Chapter Text
KAZ
It was most likely only because of the tonics they brought that Kaz was somewhat able to be on this journey. Well, lying around in the back of a carriage shouldn’t be taxing at all, but how things were, Kaz felt constantly exhausted. The coughing seemed to have gotten a little lighter at least, but his chest still burned and breathing still was a struggle. As if permanently working against something sitting on his chest, weighing him down.
Despite the moving of the carriage and the bumpy roads since they made it out of the city, Kaz had slept a big chunk of the journey away. When he had woken, Inej was there to offer water, a tonic or a clean cloth to cough into. When Kaz woke this time, he was alone, and the rattling movement of the carriage had stopped. They must be taking a break. Kaz rolled his shoulders underneath the warm blankets. The more his mind came into focus, the more he grew aware of the voices drifting in from outside. It felt painfully normal to be that close to them, to hear them talk. It also felt like Kaz was separated from them by more than the carriage wall. That was entirely nonsense, and he shoved that thought away before it could take root and fester.
“We should arrive Belendt tomorrow evening or the day after tomorrow. Depending on how fast we can travel,” Wylan said. Kaz imagined him pointing on a map of Kerch to show how much progress they made. Another 24 hours, maybe more. Kaz wasn’t sure how he felt about it. They weren’t even on the road that long and he was done. And that where his Crows did all the work and he just lied around uselessly, sick.
What if retuning the pithos didn’t help? The thought popped up unbidden, sudden. Kaz frowned to himself. He didn’t even believe that this was a curse, did he? He shuddered, tightening the blankets around himself some more as if that could dispel the chill that seemed to come out of his very core and not from the outside world.
The voices of his friends sounded muffled now, even though they hadn’t lowered their voices. Instead, Kaz heard his blood rushing in his ears and his heartbeat way too quickly and out of rhythm. He coughed, chest tight. For whatever reason he tried to not make a sound. As if disturbing anything outside of this little space was out of question. As if he were alone in the world.
As alone as he had felt when Jordie died. No, even before that, when his brother had fallen sick and no one had paid attention to two homeless, dirty boys. And then the city had just thrown them out. Like trash.
Kaz squeezed his eyes shut, but the images were right there behind his eyelids, waiting in the dark. “Please,” he whispered. “No …”
“Boss?” Jesper’s voice startled Kaz out of whatever hallucination he had fallen into. “Are you all right?”
Kaz swallowed, forced his eyes to open, and there was Jesper. Grey eyes wide he looked at Kaz, one hand stretched out but not touching. Kaz had gotten better about being touched, but he really appreciated that his Crows—his friends—were still being careful with him. Mindful of his past. They saw him. He wasn’t no one. He wasn’t alone, with them. “Just,” Kaz shrugged, making the lump of blankets shift with the motion, “me thinking too much.”
Jesper seemed surprised that Kaz had really answered him. The smile that followed was as gentle as it was genuine. “I wanted to check on you, and if you were up to leaving this for a bit.” He gestured around the space.
“We have tea!” Inej said from right out of Kaz’s view.
“And soup,” Wylan added.
“Well, I think I can stand some company for a bit,” Kaz said, and moved to leave the carriage for the first time since they left Ketterdam behind.
INEJ
The night had been quiet. At all times one of them—or well, one out of Wylan, Jesper and Inej herself—was up for the night watch. Aside from the nightly sounds of the forest around them, there was nothing and that had allowed Inej’s thoughts to wander. Every now and then Kaz had coughed, or even groaned in sleep, and her heart sank at the reality of Kaz outside like this. Even with the carriage and the fire it was not his own bad. Then again, Kettedam was damp and cold, and Kaz needed to get away rather sooner than later. She only hoped that retuning the pithos would go smoothly this time around.
Wylan’s map had showed that this was the last woody part they would make it through on their way, so she preferred to reach Belendt instead of camping out somewhere again. They could also go to an Inn, perhaps, depending on if they found one on their way.
After some morning tea and breakfast, another round of tonics for Kaz, they were on the road again. For the first shift Inej sat up front with Wylan, while Jesper was in the back, having an eye on Kaz. He was feverish again, and after he briefly woke for tea and medication, he had drifted. To make matters worse, the weather shifted from cold but dry, to cold any rainy. Inej and Wylan bundled up where they sat while heavy rain fell around them. They slowed the horses down to not risk any accidents on the way, but the concern grew that like this they would not reach Belendt today.
“He will be fine,” Wylan said out of the blue.
