Author's Note: I have not written fanfiction in God knows how long. But I am looking for fics with specific elements and I cannot find them. So I'm going to write my own. I have not read Six of Crows in a hot minute and I am currently reading Ruin and Rising so I am still a bit behind with everything. Anyways, the point is that I love Kaz Brekker with all my heart and I need some whump and angst involving him and the gang. Enjoy.
Without Armor
Chapter 1
"Where the hell is Kaz Brekker?!" yelled an angry man as he threw open the doors to the Slat. Everyone turned to look at him. Inej, Wylan, Nina, Jesper, and Matthias were sitting at one of the tables and were surprised to say the least. Matthias stood up.
"What do you want with him?" He asked. He was bigger than the angry man and could totally take him on. Recently, as Matthias got to know the gang more, he became a bit protective of Kaz. It kind of just happened. If you asked him, Matthias would say that he is protective of all his friends. But something was different with the Demjin. Kaz had always seemed untouchable and Matthias didn't want anyone to ruin that.
The angry man stepped back a bit as Matthias was a bit of an intimidating guy to say the least.
"He owes me something." The man said.
"Kaz Brekker always makes good with those he deals with. He owes you nothing." Said Wylan from the table with his arms crossed. He had a pretty good impression of Kaz's death glare and that, plus Matthias, seemed to put the angry man on edge.
"Anything you have to say to Kaz Brekker can be said to me." Inej said standing up. She walked over to where the man and Matthias were standing and put a hand on Matthias' shoulder to get him to back down a bit. A frightened animal will only run from the trap. Inej understood that.
"You. His spider." The man said the word with contempt as if Inej had somehow gone wrong against him.
"Matthias, the door if you please." Inej said gesturing to the door. Matthias understood and stepped behind the man and closed and locked the front doors of the slat. It was late and the five of them and the angry man were the only ones on the bottom floor. Kaz was upstairs in his room. Probably counting kruge or scheming up a new heist.
Hearing the lock snap shut, the man was starting to get a little bit nervous.
"Look, I just want to talk with him. He owes me something." He said as his eyes glanced from Inej to the stairs. His eyes widened and his face paled. Standing on the steps was none other than Kaz himself.
"Carl. If you wanted to meet, you simply had to ask. No need for barging into my place like an animal." Kaz said in his raspy voice.
Carl, who was probably at least twice Kaz's age, took a deep breath and seemed to gather his courage.
"You owe me. And before you say you don't, remember what I know. I am willing to tell everyone here everything."
This put a furrow in between Kaz's brows.
"What is he talking about Kaz?" Jesper asked looking Carl over to determine what kind of threat this guy was.
"Like I said before, if you wanted to meet, just ask. If you want to talk, just ask. No need for threats you can't hold up." Kaz said never once his glance wavering.
"It is a threat I can absolutely cash in on. I can hold up my end." Carl said angrily.
"Not if you don't have a tongue." Inej said in his ear as she was suddenly behind Carl and had a blade to his throat. This made Carl freeze.
"Inej. I can handle him. Come up with me Carl. Let's talk." Kaz said coldly gesturing to the stairs behind him. Inej stepped back unsure if she was doing the right thing. Clearly, whoever this asshole was, had something on Kaz. Who in the hell has something on Kaz Brekker? As far as everyone was concerned anyone who could have anything on him was either dead or unable to speak any longer. Carl shook off Inej, risking her wrath, and stepped towards Kaz.
Kaz turned his back to everyone and began his ascent up the stairs each step with his cane making the stairs groan. Carl followed him up and soon it was just the five of them once again.
"Should we follow them? I really don't trust that guy." Jesper said nervously spinning his pistols around his fingers.
Nina, who had been uncharacteristically quiet this whole time spoke up.
"Kaz knows what he is doing. He didn't seem the least bit intimidated by 'Carl'."
"What could he possibly know? Something about Kaz obviously, but what is there to know?" Matthias wondered aloud.
"He'll know if we follow them up there. We just have to listen from down here and hope we hear something." Inej said. She had a bad feeling about this guy, but she knew Kaz would want her to stay down. He would have told her otherwise with a word or a glance if he wanted her presence.
So, they waited in silence. Almost an hour had passed, and no one had come down from Kaz's room. There were no sounds other than the drip of rain outside.
"I'm going to check on them. I don't fear the Demjin." Matthias said walking towards the stairs.
Everyone nodded and decided to let him go. The worst Kaz would do to Matthias is send him back down. Kaz knows how to pick his battles.
As Matthias walked up the steps, he noticed how quiet it was in the Slat. He couldn't even hear any voices coming from Kaz's room. He approached the door and pressed his ear against it, waiting for a sound. After a few minutes of standing there in silence, Matthias decided to open the door to Kaz's office. He was not prepared for what he saw inside.
Carl was dead. His throat was slashed, and blood was leaking out at an alarming rate all over the floor. And Kaz. Kaz Brekker was slumped in the corner with a bloody knife in his left hand and his gloved right hand rested on his abdomen. With blood everywhere, Matthias assumed all of it was Carl's.
"Demjin. What happened? Why didn't you get us?" He asked stepping towards Kaz. He kneeled and looked Kaz in the eyes. Kaz made as if to speak but all that came out was a sliver of blood from his open lips.
"Demjin!" Matthias quickly looked over Kaz and noticed that the hand resting on Kaz's stomach was coated in blood as well. And this was not Carl's blood.