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crowsheadcaneandleathergloves · 4 years

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The School for Supernatural (Grishaverse Big Bang)

@grishaversebigbang

Corporalki: @fleeingtofiction, @pleaseuseacoaster, @wonderland1888

Materialki: @maiyoart (artwork), @plasticbattleaxe (artwork), @satelliteinasupernova (artwork 1 and artwork 2)

Summary: Wylan is whisked off to The School for Supernatural. It is nothing like Hogwarts and it lacks the famous wizarding school’s luster. But there is one thing in common: it’s a school for the unordinary. The supernatural. The magical, one might call it. But as Wylan meets others like him with varying abilities, he soon realizes that The School isn’t all that it seems.

Chapter 1: Wylan

Wylan was a good kid. He was a smart kid. He could play the flute and read music. He could speak fluent French and German. He could create paper cranes out of pretty much any paper that could be turned into a square. He excelled at Chemistry and Math. He was a natural when it came to dealing with children.

So how did he find himself shackled in the back of a van, bumping along a remote dirt road, on his way to a sketchy boarding school? Why had his father had consented to this?

Actually, Wylan knew exactly how he had gotten into this situation, but right now he didn’t want to think about it.

Wylan felt an itch blossoming on his nose and he wanted to scratch it. But he was strapped tightly to the back seat with his hands shackled down. He couldn’t move an inch. “Um, excuse me sir,” he called out to the boy in the passenger seat nervously. He had to be a couple years older than Wylan. “I have an itchy nose—“

The boy glanced up to the rearview mirror with those piercing blue eyes and glared at him. He said absolutely nothing and reached his hand up to pull down a screen so the back of the van was divided from the front.

Wylan was shocked by the rudeness. All he had asked for, or at least tried to ask for, was to scratch his nose.

He wasn’t at all dangerous yet the driver and the boy acted like he was some monster.

The van jolted as they began driving on unpaved road and Wylan yelped as the shackles dug into his wrists.

“Be quiet back there!” The boy hollered, banging on the inside of the van.

Wylan pursed his lips and moved his wrists as much as they could under the tight restraints, trying to get at least a little more comfortable.

He was naturally curious, was used to knowing what was going to happen next. Right now, he was in the dark about literally everything.

Wylan glanced at his watch—11:22 am—before closing his eyes and silencing his thoughts. First to a whisper, then to a buzzing, then to nothing at all.

His body felt like it was falling away and shedding it’s skin like a snake. Wylan was falling...falling...falling…

And then his eyes reopened. Only, they weren’t his physical eyes. His limbs reassembled, and a warm feeling—like he had just drank a hot chocolate after coming in from a chilly winter’s evening—began in his belly that expanded to meet his torso and to where his legs met his hip and his body met his head.

Wylan remembered the first time he had ever astral projected. It had been a complete accident—but one that changed his life forever.

He had been maybe 4 or 5 and, earlier that day, his tutor had expressed his annoyance that Wylan was incredible and beyond his years at everything...except reading. His father had berated him until he was crying. He had retreated into his room and let his imagination run wild. He was close to drifting off when his thoughts drifted to The Great Wall of China and each and every brick when, when he reopened his eyes he was there. On The Great Wall of China. It had been a clear day and he had seen tourists walking on The Wall. Walking through him. As if he were a ghost. He stayed until his whole body was in excruciating pain before he had been forced back into his physical body.

The second time he astral projected took a year of studying what had happened the first time, recreating those circumstances and practicing.

He must have laid in his bed for hours on end, thinking of The Great Wall of China. Looked at paintings until his eyes hurt. Even when his father yelled at him and screamed at him because he couldn’t read, he didn’t cry. All he could think about was whatever he had done that day where he had escaped to somewhere new.

Until, one day, his father had left for a meeting and he had the house to himself, which was a rare occasion. He had leaned back in a plush recliner, exhausted from his newest tutor trying to get him to read the largest book he had ever seen. The book was apparently about Paris and he had been thinking of the Eiffel Tower. And, suddenly, he was there again. At the massive structure with people walking through him.

Now he was 16 and projection came naturally to him.

Wylan flew above the van and glanced at the licence plate—committing it to memory—before taking a look at his surroundings.

They seemed to be in the deep countryside, wheat blowing around vigorously and farms in the distance.

Wylan glanced behind him and just saw wheat. Wheat wheat and more wheat.

He super sped over to the nearest farmhouse, rainbow streaks in the sides of his vision, and saw a wooden sign: The Bonds.

Wylan sped back to the winding dirt road. The wind was still raging, though it didn’t affect Wylan in his astral form

He thought about the driver and the boy back in the van. What if they figured out what he was doing? They wouldn’t kill his body, would they?

Wylan knew he should go back to his physical body before the driver and boy found out.

Soon, he told himself, soon.

But first, he wanted to see this so-called boarding school with his own two eyes.

He sped down the single road as quickly as he could while also keeping an eye on his surroundings to search for the school.

In three minutes astral time, which had no real formula but Wylan had gotten used to counting to 60, he finally found it. At least, he supposed it was.

The wheat and farms were long back down the road, replaced by stretches of flat green grass with a single building to Wylan’s left.

The building was huge—a mansion made out of dark wood and cream coloured walls. As he floated higher, he noticed marble pillars and greenery in the courtyard.

As Wylan got about 300 feet away from the mansion, a breeze ran through his body and hair.

He stopped dead in his tracks.

In the astral plane, wind and other physical sensations just weren’t a thing. Whatever created the wind wasn’t natural.

Wylan shivered and he felt a tug to go back to his body.

Not yet. He snapped to himself, flying closer to the building and going through the outside wall.

“You get back here Brekker or I’ll break your other leg and you’ll be walking with a double limp!” A girl shrieked as she ran out of the door.

Wylan followed the girl curiously. Other people his age? His father hadn’t said anything about that. Although, now that he thought about it you couldn’t really have a school with one child. That would just be plain tutoring.

As Wylan made his way through the next wall, he saw the girl stomping over to where a boy with sunken cheeks and pale skin was. He had a black cane clutched his left hand. Presumably “Brekker”. “I only need it for a moment, Zenik,” the boy said. Only it came out more like a rasp than anything.

Did people smoke at this school?

The thought was instantly shot from his brain as another boy walked—no swaggered in. His was tall and thin like a toothpick, his limbs long too. He had his hands in his pockets and his initial thought was, I like him.

Why? Wylan had no idea. Maybe it was because of his eyes, which were glittering and brown. Or the way he walked—like he owned the building and everything in it. Or how he looked so comfortable in his own body. Or how his facial features were—

“Kaz, c’mon,” the dark skinned boy said. “You steal Nina’s stationary and envelopes on a weekly basis. Shouldn’t she know why?”

Nina crossed her arms and nodded defiantly. “Thank you Jesper.” She then looked over to Kaz. “I don’t want you using my stuff without me knowing why!!” She snapped.

“I’m well aware of your opinion on the matter, Zenik.” Kaz said, eerily calm. “I’ll ask Brum to buy you some new pens when he goes out to the market again.”

“You aren’t answering my question, Brekker,” Nina said, tapping her foot impatiently. “Either you tell me why you stole my stuff or I break your other leg.”

Kaz pocketed a pen and envelope in his jacket pocket and leaned casually against the wall, crossing his legs, placing both of his hands on top of his cane. “I sneak letters to my family.” He said simply.

When Nina and Jesper opened their mouths to speak, Kaz put a hand up.

Well he’s obviously the leader, Wylan thought as he watched this interaction unfold. And, to be honest, Wylan could see why. This Kaz guy looked like he could rip out your eye with one hand while choking someone else with the other, in addition to having polite conversation with another person.

“And before you ask, no I will not send your families’ letters.” Kaz stated.

Nina and Jesper’s mouths clamped shut.

Kaz cracked his knuckles beneath leather gloves and Wylan couldn’t help but be curious. What power did he have? Fire manipulation? He cocked his head to one side and looked at Nina as if they hadn’t just been arguing. “Is that explanation acceptable, Zenik? Or do I have to elaborate?”

Nina let her arms fall to her side. “You are insufferable, Brekker, you know that?”

“I do, you’ve told me plenty of times before.”

Nina turned around and flicked her hand with it. “Borrow my pens and envelopes as much as you want, Brekker. But you better not break one or I’ll kill you and make it look like an accident! Mark my words, Brekker!”

Kaz had a sly smirk on his face as Nina shut her door loudly. “I wouldn’t put it past you, Zenik. Wouldn’t put it past you…” he walked down the hall and Wylan followed, noticing an obvious limp in his right leg.

Wylan began to feel his head throb, a sure sign of a headache coming on, indicating he didn’t have much time left in the astral plane.

Wylan followed Kaz into another room, curious to see what he was writing. This one was pretty large. The bed looked incredibly comfy, however it was stripped of comforters and pillows. Instead, there was a pull-out couch pushed in the corner with a pile of sheets and blankets and a pillow next to it on the floor.

Wylan watched as Kaz sat down at the desk, leaning his cane against it. He took out the pen and envelope out of his pocket before opening his desk drawer, withdrawing a single sheet of blank, white, paper.

Kaz leaned back in his chair and didn’t say anything for a long time. It looked like he was waiting for something. Or someone.

Wylan didn’t have to wait long to find out. He almost yelped in surprise when a tiny bronze skinned girl suddenly appeared at the windowsill, crouched low like a frog.

He was still trying to figure out what had happened when the girl at the windowsill hopped off gracefully and landed silently on the hardwood floor. “How’d you know I was there?” She asked.

Kaz turned back around to face his desk and clicked the pen a couple of times before responding. “I told you, I felt your presence.”

The girl drew closer to Kaz and perched on his bare bed. “I still don’t believe you.” She stated. “Anyway, why did you lie to Nina?”

Inej couldn’t see it from her place on the bed but Wylan saw as Kaz’s left hand twitched. “What are you talking about?”

“Don’t play dumb with me Kaz.” The girl said slowly. “Even from here I could tell you were lying.”

Kaz pursed his lips tightly before parting them again. “I needed a pen and envelope.”

“But why her specific pen and envelope? You have plenty of stationary here already.”

“It’s not the same.” Kaz said, beginning to click the pen again. He paused for a moment. “Zenik’s pen’s ink flows better than mine.” He said dryly.

