The Well of Ascension Read online

Page 3

  The "Coinshot" pulled a hidden glass dagger from his waist, charging at Vin ahead of the Thugs, who were getting close. Vin paused for just a moment—regretting her decision, but seeing its inevitability.

  The men had hidden a Mistborn among their numbers. A Mistborn like Vin, a person who could burn all ten metals. A Mistborn who had been waiting for the right moment to strike at her, to catch her unprepared.

  He would have atium, and there was only one way to fight someone who had atium. It was the ultimate Allomantic metal, usable only by full Mistborn, and it could easily decide the fate of a battle. Each bead was worth a fortune—but what good was a fortune if she died?

  Vin burned her atium.

  The world around her seemed to change. Every moving object—swinging shutters, blowing ash, attacking Thugs, even trails of mist—shot out a translucent replica of itself. The replicas moved just in front of their real counterparts, showing Vin exactly what would happen a few moments in the future.

  Only the Mistborn was immune. Rather than shooting out a single atium shadow, he released dozens—the sign that he was burning atium. He paused just briefly. Vins own body would have just exploded with dozens of confusing atium shadows. Now that she could see the future, she could see what he was going to do. That, in turn, changed what she was going to do. That changed what he was going to do. And so, like the reflections in two mirrors facing each other, the possibilities continued into infinity. Neither had an advantage.

  Though their Mistborn paused, the four unfortunate Thugs continued to charge, having no way to know that Vin burned atium. Vin turned, standing beside the body of the fallen Smoker. With one foot, she kicked the soundsticks into the air.

  A Thug arrived, swinging. His diaphanous atium shadow of a staff blow passed through her body. Vin twisted, ducking to the side, and could feel the real staff pass over her ear. The maneuver seemed easy within the aura of atium.

  She snatched one of the soundsticks from the air, then slammed it up into the Thugs neck. She spun, catching the other soundstick, then twisted back and cracked it against the mans skull. He fell forward, groaning, and Vin spun again, easily dodging between two more staves.

  She smashed the noise sticks against the sides of a second Thugs head. They shattered—ringing with a hollow sound like that of a musicians beat—as the Thugs skull cracked.

  He fell, and did not move again. Vin kicked his staff into the air, then dropped the broken soundsticks and caught it. She spun, twisting the staff and tripping both remaining Thugs at once. In a fluid motion, she delivered two swift—yet powerful—blows to their faces.

  She fell to a crouch as the men died, holding the staff in one hand, her other hand resting against the mist-wetted cobbles. The Mistborn held back, and she could see uncertainty in his eyes. Power didnt necessarily mean competence, and his two best advantages—surprise and atium—had been negated.

  He turned, Pulling a group of coins up off the ground, then shot them. Not toward Vin—but toward OreSeur, who still stood in the mouth of an alleyway. The Mistborn obviously hoped that Vins concern for her servant would draw her attention away, perhaps letting him escape.

  He was wrong.

  Vin ignored the coins, dashing forward. Even as OreSeur cried out in pain—a dozen coins piercing his skin—Vin threw her staff at the Mistborns head. Once it left her fingers, however, its atium shadow became firm and singular.

  The Mistborn assassin ducked, dodging perfectly. The move distracted him long enough for her to close the distance, however. She needed to attack quickly; the atium bead shed swallowed had been small. It would burn out quickly. And, once it was gone, shed be exposed. Her opponent would have total power over her. He—

  Her terrified opponent raised his dagger. At that moment, his atium ran out.

  Vins predatory instincts reacted instantly, and she swung a fist. He raised an arm to block her blow, but she saw it coming, and she changed the direction of her attack. The blow took him square in the face. Then, with deft fingers, she snatched his glass dagger before it could fall and shatter. She stood and swung it through her opponents neck.

  He fell quietly.

  Vin stood, breathing heavily, the group of assassins dead around her. For just a moment, she felt overwhelming power. With atium, she was invincible. She could dodge any blow, kill any enemy.

  Her atium ran out.

  Suddenly, everything seemed to grow dull. The pain in her side returned to her mind, and she coughed, groaning. Shed have bruises—large ones. Perhaps some cracked ribs.

  But shed won again. Barely. What would happen when she failed? When she didnt watch carefully enough, or fight skillfully enough?

  Elend would die.

  Vin sighed, and looked up. He was still there, watching her from atop a roof. Despite a half-dozen chases spread across several months, shed never managed to catch him. Someday she would corner him in the night.

  But not today. She didnt have the energy. In fact, a part of her worried that hed strike her down. But. . . she thought. He saved me. I would have died if Id gotten too close to that hidden Mistborn. An instant of him burning atium with me unaware, and Id have found his daggers in my chest.

  The Watcher stood for a few more moments—wreathed, as always, in the curling mists. Then he turned, jumping away into the night. Vin let him go; she had to deal with OreSeur.

  She stumbled over to him, then paused. His nondescript body—in a servants trousers and shirt—had been pelted with coins, and blood seeped from the several wounds.

