Chapter Twenty-One

Stirs of Whispers Trail and Linger

What could be seen of Inej's skin, shone amongst the vast darkness swathing her, fabric covering her face. She had been clearly on the lookout, blending into the shadows of the merchants' manors. Heavy bags under her eyes told Kaz that her sleep would have been limited if it had existed. The eyes were alight with something that Kaz could only be akin to good news. A sharp glint that just managed to meet the tips of her lips. He had given her only the vaguest of instructions when sending her off, simply look into Jan Van Eck and watch his house. He knew that the more vague the information, the more detail Inej would provide, so unsure of the end goal that she would overcompensate for every possibility. To some, this would prompt stress, but Kaz knew that the work excited Inej as much as it did him.

"You asked me to look into Van Eck."

"I did, I did not think that would take you over a week's absence."

Her lips drew downwards, "My deepest apologies, I should have forgone noting the individual locks, entrances, guards' rosters and…"

"Yes, you have been very busy. Now do you have anything worthwhile to provide?" Kaz interrupted her rant, entirely aware he was fuelling the growing scowl. A small furrow tended to bury itself between her brows when he annoyed her. It was growing entertaining.

"He has a large gallery on his second floor, medeco locks inserted throughout. Guards at the doors and in the room. They have regular changeovers although he does seem to value some form of discretion as he maintains it between five men. The doors and windows are locked. I was able to get through the windows without the security noticing."

"Inside the gallery?"

"You already know what is inside the gallery, Kaz."

"However could I know that?"

"Kaz." Resignation dripped from her voice. The furrow deepened.

"I definitely know what is in there. I want to know if you know what is in there."

Inej left out a sigh larger than herself. "Kaz, why am I scouting out a merchant's manner?"

"Do you remember the Dekapple?"

"The painting we couldn't steal because we would not be able to profit and would almost definitely get caught? That Dekapple?"

"The Dekapple, that Jan Van Eck is so concerned about keeping, that he placed it behind the most secure locks available in Ketterdam. One he values so much that he created and publicly sold a relatively decent copy of it. All to avoid drawing the attention of thieves."

"Thieves like you?" Inej raised an eyebrow. She had softened from her reporter's stance, moving to her worn seat on Kaz's window sill, one leg tucked close as she took in the information.

"I'm an opportunist. Van Eck has laid out a challenge, it would be rude to ignore the invitation."

"But what would be the point Kaz?"

"The point, Inej, is that he thinks no one can take it. He's made it un-stealable." Kaz had moved around to his desk, and he leant forward, his eyes reflecting Inej's own glint. The point was that between preparing for Bolligers more than likely betrayal, and handling the other tasks that Per Haskel was too lazy to do, Kaz was bored. The type of mindless boredom that ate and made way for dark thoughts. The point was that this sounded like more fun than he had had in a while. "The point is that an impossible challenge has been made, and I have made a name for doing the impossible."

Inej processed the information, he knew she shared that craving to complete a difficult challenge. He could see the moment she had engaged with the idea.

"How will you get boss to agree?"

"No, this needs to be done subtlety. This needs to be just us." The reality was Per Haskell would never agree to a heist that truly had no benefit to him, or anyone else for that matter. There were other tasks and jobs he could give them that would be a far better use of their talents, which is why Kaz had no intention of the old coot finding out about it. Inej could keep this quiet. It would make the most sense for it to be just him and her, Inej was quick and silent, and Kaz had the skills to get them in. Any others added into the mix would only open up the knowledge. Jesper was far more likely to blurt the information over a few drinks. If there was even a hint of what they planned to do, Van Eck would lock it all down harder than Kaz could break.

"So when do we do this, impossible heist?"

Kaz pulled open the third drawer to his desk, pulling out a long piece of parchment and tossing it towards Inej, she caught it with little effort.

"Document the plans to his house, give me the names and times of those who go in and out. Everything you know needs to be on this paper."

He had tossed a pencil her way before she could open her mouth to ask. Inej spread the paper out on the sill and began to sketch slowly. Her mind and hand moved as one and Kaz made an illusion of busying himself with work as he watched the granite move over the parchment. Straight lines blended into curves. Inej didn't make mistakes, leaving small spaces when she could not recall an area. Voids of cream to be filled in later. The reality was that this plan, while possibly reckless and almost certainly not the most useful place for either of their skills, passed as fun for her as well. Maybe other teenagers somewhere were entertaining themselves over more mundane things. Kaz thought shrewdly of the hoop and stick they had stolen for the heist earlier. Yes, that could bring entertainment for some. But not for him, not for her.

Even the planning of this night was interesting. Finding out the tricks and traps of Van Eck's house, learning the comings and goings. Kaz thought that keeping it between the two of them was partially the driving factor behind why he wanted to go through with it so badly. Inej could keep a secret as well as he could, although she would never hear that praise from him. This would receive no praise from others, but he had seen in her eyes that same gleam that matched his own. When they pulled this off, the knowledge would be all the praise he needed.

Unfortunately, the unnamed urge that had Kaz so enamoured by Inej's hand sketching along the paper, was not strong enough to distract him from the fact that he did have actual work to do. He had correspondence from the second Harbour. A guard who updated him on travellers into the city. Occasionally there would be brawls along the canal that Kaz could benefit from as well.

