Chapter Text
WYLAN
It had been an amazing night. Catching up with Inej was a thrill for all the crows. Wylan made sure to listen intently as she discussed all the slavers she'd manage to catch or kill. She definitely seemed to be thriving on her boat, having new adventures everyday. This was drastically different to the way Wylan was living.
His days were filled with peaceful melodies and mindless doodles. Not to mention living with a rather attractive sharpshooter who definitely brightened the mansion up. Slowly, but surely, the Van Eck mansion was becoming a place of comfort for Wylan again. For so long, he associated so many bad memories with the building, but now he was getting the opportunity to create new memories with Jesper, and his mother, who was a lot more herself now.
It gave Jesper plenty of room to train his grisha power, which he usually did in private. Wylan had even started to teach Jesper a few notes on the piano, though sometimes it was just an excuse to have their hands brush against each others as he adjusted Jespers fingers on the keys.
Overall, life was good. The van eck business he had taken over was thriving, having Jesper reading his paperwork to him helped massively. They were a team, in every way possible, and Wylan was forever grateful to have him by his side. "what about you two? Is business good?" Inej addressed them, twirling Sankta Alina between her fingers.
Wylan gave a content nod as Jesper leaned closer to him, curling his arm around Wylan's shoulder. "business is thriving. My merching makes a fine businessman" Jesper replied, tossing Wylan a wink. He'd been with Jesper for months now, yet his little flirts and teases still made him blush a bright shade of pink.
"That's good" Inej said, lowering her head slightly.
Jesper seemed to clock this and furrowed his brows in confusion, "what?" he asked. Wylan wasn't sure why, but he felt a nervous shiver trickle down his spine. Something was up...he could tell by Inej's face.
"I thought we should all meet for a catch up, but I haven't told you the reason I really had to return. I came here to warn you" She explained, her comment aimed at Wylan as their eyes locked.
Kaz, who was seated next to Inej, didn't look shocked in the slightest...though Wylan suspected Kaz knew everything there was to know about whatever Inej had to tell them.
"w..warn me?" Wylan stammered, double checking that the comment had been aimed at him. Life was going well and their hadn't been trouble in at least a few weeks...and Wylan was hoping beyond hope that an asteroid of danger wasn't about to crash land and destroy his life.
"Inej, what's going on?" Jesper asked, leaning forward, his tone more serious than before. Even Nina had sat up from Matthias lap to get closer to the conversation, now also intrigued.
Inej cleared his throat before speaking, "I managed to track down a trader ship yesterday, they had been sailing past Terrenjel, which as you know is..."
"...near Hellgate" Matthias finished in a low tone. Everyone shot him a still glance before Inej continued,
"Right before my crew took over the ship, we heard them talking. there was a rumour...a very big rumour...one that I hope for our sakes isn't true..." Inej kept pausing between thoughts, which made Wylan all the more anxious about where this story was going.
Inej took a breath before just coming with it, "Jan Van Eck is a free man" she blurted out, now avoiding Wylan's gaze altogether.
Suddenly, the world seemed to blur. Inej's worried tone muffled into a ringing noise and the lights of the crow club suddenly became too bright.
.His father was free. He needed to go. he wasn't sure where. But before he could even motion to get up, the world was suddenly on it's side.
For a few moments, the world was dark and still. Just a void of stars and his mother's melodies. But those all faded away, as a new echo filled his ears,
"Wylan...Wylan, wake up sweetheart..."
he knew that voice...that's the same voice that awoke him from his darkest nightmares and the voice that sang in his wildest dreams.
Jesper.
Slowly, the world came back into focus, black spots still surrounded his vision as the sounds around him became clearer. He could suddenly feel hands touching his face, and could also feel someone's hand on his wrist. Probably Nina, trying to slow his heartbeat down.
But suddenly, like a lightning bolt striking him, all his senses returned a little too quickly. He felt cold, like something had just whacked him in the face.
"Kaz!" came Nina's frustrated tone, "there was no need for that!"
"it woke him up, didn't it?" Kaz voice replied, as Wylan immediately sat up, gasping for a breath.
After a few breaths, he realised what had happened. Kaz had splashed him with his water to wake him up. He was both grateful and pissed at Kaz for it. If this had been a few months, the splash of water would’ve spiralled him into some sort of panic, but he was surprisingly numb to it at the moment…possibly because his mind was still swirling from Inej’s news.
His hands flung forward, immediately wiping the water from his eyes, coughing a little as some of it had slipped down his throat. Jespers hand was on his back, rubbing it softly. Nina's regained her focus and Wylan soon felt his heart slowing down once more.
Finally being able to see everyone back in focus, he glanced up at Jesper, who looked so worried that Wylan just wanted to kiss the worries away. If only it was that easy.
"Hi Wy...lost you for a second there..." he said, as he helped him into a sitting position. Jesper glanced up at Inej, "I think we should get back to the mansion...We'll definitely stop by tomorrow Inej, and tonight has been a blast"
Wylan felt awful. They now had to leave early because of him. "I'm..I'm sorry..."