The girl barked out a laugh and rolled her eyes.

Kaz began clicking the pen once again and the girl must have taken this a sign for her to leave. “Come down for lunch?” She asked as she softly landed on the ground again and made her way to the closed door. “You barely come down for food, I’m afraid you’ll starve to death.”

Click, click, click. “Believe me, there are worse ways to die than starvation.”

The girl sighed and walked out the door, closing it softly behind her.

Wylan’s headache was getting worse. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could hold on.

Just a little longer, he told himself. He just wanted to see who Kaz was writing to and what about. If the other girl was so sure he was lying earlier about his family...well...he wanted to know.

Wylan watched as Kaz methodically and slowly wrote on the piece of paper with Nina’s pen, her envelope next to it.

Kaz’s writing was small yet incredibly messy—Wylan just managing to decheiver each letter.

D-E-A-R

A strike of pain zapped through Wylan’s head and his hand automatically went to hold it. Just a little longer…

Z-

Kaz began the line of the next letter but Wylan couldn’t take it any longer. He was using all of his strength to root himself in this strange boy’s bedroom but the pain was beginning to travel down his neck...to his shoulders…down his arms.

Wylan closed his eyes and relaxed his body, watching as the rainbow streaks overwhelmed his vision as he was being brought back to his physical body.

For a split second, it was like putting on a tight body suit. Wylan always liked to close his eyes for this part.

When he opened them again, he was back in the van, strapped and shackled. His head, shoulders, and arms no longer felt pain but they were sore.

He glanced at his watch again. 11:25. Only three real minutes had passed while he was in the astral plane.

While Wylan knew a lot of things about astral projection, how time worked in the astral plane was beyond him.

All he knew was that you could spend a certain amount of time in the astral plane and, when you came back, the real time you were gone for was shorter.

Wylan’s mind went back to the other teenagers in that building.

What were they like? What did they do? That small girl—the one who had been on Kaz’s window must have invisibility.

Kaz…maybe fire because of the gloves?

As for Nina and Jesper, he couldn’t think of any clues he might have gotten from his short observation of them.

It was irritating because he wanted to know what Jesper’s ability was.

The car rattled along the dirt road for another three hours, the boy in the front often sliding up the curtain between them to check up on him.

Where did he think Wylan was going to go? He was shackled to the seat so tightly he could hardly breathe, let alone escape from the van.

When they finally stopped and Wylan heard a door opening in the front, he thought that maybe they’d arrived and someone would be coming to the back door to unlock him.

But no one came.

Instead, Wylan heard a sharp whistle, an eagle’s call, and then the van revved up once again.

This time, when the van stopped less than a minute later, the boy and the driver of the van opened the back and began unlocking him.

The driver was older, maybe in his late forties early fifties and he had similar blue eyes as the boy’s.

Wylan wasn’t sure if they were related in any way or if it was pure coincidence.

“Try to run and you die,” the driver said roughly.

“If you’re a flier, I’ll follow you until you’re too exhausted to keep going and shoot you in the head.” The boy added.

Wylan blinked. Did they not know what he did? Or was this just the standard introductory they always did? “Okay.”

When Wylan was unlocked, the two men turned him around and jostled him over to the building. The mansion with the courtyard loomed above them. Wylan looked up and squinted against the sun, finding Kaz’s bedroom window and the part of the wall he had flown through in the astral plane.

“Keep moving, boy,” the man said, digging his elbow into Wylan’s back.

As they neared the front door, Wylan noticed two faces in a nearby window. Nina and Jesper. Was the other girl there also, just invisible?

The boy opened the door and the man shoved him in. “Bedroom’s on the top floor. Choose one.”

The door slammed shut and Wylan was left with the boy who seemed like he’d rather be anywhere but with him.

“I’m Wylan Van Eck.” Wylan introduced himself hesitantly.

“I know.” The boy responded. He began to walk away.

“What’s your na—“ Wylan tried but the girl, Nina, poked her head through a doorway.

“—Don’t bother to ask him questions, Wylan,” Nina said, rolling her eyes. “He won’t answer them, believe me.”

“What’s his name?” Wylan asked.

“Matthias Helvar, the only one of us to get close to Jarl Brum, the disgusting man who drove you here.” Nina muttered. “He’s as strong as an ox but not that bright—“

“I can still hear you Zenik!” Matthias roared from another part of the building.

“I was hoping you would!” Nina shrieked back. She rolled her eyes and beckoned Wylan closer. “C’mon, I’ll bring you to where all of us hang out and sleep.”

Wylan followed Nina through the building’s intricate rooms and maze like hallways. He didn’t even realize someone was behind him until he spoke up.

“So what do you do?”

Wylan spun around and saw Jesper. He was grinning and swinging his arms around as he walked. “Oh, uh. Hi!” Wylan sputtered. He had the urge to introduce himself again but surely, if Nina had heard him introduce himself to Matthias, Jesper knew his name too?

He momentarily forgot his words as he craned his neck up to look at Jesper.

“Wylan?” Nina prompted.

“Oh. Oh! Sorry. I got…” Wylan coughed awkwardly, trailing off. “I do astral projection.”

“Whoah,” Nina said. Jesper nodded. “What’s that like?”

“It’s cool.” Wylan said as he began climbing the carpeted stairs. “When I was younger I’d visit the Eiffel Tower and the Leaning Tower of Pisa.”

“What was that like?” Nina asked, as they climbed the second set of stairs to the third floor.

“It never gets old. I sometimes wish I could stay in the astral plane forever.” Wylan breathed. He hadn’t visited France or Italy in forever. He should go tonight.

“Why can’t you?” Jesper asked as they began to climb the third set of stairs. He was trailing his arms behind him, on the handrails.

“It eventually becomes physically painful and I’m forced to come back.” Wylan said.

Nina made a sympathetic face and said, “how long do you have to wait before going back?”

Wylan shrugged. “Depends on how long I stay in the astral plane. If I stay longer, I have to wait longer until I go back.”

They had finally gotten to the top of the fourth set of stairs and Wylan recognized it from being in the astral plane earlier. Kaz’s room was down that hall and Nina’s was the closest room to the left.

“Here’s where most of us sleep and hang out.” Nina explained.

“How many people are there? Who live up here, I mean.” Wylan asked.

“Five of us, now six with you here,” Jesper said.

Six? Wylan repeated in his head. He mentally counted the people he remembered from earlier. One, Nina. Two, Jesper. Three, Kaz. Four, the invisibility girl. Five, him.

“Who’s the sixth?” Wylan asked.

Nina rolled her eyes and pointed to a nearby couch where a white wolf was curled up.

“A wolf?” Wylan asked, incredulous.

“Yes,” Kaz said dryly, stepping into the hallway, cane in his right hand. “He’s our pet.”

Wylan almost fell over when the wolf stood up and growled in Kaz’s face. Kaz didn’t flinch at all. “I am not a pet, Brekker.”

Kaz’s eyebrow twitched upwards.

The voice...the voice of the wolf sounded familiar. Wylan glanced back at Jesper who looked unsurprised.

Kaz didn’t do anything for a long while, just stared into the wolf’s blue eyes. Then, he swiftly turned around and walked to Nina, removing her pen out of his pocket.

Nina snatched it away and inspected it, making sure it still worked. When she was positive Kaz hadn’t done any damage, she put it in a pocket of her red dress.

Kaz glanced over at Wylan for a moment, and Wylan could practically feel the silent assessment he was making, before turning back around and retreating back to his room.

The wolf jumped off the couch and morphed into a boy—Matthias. His massive arms were crossed and he looked like he wanted to kill Kaz on the spot. “I don’t understand how anyone is friends with that demon but hate me.” Matthias snapped as he stomped away. A door slammed.

“Poor baby,” Nina grumbled. “Don’t mind Helvar, Wylan. Come on. There are three rooms you can choose from.

“So he can turn into a wolf? Is that what he does?” Wylan asked curiously.

“Not just a wolf. Though, I think he prefers a wolf over all the other animals he can turn into.” Jesper explained.

“Room number 1,” Nina said, opening a door. “A beautiful one person room with a desk, a bed, a wardrobe, and a window overlooking the endless grass.” She opened her arms. “This is the largest of the three,” she added in.

They walked to the next one, Jesper gone as he had returned to his own room. The second room was further down the hallway and across from another door which was cracked open slightly. “That’s Inej’s room.” Nina pointed out before opening the door across. “Room number 2. The exact same as room number 1 except it’s slightly smaller.”

The third room was exactly the same except there were two windows and it was the smallest one. It was at the very end of the hallway.

“I’ll take this one.” Wylan said, walking inside and sitting on the bed.

Nina’s eyebrows furrowed. “Are you sure? You don’t want the big one or the medium one?”

Wylan shook his head. “No. I like this one. It has the most windows.”

Nina shrugged. “Okay. Suit yourself. I’m going back to my room. We have lunch at 12 down on the main floor in the dining hall. You better come down then or earlier or all the good food will be gone.”

“Thanks Nina,” Wylan smiled.

Nina smiled back but then scratched her head. “Did I introduce myself already? I swear I didn’t—“

Wylan’s back went ramrod straight. Right. He wasn’t supposed to know anybody’s names here. “I think you did,” Wylan said hesitantly. “Anyway, it’s nice to meet you.”

Nina waved and was out the door.

Wylan walked around the small room, checking his watch. 11:45. He opened the drawers of the desk and the wardrobe, finding nothing except coat hangers and blank sheets of paper. He then sat on his bed, facing the larger window of the two.

“Nina didn’t introduce herself.” The voice was raspy and dark and Wylan knew exactly who it was before he turned around.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Wylan said. He could feel the blood rushing to his face.

“I could hear everything. She didn’t once say her name. The only thing anyone called her while you were around was Zenik.” Kaz was leaning against the door frame, his hands resting on top of his cane.

Wylan blanched and felt smaller than when he was standing next to Matthias or Jesper.

Kaz cocked his head to the side. “I’m Kaz Brekker.” He said with a nod. “Mr. Van Eck, what ability do you have?” The words were polite and Kaz’s voice sounded almost genuinely nice if not for the way Kaz’s eyes were boring holes into his skull.

Wylan opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out.

“Kaz, you’re scaring him.” The other girl—Inej—stated, suddenly appearing at Kaz’s left. She looked at Wylan and smiled. “I’m Inej Ghafa.”

