Crooked Crows

4| Jesper

J e s p e r

"Damn Brekker, you just made the Wraith stop in her tracks," Jesper said quietly to Kaz before taking off running down the dock to meet Inej half way.

  The sky was a clear, bright blue, with not a single cloud in sight, and the water in the harbor was dead still. As Jesper made his way down the dock he passed five stadwatch officers, rifles slung over their shoulders with one hand on the trigger and the other cradling just below the barrel. The stadwatch officers were walking alongside some very grim looking prisoners. The prisoners had dark bags under their eyes from what Jesper assumed to be from lack of sleep and looked as if they haven't eaten a proper meal in weeks. Their hands were shackled behind their backs and their ankles clasped together with tight iron cuffs. As they walked towards shore, Jesper noticed that all of the prisoners were chained together, making a straight line, all forced into taking steps in unison. Slavers, Jesper thought with a sudden burst of pride knowing that Inej had no doubt caught them all. Hopefully they find their way to Hellgate.

  In just a handful of Jesper's long strides, he had gotten half way down the dock to berth twenty-two, with his arms stretched out, waiting to greet Inej in a hug. When they finally met each other, he picked Inej up and swung her in circles while she laughed effortlessly with her head held high. She was as light as a feather, Jesper noticed.

"Put me down!" Inej yelled, trying to sound stern but couldn't help from laughing as Jesper finally let her feet touch the ground again. After she regained her footing, Jesper reached both of his hands up to her face and held them around her cheeks as he took her in for the first time in months.

"You have a new scar," he said while frowning at the new mark just above her left eyebrow as he traced one of his long, dark fingers over it.

"Got into a bit of a tussle," she shrugged as Jesper let go of her face. "Nothing I couldn't handle, of course."

"Oh, Inej, how I've missed your beautiful face," Jesper exclaimed as he winked, and then brought her into another hug as Kaz finally reached where the two of them had been standing.

"Glad you're back, Wraith," Kaz said as he took his spot across from Inej, next to Jesper.

"Glad to be back."

  Jesper felt incredibly awkward, like he had walked in on something private that he shouldn't have seen. As if on cue to break the tension, Nina had run down the dock and collided into Jesper, squealing like she was trying chocolate for the first time. Behind her walked a tall, broad shouldered, long brown haired, brown eyed monster of a man. He kept his face hidden with a cloth wrapped tightly around his mouth and nose, and didn't say a word as Jesper was knocked off his feet with Nina landing on top of him.

  Nina burrowed her face into the crook of Jesper's neck as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. Jesper was unable to move so he let out a small sigh and started laughing once again. He was excited to see his friends again but didn't realize how much he had missed them until Nina greeted him with a body check.

"I'm not sure how Wylan will feel when he finds out you were all over me," Jesper joked, smiling through the pain of Nina's weight on his torso. Nina finally lifted herself up and off of him onto her feet. She reached down a hand to offer Jesper some help getting up. He grabbed for it gladly, and then once standing, he pulled her into a tight squeeze.

"What Wylan doesn't know won't hurt him," she responded with a wink.

"Zenik," Kaz said, nodding his head.

"Brekker."

"Who's the soilder?" Jesper asked, nodding towards the mysterious man standing extremely still behind Nina. He hadn't lifted his head once, not even when Jesper addressed him.

"Oh, just an old friend," Nina responded, looking down at her feet. Something had clearly gone on between the two and Jesper was eager to find out. He missed Matthias more than he ever would have imagined, but if Nina had found someone else to love and make her happy, then Jesper didn't mind. Something was strangely familiar about the solider, though, Jesper realized as he took in his appearance once again. "We can all get acquainted once we're at the Van Eck mansion."

  On the walk, back to Wylan's, there was no shortage of things to talk about. These crows had four months of conversation to catch up on. Jesper and his crew had walked by multiple stadwatch officers as they made their trek from Fifth Harbor to Wylan's. After the staged auction, the commander of the stadwatch had cracked his whip, trying to kick the Barrel into shape and attempt to get rid of the dirty officers that took bribes from canal rats like Jesper. As long as there are stadwatch officers, there will be someone to bribe, Jesper thought.

  From the corner of his eye, Jesper noticed that Inej kept looking up at the rooftops. "Saints, Inej, just climb up there already," Jesper said with a light laugh while wrapping his arm around Inej's shoulders. He didn't realize how badly Inej actually wanted to climb up to the rafters until she tilted her head up to him, nodded, and went to find a ladder. She probably only needs a drainpipe.

  Once Inej took her leave, Jesper noticed how disturbingly quiet his crew had gotten. It was going to be a long walk to the house if no one had anything to say.