"don't you dare, merchling. No apologising" Jesper immediately cut in as he helped Wylan to his feet. Matthias suddenly held out his glass of beer for Wylan to take. He happily accepted, downing what was left in one. Jesper gaped a little before linking his hand with Wylan's, "I better get you home before these guys get you drunk" Jesper teased as he began to edge Wylan towards the door.
Wylan edged away from Jesper, unlocking their hands, "just a second" he muttered before walking over to Kaz.
"What's the plan?" he asked. Kaz hummed in response, as if he was trying to form a plan in his head. Wylan wasn't buying it for one second, Kaz Brekker always had a plan.
"We destroyed him once. We can do it again" was all Kaz said, before downing his own shot.
'but at what cost?' Wylan thought. He only nodded before turning to Inej. "I'm sorry for..."
He was cut off by Jespers voice saying, "Wylan Hendriks, stop apologising or I shall have to kiss you to shut you up!"
Wylan cracked a smile, sighing to himself. Inej then pulled him into a comforting hug, "get home safe, Wylan. And I'll see you tomorrow. We'll figure this out, I promise." she muttered, rubbing his back in comfort.
It's not that Wylan didn't appreciate all the concern and comfort, after all he did just faint after hearing the news of his fathers freedom. But, right now, he just wanted to see his mother. How would he tell her?
.
They could've walked, but Jesper insisted on taking a carriage. Wylan suspected it was because he was both too lazy to walk all that way and also worried Wylan might collapse again.
They barely talked on the carriage ride back, Wylan choosing to spend most of the journey staring out of the window. At one point, he felt Jesper's arm link with his, as he pressed a gentle kiss on his neck. Even under the circumstances, Wylan still blushed at the gesture. He let Jesper carry on the act for a little while before turning to face him. Wylan planted a grateful kiss on Jespers cheek before moving to rest his head on his shoulder.
Maybe everything would be okay. knowing his father, he's very likely to do something illegal and get thrown back in Hellgate before he even got anywhere near Wylan or the rest of the crows...and Kaz seemed somewhat confident that they could beat him again. The Van Eck mansion was very well guarded too...so, it's not like they were that unsafe in their own home.
.
Jesper waltzed through the front door, glancing back to Wylan, "I don't know about you, but I'm going to go make some tea. want some?" he asked, a desperate look in his eyes.
Wylan knew that look. Jesper wanted badly to make this all easier on him, and if he was honest, a nice, warm up of tea was a start. "okay..but don't overload mine with sugar like you did last time" Wylan reminded him as Jesper made his way to the kitchen, not bothering to turn the light on.
It was nearly midnight and pitch black outside. the dark shadows already made Wylan a little nervous, especially in the mansion. But, in his daze of thoughts, he couldn't be bothered to flick on the lights. He needed to find his mother and explain the situation to her. Unless she was asleep, then he'd just explain it in the morning. He made his way into the living room, where the white sofa's lined the window, with the piano stationed in the middle. "mother?" Wylan called out, though the light were off in there too, so he very much doubted she was in there.
'guess she's sleeping' Wylan concluded. He wanted to wake her up, just to give her a hug...but he didn't want to disturb her, so he would wait until the morning. After all, they had all the time in the world, right?
He glanced over at the piano, eyes shifting to new piece of sheet music that sat on the stool. Picking it up, Wylan smiled to himself. His mother must've spent the day writing a new composition. He guessed she would want to show him it in the morning, so he didn't analyse the notes too much, wanting to leave it a surprise.
Wylan sat down on the piano and blissfully played few notes, somehow hoping the notes would push Jan Van Eck back to Hellgate. He didn't play for long though, as the sounds of the keys echoed through the long halls and he didn't want to risk disturbing his mothers sleep.
As the last note finished, the last fragments of sound fading, a faint smash could be heard from the kitchen.
Jesper must've smashed a glass whilst making tea...that was Wylan's first thought. The sharpshooter wasn't exactly known for his lack of clumsiness. Laughing to himself, Wylan made his way to the kitchen, to help Jesper...plus, that way he could add his own sugar, since Jesper always seemed to go overboard with it.
as he approached the kitchen door, he heard a muffled sound. what on earth was he doing in there?
He let out a huff as he finally opened the door, and what he saw made his heart drop.
There were two two men, both taller than Wylan and Jesper, and they both looked incredibly deadly in the darkness.
One was holding Jesper, using one hand to pin the crow's arms behind his back. The mans other hand was clamped over Jespers mouth, so all that could be heard were muffled shouts.
The second attacker had Jespers guns, with one of them pointed at Jespers head. Wylan couldn't figure out how they'd managed to pry those guns from the sharpshooters hands, as Jesper saw his guns as his metaphorical children.
Wylans entrance into the kitchen drew attention towards him immediately. As soon as Jespers eyes locked with Wylans, a new wave of panic flashed across them. Jesper attempted to scream louder, as his struggling became more violent. The man holding Jesper back gripped tighter, and Wylans heart broke in two.