Inej’s gaze snapped to the man next to her. “That obvious?” She tried to hide the permanent worry she felt, tried to take one step after the other. It was just hard when someone she cared for deeply suffered that bad.
Wylan shrugged, shoulder barely visible underneath the rain cape he wore. “Only because we know you.”
Inej hummed. Everything she could say died at the back of her tongue. It would be lying to both of them if she just pretended things would turn out all right. It was in the hands of the Saints now, and she prayed every chance she got. “Are things between you and Jesper going to be fine, then?”
Wylan grimaced, eyes trained anywhere but at Inej. He looked out at the road ahead of them. Big puddles of water that splashed up to their feet and thighs when they drove through them. “He … he wanted to talk yesterday. Jesper. But I’m not ready to hear his apology.”
“I see,” Inej said. Before she had left with the Wraith things between Wylan and Jesper had been all right. And then she came back, a couple months later, and they weren’t talking and Jesper was even refusing to work with Kaz or to leave any gambling caves he found a free chair in. “I hope you two can clear things between you.”
“Me, too.” Wylan smiled, a little bitter around the edges, and Inej thought about her own bitterness when she had seen Kaz so willingly accept help from Jesper at the Slat.
“Is it … hmm … the … the fight you had with Jesper. Did it have anything to do with Kaz?” The more Inej spoke, the quieter her voice grew until it was barely audible over the sounds of rain and hooves and wheels.
Now it was Wylan’s turn to snap his head around to meet Inej’s gaze. “Why would you think that?”
Inej shrugged. “Because you two had a fall-out. And because Kaz allows Jesper to help him change and move around?” ‘And not me’ went unsaid, but with how Wylan looked, Inej could have as well said it.
“When Jesper went with Kaz to help him change,” Wylan started, “Kaz told him to not run off again. That the next time he wouldn’t be forgiven.”
“Oh …” Despite the cold of the rain Inej felt her cheeks burn. “I see.”
“And I do think Jes and I will make up. I just don’t want to make it too easy for him,” Wylan said, and Inej chuckled, relief bubbling up inside of her.
“Of course not.”
For a bit the conversation died away, only the sounds of the heavy rain and the horses surrounding them. The leather of the reins was growing heavier with water, the colour morphed from brown into something darker. At first Inej thought the knocking they heard came from somewhere around them rather than from behind them. It repeated with a persistence of an urgent mind, and Inej snapped out of her thoughts when she heard Jesper’s muffled voice: “We need to stop! Water’s coming through the roof!”
Wylan cursed next to Inej, and she felt a lump build in her throat.
“How bad is it?” she asked.
“It’s pretty bad by now,” Jesper answered.
“We’ll find an Inn!” Inej promised, her voice mixing with the rain and the pitter-patter of it masking the tremble of her words. She looked at Wylan who looked just as shellshocked about this turn of events.
“Do you think it is the … the …” He didn’t finish his sentence but Inej understood him nonetheless.
“I don’t think an artefact can make it rain through carriage roofs.” Inej heard herself say it, but she found she didn’t believe her own words. They were on the journey to return the pithos before it had finished its sinister ways with Kaz. Of course whatever curse lay on it would not agree. “Oh Saints,” Inez whispered, her voice drowned out by the rain.
If Kaz got too wet now it could worsen his state to the point that no amount of tonics would be able to help him. They could lose him. She could lose him.
Inej blinked against the water running down her cheeks, making her temporarily see everything blurred around the edges. She didn’t acknowledge that not all of this was rain water.
KAZ
Cold. It was cold. He was cold. Kaz tried to pull the blankets tighter around him but they were heavy with water.
Water.
From the harbour.
Kaz gasped, now trying to get the blankets off of him before they pulled him down, down, down. Fingers like ice touched his ankles, made him freeze from the downside up. Hands grabbed his upper arms, and Kaz fought against the grip, tried to, until warm copper bubbled up and made it hard to breathe.
“Kaz, please!” A voice from so far away called out to him. A familiar voice.
“Jordie?” Kaz asked on a cough. “You’re … you’re … d-dead!” He gasped and kicked his legs. His foot made contact with something.
“Ouch! Kaz! Stop! It’s me! Jesper!” The voice sounded closer now, more desperate, too.
Kaz wheezed, warm, sticky copper clinging to his lips. His heart rabbited against his ribs, making breathing even more difficult. “J-Jes?”
“Yeah,” said Jesper. “It’s me. We’re getting rained on pretty badly, but Inej and Wy are going to find us a warm place to stay.”