Through all of this, Wylan’s brain was turning like gears. Something occurred to him. “How come you know Nina never said her name but don’t know what my ability is? Jesper, Nina, and I were talking about that while going up the stairs.”

Kaz’s eyebrow quirked as if he were amused. “You’re a smart one.”

Wylan played with the hem of his shirt. “I can astral project. What do you guys do?”

“I can turn invisible,” Inej said.

Wylan looked at Kaz expectantly. Eventually, Inej signed when it was obvious Kaz wasn’t about to reveal anything about himself. “He can manipulate fire.”

Kaz didn’t say anything at all and, instead, walked away.

Only when Wylan heard the door close did he realize that Kaz didn’t answer his question about how he knew Nina didn’t say her name but not his ability.

“Sorry about him,” Inej said. “He’s not one to talk much.”

“That’s fine. Too be honest, I’m more afraid of Matthias than Kaz.” Wylan said. He was tempted to ask about the market Kaz had brought up earlier when he had been in the astral plane but decided against it.

“Well, I’ll leave you to get settled,” Inej said. “I’m sure Nina has told you about lunch at 12:00?”

Wylan nodded. “Yeah.”

“Okay.” Inej said, and left Wylan with his thoughts.

He was so disoriented and confused. He was without his luggage until after supper so his room was bare, and reminded Wylan of a hospital room.

Wylan wanted to do something. Draw or paint. Anything.

He checked his watch again. Five minutes until lunch. There was no point in exploring the building if lunch started soon. Besides, he hadn’t eaten since he was back home—almost four hours earlier.

Chapter 2: Nina

Nina was the first one at the table for lunch, like always. She could smell chicken coming from the kitchen and a massive bowl of Caesar salad was set on the passthrough window.

All the other four students had their schedule. Matthias would be down next, then Jesper. After that it would be Kaz immediately followed by Inej.

As for the new kid, Wylan? Well, Nina would see when he’d come.

Matthias came through the doorway in front of her. At least he was in his human form this time.

A couple days after she had arrived, Matthias had crawled in as a tarantula. When he had morphed back into human, Nina had been tempted to break all of his limbs right then and there.

“Zenik,” he nodded curtly as he took his place to the left of the head chair.

“Helvar.” She replied, her voice equally icy.

Nina could see the way he swallowed hard and the way he wouldn’t look her straight in the eyes. He’s still scared of me…she thought. Good.

When Nina had been nine and Matthias, was ten, she had accidentally broken a man’s arm when his hand had roamed where it shouldn’t at the diner her mom worked at.

Matthias had shown up and began to befriend her. It was nice and Nina had almost considered him a crush. Almost. But, Matthias had ulterior motives and, late at night, he had broken into her house and tried to steal her away. Presumably to this school.

However, Matthias and Jarl Brum, the head of this school, had greatly underestimated her. She had almost suffocated the boy to death before her conscience told her to stop.

Nina had warned Matthias to never come back.

She had been too nice back then. She should have killed Matthias there on the spot. But all Nina could remember was Matthias’ pleading eyes and she had remembered that he was only a boy.

The stairs creaked and Wylan came down the stairs, hesitantly peeking into the dining room before walking in. “Is there...um...a specific chair I’m supposed to sit at?”

Matthias pointed to a chair at the very end of the table. “Over there.”

Wylan pulled out the seat and sat.

It was almost completely quiet, but Nina knew this kid wouldn’t stay silent for long. He was the curious type. The real question was, would the question be about his surroundings, Nina, or Matthias?

Wylan answered the question when he looked over at Matthias. “So...if you can morph into animals, morphing, can you turn into a unicorn or another fictional animal? Like a dragon?”

Matthias stayed still in his chair like a soldier. His heartbeat and breathing were steady. “I have never tried.”

That was utter bogus. She had asked him the same question when Matthias had told her about his ability.

He had once tried to turn into a dragon it had not worked.

Why was Matthias lying? To look cooler? Like he didn’t believe in fantasy creatures?

But Nina didn’t say anything. She wasn’t in the mood to get stabbed in her sleep.

“But why? Aren’t you curious?” Wylan asked.

Even though Nina was probably only a couple years older than Wylan, she thought he acted much like a curious little kid. One that would surely annoy Matthias to no end.

Matthias shook his head. “No. Not necessarily.”

Jesper came down the stairs, skipping at least three steps at a time. “What’s for lunch?” He called out.

“Caesar salad and chicken breast.” Nina responded as Jesper took his spot next to Wylan.

She could feel Wylan’s heart rate speed as Jesper made himself comfortable at the table.

Kaz slowly made his way down the stairs, cane in hand. Inej followed suit, her feet making no sound.

Kaz took his place to the right of the head and Inej between Matthias and Nina.

A maid came out of the kitchen, doors swinging behind her, and began plating up Caesar salad.

Wylan gestured to the empty head chair. “Who sits there?”

“Jarl Brum,” Nina responded. “The man who drove you here in the van.”

“But he only joins us for supper.” Jesper added in, picking up his fork and beginning to eat.

“He apparently has very important business to attend to.” Nina added, taking up her fork.

Matthias glared at Nina. He seemed like he wanted to say more but nothing came out of his mouth.

“So, what’s your power, Jesper?” Wylan asked, stabbing a crouton.

Nina perked up a bit and tried to recall whether or not Jesper had introduced himself. Unless he showed up after Nina had left, it wasn’t possible. And Jesper hadn’t voiced that he knew Wylan from before.

Astral projection. That was what Wylan said he did. He could separate his physical body with his astral one.

And no one could see astral bodies. It was a perfect spy tool.

Had Wylan spied on them before he arrived? When? Nina hopped it wasn’t when she had been sneaking snacks from the kitchen. That wasn’t a very good first impression.

Kaz must have realized this too because he stopped eating and narrowed his eyes. But he didn’t say anything either.

“I can manipulate the molecules of solids.” Jesper said slowly. “There really isn’t a shorter way of saying it.”

Wylan’s eyes widened. “How does that work?”

Jesper shrugged. “I don’t really know. But I can change solids to other solids.”

“Can you give me an example?”

Jesper smirked. “I can do one better. I can show you. He picked up his knife and spun it around his fingers like a baton. He closed his eyes and his brows wrinkled as he willed the stainless steel to change.

Slowly, the shininess dulled and Nina could only explain it as the growth of a person’s hair. You can’t really see any change if you’re always looking at it. It’s something you only notice after a period of time passes without looking.

Nina blinked and the knife was black as night.

Jesper handed it to Wylan who inspected it so closely Nina was afraid he’d cut himself.

“It’s coal.” Wylan stated.

Jesper grinned, victorious. “It is.”

“Can you turn it to—“

“—Gold? Diamond? Quartz? Wood? Yes, yes, yes, and yes. Anything solid.” Jesper said, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms lazily.

“Incredible.” Wylan said, clearly gobsmacked. He passed the knife back to Jesper. “What about texture? Can you change the texture of things you change? Like, for example, turn the knife into normal wood and then petrified wood?”

Jesper frowned then shrugged. “Huh. I’ve never tried.”

Wylan looked like he was about to jump out of his chair and do a dance. He pointed to the black knife. “You think you could try?”

Matthias cleared his throat and said in his gruff voice, “the table is supposed to be for eating. Not for experimenting. You should do that in your own time.”

Wylan’s cheeks went pink, his eyes flicking back and forth between Jesper and Matthias. “Sorry.”

Jesper glanced at Wylan, his brows furrowed. And, when Matthias wasn’t looking, wrapped his hand around the knife and closed his eyes.

The knife, which had been made of coal previously, was now made of hard, petrified, wood.

Grinning, Jesper poked the handle of the knife into Wylan’s side gently.

Wylan glanced over to Jesper nervously and he broke out into a smile when he saw what was in Jesper’s hand.

“Take it,” Jesper mouthed. Wylan gingerly took the knife into his hand and put it in his breast pocket.

It seemed as though everyone at the table was looking except Matthias.

The rest of lunch passed like any normal day and, soon, Matthias stood up at the end of dessert (a delicious apple crumble) and everyone else followed suit.

As they were exiting and splitting in their own direction, Wylan came up to Nina. “Is that how lunch always is?”

“Awkward? Silent?” Nina prompted.

“Tense.” Wylan said finally.

“Yup.” Jesper said, coming up behind Wylan as they began the climb up the stairs.

“It’s even worse when Brum is over for supper.” Nina said, shivering. “He tries to make conversation but Helvar is the only one who talks with him. Sometimes Kaz adds in.”

“Why does Matthias like Jarl Brum so much?” Wylan asked curiously. “He’s got powers like all of us but he seems to be like...a second in command—first when Jarl Brum isn’t here.” Wylan scratched his head and ran his free hand on the smooth handrail.

“Ooo, don’t let Kaz hear you say that.” Nina said, a grin on her face. “Kaz likes to think he’s the boss around here.”

“Well, he kinda is though,” Jesper said.

“He does have that kind of aura.” Wylan agreed. “He’s very...intimidating.”

“Ah, don’t worry about Kaz. He’s a real teddy bear when you get to know him.” Nina said, turning her head back to look at Wylan again and laughing at his incredulous expression. “Nah, just kidding. But all you gotta do is stay out of his way and you’ll be fine.”

As they got to the fourth landing and about to climb the last set of stairs, Kaz walked around the corner, his cane hitting the floor loudly like a rabbit thumping its hind leg as a sign of danger. “Brum is gone for the night. C’mon.”

Nina glanced behind her at Wylan and Jesper before following Kaz down the narrow hallway.

She felt a question bubbling out of Wylan before he even spoke. She turned back around and made a zip-it motion to him.

Nina was in no mood to watch Kaz murder the poor kid.

She remembered walking these exact steps when she first arrived.

She had been terrified but too proud to show it. Nina felt sorry for Wylan; he had no idea what he just got himself into.

Kaz pushed open the double doors and the night air flowed in, refreshing against Nina’s skin.

The balcony was beautiful. The wooden handrail was so intricate that Inej had confessed to coming out here when she couldn’t sleep and just trace the endless patterns.

Nina would have probably joined her if not for the fact that she slept like a log and hated this balcony because of her traumatic experience on the first day she arrived at this school.

Inej was perched on the handrail, ankles crossed.

