It was something very different, and just as unsettling.
At the dimly lit boathouse belonging to Councilman Hoede was the truth.
Inside stood a group of guards. Some wore the recognisable purple uniforms of the stadwatch, others the green livery of the Hoede house.
A variety of different men, but they all had one thing in common.
They were stood as still as statues.
Each one had their arms dangling loosely to their sides, faces blank, eyes forwards as they gazed into empty space.
When the light was turned on, it was revealed that one of the men was dead. A corpse lying in the middle of the room for some time.
All Van Eck had done was say, "We've lost another one", and commanded the guards to remove the body.
At that point, Kaz had recognised one of the statuesque men to be Henrik Dahlman who was the captain of the stadwatch.
Approaching him, Kaz had waved a hand across his face and received no reaction from the captain. Not even a blink.
It was then Kaz drew his pistol, aiming it directly at the man's forehead. Even cocking the hammer procured absolutely no reaction from the captain.
Van Eck had told Kaz that he was more than welcome to shoot him. To blow his brains out. For he would receive no protest from Dahlman, and no reaction from the other guards in the room.
"He's as good as dead", the merchant had explained.
A chill had settled deep in Kaz's bones when he lowered his weapon, before asking just what on earth had happened to them to make them that way.
Apparently, the Healer had consumed the drug and managed to subdue and control each of the guards in the room.
"That's not possible", Kaz had said.
"Isn't it? The brain is just one more organ, a cluster of cells and impulses. Why shouldn't a Grisha under the influence of jurda parem be able to manipulate those impulses?" Van Eck had replied.
Kaz thought of Nina.
The Heartrender under his charge.
It was one thing for a Healer to be able to do things like this, but Heartrenders were in control of far more deadly abilities.
The full brevity of the situation struck him in that moment.
Kaz had never been fearful of a Heartrender before.
Cautious, certainly. But never fearful.
He had only ever been genuinely afraid of one type of Grisha before.
If he was here, scared about what a Heartrender could do ... what on earth did that mean for Winnie?
What might others think of her?
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A Coin Has Two Sides (Season Three) || Kaz Brekker x OC
Fanfiction⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆ Every coin has two sides. The same can be said for people. ⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆ Her name is Wysteria Kirigan. A rare type of Grisha. A shadow summoner. The battle between her wants and her needs seemingly came to an end when she elected to stay in...
