Work Text:
I: prologue
It is safer in the country. On this, everyone in Kerch agree. (Even the cityfolk, because really, why would they disagree? Nobody comes to the city for safety. Even foreigners know what they're getting into the moment they see the tiered stacks of the Church of Barter. The outstretched fingers of Ghezen are curled slightly outwards - a warning to any newcomers. You will not survive, Ghezen tells them. They never listen.)
The country, with its unobtrusive farmlands and enough open space for two boys on the cusp of youth to run with abandon, is considered almost universally to be the safer part of Kerch.
Its inhabitants rarely see the need to venture up north to the cities, perpetually suspended in haze and horror. And if such a need arises, the men do it under the safe cover of the sun while their wives stay at home and pray for their safe return.
Mr. Rietveld does not have such a luxury because his wife died on the birthing bed, just minutes after hearing little Kazimir's first rasping cry, but he counts his blessings nonetheless. His home does not lack the warmth of human inhabitance. The dust on the carpet, mud on the stairs and stain on the rug, all speak of the influence of humans that make a house a home. The children's drawings and small beds and homemade toys speak of a child's laughter and innocence. And because of this, Mr. Rietveld would be remiss not to appreciate the safety the country offers.
But in the end, like most things in Kerch, the safety is a lie. Mr. Rietveld's luck runs out and he is run over by his plowing equipment, a slow, agonising death that lasts several days. He has the time to tell his children goodbye and although it pains him that they have to see him like this, it pains him twicefold that he will be the reason Jordie's ambition and Kaz's optimism will come to an end. Before he dies, he bids them - begs them more like - to remain in the country. He knows it is a great ask, to ask them to give up their dreams of money and power for a pleasant, safe, life in the country but he asks them anyway because his wife did not die to see them die young and forgotten (or worse, his mind whispers before he quiets it) and they promise him dutifully. They promise him that they will not sell the farm and that they will continue his good, honest work. He knows though that his warnings will not be heeded. The glimmer of greed in Jordan's eyes and the hope in Kazimir's is as clear as day.
He is right. A fortnight after the older Mr. Rietveld dies, Jordie sells all their property, and the brothers set off for Ketterdam like moths drawn to flame. Perhaps, if Mr. Rietveld had not forgotten to tell them what exactly it was in the city that had frightened him so, they would not have gone. But in his haste he did not, and there is nothing to be done about it, now that Mr. Rietveld is cold and six feet under.
–
They arrive in the city at night and Kazimir, the younger and more intuitive one of the two, notes that it flashes white and bright, almost like a siren warning them away.
–
It takes them less than a week to learn of the reason for their father's insistence for them to remain in the country and why his trips were timed such that he never had to stay in the capital city into the evening.
"This changes nothing," Jordie insists, "Just you wait, Kaz. We'll grow so rich they'll sing tales of us 'till we die,"
"Maybe we should go home," Kaz tells him, watching Jordie stiffen. "Jordie, I'm scared."
"Hush, Kaz. It's not that bad. You stay out of their way, they'll stay out of ours."
It doesn't work that way, Kaz wants to argue. But he sees the determined set of Jordie's jaw, the stubborn tilt of his head, and knows it will be of no use.
—
Jordie takes on several jobs, each worse than the last. He goes from courier boy to waiter to bartender to street cleaner. Kazimir can see it stings Jordie when he has to take on the last job, but he got fired from the club for gambling on the job, and they were one monthly wage away from sleeping on the street. The money they'd gotten from the farm was dwindling, and Jordie did it, if not for his sake, then Kaz's.
Kaz is close to asking to go home again, because it hurts him to see Jordie hurting, and he doesn't know how to make it stop. They were running low on money or hope, and he can feel it, the breaking point, it's this close. Kaz thinks he'll just wait it out. Jordie listens to nobody, but surely he'll see reason soon. Surely one of these days he'll tell Kaz to pack his bags, because they're going home. They don't have the farmlands, but he knows Julia's parents will take them in, and they'll make it work.