Kaz hummed, not quite sure himself if it was acknowledgement or agreement, both or neither. His head pounded, and he groaned.
“Hang on tight,” Jesper said, and that was the last thing Kaz heard before he slipped into dreamless darkness.
JESPER
Seeing Kaz slip away like that, set off a cold kind of panic. Jesper even preferred the wheezing, coughing version of Kaz when it meant he wasn’t so still. Again Jesper knocker against the rood of the carriage. Fresh water rained on them when he hit the soaked through material of it. “We need to hurry! Kaz is … Kaz is not well.”
Jesper knew that Inej couldn’t make an Inn appear out of thin air. No one could except the Saints, perhaps, and that only if they had a good day. They were known to be cruel, too, not only helpful, and still Inej clung to her prayers like a shipwrecked to a floating piece of wood. Despite the high waves she would trust to be saved, refusing to lose hope. That was how Jesper saw Inej. She had gone through so many gruesome things and yet she went out to safe others. To help others. Even faced by the heaviest storms she refused to quit.
“Our Wraith is pretty amazing, isn’t she?” Jesper said to Kaz while he rearranged the blankets. He grimaced at the heavy wetness of some of them, and he tried to pull them off to keep his hands busy. By the time Kaz lay there, shivering, only wrapped in Jesper’s coat on top of his clothes, the carriage came to a halt.
Jesper’s heart leaped in his chest, a hopeful flutter, and then the door opened and Wylan looked at him. “Inej gets us a room. We can bring him somewhere warm in no time.”
Jesper breathed out, throat tight with relief. He nodded, lower lip trembling. Unable to speak he looked from Wylan back to Kaz. The crimson blood on his chin a stark contrast to his white skin. It made him look even more pale, and Jesper knew he wouldn’t forget this picture for quite some time, if ever. The next moment arms made their way around Jesper, pulling him into a hug.
“He will be all right,” Wylan whispered into the space between his lips and Jesper’s cheek, and that was all it took for Jesper to start crying. He clung to Wylan as the wave of emotions, of the worry, the fear, the guilt, the withdrawal, washed over him and made him a weeping mess.
Wylan held him through all of it.
INEJ
Even passed out like that Kaz clung to the pithos. As if he knew he couldn’t lose it, couldn’t let go of it. He was still deeply unconscious after they brought him into a room in the Inn, a fire warming up the air around them. It was a blessing in Inej’s eyes that Kaz wasn’t aware of them touching him to bring him in even when he had gotten better about it with the people closest to him.
“I’ll go and look for something to eat,” Jesper said.
Inej noticed his fingers twitching by his side, opening and closing with no rhyme nor reason. “Wylan should go with you.”
Jesper nodded. “Anything in particular we should look out for?”
“Tea. And soup, maybe bread.” Inej looked at Kaz as if he would help with that decision. “Waffles.”
The smile was audible in Jesper’s voice. “Of course there have to be waffles. We’ll need to report to Nina about any waffles on the continent.”
“Will you be okay?” Inej asked. There was something nagging at the back of her mind; probably because she saw the card players downstairs. “I could go if … well, if the temptation were too much.”
“I won’t lie,” Jesper started with, “and pretend it doesn’t try to pull me to these tables I saw. It feels as if I could hear dices roll from all the way down there. But I need to learn that. I need to withstand that.” There was sweat on his brows and his eyes had a feverish glance to it. Jesper was fighting really hard. “I promised not to relapse. Kaz would kill me if I did.”
“Oh, he would do something that would make you wish he would just kill you already, “Wylan spoke from behind Inej. He must’ve entered the room during her conversation with Jesper. They had booked two rooms for the night, so that all of them could warm up and sleep properly for a change. The rooms were across from each other in the hall. Inej would have preferred a connected set of rooms with a door in between, but they could work with this, too. They weren’t in danger. No one had paid much attention to them when they came in and after Wylan had put a good amount of kruge on the table, all eyes that might’ve looked at them, had turned away for good. “But honestly, Jes. I can see you’re struggling. Perhaps you stay with Kaz while Inej and I go and get food?”
The silence that followed showed Inej that Jesper was truly considering it. Perhaps his pride was in the way of the final agreement. In the end, Jepser’s shoulders slumped, and he sighed. “It might be for the better if I stayed here with Kaz.”
Wylan touched Jesper’s upper arm, gave it a gentle squeeze. “We’ll be back in no time.”
