Elora Van Eck | Kaz Brekker

FIFTEEN | TRUST

***

w y l a n

WYLAN HAD DEVOTED his undivided focus to the implications of this confrontation, day, and night. He diced the contents of his mind so very many times that he grew dizzy, striving to cobble together an answer for himself. And yet every time those letters appeared to be combining, doubts fragmented them anew.

The hallway was silent. Wylan prayed that the rapid pulse that pounded blood into his ears was solely audible to himself.

He hadn't yet been blessed with the ability to reciprocate Jesper's gaze, but he felt it resting heavily on his temple.

Wylan delved deep within himself, searching for the root of his anxiety. What he encountered, however, were so many reasons that selecting one and sticking to it would be mentally tiring.

A reasonable question. It was exactly one thing he longed to know, but he became overly absorbed by his worries.

Gradually, he compelled his neck muscles to contract. Wylan lifted his head. Blue mingled with brown and smudged to create a pleasant shade – Cinnamon on a dreary snowy winter day.

Fears of sacrificing this loomed yet again. Wylan's overthinking mentality attempted all it could to suppress his voice. Nevertheless, before it could do so, the query burst out of his throat. "Did you know we'd discover a corpse in that house?"

Jesper's bewildered expression pricked the curly-head's core. However, denying that a felon stood in front of him would be a silly notion. Wylan's thoughts forced his mind underwater, as much as he prayed his instinct was right and Jesper was indeed a good guy.

Jesper stared. His perplexity evolved to disgust. "Saints," he mused, his voice tinged with disdain, "do you truly think that? Do you seriously believe I brought you along to examine a decomposing man?"

"I'm not sure; you tell me." It came across a touch harsher than anticipated, but Wylan needed to know. He sought clarity, to conclude.

Jesper got confused in the maze that Wylan's eyes portrayed, seeking something. Fear? Anger? Malaise? Trust? He didn't spot anything significant, though. As the Zemini grasped the severity of Wylan's words, his voice turned rigid. "No, Van Eck," he stated, "I had no clue we were going to discover a deceased merchant."

"Merchant? You knew the man?" Wylan staggered back an unconscious step.

Jesper promptly refuted the question. "Kaz instructed me to find the man and learn all I could about him. Be it personal or professional," he said. Wylan analyzed the words he heard. "The body belonged to Herbert Yang. He was a well-known merchant who conducted trades between Ketterdam and Shu-Han. Is there any significance to the name for you?"

Wylan shook his head. He was well aware that Jesper was hoping for details regarding Jan. But Wylan knew next to nothing about his father's job, had never shown any interest in it. Early in life, the youngster understood he would never continue his father's legacy.

Jesper continued, nodding "In his workplace, I was expecting to obtain additional information. Yang had been spotted two days prior at Fifth Harbor, boarding a ship bound for Shu Han. He shouldn't have been there. It ought to have been harmless. That's why I brought you along."