Stupid Sickness

Unexpected and Unwelcome (Wylan)

Colm froze, noticing the tension in the room.

"Am I interrupting something?"

"Not at all, Mister Fahey. Who's at the door?" Kaz asked, his tone calm and collected. Colm looked puzzled.

"He said he's a friend of Jesper's, and that you all would be expecting him. There's about nine of them, they seemed convinced you knew them, but I can tell them to go away." Kaz, Inej, Jesper, and Wylan exchanged looks.

Kaz stood, cautiously. Wylan and the others followed him into the front hall. Jesper's hands were on his guns and Inej's had gone to her knife sheaths.

Kaz opened the door and there stood nine tough looking men, all bruisers and brawlers. Wylan didn't recognize them, but Kaz, Jesper, and Inej definitely did.

"What business, gentlemen?"

"Seize of property. I believe you have something of ours. Or should I say someone?" The man up front leered at Inej.

"Her indenture has been payed. Inej doesn't belong to anyone, least of all you and Heleen Van Houden."

"Sure, the old contract was payed off. But we're not in Kerch anymore. Those laws don't apply. We're taking the Suli girl the easy way or the hard way." Kaz shrugged.

"I wish you best of luck gentlemen. I shall certainly inform her when I next see her." Wylan was confused. He looked to where Inej had stood beside him. She was gone.

"That's not all." The man said when Kaz moved to close the door in his face. "I believe Heleen and Pekka owe you something too, Brekker." Kaz's dark brows rose.

"If it's not money I'm not interested." The man grinned and then swung his fist, but Kaz was already ducking out of the door frame and smashing his cane against the back of the man's head.

A shadow dropped from above and a wide red smile slide across another man's throat. Inej. Jesper moved forward to join the fight, Wylan stepping back. He didn't have a weapon, hadn't thought to carry around any demo inside Mister Fahey's house. Jesper's father had made him leave it all behind for fear of his house accidentally blowing up.

Wylan watched sourly as the last man dropped and Kaz started the speak.

But then the wind started, a swirling roaring flurry like a tornado appearing out of nowhere to ravage the farm.

"They brought Grisha!" Jesper shouted to the others. "Where did they even get parem?" He was already in action, aiming his revolvers at the Squaller hovering far above as Inej took cover and Kaz crouched to avoid being blown away. "I need a distraction to get a good shot!" If only Wylan had his flash bombs. 

But wait, Wylan did have his flash bombs. Those didn't explode houses, so Mister Fahey had been fine with those.

He turned, preparing to race back to his satchel where he'd left it upstairs.

The wind howled louder as a second Squaller appeared, flying low towards them.

"Look out!" Inej screamed, but it was too late.

Kaz had been focused on aiming his pistol at the third Squaller flying towards Inej to watch the second.

The Squaller scooped him up, holding his arms tight against his body so he couldn't lash out. He struggled and then went limp.

The other Squaller grabbed Inej, hitting her hard over the head. Jesper and Wylan looked on in despair as the four of them rose out of bullet range.

The sky went silent, and so did Wylan and Jesper.

They filed into the house, Colm stopping to close and lock the door, as if that would keep them safe.

"How did they find us?" Wylan asked as Jesper collapsed at the kitchen table, his head in his hands.

"Probably heard about us from when we passed through Cofton the first time. We made a bit of an impression."

"What are we going to do?"

"I don't know, Wylan, I'm not the ideas guy." Jesper's frustration leaked into his voice but Wylan knew the sharpshooter wasn't angry at him. He was angry at himself for letting his friends get taken.

"We're going to have to get them back. They can fend for themselves but who knows what sort of conditions they're being held in. And Kaz has seemed more vulnerable lately, what of they take his gloves away?" Wylan muttered more to himself than Jesper. Then he froze in horror.

"Kaz isn't wearing his gloves, Inej is. They're going to figure out it has to do with touch and they're going to hurt them." Jesper groaned in defeat before adding,"Inej would break before Kaz, but without his gloves... and if they hurt her in front of him... he'll go insane. I don't know if that will be good or bad for whoever took them, but we got to get there fast."

"They'll probably take them to some ship to sail to the Wandering Isle. Cobbet said Pekka owed Kaz something, so they'll take them there." Wylan speculated.

"I think I might have an idea of where to look first." Jesper said. "Kaz once mentioned a place..."