One night, Jordie comes back (from his new job, the one he won't tell Kaz anything about), and shakes Kaz awake with rumpled clothes and he has a wild look in his eyes, like an animal. It's a look Jordie exhibits sometimes when he's drunk himself into believing that he has gotten a huge break. "Kaz, Kaz, I've made it all right. We're set. For life. Kaz, Kaz,"
Kaz doesn't know how, but he knows that there's no way they're going home now.
Kaz opens his mouth to ask him what he's talking about but then the light falls on the inside of his wrist and no sound comes out.
No. It can't be. Jordie can be impulsive and borders on delusion sometimes but he isn't foolish, but the evidence of his stupidity is staring at him and he's staring up at Jordie gobsmacked.
"Jordie," his voice is strangled. "Jordie, what have you done?"
He grabs at Jordie's wrist, and Jordie winces but he lets Kaz scrabble at the inked skin there desperately. Because on his hand, there is a fresh tattoo of a cup. It's clearly the symbol of a House, and although he isn't familiar with this particular one, he knows by now that the delicate skin on the inside of your wrist is reserved for House tattoos.
Theoretically, there are many ways to gain membership to a House. You could be their worker, set to labour in one of their factories and clubs, or a fighter, or provide services in-House. Even subsidiaries, business partners get the House tattoo sometimes, a symbol of their allegiance and loyalty. But there is only one way a human gains membership. By selling themselves, or as the Houses put it, by signing a blood contract, and dooming themselves to an eternity in service.
"I've done what's right, that's what I've done." Jordie meets his eyes with alarming ferocity. "Kaz, I've done what's right,"
Kaz does not argue, but he doesn't sleep either. He just sits on the bed, feels the bedbugs bite, listens to Jordie's snores and feels a little part of him die.
–
If Jordie's new Master (and how it stings to call him that) feels any sort of annoyance at a 9 year old invading his ancient house he does not show it. Truly, Kaz sees him very little, and he is glad for it. He spends his time exploring the manor he now lives in and finding as many secret passageways as he can. It looks a little like the castles Julia's princesses live in. Mostly though, he just sleeps, and eats.
But as the pain from hunger recedes, he feels the return of a different kind of hunger, familiar and comforting. He aches for stimulation, a new, clever challenge to occupy him, and the novelty of his new living quarters are wearing thin. Jordie is almost always sleeping for the majority of the day, so he's no use.
What Kaz wants, is a book.
In such a big house, surely, there must be a library. He hasn't stumbled upon it in his initial search so it must be hidden. And if it is hidden, it will only be a matter of time before he discovers it.
It takes him three weeks to find it.
The library is magnificent, and the books are kept in pristine condition, and on a thousand different topics. A massive one in particular catches his eye - The Comprehensive History of The House of The Chalice Until Present. It's cover is made of the deepest black and the House tattoo is emblazoned in it.
Curiosity gnaws at Kazimir, because he wants to know so desperately what has happened to this house, this House. The sheer size and volume of the manor speak of opulence and wealth but its state speaks of loss. Kaz wants to know what happens for a House to be reduced to nothing, to fade into history so much so that nobody recognises its crest.
This is how he is found by Jordie's Master. Vampires are creatures of the night, and stealth is one of the natural byproducts of their condition, which results in Kaz, deeply immersed in a particular paragraph on the operation of the Houses in the shadows, a long, long time ago, when vampires had to hide from humans, not realising that he has company until he hears a polite cough.
His head whips up, and he can do nothing but stare at the creature before him. Is it night already? The man holds in his hand his own book - poetry it seems - and is staring inscrutably at him. The man is is wearing a patterned suit and wearing at least five expensive pieces of jewellery. His earrings in particular could have probably sustained Jordie and Kazimir for two to three years.
"You're in my seat," he says smoothly after a long silence and Kaz is close to bolting, but he manages to stutter out an apology and makes for the door as calmly as he can. He is halfway the door when the man - man? creature? - asks, "Do you want the book?"
Kaz turns around slowly, afraid to run and afraid to stay. The man won't bleed him, will he? He hopes not, but he's also overheard enough stories about them from the citypeople that he doesn't really want to test the waters. He stays where he is, so the man walks back closer to him, so close that he has to crane neck a little bit to look at him. "Sir?" Kaz is glad his voice trembled only a bit.