Wylan waved at Inej in greeting. “Hi!”

Kaz pulled a rock out of his pocket and all Nina could see was Koja, her little fox friend that she had owned. With his soft red fur and his black, button, eyes that her mom lovingly made for her for her birthday.

Nina made her way up to Inej. “What do you think of Wylan?” She asked her quietly as Kaz began his usual, menacing, speel.

“He seems sweet.” Inej said. “You?”

Nina was about to respond but Wylan’s voice cut her thought off. “Wait. You can’t be serious.

“He’s always serious.” Jesper said. He was twirling a pen around his fingers.

They chatted quietly as Kaz explained everything to Wylan.

“So Jarl Brum can create force fields and he made one around the perimeter of this school?” Wylan’s blue eyes were wide. “And it’s kind of like a portal and you can’t get back once you go through?”

“Exactly.” Kaz threw the rock up and then caught it. He gestured for Wylan to watch and then threw the rock upwards as far as he could.

Matthias as an eagle caught it and flew to the gate around the perimeter. When he got ten feet away from the gate he chucked the rock through the invisible force field. It disappeared with a quiet blip.

Nina glanced over at Wylan who looked utterly alarmed. He spun to Kaz. “And no one can get out of...wherever it goes?”

“Exactly.” Kaz said again with a curt nod. He laid his hands on his cane and waited for Matthias to fly back to them and morph back into a human.

Wylan gulped as Matthias reopened the balcony doors. “And...and no living human has gone through I hope?”

Matthias shook his head. “No. No one has been foolish enough to go through that force field just for an experiment.”

“When I was in the astral plane I went through it. I felt a breeze. And there isn’t any wind in the astral plane.” Wylan piped up as he followed Kaz through the doorway.

“But that’s not the same thing,” Nina stated. “You can go to places in the blink of an eye. You can’t do that here.”

“And you didn’t see anything odd or out of place?” Kaz asked without turning around.

“No. It was just normal grass and ground. The only thing that told me something was weird was the breeze.”

Kaz didn’t say anything immediately after that. However, once they got to the fifth floor and Matthias retreated to his room, Kaz sat down on a bench and stared at Wylan with a calculating expression on his face.

Jesper and Inej grinned at each other. “Scheming face,” they said together in a whisper.

“Van Eck, have you ever tried momentarily returning from the astral plane without your physical body?” Kaz asked. He leaned back and rested his bad leg on his other thigh.

“What? How would I be able to do that without my physical body?” Wylan said with a frown. “Would I be like a ghost or something?”

“So...you haven’t tried?” Kaz said smugly.

Wylan was at a loss for words and his mouth moved but didn’t form words. “I can try.”

Kaz stood up and smirked—the closest thing to a smile he had. “Good.” And, before anyone could muster a reply Kaz began his way down the hallway.

As soon as the door closed Wylan sat down in the place Kaz had just left.

For a long moment, no one spoke. Inej retreated back down the hallway quietly.

“So, are you going to try it?” Jesper asked excitedly and Nina could feel the blood pumping through his body.

“I...I guess. I can’t imagine it working though. Wouldn’t I need a second physical body? And that’s not possible.” Wylan went silent again. “Why is he even asking me this?”

“Don’t question him.” Nina said, retrieving a cookie from her pocket she had taken from the kitchen. “I’m sure he has good reason.”

“But aren’t you curious to know? Like…” Wylan trailed off, fumbling for words.

“After years of being in the same quarters as Kaz, you kind of learn that his mind works in strange ways and that you don’t question him.” Nina said.

“But I am curious.” Jesper added in. “Of course. But yeah, even if you do ask him, nine times out of ten, he won’t respond.”

Wylan still looked hesitant. “Well...alright. Let’s see…” he shut his eyes and Nina watched carefully, curious to know how the body reacted to astral projection. Would she be able to feel where he was like she could Inej or was he off the grid completely.

Wylan’s heart slowed, almost to a deadly place and Nina was about to run over there but Jesper stopped her. “Let him do his thing.”

Then, Wylan’s whole body went limp and Nina could barely hear a heartbeat. She turned to Jesper. “You think that that’s normal?” Her voice was barely above a whisper.

Jesper didn’t say anything but his accelerated heartbeat told her everything.

They awaited with bated breath and Nina mentally searched the room for something—anything that could tell her where Wylan was. But she heard nothing.

Then, all of a sudden Nina saw it and Jesper stiffened beside her.

A single finger was floating a couple feet away from her. But she couldn’t feel any blood or a pulse running through it.

“Wylan?” Jesper asked, reaching a hand out to touch it.

Jesper had almost touched it before the finger was sucked back into the void as Wylan’s heart rate sped up and he took in a deep breath in his physical body.

He quickly ran up, feeling a little light headed. “Did you see my finger?” Wylan asked excitedly.

“Yeah.” Jesper said. “It was just...floating there.”

“It was super weird.” Nina added in. “I couldn’t feel any pulse even though you were there. You’re right, you’re like a ghost.”

“How’d you do it?” Jesper said. He was fiddling with the pen again.

Wylan opened his mouth then closed it. Opened it, then closed it. “It...it’s really hard to explain. The closest thing I can say is that...it’s like you’re in putty and you have to...to push yourself through it and it’s super hard and really tiring but entirely possible, but it takes a long time.”

Nina wondered if it was anything like how she imagined when she played around with muscles in bodies. Like it resisted her enough but was still pliable in her hands. Whatever Wylan was trying to convey, was something almost inflexible. But not quite.

Jesper rolled the pen around, thinking hard. “Like some kind of metal?”

Wylan shook his head. “It’s...it’s not as hard as metal. It’s like…well, putty. As you work it, it becomes easier to handle and maneuver.”

Jesper grasped the pen in a fist and when he uncurled his hand it was a purple-ish ball. “Maybe something like this?” He offered and threw it at Wylan who dropped it and sheepishly picked it up to inspect it.

Wylan rolled it around in his hand and poked it a couple of times. He tried pulling it apart so quickly that it tore. He told Jesper this and Jesper tweaked it.

For 45 minutes Nina just watched. Well, not exactly. She went down to the kitchen to get some snacks (waffles and some cheese and crackers) and she sat down at the little bench. While Nina was rather interested in this new kid who had arrived, she didn’t really want to watch Jesper and Wylan play around with a ball of putty—whether it was helping Wylan with his astral projection or not.

So, Nina hung out with Inej in her room for a bit. She didn’t know what she’d do without Inej in this weird, closed off, place. She couldn’t imagine being the only girl in a house full of boys. Although, to be honest, Jesper and Wylan were fine. Jesper was a bit eccentric and he never stopped moving but it was better than Matthias’ stick in the mud manner and Kaz’s attitude that resembled a pre-teen boy in the middle of his rebellious war phase that thought wearing all black was super cool.

Supper was uneventful and Nina wanted to puke up her food when Brum asked everyone how their day was and only Matthias replied with a curt “satisfactory”.

When Nina was younger and she was still with her mom, the night time was their getaway.

Nina would stay up until her mom’s shift ended at 11:30 and they’d stargaze and drink hot chocolate until 12:15 where they’d promptly fall asleep in their rickety, old, outdoor swinging bench.

Nina loved sleep. But she loved her mom more.

Now, without her mom, sleep was second priority. Food was obviously first.

Nina snuggled up in the fuzzy comforter she had made Brum buy her from the market when she first got here and promptly fell asleep.

And, like every single night when her body woke her up at the godforsaken time of 6:30 in the morning, she was curled up in Matthias’s bed, an arm slung across his waist like they were an old married couple.

Chapter 3: Inej

Inej could never sleep past five in the morning.

It was physically impossible for her body to sleep in. Whether she fell asleep at 8 in the evening or 3 in the morning.

Even Kaz slept in later than her. Not by much, usually only thirty minutes, but still.

After getting dressed, she noiselessly padded out of her room, down the four flights of stairs, and exited the building into the fresh air.

The school had a lot of windows but there was one specific place, behind the school, that had no windows and was the perfect place to scale the side of the building.

Of course, she could still scale a building with windows. It was just that she preferred not to.

There was barely any wind when Inej got to the top and leaned against the chimney, letting herself lie on the black roof like a cold blooded animal warming itself.

Inej’s thoughts drifted and hopped from thought to thought—about Kaz’s plan, Wylan, Jarl Brum and Matthias, and Kaz’s secret associates.

The roof was something of a safe haven to Inej. Even though if Jarl Brum were to ride in he’d see her, she knew he wouldn’t. Brum never came to the school this early.

There was a flap of wings nearby, and Inej didn’t even sit up as the eagle landed on the roof and cocked its head to the side before morphing into Matthias.

“You shouldn’t come up here. It’s dangerous.” Matthias states as he sat sprawled his legs out over the roof. He was close enough that it was comfortable but he wasn’t too so that Inej felt unsafe.

Inej didn’t say anything. He always greeted her the same way every morning.

And every morning she’d respond with the same thing. “It’s not dangerous up here.” And Matthias knew what she was implying—that down there, in the school, was much more dangerous.

They stayed like that—Inej laying on her back and Matthias sitting down—silently contemplating about whatever managed to run through their heads at that moment.

Matthias pursed his lips after awhile. “Please tell me you aren’t going to go. You could be punished very severely if you do this.”

Inej sat up and frowned. “I’ve done this over one hundred times. You can’t tell me not to go.”

“I’m not telling you not to go. I’m hoping that you won’t. Whatever Brekker gets you to do every two weeks can’t be good.”

Inej rolled her eyes and ran a hand through her long, dark, brown hair. She hadn’t put it up yet in its bun so it floated around with the light wind. It almost reached her butt when she stood up. “I think I should cut my hair.” Inej said suddenly.

Matthias glared at her but didn’t acknowledge her changing the subject. “Up to you I guess.” He shrugged.

As much as she liked her long hair, it could be such a hassle. It was heavy too.

But Inej felt like if she did cut it her balance would be off from such a large weight off of her head.

But those thoughts were stupid. There were so much more important things to think about than whether she should cut her hair or not.

“It would look good either way.” Matthias said with another shrug.

“You should head back inside.” Inej pointed out. “It’s almost six. You don’t want Nina waking up without you.”

Matthias made a scrunched up face and he looked like he wanted to say something. But, instead, he stood up, transformed into an eagle, and away he flew.

