The first thing he registered when he woke was pain. Kaz couldn't see anything, but he could feel cool metal pressing around his temples. Kaz lifted his hands to inspect his face, but they were tied down harshly to his sides. Injured ribs he couldn't see sent jolts of pain through his core and he held back a hiss.
"You awoke quicker than I thought, Brekker."
Kaz went still at the voice, Van Eck. How was it possible for him to be out of jail? He tried to relax his body, searching through his hazy memories for his last few moments of consciousness.
Inej was back, Kaz had greeted her at the docks, then taken her back to the Crow Club to have her explain how much she had done across the sea. They had talked almost the entire day, getting dinner before visiting Jesper and Wylan at their new estate. Wylan had insisted that the two stay overnight, but Kaz selfishly wanted to be alone with Inej. He didn't like to admit how much he missed her touch, something he never thought he would have reveled in.
"You look like a child lost in a general store, I remember you being a bit steelier than this."
Kaz tightened his jaw and lifted his head to where he could hear Van Eck's voice. He moved his wrists testingly in their binds. The rough brush of the rope told him that his gloves were off, likely removed by the failed merchant himself. Kaz couldn't hold back the small shiver he gave at the thought.
They were walking back to the club, his fingers itched to hold Inej's hand, but after not seeing her for 3 months, Kaz wondered whether he should let her decide to be intimate. The pair walked into a dark alley, seeing a group of people wearing all black. Their faces were altered, like there was some kind of skin-like covering over their mouths. A group of criminals weren't an unusual sight in Ketterdam, but the small tanks of chemical they had thrown were. A smell like sulfur, a wispy smoke filing the air. Kaz yelled at Inej to run, but one breath of the drug was enough to knock her out. He had never seen anything like it, was it possible there was a new drug on the market besides jurda parem? The last thing he could recall was falling, hearing shuffling from behind him and boots crunching on the pebbled pavement.
"Why did you bring me here?" He demanded.
There was a soft snort from Van Eck, then footsteps approaching Kaz. He couldn't brace himself before the man hit, punching him in his aching ribs.
Kaz swore as Van Eck laughed at him. "You're the one restrained, Brekker, you won't be asking the questions."
But Kaz had too many to remain silent. He drew in a burning breath, "Where is she?"
Another crack to his abdomen, Kaz groaned, but clenched his teeth to avoid yelling out.
"You know, we were waiting for her to come back to take you. You would have been much harder to grab if you were more alert. I'd hate to say I'm afraid of you, given your crippled body and, of course, your age." He let out an exasperated sigh. "But, you did throw me in jail Brekker," his tone changed, no humor in it now, "and I just can't see myself forgetting that."
Kaz heaved and spit the metallic taste in his mouth to the side, "If a cripple like me can take you down, I think you need to spend some more time in the city." He laughed at the silence that overtook the room until Van Eck grabbed him by the throat, himself rather than one of his men. The force of his body sent Kaz's chair crashing to the ground and the air was knocked out of him before Van Eck could suffocate him with his hands. Kaz wished he could see the look of fury on the man's face.
Kaz gasped for air, but he didn't resist Van Eck. If the man wanted to lose a potential advantage, so be it. As expected, the man let go after a few moments, leaving Kaz hacking on the floor. Someone cut the binds on his hands and he squirmed out of the fallen chair before they could reconsider. Kaz heard people filtering out the door, but he knew that Van Eck was still standing in front of him.
"If I can't convince you to behave, maybe she can."
Kaz used his arms to push his sore body to standing. "No," but Van Eck was already leaving the room. "No!" Kaz rushed towards the door just as it closed, meeting a wall of impenetrable metal.
Kaz searched the entire room with his hands, he tripped over himself far more than he would have liked, and found no other openings, besides the big heavy door, of course.
By the time the door opened again, Kaz figured it had been at least half an hour.
He was too afraid to speak, in fear that they would hurt her.
"What did you do to him?" He heard her say as a group of people walked in through the door. Kaz wanted to flatten himself against the wall, but he made himself stand unmoving where he was, his head facing towards the noise.
Van Eck laughed, "You think we're done?"
Kaz heard shuffling, something being thrown to the floor.
"Kaz," she whispered. Her voice was below him, quiet, yet unwavering. He went down to reach her, but Van Eck's men grabbed him.
Kaz resisted as they pinned his arms behind him, but the unsheathing of a knife made him go still.
Van Eck paced in front of Kaz. "As I'm sure you noticed, my... chemical advances are coming along quite nicely. You'd be surprised at just how many of my old scientists I can reach while confined to a prison cell." He reached up and traced the border of the metal blocking Kaz's sight. The skin contact set his senses off, and Kaz tried his hardest not to jolt.
"It's still not enough, though. Rendering people unconscious with a breath or fusing metal across their eyes can't compare to the wide market for jurda, one that's growing every day."
He moved away from Kaz and to Inej. "One location, that's all I want to know. I don't believe your ruse for a second. Tell me where Kuwei Yul-Bo is."
When Kaz didn't answer, Van Eck brought his knife across Inej's thigh with a quick slash.
Her cry of pain set Kaz off, and he tried to pull himself away from the guards, but he lost balance and fell forward. The one to his right grabbed his arm roughly and Kaz's shoulder dislocated with a crack.
Kaz shouted and fell to the ground.
"Kuwei Yul-Bo is dead!" Kaz yelled, voice edged in pain.
He kicked the guard behind him in the knee with his good leg. Inej took the chance to slam her elbow between the merchant's legs, a move that Kaz would not have been able to distinguish had it not been for the sheepish groans of Van Eck. The guard behind Kaz crumpled, but the one to his left took advantage of Kaz's blindness to throw him to the wall. Kaz's arm and ribs screamed as his back hit the wall and he heard Inej gasp. He needed to help her, it was his fault she was here. Perhaps he should have just told Van Eck where Kuwei was, or at least given a false location. It wasn't too late-
Hands grabbed Kaz around his bruising neck and slammed his metal wrapped head back into the concrete wall. He didn't get a chance to utter a word to Inej before he blacked out.
