The Hero of Ages

by Brandon Sanderson

Page 95

  "Impossible," Ruin whispered.

  "No," Vin said. "Quite possible. Atium is metal, Ruin. You cant see it. Your vision gets fuzzy when too much of it is around, doesnt it? Metal is your power; you use it to make Inquisitors, but its like light to you—blinding. You never saw when we actually discovered the atium. You just followed along with our ruse. "

  Marsh let go of Yomen, then rushed across the room, grabbing Vin by the arms.

  "WHERE IS IT!" the Inquisitor demanded, lifting her, shaking her.

  She laughed, distracting Marsh as she carefully reached for his sash. Marsh shook her too much, however, and her fingers couldnt find their mark.

  "You will tell me where the atium is, child," Ruin said calmly. "Havent I explained this? There is no fighting against me. You think yourself clever, perhaps, but you really dont understand. You dont even know what that atium is. "

  Vin shook her head. "You think Id actually lead you to it?"

  Marsh shook her again, rattling her, making her grit her teeth. When he stopped, her vision swam. To the side, she could barely make out Yomen watching with a frown. "Yomen," she said. "Your people are safe now—can you not finally trust that Elend is a good man?"

  Marsh tossed her aside. She hit hard, rolling.

  "Ah, child," Ruin said, kneeling down beside her. "Must I prove that you cannot fight me?"

  "Yomen!" Marsh said, turning. "Prepare your men. I want you to order an assault!"

  "What?" Yomen said. "My lord, an assault?"

  "Yes," Marsh said. "I want you to take all of your soldiers and have them attack Elend Ventures position. "

  Yomen paled. "Leave behind our fortifications? Charge an army of koloss?"

  "That is my order," Marsh said. Yomen stood quietly for a moment.

  "Yomen . . . " Vin said, crawling to her knees. "Dont you see that hes manipulating you?"

  Yomen didnt respond. He looked troubled. What would make him even consider an order like that?

  "You see," Ruin whispered. "You see my power? You see how I manipulate even their faith?"

  "Give the order," Yomen said, turning from Vin, facing his soldier captains. "Have the men attack. Tell them that the Lord Ruler will protect them. "

  "Well," Ham said, standing beside Elend in the camp. "I didnt expect that. "

  Elend nodded slowly, watching the flood of men pour through the Fadrex gateway. Some stumbled in the deep ash; others pushed their way forward, their charge hampered to a slow crawl.

  "Some stayed back," Elend said, pointing up at the wall top. Not having tin, Ham wouldnt be able to see the men who lined the wall, but hed trust Elends words. Around them, Elends human soldiers were breaking camp. The koloss still waited silently in their positions, surrounding the camp.

  "What is Yomen thinking?" Ham asked. "Hes throwing an inferior force against an army of koloss?"

  Like we did, attacking the koloss camp back in Vetitan. Something about it made Elend very uncomfortable.

  "Retreat," Elend said.

  "Huh?" Ham asked.

  "I said sound the retreat!" Elend said. "Abandon position. Pull the soldiers back!"

  At his silent command, the koloss began to charge away from the city. Yomens soldiers were still pushing their way through the ash. Elends koloss, however, would clear the way for his men. They should be able to stay ahead.

  "Strangest retreat Ive ever seen," Ham noted, but moved back to give the orders.

  Thats it, Elend thought in annoyance. Its time to figure out what the hell is going on in that city.

  Yomen was crying. They were small, quiet tears. He stood straight-backed, not facing the window.

  He fears that hes ordered his men to their deaths, Vin thought. She moved up to him, limping slightly from where shed hit the ground. Marsh stood watching out the window. Ruin eyed her curiously.

  "Yomen," she said.

  Yomen turned toward her. "Its a test," he said. "The Inquisitors are the Lord Rulers most holy priests. Ill do as commanded, and the Lord Ruler will protect my men and this city. Then you will see. "

  Vin gritted her teeth. Then, she turned and forced herself to walk up beside Marsh. She glanced out the window—and was surprised to see that Elends army was retreating away from Yomens soldiers. Yomens force wasnt running with very much conviction. Obviously, they were content to let their superior enemy run away before them. The sun was finally setting.

  Marsh did not seem to find Elends retreat amusing. That was enough to make Vin smile—which made Marsh grab her again.

  "You think you have won?" Marsh asked, leaning down, his uneven spikeheads hanging just before Vins face.

  Vin reached for his sash. Just a little farther. . . .

  "You claim to have been playing with me, child," Ruin said, stepping up next to her. "But you are the one who has been played. The koloss who serve you, they get their strength from my power. You think that I would let you control them if it werent for my eventual gain?"

  Vin felt a moment of chill.

  Oh, no. . . .

  Elend felt a terrible ripping sensation. It was like a part of his innards had been suddenly, and forcibly, pulled away from him. He gasped, releasing his Steelpush. He fell through the ash-filled sky, and landed unevenly on a rock shelf outside of Fadrex City.

  He gasped, breathing in and out, trembling.

  What in the hell was that? he thought, standing up, holding his thumping head.

  And then he realized it. He couldnt feel the koloss anymore. In the distance, the massive blue creatures stopped running away. And then, to Elends horror, he watched them turn around.

