Crooked Kingdom (The Six of Crows Duology #2) - Leigh Bardugo Page 0,34

Jesper had stopped attending university, had he still managed to receive letters there? Nina wondered how he’d maintained this ruse for so long. It would have been made easier by the fact that Colm was an ocean away—and by his desire to believe in his son. An easy mark , Nina thought sadly. No matter his reasons, Jesper had been conning his own father.

“Jesper—” said Colm.

“I was trying to get the money, Da.”

“They’re threatening to take the farm.”

Jesper’s eyes were firmly fixed on the tomb floor. “I was close. I am close.”

“To the money?” Now Nina heard Colm’s frustration. “We’re sitting in a tomb. We were just shot at.”

“What got you on a ship to Ketterdam?” Kaz asked.

“The bank moved up the collection date!” Colm said indignantly. “Simply said I’d run out of time. I tried to reach Jesper, but when there was no reply, I thought—”

“You thought you’d see what your brilliant boy was up to here on the dark streets of Ketterdam.”

“I feared the worst. The city does have a reputation.”

“Well deserved, I promise you,” said Kaz. “And when you arrived?”

“I made inquiries at the university. They said he wasn’t enrolled, so I went to the constabulary.”

Jesper winced. “Oh, Da. The stadwatch ?”

Colm crushed his hat with fresh vigor. “And where was I supposed to go, Jes? You know how dangerous it is for … for someone like you.”

“Da,” Jesper said, looking his father in the eye at last. “You didn’t tell them I’m—”

“Of course not!”

Grisha. Why won’t either of them say it?

Colm threw down the lump of felt that had been his hat. “I don’t understand any of this. Why would you bring me to this horrible place? Why were we shot at? What has become of your studies? What has become of you?”

Jesper opened his mouth, closed it. “Da, I … I—”

“It was my fault,” Wylan blurted. Every eye turned to him. “He uh … he was concerned about the bank loan, so he put his studies on hold to work with a …”

“Local gunsmith,” Nina offered.

“Nina,” Matthias rumbled warningly.

“He needs our help,” she whispered.

“To lie to his father?”

“It’s a fib. Totally different.” She had no idea where Wylan was going with this, but he was clearly in need of assistance.

“Yes!” said Wylan eagerly. “A gunsmith! And then I … I told him about a deal—”

“They were swindled,” Kaz said. His voice was as cold and steady as ever, but he held himself stiffly, as if walking over uncertain ground. “They were offered a business opportunity that seemed too good to be true.”

Colm slumped into a chair. “If it seems that way, then—”

“It probably is,” said Kaz. Nina had the strangest sense that for once he was being sincere.

“Did you and your brother lose everything?” Colm asked Wylan.

“My brother?” Wylan asked blankly.

“Your twin brother ,” Kaz said with a glance at Kuwei, who sat quietly observing the proceedings. “Yes. They lost everything. Wylan’s brother hasn’t spoken a word since.”

“Does seem the quiet type,” Colm said. “And you are all … students?”

“Of a sort,” said Kaz.

“Who spend your free hours in a graveyard. Can we not go to the authorities? Tell them what happened? These swindlers may have other victims.”

“Well—” Wylan began, but Kaz silenced him with a look. A strange hush fell in the tomb. Kaz took a seat at the table.

“The authorities can’t help you,” he said. “Not in this city.”

“Why not?”

“Because the law here is profit. Jesper and Wylan tried to take a shortcut. The stadwatch won’t so much as wipe their tears. Sometimes, the only way to get justice is to take it for yourself.”

“And that’s where you come in.”

Kaz nodded. “We’re going to get your money. You won’t lose your farm.”

“But you’re going to step outside the law to do it,” Colm said. He shook his head wearily. “You barely look old enough to graduate.”

“Ketterdam was my education. And I can tell you this: Jesper never would have turned to me for help if he’d had anywhere else to go.”

“You can’t be so bad, boy,” said Colm gruffly. “You haven’t been alive long enough to rack up your share of sin.”

“I’m a quick study.”

“Can I trust you?”

“No.”

Colm took up his crumpled hat again. “Can I trust you to help Jesper through this?”

“Yes.”

Colm sighed. He looked around at all of them. Nina found herself standing up straighter. “You lot make me feel very old.”

“Spend a little more time in Ketterdam,” said Kaz. “You’ll feel ancient.” Then he tilted his head to one side