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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