Echo • Six Of Crows - Kaz Brekker

30

(Here comes the drama - keep commenting, it gives me life.)

The time had come to make the small boat journey to Vellgeluk Island to make the exchange.

The deck of the ferolind now stood clear.

Nina was struggling to keep any food down and looked paler and sicker by the hour, meaning Matthias was a grumpy, generally dislikable person to be around as of late and 'Wylan' was to stay by her side.

It had taken Mavka all of two hours to be the one to figure out that the quiet Shu scientists son was not infact who they thought. Kaz had received a disapproving gaze when he had no choice but to explain the brunt of his plan - the part she didn't quite agree with was keeping poor Jesper out of the loop, but she couldn't deny that it would make it more believable should everything go to shit.

And knowing people like Van Eck, it undoubtedly would. (And knowing their luck.)

Mavka had been easily irritable with nerves. Jesper was no less pleasant to be around, constantly fidgeting and in a bitter mood because Wylan hadn't spoken to him in a while.

She chose to leave her thick coat behind now the air wasn't so frigid and unbearable. Back in her black pants, red button up and oversized dark jacket, she felt more like herself; but the twin swords at her side was what really did it.

Before they got into their longboat she spent her time absently with her hands at her waist, running her fingers over the engraved hilts strapped to her belt.

Grey storm clouds rolled in overhead, the air thick with moisture, foretelling of rain. They were lucky it hadn't hit yet.

When the time came, Matthias, Inej, Jesper, Kuwei, Kaz and Mavka all climbed into their longboat and rowed towards the flat expanse of Vellgeluk.

The journey was unusually quiet, all of their minds as cloudy as the sky above and as murky as the water below. Mavka seemed to be the only one visibly anxious, constantly fidgeting with the ends of her sleeves and gnawing on her lip.

She kept her vision on the flat expanse of sand and jagged rocks barely a mile wide in their sights. It was practically barren save for the wrecked foundation of the old tower that had once been used by the Council of Tides. As they grew closer, the faded golden paintings of coins around it's base became visible over the black rocks - what still stood as a symbol of offering to Ghezen.

As Mavka scanned their surroundings, unease crawled up her spine like a spider on a web as she realised how far away they were from the barely visible ports that edged Ketterdam. It may have been an ideal meeting place for wary parties and smugglers, far from the patrol of the harbour watch, but with how far away they were from all other life - it was making her leg bounce up and down.

They could see her nerves, her silent anxiety, but none of them said a word about it. Some of them felt it, too.

As they rowed the last few paces, they gazed up at the brigantine moored off the coast of the opposite side of the island. Its sails hung low, lazily twitching in the wind.