CHAPTER 2.

Sasha

     Sasha's first thought when Kaz and the others came back without her sister was, Life has never been fair to us, Brynn. They were the words that Brynn had spoken to her just weeks before on the Ferolind. Kaz had pushed past them, his eyes focused and his limp even worse than she had ever seen it.

But Sasha hadn't shed a tear, even though she wanted to. Instead, she'd listened in on the others' planning and told them that she could help. They'd been reluctant at first, but Sasha had forced them to let her help. On the Ferolind, she and Inej had bonded over their knowledge of Suli, and she slowly began to learn Kerch, as well. It was a helpful language to know in Kerch, among company who mostly only knew Kerch.

Now, as she crouched beneath a darkened doorway on Handelcanal with Matthias as they waited for Kaz and Wylan, she realized how much she really missed Brynn. It had only been a little less than a week since Van Eck kidnapped her on Vellgeluk, Sasha felt like it had been a century. They'd just gotten back together, and then they were torn apart again. It was like the universe wanted them to stay apart forever.

Matthias stood when he saw Kaz and Wylan approaching. "All clear?" asked Kaz.

"All clear," said the Fjerdan. "The lights went out on the top floor of Smeet's house more than an hour ago, but I don't know if the servants are awake."

"He only has a daily maid and cook," Kaz said. "He's too cheap for full-time servants."

"How is—"

"Nina is fine. Jesper is fine. Everyone is fine except for me because I'm stuck with a gang of hand-wringing nursemaids. Keep a watch." Matthias looked like he was about to bash Kaz's head into a wall and Sasha gave him an apologetic shrug.

"Fine" was a relative term. To Dirtyhands, Nina could walk, so she was okay. But Sasha saw the looks Nina gave to any kind of food or drink, like she would throw up before she even consumed anything. She'd made a considerably quick recovery from her bout with parem, but Nina wasn't the same. Even if Sasha didn't know the girl for very long, pale and green skin with deep shadows under her eyes didn't seem like the Nina Zenik everyone knew and loved.

Sasha scrambled to keep up with Kaz and Wylan. The house was silent, the windows dark, along with the rest of the houses in the neighborhood. Sasha pushed a few loose strands of hair out of her face as she followed the boys.

"Are we just going in through the front door?" asked Wylan. He still had Kuwei Yul-Bo's face, which was unnerving when the two were in the same room together, even if they were nothing like each other.

"Use your eyes instead of running your mouth," replied Kaz, lockpicks flashing in his gloved hands. He'd never been particularly pleasant, but with Brynn gone, there was no boy left, only Dirtyhands.

Sasha tried to look at the house like Kaz might've. A puzzle to be solved, a case to be cracked. The dark-haired boy began to pick the lock on the front door, his eyes glinting. He might have been ruthless, but there was nothing that could take away the feeling of breaking into a place. He was, after all, a thief, first and foremost.

In no time at all, the door swung open and the sound of paws on hard wood, claws clicking against the ground, as Smeet's pack of hounds rushed to the door. Sasha had never been a fan of dogs, especially not ones with teeth sharper than her own wit and growls louder than her thoughts.

Calmly, Kaz pushed Smeet's whistle between his lips and blew on it. The whistle made no sound that they could hear. Sasha could already feel the jaws tearing into her flesh, slobber falling all over her face.

Don't be ridiculous, she scolded herself. Kaz knew what he was doing. He always did. This plan was well-thought through and, just as she thought, the dogs skittered to a halt just in front of them, each one a slobbering mess, more so than the next.

Kaz blew the whistle again, lips pursing in time with a new pattern. The dogs quieted and flopped onto the floor at his command. Sasha almost smiled fondly. But dogs were wild beasts, always loyal to the wrong person and looking for the next thing to destroy.

"Now why can't people be this easily trained?" Kaz murmured as he crouched to give one of the dogs a belly rub, his gloved fingers smoothing the short fur. "Close the door behind you."

