CHAPTER 7

The Crows Reunited

     Brynn could feel the chaos around her resonating deep in her bones, the screams in her ears as if they were right next to her. She wished she could help, but Kaz kept them moving down West Stave, away from the crowds and the noise.

Her thoughts were running through her mind far faster than she would have liked, her senses heightened to the highest degree. And it was because of those heightened senses that she sensed someone behind them before Kaz did.

Whirling around, Brynn saw a Shu woman with bronze skin standing in the dark alleyway, eyes set on Brynn, dark hair pulled back. She narrowed her eyes at Brynn, stepping forward.

Brynn reached her mind forward, as she had done with Van Eck and his men not too long ago, to control the woman's mind. But where there should have been thoughts and pictures from an active brain, there was nothing to grab onto, nothing to control.

The Shu woman surged toward Brynn at an inhuman speed, hand reaching for her neck. Brynn was too slow to stop her, and fingers curled around Brynn's neck with strength that was almost too incomprehensive. But whoever this woman was, whatever she'd done to enhance herself, Brynn had a few tricks up her sleeve, too.

A flare of fire appeared in Brynn's hands that were wrapped around the Shu's wrist. The woman's eyes blazed, but she didn't cry out of pain. Soon enough, thought Brynn.

Brynn reached out her hand, grabbing onto the woman's hair, fire still in her hands. Her hair singed and burned off, then Brynn grabbed onto the Shu's head, fire burning brighter than before.

Somehow, the woman still didn't feel the pain like she should have. The fire in her eyes died out slowly, her grip on Brynn's throat loosening. Brynn was almost sad to kill this woman who might have once been like her. She sent a small prayer up to whoever might have been listening, to help this woman find peace in whatever life was after this one.

Brynn stood up and turned around again. Kaz stood, watching her with interest. "What?" she asked.

"Nothing," he dismissed, turning his back to her to continue on. "Let's go."

She followed Kaz, ditching their Mister Crimson capes and masks in a heap behind a run-down little brothel called the Velvet Room, where Kaz had stashed another change of clothes for them. The bulky coat and roughspun trousers of a dockworker wasn't Brynn's ideal outfit, but if that was what it took to get back to her friends, she'd do it.

They made their way into the warehouse district, disguised in their dockworker costumes. To anyone else, they looked like two boys looking for work or going to their shift.

The high of parem hadn't worn off yet. She could feel Kaz's mind, his thoughts orderly and determined. Brynn kept out of his brain, though. That was a whole different kind of privacy invasion that she wouldn't dare cross.

Approaching an abandoned linen storehouse, Brynn noticed the soot blackening the bricks, the windows of its lower floors broken. She could smell the fire, even if it was long gone. Kaz easily unlocked the padlock on the back door, and they entered a lower story that had been badly damaged by the fire.

They climbed the staircase up to the third floor and to a stock room where bolts of linen were still piled high in giant pyramids. Brynn perched herself up on top of them, grateful for something comfortable to sit on, and looked out the window at the district beyond.

Kaz took a tin from beneath one of the old sewing machines and passed it to her. She popped it open, revealing hazelnuts, crackers wrapped in wax paper, and a stoppered flask. Brynn didn't care what was in the flask, she just drank deeply, not caring if she splashed some of the water on herself. The parem pushed aside her hunger, but she knew that she needed to eat something.

"How does it feel?" Kaz asked. "The parem?"

She looked over at him, sitting on the stack of bolts across from her, his cane resting beside him. Looking back out the window, she tried to think of a way to explain it to him.

"It's like feeling everything all at once," Brynn whispered. "Your heartbeat, the heartbeats of everyone else around us, every single fire on this island, all the way to the University District." She took in a deep breath, feeling the curling of the flames as they licked up the side of the building. "Van Eck is going to be busy for a while."

"What did you do?"

"The entire west side of Van Eck's mansion is on fire." Brynn tsked, opening her eyes. "That's his fault for leaving any kind of fire unattended when he gave me the power to do something with it."

"We're still waiting until nightfall to get back to Black Veil." Kaz shifted from his place on the linen.

Brynn shook her head. "We don't have time, Kaz. I want to be able to see everyone before the aches set in and the high dies down. No one will see us, I'll make sure of it."

When he didn't respond, Brynn turned to look at him. Kaz was staring at her, the sun turning his dark eyes into strong tea. She didn't look away from the taut lines of his jaw, the precision of his movements as he continued to study her.

"Did he hurt you?" he asked finally.

Why do you care? she wanted to ask. You've never cared before, so why now? Why now, Kaz?

"No," Brynn said.

Kaz leaned back, his gaze slowly dismantling her. There were things that both of them wanted to say to each other, things that could be life-changing. But those things could wait.

He propped his cane on the floor and used it to brace himself as he slid off the fabric pile. "Come on. Make sure no one sees us, understand?"

Brynn nodded, sliding off her own pile. She followed Kaz back down to the first floor, locking the storehouse behind them, and made their way through the Barrel, dodging the busiest parts where no doubt the stadwatch would have been prowling. Brynn wasn't completely sure where they were going, but she did as Kaz told her and kept the people away from them as they walked through the shadows.

They boarded a smallboat in a narrow canal and piloted down Grafcanal, and into the mists shrouding Black Veil Island. Kaz didn't speak, and Brynn had no interest in it, either. The high was dying down as they reached the small island, the aches slowly setting in as they picked their way through the mausoleums toward the center of the island.

But no amount of pain would be able to diminish her growing excitement. Please let them all be okay, she thought. Please let Sasha be okay.

Brynn finally glimpsed a dim light and heard the faint murmur of voices. If she could have run, she would have, but the aches prevented her from doing so. Eventually, though, they reached the tomb, and Brynn tore open the door to the tomb.

The seven people inside rose, guns and fists raised. Brynn held her hands up, skidding to a halt.

"Brynn!" Nina shrieked first, flying across the room to crush Brynn in a tight hug. Everyone else followed behind, hugging her, clapping her on the back. But there was one person missing.

Sasha stood back in the corner of the tomb, watching them. Brynn slipped out of everyone's grasps and kind words to walk towards her sister. Progress was slow, everything didn't quite feel right, but when she reached Sasha, she wrapped her arms around her older sister.

The hug was sudden and Brynn stepped back, then returned her sister's hug, twice as hard. Everything was going to be okay, no matter what happened next. She just knew it.

a/n— Hey! Just a few more chapters until Act 2! How's the story so far? Anything you think I might need to improve on (storyline, writing, or anything elsewise!) or any other little things? Let me know!