Finally, they stopped running. Kaz leaned heavily on his cane, and even Inej was panting. She leaned against the wall in silence, and they were only disturbed by the sounds of their heavy breathing.

"That did not go as planned," Kaz commented finally. The pair was fleeing from the north end of the Warehouse District, where it was rumored that the Dime Lions were facilitating the transport of slaves. Kaz saw an opportunity to destroy one of Pekka Rollins' business ventures, and wasn't about to let it slip through his fingers. Inej was immediately on board once she heard what the rival gang was up to. Kaz still wasn't sure what went wrong or how they were spotted, but it was obvious that the game was up. Which left the fleeing. Instead of heading straight back to the Slat, Kaz and Inej had weaved south along the outskirts of West Stave, hoping to throw off their pursuers without taking a fight to the unsuspecting Dregs.

Inej just hummed in response, still working on getting enough air. She was used to stealth- sneaking and climbing- not mad dashes through the streets.

"We'll head back at a regular pace from here, now that we're far enough to-"

Inej looked at Kaz, as he cut off mid sentence, and gasped in horror when she saw the knife blossoming out of his chest. She heard a cackle and shuffling feet behind her. Without thinking, she pulled the knife from Kaz's chest and hurled it at their attacker. It struck him square in the back and he fell, motionless.

A coward's death, Inej thought viciously before she turned back to Kaz. He had fallen to his knees, a look of shock still pasted on his face. The fact that the man had gotten close enough to throw a knife without either of them knowing was worrying enough, and the fact that she had just pulled it out of Kaz's wound was also worrying. The blood had begun to flow freely.

Inej quickly ripped off a strip of cloth from her shirt and pressed it to the wound. "Kaz, Kaz!" His eyes were unfocused and she shook him slightly, desperate for some response.

"Inej, you need to go." His rough voice sounded even rougher than normal. "You need to get out of here, there will be more coming."

"No, not without you," Inej shook her head, eyes bright with unshed tears. This isn't real. This can't be happening.

Kaz let out a weak laugh. "What are you going to do Wraith, carry me? No, go do something useful, spend what's left of my four million kruge. No mourners. Go!" His eyes fluttered shut.

Inej looked down at Kaz in horror. The cloth she had pressed to his chest was already soaked through with blood, and her hand was covered in it.

He's going to die, Inej though numbly. After everything we've done, Kaz is going to die here.

She shook her head again and straightened her spine. "If that's what I have to do. You are not dying here Kaz Brekker. Not like this." She hesitated, and then pulled Kaz's shirt off, tying it around his chest as tightly as she was able. It wouldn't do a great job, but it would hopefully stem the flow of blood somewhat.

Gritting her teeth, she picked Kaz up and draped him over her shoulder as best as she could. He moaned slightly. At least he's still… conscious. Her mind skipped over the word alive, shying away from the other possibilities that brought.

She took a deep breath and started walking, knowing she had to get as close to the Slat as she could. Every so often she would mutter to Kaz, trying to get a response. She knew she had to keep him conscious, but her body was screaming at her, and it took all of her effort to remember how to put one foot in front of the other.

Walk Inej, walk. Left, right. Left, right. Walk.

Her muscles were trembling with exhaustion and she belatedly realized that she had started crying at some point, but she couldn't stop now. Kaz was dying, bleeding out on her shoulder.

Finally, she was forced to give it and accept she wasn't going to be able to make it back. She let out a desperate sob. Her body was in agony. Sheer force of will wasn't going to enable her to carry Kaz any further. The world tumbled down around her, but as it did, Inej looked up and saw a form in the distance. A familiar looking form.

"Jesper?" She called out, desperately hoping she wasn't wrong. "Jesper!"

The Saints were on her side this night, as the figure turned and jogged over to her. "Inej? What are you- oh shit!" His eyes widened as he saw Inej standing there, covered in blood and holding an unconscious Kaz.

"Jesper, you need to get Nina. Now! Hurry, please!" Inej gasped out. It sounded more like sobs than words, but Jesper must have understood because he turned and ran, his long legs eating the distance that Inej had struggled with.

Shakily, she walked into the shadows of the alley and lowered Kaz to the ground as softly as she could. She reached down to check for his pulse, terrified at what she might not find. Her fingers hesitated above his skin, but she pressed them against his neck all the same. At first, she could only feel her own frantic heartbeat. But finally, she felt the faint attempts of a heartbeat under Kaz's skin. She let out a sob of relief and adjusted the shirt around his chest. It had soaked through again, and the amount of blood was more than a little worrying.

"Kaz," Inej tried to wake him up. "You need to stay with me, okay? You're Kaz Brekker, you don't get to die in a back alley this close to home." There was no response. "Please?" Suddenly, the hair on the back of Inej's neck stood up and she tensed. Spinning around slowly, she saw two men standing at the entrance of the alley.

"Well well well, what do we have here?" One asked in a deep voice.

"If you ask me, it looks like that bastard Brekker and his Wraith," the second man spit out the names.

Inej saw red. She was exhausted and scared, and not in the mood for a fight. She advanced slowly, dropping low and pushing her weight forward onto the balls of her aching feet. Get them out of the alley. She was no street fighter and the odds were firmly against her. There were two of them, and they both had easily over a hundred pounds on her, but these men would be getting to Kaz over her dead body and not a moment sooner.

AN: I've actually written quite a bit for this fic? Right now, it's looking to be at least 8 chapters. So... if you like it/want me to continue, please let me know! (AKA I need validation from strangers on the internet and this fandom needs more content). Please feel free to come scream about this book with me on my tumblr!