  They began to charge his men.

  Marsh held her. "Hemalurgy is his power, Vin!" he said. "The Lord Ruler used it unwittingly! The fool! Each time he built an Inquisitor or a koloss, he made another servant for his enemy! Ruin waited patiently, knowing that when he finally broke free, hed have an entire army waiting for him!"

  Yomen was at another window. He gasped quietly, watching. "You did deliver my men!" the obligator said. "The koloss have turned to attack their own army!"

  "Theyll come after your men next, Yomen," Vin said, dizzily. "Then theyll destroy your city. "

  "It is ending," Ruin whispered. "Everything needs to fit into place. Where is the atium? Its the last piece. "

  Marsh shook her. She finally managed to reach his sash—and slipped her fingers into it. Fingers trained by her brother, and by a lifetime on the street.

  The fingers of a thief.

  "You cant fool me, Vin," Ruin said. "I am God. "

  Marsh raised one hand—releasing her arm—then raised a fist as if to hit her. He moved with power, pewter obviously burning inside of him. He was an Allomancer, like all Inquisitors. Which meant he tended to keep metals on his person. Vin flipped her hand up and downed the vial of metals shed stolen from his sash.

  Marsh froze, and Ruin fell silent.

  Vin smiled.

  Pewter flared in her stomach, restoring her to life. Marsh moved to complete his slap, but she pulled out of the way, then yanked him off balance by pulling her other arm—which he still held—to the side. He hung on, barely, but when he turned to face Vin, he found her holding her earring in one hand.

  And she duralumin-Pushed it directly into his forehead. It was a tiny bit of metal, but it threw up a drop of blood as it hit, ripping through his head and passing out the other side.

  Marsh dropped, and Vin was thrown backward by her own Push. She crashed into the wall, causing soldiers to scatter and yell, raising weapons. Yomen turned toward her, surprised.

  "Yomen!" she said. "Bring your men back! Fortify the city!" Ruin had disappeared in the chaos of her escape. Perhaps he 1was out overseeing the control of the koloss.

  Yomen seemed indecisive. "I . . . No. I will not lose faith. I must be strong. "

  Vin gritted her tee
th, climbing to her feet. Nearly as frustrating as Elend is at times, she thought, scrambling over to Marshs body. She reached into his sash, pulling out the second—and final—vial he had stored there. She downed this, restoring the metals shed lost to duralumin.

  Then, she hopped up on the windowsill. Mist puffed around her—the sun was still up, but the mists were arriving earlier and earlier. Outside, she could see Elends forces beleaguered by rampaging koloss on one side, Yomens soldiers not attacking—yet blocking retreat—on the other. She moved to jump out and join the fight, and then she noticed something.

  A small group of koloss. A thousand in number, small enough to apparently have been ignored by both Elends forces and Yomens. Even Ruin appeared to have paid them no heed, for they simply stood in the ash, partially buried, like a collection of quiet stones.

  Vins koloss. The ones that Elend had given her, Human at their lead. With a devious smile, she ordered them forward.

  To attack Yomens men.

  "Im telling you, Yomen," she said, hopping off of the windowsill and back into the room. "Those koloss dont care which side the humans are on—theyll kill anyone. The Inquisitors have gone mad, now that the Lord Ruler is dead. Didnt you pay any attention to what this one said?"

  Yomen looked thoughtful.

  "He even admitted that the Lord Ruler was dead, Yomen," Vin said with exasperation. "Your faith is commendable. But sometimes, you just have to know when to give up and move on!"

  One of the soldier captains yelled something, and Yomen spun back toward the window. He cursed.

  Immediately, Vin felt something. Something Pulling on her koloss. She cried out as they were yanked away from her, but the damage had been done. Yomen looked troubled. Hed seen the koloss attack his soldiers. He looked into Vins eyes, silent for a moment. "Retreat into the city!" he finally yelled, turning to his messengers. "And order the men to allow Ventures soldiers refuge inside as well!"

  Vin sighed in relief. And then, something grabbed her leg. She looked down with shock as Marsh climbed to his knees. She had sliced through his brain itself, but the amazing Inquisitor healing powers seemed to be able to deal even with that.

  "Fool," Marsh said, standing. "Even if Yomen turns against me, I can kill him, and his soldiers will follow me. Hes given them a belief in the Lord Ruler, and I hold that belief by right of inheritance. "

  Vin took a deep breath, then hit Marsh with a duralumin-Soothing. If it worked on koloss and kandra, why not Inquisitors?

  Marsh stumbled. Vins Push lasted a brief moment, but during it she felt something. A wall, like shed felt the first time shed tried to control TenSoon or the first time shed taken control of a group of koloss.

  She Pushed, Pushed with everything she had. In a burst of power, she came close to seizing control of Marshs body, but not close enough. The wall within his mind was too strong, and she only had one vials worth of metal to use. The wall shoved her back. She cried out in frustration.

  Marsh reached out, growling, an1d grabbed her by the neck. She gasped, eyes widening as Marsh began to grow in size. Getting stronger, like . . .

  A Feruchemist, she realized. Im in serious trouble.