p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;""emSal, it's time for bed./em" Meg communicated to the small girl. She was looking horrible. She had dark circles under her eyes and had begun stumbling while following Meg around. /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;""Not tired…" Sal said slowly but loudly. She knew she would forget certain words in Hand when tired, but she never failed to speak loudly. Meg knew she was at fault and that she probably looked worse. She had only been sleeping approximately two hours a night. Clem had recently given her permission to take more time before explaining what she was doing to Granny. While she had the pieces of an idea together, she was still experimenting before fully forming a plan and vision. It was the same when she had created the emjurda/em sticks. Granny remained skeptical of her capabilities./p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;"Since that first night, Meg had drugged herself and Sal nearly every second day. She hadn't wanted Sal to test it with her, but Sal, not being a Grisha, needed to ensure the results would be consistent. Sal insisted on trying if Meg was trying. And Meg was beginning to see consistency. The mix of a stimulant and a depressant at different temperatures had varying results. However, the most startling discovery was when including the stems, which had hallucinogenic properties when fermented and then cooked quickly. /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;"The hallucinations were frightening at first but then euphoric. All her most secret hopes were fully formed before her; it felt real and lasted two to three hours. Sal had reported the same thing, and upon sobering up, they both had tears of joy rolling down their cheeks. They did not spare any details in their findings. They understood that they couldn't hold back when testing on themselves, and that every discovery needed to be documented. The feeling evoked in both was the emotions they desired most. Sal disclosed feelings of stability, and Meg did not disclose her feelings of freedom and focus, not wanting to share her desire to Sal. Meg noticed that for days afterwards, she didn't struggle with her mind wandering and that her mission appeared more possible. /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;"The effects were not permanent, but Meg did notice remnants. It was luring to take it again in that form, but she could resist. Confirming that it was at least not initially addictive. First, however, Meg needed to figure out how to promote it as something that could make money for The Widows. Substances were regularly abused in Ketterdam, but this didn't create a sense of escape but brought rather inner peace. Meg hadn't known anyone seeking that. /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;"Simultaneously Meg had been still seeking a way to make emparem/em, but a version that was less dangerous, less addictive, and less powerful. She knew this was a tall order and that she was technically banned, but time was running out. /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;""emWhat are we going to tell Granny/em?" Sal asked. Meg considered and then shook her head. /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;""emNothing; the other Pigeons have produced a good supply. For now, we've just been helping them. Clem has a meeting in a day or two with some store clerks to sell jays to them directly. That will make granny happy, and we'll be able to increase how much jurda we need/em."/p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;""emWhat if Granny won't pay for more/em?" Meg shrugged and communicated/p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;""emAsk Dal to help?/em" Sal paused but then nodded. Sal rarely discussed Dal, but their attachment was undeniable. They were opposites but hid nothing from one another. Initially, Meg tried to challenge Dal, that they were going on too many dangerous assignments, arguing she was too young. Dal would only spit on the floor in reply. Sal finally pulled Meg aside and begged her to stop, saying she wasn't helping Dal. Meg relented but still disagreed. /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;""'emWell, if you insist on staying up, you should be awake enough to speak in Hand/em."/p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;"em"That's not fair; you know I'll only sleep when you do."/em/p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;"em"So we should both go to bed?"/em/p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;"em"No, we're fine,"/em Sal said, her hands moving slowly and she yawned deeply; Meg laughed tallying how many days it had been a few days since they had seen the sun. /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;""emOk, let's go to the Res. Get a few hours sleep and come back in the morning./em" /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;"Sal didn't argue and followed Meg from behind. Meg locked her office door and walked through the empty warehouse. She would have to be back early to supervise the Pigeons, her deaf workers with a nickname they weren't even aware existed. Germaine, the oldest Pigeon and their first hire had the second key and could lock up. She trusted her, but didn't like leaving someone else in charge for too long Meg and Sal walked towards East Stave in silence. Sal had to be their ears and Meg their eyes. They didn't expect trouble, but Meg knew not to be careless. Despite what Granny said, Meg knew that her large W on her arm didn't guarantee a thing in Ketterdam. /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;"Meg saw a crow-headed cane in the corner of her eye and sped up. Kaz Brekker was walking towards his precious Crow Club. Rumours had begun to spread that the Wraith hadn't come back from her sea voyagespan style="text-decoration: line-through;"s/span in over six months, potentially a year. No one knew what their relationship had been with Kaz Brekker, but he had apparently become more of a monster than he had span style="text-decoration: line-through;"ever/span been before. Meg doubted it. Kaz was a sick Barrel bastard; Dirtyhands couldn't get dirtier. She was sure if the Wraith hadn't returned, she must have finally gotten free of him. Regardless, she didn't want Sal or herself to catch his eye, only feeling at ease when he was out of her view. /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;"They arrived at the Res and walked up some stairs. Meg and Sal had a room on the second floor, while Clem and Dal were on the third. A few other girls had tiny closet-sized rooms, claiming the single mattresses on the floor inside. There were warmer rooms in the elegant houses in the Zelver district but only the older Widows could stay in those rooms. They would never be caught dead in a place like the Res. Meg didn't like it much, but she knew not to complain. /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;"emSingle-minded./em /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;"There was a shared sink, lavatory, and tub at the end of the hall. Meg walked down and removed a few pieces of clothing. Sal stripped as well and filled a nearby bucket with water. They both started to rinse themselves off. Meg could sense their exhaustion. She could feel it down to her bones. /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;"Meg's mind wandered back to Dirtyhands. She hadn't seen him in months. People had suspected that he had abandoned Ketterdam. When he returned, he had taken apart what was left of the Dime Lions. Killing several members as they tried to edge into the Dreg's territory while he was gone. Meg always tried to gather every one of these rumours to confirm what she knew about him, that he was a disease that needed to be gone from this world. That someone like Kaz Brekker only brought more pain and evil in an already depressing place. But she knew her time was running out. Several years ago, she had discovered Kaz's birthday was in January. She had only seven months until he turned 21, and any revenge clause she held against him would was uncertain if the Widows would ever provide support for her revenge clause, but she would go through with it. Even if it meant dying in the attempt without them. /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;"Meg and Sal lumbered towards their room. They had a single mattress on the floor, which they shared. It Consistently damp, and there were never enough blankets. However, they were able to create comfort with one another. Occasionally Sal would sleep next to Dal, but it was becoming increasingly rare as they worked such different hours and jobs. /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;"They both fell asleep immediately. Sal leaned her head against Meg's leg. /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;"Meg awoke hours later and noticed Sal was already gone. She searched in her bag, found an apple, and took a bite of it, wanting to finish it quickly and go back to sleep. Unfortunately, Sal entered before she could thoroughly entertain the thought. /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;""emDal and Clem didn't come to bed yet, and it's late morning."/em Meg tried to remember what job they were supposed to be on. She had no recollection regarding Clem, but she knew Dal was supposed to look into emjurda/em and emza vee/em shipments. Sol had consented to tell her that the flowers could not be grown here but that it was cheaper to have them shipped than buying just the syrup since they charged for the extraction in the Shu Han. Sol had asked why Meg was interested in emza vee/em, but Meg refused to reveal anything. She couldn't tell anyone yet. Meg tried to calculate what time Dal should have returned but gave up since Dal's movement could not always be predicted. /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;""emI'm going to tell you what everyone else will; it's not our problem yet, so don't ask about it./em"/p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;""emWhat are you telling me?" /emSal communicated. /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;"em"I'm telling you that I'm worried too. But we can't right now, or we'd never stop worrying. Are you ready to get back to work? Or should we stop for breakfast?/em/p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;"Sal lifted her eyebrows up and down very fast. A shorthand in Hand for 'emYes!/em.' Her favourite thing about Sal was that didn't try to integrate into the Widows by imitating tough, gang mentality. She was vulnerable and still held out hope for a loving family. Meg would be sad when Sal realized it wasn't possible. Meg would have to explain it to her once she was older, otherwise Sal would risk looking foolish like Clem still did./p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;"Meg stood and got dressed in one of her five outfits. She eyed Sal, who was in a tunic of all grey. They both garnered very little attention, which was good. They headed out the door to find the nearest stand for waffles. /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; min-height: 18px;" /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;"Meg and Sal had renewed their energy. They were working with a silent fervour, Sal now able to replicate Meg's process except for her skills as a Fabrikator. Meg had always felt limited by her lack of training, but she also knew that, like anything else, the daily practice would make improvements. When they arrived, Meg and Sal found several crates of entire jurda plants and za vee flowers in front of her office. They assumed Dal had been span style="text-decoration: line-through;"even/span more successful than they had