For Inej it was hard to leave Kaz like that; even with Jesper there. She could be sure that Jesper would not harm Kaz, that he would fight harm off Kaz, really, but still. Inej didn’t want to miss when Kaz woke, and she might when she left now. Despite that inner turmoil she smiled, and nodded along to Wylan’s words. “We’ll be quick.”
***
After the silence in their room the mix of voices and music and clinking glasses were deafening. The lower story of the Inn held a good dozen of round wooden tables where men and women sat, drank, ate, and gambled. Upon seeing not only the card players from earlier but also a table where they were rolling dices, Inej was intensely grateful that Jesper had decided to stay upstairs. It wasn’t only one temptation but two, and Jesper was already holding on by a thread.
Inej and Wylan made their way through the customers, pushing against sweaty shoulders and arms and more than once they got some hair in their face from women who shook their long braids carelessly. Inej’s attention shifted from only moving forward to the people around her, so when Wylan grabbed her arm over her long sleeve, she was certain they both spotted the same.
Wylan’s voice almost got lost in the noise around them even with him leaning in to speak closer to her ear. “Is that who I think it is?”
Inej grinned and nodded. “Pretty sure it is.”
Not far from them, on a table in the corner right next to the dice gamblers, sat a certain man that formerly owned a certain pithos and that now looked perfectly healthy. Before he had seemed swaying on the fence between this side and the afterlife, but after Kaz had stolen the vase, he had sprung back to health. He had a young woman on his lap, older than 18 but way younger than him with at least 55. Inej shuddered at the implication of that woman smiling at him like she did, the flash of white teeth, and her breasts right in front of the man’s face.
“Well, if he still had the pithos,” Wylan said, “he would die from a heart attack right here.”
Inej snorted, some of the tension leaving her frame with it. “Probably. We need to find out which room is his. And then we can bring it back.” The excitement made her heart beat quicker, her cheeks felt flushed with it. She needed to push every thought and emotion about that woman away for now. Perhaps she could talk to her later. Not now, though. “Let’s order the food. Afterwards I’ll stay here and have an eye on mister exhibition.”
And that was that. Not long after Wylan went back upstairs with a tray loaded with tea and soup and bread and waffles, and Inej had found a free chair, and orderer some kvas just to fit in. She wouldn’t drink it, but sitting here without a drink would have drawn too much attention. Like this she blended in with the other loud customers, even though she was quiet. And she waited, hawk eyes on the man no too far away. She couldn’t hear what he was saying, but she needn’t overhear anything. She just needed to be patient and then follow him to his room. After that they could figure out how to wake up Kaz enough that he could return that cursed pithos, and then they all might be able to get some good rest for a change.
Inej prayed things would turn out in their favour, but with this man right in front of her eyes she wasn’t that mad about that leaking carriage roof anymore since it was what had brought them here. Perhaps it wasn’t a curse but a blessing. And perhaps they would be lucky with returning that pithos this time. Inej hoped, and prayed, and waited.
JESPER
“Do you think she will be all right all by herself?” Jesper asked. The moment these words were spoken into existence, he already felt guilty for them. He didn’t really worry about Inej’s safety. What he cared for was the pull of the game that took place so close to him and still so far away. Too far to reach.
“You’re aware she’s the Wraith, right?” Wylan said. His eyes and the lines around his mouth showed that he didn’t buy Jesper’s words anyways. “Don’t you want to teat? The waffles sure are best when they’re still warm.”
The food wasn’t at all appealing. Jesper wiped his brows. “Is it hot in here?” He looked around. The fire burned, but before it hadn’t bothered him. It bothered him now, so he slipped out if his coat. The shirt underneath was sweat through.
“Jes,” Wylan said, hesitantly, carefully, as if Jesper were some kind of little bird ready to flee. “Are you running a fever?”
“No,” Jesper spat. It might feel like he was burning from the inside out, but he knew it had nothing to do with a cold of any kind. “Ugh, sorry … I’m … not feeling so good.”
“Who would have guessed,” Wylan said. He moved to pour some water from a pitcher into a glass. “You should at least have some water. Hydration is important.”
Jesper felt all sorts of bitter things rotting behind his teeth. All the words he could say to hurt Wylan right now, just so he could lash out and get relief from some of the pressure he felt. The relief would only last for a second and then the guilt would eat away at him. “I should go to the other room before I say anything I’ll regret.”
“It’s safe with me,” Wylan said. “You are safe with me.”
That wasn’t at all what Jesper expected. Not after he basically left Wylan and the life they’d built for themselves for the shiny dices and flashy cards. “Wylan … “
“It’s still not the moment where I would accept an apology, but I won’t just watch when someone I still love is suffering.”
