The Fox and The Crow [Kaz Brekker]

chapter 23

AN: Here is Sundays update! I gave an extra update yesterday because I got too excited to release more. Anyway I am very close to finishing prewriting. Like I'm on episode 7. Which means I'll be uploading more frequently soon!

Italics - Sign Language

Italics + Bold - Writing

[Dream]

Daemon felt herself drowning in the darkness. She gasped for air, desperately trying to crawl her way out of the shadows that threatened to swallow her whole. Her heart was beating erratically in her chest, bringing a stinging pain to her body.

Daemon crawled forward on her hands and knees in the cold sand.

"Who are you?" that chilling voice reached her ears once again.

Daemon looked up as a figure came from the darkness. Kirigan. He looked just the same as before.

Daemon clasped her hands over her head, "No. You're not real. This is just a dream. Go away."

Her voice seemed to come back to her in her dream state. It wasn't an unusual occurrence. She spoke in her head after all.

"Somehow I knew you were special. You never faltered, even as my heartrender crushed your heart. What's your name, girl?" Kirigan circled her.

Daemon rested her forehead in the sand, pulling at her hair, "It's just a dream. Just a dream. It's not real. You're dead."

"You look a lot like a woman I once knew...Why are you here?" Kirigan ignored her clear distress.

Daemon let out heavy breaths, fighting the urge to scream out, "Go away. I don't like you."

Kirigan's brow rose, "You sound like a child throwing a tantrum. If you want to leave so bad, then do it. I'm not the one keeping you here."

Daemon pulled a knife from her pocket and swung around with a scream.

[Dream End]

~

Daemon woke with a sharp gasp, her elbow smacking against the wood of the cupboard and causing the door to fling open. She clumsily tumbled out, groaning when she hit the floor.

"Oh God. Are you ok?" Nina asked as she knelt by her side.

Daemon sat up and rubbed her hands over her face, wishing she could scrub the sight of Kirigan from her mind. She peaked up at Nina, noticing that no one else was there.

Nina smiled, "Oh, uh, they've all gone out. Your boss told us to meet at some diner by the office buildings? He said you'd know the place. Funny. He was getting all upset with everyone else getting up too slow, but as soon as your friend Inej offered to wake you up he said to leave you to it. Seems he's got a soft spot, huh?"

Daemon clicked her tongue as she got to her feet and shook her legs out from sleeping in a cramped space.

"So you can't talk at all? Or you just don't want to?" Nina wondered.

Daemon was starting to figure that Nina was a very curious woman. Which she would appreciate if she talked. But it was just the two of them with no translator.

Daemon looked around and found a stack of notebooks on the table. She hoped Wylan wouldn't be mad at her for borrowing a few pages of one for the day. She grabbed some paper and a pencil and started jotting down her words before showing it to Nina.

'Both. Can't an don't want to. Can only talk to Kaz.'

Nina noticed that the writing was very sloppy and the wording was a bit off, but she understood the gist of it, so she didn't say anything about it.