It's Only a Matter of Time

Chapter 11

A/N: Sorry for not posting for a long time. I've been really busy with end-of-year testing at school.
Enjoy this chapter and don't forget to tell me what you think!

With Kaz, you never knew.

-----------------------------------------

The next morning, Inej decided she should tell Nina everything. Her best friend deserved to know.

Though it had taken a while to trust her at first, Inej now knew that anything she told Nina would stay secret, as long as she asked.

Unfortunately, finding Nina now was almost as hard as trusting her with the full story back then. While Nina would not be found dead without her cell phone, Inej herself did not own one. She'd never really found the reason to, and they were awful expensive. So even if she had wanted one, she wouldn't be able to afford it.

Nina had suggested buying one for Inej, but the brown-skinned girl had pushed away her suggestion. She insisted that Nina keep her money, and that she'd find her way around some way or another. She had lived in this city for most of her life. Inej wouldn't need a phone to find her way around now.

———————-

But now, Inej kind of regretted not having a phone. She still would have refused Nina's offer if her friend offered to buy her one, but she might have gotten one if she'd had the chance. And the money.

Because right now, Inej was alone on the streets and her best friend - who she was trying to find - was probably far away.

At least it wasn't dark out. When the sun shone, people were less likely to do bad things.

But it was no use just standing here and reflecting on the past. Inej started her way, intent on checking every spot Nina frequented.

As she wandered through town, Inej caught herself looking at the wares displayed in the windows of various stores. It had been a while since she'd bought anything new, and the colorful assortment of clothing displayed in the windows of clothing stores drew her gaze.

But the pull grew much stronger when Inej shifted her gaze to the weapons store. Inside, everything gleamed and shined in the colors of well-crafted metal.

A pair of matching black-and-bronze daggers in the display caught her gaze. The looked small enough that Inej would be able to hold them easily, and tuck them into her clothing without anybody noticing. They looked perfect.

——————-

Inej hadn't always been drawn to weapons, let alone daggers. When she had been smaller, she'd feared how easily you could sneak them in, how sharp they were and how easy it was to end someone's life with them.

But then, something had changed. Inej didn't remember exactly what it was, but it had changed her view of weapons in all. She'd fallen in love with how daggers fit in her hand, how easily it was to swing her arm and let them fly. Inej had used them back home, throwing with deadly accuracy at the clay pots her father left out for her to practice.

Six dark eyes had watched. Four dark eyes approved. Her mother had never found the magic that drew Inej to love throwing daggers. Her father couldn't find it either, but saw the gleam in Inej's eyes and supported her.

The last pair of eyes, darker than the first two had met Inej's enthusiasm with their own. He'd preferred other weapons, duller and yet as accurate as Inej's.

He wielded lockpicks, slender and thin, and no door could stop him. Inej's father had said that when they grew up, they'd be a fearsome team.

And Inej had grown up, but far from fearsome. She knew only a single fact about the friend she'd left behind, about how he'd fared, and she didn't like thinking about it. After all, disease is a fearsome thing, firepox most of all.

————————

Inej stood there for a minute, in the sun, looking up at the gleaming daggers and remembering things that were as painful as if one of those daggers had stabbed her. Then, Inej forced herself to look away and keep walking.

All this time, while Inej had been lost in her thoughts, a pair of eyes watched her from a nearby window. They were dark, so dark they almost looked black, and if Inej had been able to see them, she would have sworn they matched the eyes of the boy from her memories.