"You can have the book," The man's eyes, Kaz notices, are strange up close. When the light hits them, they glitter like opals, the grey of the iris becoming a different colour altogether. His pupils are very small already and now, the iris almost drowns them out. (Just for a second, he almost understands Jordie's decision to become his bloodslave, and if Kaz's suspicions are true - and they usually are - something more. But it's only for a second, and he reverts back to blaming Jordie soon after.)
Kaz opens his mouth, but he doesn't know what to say, if he should even accept. Was it a request? It didn't sound like it, maybe because he said it with the air of someone used to being obeyed. That sort of tone could turn a request into a command. Was that how he got Jordie to sign the contract?
Kaz turns and runs.
–
Jordie's getting restless.
It's been a good couple of months (compared to the ones that preluded them - make no mistake, Kaz still hates it here in this dreadful city), but Kaz can feel it in the way his eyes are faraway these days, the way he stares into the distance glazy-eyed as Kaz explains a complex economic concept that he's just learned about. He's asking all the right questions at the right times, but Kaz knows he won't have any memory of this conversation tonight. He's restless, taut with energy, fingers thrumming against the long wooden table.
Kaz knows trouble is coming, because Kaz knows Jordie's getting restless.
Trouble does indeed come, because Jordie starts leaving the house during the day when his Master can't question him about it.
"I'm not breaking any rules. There's nothing in the terms of my contract that requires me to stay in the castle all day everyday," he tells Kaz, but it looks like he's just convincing himself.
Kaz doesn't stop him, because when has that ever worked, and also, he's a bastard but he's Kaz's brother all the same.
Then, Jordie comes back one day with rumpled clothes and blood on his face, his appearance is disheveled but not the way it is when Jordie comes out of his Master's bedroom. Then, Jordie is wearing a faint euphoric smile. Now, Jordie stinks of violence. His mouth is twisted into a nasty scowl, but his eyes are downturned. Fear is apparent in the line of his figure.
"Kaz," Jordie says softly, "Kaz, do you want to leave? Do you want to go back to the farm?"
Kaz wants to scream. He might actually do it. He's been asking for months before the contract to go. But now they both can't, because by giving his Master his blood, and by his Master giving him blood in return, he has sealed his fate. His Master gives him blood because its healing properties protect Jordie, his bloodslave, from sickness, which in turn protects him. But the blood is addictive, and if they leave, Jordie will waste away. Jordie will die. And Kaz will never leave Jordie, for all his faults.
Kaz doesn't say this, because Jordie knows it. Jordie is never leaving Ketterdam, anyhow. If Jordie truly wanted to go, he wouldn't be asking Kaz, he'd be standing in front of Kaz with their bags packed.
Instead, he asks, "What's wrong?" Because Kaz knows something bad's happened, because Jordie's telling him he feels like going home.
Jordie walks away.
–
He finds out for himself two days later when Pekka Rollins - a fearsome House leader who heads the House of Dime Lions - and his men storm the manor and stuff a stake through Jordie's Master. (It doesn't take a genius to piece it together. Jordie's gone and gambled and out himself in his debt, and Pekka Rollins - scum of the earth is what he is - had taken advantage and demanded access to the last remaining member of a once-powerful House's dynasty - an easy target for one looking to expand their power, their reach)
Jordie's free. Jordie's most certainly dead. It's not a matter of if, but when.
Later, Jordie asks him, "Do you hate me, Kazimir?"
Kaz sighs, turns over and doesn't respond because he's ashamed of his answer. Because even though Jordie went and fucked everything up again, and they're back on the streets, his brother's dying. Of course he doesn't hate Jordie, it's his one fatal flaw. His achilles heel. His inability to voice his disapproval, his fear of disappointing Jordie, has always been his failing. He's always thought it'd be the death of him, but it's even worse now, because it's the death of Jordie. Jordie's dying, and it's Kaz's fault, because he was never brave enough to stand up to Jordie.
The tell-tale signs begin to appear in two weeks. The pallor of his skin grows grey, and his eyes go red, like he's bleeding from inside out.
