of her chair. “Van Eck’s trading company must have plenty of ships heading to Ravka.”
Matthias folded his huge arms, considering. “Get the Grisha refugees out on one of Van Eck’s own vessels?”
“We’d need a forged manifest and papers of transit,” said Inej.
“Why do you think they kicked Specht out of the navy?” Kaz asked. “He was forging leave documents and supply orders.”
Wylan pulled on his lip. “But it’s not just a question of a few documents. Let’s say there are thirty Grisha refugees. A ship’s captain is going to want to know why thirty people—”
“Thirty-one,” Kuwei said.
“Are you actually following all of this?” said Jesper incredulously.
“A ship to Ravka,” said Kuwei. “I understand that very well.”
Kaz shrugged. “If we’re going to steal a boat, we might as well put you on it.”
“Thirty-one it is,” said Nina with a smile, though if the muscle twitching in Matthias’ jaw was any indication, he wasn’t nearly so thrilled.
“Okay,” said Wylan, smoothing a crease in the map. “But a ship’s captain is going to wonder why there are thirty-one people being added to his manifest.”
“Not if the captain thinks he’s in on a secret,” said Kaz. “Van Eck will write a passionately worded letter calling upon the captain to use the utmost discretion in transporting these valuable political refugees and asking him to keep them hidden from anyone susceptible to Shu bribes—including the stadwatch —at all costs. Van Eck will promise the captain a huge reward when he returns, just to make sure he doesn’t get any ideas about selling out the Grisha. We already have a sample of Van Eck’s handwriting. We just need his seal.”
“Where does he keep it?” Jesper asked Wylan.
“In his office. At least that’s where it used to be.”
“We’ll have to get in and out without him noticing,” said Inej. “And we’ll have to move quickly after that. As soon as Van Eck realizes the seal is missing, he’ll be able to guess what we’re up to.”
“We broke into the Ice Court,” said Kaz. “I think we can manage a mercher’s office.”
“Well, we did almost die breaking into the Ice Court,” said Inej.
“Several times, if memory serves,” noted Jesper.
“Inej and I lifted a DeKappel from Van Eck. We already know the layout of the house. We’ll be fine.”
Wylan’s finger was once more tracing the Geldstraat. “You didn’t have to get into my father’s safe.”
“Van Eck keeps the seal in a safe?” said Jesper with a laugh. “It’s almost like he wants us to take it. Kaz is better at making friends with combination locks than with people.”
“You’ve never seen a safe like this,” Wylan said. “He had it installed after the DeKappel was stolen. It has a seven-digit combination that he resets every day, and the locks are built with false tumblers to confuse safecrackers.”
Kaz shrugged. “Then we go around it. I’ll take expediency over finesse.”
Wylan shook his head. “The safe walls are made of a unique alloy reinforced with Grisha steel.”
“An explosion?” suggested Jesper.
Kaz raised a brow. “I suspect Van Eck will notice that.”
“A very small explosion?”
Nina snorted. “You just want to blow something up.”
“Actually …” said Wylan. He cocked his head to one side, as if he were listening to a distant song. “Come morning, there would be no hiding we’d been there, but if we can get the refugees out of the harbor before my father discovers the theft … I’m not exactly sure where I can get the materials, but it just might work… .”
“Inej ,” Jesper whispered.
She leaned forward, peering at Wylan. “Is that scheming face?”
“Possibly.”
Wylan seemed to snap back to reality. “It is not . But … but I do think I have an idea.”
“We’re waiting, merchling,” Kaz said.
“The weevil is basically just a much more stable version of auric acid.”
“Yes,” said Jesper. “Of course. And that is?”
“A corrosive. It gives off a minor amount of heat once it starts to react, but it’s incredibly powerful and incredibly volatile. It can cut through Grisha steel and just about anything else other than balsa glass.”
“Glass?”
“The glass and the sap from the balsa neutralize the corrosion.”
“And where does one come by such a thing?”
“We can find one of the ingredients I need in an ironworks. They use the corrosive to strip oxidation off metals. The other might be tougher to come by. We’d need a quarry with a vein of auris or a similar halide compound.”
“The closest quarry is at Olendaal,” said Kaz.
“That could work. Once we have both compounds, we’ll have to be very