The Well of Ascension

Page 15

  The shutters of the Watchers room were open; he had apparently fled during her fit. Vin sighed.

  "Mistress!" OreSeur snapped.

  Vin spun. A man landed quietly behind her. He looked. . . familiar, for some reason. He had a lean face—topped with dark hair—and his head was cocked slightly in confusion. She could see the question in his eyes. Why had she fallen down?

  Vin smiled. "Maybe I just did it to lure you closer," she whispered—softly, yet loud enough that she knew tin-enhanced ears would hear her.

  The Mistborn smiled, then tipped his head to her as if in respect.

  "Who are you?" Vin asked, stepping forward.

  "An enemy," he replied, holding up a hand to ward her back.

  Vin paused. Mist swirled between them on the quiet street. "Why, then, did you help me fight those assassins?"

  "Because," he said. "Im also insane. "

  Vin frowned, eyeing the man. She had seen insanity before in the eyes of beggars. This man was not insane. He stood proudly, eyes controlled as he regarded her in the darkness.

  What kind of game is he playing? she wondered.

  Her instincts—a lifetimes worth of instincts—warned her to be wary. She had only just learned to trust her friends, and she wasnt about to offer the same privilege to a man she had met in the night.

  And yet, it had been over a year since shed spoken with another Mistborn. There were conflicts within her that she couldnt explain to the others. Even Mistings, like Ham and Breeze, couldnt understand the strange dual life of a Mistborn. Part assassin, part bodyguard, part noblewoman. . . part confused, quiet girl. Did this man have similar troubles with his identity?

  Perhaps she could make an ally out of him, bringing a second Mistborn to the defense of the Central Dominance. Even if she couldnt, she certainly couldnt afford to fight him. A spar in the night was one thing, but if their contest grew dangerous, atium might come into play.

  If that happened, shed lose.

  The Watcher studied her with a careful eye. "Answer something for me," he said in the mists.

  Vin nodded.

  "Did you really kill Him?"

  "Yes," Vin whispered. There was only one person he could mean.

  He nodded slowly. "Why do you play their games?"

  "Whose games?"

  The Watcher gestured into the mists, toward Keep Venture.

  "Those arent games," Vin said. "Its no game when the people I love are in danger. "

  The Watcher stood quietly, then shook his head, as if. . . disappointed. Then, he pulled something from his sash.

  Vin jumped back immediately. The Watcher, however, simply flipped a coin to the ground between them. It bounced a couple of times, coming to a rest on the cobbles. Then, the Watcher Pushed himself backward into the air.

  Vin didnt follow. She reached up, rubbing her head; she still felt like she should have a headache.

  "Youre letting him go?" OreSeur asked.

  Vin nodded. "Were done for tonight. He fought well. "

  "You sound almost respectful," the kandra said.

  Vin turned, frowning at the hint of disgust in the kandras voice. OreSeur sat patiently, displaying no further emotion.

  She sighed, tying her belt around her waist. "Were going to need to come up with a harness or something for you," she said. "I want you to carry extra metal vials for me, like you did as a human. "

  "A harness wont be necessary, Mistress," OreSeur said.

  "Oh?"

  OreSeur rose, padding forward. "Please get out one of your vials. "

  Vin did as requested, pulling out a small glass vial. OreSeur stopped, then turned one shoulder toward her. As she watched, the fur parted and the flesh itself split, showing forth veins and layers of skin. Vin pulled back a bit.

  "There is no need to be worried, Mistress," OreSeur said. "My flesh is not like your own. I have more. . . control over it, you might say. Place the metal vial inside my shoulder. "

  Vin did as asked. The flesh sealed around the vial, obscuring it from view. Experimentally, Vin burned iron. No blue lines appeared pointing toward the hidden vial. Metal inside of a persons stomach couldnt be affected by another Allomancer; indeed, metal piercing a body, like Inquisitor spikes or Vins own earring, couldnt be Pushed or Pulled by someone else. Apparently, the same rule applied to metals hidden within a kandra.

  "I will deliver this to you in an emergency," OreSeur said.

  "Thank you," Vin said.

  "The Contract, Mistress. Do not give me thanks. I do only what I am required. "

  Vin nodded slowly. "Lets go back to the palace, then," she said. "I want to check on Elend. "

  But, let me begin at the beginning. I met Alendi first in Khlennium; he was a young lad then, and had not yet been warped by a decade spent leading armies.

  9

  MARSH HAD CHANGED. THERE WAS something. . . harder about the former Seeker. Something in the way he always seemed to be staring at things Sazed couldnt see, something in his blunt responses and terse language.

  Of course, Marsh had always been a straightforward man. Sazed eyed his friend as the two strode down the dusty highway. They had no horses; even if Sazed had possessed one, most beasts wouldnt go near an Inquisitor.

  What did Spook say that Marshs nickname was? Sazed thought to himself as they walked. Before his transformation, they used to call him. . . Ironeyes. The name that had turned out to be chillingly prophetic. Most of the others found Marshs transformed state discomforting, and had left him isolated. Though Marsh hadnt seemed to mind the treatment, Sazed had made a special effort to befriend the man.

