Summary: The Crows learn about Jordie, yey!

The Crows had moved to Wylan's living room.

Kaz was sitting in an armchair, Jordie standing next to him.

Matthias and Nina were seated on a couch opposite of him, Jesper and Wylan on another couch, this one next to him, and Inej sat in a chair next to the first couch.

They were all looking at him curiously, demanding am explanation.

He had already told them that Jordie was his brother. And that he was dead.
That statement raised knew questions.

Jesper was the first to break the silence. "So. What's the story behind...well, this?", he said, gesturing to the dead man next to Kaz.

Jordie glanced at Kaz uncomfortably, Kaz stared right back with an emotionless expression.

Jordie cleared his throat. "You see when I was 12, almost 13, there was an, um...accident on our farm..."

Kaz looked at his friends, face still blank.

"You lived on a farm?", Nina asked.

Kaz nodded.

"But...there aren't any farms near Ketterdam", Wylan pointed out.

Kaz nodded again and Jordie sighed. "We are from Lij."

"Where is that?", asked Inej.

"Southern Colonies"

Everyone turned their heads to Kaz. That was the first thing he had said in almost 30 minutes.

Inej nodded slowly.

Jordie cleared his throat, catching the attention of the others. "Like I said there was an accident that - that got our father killed", he glanced at Kaz who closed his eyes. "We couldn't stay there. So I - I sold the farm.", he told the Crows, guilt could be seen in his eyes.

The others looked at Kaz again. His face twisted into a snarl and he looked like he was about to say something, but his brother cut him of.

"Kaz, I know it was a stupid idea and - don't look at me like that! - and I realize that I didn't really think about you when I sold it, but I thought I could make up for it in Ketterdam.", he looked at the Crows again.

"With the money I got, I moved us to Ketterdam. We had just enough money to rent an apartment near the Barrel - that's what it's called, right? Right. - and afford food. I tried to get a job, I always had to leave Kaz at the apartment though..."

Matthias raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"I didn't want my nine year old Brother to get involved in any of my business. With that I mean that I couldn't get a job without being away for far to long. And Kaz has always had a bad temper", Kaz chuckled a little. "So he was at the apartment, I had planned to get him into school when a new year starts, but well...I guess you can see how that turned out."

The group glanced around uncomfortably.

"One day I was out with Kaz when I got the opportunity to get a job by a guy named Jakob-", Kaz held up a hand.

"Pekka Rollins. He gave us a fake name.",the others nodded, not knowing what to think of the situation.

Jordie stared at Kaz for a moment.

"Right. Uh...he gave me a job and - and for a while everything went well, I got money and could even afford to buy us new stuff, but then he, er...I had to sign something and...um, I didn't read everything so-"

Kaz sneered at him. "Not everything? You cost us all we had! We lost all that we had left! IF YOU HAD CONSIDERED EVEN FOR A SECOND THAT SOMETHING WAS OF WITH THAT MAN YOU WOULDN'T BE DEAD IN THE FIRST PLACE!"

Jordie glared at Kaz. "Yes, thank you for your input, little brother. Like Kaz said, Pekka Rollins took everything from us and we landed on the streets."

Jordie's gaze wandered to the ceiling as he frowned. "Unfortunately for us, the Queen's Lady Plague was spreading at the time and it didn't take all to long until it reached Ketterdam. When it did come it took the streets first and since Kaz and I lived there too...well..."

Kaz's jaw clenched and his hands turned into fists. "We were lucky though, we were one of the last to get it."

Jordie looked concerned again and cleared his throat.

"Yes, well, it got me first and two days later Kaz woke up with a fever as well. The last thing I remember was that we slept most of the time for three or four days, I'm not sure. After that, it's Kaz's story to tell, not mine."

Jordie looked at his brother who shook his head and shut his eyes tight.

"They thought I was dead. They threw me to the other bodies without checking if there was any chance that I was alive. I was unconscious, but whe- when I woke up I -", he swallowed and looked at Jordie with guilt and fear and longing.

"When I woke up I was - I was o-on top of my brother. But it was-wasn't my brother, ju-just his body and there were other bodies and they were all rotting and touching me! And - and...", Kaz broke of, his eyes never leaving his the ones of his brother.

Jordie looked at him mournfully. "It's alright. I remember waking up...somewhere, I don't really know we're I was. But then there was this voice, it said I could go to my family and I wanted to at first, but then I-I remembered my little brother. My nine year old brother who was alive with no one out there to take care of him. So I-I asked if...if I could go back.", he stared the Crows dead in the eyes.

"The voice allowed it, but Kaz would be the only person to see me. I could still touch him and he would feel it, but I wouldn't be able to hold him back or restrain him, or protect him! But I could go back and when saw Kaz again he was talking with a guy, your boss if I remember correctly. I don't pay much attention when he discusses his business with people but I think his name is Per Haskell?"

He looked at Kaz who nodded and looked at the floor, as if ashamed.

"Yes, Haskell wanted to recruit him he asked for his name. And that's when I thought that he was the wrong person, that this is not my brother. His voice was, and still is, off. Only a rasp", he sent an apologetic look at Kaz, who just scoffed.

"I still had hope that it was my brother, but then he introduced himself as Kaz Brekker and-"

"Wait", Wylan interrupted. "He said his name. Shouldn't you know it's him then?"

Again Kaz looked ashamed. "I saw the word Brekker on the side of a machinery. I took it as my street name."

"What's your real name than?"

Kaz remained silent. Jordie sighed and shook his head.

"Rietveld. His name is Kaz Rietveld. I am Jordie Rietveld."

Kaz just stared at the floor.

"I was thinking of leaving, but then he saw me. And the voice told me that only my brother could see me. Kaz was...shocked at first, but quickly brushed me of as a piece of his imagination."

The next hour Jordie told the Crows about his afterlife and how he tried to spend time with Kaz.

Kaz just stared at the floor and only spoke when he was asked a question.

It was pretty late when they fell asleep.

The next day when they woke up, Kaz was the only one to see Jordie, but Jesper apparently had a realization.

"Wait a minute. How where we able to see your dead brother in the first place?"

Everyone's eyes immediately fell on Wylan.
"What?"

"What the Djel was in that tea anyways?"

Let's just say, this wasn't the last time they saw Jordie.