At most times, Kaz would have a guard bought on every Harbour. Occasionally one would die, or have a change of heart, and then die. Changing them out was a hindrance but it was no harder than purchasing a new hat. He wondered if those who dreamt of joining the Stadwatch to do 'real good' were aware of how deeply each member fell into the pockets of the gangs of Ketterdam. Those who desired change always found themselves falling into the dirt with the others, or they were silenced for their bleeding hearts.

Kaz slit the letter open, eyes skimming over it, taking the information in with a raised brow of surprise. The information was barely hours old the guard had known this would be worth extra money. It was entirely ironic that Van Eck's family would find a way into Kaz's mind on such a different level. The note said that a soaking, shivering rat of a boy had pulled himself out of a canal earlier that night. Although the flames of red had been soaked a near-sodden dark against pale freckles; the guard had still been confident in his recognition. The figure had reportedly been paranoid, head darting fast enough to break, he'd run fast into the shadows of Ketterdam, and was likely frozen and dead somewhere by the time Kaz had finished reading. And yet…

"Inej, what did you see of the Van Eck boy?" Kas asked, hands not moving from the note.

Her hand did not still, "I saw nothing of him, but I heard music from one room, I've noted it as his. He's a flute player, has talent."

"How useful."

"Not in our world, but maybe in his." Her response held a hint of yearning whereas Kaz held only contempt.

"Perhaps, but as of a few hours ago, he entered into our world. I don't suppose a flute will do him much good. Unless he's also very talented in using it to smash open skulls."

That did get her to stop in her work. Inej put the pencil down and looked at Kaz, confusion clouding her face once more.

"Van Eck's son is in The Barrel?" She asked.

Kaz flicked the letter at her and waited as she read it. When she met his eyes, it was with an expectance, she knew he would not have shown her if he did not have a reason, a plan, a plot.

"It's an interesting situation, a lot of questions I would like answered. The main one, for now, is if he's made it through the last few hours." He held his hand out for the parchment she had been working on, they had all the time in the world for this heist, but Wylan Van Eck did not have all the time in the world. No son of a Merchant would understand how much the monsters came alive at night in The Barrel.

"I'll go find him; do you want me to make contact?"

"No, I don't think he needs a greeting, let's see if he has any use besides flute playing first." Or simply being bait, but Kaz needed to see just how badly Van Eck would want his heir back. "Just ensure he makes it somewhere without too much harm coming to him, once he has, investigate him. I want to know why he was in that canal instead of his heated chambers. What pushes a merchling into our streets?"

It did not happen very often, but occasionally a rebellious merchling would grow wary of their lifestyles, and dream of living amongst the common folk. It almost always ended in ransoms, sometimes a slit-throat message to the higher class. It was doubtful that Wylan would prove to be anything more than either of those options, but whatever the result, Kaz would be the one to solve it.

Inej was pushing herself back up, stretching herself up in a long swoop, joints popping as she did so. Kaz wondered again if she had gotten any sleep before coming to him. He wondered if she would get any tonight, or would her own bleeding heart cause her to watch over him until the rays had lit the boy's hair? Once, he could have instructed her to be back before dawn and ensured she would sleep as a result. But Inej had grown comfortable in his space, flexible amongst his gruffness. An order like that would be met with a nod, and then she would proceed to arrive right before the first light hit. She would be at his window with her information, bags deeper than ever under her own eyes.

"If he's not dead, put out the word that he isn't to be touched, and don't tell a soul who he is." Van Eck hardly lauded his heir out for all to see. Kaz had been lucky that the guard in his pocket happened to be one who knew of the boy. It was unlikely that every guard would, Kaz himself would not have recognised him, and would not have looked twice if he saw his frozen frame on the ground. This anonymity could serve Kaz well if a need came for it. It was a shame though. He had been relatively fond of how reliable this guard was. He would have to set plans in motion to discredit him. The irritating part of paying out guards is that they could always slip and fall into deeper pockets.

Inej pushed her braid back, nodding in acknowledgement before pushing herself back out of his window. Kaz did not need to repeat the information in the note. He hadn't had to reiterate where she should start looking. Inej retained information quickly, it was part of what had helped to so quickly establish her as the perfect spider.

With any luck, Wylan Van Eck would have lost his secrets to her web within the next few days.

Authors Notes:

Holy Crap I cannot believe I only have nine chapters left of this story. Entering the beginning of Wylan really shocked me into this reality.
This has been the closest I have come to finishing a story before, once I finish this I plan to start my actual novel.
Anyway... HINTS OF WYLAN? I am so excited.
Thank you to everyone who commented. Please also feel free to follow me on Tumblr, occasionally I post parts of the story. You can also ask me questions there or send me fan art if you feel the urge. I would love fan art for this.
I have gotten to that stage where I am realising that the first few chapters in this, badly need editing, but I have received advice that if I stop writing and start editing, I won't finish the story. So based on that advice, I am going to keep writing until I have finished. Once it is done I will lock it down for editing.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
~ThisMayFlower

Tumblr: ThisMayFlower