The Well of Ascension, Page 71

Page 71

  Odd pair, that one, Breeze thought to himself, idly Soothing one of the skaa to make him more relaxed as he tried to sleep. The rest of the crew is convinced that those two are enemies. But, hatred rarely creates that measure of bitterness and frustration. No, those two emotions come from an entirely different set of problems.

  Of course, isnt Sazed supposed to be a eunuch? I wonder how this all came about. . . .

  His speculations trailed off as the warehouse doors opened. Elend walked in—Ham, unfortunately, accompanying him. Elend was wearing one of his white uniforms, complete with white gloves and a sword. The white was an important symbol; with all of the ash and soot in the city, a man in white was quite striking. Elends uniforms had to been crafted of special fabrics designed to be resistant to ash, and they still had to be scrubbed every day. The effect was worth the effort.

  Breeze immediately picked at Elends emotions, making the man less tired, less uncertain—though the second was becoming almost unnecessary. That was partially the Terriswomans doing; Breeze had been impressed with her ability to change how people felt, considering her lack of Allomancy.

  Breeze left Elends emotions of disgust and pity; both were appropriate considering the environment. He did, however, give Ham a nudge to make him less argumentative; Breeze wasnt in a mood to deal with the mans prattlings at the moment.

  He stood as the two men approached. People perked up as they saw Elend, his presence somehow bringing them a hope that Breeze couldnt emulate with Allomancy. They whispered, calling Elend King.

  "Breeze," Elend said, nodding. "Is Sazed here?"

  "He just left, Im afraid," Breeze said.

  Elend seemed distracted. "Ah, well," he said. "Ill find him later. " Elend looked around the room, lips downturned. "Ham, tomorrow, I want you to round up the clothing merchants on Kenton Street and bring them here to see this. "

  "They might not like that, Elend," Ham said.

  "I hope they dont," Elend said. "But well see how they feel about their prices once they visit this room. I can understand foods expense, considering its scarcity. However, there is no reason but greed to deny the people clothing. "

  Ham nodded, but Breeze could see the reticence in his posture. Did the others realize how strangely nonconfrontational Ham was? He liked to argue with friends, but he rarely actually came to any conclusions in his philosophizing. Plus, he absolutely hated fighting with strangers; Breeze had always found that an odd attribute in one who was hired, essentially, to hit people. He gave Ham a bit of a Soothing to make him less worried about confronting the merchants.

  "You arent going to stay here all night, are you, Breeze?" Elend asked.

  "Lord Ruler, no!" Breeze said. "My dear man, youre lucky you managed to get me to come at all. Honestly, this is no place for a gentleman. The dirt, the depressing atmosphere—and thats not even making mention of the smell!"

  Ham frowned. "Breeze, someday youre going to have to learn to think about other people. "

  "As long as I can think about them from a distance, Hammond, I shall be happy to engage in the activity. "

  Ham shook his head. "Youre hopeless. "

  "Are you heading back to the palace then?" Elend asked.

  "Yes, actually," Breeze said, checking his pocket watch.

  "Do you need a ride?"

  "I brought my own carriage," Breeze said.

  Elend nodded, then turned to Ham, and the two retreated the way they had come, talking about Elends next meeting with one of the other Assemblymen.

  Breeze wandered into the palace a short time later. He nodded to the door guards, Soothing away their mental fatigue. They perked up in response, watching the mists with renewed vigilance. It wouldnt last long, but little touches like that were second nature to Breeze.

  It was getting late, and few people were in the hallways. He made his way through the kitchens, Nudging the scullery maids to make them more chatty. It would make their cleaning pass more quickly. Beyond the kitchens he found a small stone room, lit by a couple of plain lamps, set with a small table. It was one of the palaces boothlike, solitary dining rooms.

  Clubs sat in one corner of the booth, gimped leg stretched out on the bench. He eyed Breeze with a scowl. "Youre late. "

  "Youre early," Breeze said, sliding into the bench across from Clubs.

  "Same thing," Clubs grumbled.

  There was a second cup on the table, along with a bottle of wine. Breeze unbuttoned his vest, sighed quietly, and poured himself a cup as he leaned back with his legs up on his bench.

  Clubs sipped his wine.

  "You have your cloud up?" Breeze asked.

  "Around you?" Clubs said. "Always. "

  Breeze smiled, taking a sip, and relaxed. Though he rarely had opportunities to use his powers anymore, Clubs was a Smoker. When he was burning copper, every Allomancers abilities were invisible to those burning bronze. But more important—at least to Breeze—burning copper made Clubs immune to any form of emotional Allomancy.

  "Dont see why that makes you so happy," Clubs said. "I thought you liked playing with emotions. "

  "I do," Breeze said.

  "Then why come drink with me every night?" Clubs asked.

  "You mind the company?"

  Clubs didnt answer. That was pretty much his way of saying he didnt mind. Breeze eyed the grumpy general. Most of the other crewmembers stayed away from Clubs; Kelsier had brought him in at the last moment, since the Coppercloud they usually used had died.

