The Water's Rising.

Chapter 7-Kaz

As Kaz poled the gondel through the canals that ran through Ketterdam, he found himself glancing up to check if The Wraith was above him, silently following. Try as he might, he couldn't pick out her shape in the darkness, although he was sure she was there. He could sense her.

But she didn't reveal herself, nor send him any reassuring sign. She's upset, Kaz thought.

As much as Brekker and Dirtyhands tried to quell it, a niggle of guilt pushed its way to the surface, and Rietveld only helped it rise.

Kaz tried to ignore it as he made his way to the Van Eck mansion. All he wanted to do was go back to The Slat, pour himself a glass of whisky, and lose himself in the simple monotony of paperwork, but he had to see Lara, and he needed to talk to Wylan and Jesper about an upcoming job. And, although he hated to admit it, he sometimes missed the company of his Crows. 

Besides, there was sure to be something worth stealing in the house that no one would miss.

He docked in a narrow, private tributary that ran down the back of the gardens of the residencies on The Geldstraat, before breaking in through the back door of the mansion with his trusty lockpicks, being sure to lock it behind him.

He didn't want to announce his presence. 

Carefully lifting his cane off the floor, he crept through the drawing room, silent, and shrouded in a dusty darkness, and down the hall. He could hear Wylan and Jesper talking in the living room.

About him.

"He's gotten worse since Inej left." Wylan said softly, concerned.

"It's clearly because of Inej. Why doesn't he just admit he likes her." Slurred Jesper, probably louder than he meant to. He was well into his cups.

Kaz tiptoed up the stairs. He wasn't as silent as The Wraith would've been, but given how much his leg was playing up tonight, he was pleased with his efforts. When he got to the top, however, he had to stop. His breath sharp in his throat, he leaned against a wall and slipped into the copious shadows that lined the hallway, massaging his knee. 

He only allowed himself a few moments of relief before he carried on down the hallway, listening at each door to check for the tell-tale signs that the room was inhabited.

About halfway down, he caught snatches of Lara's muffled mutterings.

He tested the door.

Locked.

With a grin, he let his lockpicks dance between his leather-clad fingers like sharp slices of the moon itself, and soon, he heard the slight click of a lock yielding. With a gentle push, the door opened soundlessly.

The room was completely dark, all light that would've come through the window blocked by the heavy drapes. There was an ornate wardrobe in the corner, and a side table next to the door. But what drew his eye was the massive bed, and the figure within it. Lara was tossing and turning, talking and sobbing in her sleep. "No, please Matron Halbert! I didn't do it! No! Please!"

Her cries got more desperate, and Kaz stood frozen, unsure what to do. And then he remembered why he was there.

Without further ado, he gave Lara a sharp prod in the shoulder with the beak of his crow's-head-cane. Lara startled awake and when she saw Kaz standing there, tried to scream, but he slapped his gloved hand over her mouth, the slight shiver that ran down his spine the only sign of discomfort. 

He leaned the cane against the bedside table for a second as he pulled back the covers, before he picked up the cane again and pressed the beak into her leg.