You Are My Light (Kaz Brekker x Reader)

Chapter 1

I was sitting at the poker table with Jesper, three men and the dealer.

The dealer finished dealing the cards and the men were placing their money on the table.

"You take Zemeni coin, yes?" The man seated next to me asked. It was fake money. I could tell.

"Let me see that." Jesper's voice said from the opposite end of the table. I'm not the only one who knows it's fake.

I took a coin the man had placed down and tossed it to Jesper. He caught it in his hand and sat up, swinging his feet down from resting on the table.

"The Lucky Nine casino up the block has had trouble with counterfeit coin lately. Heavy, but brittle." Jesper stated.

"Oh, come on, now. I've been here for hours. My money is good, no?" The man argued.

"Zemeni coin can take the bullet. But the knockoff..." Jesper winked and threw the bullet into the air. He shot it with his gun and it dropped onto the table with a hole going straight through it.

"Busted." He said as he swung his gun on his finger and put it back in his pocket.

"What does that prove?" The man asked frantically.

Two men grabbed the man with the counterfeit money.

"Hey! Wait! What are you doing?" He yelled as they dragged him out of the Crow Club.

Jesper smirked. He leaned forward to grab the money left on the table but a strong, wood cane slammed onto the table, stopping him.

My eyes followed up the familiar cane to see Kaz Brekker's sharp face looking disapprovingly down at Jesper.

Kaz shook his head. "No loud noises at the table, Jesper. You'll scare off the pigeons."

"Wouldn't want that, boss." Jepser mumbled.

"Shouldn't you be on the door?"

"Yeah, right away, boss."

I just sat there enjoying the moment.

"You too." Kaz told me.

"On it, boss." I rolled my eyes sarcastically.

Kaz was our friend. He employed us at the Crow Club. While we were working we were required to call him boss. I rarely did.

Once Kaz had turned to leave I snatched the remaining money on the table.

Unlike Jesper, I didn't go to the door. I decided to follow Kaz instead.

"What is it, Rotty?" Kaz asked a short man impatiently.

Rotty held up a picture. "Someone stole a DeKappel from a merch's private residence, last night."

"Is that so?" Kaz asked. He walked away. Rotty followed. He was uninterested in whatever Rotty was implying.

"It's a painting. A landscape of Ravka. The Fold. Oil on parchment." Rotty continued.

"I know who DeKappel is." Kaz said. Still uninterested.

"Well, he don't do nudes so I never heard of him." Rotty said.

I laughed at this.

Kaz turned around to see me. At first he looked annoyed. Then his gaze softened. This confused me.

"Get to it, Rotty." Kaz said, breaking his eye contact with me.

Rotty held the painting out once more for Kaz to see. "Worth something like ten thousand kruge. The thief had to get past four roving guards, high fences, padlocked doors and a security system designed by one of them Grisha witches."

"Fabrikator." Kaz interrupted.

"Whatever." Rotty continued. "Point is, it was either a group effort or a ghost."

"Why does this concern me?" Kaz asked.

Rotty scoffed. "I got a buyer lined up. Legit money. So, uh, if you hear a whisper..." Rotty clicked his tongue.

"Who can hear a whisper here?" Kaz got closer to Rotty. Leaning in so their faces were close. Then, he turned and left.

I ran up to Kaz. For a boy with a cane and a limp he sure walked fast.

"What was all that about?" I asked.

Kaz walked up the stairs to the rooms. I followed.

"Kaz, you can't just ignore me because you don't want to answer."

Once again, no answer. He walked to his room. On the wall I saw the painting Rotty was talking about.

"You stole it?" I asked. Kaz walked into the other room.

"Yes." He answered from the other room.

"You could've just said so." I said, leaning against the wall next to the dresser he was getting ready at.

Kaz turned around and faced me. We were quite close. I had to strain my neck to see him. Kaz is six feet tall and I'm only five foot six inches.

"I wanted to show you."

He turned back around and took off his gloves.

Inej appeared in the window. I could see it was raining outside.

"Hello, Inej. What information do you have for me tonight?" Kaz said without looking up or turning around.

Inej pulled down her hood. "A lead on a job. A big one. Enough money to change lives."

"It doesn't take much to change someone's life in the Barrel." Kaz stated. It was true.

"A million kruge?" Inej asked. I whistled. This was going to be a great job.

Kaz straightened. "What's the name?"

"Dreesen. A wealthy merchant."

"Dreesen." I echoed.

"I've heard of him." Kaz sighed. "He could afford it. The question is, what's worth a million kruge to him?"

"He's looking for a crew willing to cross the Fold into East Ravka and bring back something."

"The Fold?" Kaz asked. "Well, of course, certain death pays a million."

"He didn't say what he wants nicked?" I questioned.

"No. But he's taking meetings tonight, starting at midnight."

"Tell me you followed him." Kaz said.

"He brought someone in from a ship." Inej started. "Took a way back to his house in the Garden District to avoid attention. I would have followed him inside but Dreesen's hired some private security. I would've had to use my knives to get closer.

"Private security." Kaz mumbled quietly. "Anyone we know?"

"A Zemeni man. I think his name's Tendo. You know him?" Inej asked.

"Yeah. He gambles at one of Pekka's clubs." I said.

"How'd you know that?" Kaz questioned.

"Doesn't matter. You won't have leverage on him anyway." I said.

"But Pekka will." Kaz said bitterly.

"So, what's our move now?" I asked.

"Inej, you're the one of us who believes in a higher power. If we're going to survive a round trip through the Fold, we'll need a miracle or two." Kaz stated.