Disclaimer: I do not own any content recognisable as belonging to the Six of Crows series or the Grishaverse. All rights go to the respective owners.

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When Fear Arrives, Something is About to Happen

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Inej hadn't known Kaz Brekker for a long time, but somehow, despite his chilling demeanour and visible lack of daemon, she trusted him. That alone was more than could be said for anyone she had so far met in Ketterdam, let alone the Barrel. He was not afraid of the truth, instead he had a personal vendetta with it. Fortunately for Inej, that attitude had played to her advantage.

Before meeting him, she had heard rumours and snippets from those who frequented the Menagerie, and from some of the other girls. Rumours of a man called Dirtyhands, named for his ruthlessness and skill. Rumours of his lack of daemon, who they only called 'Fantomas', The Phantom. Rumours that unlike others, who were not afraid to kill, that he took pleasure in it. That beneath the gloves he wore, his hands were stained red with the blood of his enemies.

When he had come to the building next to the Menagerie for business, Inej had seen him for the first time. A boy, not much older than she was. Pale skin stretched over gaunt cheekbones; the crisp lines of his black silhouette as sharp as the gaze of his shark-like eyes.

Once his business was complete, he strode out of the building, the steady tap of his cane on the cobblestone street disguising his uneven gait. Curious, Inej, with Pauk curled around her neck and shoulders, had slipped down the second-floor hallway and out of the window facing in the direction he was headed. It wasn't the first time she had snuck out, but she hadn't known it would be one of the last.

Inej followed Dirtyhands down West Stave, stalking after him silently despite the bells on her ankles, a part of the costume forced upon her by Tante Heleen. She stuck to him like a shadow on a sunny day as he headed past Goedmedbridge and deeper into the Barrel.

It wasn't long before he turned into a deserted, windowless alleyway and stopped. He stood in the centre of the alley, hat tilted forwards on his head and both gloved hands rested on the cane in front of him.

"You are the lynx." His voice had a rasp to it, the way everyone who had spent long enough amongst Barrel smoke sounded, but his words were clear and unmistakeable. Inej felt Pauk's grip on her shoulder tighten as her breath caught in her throat. It was a trap. Dirtyhands had known she was following him and led her here.

Against her better judgement, she dropped from her ledge and landed silently on the ground behind him.

"I am." She responded, voice as level as she could make it.

"You are Heleen's lynx, yet your daemon is a spider monkey." It was an impressive observation, most people could not identify Pauk's species when he was directly in front of them, let alone at a distance. It was one of the main points of contempt between her and Heleen, but one of the only reasons she had been able to maintain her sanity. She'd seen the girls younger than she was whose daemon's had settled as the creatures Heleen made them become. Pauk was Inej's one consolation that she had not lost herself to Heleen's manipulations. Though why this stranger would concern himself with this information; Inej could not imagine.

"If you are looking for information, I can help you," she ventured. Pauk gently hissed at her in distaste, his tail lashing in a cat-like movement against her back. Ignoring him, Inej continued. "I know all the girls there. If you are looking for one whose daemon matches her casting, the faun or ermine might be more to your liking. Some are unsettled, as well, if it suits you better." She was careful not to use their real names, having learnt firsthand that names in the Menagerie held power, and like most places in the Barrel, it was not the good kind.

But the man in front of her showed no visible indication that he had heard her. Instead, a leather-clad hand reached up to adjust his hat, and he continued walking, down the alleyway and out, where he turned towards East Stave.

While her curiosity was by no means satisfied, Inej could feel Pauk's fear beginning to grow within her as well, so she left the alleyway without so much as a sound from the silver bells around her ankles and returned to the Menagerie the same way she had left.

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