“Oh,” Jesper breathed, and there was a small twitch at the corner of his mouth, dry lips pulling into an almost-smile. “Someone you still love?” Wylan didn’t look away, only nodded. “I still love you, too.”
Wylan’s cheeks turned the slightest shade of pink. “Good. And now have some water, and at least one waffle.”
“So bossy.”
“Someone has to be when our boss is out.”
During this exchange Jesper had been so caught up in his own withdrawal, in the conversation with Wylan, that for a moment there he had forgotten that Kaz was in the room with them. Still unconscious, but there. Not even the rasping, wheezing breaths registered anymore after a while. Sadly they had gotten used to that sound. At least Kaz slept and didn’t cough up blood right now. Sometimes it was the little things.
INEJ
Everything went smoothly, almost too smoothly. Not long after Wylan had gone upstairs, Inej’s target decided to leave as well. With the young woman that giggled at all the right moments. Inej was certain she wanted to secure a good payment. So Inej followed in the shadows, not thinking about what would happen once the door to this man’s room closed behind him and the young woman. That was none of her business right now, but the room number was.
The former owner of the pithos must be a better paying guest. His room was way to the back of the Inn, far way from the rooms the Crows were currently occupying. They really were lucky to have bumped into that man at all. It would have been easy to be at the same space and never cross paths; and all only because of the dripping roof. Perhaps it wasn’t the curse speaking, but Inej’s prayers being answered. Perhaps the Saints wanted to guide them, help them solve this problem of theirs. And now they could. Now the only problem was to have Kaz being awake and agile enough to be able to return the pithos himself, and then this whole nightmare would hopefully be over.
Inej made her way back to their rooms, finding Jesper and Wylan sitting in front of the fire. Kaz lay in bed, asleep or unconscious, she didn’t know. “Did he wake while I was gone?” she asked.
Jesper blinked into the flames, appearing overall a little pale and sweaty. Inej frowned and met Wylan’s gaze, who smiled tightly at her, shrugging with on shoulder. The plate in front of Jesper had been barely touched at all.
“Not while I was here,” Wylan said, and Inej sighed. She had expected that, but it wouldn’t make their plan easier. And since they didn’t know for how long their target person would even be here—he might leave again tomorrow—, they didn’t have the luxury of time on their side. “Were you able to find out the room number?”
Inej smiled. “Of course! But now we need to somehow make Kaz cooperate.”
“That’s going to be tough.” Wylan put down his own plate, wiping non-existent crumbs off his pants.
“Maybe Jesper has an idea?” Inej said.
“He’s … he’s not well,” Wylan replied without lowering his voice. Right now Jesper wasn’t really there, only physically by the fire and mentally probably gambling somewhere and painfully missing the weight of dices, the feeling of cards in his hands.
Inej pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. “Nothing we can do about that now. Let’s wake up Kaz.”
***
It was harder than Inej expected to get Kaz woken up, and when he finally was awake she wished they didn’t have to do that. Kaz coughed and gasped for air, skin clammy and warm to the touch. He was too out of it to pretest careful hands on him to help him sit up, drink a tonic, have some water. Slowly his eyes seemed less glossed over, his pale skin had a pink blush to it, a sign of the remaining fever.
“What’s … what’s the matter?” Kaz finally asked, the first words spoken after Inej’s soft apologies and encouragements. “Do we need to leave?” He rubbed his chest and Inej pushed the worry aside about how much he was hurting. How mach that sickness was hurting him. That bloody curse.
“Not exactly,” Inej replied. “We … we found the former owner of the pithos, and I thought you might like to return it, finally.”
Kaz frowned as if doubting his hearing. “That man is here?”
Inej nodded. “And I got his room number.”
“This whole thing can be over within the span of a few hours,” Wylan said. As expected Jesper was lost in his mind still, not really registering what happened around him. Not only Kaz was sick, Jesper was, too.
Kaz held out a shaky hand, covered in worn leather. “Give me another one of this tonics. I’ll need to be able to move, and think.” That was the closest someone like Kaz would come to admitting that he was feeling unwell. Before Inej could process her upcoming emotions regarding this request, Wylan already pulled out another small bottle with a soft green liquid, and handed it to Kaz. “Tell me what you know.”
So while Kaz drank the second tonic Inej and Wylan reported what they had seen downstairs, and Inej added the details about where the man’s room was and that he most likely wasn’t alone since he had taken that woman with him. “We could also try and figure out which carriages are his, but I think it would be quicker to just place the pithes in his room.”