  "Do you know what its like, Clubs?" Breeze asked. "Being a Soother?"

  "No. "

  "It gives you remarkable control. Its a wonderful feeling, being able to influence those around you, always feeling like you have a handle on how people will react. "

  "Sounds delightful," Clubs said flatly.

  "And yet, it does things to you. I spend most of my time watching people—tweaking, Nudging, and Soothing. Thats changed me. I dont. . . look at people the same way. Its hard to just be friends with someone when you see them as something to be influenced and changed. "

  Clubs grunted. "So thats why we never used to see you with women. "

  Breeze nodded. "I cant help it anymore. I always touch the emotions of everyone around me. And so, when a woman comes to love me. . . " He liked to think he wasnt invasive. Yet, how could he trust anyone who said they loved him? Was it he, or his Allomancy, that they responded to?

  Clubs filled his cup. "Youre a lot sillier than you act. "

  Breeze smiled. Clubs was one of the few people who was completely immune to his touch. Emotional Allomancy wouldnt work on him, and he was always completely forthcoming with his emotions: everything made him grumpy. Manipulating him through non-Allomantic means had proven to be a fruitless waste of time.

  Breeze regarded his wine. "The amusing thing is, you almost didnt join the crew because of me. "

  "Damn Soothers," Clubs muttered.

  "But youre immune to us. "

  "To your Allomancy, maybe," Clubs said. "But that isnt the only way you people do things. A man always has to watch himself around Soothers. "

  "Then why let me join you every evening for wine?"

  Clubs was silent for a moment, and Breeze almost thought he wasnt going to respond. Finally, Clubs muttered, "Youre not as bad as most. "

  Breeze took a gulp of wine. "That is as honest a compliment as I think Ive ever received. "

  "Dont let it ruin you," Clubs said.

  "Oh, I think Im too late for ruining," Breeze said, topping off his cup. "This crew. . . Kells plan. . . has already done a thorough job of that. "

  Clubs nodded in agreement.

  "What happened to us, Clubs?" Breeze asked. "I joined Kell for the challenge. I never did know why you joined. "

  "Money. "

  Breeze nodded. "His plan fell apart, his army got destroyed, and we stayed. Then he died,
and we still stayed. This blasted kingdom of Elends is doomed, you know. "

  "We wont last another month," Clubs said. It wasnt idle pessimism; Breeze knew people well enough to tell when they were serious.

  "And yet, here we are," Breeze said. "I spent all day making skaa feel better about the fact that their families had been slaughtered. You spent all day training soldiers that—with or without your help—will barely last a few heartbeats against a determined foe. We follow a boy of a king who doesnt seem to have a shade of a clue just how bad his predicament is. Why?"

  Clubs shook his head. "Kelsier. Gave us a city, made us think we were responsible for protecting it. "

  "But we arent that kind of people," Breeze said. "Were thieves and scammers. We shouldnt care. I mean. . . Ive gotten so bad that I Soothe scullery maids so that theyll have a happier time at work! I might as well start dressing in pink and carrying around flowers. I could probably make quite a bundle at weddings. "

  Clubs snorted. Then he raised his cup. "To the Survivor," he said. "May he be damned for knowing us better than we knew ourselves. "

  Breeze raised his own cup. "Damn him," he agreed quietly.

  The two fell silent. Talking to Clubs tended to turn into. . . well, not talking. However, Breeze felt a simple contentment. Soothing was wonderful; it made him who he was. But it was also work. Even birds couldnt fly all the time.

  "There you are. "

  Breeze snapped his eyes open. Allrianne stood at the entrance to the room, just at the edge of the table. She wore light blue; where had she gotten so many dresses? Her makeup was, of course, immaculate—and there was a bow in her hair. That long blond hair—common in the West but almost unheard of in the Central Dominance—and that perky, inviting figure.

  Desire immediately blossomed inside of him. No! Breeze thought. Shes half your age. Youre a dirty old man. Dirty! "Allrianne," he said uncomfortably, "shouldnt you be in bed or something?"

  She rolled her eyes, shooing his legs out of the way so she could sit on the bench beside him. "Its only nine oclock, Breeze. Im eighteen, not ten. "

  You might as well be, he thought, looking away from her, trying to focus on something else. He knew that he should be stronger, shouldnt let the girl get near him, but he did nothing as she slid up to him and took a drink from his cup.

  He sighed, putting his arm around her shoulders. Clubs just shook his head, the hint of a smile on his lips.

  "Well," Vin said quietly, "that answers one question. "

  "Mistress?" OreSeur said, sitting across the table from her in the dark room. With her Allomancers ears, she could hear exactly what was going on in the next boothlike room over.

  "Allrianne is an Allomancer," Vin said.

  "Really?"

  Vin nodded. "Shes been Rioting Breezes emotions ever since she arrived, making him more attracted to her. "

  "One would think that hed notice," OreSeur said.

  "Youd think," Vin said. She probably shouldnt feel as amused as she did. The girl could be a Mistborn—though the idea of that puff flying through the mists seemed ridiculous.