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𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐞𝐧
Ⅹ 𝒏𝒐 𝒎𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒔, 𝒏𝒐 𝒇𝒖𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒍𝒔
THE CROWS HID THEMSELVES BEHIND A LONE WAGON. They lay in the grass, watching as a pair of guards surveyed the train the Conductor had sailed through the fold.
"How many are there?" Inej asked. She lay next to Kaz and to the left of Ira, forcing Jesper on the end.
"Two," Kaz answered. "At some point, one of them will have to go tell a superior what they found. We'll go in then."
"Not to be that person, Kaz, but are you sure you can drive that thing?" Jesper asked, tapping his fingers against the revolver in his hand.
"Yes," Kaz insisted. "On the way to Kribirsk, while you were busy hugging bait-"
"Milo," Jesper interrupted, shaking his head. "The goat's name was Milo."
"I was memorizing Arken's timings," Kaz pressed, resisting the urge to roll his eyes.
"Not to gang up on you, but Jes has a point," Inej agreed, and Kaz turned his head towards her. "Arken's system was complicated and the ride was chaotic. No one would blame you for missing a count."
" 'Jes' ?" Kaz questioned, his eyebrows furrowing.
"It's Suli, for friendship," Jesper shrugged and bumped his hip against Inej's.
"No, it's not," Inej huffed, shaking her head.
Elvira shook her head and let her gaze move back to the train. "Do we think it's rigged?" Ira asked, leaning on her crossed arms. "Our first thought was to put a bomb in the carriage. Could Arken-"
Ira barely start her second sentence when a guard opened the train door and a loud boom shook the ground. Their heads snapped up watching the train explode and throw hunks of metal wreckage around the field.
"Too soon to appreciate the irony, am I right?" Jesper asked after a moment of silence. Kaz let out a deep breath and Inej shook her head. "Yeah, too soon." Jesper nodded to himself, bouncing the gun faster in his hand.
Elvira pushed herself back onto her knees and sighed, "Okay Brekker, you got another plan?"
❅
IRA TOSSED THE BLACK HAT AWAY AND TORE THE BROWN WIG OFF. "That is the most uncomfortable thing I've ever endured," Elvira complained, pulling out the oak seat and sitting to the right of Kaz.
"You could prance around looking like a Fjerdan if you prefer," Kaz said in a low tone, his index finger tapping against the crow's head on his cane. "It's only a three-week trip back to the icy place you get caught." Jesper chuckled, his eyes still staring out the window. Elvira rolled her eyes and picked up the hat again, spinning it in her fingers.
