SPECIAL thanks to KittyPretty206, fleur, AshenMoon42, and my lovely unnamed guest for their reviews. Y'all make my day.
Also, an original character of your name choice (can't decide what they do though) to the first person who can figure out what's going on with these killings.
KAZ
This is a very bad idea. Even as I think it, I know I'm going to continue on what may very well be a suicide mission. There's no way I'm leaving Inej alone and there's no hope of her giving up this sorely-lacking plan.
The streets are disturbingly quiet as we sneak about from rooftop to rooftop. The sky has moved from black to a deep royal blue. The bone white crescent hugging the base of the moon looks like a thin-lipped smile. The stars are hidden, as always, by the thick smog that constantly covers Ketterdam. The weak light turns the building's angles into a soft grey instead of fathomless darkness. I can barely see Inej in front of Ashiana, her form sliding silently from shadow to shadow. Ashiana is keeping surprisingly quiet. I assumed she'd scramble loudly up every edge and give our position away several streets ago. I hoped her noisemaking would convince Inej to turn back. Unfortunately, she's failed both of those expectations.
Inej stops at the next ledge. I can see her head turning slightly, trying to glance unnoticed at Ashiana. I look ahead and see her concern. The gap between our roof and the next is long. She can make it with ease. Practiced as I am, I can probably make it as well. I know it's Ashiana that gives her pause.
"I'm going to go ahead and-"
"No," I whisper as firmly as possible. There is absolutely no way I'm letting her out of my sight. Wraith or no, she cannot handle an addled Grisha on her own. I don't think we can handle one together either but her chances would be slightly better if I'm there to create a distraction. I push away the self-sacrificing thought as quickly as I can. I need to remain focused on staying alive as long as possible. Planning on currently unnecessary selflessness isn't going to benefit anyone at the moment.
"I'm just going to check the other side and come back. Stay with Ashiana."
"Inej, I said-" She jumps before I can finish my sentence. I don't even try to hold in my low growl. I turn my glare onto Ashiana as Inej disappears over the roof top. She is studiously avoiding my gaze, watching the roof with undue intensity.
It takes less than a minute for Inej to reappear. Ashiana and I both release a soft sigh of relief. Inej leaps back onto our rooftop, her knees bending low to cushion her landing.
"There's nothing over there." She turns to the rooftop we crossed to get her and motions to the right of it. "Let's go that way. Toward the docks." I want to argue but she moves before I can start. Ashiana and I have no choice but to follow. The way to the docks is relatively easy, the buildings lower and close together. We quickly reach an easy view of the ocean. The docks are suspiciously empty. Only a few ships remain rocking in the harbor.
"I thought you said people were leaving?" She whispers.
"I was told they were. Perhaps they've already evacuated. There aren't many boats left." We wait, watching for several minutes before I propose we turn around.
"There's no one here. Let's-" Inej touches my sleeve, silencing me. I listen, waiting for the reason she's stopped me. Then I hear it, soft footsteps approaching below. A small group of people enter the docks, heading straight for one of the remaining boats. It isn't large but there are only a few of them. They load up quickly, conspicuously free of luggage. With only a few whispered instructions, they set out. They reach the end of the harbor, almost to the entry of the ocean when a wave, abrupt, unexpected, and massive, rises to block their way. None of us can stop the gasps that escape as the water crashes down on the boat, destroying it in seconds. Despite it's size and force, the water calms immediately, only a few splashes give away that it happened at all.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Ashiana grab Inej. Words flow from them and some distant part of my mind registers that they're praying. The rest of my consciousness is dedicated to sorting through the details of what we just saw. There is only one clear answer.
The Council. They got to the Council of the Tides. Whatever is infecting people, Grisha specifically, overran the highly protected tower that housed the Council.
"We need to move. Now." I pull Inej along behind me, knowing Ashiana will follow. We jump hurriedly from rooftop to rooftop, not stopping to talk. Inej steps ahead and we arrive back at the Slat with much more swiftness than we left. I stop them both before they jump down, listening for signs of life from the Slat. All sounds relatively normal, lights are still flickering and muted voices leach out of the building.
"Wait here." I climb down as quietly as I can and press my back against the wall, waiting, watching for any shadows that are moving in the gradually growing light of day. Nothing stirs around me and I peak inside the window. I watch as a couple of the Dregs move about inside before I motion for Inej and Ashiana to meet me at the window to my room at the top of the building. I watch them both traverse the roof and arrive there. Inej slides the window open and they slip inside. I follow as swiftly as I can, careful of my leg that started aching about twenty jumps into the night.
By the time I pull myself through, they're both standing inside, leaning against each other. I shut the window and lock it back. I look at Inej as she moves past me, lifting herself into the window sill behind me. Ashiana collapses into my chair and I find I don't mind. As much as my leg aches, I prefer to pace.
"It's the Council," I state with finality.
"I know," Inej replies.
"How did they-" Ashiana starts but the horror struck look on her face accounts for the unfinished question.
"I don't know. But if they can get in there, they can get in anywhere." Inej looks at me then and I see something like fear flash across her face before it goes blank again.
"We need to find a way to strengthen our defenses. If we can't do that, we have to move. Now." Inej's voice is hard, refusing any alternative. We both look at Ashiana, who looks paler than I've ever seen her.
"Go downstairs and get something to eat," I instruct her and she nods, getting up and silently moving toward the door without argument. She shuts it softly behind her. I turn back to Inej.
"We'll go across the roofs in groups," I state, not expecting any argument from her either.
"We're not going to try and stay here?"
"There's no way we can fortify this place without going out for supplies and I'm not sending anyone out on errands."
"Where will we go?"