When Inej walked into Kaz’s room, Kaz was sitting at his desk, an envelope twirling around in his gloved hands.

“How was your roof chat with Helvar?” Kaz asked nonchalantly, leaning back in his chair and spinning back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. His gloves were on top of each other at the corner of his desk.

“Good,” Inej said and perched herself on Kaz’s windowsill. It was the best spot to sit.

Kaz raised an eyebrow.

“The same conversation as always.” Inej said again. “Said I shouldn’t be on the roof, said that I shouldn’t deliver the letter for you…” she shrugged.

Kaz pocketed the letter and picked up his gloves, beginning to slide them on.

“How did Wylan do last night?” He asked, stretching his fingers beneath the tough leather.

“He managed to get a finger through from the astral plane.” Inej recounted. “He explained it like he was pushing through putty.”

Kaz nodded as he stood up and grabbed his cane. He had had it for as long as Inej could remember. She was pretty sure he brought it from where he lived when he was collected by Jarl Brum or Matthias.

They were about to head down for breakfast when a voice came through the vent underneath Kaz’s bed.

The vent was a great spy tool. It connected to the main entrance of the house. The sounds were quiet enough that they wouldn’t alert anyone else on the floor but it was loud enough to spy on other people’s conversation.

It was Yuri Vedenen, the school teacher, and a mysterious voice that had been appearing on occasion for as long as Kaz could remember, who had arrived at the school before her.

Inej and Kaz glanced up at each other at the same time. Kaz gave a slight nod, and Inej dashed out as fast as she could.

The mysterious voice was a puzzle for both Kaz and Inej. Unless Kaz has figured it out without telling her. And, if that was the case, she’d be having a strong word with Kaz.

Inej jumped onto the handrail and slid down as quickly and quietly as she could.

The voice couldn’t be pinned to anybody that they knew. Jarl Brum and Yuri were the only two adults who ever showed their faces, but the owner of the mystery voice had never been seen by any of the students before.

Every time they could hear the voice through the vents, Kaz would stay up in the bedroom to listen to the rest of the conversation while Inej would run/slide down the four flights of stairs to catch a glimpse of the mysterious person.

Every single time she was too slow and the person was gone, leaving just Yuri alone in the entrance hall.

This time she was determined to see something—anything—that could help her and Kaz in their search for the mystery man.

Inej hopped off the rail and landed silently on the main floor before cutting through the study and then the two living rooms (who needed two living rooms?)

As she got closer she quieted her footsteps even more and neared the half wall that separated the living room and the entrance hall.

“So please try to be discreet.” The mysterious voice said. “We don’t want a coup like last time.”

“Yes, yes. Of course.” Yuri repeated. “Discreet.”

Inej turned herself invisible and peeked her head above the half wall.

Yuri was in his normal black garb and was clasping his hands together.

And the mysterious man…

Inej couldn’t see anyone except Yuri.

Inej silently walked closer. Where was the voice coming from?

She followed Yuri’s gaze and it seemed like he was looking straight ahead. But not glazed off in any way.

“Good. I expect to hear from you soon.” The man said again.

Inej quickly walked behind Yuri to see what he was looking at.

She almost made a noise with her mouth.

Yuri was looking at a face floating in front of him.

The man that was peering at Yuri like he would the dirt on his shoe. He had unruly orange hair and bright green eyes.

Inej only caught a glimpse of the man before he disappeared and Yuri continued down the hallway towards the staircase.

As soon as she knew it was safe, she sprinted up the staircase, skipping as many steps as she dared.

She was about to start the third staircase when Kaz appeared in front of her. Inej tried to stop, but there was too much momentum and the next thing she knew she was on the floor, visible again and on all fours. It seemed like a miracle that she wasn’t touching any part of Kaz.

While Kaz was fully clothed save for his face, Inej knew that both of them would rather not come in skin-to-skin contact. Especially Kaz.

Inej jumped up immediately and offered Kaz her hand.

He didn’t take it.

Inej didn’t take it personally.

“I saw the face of the man!” Inej exclaimed.

Kaz shook his head in disbelief. “What?”

“We have to have breakfast. Nina’s keeps track of us and if we aren’t on time she’s going to be suspicious.” Kaz said in a clipped tone. “After breakfast come up and tell me what you saw.”

And without waiting for Inej to respond he began making his way down the staircase.

If Inej knew that Nina wasn’t paying attention to everything she would have slid down the handrail and passed Kaz. But she didn’t. Even if she really wanted to.

Breakfast was excruciatingly slow and she couldn’t stop moving. Inej wondered if it was like how Jesper felt.

Only Kaz seemed to recognize how impatient she felt. Maybe Matthias too, but she knew he wouldn’t bring it up.

Once breakfast was finally over, it was their thirty minutes free time before class, Inej was the first one on the top floor and waited in Kaz’s bedroom on his windowsill, invisible.

Kaz was dead last up the stairs. She supposed if she was in a better mood she’d rationalize. The guy did walk with a limp. But Inej couldn’t stand it any longer. She began flickering in and out of sight.

When Kaz walked in Inej opened her mouth but Kaz just glared at her. Inej promptly closed her mouth while Kaz took at least one full minute to close the door and lock it.

“You are the worst.” Inej said as Kaz took his sweet time sitting down at his desk chair. He pulled off his gloves and placed them one on top of the other on his desk.

Kaz didn’t address her last comment. “What did you see?”

Inej pursed her lips. “It was a man with orange hair and green eyes. He was contacting Yuri through this...this portal thing. So he wasn’t actually physically there. That’s why I could never catch him before or see him because he was wherever he was.”

“Did you manage to catch his surroundings?”

Inej shook her head. “It was just his face and even then I didn’t see much because he disconnected or closed the portal almost as soon as I caught a glimpse of him.” She changed the subject. “What were Yuri and him talking about?”

Kaz closed his left hand around his cane. “They were talking about taking blood tests of everyone here except Matthias. Put a sleeping tonic in our supper and take the blood while we sleep.”

“And they talked about a previous coup?” Inej asked. “What’s that about?” While it wasn’t her first time hearing about the previous troubles that occurred at the school, no one ever talked about it unless it was absolutely dire.

She had pieced together that before any of the current students attended the school—even Matthias—there were more than four students who attended this school. And they tried to escape. Something horrible happened but three of the four of them had managed to escape.

And she was working as Kaz’s messenger to contact two of them.

“The last student loyal to Brum woke up while they were secretly taking blood and that was the last straw.” Kaz said it so simply. Like he was asking for some salt for his soup.

Yuri Vedenen was an okay teacher. He knew his stuff but he had a tough time getting it out of his mouth. He was powerless (although Kaz still believed he was hiding whatever powers he might have no matter how long Inej spied on the man).

The six of them had to endure six hours of classes a day, not including breaks and lunch. They were taught math, science, English, history and physical education.

Five minutes before “school” was out for the day, Kaz got up from his seat to throw a piece of paper in the garbage. On his way there, he slid the sealed envelope onto Inej’s desk. Matthias glared at her before looking in the opposite direction.

When Yuri dismissed them Inej was the first one out of her seat and immediately turned invisible, sliding down the two flights of stairs to the main floor and out the door.

She climbed to the top of Yuri’s car with ease and gripped the roof racks.

Yuri came out a couple of minutes later, got in his car, waited for Jarl Brum’s signal, and then they were off.

This was always Inej’s favourite part of the journey. The wind running around her body and the warmth of the sun shining down on her. Plus, it gave her plenty of time to just think.

She liked to prattle off powers that she could see Yuri having if he had powers. She could totally see flight or some kind of kinesis like maybe Phytokinesis—plant manipulation.

But that was just for fun. She still believed he was powerless. Surely she would have known by now.

But Kaz insisted. “He’s got a power.” He always said when Inej, Nina, or Jesper brought it up. And then, with just her in the room he’d say “I know he’s got one. He’s hiding his power. I have firsthand experience with hiding it and that man is hiding one.”

And Kaz would go quiet and Inej would slowly leave his room.

Chapter 4: Kaz

Inej arrived back at the school the next morning on top of Brum’s van. He read the letter after she left to get changed for breakfast.

KB,

What you mentioned in your previous letter is incredibly concerning. While we never got to the point where we knew what the school’s goal was about, we know that the obligatory meals are one of the last things on the to-do list. You are correct in trying to escape as soon as humanly possible with IG.

NL is wondering why you aren’t including the others in your escape plan. He thinks that you should try to get everyone out. (But, between you and me, I understand just getting out with IG).

Anyway, just know that we will both be there when you give the signal.

Good luck,

ZN & NL

Kaz closed the letter up and began tearing it up into little pieces. He’d put it in the fireplace later to be burnt.

No more than two minutes later Kaz could feel the familiar sense of being watched. “It’s happening tonight,” he said quietly, brushing the little bits of paper into his palm. “Take anything you need.”

Inej flashed into view and she didn’t comment on how he knew she was there. She looked slightly sick, like she should, but pretty much okay. That was always the excuse when Inej had to deliver a letter to Nazyalensky and Lantsov. That Inej was sick and couldn’t come down for supper, which was always an important meal because Brum always attended. It had been a close call though. Now with Brum and Yuri forcing everyone to go to meals and finishing their plates, they would want to make sure that Inej joined them for supper.

But using Nina’s acting skills and Wylan’s knowledge of chemicals to create a small stink in the room, Yuri and Brum left her alone. Of course, they left Matthias in charge who already knew that Inej wasn’t in her room so, in actuality, they were all fine.

Inej didn’t move.

Kaz knew it was coming before she even spoke.

“I can’t leave.” Kaz waited for the inevitable. “At least, not without Nina and Jesper and Wylan. And maybe Matthias if he wants to.”

Kaz turned his back. He knew Inej wouldn’t be able to leave without the others. He was hoping she wouldn’t say so, but Kaz’s mind went through just about every possible way this plan could go wrong. And Inej being too caring was one of them. So he told her what he had already planned if this event occurred. “Okay. Fine by me. But I’m leaving tonight.”

When Inej had first arrived, she was young, frightened, and traumatized from her experiences before Brum had captured her and brought her over. As she should have been, because working in a pleasure house against your will is utterly awful and completely illegal.

But, over time, they had slowly grown closer, despite Kaz’s compulsion to pull back and just stay silent.

