Drowning (Kaz Brekker)

viii - Eye For An Eye

"Get your crew in shape before I start cracking skulls."

He saluted, remembered this wasn't the navy, turned to order his crew about.

"Nina." Asra repeated, voice low and breathless. Her roughspun shirt and coat was covered in blood. Kaz couldn't tell who's it was.

"She's seeing to the wounded below. She already took care of me." Jesper said to both Kaz and Asra at once. His thigh was coated with drying blood, a hole blown through his trousers.

Asra plunged past him without another word. Inej was pale, unconscious, weakly clutching a dagger in the hand that rested on her stomach. Asra plunged below and Kaz made himself not follow.

"What the hell just happened?" Jesper asked, leaning against the railings as the ship left the harbour. His rifle was at his side, eyes unfocused, hair dishevelled. He looked drunk.

"We were ambushed." Wylan said, still shaking slightly, sat on the forecastle deck.

Jesper shot him a glare. "Private tutors from the university and that's what this kid comes up with? We were ambushed?"

Wyaln blushed. "Stop calling me kid. We're practically the same age."

He didn't look it. Wylan was the same age as Asra, sixteen, but even Kaz barely believed it. Wylan looked so young, wide eyed and hopeful and innocent to the ways of the real world. The Barrel world, at least. Whereas Asra couldn't be more different. She was all glares and sharp words and scars. Kaz could still picture her scars, saw them every time he looked at her. He wished he knew how she got them. He wasn't sure why.

Get some trauma under your belt, it puts years on you. She'd meant it as a joke, but Kaz couldn't have put it better himself. At least, he thought she was joking when she said it. Kaz could never tell.

Asra heaved a sigh as she walked over. Kaz watched as she leant against the railing beside Jesper, threw her head back and shook her hair out her face. Her breath steamed before her face. She'd ditched the coat. Her shirt was short-sleeved and covered in blood. Goosbumps crawled along her scared arms, one of which was bleeding a little more than Kaz was comfortable with. She shouldn't have, but this was the most peaceful Kaz had ever seen her.

"That was fun." She said, looking at each of them and offering a smile.

"You're arms..." Wylan muttered, eyes trailing along the fresh blood and old scars.

She glanced at the bullet wound like it was a stain on her coat. "I'll be fine. What we talkin' about?"

"The merchling is blessing us with his wisdom." Jesper said, voice crisp with sarcasm as he looked down at Asra. He turned back to Wylan and sneered. "I know we were ambushed. That doesn't explain how they knew we would be there. Maybe Big Bolliger wasn't the only Black Tip in the Dregs."

"Geels doesn't have the brains or the resources to bite this face or hard alone." Kaz said.

"Razorgulls were there too. Inej told me." Asra said.

"What happened to her?" Kaz asked. How had he forgotten? Asra's shirt was black with the Wraith's blood. But his mind had practically emptied the moment he saw her and those scars. Then whatever thoughts had vanished as she'd thrown her head back and let the wind whip at her face.

"Oomen stabbed her. Which reminds me," she sprung away from the railings with a flourish. She whistled to Rotty, who directed her across the deck.

"What's she doing?" Jesper asked.

"No idea." Kaz said, watching as she and Rotty hauled a man into view. Oomen.

"You didn't plan for this?"