Demigods & Shadows

Chapter Two

Good morning! Wake up, it's a wonderful day..." Jesper trails off as Anna sits up and glares at him. "And you look ready to kill me for waking you up. Coffee?" He holds out a mug and Anna takes it from him, not bothering to wait for it to cool down before taking a sip.

Anna is still convinced that she somehow entered another world and today she is hoping to prove her theory right. Yesterday there was no sign of electronics or cars which was Anna's biggest clue.

She is also pretty sure that this Jesper fellow is an ok person. He hasn't tried to stab or shoot her yet which puts him in her I Can Tolerate Them book.

"I talked to my friend earlier and he wants to talk to you shortly."

"Ok. Thanks for the coffee." Anna mumbles before downing the rest of it and handing the mug back to Jesper.

She follows Jesper out the door and down the back stairs to the front of the building. The crow sign is much clearer in the morning light and there is writing above the crow that Anna doesn't even try translating from the jumble of letters she sees.

Damn dyslexia. Looks like I'll just have to wing my way through anything that I need to read.

Anna is lead through the front doors and she notices that there are very few guests in the establishment this morning, mostly workers cleaning up the mess from last night.

"Welcome to the Crow Club. Ketterdam's finest gambling establishment." Jesper proudly shows off the inside. He walks up to the bartender and calls her over.

"Still got anything good left?" He asks.

"Boss told me you're cut off till Saturday. Sorry not sorry." She smirks at him then turns back to washing glasses.

"Damn it Kaz." Jesper mumbles before leading Anna to the back of the club to a set of stairs partially hidden from the rest of the area. "Wait here for a sec. I need to speak to Kaz quickly." Jesper disappears up the stairs and Anna waits for him to come back.

Soon she hears footsteps coming back down the stairs. "He'll see you now. Follow me."

She follows Jesper up the stairs and into a room. There is a boy about her age with dark hair and piercing eyes. His gloved hands grip the top of a cane with a crow's head carved into the handle. He motions for Anna to take a seat and she does, never breaking eye contact.

Anna slowly lets the shadows trace down her finger tips, discreetly searching the room and surrounding area. She knows that this boy with the crow cane is not one to be messed with.

"Kaz this is Anna De Angelo, Anna, this is Kaz Brekker, he runs the Crow Club." Jesper introduces the two, awkwardly standing in the doorway.

"Jesper, you may leave." Kaz says. Jesper steps out and closes the door behind him. Anna's shadows tell her that Jesper backs up a few steps but doesn't leave the hallway.

Kaz studies Anna for a few seconds before speaking. "I have a sharpshooter and someone who works in the shadows and I have access to various Grisha when needed. What do you bring to the table that I don't already have?"

"I have not heard this term 'Grisha' before. What is it?" Anna frowns slightly, looking to Kaz for the answer.

"You don't know what a Grisha is...? Were you not tested as a child?" Kaz asks.

"Tested for what?" This is definitely not my world. I am 100% certain of that now.

"Tested for Grisha powers. Grisha amplifiers will test how the child responds to their amplifying ability and if they have Grisha abilities they are taken to the Little Palace to hone their skills." Kaz says.

Anna's shadows sense someone listening in on the roof right outside the slightly open window. From Kaz's description, Anna wonders if the mysterious figure is his 'in the shadows' person.

"That explains the testing process but not what a Grisha is. What powers?" Anna knows of the many powers that Demigods can wield but this sounds different to her.

"A Grisha is a person born with the ability to practise what is called the small science. Grisha are divided into three orders; Corporalki whose power focuses on the human body, Etherealki whose powers focus on manipulation of natural elements and Materialki whose powers focus on composite materials. Can you do anything like that?"

"What kind of natural elements?" Anna asks, wondering if shadows counted as natural elements and she could pass off her Demigod powers as Grisha powers.

"Inferni manipulate fire, Tidemakers manipulate the water and Squallers manipulate wind. There is one shadow summoner currently and the sun summoner is a myth." Kaz replies.

"The shadows... they tell me things."

"What kinds of things?" Kaz asks.

The shadows show Anna everyone in close proximity to her and she relays this information to Kaz. "There are currently 9 people downstairs in your club. 5 are working and the other 4 are drinking and gambling. Jesper is currently waiting just outside your door and there is a stealthy girl just outside your window listening in on every word we say."

"The shadows can show you all of that?" Kaz asks.

"Yes." And more but until I get to know you and your friends that is all the information you get now crow man.

Kaz tilts his head and leans back, reaching under his desk. Before he brings the item into her sight, Anna already knows what he holds.

Kaz sets the chimaera claw on the desk between them. "What is this?"

"A claw." Anna smirks.

Kaz sighs. "What kinds of claw?"

Anna contemplates not telling him that it's a chimaera claw then decides to see what his reaction is. "A chimaera claw."

"What is a chimaera?"

"A beast from my homeland." While not entirely true, Anna is pretty sure the beast did not follow her into this world and she hasn't seen any sign of other monsters in this world yet so she's assuming she is safe. For now at least.

"I'm from far away. It won't be on any of your maps." That's cause I'm not from your world but I'm just going to go with not being on the maps from this world due to being from a distant land not yet documented.

Kaz switches topics as he realizes she doesn't seem to want to talk about her homeland. "Can you fight?"

"Course I can. I was trained by some of the best I knew." Anna replies. Hades taught her how to conjure shards of obsidian and use them to her advantage. Percy taught her the basics of sword fighting and throughout the years she refined it to the best of her abilities. Artemis attempted to recruit Anna a few years back and still taught her to use her shadows to track others, even after she declined the invitation to join the hunters.

Kaz pauses and Anna knows he is debating on whether she will make a good investment or not. She knows Kaz is not a great person but Anna would rather be on his good side and not his bad side.

"Welcome to The Crows shadow girl."