expected. Their worries eased a little at the sight of them, knowing it meant Dal was likely unharmed. Meg had finalized the recipe to create theem za vee/em hallucinogenic and tasked Sal with naming it. Sal stood behind her, and she could almost hear her thinking. Meg decided to spend her morning focusing on replicating something like pemarem./em /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; min-height: 18px;" /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;"Nine months earlier, Clem had gotten her hands on a minimal amount. She wouldn't say where she had gotten it when she had handed it over to Meg, who had been desperate to study it. /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;""Meg, I don't know. This could kill our kind or make us all slaves." Clem had said, her face filled with concern. /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;""I know Clem, but think of it. Every country is probably trying to make its own; shouldn't we be trying too?" Clem had hesitated, not liking the rare look of determination in Meg's eyes./p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;""You're not going to try it, are you? We'll help you get your revenge; there's still timspan style="-webkit-text-stroke: 1px #000000;"e." Meg's nostrils flared. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"em"Time is running out, and the bigger he gets, the bigger the risk gets. Granny continues to increase the rate of the clause; what am I supposed to do? I can barely pay back my family's debts, let alone what I owe back to them."/em/p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"Meg communicated through Hand furiously. Clem always made everything seem so easy; she had no idea what it was like to work without resources. Nevertheless, she never doubted for a second that Clem underestimated her grandmother's cruel intentions and that she never planned to help take down Dirtyhands. /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;""emThings are different now. Your skills have improved, and your ideas for investments are getting better. I see how much Granny has changed towards you, even if you still can't don't trust her./em" Clem paused and added, "emOr trust me/em." Meg flared angrily. /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;""emThis has nothing to do with trust. You would know that if you weren't such a coward./em" Meg retorted. /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"Clem took a step back, looking hurt. Meg eyed Clem's hands, seeing them flex in an attempt to compel her mood. However, she knew the extent of Clem's abilities and that she wouldn't be able to do more than slightly improve her mood. The attempt was insulting. /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;""emGive me the parem, Clem/em" Meg insisted. Repeating the motions when Clem had hesitated. /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"Clem handed it over, looking more hurt than angered. Meg was unable to concentrate for a week after that. Meg had worked tirelessly with the little amount she had. Breaking down the tiny particles, taking it apart by each chemical, with her limited Grisha abilities. Presently, only a few particles were left in her possession. When Granny banned her from working on it further after months of no results, she continued the attempts in secret. If she could solve this puzzle, she could have everything she wanted. The freedom of her debt being repaid, her vengeance, and maybe she could even survive it. /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; min-height: 18px;" /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"Sal breathed heavily behind her, tapping her shoulder, but Meg ignored it. Her forehead was sweating as she had mixed and burned different concoctions. At this point, the plants could be heated independently without a fire. She found using her power was draining her less and giving her more intuition on what steps to take next. For the last two days, Meg had been working on her theory that emza vee/em had a connection in subduing the effects of emparem/em. Giving up on using the plant and had refocused her energy on the calming syrup. /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"A potent powder created by heating only the syrup allowed it to crystallize and crush it. She waited for Sal leave, fetching a bottle of wine. /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"emMaybe it's like jurda, sitting in the mouth will absorb it. /emShe thought. Meg touched her fingertip to the bowl. After a moment's hesitation she rubbed the powdery substance to her teeth. Her gums numbed in response. /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"An idea came to mind. When Meg was young, she and many other girls had tried grinding up jurda and snorting it. Their nostrils were stained orange and they all felt the impact of it so much they didn't sleep for two days. Meg swore a prayer to Ghezen, promising she was trying to create profit. She snorted a tiny amount of the powdered, crystallized syrup. She was breaking every promise she had made about alchemy and Fabrikating. Her desperation rising. She couldn't risk Sal trying this. She spotted Sal coming back with a nicked bottle of wine from Zelda. /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"Meg felt an overwhelming numbness in her entire body. She could only describe it as 'emnothing.'