  He looked up at her. "What?" he asked.

  "I didnt expect there to be blood. "

  OreSeur snorted. "You probably didnt expect me to feel pain either. "

  Vin opened her mouth, then paused. Actually, she hadnt ever thought about it. Then she hardened herself. What right does this thing have to chastise me?

  Still, OreSeur had proven useful. "Thank you for throwing me the vial," she said.

  "It was my duty, Mistress," OreSeur said, grunting as he pulled his broken body up against the side of the alleyway. "I was charged with your protection by Master Kelsier. As always, I serve the Contract. "

  Ah, yes. The almighty Contract. "Can you walk?"

  "Only with effort, Mistress. The coins shattered several of these bones. I will need a new body. One of the assassins, perhaps?"

  Vin frowned. She glanced back toward the dead men, and her stomach twisted slightly at the gruesome sight of their fallen bodies. Shed killed them, eight men, with the cruel efficiency that Kelsier had trained in her.

  This is what I am, she thought. A killer, like those men. That was how it had to be. Someone had to protect Elend.

  However, the thought of OreSeur eating one of them—digesting the corpse, letting his strange kandra senses memorize the positioning of muscles, skin, and organs, so that he could reproduce them—sickened her.

  She glanced to the side, and saw the veiled scorn in OreSeurs eyes. They both knew what she thought of him eating human bodies. They both knew what he thought of her prejudice.

  "No," Vin said. "We wont use one of these men. "

  "Youll have to find me another body, then," OreSeur said. "The Contract states that I cannot be forced to kill men. "

  Vins stomach twisted again. Ill think of something, she thought. His current body was that of a murderer, taken after an execution. Vin was still worried that someone in the city would recognize the face.

  "Can you get back to the palace?" Vin asked.

  "With time," OreSeur said.

  Vin nodded, dismissing him, then turned back toward the bodies. Somehow she suspected that this night would mark a distinct turning point in the fate of the Central Dominance.

  Straffs assassins had done more damage than they would ever know. That bead of atium had been her last. The next time a Mistborn attacked her, she would be exposed.

  And would likely die as easily as the Mistborn shed
slain this night.

  My brethren ignore the other facts. They cannot connect the other strange things that are happening. They are deaf to my objections and blind to my discoveries.

  3

  ELEND DROPPED HIS PEN TO his desk with a sigh, then leaned back in his chair and rubbed his forehead.

  Elend figured that he knew as much about political theory as any living man. Hed certainly read more about economics, studied more about governments, and held more political debates than anyone he knew. He understood all the theories about how to make a nation stable and fair, and had tried to implement those in his new kingdom.

  He just hadnt realized how incredibly frustrating a parliamentary council would be.

  He stood up and walked over to get himself some chilled wine. He paused, however, as he glanced out his balcony doors. In the distance, a glowing haze shone through the mists. The campfires of his fathers army.

  He put down the wine. He was already exhausted, and the alcohol probably wouldnt help. I cant afford to fall asleep until I get this done! he thought, forcing himself to return to his seat. The Assembly would meet soon, and he needed to have the proposal finished tonight.

  Elend picked up the sheet, scanning its contents. His handwriting looked cramped even to him, and the page was scattered with crossed-out lines and notations—reflections of his frustration. Theyd known about the armys approach for weeks now, and the Assembly still quibbled about what to do.

  Some of its members wanted to offer a peace treaty; others thought they should simply surrender the city. Still others felt they should attack without delay. Elend feared that the surrender faction was gaining strength; hence his proposal. The motion, if passed, would buy him more time. As king, he already had prime right of parlay with a foreign dictator. The proposal would forbid the Assembly from doing anything rash until hed at least met with his father.

  Elend sighed again, dropping the sheet. The Assembly was only twenty-four men, but getting them to agree on anything was almost more challenging than any of the problems they argued about. Elend turned, looking past the solitary lamp on his desk, out through the open balcony doors and toward the fires. Overhead, he heard feet scuttling on the rooftop—Vin, going about her nightly rounds.

  Elend smiled fondly, but not even thinking of Vin could restore his good temper. That group of assassins she fought tonight. Can I use that somehow? Perhaps if he made the attack public, the Assembly would be reminded of the disdain Straff had for human life, and then be less likely to surrender the city to him. But. . . perhaps theyd also get frightened that hed send assassins after them, and be more likely to surrender.

  Sometimes Elend wondered if the Lord Ruler had been right. Not in oppressing the people, of course—but in retaining all of the power for himself. The Final Empire had been nothing if not stable. It had lasted a thousand years, weathering rebellions, maintaining a strong hold on the world.

  The Lord Ruler was immortal, though, Elend thought. Thats an advantage Ill certainly never have.

  The Assembly was a better way. By giving the people a parliament with real legal authority, Elend would craft a stable government. The people would have a king—a man to provide continuity, a symbol of unity. A man who wouldnt be tainted by the need to get reappointed. However, they would also have an Assembly—a council made up of their peers that could voice their concerns.