The Hero of Ages

Page 26

  Steel met wood, and the steel won, Spooks weapon breaking. However, it stopped the sword strike long enough for Spook to duck away and grab a fallen warriors sword. It was different from the swords hed practiced with—the men of Urteau preferred long, thin blades. Still, Spook only had one soldier left—if he could cut the man down, hed be free.

  Spooks opponent seemed to realize that he had the advantage. If Spook ran, it would expose his back to attack. However, if Spook stayed, hed soon be overwhelmed. The soldier circled warily, trying to stall for time.

  So, Spook attacked. He raised his blade, trusting in his enhanced senses to compens1ate for the difference in training. The soldier raised his weapon to parry as Spook swung.

  Spooks sword froze in the air.

  Spook stumbled, trying to force the weapon forward, but it was strangely held in place—as if he were trying to push it through something solid, rather than air. It was as if . . .

  Someone was Pushing against it. Allomancy. Spook glanced desperately around him, and immediately found the source of the power. The person Pushing had to be directly opposite Spook, for Allomancers could only Push away from themselves.

  Quellion, the Citizen, had joined his sister. The Citizen met Spooks gaze, and Spook could see effort in the mans eyes as he clutched his sister, using her weight for support as he Pushed against Spooks sword, interfering in the battle as Kelsier himself once had, long ago when visiting the caverns where his army trained.

  Spook dropped the weapon, letting it fly backward out of his hands, then threw himself to the ground. He felt the draft of an enemy sword swinging overhead, narrowly missing him. His own weapon clanged to the ground a short distance from him, its ringing loud in his ears.

  He didnt have time to gather his breath; he could only push himself up to dodge the soldiers follow-up blow. Fortunately, Spook wasnt wearing any metal that Quellion could Push against to influence the fight any further. That was a habit that Spook was glad hed never lost.

  The only choice was to run. He couldnt fight, not with an Allomancer interfering. He turned while the soldier prepared another swing. Then, Spook threw himself forward, getting inside the soldiers guard. He ducked under the mans arm and dashed to the side, hoping to run past and leave the soldier confused.

  Something caught his foot.

  Spook spun. At first, he assumed that Quellion was Pulling on him somehow. Then, he saw that the soldier on the ground—the first one hed dropped—had grabbed his foot.

  I hit that man in the head twice! Spook thought with frustration. Theres no way hes still conscious!

  The hand squeezed his foot, yanking Spook backward with an inhuman strength. With strength like that, the man had to be a Thug—a pewter burner, like Ham.

  Spook was in serious trouble.

  Spook kicked, managing to break free, then stumbled to his feet. But a Thug would have the power of pewter—hed be able to run faster, and farther, than Spook.

  Two Allomancers, counting the Citizen himself, Spook thought. Somebody isnt as disdainful of noble blood as he claims!

  The two soldiers advanced on him. Yelling in frustration—hearing his own heart thump like a pounding drum—Spook threw himself at the Thug and grappled the man, taking him by surprise. In that moment of confusion, Spook spun him around, using the Thugs body like a shield to protect himself from the third soldier.

  He hadnt counted on the Citizens brutal training. Quellion always spoke of sacrifice and necessity. Apparently, this philosophy extended to his soldiers, for the man with the sword rammed his weapon straight through his friends back, piercing his heart and driving the weapon directly into Spooks chest. It was a move only a man with the strength and precision of a Thug could have performed.

  Three Allomancers, Spook thought, dazed, as th1e soldier tried to pull his sword free from two bodies. The body of the dead man was a weight that finally snapped the blade.

  How did I even survive this long? They must have been trying not to reveal their powers. Trying to remain hidden from the population. . . .

  Spook stumbled backward, feeling blood on his chest. Oddly, he didnt feel pain. His heightened senses should have made the pain so powerful that—

  It hit. Everything went black.

  The subtlety displayed in the ash-eating microbes and enhanced plants shows that Rashek got better and better at using the power. It burned out in a matter of minutes—but to a god, minutes can pass like hours. During that time, Rashek began as an ignorant child who shoved a planet too close to the sun, grew into an adult who could create ashmounts to cool the air, then finally became a mature artisan who could develop plants and creatures for specific purposes.

  It also shows his mind-set during his time with Preservations power. Under its influence he was obviously in a protective mode. Instead of leveling the ashmounts and trying to push the planet back into place, he was reactive, working furiously to fix problems that he himself had caused.

  17

  ELEND RODE AT THE FRONT OF HIS MEN, astride a brilliant white stallion that had been scrubbed clean of ash. He turned his mount, looking over the ranks of nervous soldiers. They waited in the evening light, and Elend could see their terror. They had heard rumors, then had those rumors confirmed by Elend the day before. Today, his army would become immunized to the mists.

  Elend rode through their ranks, General Demoux riding a roan stallion beside him. Both horses were big destriers, brought on the trip to impress more than for usefulness. Elend and the other officers would spend most of the trip riding in canal boats, rather than on horseback.