“He would think it appeared out of thin air” Wylan said with a grin.
“He most likely wouldn’t doubt it with the rumours about the curse.” Inej added.
Kaz grinned. “Then let’s figure this out, and get rid of this thing.” If he was worried about Jesper’s lack of response, Kaz didn’t show it. Perhaps he frankly didn’t have the capacities for it, when at the same time he had to figure out a plan and somehow get his body to cooperate. Once more Inej found herself praying.
KAZ
It was almost too easy. Kaz made his way through the corridor of the Inn, Inej right there with him to show him the way and to jump in if anything went wrong. It wouldn’t be a first, really, and that was also the reason why this time he wasn’t climbing housewalls. One fall had been enough, and who knew if this time the pithos would survive unscathed again.
The vase rested against his chest, feeling heavier as it should. The sounds of his cane hitting the ground was almost swallowed by the wood floors. Again Kaz seemed to feel the echo of something thickening around the artefact, but perhaps it were just his frayed nerves. Or the fact that he had double tonics inside, and they made him a little fuzzy around the edges. At least he didn’t feel like coughing, and despite his muscles hurting, he was able to move just fine.
Inej made him stop with a gentle touch to his upper arm, and gestured down the corridor to their right. There was a man trying to get the key in the lock of a room. They didn’t want to bump into anyone, so they waited for a bit. The man tried and tried, but the key kept slipping. The man blinked, looked at the door, then at the key, and then turned in Inej’s and Kaz’s direction. His gate was unsteady when he came closer, and Kaz reacted the only way he could. With an apologetic expression (at least he hoped it was one), he moved in front of Inej as if he would kiss a lover against the wall, hiding both their faces and the pithos from view.
Of course Kaz didn’t really kiss Inej; not for the lack of wanting to, but for the lack of being ready. And that didn’t only concern him. He could feel her gasp more than hear it when she realised what he was about to do, and for a brief second her muscles tensed.
The man whistled when he went past, “Take a room, hot young things! Haha!” He tried his key on another door, and this time the lock clicked open and the man entered his room.
Kaz breathed out and stepped back at the same time. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to …”
Inej lifted her hand to stop him from speaking any further. “It’s all right.”
Despite her words she seemed shaky, but Kaz had no idea how to comfort her now when it had been him to startle her. He swallowed, felt the rawness of the back at his throat. “Let’s go.” Inej followed his lead when Kaz started moving again, his uneven steps silent despite the limp. Years of practice had made him almost soundless, not as much as Inej, who seemed to melt into the shadow as if they were her home, but enough to not draw unwanted attention.
It was not far to the right room, and after making sure no one lingered nearby in the corridors, Kaz started picking the lock one-handed, his cane leaned against the wall, the pithos held with the other arm. He could have picked that lock while asleep, it was that easy, and then he entered the room. There were two sets of breaths coming from the bed that Kaz noticed even before his eyes fully adjusted to the dark of the chamber. Contrary to the hardwood of the corridors, the floor here was covered with a soft, if worn, carpet. Kaz was sure it was also dirty, so the lack of light might be a blessing.
Carefully he moved closer to the bed to put the pithos on the bedside table. He liked the idea that the former owner woke up from a deep sleep and the first thing he saw would be the cursed object he sure was glad had disappeared before. Kaz hadn’t forgotten about the article reporting the sudden recovery after he had stolen the pithos so many weeks ago.
Standing in front of the table it was surprisingly hard to make his hands cooperate and actually put the pithos down. Whatever that pull was, Kaz needed to shake it off. A soft gasp coming from the bed made Kaz freeze. In the brief moment of his internal struggle had forgotten that there were two people sleeping next to him. When he turned now, he met the eyes of a young woman staring at him. Kaz lifted his index finger to his lips, before he pulled out a little pouch. The eyes of the woman widened and a greedy kind of glistening filled them. Kaz could see it even in the twilight.
“Only if you don’t tell on me,” he whispered, letting the kruge coins clink gently against each other in the pouch.
“I won’t!” she promised, quiet despite he obvious excitement.
Kaz placed the money in her waiting hand, bowed, and turned to leave. The man in the bed had slept through all of it, but Kaz could hear the woman run her fingers thought the money she had just so easily earned.
In front of the door Inej waited, tilting her head in silent question. Kaz nodded, and tried for a smile even when he felt like he had just lost a limb. Whatever this pithos was, in the end he had now gotten rid of it, and yet—he didn’t feel any better.