Kaz had a strong sense or, at least, he hoped that Inej would come with him anyway. Why would she want to stay here, trapped, when escape was an option? Kaz had been planning this for ages and one little mistake could cause his and Inej’s deaths. In fact, it could cause everyone’s deaths.

He reached his gloved hand out to turn the doorknob to leave, halting when Inej spoke. “I’m not going.”

Kaz spun on his heels. His leg was beginning to throb. “What?” His voice felt dry and he hoped he hadn’t heard correctly. Except he knew that he had.

“I’m not going without everyone else. And you can leave, that’s completely fine.” Inej’s voice was the complete opposite of what Kaz felt. “I’m going to figure out a way to get us all out of this mess.”

Kaz wanted to say something—anything. But he pursed his lips and spun back around. He yanked open the door maybe a bit too harshly as he left.

He eventually found himself on the second floor, on one of the small balconies behind the building. It’s railing wasn’t as intricate as the one on the fourth floor where he traumatized Nina by throwing her stuffed fox into the force field.

Even though the rails weren’t as pretty, they were tall and opaque. And hollow.

Kaz knelt down on the wooden floor, putting all his weight on his good leg, barely recognizing the spattering of rain getting on his coat. He laid his cane down next to him.

He dug his fingernails into the groove separating each plank of wood and it popped out of its place, revealing a hollow space.

His metal box was his arms length away on the right side. It was about the size of a shoe box, and he wasn’t planning on leaving without it.

“Ah, so this is where Kaz’s personal belongings are.”

Kaz almost got whiplash from how quickly his head swivelled.

Jesper was leaning against the doorway, arms crossed. A light smile played on his lips.

Kaz stood up as quickly as he could while also grabbing his box. He grasped his cane while popping the plank back in its place. “It’s pretty much empty now so you can use it if you’d like.” Kaz said in a clipped tone.

He couldn’t get Inej’s voice out of his head.

“What are you doing?” Jesper asked nonchalantly.

“Nothing.” Kaz replied, gripping his box tightly. But then he remembered something.

Jesper watched him with interest as he silently leaned his cane against the railing before opening up the box and digging his hand inside.

Kaz pulled out a fluffy red thing and handed it to Jesper. “Here. Give this to Nina tomorrow morning. I’m sure she’ll be ecstatic.”

Kaz remembered Nina’s face when she thought he had thrown the little stuffed fox into the portal. He had created a duplicate the evening Nina arrived but kept the actual thing in case he needed leverage over Nina.

Jesper took the stuffed animal and inspected it with awe. “Is that Koja, Nina’s old stuffed animal her mom made?”

Kaz hadn’t known that her mom had made it, and that just put him in an even more foul mood. “Just give it to her.” He seized his cane once again and maneuvered his way around Jesper and back into the warmth of the school.

Jesper jogged up behind him. “Wait.” He lowered his voice. “Are you going to leave? Like leave-leave?”

Kaz kept his face calm and didn’t reply. Whether Jesper took this as a yes or no, it didn’t matter.

“Are we all leaving?” Jesper hissed again.

Obviously, Kaz thought, Jesper thought of the former.

Of course, Nina appeared then and Kaz wanted them both gone. He was close to doing something he might regret and he didn’t want that. He wanted to be gone and he wanted Jesper and Nina to leave him alone.

“Is that Koja? Oh my gosh!” Nina exclaimed loudly and snatched the little stuffed toy from Jesper’s fingers. She petted the red fur on its head then looked at Kaz, curious. “I thought you—“

—Kaz shoved passed both of them roughly and didn’t look back. He had to leave. He had planned for it to happen in the evening when Yuri was leaving for the night but now his mind spun for other possibilities.

“Someone’s in a bad mood,” Helvar commented as Kaz came up over the fourth staircase.

“Shut up,” Kaz snapped and slammed his cane down harder than usual.

All he could think about was Inej and he hated it.

Think about something else, he told himself as he made his way back to his room until he would go down for breakfast.

Making sure the door was locked and inspecting every little nook and cranny in his room in case Inej was watching, he sat at his desk chair and laid his box on the desk.

It was slick with condensation as Kaz opened it.

There wasn’t a lot of stuff in it but he could already feel the waters rising above his head, trying to drown him and take him under.

But Kaz forced himself to take off his gloves anyway. It felt painfully slow but this was imperative to their plan.

Every single day since he created this plan with Z and N, he had been taking off his gloves for an hour every day.

If he couldn’t take off his gloves, his plan wouldn’t work. The whole thing was riding on him taking off his gloves, and on Z and N. And he had his mind set on doing it. Kaz wouldn’t fail. It was out of the question.

Kaz shakily picked up the silver coin, which had slid to the corner of the box, and inspected it closely.

It was a coin from Jordie’s first pay. After Jordie had been paid for the first time, they had picked out the shiniest one and decided to save it for good luck. It was their way of remembering that some good could come out of bad.

A week after that though...The waters rose more quickly and Kaz slammed the coin down on the table with a metallic screech. The waters slumped back and Kaz picked up the next item in the box.

It was a wolf statue made of bone, about the size of Kaz’s thumb. It was intricately designed and incredibly light.

After Matthias had insulted Jesper’s mom in a fit of rage, Kaz has snuck into his room and stolen the prized possession Brum had apparently given him.

That evening, after Matthias had found the wolf to be missing, he ransacked Kaz’s room looking for it but couldn’t find anything.

Kaz laid the statue down and picked up the next object. A smooth, round pebble, pitch black. This time, Kaz couldn’t hold down the waters and his whole body shook.

Repressed visions flooded his memory and Kaz couldn’t stop them. The canal. Jakob Hertzoon. Pekka Rollins.

Him and Jordie having powers to manipulate water at will. Sitting on the edge of the canal and making water animals—horses, dogs, birds.

Then the plague. The smell of death that clung to their tiny apartment. Jordie, who didn’t get it at first but, who got it after Kaz had healed.

Kaz not touching Jordie in case he could catch the plague again. Realizing his water powers had vanished. Oh, Kaz remembered that day clearer than the rest. Feeling utterly hopeless.

The day the plague was officially pronounced over, Jordie was still laying in the street, weak.

Kaz still hadn’t touched him. For the first time in weeks, he left their little nook between two buildings to go down to the canal. He had been stupid enough to think that maybe the canal was magical and would bring his powers back.

But no. His powers didn’t reply to his hand movements as he had grown so accustomed to.

After silently weeping at the edge of the canal for a few minutes, he saw a shimmery rock a few feet away in the water.

Impulsively, he waded in and picked it up. The water was strong and it felt like walking in molasses. Kaz hadn’t felt that before. Normally, walking in water was as easy as walking through air. He inspected the rock and thought that maybe he’d give it to Jordie.

On his way back to their alleyway, he was so caught up with looking at his rock that he banged into a man in a trench coat. He toppled to the cobblestone ground and the man helped him up. Neither of them wore gloves. Kaz didn’t think anything of it and kept on walking towards the alleyway.

And then the memories appeared more quickly. Jordie lightly asleep, Kaz pocketing the rock and his fingers brushing one of the buildings that they were sandwiched between. How it had burst into flames. Kaz had scampered to the other side of the alleyway in terror, his back touching the other wall, and that building burst into flames too.

The next thing Kaz knew he was on Reaper’s Barge, Jordie’s, burnt, limp, body next to him. Kaz was doused in water and saw no massive burns on himself.

“Kaz!” Inej’s life brought him back to the present.

He was breathing heavily and Inej’s face was so close to his own that he jolted backwards. “Get away from me,” Kaz rasped out aggressively. He released his hands gripping the desk for dear life and scrambled to put on his gloves which were neatly stacked in the corner of his desk.

Inej took a giant step back and sat lightly on his bed. “Are you okay? Nina and Jesper were worried about you.”

Kaz scowled. He saw Inej’s eyes flicker to his desk where the coin, the wolf statue, and the rock were. But she didn’t say anything. “I’m fine.” He growled as he swept the three objects into his hand and pocketed them.

Inej picked at the loose threads on his comforter silently. Kaz expected her to speak but she didn’t say anything.

They sat there in complete silent and Kaz’s attention was painfully brought to his laboured breathing. He hated how weak he sounded. He wanted those memories gone. Why couldn’t Wylan have been a memory manipulator instead of an astral projector?

Kaz tried to calm his breathing but every time he did he could feel his body in the water, arms wrapped around Jordie as he kicked relentlessly to land from Reaper’s Barge.

Kaz could do nothing but watch his chest move up and down so fast that he could feel slightly dizzy.

He averted his gaze and instead forced himself to look at Inej who was still playing with his comforter’s loose threads. She was breathing calmly and Kaz tried to match up his own breathing with her’s.

That was when Inej began speaking. “Nina, Jesper, and Wylan want to talk to you.”

“It’s not possible to all get out.” Kaz answered slowly. “I’ve went over thousands of different plans with all four of us before Wylan got here. None of them worked. Someone died or all of us died. It just doesn’t work. And now with Wylan? That’s just too many people.”

“Maybe you missed a way.” Inej said, finally look at him and letting the thread between her fingers go. “We can all help. It must be exhausting thinking up plans by yourself.”

“I didn’t miss anything” Kaz responded sourly. “It’s literally impossible to get all five of us out.” Besides, he added silently, how would he tell Z and N about the change? Wylan could contact them, he supposed. That was the whole reason he asked Wylan if he could leave the astral plane without his body.

“We can all think of a plan together.” Inej said.

“Tell me your idea on how we’d all get through the forcefield since there’s no way that we could all hide in Yuri’s car.” Kaz asked with a raised brow.

Inej thought for a long moment. “We could get Nina to hold Brum down and then force him to put down the forcefield.”

“And if Brum refuses?” Kaz asked.

“We’ll kill him?” Inej said although her voice was unsure. “And hope that when he dies his forcefield goes away too?” She paused before gesturing to Kaz. “What is your idea? Even if it doesn’t work just say it.”

Kaz bristled. Late at night, when he thought of ideas of escape for three or more people, he had had one good idea as to how they’d all escape through the forcefield. He’d never told Inej, because it would give her too much hope. But the idea could almost certainly work. Maybe. But he said it anyway. “I’ll take down the forcefield.”