But now a new feeling filled his heart...rage. Clearly, the men hadn't expected Wylan to walk in. If he had to guess, they probably planned to either kidnap or kill Jesper without Wylan figuring it out until they were gone and it was too late.
Now the glass smashing made a lot more sense...Jesper was trying to fight back and must've knocked over a kitchen glass in the process.
Without a second thought, Wylan grabbed the nearest knife, that was resting near a chopping board on the counter. He held it in front of him, eyes filled with anger, "Let him go..." Wylan stammered, eyes locked on the man holding Jesper.
The man let out a chuckle, and flicked his eyes between the two of them, "sorry, I'm not getting paid to show mercy" he commented, as the other man, the one not holding Jesper, pressed the gun into his forehead slightly.
Jesper couldn't help but flinch as the cold metal touched his skin. He still continued to struggle and try and shout, desperate for Wylan to get out of there.
Wylan was still racking his brain on how they'd managed to overpower Jesper so quickly and easily. Jesper wasn't weak by any means and he had plenty of combat experience...plus, he was a durast. Wylan suddenly shot Jesper a glance that the hoped he would be able to decode.
please don't use your powers, Jes.
If the men found out Jesper was Grisha, he would be in even more danger and Wylan could not let that happen.
But then he spotted it, a small pool of blood was a few inches away from where Jesper was. Wylan followed his eyes up to Jespers stomach, and saw blood dripping from a red patch that was growing rapidly.
Jesper was bady hurt. Wylan had to do something. Oh, saints, what about his mother? was she okay, or did they have her too?
"you have no idea who you're dealing with..." Wylan threatened, as he took a step closer, knife still held out firmly in front of him.
Wylan couldn't help the gasp that escaped his throat was the man lowered the gun, deciding to hover it over Jesper's already painful, stab wound.
He took in a deep breath, before giving them both the biggest glare he could muster, "who sent you?" he asked. Oh, how he wished he had his satchel right now. He could get away with throwing a few flash bombs their way.
"Oh, I think you know...Wylan Van Eck." The man holding Jesper's gun replied, his tone filled with sadistic glee.
Before Wylan had time to even think, a thick chord flew into his line of vision, as someone fastened it around his neck. The air flew out of his lungs, as a new, third attacker, pulled incredibly hard, causing Wylan to start gasping for air. His hands flew up to try and pry the chord from his throat, But it was no use.
He desparately tried to protest, tried to make any kind of noise, maybe even enough noise to wake his mother up ( if she was even still alive ). But, all the escaped his lips was a shaky, choked gasp. He could faintly see Jesper attempting to call out his name, trying to get to him.
As black spots began to cloud his vision, the chord was somehow being pulled tighter. This had to be his fathers doing, Wylan had figured out that much. The monster had only been out of Hellgate for 24 hours and he was already trying to ruin Wylan's life.
He thought of only his mother and Jesper as the darkness finally took over. He made one last choking sound, before his entire world went dark.
His throat and head began to throb as Wylan's eyes fluttered open. How long had he been out? What had happened?
As he finally managed to open his eyes fully, Wylan glanced around the room, sitting up in confusion. He squinted as rays of sun beamed through the glass windows of the kitchen. He felt around his neck and winced in pain. If he had to guess, he believed there would be a nasty bruise there for a while.
He then tried again to jog his memory. What had happened? The last thing he remembered was Jesper going to make tea and then playing the piano...and then he'd heard...
And suddenly it all came flooding back to him. Jesper, his father, the smashed glass. He looked around frantically, his eyes clocking the broken glass. He then saw the pool of blood next to it. Jesper's blood...
He hopped on his feet, having to steady himself on the kitchen counter for a moment. His mind spun, as his panicked thoughts pounded through his own skull.
Jesper...where's Jesper? Where was his mother? surely, if she hadn't been harmed, she would've been downstairs and discovered him in the kitchen by now? After all, the chord around his neck had been enough to keep him unconscious until morning.
He took a shaky step forward as he heard his foot hit against something. He trailed his eyes down to the floor, noticing a ripped up sheet of paper. His breath hitched as he leant down to pick it up. That definitely hadn't been there before. He quickly opened the sheet of paper, his heart breaking for the millionth time as he scanned the scribbles on the page.
The only shapes he recognised was the signature at the bottom.
Jan Van Eck.
The rest of the note, to Wylan, was a muddled up variety of ink stained shapes. Much like the many notes his father had sent to him before, this one was yet another way of mocking and taunting him. But, it didn't matter that Wylan couldn't read it. He knew exactly what kind of message his father wanted to send. Jan Van Eck wanted revenge...and he was plucking away at Wylans life to get it.
His father had Jesper. either that or Jesper hadn't survived the stab wound. There was also a chance his mother had been taken too. He'd just got his family back...and now they'd been ripped from him...
There was no way he was letting his father take everything away again.
He would get his family back...and Jan Van Eck would regret ever laying a hand on them...Wylan would make sure of that.