  He didnt worry about the morality of his decision to expose his forces to the mists—at least, he didnt worry about it at that moment. Elend had learned something very important about himself: He was honest. Perhaps too honest. If he was uncertain, it would show in his face. The soldiers would sense his hesitation. So hed learned to confine his worries and concerns to times when he was only with those closest to him. That meant Vin saw too much of his brooding. However, it left him free at other times to project confidence.

  He moved quickly, letting his horses hooves beat a thunder for the men to hear. Occasionally, he heard captains call out for their men to be firm. Even so, Elend saw the anxiety in his soldiers eyes. And could he blame them? This day, the men would face an enemy that they could not fight, and could not resist. Within the hour, seven hundred of them would lay dead. About one in fifty. Not bad odds, on a grand scale—but that meant little to a man standing and feeling the mist creep around him.

  The men stood their ground. Elend was proud of them. He had given those who wished it the opportunity to return to Luthadel instead of facing the mists. He still needed troops in the capital, and hed rather not march with men unwilling to go into the mists. Almost none had gone. The vast majority had instead lined up in full ranks without having to be ordered, wearing full battle gear, armor polished and oiled, uniforms looking as clean as possible in the ash-stained wilderness. It seemed right to Elend for them to be in their armor. It made them seem as if they were going to battle—and, i1n a way, they were.

  They trusted him. They knew that the mists were advancing toward Luthadel, and understood the importance of capturing the cities with storage caverns. They believed in Elends ability to do something to save their families.

  Their trust made him even more determined. He reined in his horse, turning the massive beast beside a rank of soldiers. He flared pewter, making his body stronger, giving more power to his lungs, then Rioted the emotions of the men to make them braver.

  "Be strong!" he shouted.

  Heads turned toward him, and the clanking of armor hushed. His own voice was so loud in his ears that he had to dampen his tin. "These mists will strike down some of us. However, most of us will be untouched—and most who fall will recover! Then, none of us need fear the mists again. We cannot arrive at Fadrex City without having inoculated ourselves! If we did so, we would risk being attacke
d in the morning, when we are hiding in our tents. Our enemies would force us out into the mists anyway, and we would have to fight with a sixth of our men shaking on the ground from sickness!"

  He turned his horse, Demoux following behind, and moved along the ranks. "I do not know why the mists kill. But I trust in the Survivor! He named himself Lord of the Mists. If some of us die, then it is his will. Stay strong!"

  His reminders seemed to have some effect. The soldiers stood a little straighter, facing west, toward where the sun would soon set. Elend reined in again, sitting tall and letting himself be seen.

  "They look strong, my lord," Demoux said quietly, moving his horse up beside Elends. "It was a good speech. "

  Elend nodded.

  "My lord . . . " Demoux said, "did you mean what you said about the Survivor?"

  "Of course I did. "

  "Im sorry, my lord," Demoux said. "I didnt mean to question your faith, its just that . . . well, you dont have to keep up the charade of belief, if you dont want to. "

  "I gave my word, Demoux," Elend said, frowning and glancing at the scarred general. "I do what I say. "

  "I believe you, my lord," Demoux said. "You are an honorable man. "

  "But?"

  Demoux paused. "But . . . if you dont really believe in the Survivor, I dont think he would want you speaking in his name. "

  Elend opened his mouth to reprimand Demoux for his lack of respect, but stopped himself. The man spoke with honesty, from his heart. That wasnt the kind of thing to punish.

  Besides, he might have had a point. "I dont know what I believe, Demoux," Elend said, looking back at the field of soldiers. "Certainly not in the Lord Ruler. Sazeds religions have been dead for centuries, and even he has stopped talking about them. It seems to me that leaves the Church of the Survivor as the only real option. "

  "With all due respect, my lord," Demoux said. "Thats not a very strong profession of faith. "

  "Im having trouble with faith lately, Demoux," Elend said, looking up, watching flakes of ash drift through the air. "My last god was killed by the woman I eventually married—a woman you claim as a religious figure, but who spurns your devotion. "

  Demoux nodded quietly.

  "I dont reject your god, Demoux," Elend said. "I meant what I said—I think having faith in Kelsier is better than the alternatives. And, considering whats going to be coming at us in the next few months, Id rather believe that something—anything—is out there helping us. "

  They were quiet for a few moments.

  "I know that the Lady Heir objects to our worship of the Survivor, my lord," Demoux finally said. "She knew him, as did I. What she doesnt understand is that the Survivor has become so much more than just the man Kelsier. "

  Elend frowned. "That sounds like you calculatedly made him a god, Demoux—that you believe in him as a symbol only. "

  Demoux shook his head. "Im saying that Kelsier was a man, but a man who gained something—a mantle, a portion of something eternal and immortal. When he died, he wasnt just Kelsier, the crewleader. Dont you think it odd that he was never Mistborn before he went to the Pits?"

  "Thats the way Allomancy works, Demoux," Elend said. "You dont gain your powers until you Snap—until you face something traumatic, something that nearly kills you. "