It took Inej a moment before she understood what he meant. When she did, her eyes went wide. “Kaz, Brum will notice if you have your gloves off and try to even get close to him.”

“Brum thinks I’m a pyrokinetic. Not a power absorber.” Kaz said so quietly that he could barely hear himself.

Inej nodded slowly, like she was in a daze. “That could work. If Nina can hold down Brum and Yuri and Matthias if he’s a lot of trouble, we can get you to touch Brum and take down the forcefield.” Her eyes were bright and Kaz wished to be that hopeful.

“It’s not that easy.” Kaz said. “There’s undoubtedly something that we won’t expect.” Which is why he wanted Z and N. Especially with N’s...specific power.

“You’re right, but five different powers have a better chance of escaping than two.” Inej said. “Especially since no one here knows what you do.”

Kaz crossed his arms. “The more people planning to escape, the more likely someone’s going to die.” He wouldn’t let them all go on a suicide mission.

Inej sighed then stood up. “Alright.” She tilted her head to the side. “At least come down for breakfast. We’re behind schedule.”

The dinner table was quiet and Kaz couldn’t not notice the small nod Inej gave Nina as she sat down.

Halfway through breakfast Matthias grabbed his stomach and snapped his mouth shut. No one said anything as Matthias practically ran from the dinner table. Kaz heard pounding on the floor as Matthias went to find the nearest bathroom.

Nina grinned. “That should keep him in the bathroom for a while.”

Kaz slammed his utensils on the wooden table and stood up. “No.” He growled and he would have left if not for Inej slipping past him and blocking the doorway completely.

“Listen to them. We won’t talk in much detail in case the room is bugged, but there aren’t many times we can talk without Matthias around.” Inej said forcefully. She didn’t move until Kaz was fully sat back in his chair.

“Here’s the plan,” Jesper said. “Nina snaps Yuri’s neck and tortures Brum until he gives up and takes the forcefield away. Simple.”

“Not that simple.” Kaz said and picked up the knife, testing it against his gloves. “We don’t know what Yuri’s powers are and Brum won’t easily give up.”

“But Yuri told me that he doesn’t—” Wylan began.

“—And you believe him?” Kaz asked with a raised eyebrow.

Wylan pursed his lips and his shoulders tensed in annoyance. “Okay, then what? How the heck are we going to make Brum take the forcefield away out of his own free will?”

Kaz placed the knife down. “Leave that to me. You all will deal with Yuri and anything else that could possibly happen.” He turned his gaze to Inej. The red haired man with the green eyes. The thought ran through his head and Inej nodded curtly, as if she could read his mind.

“We can’t do anything if we don’t know all the details.” Nina said. “Later, you two tell us everything.”

“There is no safe place here,” Kaz replied easily. “And the less you know, the less you can tell.”

“Who are we supposed to tell? Yuri? Matthias?” Jesper asked.

Kaz huffed. He still was sure this wouldn’t work. “Just...it’s safer if you don’t know everything.” He heard footsteps again and his spine straightened. “Meet me in the spare bedroom across from Inej’s after classes.”

Less than two seconds later, Matthias came back in, still looking a little green.

“Are you okay?” Inej asked.

“Yeah, I think I just ate a bad piece of egg.” Matthias muttered, keeping his head down as he plopped himself down in his chair.

Kaz couldn’t eat anymore. He palms were slick with sweat and his throat felt incredibly dry.

***

“So tell me where Matthias is again?” Wylan asked curiously.

“Every day after classes, he speaks to Yuri about us. Kind of like to see if we’re doing everything we should. It takes at least one hour.” Nina replied with an eye roll.

“That long? What does he talk about?”

Nina snorted. “Probably what we wear, what we talk about, how much we eat, how long our hair grew since he last saw him.”

Kaz cleared his throat. “Now is not the time, Zenik.” He had to think. How was he going to pull off an impossible stunt that could kill them all if anyone made the wrong move or they got something wrong.

All five of them shut their mouths and brought their focus’ to him who was sitting on the desk. “Wylan, how’s leaving the astral plane without your body?”

Wylan shrugged. “Well, I mean...I can make a little portal through about the size of my fist.”

“Good. I want you to go into the astral plane, follow this road until you see a farmhouse with the sign The Bonds outside. Find a person inside and tell them I’m taking three more people.” Even saying it sounded impossible on Kaz’s lips. “Also tell them the signal is the same. And, at the very end of telling them, before you go back into the astral plane, say what’s written on here.” He gave a piece of paper to Wylan. “Once you’ve read it, tear it up and burn it. And when you come back, stay where you are until Jesper comes to get you.”

Kaz pointed to Jesper. “Go now and when Wylan gets to the astral plane, hide the body where we discussed.” He looked harshly at Jesper to make sure he understood and nodded. “Go now and come back the second you’re done.”

“Wait, are we going before supper?” Nina asked.

Kaz ignored her. He couldn’t disclose a time this open where anyone could be listening. This was the whole reason he chose to meet in this room was because there were no vents and an incredibly small window that faced a brick wall.

He waited until Jesper and Wylan left before turning to Inej and Nina. “You two will deal with Yuri and anything or anyone that might be a surprise.”

“What if Yuri is powerless?” Inej asked.

“He’s not. But if his power isn’t deadly don’t bother too much.” Kaz said.

“And you’re sure you can deal with Brum by yourself?” Nina asked skeptically.

“Yes.”

Jesper slipped back into the room. “Wylan’s gone. What do you want me to do?”

“I want you to, on my signal, turn the nearest thing into a sunflower and chuck it as high in the air as you can.”

“What?” Jesper, Nina, and Inej said simultaneously.

“Just do it or so help me.” Kaz snapped.

“And what do I do before you give me the signal?” Jesper asked, scratching his arm uncertainty.

Kaz held his head with his hands. He felt overwhelmed and very close to lashing out and murdering every single one of them in this room including himself. “I—I...just don’t get in my way but be ready at any moment to give the signal. And go get Wylan once everything begins.”

Kaz’s ears perked up as he heard the massive van Brum drove pull up to the school.

They were all on their feet in seconds. “It’s showtime,” Nina muttered. “When do we know to start?”

“You’ll know.” Kaz responded, grabbing his cane and opening his door.

The walk down the stairs was painfully slow and his bad knee began twinging again.

He took off his gloves and pocketed them, trying his hardest not to allow them to shake.

When he got to the first floor, Nina and Jesper spread out, and he knew Inej was invisible right next to him.

Brum was down the hallway, talking with Yuri about their day. Kaz steeled himself. He wished he could get Inej’s power and then sneak up behind Brum and grab his forcefield power but he could only reuse his power once every twenty four hours.

He was thinking of just walking by, brushing his own hand against Brum’s. But as soon as he was a couple feet away from Brum, Matthias bounded out of the hallway to Kaz’s right, smacking him straight in the back and making Kaz topple into Brum.

Well that was one way to do it, Kaz thought sourly as Brum swore multiple times and grabbed Kaz’s hand, yanking him back up and nearly popping his arm out of its socket. Kaz blinked harshly, keeping the waters at bay. Brum’s hand was freezing cold and felt rubbery. “Watch where you’re going, Brekker.”

When Brum continued on with Yuri, Kaz rustily moved his hands and fingers like he did with water when he was a boy. But nothing happened. He felt absolutely nothing.

Kaz’s breathing became jagged and heavy. Panic began to set in his chest. There was no rushing of power down his arms and out of his fingers, there was nothing. Kaz didn’t have any power. Which only meant one thing.

His hands began shaking uncontrollably this time as he turned to Inej who flickered into his sight. His voice was raw. “Brum doesn’t have any powers.”

Then who has the force field powers? The question ran through both of their minds.

Inej responded so silently Kaz felt like he might faint. “The mysterious voice.”

Chapter 5: Matthias

Matthias watched as a spider on the wall as Brekker told Inej that Jarl Brum was powerless.

He watched as the two of them skittered away, leaving Matthias alone in the empty hallway.

Matthias didn’t know why he turned on Brum. Maybe it was because he noticed the changes in his former father figure.

How, when he called people with powers “disgusting” and “unnatural” he no longer added in “except for you, Matthias.” Instead, he just said “no offence” to Yuri whenever he was in the room.

How Matthias slowly came to enjoy being around the people in the school, save Brekker.

Or maybe it was because Matthias wanted to escape too but he just never had the courage to.

Whatever the reason, he just wanted to leave. Maybe even earn Nina’s respect back.

Matthias let go with all eight legs and turned himself into a fly. It was time to put his own plan into action. Everyone thought he was stupid. And he used that to his advantage. After puking his guts up during breakfast, he snuck back to the kitchen as a spider and listened in. After talking to Yuri after classes for ten minutes, he went back and listened in on the other five’s conversation.

Actually, Matthias had been planning on telling Brum everything after breakfast but he took the rest of the day to think about everything. His situation. His feelings towards Jarl Brum. And, while Matthias hated Kaz to the core, he had to admit the guy had a brilliant mind.

Flying through the vents and tiny cracks in the walls, ceiling, and floor, he shot up into the secret sixth floor which was inhabited by Pekka Rollins. He found him at the cramped dining table, reading a newspaper. After shifting back to his human form, Matthias tried to make himself seem as worried as possible. Acting wasn’t his strong suit. “Quick! We’ve got an orange alert! I have to take you to the safe house.”

Pekka Rollins’ eyebrows shot up he began breathing heavily. He ran a hand through his hair quickly. “Okay. Hold on. I need to grab a couple of belongings.”

Matthias wasn’t sure what to do. Should he let the man grab his things? Was that what he’d do if he was still on the other side and completely worried for the Rollins’ life?

But he took too long to contemplate it. In any real emergency Matthias would have all the answers. Rollins’s mouth curved upwards into a sick grin, now understanding it was all a hoax. Matthias began thinking of an escape route before Rollins took the offense and chose the first one to come to his head. He closed his eyes and prayed no one was under him as he turned into an elephant and the floor broke beneath him.

He counted the floors as they bowed underneath his weight and broke. One, two, three, four, five. As the fifth one broke Matthias clamped his eyes shut even harder and made himself turn into a white wolf.

Matthias could smell Kaz. His smell was distinctly gross and sour and he followed his nose even after he could smell Rollins on his tail.