/em She looked around, her view becoming fuzzy, slowly stepping outside her office. The already dulled sound of the machines sounded even farther away. Meg could make out Sal looking at her curiously. She slowly closed her eyes and backed away. /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"emI may have miscalculated the risk. /emMeg thought, seeing hands motioning the words in her minds eye. There was no concern. She no longer cared about anything. She slowly laid down on the floor, deciding that nothing mattered, and she would just sleep. /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;""Not tired…" Sal said slowly but loudly. She knew she would forget certain words in Hand when tired, but she never failed to speak loudly. Meg knew she was at fault and that she probably looked worse. She had only been sleeping approximately two hours a night. Clem had recently given her permission to take more time before explaining what she was doing to Granny. While she had the pieces of an idea together, she was still experimenting before fully forming a plan and vision. It was the same when she had created the emjurda/em sticks. Granny remained skeptical of her capabilities./p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;"Since that first night, Meg had drugged herself and Sal nearly every second day. She hadn't wanted Sal to test it with her, but Sal, not being a Grisha, needed to ensure the results would be consistent. Sal insisted on trying if Meg was trying. And Meg was beginning to see consistency. The mix of a stimulant and a depressant at different temperatures had varying results. However, the most startling discovery was when including the stems, which had hallucinogenic properties when fermented and then cooked quickly. /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;"The hallucinations were frightening at first but then euphoric. All her most secret hopes were fully formed before her; it felt real and lasted two to three hours. Sal had reported the same thing, and upon sobering up, they both had tears of joy rolling down their cheeks. They did not spare any details in their findings. They understood that they couldn't hold back when testing on themselves, and that every discovery needed to be documented. The feeling evoked in both was the emotions they desired most. Sal disclosed feelings of stability, and Meg did not disclose her feelings of freedom and focus, not wanting to share her desire to Sal. Meg noticed that for days afterwards, she didn't struggle with her mind wandering and that her mission appeared more possible. /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;"The effects were not permanent, but Meg did notice remnants. It was luring to take it again in that form, but she could resist. Confirming that it was at least not initially addictive. First, however, Meg needed to figure out how to promote it as something that could make money for The Widows. Substances were regularly abused in Ketterdam, but this didn't create a sense of escape but brought rather inner peace. Meg hadn't known anyone seeking that. /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;"Simultaneously Meg had been still seeking a way to make emparem/em, but a version that was less dangerous, less addictive, and less powerful. She knew this was a tall order and that she was technically banned, but time was running out. /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;""emWhat are we going to tell Granny/em?" Sal asked. Meg considered and then shook her head. /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;""emNothing; the other Pigeons have produced a good supply. For now, we've just been helping them. Clem has a meeting in a day or two with some store clerks to sell jays to them directly. That will make granny happy, and we'll be able to increase how much jurda we need/em."/p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;""emWhat if Granny won't pay for more/em?" Meg shrugged and communicated/p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;""emAsk Dal to help?/em" Sal paused but then nodded. Sal rarely discussed Dal, but their attachment was undeniable. They were opposites but hid nothing from one another. Initially, Meg tried to challenge Dal, that they were going on too many dangerous assignments, arguing she was too young. Dal would only spit on the floor in reply. Sal finally pulled Meg aside and begged her to stop, saying she wasn't helping Dal. Meg relented but still disagreed. /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;""'emWell, if you insist on staying up, you should be awake enough to speak in Hand/em."/p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;"em"That's not fair; you know I'll only sleep when you do."/em/p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;"em"So we should both go to bed?"/em/p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;"em"No, we're fine,"/em Sal said, her hands moving slowly and she yawned deeply; Meg laughed tallying how many days it had been a few days since they had seen the sun. /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;""emOk, let's go to the Res. Get a few hours sleep and come back in the morning./em" /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;"Sal didn't argue and followed Meg from behind. Meg locked her office door and walked through the empty warehouse. She would have to be back early to supervise the Pigeons, her deaf workers with a nickname they weren't even aware existed. Germaine, the oldest Pigeon and their first hire had the second key and could lock up. She trusted her, but didn't like leaving someone else in charge for too long Meg and Sal walked towards East Stave in silence. Sal had to be their ears and Meg their eyes. They didn't expect trouble, but Meg knew not to be careless. Despite what Granny said, Meg knew that her large W on her arm didn't guarantee a thing in Ketterdam. /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;"Meg saw a crow-headed cane in the corner of her eye and sped up. Kaz Brekker was walking towards his precious Crow Club. Rumours had begun to spread that the Wraith hadn't come back from her sea voyagespan style="text-decoration: line-through;"s/span in over six months, potentially a year. No one knew what their relationship had been with Kaz Brekker, but he had apparently become more of a monster