Chapter Text
Fifth Harbor was abuzz with activity, shipload after shipload of people and goods arriving in the biggest harbor in Ketterdam. Nearly every berth was taken- except for one.
Berth twenty-two was privately owned, reserved for a ship some would never glimpse. Many captains had complained about the berth being unavailable, but no matter how big of a fit they threw or how much kruge they offered, the spot was kept empty and waiting.
It was that berth that Ara, messenger and errand girl for the Dregs gang, had been told to keep an eye on. For what, she wasn’t sure, but when Kaz Brekker told you to do something, you did it without question, even if it was just keeping an eye on an empty berth.
At first, Ara had been bummed out at the assignment. Since she wasn’t technically an official Dreg, she wasn’t often included in the money-making schemes of the infamous gang leader, and Ara was tired of the simple, run-of-the-mill duties. It wasn’t until her kind-of-friend Laylah pointed out that the assignment was essentially a break that Ara had reluctantly warmed to the idea.
That was how she ended up leaning against a crate, eyes on the horizon, on an uncharacteristically clear day. She had to admit that it was nice to simply sit and observe everything going on around her, listening to the people chatting. She occasionally caught parts of conversations, mostly about the weather, but sometimes she’d hear some news.
“-aye, a whole ship, simply vanished!” Ara heard an old sailor say to another. She didn’t look over as he continued. “One day it was making its merry way across the waves and the next day, it was gone!”
There had been many stories similar circling Ketterdam’s gossip mills. Ships mysteriously turned up missing, and captains suddenly appeared in front of government buildings, accused of slave trading. Nobody was certain of the reason behind the situation, but it had become something of a legend. Be careful on the seas, sailors warned. Make a mistake, and the ghosts will send you to a watery grave. Still, this sailor’s words seemed like more than a story, so Ara kept listening.
“I heard that it was sunk by a ghost!” the other sailor whispered.
“Not a ghost,” the first sailor corrected. “I’ve seen the ship responsible and heard about its Captain. Nobody knows who the captain is, but I hear both the ship and the captain go by the name The Wraith.”
The man’s eyes went wide. “I’ve heard the name!” he said. “I don’t recall where I did, though.”
“Well, you might hear it again,” his companion replied. “‘Cause I heard that The Wraith is on its way here, to Ketterdam.”
The men moved away after that, leaving Ara with a nagging feeling she’d heard the name before. As she searched her mind for the answer, her eyes remained on the horizon.
A few minutes later, she realized that the horizon was no longer empty. A single ship had appeared, flags flying proudly. Frowning, Ara pulled her binoculars from her bag and looked at the ship, searching for identification. The first thing she noticed was that beneath a Kerch trading flag, a smaller flag snapped in the wind. She gasped quietly as she recognized the symbol on the smaller flag- the same symbol worn on the arms of the members of the biggest gang in Ketterdam: the Dregs crow and cup.
Holding her breath, Ara checked the hull for a name. Sure enough, bright white letters proclaimed the ship to be The Wraith.
That must be what the boss wanted me to watch out for, Ara realized. Quickly, she shoved her binoculars into her bag and bolted, running in the direction of the Crow Club.
She was out of breath by the time she reached the casino and managed to tell the bouncer that she needed to speak with the boss. Rotty let her through with a smile and she rushed up the stairs to Brekker’s office door. After a few deep breaths to compose herself, Ara knocked. “Mr. Brekker?” she called through the closed door. “It’s Ara, I have news.”
“Come in.” The boss's rough voice was always a slight shock to Ara, and she had to fight to keep her face blank as she opened the door. Brekker sat at his desk, head bent over a pile of papers. He didn’t look up at Ara’s entry. “What is it?”
“I was at the harbor today, sir,” Ara said nervously. It never failed that speaking with the boss made her anxious. There was a reason he was known as the most ruthless, dangerous man in Ketterdam. “There’s a ship coming in with a Dreg flag by the name of-”
The boss’ head shot up, surprising Ara with the sudden attentiveness. “The Wraith is docking?”
Ara shook her head. “Not yet, Mr. Brekker, sir. It’s still several miles out. That is what I was supposed to be watching out for, isn’t it?”
He nodded, setting down his pen and standing. “Is that all, Ara?”
“Yes, sir.”
With her confirmation, he grabbed his infamous crow cane and left, leaving Ara wondering what was so important about the ship that he would leave paperwork unfinished. Maybe he owned the ship. That would explain the gang’s symbol flying from the mast. Still curious, Ara decided to follow him to the harbor. He hadn’t told her not to, so she left his office (closing the automatically locking door- some new lock she didn’t quite understand) behind her and tailed the boss all the way to berth twenty-two.
To her surprise, he didn’t immediately make himself known to the assorted Dregs working at Fifth Harbor, instead opting to lean against the same crate Ara had been earlier that day. She stayed a good distance away, watching him curiously.
“Ara, you might as well come out.”
She squeaked and he turned to look directly at her. She felt her face flush- how long had he known she was there? Slightly ashamed, Ara emerged from her hiding spot. “Sorry, sir. I was just curious.”