"Wylan's. It's got the best defense. If Jesper's been working on his Fabrikating like he said he would, perhaps he can work on their windows and doors. I've got another Fabrikator, a girl. She's not much but maybe between the two of them, they can get through the first floor." She nods.
"I'll go now and tell him we're coming. You get everyone together. I'll scout the best route on my way back." I'm not used to taking orders from anyone, especially not orders I wholly disagree with.
"No. I'll go." She raises an eyebrow.
"You know you can't get there and back as quickly as I can. And your leg-" I wasn't aware she'd noticed but it shouldn't surprise me. "It's not the wise thing to do, Kaz." I know she's right but I can't let her go out there, not by herself, not now.
"Then you wait for the first group. Wylan isn't going to turn you down, regardless of who you show up with."
"I need to figure out the route. It wouldn't do for a bunch of us to go leaping across roofs, attracting attention, only to have to go back because the distances are too far." A mild amount of panic constricts my heart and settles into determination.
"No-" she holds up her hand.
"You have to stop treating me like I'm going to break, Kaz."
"I'm not worried you're going to break. Break I can handle. I'm worried you're going to die." The confession surprises both of us. A small smile slips briefly across her face, somehow brightening the tense atmosphere.
"Oh really? When did that start?" When you almost died because of me. Those words stay locked behind my lips this time. As though she can read my thoughts, her eyes soften and she looks at me with a kindness I do not deserve.
"Kaz, we have always taken risks. I placed my life in the hands of a higher power the first time I walked across a tightrope. I did so again when I signed on as your Wraith. I continued to do it when I decided to hunt slavers. My entire life has been a series of risks, some necessary, most not. Trying to stop that path now is pointless. It's not going to change my course. I have chosen this life, or perhaps it has chosen me. Whatever the reason, this tendency to danger is part of who I am. And, no matter what you may feel, I don't think you want to change this part of me. Not really." I hesitate, knowing what she says is true; knowing that to argue would be to push her perilously close to either anger or dismissal - both of which could cause her to disappear out the window. That is a not risk I'm willing to take.
But she would be safer by herself. Would you rather her be with you or be safe? Unfortunately, I think the two options are mutually exclusive and I am nothing if not selfish. If she can sense my indecision, she doesn't show it. She stays still, waiting patiently for my answer. I try to gather my thoughts, to form an answer that will communicate that I understand but that I also care about her safety and need her to stay until she can go with someone, preferably me.
Without warning, she surges forward with the unexpected speed I've come to associate with my Wraith. Her lips are on mine one moment, her hands in my hair, and the next she steps back, gauging my reaction. My body, unable to truly register the fleeting feeling, remains free of the dreaded sinking I've come to expect from such contact.
Although I know I shouldn't, the knowledge that I could not hold back the waters the last time I pulled her back to me flashing to the forefront of my memory, I step forward. She doesn't back away but stays perfectly motionless, as though rooted to the spot, as I draw near. I lift my hands into the slight space between us and, with quick, careful precision, remove my gloves. I let them fall to the ground. I don't want anything blocking this contact, regardless of the consequences. I feel her sigh and, without looking up, I know it is one of acknowledgment. Neither of us want any armor in the way.
I don't take another step closer, hoping the extra inch of space will offer some protection from the sickness. I don't meet the stare I can feel searching my face for signs of intention, as though I can trick my mind into ignoring her proximity by keeping my gaze elsewhere. My right hand reaches, slowly, not touching the skin, and twists the soft hair at the nape of her neck around my fingers. Still stable, still free from any issues, my hand slides deeper in her hair, cradling the back of her head.
My other hand moves to her waist, holding her in place lest she fall prey to the desire I'm fighting and close the distance between us. My eyes lift to her collarbone, her neck - so warm and soft before - her lips, lingering there for a moment, until finally, our eyes meet.
"Inej, I-" But in looking at her, I lose the words I want to say. Somehow, she seems to understand the pause and her eyelids flutter closed, her eyelashes laying long and dark against her skin.
"I cannot bear to lose you," the whispered admission seems to loosen something in me and I slide a few centimeters forward, so close her warmth is tangible.
"Nor I, you." Her breath brushes over my lips as the words leave her mouth and I can't stop myself. I pull her to me, my arm wrapping around her waist, my hand in her hair holding her still as I press myself against her, my lips crashing into hers with a force held too long at bay. I feel her hand on my back, the other at my neck, clinging to me as I rush into the kiss I've wanted, craved, envisioned countless times. I'm so focused on my fantasy come to life that I continue, heedless of the hazard I'm leaning dangerously close to. My teeth scrape her bottom lip and her mouth opens to me with a moan. My tongue delves in, desperate to explore every inch of her.
I feel her body move against mine, shifting ever so slightly, and my hand drops below her waist, holding her in place as I mimic the motion. It's this, the barest movement of our bodies together, that brings me back to reality. I rip myself away, stumbling back as I turn from her. I nearly collapse, sweat soaking me instantly as the cold water, the dead flesh of my brother intrudes upon, poisons, this moment.
"Kaz-" Every sense is amplified and I can hear her nearly soundless step forward.
"Go." My hand finds the edge of my desk and I lean against it, locking my knees into place, refusing to fall. I resist the rolling in my stomach that urges me to empty it of its contents.
Will I never be free of this? The thought of never being able to touch her, kiss her, without this effect nearly brings me to my knees more effectively than any bodily weakness.
"Kaz, please, let me-"
"I said 'Go'!" I hate the wretched tone that the hopelessness wrenches from me. The despair clears my mind of anything other than the necessity of being alone in my torment. It isn't until I feel a gentle breeze against my face that I realize she's gone.