The FlameKeeper - Kaz Brekker

CH.15 - the Sukaza problem

(GIF ISN'T MINE, CREDITS TO THE MAKER!)

~~~

'Kaz,' Sabo whispered as they sat down against the wall they were hiding behind. 'What kind of plan did you make with Helvar?'

'He's going to betray Brum,' Kaz whispered back.

'Matthias will never betray his mentor, Kaz.' she replied as she spoke with a carefully controlled tone. 'We need to get Nina out before they use parem on her.'

'How do you know that Brum was his mentor?' Kaz asked as his posture stiffened suddenly.

Sabo narrowed her eyes at him. 'How did you?'

'Matthias told me,' Kaz replied. 'But that wasn't an answer to my question.'

'Brum's the highest drüskelle there is, Kaz. He is everyone's mentor. '

'She's beautiful,' Brum said as he observed Nina behind the glass. 'In an exaggerated way, you were strong not to be lured by this one.' he said as he remembered the last Grisha Matthias had been engaged to. Brum glanced back at Nina's cell. 'We could press the button right now.'

'Won't she be a threat?' Matthias asked as he walked away from the door and faced his former mentor.

'We combined the parem with a sedative that makes them more biddable.' Brum said as he laid a hand on Matthias' shoulder. 'I can scarcely believe you're really here, alive, standing before me. I thought you were dead.'

'I thought you were dead.' Matthias breathed.

'That's all over now, Matthias. You are finally safe and among your own kind.'

His own kind, Sabo thought hatefully. If Matthias hurt Nina, she would kill his kind, all of them.

Brum frowned at Matthias. 'Something is troubling you.'

Matthias looked at Nina's cell before his eyes landed on the other cells that were further down the hall. 'You can't have known about the parem for more than a month, how long has this facility been here?'

Finally, Sabo thought. Matthias was asking the right questions.

'We built this place six years ago with the blessing of the king and his council.' Brum replied as he leaned against Nina's door.

'Six years? Why?' Matthias asked confused.

'Remember when you were conned by that monster?'

Matthias looked away from his former mentor, and a flash of shame crossed his features. 'Yes.' he breathed.

'That's why. If even a strong drüskelle like you could be conned, everyone can. We needed to figure them out, to see what makes the Grisha tick,' Brum said. 'We discovered long ago that Grisha can be a useful resource. She was.' Brum said before he looked at the other Grisha in their cells. 'Besides, we needed somewhere to put the Grisha after the trails.'

'After? When Grisha are found guilty, they're sentenced to death.' Matthias frowned.

Sabo warmed up the floor slightly with her abilities, mapping the sector fully for her plan.

Brum shrugged. 'It is still a death sentence, just one a little longer in the making.'

'What did you do to her?' Matthias asked, referring to his former fiance. 'After her sentencing?'

Brum smiled. 'We did everything we wanted, and then a little bit more. She was a good resource, Matthias. It is a shame that she was killed so early. She could've been the answer to the Sukaza problem.'