Sasha stepped in and Wylan behind her, obliging him. Sasha kept a wary eye on the slobbering creatures while Wylan kept his back pressed to the door. The entire house smelled like dogs—a horrific smell that made Sasha wrinkle her nose.

"Not fond of animals?" Kaz asked.

"Not dogs," admitted Sasha. "Especially not ones that look ready to tear me to shreds."

Sasha didn't exactly know how Kaz had gotten the whistle from Smeet, who never took it off of him. She hated a puzzle she couldn't solve, especially when the solution was right in front of her and no one helped push it toward her.

Kaz gave the drooling dog a scratch behind the ear and rose. "Let's go. Watch your feet."

Sasha stayed as far away from the dogs, following Kaz quietly up the stairs. Living the life of a thief was still one that Sasha needed to get used to. Brynn's life depended on it. But walking through the dark lawyer's house, she felt like a felon, worse than she'd felt being locked up in the Ice Court. At least when she was in that prison, she knew she hadn't really done anything bad. She was filled with immense trepidation, her mind running through every single thing that could possibly go wrong.

My little worrier, Ma always said. Nothing could have ever been truer.

Kaz opened the door to Smeet's office and entered. "Not even locked," he murmured. "Those hounds have made him lazy."

He closed the door and lit a lamp, turning the flame down low. Sasha examined her surroundings. The office had three small desks arranged by the windows to take advantage of the natural light, one for Smeet and two for his clerks. Kaz no doubt had something to do with one of them suddenly going missing and the sudden acquiring of information for Smeet's house. And whatever had happened, Sasha didn't want to know about it.

The office was neat and orderly, giving Sasha some comfort. She loved it when everything had its place and was put in that place. Tidy shelves ran from floor to ceiling, lined with ledgers and boxes full of documents, each carefully labeled with names and companies of what Sasha assumed were Smeet's clients.

"So many pigeons," Kaz said, eyes scanning the boxes. "Naten Boreg, that sad little skiv Karl Dryden. Smeet represents half the Merchant Council."

"So, where do we start?" asked Sasha.

Kaz pulled a ledger from the shelves, fat in pages. "First we make sure your father had no new acquisitions under his name," he said, looking at Wylan. "Then we search under your stepmother's name, and yours."

"Don't call her that. Alys is barely older than I am. And my father won't have kept property in my name."

"You'd be surprised at what a man will do to avoid paying taxes."

Then they delved deep into Van Eck's properties, the ones they didn't know about. The private holdings, places off the public registers, places that would be perfect to stash something—or someone—he didn't want found.

Kaz and Sasha worked through the ledgers, reading names and entries aloud, asking Wylan questions and trying to find connections to properties or companies that they hadn't yet discovered. Sasha's Kerch was still coming along, but she knew enough to help.

When she had found out that Wylan couldn't read, Sasha honestly didn't care that much. She was a little distressed as to how he passed his time without reading a good book, eyes scanning over the words formed perfectly on the page. It seemed to work for Wylan, but Sasha could never be able to live without reading.

"Geldspin?" asked Kaz.

"A cotton mill. I think it's in Zierfoort."

"Too far," Kaz murmured. "He won't be keeping her there. What about Firma Allerbest?"

"I think that one's a cannery."

"They're both practically printing cash, and they're both in Alys' name. But Van Eck keeps the big earners to himself—the shipyard, the silos at Sweet Reef."

"I told you," Wylan said, fiddling with a pen. "My father trusts himself first, Alys only so far. He wouldn't leave anything in my name."

Sasha said, "Next ledger. We should start with the commercial properties."

Wylan stopped fiddling with his pen. "Was there something in my name?"

She cringed at her non-subtlety. "A printing press," she said quietly.

"I see," he said, putting the pen down. Sasha wasn't the best at reading people as she was at picking apart words and paragraphs, but the hurt on Wylan's face was evident.

"He's not what I would call a subtle man," added Kaz. "Eil Komedie is in your name too."

