Love can find you |~ Kaz Brekker ~|

|14| crossing the fold pt 2

"Please tell me you have twenty pounds of alabaster coal." Arken asked Jesper as he lit a few blue lights.

"Slight snag in the plan. Turns out the kid who was helping me buy the coal, didn't exactly know how to, uh, but coal?" Jesper lied.

"We know you gambled it all away." Kaz stared down Jesper. The latter cowering back a bit.

"I lost a little bit of the money."

Kaz gave him a look.

"I lost all of the money. But I managed to steal twenty pounds of alabaster coal!"

Arken held up the bag. "No no. There's sixteen pounds."

"Sixteen pounds of alabaster coal." Jesper corrected himself.

"Saints, Jesper." Danielle flicked the back of his head and hopped his hat off his head. Jesper leaned down to get his hat.

"Can we do it on sixteen?" Kaz asked with his head turned to the conductor.

"Never been done before." He grumbled.

Gunshots hit the walls of the train. Frightened, Danny inches close to Kaz, the man putting his cane in between him for her to hold as a way for comfort. They can't hold hands so that was the best he could do.

Arken shoved Jesper into a seat. "Sir here. Never shift your weight!" Arken went to push Danny down too but Kaz slammed his cane i front of him.

"Don't touch her." Kaz glared at Arken then softened his gaze and motioned to the bench with his head, Ellie sat down.

Arken rolled up his sleeve, eleven scars covered his arm.

"You've cross that many times?" Inej looked at his arm wide eyed.

"It's a numbers game." He responded. "Cross this often and you get nightmares." He opened the compartment that held the fireplace for the coal.

An explosion sounded and the sound of screams followed. "Land mines..." Jesper looked through the peep hole.

"I thought you said they weren't real." Kaz leaned over to Arken.

Arken scratched his nose shyly. "I said nothing of the sort. I just said I put up the sign myself."

"Oh my saints!" Danny's face started to pale. Kaz placed his hand on her thigh.

The train started and off they went. The engine chugged, the wind soared, Danny tapping her thigh with a rhythm. Another sound came from outside, it was a metal clang. Jesper held onto his his necker then to his guns.

"What was that."

"I've erected a system of timers along the line. But if metal to keep me apprised of our pace." Arken informed.

"How did you know where to put the poles?" Danielle asked the conductor.

"Physics and engineering account for," he paused for a solid five seconds. "Most of my success.

"Wait. You paused. Why'd you pause? Kaz why did he pause?" Danny trembled.

"And the rest?" Asked Inej.

"What we might call divine intervention." Arken spoke as he played with his fingers. "What others might call luck. And after all, the Fold is thick with volcra. And the tracks, um, are not complete."

"What?"

"Coal please." Arken ignored her and looked to Kaz.

Jesper say up straight. "I'm sorry... did you say the tracks weren't complete?"