Natasha Van Doren is a shadow summoner. She bides her time and resides in darkness, feared and esteemed by Ketterdam's civilians, a ghost . She cons Kaz Brekker into joining a heist he can't refuse and with thirty million kruge on the line, the crow...
" Well then, Kaz Brekker is the greatest fool in Ketterdam, "
- A.I
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Kaz Brekker's face and fingers were sticky with candyfloss, soft wisps of pink sugar hanging over his upper lip. He wiped the back of his hands against the front of his roughspun.
Once again, he was, lost at the fair. He could hear his brother's faint calling echoing across the top of the crowd, but no matter what way he seemed to run, he could never find Jordie.
His brother always told him that if he was lost, he should stay put. So Kaz backed into the crowds, standing beside a coconut shy.
He watched mothers and fathers swinging their daughters and sons between them, big smiles on their faces. He couldn't understand the feeling in his stomach - maybe he was just hungry?
"Jordie," he whimpered. Kaz was terrified. Ketterdam's summer fair always left him feeling queasy.
One moment he was dissolving candy floss on his tongue, marvelling at the way the floss just managed to disappear, and now he was all alone, being jostled through the crowd like a potato sack.
He stuck his thumb between his lips, bouncing nervously on the balls of his heel. "I'm not going to be afraid," he thought bravely.
Jordie would soon come and find him, and then they'd watch a magic show with some buttered popcorn.
Kaz always liked those shows, especially when they made things disappear. He'd stand in front of the cracked and dirtied bathroom mirror, fumbling with matches and cards - trying to catch the trick.
Jordie would always ruffle his curls, telling him Kaz would grow up to the greatest magician in Ketterdam.
Kaz had even planned out what his stall would look like, black and crimson drapes. He'd wear one of those black suits with a matching hat like the merchers he saw on the harbour.
He planned on naming the stall after his favourite bird. He thought the crow club had a nice ring to it and wrote that down too.
After an eventful night at the fair, he pitched the idea to his brother, explaining all the interior design; once he finished, Jordie pinned up the black and red crayon drawing onto their bedroom wall.
"Kaz Rietveld's Crow club," Jordie said proudly, wrapping his arms around his brother's shoulder.