Sasha didn't know what Eil Komedie was, but it only soured Wylan's mood further. "Of course it is," he replied bitterly.

The minutes ticked away, Kaz and Sasha continuing to read aloud to Wylan. Sasha could tell Wylan was becoming agitated. He really wasn't a good actor.

"I'm slowing you down," he finally said.

Kaz simply flipped open another sheaf of documents. "I knew exactly how long this would take. What was your mother's family name?"

"There's nothing in her name."

"Humor me."

Wylan pursed his lips, but answered, "Hendriks."

Kaz walked to the shelves and grabbed another ledger. "When did she die?"

"When I was eight." Now Wylan and Sasha had something else in common, except for being complete geniuses despite their age. "My father got worse after she was gone. He wouldn't let me go to her funeral. I don't even know where she's buried. Why do you guys say that, anyway? No mourners, no funerals? Why not just say good luck or be safe?" Sasha had wondered that, as well. It was a confusing saying for her.

"We like to keep our expectations low." Kaz offered no other explanation as his gloved finger trailed down a column of numbers and stopped. His eyes moved back and forth between the two ledgers, and before Sasha could go over to check it out, he snapped the leather covers shut. "Let's go."

Sasha frowned, standing. "Did you find something?"

He nodded once. "I know where she is." Again, he didn't offer an answer, an explanation, nothing. It was becoming increasingly annoying.

But she didn't argue with him. She'd heard the tension in his raspy voice, the same tension from the Fjerdan guards back in the Ice Court whenever she pushed for more books or for answers to her endless questions. She'd heard it in his voice only once. Once, when he came back for them without Brynn. That was the moment Sasha truly feared for her life by the seventeen-year-old boy from Ketterdam.

Kaz quickly set the room back to how it had been before they entered, but he didn't rush. His movements were precise, moving things that Sasha hadn't even realized were moved. He then plucked the pen out of Wylan's hands and set it carefully back to its place on the desk.

"A proper thief is like a proper poison. He leaves no trace." Kaz blew the lamp out. "Your father much for charity?" From what Sasha had heard about Jan Van Eck, she doubted it.

"No," answered Wylan. "He tithes to Ghezen, but he says charity robs men of the chance at honest labor."

"Well, he's been making donations to the Church of Saint Hilde for the last eight years. If you want to pay your respects to your mother, that's probably the place to start."

Wylan and Sasha seemed to be thinking the same thing. Dirtyhands had never shared any bit of information that wouldn't serve him. So why share this? Especially since neither of them had heard of the Church of Saint Hilde.

"What—" Wylan began.

"If Nina and Jesper did their jobs right, Smeet will be home soon. We can't be here when he gets back or the whole plan falls apart. Come on."

Wylan and Sasha exchanged a befuddled glance. The crew had learned that at just fourteen, Sasha was both mature and intelligent for her age. She was also about Wylan's height, which didn't put her at a tall height, but it was better than being a few feet shorter than everyone, instead of most everyone.

Kaz cracked open the door. All three of them stopped short.

Sasha could just barely see over Kaz's shoulder. A little girl stood on the landing, leaning on the neck of one of the massive gray dogs. She couldn't have been older than five, the hem of her flannel nightgown just barely covering her toes.

"Oh Ghezen," whispered Wylan, panic in his voice.

Kaz stepped out into the hall, pulling the door nearly shut behind him. Sasha wasn't sure what to do. She was terrified of what Kaz might do to get the girl to stay quiet. He didn't get the name Dirtyhands for nothing, after all.

The girl stared up at Kaz with big eyes, then removed her thumb from her mouth to ask, "Do you work for my da?"

"No." Through the crack in the door, Sasha saw Kaz squat down to the little girl's level. "What's this big fellow's name?" He set his hand on the dog's wrinkled neck.

"This is Maestro Spots." Sasha was holding her breath, she could tell that Wylan was doing the same next to her.

"Is that so?"