  He still didnt know if Marsh appreciated the gesture or not. They did seem to get along well; both shared an interest in scholarship and history, and both were interested in the religious climate of the Final Empire.

  And, he did come looking for me, Sazed thought. Of course, he did claim that he wanted help in case the Inquisitors werent all gone from the Conventical of Seran. It was a weak excuse. Despite his powers as a Feruchemist, Sazed was no warrior.

  "You should be in Luthadel," Marsh said.

  Sazed looked up. Marsh had spoken bluntly, as usual, without preamble. "Why do you say that?" Sazed asked.

  "They need you there. "

  "The rest of the Final Empire has need of me too, Marsh. I am a Keeper—one group of people should not be able to monopolize all of my time. "

  Marsh shook his head. "These peasants, they will forget your passing. No one will forget the things that will soon happen in the Central Dominance. "

  "You would be surprised, I think, at what men can forget. Wars and kingdoms may seem important now, but even the Final Empire proved mortal. Now that it has fallen, the Keepers have no business being involved in politics. " Most would say we never had any business being involved in politics at all.

  Marsh turned toward him. Those eyes, sockets filled entirely with steel. Sazed did not shiver, but he felt distinctly uncomfortable.

  "And your friends?" Marsh asked.

  This touched on something more personal. Sazed looked away, thinking of Vin, and of his vow to Kelsier that he would protect her. She needs little protection now, he thought. Shes grown more adept at Allomancy than even Kelsier was. And yet, Sazed knew that there were modes of protection that didnt relate to fighting. These things—support, counsel, kindness—were vital to every person, and most especially to Vin. So much rested on that poor girls shoulders.

  "I have. . . sent help," Sazed said. "What help I can. "

  "Not good enough," Marsh said. "The things happening in Luthadel are too important to ignore. "

  "I am not ignoring them, Marsh," Sazed said. "I am simply performing my duty as best I can. "

  Marsh finally turned away. "The wrong duty. You will return to Luthadel once we are finished here. "

  Sazed opened his mouth to argue, but said not
hing. What was there to say? Marsh was right. Though he had no proof, Sazed knew that there were important things happening in Luthadel—things that would require his aid to fight. Things that likely affected the future of the entire land once known as the Final Empire.

  So, he closed his mouth and trudged after Marsh. He would return to Luthadel, proving himself a rebel once again. Perhaps, in the end, he would realize that there was no ghostly threat facing the world—that he had simply returned because of his own selfish desire to be with his friends.

  In fact, he hoped that proved to be the truth. The alternative made him very uncomfortable.

  Alendis height struck me the first time I saw him. Here was a man who towered over others, a man who—despite his youth and his humble clothing—demanded respect.

  10

  THE ASSEMBLY HALL WAS in the former Steel Ministry Canton of Finance headquarters. It was a low-ceilinged space, more of a large lecture room than an assembly hall. There were rows of benches fanning out in front of a raised stage. On the right side of the stage, Elend had constructed a tier of seats for the Assembly members. On the left of the stage, he had constructed a single lectern for speakers.

  The lectern faced the Assemblymen, not the crowd. The common people were, however, encouraged to attend. Elend thought that everyone should be interested in the workings of their government; it pained him that the Assemblys weekly meetings usually had a small audience.

  Vins seat was on the stage, but at the back, directly opposite the audience. From her vantage with the other bodyguards, she would look past the lectern toward the crowd. Another row of Hams guards—in regular clothing—sat in the first row of the audience, providing a first line of protection. Elend had balked at Vins demands to having guards both in front of the stage and behind it—he thought that bodyguards sitting right behind the speakers would be distracting. Ham and Vin, however, had insisted. If Elend was going to stand up in front of a crowd every week, Vin wanted to be certain she could keep a close eye on him—and on those watching him.

  Getting to her chair, therefore, required Vin to walk across the stage. Stares followed her. Some of the watching crowd were interested in the scandal; they assumed that she was Elends mistress, and a king sleeping with his personal assassin made for good gossip. Others were interested in the politics; they wondered how much influence Vin had over Elend, and whether they could use her to get the kings ear. Still others were curious about the growing legends; they wondered if a girl like Vin could really have slain the Lord Ruler.

  Vin hurried her pace. She passed the Assemblymen and found her seat next to Ham, who—despite the formal occasion—still wore a simple vest with no shirt. Sitting next to him in her trousers and shirt, Vin didnt feel quite so out of place.

  Ham smiled, clapping her affectionately on the shoulder. She had to force herself not to jump at the touch. It wasnt that she disliked Ham—quite the opposite, actually. She loved him as she did all of the former members of Kelsiers band. It was just that. . . well, she had trouble explaining it, even to herself. Hams innocent gesture made her want to squirm. It seemed to her that people shouldnt be so casual with the way that they touched others.

  She pushed those thoughts away. She had to learn to be like other people. Elend deserved a woman who was normal.