than he had span style="text-decoration: line-through;"ever/span been before. Meg doubted it. Kaz was a sick Barrel bastard; Dirtyhands couldn't get dirtier. She was sure if the Wraith hadn't returned, she must have finally gotten free of him. Regardless, she didn't want Sal or herself to catch his eye, only feeling at ease when he was out of her view. /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;"They arrived at the Res and walked up some stairs. Meg and Sal had a room on the second floor, while Clem and Dal were on the third. A few other girls had tiny closet-sized rooms, claiming the single mattresses on the floor inside. There were warmer rooms in the elegant houses in the Zelver district but only the older Widows could stay in those rooms. They would never be caught dead in a place like the Res. Meg didn't like it much, but she knew not to complain. /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;"emSingle-minded./em /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;"There was a shared sink, lavatory, and tub at the end of the hall. Meg walked down and removed a few pieces of clothing. Sal stripped as well and filled a nearby bucket with water. They both started to rinse themselves off. Meg could sense their exhaustion. She could feel it down to her bones. /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;"Meg's mind wandered back to Dirtyhands. She hadn't seen him in months. People had suspected that he had abandoned Ketterdam. When he returned, he had taken apart what was left of the Dime Lions. Killing several members as they tried to edge into the Dreg's territory while he was gone. Meg always tried to gather every one of these rumours to confirm what she knew about him, that he was a disease that needed to be gone from this world. That someone like Kaz Brekker only brought more pain and evil in an already depressing place. But she knew her time was running out. Several years ago, she had discovered Kaz's birthday was in January. She had only seven months until he turned 21, and any revenge clause she held against him would was uncertain if the Widows would ever provide support for her revenge clause, but she would go through with it. Even if it meant dying in the attempt without them. /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;"Meg and Sal lumbered towards their room. They had a single mattress on the floor, which they shared. It Consistently damp, and there were never enough blankets. However, they were able to create comfort with one another. Occasionally Sal would sleep next to Dal, but it was becoming increasingly rare as they worked such different hours and jobs. /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;"They both fell asleep immediately. Sal leaned her head against Meg's leg. /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;"Meg awoke hours later and noticed Sal was already gone. She searched in her bag, found an apple, and took a bite of it, wanting to finish it quickly and go back to sleep. Unfortunately, Sal entered before she could thoroughly entertain the thought. /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;""emDal and Clem didn't come to bed yet, and it's late morning."/em Meg tried to remember what job they were supposed to be on. She had no recollection regarding Clem, but she knew Dal was supposed to look into emjurda/em and emza vee/em shipments. Sol had consented to tell her that the flowers could not be grown here but that it was cheaper to have them shipped than buying just the syrup since they charged for the extraction in the Shu Han. Sol had asked why Meg was interested in emza vee/em, but Meg refused to reveal anything. She couldn't tell anyone yet. Meg tried to calculate what time Dal should have returned but gave up since Dal's movement could not always be predicted. /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;""emI'm going to tell you what everyone else will; it's not our problem yet, so don't ask about it./em"/p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;""emWhat are you telling me?" /emSal communicated. /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;"em"I'm telling you that I'm worried too. But we can't right now, or we'd never stop worrying. Are you ready to get back to work? Or should we stop for breakfast?/em/p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;"Sal lifted her eyebrows up and down very fast. A shorthand in Hand for 'emYes!/em.' Her favourite thing about Sal was that didn't try to integrate into the Widows by imitating tough, gang mentality. She was vulnerable and still held out hope for a loving family. Meg would be sad when Sal realized it wasn't possible. Meg would have to explain it to her once she was older, otherwise Sal would risk looking foolish like Clem still did./p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;"Meg stood and got dressed in one of her five outfits. She eyed Sal, who was in a tunic of all grey. They both garnered very little attention, which was good. They headed out the door to find the nearest stand for waffles. /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; min-height: 18px;" /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;"Meg and Sal had renewed their energy. They were working with a silent fervour, Sal now able to replicate Meg's process except for her skills as a Fabrikator. Meg had always felt limited by her lack of training, but she also knew that, like anything else, the daily practice would make improvements. When they arrived, Meg and Sal found several crates of entire jurda plants and za vee flowers in front of her office. They assumed Dal had been span style="text-decoration: line-through;"even/span more successful than they had expected. Their worries eased a little at the sight of them, knowing it meant Dal was likely unharmed. Meg had finalized the recipe to create theem za vee/em hallucinogenic