"He has a very fine howl. Da lets me name all the puppies."

"Is Maestro Spots your favorite?" asked Kaz.

The girl shook her head. "I like Duke Addam Von Silverhaunch best, then Fuzzmuzzle, then Maestro Spots."

"That's good to know, Hanna."

Her mouth fell into a little O. "How do you know my name?"

Tread lightly, Kaz, thought Sasha. Then she took it back. Who knows, maybe Kaz knew how to read minds and he'd murder her after whatever he was going to do to this girl.

"I know all children's names," said Kaz, as if it were obvious.

"You do?"

"Oh, yes. Albert who lives next door and Gertrude on Ammberstraat. I live under their beds and in the backs of the closets."

The little girl's eyes widened. "I knew it. Mama said there was nothing there, but I knew it." She tilted her head to the side. "You don't look like a monster."

"I'll tell you a secret, Hanna. The really bad monsters never look like monsters."

Hanna's lip trembled, and Sasha could see tears welling up in her eyes. "Did you come to eat me? Da says monsters eat children who don't go to bed when they're told."

"They do. But I won't. Not tonight. If you do two things for me." Kaz's raspy voice was low, dangerous, but calm. "First, you must crawl into bed. And second, you must never tell anyone you've seen us, especially your da." He leaned forward and gave Hanna's braid a playful tug. "Because if you do, I'll slit your mother's throat and then your father's, and then I'll cut out the hearts of all those sweet slobbering hounds. I shall save Duke Silverhaunch for last so that you will know it's all your fault."

The little girl's face was as white as the lace on the neck of her nightgown, her eyes wide and bright as new moons. Sasha began seriously considering telling Brynn to run away from Kaz and never come back.

"Do you understand?" asked Kaz. She nodded frantically. "Now, now, no tears. Monsters see tears and it only whets their appetites. Off to bed with you, and take that useless Maestro Spots along too."

She stumbled backward over the landing and quickly up the stairs. When she was halfway up, she cast a terrified glance back at Kaz. He raised one gloved finger to his lips.

When she was gone, Wylan and Sasha slipped out from behind the door and followed Kaz down the steps. Sasha was furious, her heated face matching her fiery red hair. "How could you say something like that to her, Kaz? She's just a child. That was cruel, unnecessary—"

"We were all just children once," interrupted Kaz.

Sasha doubted Kaz had ever been a child, innocent and oblivious with eyes full of wonder. "But—"

"It was either that or snap her neck and make it look like she fell down the stairs, Sasha. I think I showed remarkable restraint. Move."

Sasha skittered out of his way. There it was again, the dangerous rasp in his voice, the calm amidst a storm.

They picked their way past the rest of the dogs still flopped down in the hallway. "Incredible," Kaz said, any trace of their previous conversation gone from his voice. "They'd probably stay like that all night." He blew on the whistle and they leapt up, ears pricked, ready to guard the house.

Kaz checked the street, then waved at Wylan and Sasha outside, pausing briefly to lock the door behind them. They hurried down the cobblestones where Matthias should have been, keeping watch for them. Wylan peered over his shoulder.

"Stop looking around like you think someone's following you," Kaz said. "And stop scurrying. You couldn't look guiltier if you were performing the role of Thief Number Three in a penny play on East Stave. Next time walk normally. Try to look like you belong."

"There isn't going to be a next time."

"Of course not. Keep your collar up."

Wylan shut his mouth and hurried to keep up with Kaz's brisk pace. Sasha had to keep her glare towards the oldest boy discreet, but knowing Kaz, he probably knew she was glaring and didn't really care.

Sasha heard a high birdcall from the other end of the street, coming from Matthais. Kaz glanced at his watch and ran a hand through his hair, ruffling it wildly. "Right on time."

Then they rounded the corner and slammed directly into Cornelis Smeet.

a/n— Do you like the change in pace, switching to Sasha's pov? She's such a fun character to write, and there's definitely more where that came from. Let me know what you think!