The door slamming made me jump as Wylan showed me around his workbench. Both our heads snapped up, and I relaxed when I realized it was only Jesper making his presence known.
"Hello?" the tall boy called. "Anyone here?" I rolled my eyes and glanced at Wylan, and he furrowed his brows.
"Oh," he said, sighing. "Hi. I wasn't expecting you." Jesper saluted me playfully and looked over the bench.
"And you are?" he asked Wylan.
"We've..." I furrowed my brows and looked up at the boy as he shook his head. "Uh, Wylan." Jesper chuckled and shook his head.
"No, I mean why did Kaz have us meet here?" I grinned and raised my hand playfully. The Zemini boy rolled his eyes. "Besides you."
"Oh," Wylan murmured. "I guess, um, I'm your demolitions man." Jesper's eyes snapped up to the timid-looking boy, and he furrowed his brows.
"You?" he questioned. He scoffed under his breath. "You've got all your fingers." He picked up a bottle from the bench, making Wylan quickly step around the end of the table to pluck it from his hands.
"Well, maybe I'm careful."
"Careful is something you learn from losing your fingers." I hummed and crossed my arms with a smug grin.
"Wylan had me," I only half joked. "And I learned from a Materialnik." The door was pushed open again, and Kaz came limping down the stairs into the room. Jesper looked up at him.
"So this novice is telling me that he's our new demo man," he noted. "Raske is better. Or even Pim." Kaz barely glanced his way before speaking.
"And yet Wylan is the one I hired." Jesper shook his head and looked back at the demo boy.
"Shouldn't you be graduating university and, I don't know, starting a desk job?" Before Wylan could answer or I could tell him off, the door opened for a third time and Inej entered, followed by another figure.
"You're here," Kaz noted. She nodded.
"With the new Heartrender." The woman behind her smiled warmly and nodded.
"Nina Zenik. At your service." The four original members of our crew froze as we watched her.
"Nina Zenik?" Kaz, Inej, and Jesper questioned. I simply stared at her, beginning to piece together where I had heard that name in the first place. She laughed and nodded.
"Well, that's a reaction. Is there a famous Nina Zenik that I don't know of?" The room fell into a mildly awkward silence, which Wylan even more awkwardly broke.
"Can I get anyone some tea?" he asked quietly. Kaz rolled his eyes as I held back a laugh.
"You worked with Arken," he spoke up, ignoring my friend. Nina groaned before chuckling.
"It was more of a limited partnership." I arched a brow.
"Did you trust him?" I asked her. She scoffed and shook her head.
"That turncoat? Not on your life. He was shadier than an oak at three bells." Kaz sighed and stood up straighter.
"What's your price?" She glanced between the group of us and sighed.
"I've expended the legal avenues on my problem," she admitted. "Every clerk in the city says the same thing. "The judge will see you in six months."" I nodded slowly, understanding what problem she was insinuating.
"And so you're looking for the not-so-legal route on what, exactly?" I asked quietly.
"I'm told you could free someone from Hellgate." There was a hidden question to her words that we all could hear. "Someone, I say as if he's anyone, and in truth, he's the love of my life." I nodded slowly and met Kaz's gaze. I arched a brow, and after a moment, he sighed before looking back at her.
"I can't get you a release from Hellgate," he admitted. "But I can get you a visit. In exchange for your services." Without hesitation, she nodded.
"What do you need me for?" He glanced around the room before making brief eye contact with me.
"The aftermath." He nodded towards the door and began to exit the small workshop. "Follow me." I rolled my eyes and smiled tightly at Nina as I passed her.
"He does this." The Heartrender arched a brow and nodded.
"Does he?" Silently, the six of us emerged onto the roof. We stood against the edge of the building, staring across the skyline.
"Brick by brick," Kaz muttered, barely perceptible at the other end of the group. I furrowed my brows but was unable to voice my confusion before an explosion sounded from the other side of the city. My eyes widened, and Wylan squeezed his eyes shut, turning away from the sight and pressing his cheek against my hair. My hand found his elbow and held him close, though my eyes were glued to the scene.
"What was that?" Nina questioned. I frowned and glanced down the line at Kaz.
"The Crow Club," I answered. Jesper shook his head.
"I had some really nice hats in there," he complained. He looked down at Wylan, who was finally turning his eyes to the sight of flames. "Was that yours?" The boy only glanced up at him and gulped. Nina looked up at Kaz.
"I take it we're now in the aftermath?" I shook my head and leaned forward to meet his eyes.
"This doesn't help us clear our name, Kaz." Inej glanced at me before looking up at him as well, nodding along.
"This is war with Pekka Rollins," she reminded him, "the King of the Barrel." He shook his head, his brow set in determination.
"The Barrel doesn't belong to kings," he claimed, turning away from the edge as he moved to leave. "It belongs to bastards."
YOU ARE READING
Midnight Thoughts ~ Shadow & Bone
Fanfiction"Fear is a phoenix. You can watch it burn a thousand times and still it will return." Karlin Kaye ran. She ran from her home to a place completely unknown. But as a result she found the ones she knew would make sure she never had to run again. No m...
