Talons⛥Kaz Brekker

⛥𝔗𝔥𝔦𝔯𝔱𝔢𝔢𝔫⛥

"Ambrose," Kaz said as he shook my shoulder, "we need to go."

The sun was setting, gilding the tower of Ghezen in the distance. We left the storehouse, locking it behind us, and joined the workers walking home for the night. We continued south and east, dodging the busiest parts of the Barrel, where no doubt the stadwatch would be prowling,and headed toward a more residential area. In a narrow canal, they boarded a
smallboat that they piloted down Grafcanal, and into the mists shrouding Black Veil Island.

I felt my excitement increasing as we picked our way through the mausoleums toward the center of the island. Let them be okay, I prayed. Let them all be okay. Finally, I glimpsed a dim light and heard the faint murmur of voices. I broke into a run, not caring when my cap slipped from my head to the vine-covered ground. I tore open the door to the tomb.

The six people inside rose, guns, knives and fists raised, and I skidded to a halt. Nina shrieked, “Ambrosia!” She flew across the room and crushed me in a tight hug. Then they were all
around me at once, hugging me, clapping me on the back. Nina would not let go of me. Jesper threw his arms around both of us and crowed, “The Vampress returns!” as Matthias stood back, formal as ever but smiling. I looked from the Shu boy seated at the table in the center of the tomb to the identical Shu boy hovering in front of me.

“Wylan?” I asked of the one closest to me. He broke into a grin, but it slipped sideways when he said, “Sorry about my father.”

I pulled him into the hug and whispered, “We are not our fathers.”
Kaz rapped his cane on the stone floor. He was standing in the doorway to the tomb. “If everyone is done cuddling, we have a job to do.”

“Hold up,” said Jesper, arm still slung around me. “We’re not talking about
the job until we figure out what those things were on the Stave.”
“What things?” I asked.

“Did you miss half the Stave blowing up?”

“We saw the bomb at the White Rose go off,” I said, “and then we heard
another explosion.”

“At the Anvil,” said Inej.

“After that,” I said, “we ran.”

Jesper nodded sagely. “That was your big mistake. If you’d stuck around, you could have nearly been killed by a Shu guy with wings.”

“Two of them,” said Wylan.

I frowned. “Two wings?”

“Two guys,” said Jesper.

“With wings?” I probed. “Like a bird?”

Nina dragged me toward the cluttered table, where a map of Ketterdam had
been spread. “No, more like a moth, a deadly, mechanical moth. Are you
hungry? We have chocolate biscuits.”

“Oh sure,” said Jesper. “She gets the cookie hoard.”

Nina planted me in a chair and plunked the tin down in front of me. “Eat,” she commanded.

“There were two Shu with wings, and a man and a woman who were … not normal.” Inej told me.

“Nina’s power had no effect on them,” said Wylan.

“Hmm,” Nina said noncommittally, nibbling daintily at the edge of a biscuit.

I had never seen Nina nibble daintily on anything. Her appetite clearly hadn’t returned, but I wondered if there was more to it.

Matthias joined us at the table. “The Shu woman we faced was stronger
than me, Jesper, and Wylan put together.”

“You heard right,” said Jesper. “Stronger than Wylan.”