In another two weeks, Jordie's dead.
Kaz's sickness is slower, and more insidious. He starves. He finds work, but he uses all the food on Jordie that by the time Jordie dies, Kaz is close to joining him. He can hardly carry himself and he's so weak his head spins when he walks, but he survives because he's a fighter, like his father always said he was. He's a barrel rat through and through, when it comes down to it.
So, Kaz isn't dead when the Stadwatch come. But the Stadwatch are superstitious and even though bloodsickness isn't contagious, they see a boy curled around his brother's corpse, they assume the boy's dead too. They don't bother to check.
–
When Kaz wakes, he's floating in ice-cold water. He can see the city lights up ahead, and he feels so impossibly tired. What little energy he had has been sapped by the cold. What Kaz wants now is to sleep. He looks down at his brother's swollen, waterlogged body and wishes to join Jordie.. But then the sunlight catches on the House ring, the gift from his Master that Jordie wore till his death, and Kaz remembers that thing Jordie told him. We'll grow so rich they'll sing tales of us 'till we die. Jordie isn't here anymore, but Kaz is, and if all this has been sacrificed for that one feeble goal, then, by hell, he'll reach it for his brother. He'll grow so rich, so powerful, they'll sing tales of him 'till his death. Better yet, they'll flinch at the sight of him. Better yet, Pekka Rollins will flinch at the sight of him.
Jordie died for money, power, respect. Kaz will live for it.
Kaz swims for vengeance. Because Jordie's dead, Jordie's Master is dead, and it's just the two of them - just Kaz, and Pekka Rollins. By the end of this, it will be just one.
Kaz is weak, and even though it tears at everything in him, disgusts him and makes him want to retch, he uses his brother's body to kick, like how he did with a piece of wood back in the country when his father taught them to swim one summer day. Jordie's eyes, open and unseeing haunt him even when he take a shivering step after another into the mainland, and the tide brings Jordie's body away from shore once more.
His first instinct to storm into Pekka Rollins' home, right away. Kill him in a suicide mission. But in the time it takes from the docks to the wealthier districts where Pekka Rollins drinks wine and celebrates, a plan takes form. Kaz is not like Jordie. Where Jordie is the snap of a snake's jaw as it digs its teeth into it's prey's flesh, where he is the second where the leopard springs into action, Kaz is the numerous seconds before. Kaz can wait.
Pekka Rollins will die, and Kaz will orchestrate it. But Kaz will take everything from him first. Kaz will wait until he is wet and shivering and has lost everything and then he'll kill Pekka Rollins.
So Kaz waits.
He turns in the direction of Per Haskell's abode (Per Haskell, the man Jordie's Master had hated so much. The man he claimed had usurped his rightful position of House Leader. And then, to add salt to the wound, had sunk the House into irrelevance), shows him Jordie's Master's ring that Jordie had worn around his neck, and lies through his teeth.
Per Haskell looks a little bit like Jordie, Kaz realises, and the thought is like an arrow piercing his chest.
(Kaz wants to question why Jordie's Master had to be the one to be killed, when the true Leader sits across him unharmed. But Kaz has also read that history - and more like it - and is well-acquainted with the game of power. Kaz knows it is easier to frighten someone and bend them into obedience than it is to murder them and replace them with a loyalist)
Miraculously, it works. Per Haskell is miserable when Kaz tells him of the vampire's death, which leads him to suspect that Per Haskell was similar to Jordie in more ways than one could possibly see.
But Per Haskell acknowledges Kaz's fraudulent lie that he has been named Heir to The House of Chalice by Jordie's Master. Respects it, even.
"What's your name, boy?"
Kaz has anticipated this question, and lies smoothly, "Kaz Brekker."
"A human for Heir." Per Haskell remarks, "Somewhere, generations of Chalice Leaders are seething. It is customary, you must know, for the Heirs to be vampires"
Here is the thing - he is wrong. When Kaz smiles, it is all teeth, and there is nothing human in it. Kazimir Rietveld, the human, is dead. In his place stands Kaz Brekker, who was borne of ugly loathing and monstrous hatred, who is anything but human.