and tasked Sal with naming it. Sal stood behind her, and she could almost hear her thinking. Meg decided to spend her morning focusing on replicating something like pemarem./em /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; min-height: 18px;" /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;"Nine months earlier, Clem had gotten her hands on a minimal amount. She wouldn't say where she had gotten it when she had handed it over to Meg, who had been desperate to study it. /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;""Meg, I don't know. This could kill our kind or make us all slaves." Clem had said, her face filled with concern. /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;""I know Clem, but think of it. Every country is probably trying to make its own; shouldn't we be trying too?" Clem had hesitated, not liking the rare look of determination in Meg's eyes./p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal;""You're not going to try it, are you? We'll help you get your revenge; there's still timspan style="-webkit-text-stroke: 1px #000000;"e." Meg's nostrils flared. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"em"Time is running out, and the bigger he gets, the bigger the risk gets. Granny continues to increase the rate of the clause; what am I supposed to do? I can barely pay back my family's debts, let alone what I owe back to them."/em/p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"Meg communicated through Hand furiously. Clem always made everything seem so easy; she had no idea what it was like to work without resources. Nevertheless, she never doubted for a second that Clem underestimated her grandmother's cruel intentions and that she never planned to help take down Dirtyhands. /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;""emThings are different now. Your skills have improved, and your ideas for investments are getting better. I see how much Granny has changed towards you, even if you still can't don't trust her./em" Clem paused and added, "emOr trust me/em." Meg flared angrily. /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;""emThis has nothing to do with trust. You would know that if you weren't such a coward./em" Meg retorted. /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"Clem took a step back, looking hurt. Meg eyed Clem's hands, seeing them flex in an attempt to compel her mood. However, she knew the extent of Clem's abilities and that she wouldn't be able to do more than slightly improve her mood. The attempt was insulting. /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;""emGive me the parem, Clem/em" Meg insisted. Repeating the motions when Clem had hesitated. /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"Clem handed it over, looking more hurt than angered. Meg was unable to concentrate for a week after that. Meg had worked tirelessly with the little amount she had. Breaking down the tiny particles, taking it apart by each chemical, with her limited Grisha abilities. Presently, only a few particles were left in her possession. When Granny banned her from working on it further after months of no results, she continued the attempts in secret. If she could solve this puzzle, she could have everything she wanted. The freedom of her debt being repaid, her vengeance, and maybe she could even survive it. /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; min-height: 18px;" /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"Sal breathed heavily behind her, tapping her shoulder, but Meg ignored it. Her forehead was sweating as she had mixed and burned different concoctions. At this point, the plants could be heated independently without a fire. She found using her power was draining her less and giving her more intuition on what steps to take next. For the last two days, Meg had been working on her theory that emza vee/em had a connection in subduing the effects of emparem/em. Giving up on using the plant and had refocused her energy on the calming syrup. /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"A potent powder created by heating only the syrup allowed it to crystallize and crush it. She waited for Sal leave, fetching a bottle of wine. /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"emMaybe it's like jurda, sitting in the mouth will absorb it. /emShe thought. Meg touched her fingertip to the bowl. After a moment's hesitation she rubbed the powdery substance to her teeth. Her gums numbed in response. /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"An idea came to mind. When Meg was young, she and many other girls had tried grinding up jurda and snorting it. Their nostrils were stained orange and they all felt the impact of it so much they didn't sleep for two days. Meg swore a prayer to Ghezen, promising she was trying to create profit. She snorted a tiny amount of the powdered, crystallized syrup. She was breaking every promise she had made about alchemy and Fabrikating. Her desperation rising. She couldn't risk Sal trying this. She spotted Sal coming back with a nicked bottle of wine from Zelda. /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"Meg felt an overwhelming numbness in her entire body. She could only describe it as 'emnothing.'/em She looked around, her view becoming fuzzy, slowly stepping outside her office. The already dulled sound of the machines sounded even farther away. Meg could make out Sal looking at her curiously. She slowly closed her eyes and backed away. /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; font-family: Baskerville; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"emI may have miscalculated the risk. /emMeg thought, seeing hands motioning the words in her minds eye. There was no concern. She no longer cared about anything. She slowly laid down on the floor, deciding that nothing mattered, and she would just sleep. /p