Kaz was on the third floor balcony with the other four, surrounding the hole he had made. Most of them looked worried but otherwise unharmed. Wylan noticed him first and pointed, fear in his eyes. “Kaz, you better get a touch of this man or I will rip your other leg off.” Matthias growled. Kaz looked slightly shocked and his eyebrows rose up.

Of course he knew Kaz’s ability. Matthias had spied on him for hours on end until he figured it out. He had been so confused before he realized what exactly Kaz did. How Kaz and Jesper had accidentally touched the day Nina arrived and Kaz could change the paper in his room to objects like knives and rocks. How Kaz never seemed to use his fire powers except for the first day where Brum swore he saw the kid burn two buildings down.

He picked up speed, jumping over the balcony’s railing and turning into a fly before he could hit the ground.

Matthias immediately changed course and began flying back up to the balcony. But suddenly he came face to face with Rollins’ shoe and he quickly changed course to avoid being swatted to death.

By the time Matthias made it back to the balcony, Nina had gone and he assumed Inej had too. Jesper was holding onto a rock for dear life, Kaz looking up at the sky with his arms outstretched.

Matthias watched with amazement as the rock slowly morphed into the brightest sunflower he had ever seen. Jesper threw it up as high as it could go. For a split second, Matthias wondered what Nina’s favourite flower was.

But all those thoughts soon vanished as a loud roar almost deafened him. He spun around and glimpsed a woman and a thing. Some kind of animal. It was massive with wings, talons, and fangs. As it got closer, it looked like the animal’s blood was pitch black. They were headed towards them at full speed.

He didn’t have time to alert Kaz when Pekka Rollins escaped through a portal and reappeared on the dormer roof, just feet above Kaz who was so concentrated on opening the forcefield that he didn’t hear Rollins jump.

Matthias roared as he began to shift into a lion but then he noticed someone—or something. A floating dagger near Kaz. Inej.

Matthias flew inside the building, turning into a wolf as he went and following Nina’s scent of tangerine and sweat.

Nina was standing in the middle of the kitchen, Yuri on one side, closest to Matthias, and Brum on the other. Her fists were clenched and both of the men were scratching at their necks hastily. Matthias got closer and growled as he noticed one of Yuri’s hands begin to curl.

A puff of grey clouds formed and Matthias saw Nina’s eyes widen at whatever Yuri was showing her through the clouds.

Matthias knew this trick well. Yuri had used it against him when he had been a boy. Matthias had been mischievous and Yuri had created the clouds to show him his younger sister, huddling on a cold, damp, street alone. Matthias had begged Yuri to make it go away but Yuri only listened once Matthias was crying for at least an hour.

Nina’s fists began to slowly unclench and Yuri and Brum both started to relax as they both managed to get some air.

Matthias shifted into a lion and skidded through the rest of the hallway, digging his claws into the wood to slow down in front of Nina. He opened his mouth and let out a mighty roar. Nina put her hands to her ears but her lips were slightly upturned.

He noticed Yuri’s cloud and saw the familiar shape of Nina’s mom, rocking slowly back and forth in a rocking chair. “Hop on.” Matthias said, trying to sound normal but the jowls on the lion were large and human speech just sounded foolish.

Nina climbed on his back just as Brum jabbed out with a dagger.

And then they were off. Matthias ran as fast as he could go. Perhaps he should have turned into a cheetah instead. As they got to the hole that he had created as an elephant he bent down and jumped up to the second floor, feeling his back left paw slip a little on loose planks.

He steadied himself once again and jumped up to the third floor, making his way down the hallway to the closest balcony. He slowed as he got to the balcony door, pawed at it from underneath, and it opened. If Nina hadn’t been on his back he would have just run through it.

He jumped off the balcony and landed gracefully on the grass, lowering his back so Nina could slide off. “What made you change your mind?” She asked curiously.

Matthias shifted back to his human form. He was slick with sweat and he could hear shouts in the distance. “I...I don’t know.” He swallowed the lump in his throat and, for the first time, noticed the trees nearby bent almost at a ninety degree angle. When had it become incredibly windy? “But it feels right.” And then the question popped into his head again. “Hey, what’s your favourite flower—?”

But he was cut off by Nina’s deafening shriek and the sound of a gunshot.

And then everything went black.

Chapter 6: Jesper

The sound of gunshot made everyone stop. Inej was the first to recover. She turned herself invisible and hopped from the balcony’s railing to the roof,

Kaz was no longer straining to keep the forcefield open for the two newcomers. Apparently, Kaz had explained a couple minutes before, they were old students who had managed to escape. The woman was a wind manipulator named Zoya Nazyalensky while the monster was Nikolai Lantsov who wasn’t always a monster, mostly he was a man who just so happened to turn into a horrendous monster.

Jesper was holding onto a stick that he had turned into a sword, but now he wondered if he should have made something strong. A crossbow maybe?

Kaz was still leaning against the balcony’s railing, out of breath. But now he seemed ready for a fight. “Let’s go. Make us a gun and some bullets. You shoot. Come on Wylan, keep up.”

The three of them ran back inside the building. Jesper picked up random splinters and pieces of things on the floor, creating a revolver out of a pebble. It fit in his hands nicely, and he made a second one and gave that one to Kaz. As they made their way outside, Jesper yanked up a handful of grass and quickly shut his eyes, picturing shiny bullets and their heaviness in his hand. When he opened them again he gave half of the bullets to Kaz and kept the other half for himself.

He turned to Wylan and grinned lopsidedly. He had only just met Wylan but Jesper would willingly die for him. “What weapon are you most comfortable with? Bow and arrow? Sword? Ninja stars?”

“None, preferably.” Wylan said, scrunching up his nose.

“Shield, it is then.” Jesper nodded, clicking his tongue and picking up a fallen leaf.

Inej and Nina ran over to them. Tears were streaming down Nina’s face and Inej’s face was pale. “Matthias is dead.” She sobbed out.

Kaz looked alarmingly unfazed by this revelation. “How?” He turned to Inej gravelly.

“Gunshot. It was Brum on a balcony and Matthias didn’t see him.” Inej replied, putting an arm around Nina and squeezing tightly.

Jesper blanched. “Where are they now? Yuri, Brum, and the other man?”

“I think the winged thing dealt with Yuri. As for Brum and the other one, I don’t know.” Inej replied.

The wind picked up again in strong gusts and they ran to the front of the house. Zoya was in the middle of the field, the wind she had created whipping her black hair everywhere. Rollins was trying to make his way through, using the portal in front of him as a shield to absorb Zoya’s heavy gusts.

“Where’s Nikolai?” Jesper asked.

But nobody needed to answer, for there was a massive roar that made the building wobble on its foundation. “Inej, Wylan and Nina, go help Nikolai with Brum. Jesper, come with me.” Kaz said as he made his way over to Zoya and the red haired man.

Jesper watched as Kaz stretched out his hands. Suddenly, the man fell through the ground in a portal.

Zoya whipped her head around to see both Kaz and Jesper. “Now we don’t know where he is.” She said spitefully.

“Oh, we do.” Kaz said simply. His voice was patient while Zoya looked ready to slap him across the face—possibly the only person in the world who could ever get away with such a feat.

And, just like what had happened with the man, a portal formed under Kaz and he fell through, cane and all.

Jesper yelled and tried to grab at Kaz’s gloved hand. Kaz gripped on tightly and Jesper tried to heave him up. While Kaz wasn’t heavy, he wasn’t light either. But then his heart sank as he felt Kaz’s glove begin to wiggle off. “No!” He said with gritted teeth, trying to maneuver his hands to grip Kaz’s forearm. Instead, however, gravity won and Kaz fell through Jesper’s fingers like cold stone through the portal, leaving him with one of Kaz’s leather gloves. Zoya shrieked.

Then, all was silent. There were no roars from Nikolai and the wind Zoya had been conjuring up was gone. “He’s almost as stupid as Nikolai.” Zoya snapped, marching up to Jesper, trying to fix her hair.

“But you know you love me,” a blond man came into view, a self-assured smile on his face. He was in rags and slicked with dirt.

Jesper watched as Zoya’s face melted into relief.

“Where’s Kaz?” Inej asked, her head turning to look around.

Jesper retold the short story and Inej went completely silent. She gripped the dagger in her hand and Nina slowly held her hand. “I’m sure he’s okay. We just have to wait.”

Wylan’s voice was quiet and his voice wobbled. “Are you okay?” He was still holding the shield. It had a couple of talon streaks in it.

“I don’t know.” Jesper responded truthfully. All he could see was Kaz falling through that portal. “I just feel...numb all over. Exhausted too. How are you feeling?”

“I’m...pretty shaken up. When my father sent me here I thought I would be just coming to a weird boarding school. Not getting into...all of this.” Wylan bit his bottom lip. Jesper took Wylan’s hand in his. Wylan didn’t pull away.

Five minutes later, the five of them sat on the front porch, waiting for Kaz’s return.

“It’s amazing that this building has managed to stay up after Matthias put a hole right through the center of it.” Wylan mused, trying to make conversation but failing miserably. No one was in the mood to talk. The sun was setting and Jesper had managed to find some food in the kitchen for all of them to eat.

When the sun was just a sliver behind the hills in the distance, Nikolai looked at all of them. “What are we going to do if Kaz doesn’t come back?”

Jesper threw a pebble at the force field which disappeared. “Well, the force field is still up.” He said sourly. Wylan’s hand was still warm in his own.

Inej stood up suddenly. “Oh my goodness.” She breathed. Everyone turned to look to where she was looking. The road in the distance. And a limping figure was making its way slowly up to the school.

“Kaz!” Jesper shouted, and soon they were all shouting and hooting and hugging one another.

They all ran as close as they dared to the forcefield to watch Kaz’s slow limp up the road. When he got close enough to see his face, everyone saw how beat up he looked. He had two black eyes and he didn’t have his other glove or his cane. His clothes were ripped and he looked like a zombie.

All of them waited patiently as Kaz raised his hand, letting the forcefield down. Jesper threw a pebble to make sure.

“It’s gone…” Nina said, taking a hesitant step forward onto solid ground. They all took steps forward and soon they were laughing and hollering and shouting again.

Jesper gave the one glove back to Kaz who put it on with a small smile. “We did it.”

#grishabigbang #gvbbfic #six of crows #soc #six of crows fanfiction #six of crows fanfic #soc fanfiction #soc fanfic

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