The Hero of Ages

Page 84

  "Both with a promise," Ruin said. "My promise was to work with him to create you—life that thinks, life that loves. "

  "And his promise?" Vin asked, fearing that she knew the answer.

  "That I could destroy you eventually," Ruin said softly. "And I have come to claim what was promised me. The only point in creating something is to watch it die. Like a story that must come to a climax, what I have done will not be fulfilled until the end has arrived. "

  It cant be true, Vin thought. Preservation. If he really represents a power in the universe, then he couldnt really have been destroyed, could he?

  "I know what you are thinking," Ruin said. "You cannot enlist Preservations power. He is dead. He couldnt kill me, you see. He could only imprison me. "

  Yes. I figured that last part out already. You really cant read my mind, can you?

  Ruin continued. "It was a villainous act, I must say. Preservation tried to escape our bargain. Would you not call that an evil deed? It is as I said before—good and evil have little to do with ruin or preservation. An evil man will protect that which he desires as surely as a good man. "

  But something is keeping Ruin from destroying the world now, she thought. For all his words about stories and endings, he is not a force that would wait for an "appropriate" moment. There is more to this, mor1e that Im not understanding.

  What is holding him back?

  "Ive come to you," Ruin said, "because I want you, at least, to watch and see. To know. For it has come. "

  Vin perked up. "What? The end?"

  Ruin nodded.

  "How long?" Vin asked.

  "Days," Ruin said. "But not weeks. "

  Vin felt a chill, realizing something. He had come to her, finally revealing himself, because she was captured. He thought that there was no further chance for mankind. He assumed that he had won.

  Which means that there is a way to beat him, she thought with determination. And it involves me. But I cant do it here, or he wouldnt have come to gloat.

  And that meant she had to get free. Quickly.

  Once you begin to understand these things, you can see how Ruin was trapped even though Preservations mind was gone, expended to create the prison. Though Preservations consciousness was mostly destroyed, his spirit and body were still in force. And, as an opposite force of Ruin, these could still prevent Ruin from destroying.

  Or, at least, keep him from destroying things too quickly. Once his mind was "freed" from its prison the destruction accelerated quickly.

  58

  "THROW YOUR WEIGHT HERE," Sazed said, pointing at a wooden lever. "The counterweights will fall, swinging down all four floodgates and stemming the flow into the cavern. I warn you, however—the explosion of water above will be rather spectacular. We should be able to fill the citys canals in a matter of hours, and I suspect that a portion of the northern city will be flooded. "

  "To dangerous levels?" Spook asked.

  "I do not think so," Sazed said. "The water will burst out through the conduits in the interchange building beside us. Ive inspected the equipment there, and it appears sound. The water should flow directly into the canals, and from there exit the city. Either way, I would not want to be in those streetslots when this water comes. The current will be quite swift. "

  "Ive taken care of that," Spook said. "Durn is going to make certain the people know to be clear of the waterways. "

  Sazed nodded. Spook couldnt help but be impressed. The complicated construct of wood, gears, and wire looked like it should have taken months to build, not weeks. Large nets of rocks weighed down the four gates, which hung, ready to block off the river.

  "This is amazing, Saze," Spook said. "With a sign as spectacular as the reappearance of the canal waters, the people will be certain to listen to us instead of the Citizen. " Breeze and Durns men had been working hard over the last few weeks, whispering to the people to watch for a miracle from the Survivor of the Flames. Something extraordinary, something to prove—once and for all—who was the rightful master of the city.

  "It is the best I could do," Sazed said with a modest bow of the head. "The seals wont be perfectly tight, of course. However, that should matter little. "

  "Men?" Spook said, turning to four of Goradels soldiers. "You understand what you are to do?"

  "Yes, sir," t1he lead soldier said. "We wait for a messenger, then throw the lever there. "

  "If no messenger comes," Spook said, "throw the switch at nightfall. "

  "And," Sazed said, raising a finger, "dont forget to twist the sealing mechanism in the other room, plugging the water flow out of this chamber. Otherwise, the lake will eventually empty. Better that we keep this reservoir full, just in case. "

  "Yes, sir," the soldier said with a nod.

  Spook turned, looking back over the cavern. Soldiers bustled about, preparing. He was going to need most of them for the nights activities. They looked eager—theyd spent too long holed up in the cavern and the building above. To the side, Beldre regarded Sazeds contraption with interest. Spook broke away from the soldiers, approaching her with a quick step.

  "Youre really going to do it?" she said. "Return the water to the canals?"

  Spook nodded.

  "I sometimes imagined what it would be like to have the waters back," she said. "The city wouldnt feel as barren—it would become important, like it was during the early days of the Final Empire. All those beautiful waterways. No more ugly gashes in the ground. "

  "It will be a wonderful sight," Spook said, smiling.

