Midnight Thoughts ~ Shadow & Bone

21

have another :)

It was less than an hour before Kaz finally came back to the carriage. He hurriedly sat beside me, and I looked over at him, furrowing my brows as Jesper, Inej, and Arken gathered around the small space.

"Is everything alright?" I asked him quietly. He glanced at me and sighed, giving a brief look to Jesper before shaking his head.

"No," he replied. "She knows why we're here." My eyes widened, and the others frowned.

"Wait," Jesper said quickly. "Who knows?" Kaz looked up at him and sighed.

"Lieutenant Katya... Markov," he said. Jesper's eyes widened as well, but the looks of confusion on Inej and Arken's faces only deepened.

"Katya?" Inej asked. "Who's Katya?" Arken glanced around.

"Katya Markov is the second in command to General Kirigan," he said. Of course. I forgot his job was to know everything that went on inside the Little Palace to ensure he could get out any Grisha that wished to leave. "She knows about the job?" Kaz sat up straighter and took a breath, nodding.

"Yes," he confirmed. "Which means it's even more imperative that we get the target and get out." Jesper still looked wary but nodded.

"Speaking of which," he said, "I've seen her. I know what she looks like." I smirked a bit.

"Jesper, you sly dog," I said. He bowed jokingly, and Kaz nodded.

"You're sure it was her?" he asked the boy.

"I'm telling you, she's part Shu." I nodded.

"When exactly did you see her?" He shrugged.

"Just after midday." Inej pointed down at the map that was layed out on the table, gesturing towards the room that Kaz and I had seen.

"What's in this room?" she asked.

"Fitting room," Kaz told her. "It's where she'll go to change for dinner. And that's where we'll grab her." Jesper sighed, glancing over the map.

"Out of the way, clean lines of sight, easily controlled space." He grinned. "I like it." I snorted quietly.

"I'd like it, too," I said, "if it had a door." Inej frowned.

"It doesn't have a door?" Kaz shook his head.

"Not one that we can use," he said. "It's some sort of Grisha lock. It took a Materialnik to open it." I shared a look with Jesper, but he shook his head lightly.

"Is there no way to pick the lock?" he asked, looking away from me and towards Kaz.

"Actually, there is," Arken said, drawing all of our attention to him. "I can get through the door." I frowned.

"How?" He sighed, pulling his bag up into his lap.

"The locking mechanisms are Fabrikator-designed. Iron cogs that slide into place without a latch." He shrugged. "But for one of us to open it, we'll need a lodestone. With a minimum 2,000 gauss external strength. Hard to find." I rolled my eyes, and Jesper scoffed.

"It's not like we're just walking around with one of those in our pockets." Arken sighed and dug through the contents of his bag before pulling out a shimmering gray rock.

"You don't want to keep it in your pocket for too long." He chuckled. "Not if you're intending on having children someday." He held the stone out for Jesper to take, but the boy backed away with a grimace on his face.

"All right," Kaz said. I looked up at him. "Arken grabs the target." Inej looked over at him and frowned.

"You want the new guy to grab the million-kruge package?" I chuckled quietly and shook my head.

"The new guy knows his way around Grisha locks." Kaz nodded and looked towards Arken.

"Our futures depend on this," he warned. He glanced around the carriage, his eyes landing on each of the remaining three of us individually. "The rest of us will be setting up a lynx flush." I furrowed my brows.

"We are?" He glanced down at me and nodded a bit.

"What's a lynx flush?" Arken asked confusedly. I sighed, and Inej turned towards him to explain.

"Lynx are pack hunters. Very smart. They'll clear a path for the prey." He nodded.

"Oh. So, I grab the Summoner, and you clear the path?" Kaz nodded.

"That's right. We do it before dinner. You grab. Inej, Karlin, and I clear, and Jesper, make sure there's a fast way out." I kicked Jesper lightly, making him frown and kick me back. "Cut it out, you two." We smirked, and I turned to Kaz, smiling innocently up at him.

Soon, Inej and Arken left to get ready for the performance and scout a way to the fitting room. Kaz nudged me lightly with his knee and nodded towards the door. I chuckled and nodded before climbing out of the carriage with him close behind me.

"Kaz," Jesper called quietly as he followed us. "Kaz!" I stopped to look back at him, and Kaz sighed, turning to face him.

"What, Jesper?" he asked impatiently. "We have things to do, we can't afford to waste time." The boy sighed and nodded.

"Yeah, I know, but..." He groaned. "Are you sure this is still a good idea?" He shook his head. "I mean, you said it yourself, she knows you're here, she's onto you!" I furrowed my brows. According to Kaz, I had come to the Crow Club around a year after she was taken, but Jesper had been there for closer to two years when I joined them. Meaning he would've known her.

"I know she's onto me," Kaz told him. "And trust me, I don't want to be on the receiving end of her wrath if we get caught. But we won't, so it won't be a problem. We get Miss Starkov, and we get out. Kat doesn't even have to know she's gone." Jesper sighed.

"And what if she does?" he asked quietly. "What happens then? You know better than anyone that she doesn't forgive easily. And with her magic-"

"Simple Science," Kaz and I cut him off quickly. The instinct to correct the difference between magic and science was unfortunately still engrained into me from my time at the Little Palace. He nodded.

"Yeah, that. She's more dangerous than ever." He gulped. "And I know she said she doesn't want to fight you, but you know she will if she finds out that we took the Sun Summoner even after she warned you." Kaz sighed and nodded.

"Which makes it more important than ever that we have an escape plan ready." He looked up at Jesper and nodded towards the stables. "So get us one."