Brekker sighed, turning his attention back to the approaching ship. “Next time you try to follow someone, try to not push over the pigeons in your way. I heard them yelling at you the moment you pushed over that woman at my club.”
Ara blinked. “So I’m not in trouble for following you?”
“No. Just get better at it. You’ll never be able to tail me without being seen, but you have potential.”
“So… does that mean I can stay here?” Ara looked at the boss hopefully. “I want to see what the whole fuss about this ship is for.”
His mouth tightened. “So long as you don’t jabber in my ear the whole time and you leave when I tell you to, fine.” His tone made it clear that he was done talking.
Excited, Ara fidgeted, shifting from foot to foot. Now that she knew why she had been given the post, she was eager to find out everything about the mysterious ship. Had it truly been responsible for the sinking of the ships she’d heard about? Who captained the ship? Why did it fly a Dreg symbol? Unable to stay quiet, Ara said tentatively, “Sir?” The boss’s hand twitched and she took it as a sign to continue. “What’s on that ship?”
He didn’t answer immediately, and Ara waited for his reply. Finally, he asked, “How long have you been working for me?”
“Almost a year, sir.”
“Tell me, Ara, what stories have the older members told you?”
Puzzled, Ara said, “They’ve told a few, I don’t recall them all. Why?”
“Do they have a favorite? One that gets told more than the rest?”
She thought for a few seconds. “Well, there’s the one about when you kicked the old leader out, there’s one about some huge scam you pulled off- that one has a ton of variations, and nobody’s quite sure what actually happened.” Her brow crinkled as she searched her mind. “There’s also one about- oh!” She looked at Brekker. “You mean the Wraith was a real person, not just some metaphor?”
He gave her a look. “You thought that some half-educated gang members would use a metaphor in their story?” She flushed and he sighed. “Yes, the Wraith was a name I gave one of the people in the gang several years ago. The Wraith was originally my best spider, and after she left the gang, she went to sea.” He pointed with his cane. “That’s her ship.”
Ara goggled at the ship. “So she named the ship after herself?”
“No,” he said. “I named it The Wraith when I gave it to her.”
She gaped at the boss. “Who is this person?” she asked. “What in Ghezen’s name did she do to earn a ship?” It shocked Ara that he’d told her so much. Whoever was on that ship was obviously important to the boss, so much so that he’d given her a ship.
“No more questions.”
She huffed but didn’t push. Maybe the mysterious woman would answer her questions.
***
A few hours later, the ship had finally pulled into the berth. Ara eagerly watched the crew preparing to get off. There was one person in particular who stood out- a woman who stood at the bow of the ship, shouting orders with her back to Ketterdam. The captain, Ara thought excitedly. She was practically buzzing with anticipation. Sweet Ghezen, she was excited.
Finally, the woman stopped calling out commands and turned to face the city. Brekker straightened, staring at the woman. He seemed to have forgotten that Ara was there as the woman jumped off the ship, landing on the dock with a smooth roll. She walked like smoke made flesh, her every movement fluid and graceful. There was a slight sailor’s sway to her step, but it only added to her almost ethereal grace as she made her way over to where Ara and Brekker stood.
When she reached them, she grinned at the boss. “Hello, Kaz.” She looked at Ara with a warm smile. “I see Kaz brought you along. It’s nice to meet you, Ara.”
Ara started. “How do you know my name?”
The woman chuckled. “This isn’t the first time in the past year I’ve visited Ketterdam, little one. I was there when Kaz hired you. What has he been having you do?”
“Mostly message delivery,” she said. “Mr. Brekker says I’m too young to take the tattoo, so I just kind of do the odd task here and there, which I think isn’t near enough.”
“You’re what, twelve?” Brekker growled. “I’m not putting a tattoo on a child.”
“Careful there, Kaz,” the woman said, a teasing (teasing? Now Ara really needed to know who this woman was. Nobody teased Mr. Brekker) tone in her voice. “You don’t want to seem like you care too much about the children.”
He scowled at her, although the gesture wasn’t as threatening as it usually was. “Inej.”
“Inej, as in Inej Ghafa?” Ara blurted. “Wait, Roeder mentioned your name before!” She whirled to face the boss, eyes wide. “You didn’t tell me that you worked with the best spider in Ketterdam!”
“Did you not make the connection between Roeder’s stories and what I told you?” Brekker rolled his eyes.
Ara puffed up in indignation. “It’s not my fault there’s a million different spiders in Ketterdam. How was I supposed to know that your Wraith was the same person as Roeder’s idol?”
Captain Ghafa- Ara supposed that was her proper title- smiled widely. “You are a treat, Ara. Kaz needs someone to call him out sometimes.” At the slightly annoyed look he gave her, the captain laughed. “You know I’m right, Kaz. Keep her around, I like her.”
Brekker seemed to soften at the sound of her laugh. He looks at her like she hung the moon, Ara realized. This woman is more than an old associate- she’s important to him.
“Go back to the Slat,” Brekker told Ara. “And keep quiet about the return of The Wraith.”
Ara grinned. “Yes, sir.” Still smiling, she turned and walked away, ecstatic that she’d met such a well-known and well-respected icon. She couldn’t wait to learn more about the legendary woman and her connection to Kaz Brekker.