  Beldre just shook her head. "It . . . amazes me that you can be such different people at the same time. How can the man who would do such a beautiful thing for my city also plan such destruction?"

  "Beldre, Im not planning to destroy your city. "

  "Just its government. "

  "I do what needs to be done. "

  "Men say that so easily," Beldre said. "Yet, everybody seems to have a different opinion of what needs to be done. "

  "Your brother had his chance," Spook said.

  Beldre looked down. She still carried with her the letter theyd received earlier in the day—a response from Quellion. Beldres plea had been heartfelt, but the Citizen had responded with insults, implying that she had been forced to write the words because she was being held prisoner.

  I do not fear a usurper, the letter read. I am protected by the Survivor himself. You will not have this city, tyrant.

  Beldre looked up. "Dont do it," she whispered. "Give him more time. Please. "

  Spook hesitated.

  "There is no more time," Kelsier whispered. "Do what must be done. "

  "Im sorry," Spook said, turning from her. "Stay with the soldiers—Im leaving four men to guard you. Not to keep you from fleeing, though they will do that. I want you inside this cavern. I cant promise that the streets will be safe. "

  He heard her sniffle quietly behind him. He left her standing there, then walked toward the gathering group of soldiers. One man brought Spook his dueling canes and singed cloak. Goradel stood at the front of his soldiers, looking proud. "Were ready, my lord. "

  Breeze walked up beside him, shaking his head, dueling cane tapping the ground. He sighed. "Well, here we go again. . . . "

  The evenings occasion was a speech Quellion had been publicizing for some time. He had stopped executions recently, as if finally re1alizing that the deaths were contributing to the instability of his rule. He apparently intended to swing back toward benevolence, holding rallies, emphasizing the wonderful things he was doing for the city.

  Spook walked alone, a little ahead of Breeze, Allrianne, and Sazed, who chatted behind. Some of Goradels soldiers followed as well, wearing common Urteau garb. Spook had split their force, sending it by different paths. It wasnt dark yet—to Spook the falling sun was bright, forcing him to wear his blindfold and spectacles. Q
uellion liked to hold his speeches in the evening, so that the mists arrived during them. He liked the implied connection to the Survivor.

  A figure hobbled out of a side streetslot next to Spook. Durn walked with a stooped posture, a cloak obscuring his figure. Spook respected the twisted mans insistence on leaving the security of the Harrows, going out to run jobs himself. Perhaps that was why hed ended up as leader of the citys underground.

  "People are gathering, as expected," Durn said, coughing quietly. "Some of your soldiers are already there. "

  Spook nodded.

  "Things are . . . unsettled in the city," Durn said. "It worries me. Segments I cant control have already started looting some of the prohibited noble mansions. My men are all busy trying to get people out of the streetslots. "

  "It will be all right," Spook said. "Most of the populace will be at the speech. "

  Durn was silent for a moment. "Word is that Quellion is going to use his speech to denounce you, then finally order an attack on the Ministry building where youre staying. "

  "Its a good thing we wont be there, then," Spook said. "He shouldnt have withdrawn his soldiers, even if he did need them to keep order in the city. "

  Durn nodded.

  "What?" Spook said.

  "I just hope you can handle this, lad. Once this night is through, the city will be yours. Treat it better than Quellion did. "

  "I will," Spook said.

  "My men will create a disturbance for you at the meeting. Farewell. " Durn took the next left, disappearing down another streetslot alleyway.

  Ahead, the crowds were already gathering. Spook put up the hood of his cloak, keeping his eyes obscured as he wove his way through the crowd. He quickly left Sazed and the others behind, pushing his way up a ramp to the old city square—the place Quellion had chosen for his speech. His men had erected a wooden stage, from which the Citizen could face the crowd. The speech was already in progress. Spook stopped just a short distance away from a guard patrol. Many of Quellions soldiers surrounded the stage, eyeing the crowd.

  Minutes passed, and Spook spent them listening to Quellions voice ring, yet paying no attention to the words. Ash fell around him, dusting the crowd. Mists began to twist in the air.

  He listened, listened with ears no other man had. He used Allomancys strange ability to filter and ignore—hearing through the chatter and whispers and shuffles and coughs, just as he could somehow see through the obscuring mists. He heard the city. Yells in the distance.

  It was beginning.

  "Too fast!" a voice whispered, a beggar moving up to Spooks side. "Durn sends word. Riots in the streets, ones he didnt start! Durn cannot control them. My lord, 1the city is beginning to burn!"

  "It was a night not unlike this one," another voice whispered. Kelsiers voice. "A glorious night. When I took the city of Luthadel, and made it mine. "

  A disturbance began at the back of the crowd; Durns men were causing their distraction. Some of Quellions guards pulled away to quell this nearby riot. The Citizen continued to shout his accusations. Spook heard his own name in Quellions words, but the context was simply noise.