I brought out bad memories, Vin thought guiltily. No wonder he hates his father so much. She longed to do something to make him feel better.
“Elend,” she said, drawing his attention. “They’re just like us.”
He paused. “What?”
“The plantation skaa,” Vin said. “You asked me about them once. I was afraid, so I acted like a proper noblewoman—but you seemed disappointed when I didn’t have more to say.”
He leaned forward. “So, you did spend time with the skaa?”
Vin nodded. “A lot of time. Too much, if you ask my family. That might be why they sent me out here. I knew some of the skaa very well—one older man, in particular. He lost someone, a woman he loved, to a nobleman who wanted a pretty thing for the evening’s entertainment.”
“At your plantation?”
Vin shook her head quickly. “He ran away and came to my father’s lands.”
“And you hid him?” Elend asked with surprise. “Runaway skaa are supposed to be executed!”
“I kept his secret,” Vin said. “I didn’t know him for very long, but…well, I can promise you this, Elend: His love was as strong as that of any nobleman. Stronger than most of them here in Luthadel, certainly.”
“And intelligence?” Elend asked eagerly. “Did they seem…slow?”
“Of course not,” Vin snapped. “I should think, Elend Venture, that I knew several skaa more clever than yourself. They may not have education, but they’re still intelligent. And they’re angry.”
“Angry?” he asked.
“Some of them,” Vin said. “About the way they’re treated.”
“They know, then? About the disparities between us and them?”
“How could they not?” Vin said, reaching up to wipe her nose with the handkerchief. She paused, however, noting just how much makeup she had rubbed across it.
“Here,” Elend said, handing her his own handkerchief. “Tell me more. How do you know these things?”
“They told me,” Vin said. “They trusted me. I know that they’re angry because they would complain about their lives. I know they’re intelligent because of the things they keep hidden from the nobility.”
“Like what?”
“Like, the underground movement network,” Vin said. “Skaa help runaways travel the canals from plantation to plantation. The noblemen don’t notice because they never pay attention to skaa faces.”
“Interesting.”
“Plus,” Vin said, “there are the thieving crews. I figure that those skaa must be fairly clever if they’re able to hide from the obligators and the nobility, stealing from the Great Houses right beneath the Lord Ruler’s nose.”
“Yes, I know,” Elend said. “I wish I could meet one of them, to ask them how they hide so well. They must be fascinating people.”
Vin almost spoke further, but she held her tongue. I’ve probably said too much already.
Elend looked over at her. “You’re fascinating too, Valette. I should have known better than to assume you’d been corrupted by the rest of them. Perhaps you’ll be able to corrupt them instead.”
Vin smiled.
“But,” Elend said, rising. “I need to be leaving. I actually came to the party tonight for a specific purpose—some friends of mine are meeting together.”
That’s right! Vin thought. One of the men Elend met with before—the ones that Kelsier and Sazed thought it was strange that he would associate with—was a Hasting.
Vin stood as well, handing Elend back his handkerchief.
He didn’t take it. “You might want to keep that. It wasn’t intended to be simply functional.”
Vin looked down at the handkerchief. When a nobleman wants to court a lady seriously, he gives her a handkerchief.
“Oh!” she said, pulling the handkerchief back. “Thank you.”
Elend smiled, stepping close to her. “That other man, whoever he is, might have a lead on me because of my foolishness. However, I am not so foolish that I would pass up the chance to give him a little competition.” He winked, bowed slightly, and walked back toward the central ballroom.
Vin waited a moment, then walked forward and slipped through the balcony doorway. Elend met up with the same two as before—a Lekal and a Hasting, political enemies of the Venture. They paused for a moment, then all three walked toward a stairwell at the side of the room.
Those stairwells only lead one place, Vin thought, slipping back into the room. The auxiliary towers.
“Mistress Valette?”
Vin jumped, turning to find Sazed approaching. “Are we ready to go?” he asked.
Vin moved over to him quickly. “Lord Elend Venture just disappeared down that stairwell with his Hasting and Lekal friends.”
“Interesting,” Sazed said. “And why would…Mistress, what happened to your makeup!”
“Never mind,” Vin said. “I think I should follow them.”
“Is that another handkerchief, Mistress?” Sazed asked. “You have been busy.”
“Sazed, are you listening to me?”
“Yes, Mistress. I suppose you could follow them if you wish, but you would be fairly obvious. I don’t know that it would be the best method of gaining information.”
“I wouldn’t follow them overtly,” Vin said quietly. “I’d use Allomancy. But, I need your permission for that.”
Sazed paused. “I see. How is your side?”
“It’s been healed for ages,” Vin said. “I don’t even notice it anymore.”
Sazed sighed. “Very well. Master Kelsier intended to begin your training in earnest again when he returned, anyway. Just…be careful. This is a ridiculous thing to say to a Mistborn, I think, but I ask anyway.”
“I will,” Vin said. “I’ll meet you on that balcony over there in an hour.”
“Good luck, Mistress,” Sazed said.
Vin was already rushing back toward the balcony. She stepped around the corner, then stood before the stone railing and the mists beyond. The beautiful, swirling void. It’s been far too long, she thought, reaching into her sleeve and pulling out a vial of metals. She downed it eagerly and got out a small handful of coins.
Then, blissfully, she hopped up onto the railing and threw herself out into the dark mists.
Tin gave her sight as the wind flapped at her dress. Pewter gave her strength as she turned her eyes toward the buttresslike wall running between the tower and the main keep. Steel gave her power as she threw a coin downward, sending it into the darkness.
She lurched in the air. The air resistance fluttered her dress, and she felt like she was trying to pull a bale of cloth behind her, but her Allomancy was strong enough to deal with that. Elend’s tower was the next one over; she needed to get onto the walltop walkway that ran between it and the central tower. Vin flared steel, Pushing herself up a bit higher, then flung another coin into the mists behind her. When it hit the wall, she used it to shoot herself forward.
She slammed into her target wall just a bit too low—folds of cloth cushioning the blow—but she managed to grab the lip of the walkway above. An unenhanced Vin would have had trouble pulling herself up onto the wall, but Vin the Allomancer easily scrambled over the side.
She crouched in her black dress, moving quietly across the walltop pathway. There were no guards, but the tower ahead of her had a lit sentrypost at its base.
Can’t go that way, she thought, glancing upward instead. The tower appeared to have several rooms, and a couple of them were lit. Vin dropped a coin and catapulted herself upward, then Pulled against a window mounting and yanked herself over to land lightly on the stone window ledge. The shutters were closed against the night, and she had to lean close, flaring tin, to hear what was going on inside.
“…balls always last well into the night. We’ll probably have to pull double duty.”
Guards, Vin thought, jumping and Pushing against the top of the window. It rattled as she shot up the side of the tower. She caught the base of the nex
t window ledge and pulled herself up.
“…don’t regret my tardiness,” a familiar voice said from inside. Elend. “She happens to be far more attractive than you are, Telden.”
A masculine voice laughed. “The mighty Elend Venture, finally captured by a pretty face.”
“She’s more than that, Jastes,” Elend said. “She’s kindhearted—she helped skaa runaways on her plantation. I think we should bring her in to talk with us.”
“Not a chance,” said a deep-voiced man. “Look, Elend, I don’t mind if you want to talk philosophy. Hell, I’ll even share a few drinks with you when you do. But I’m not going to let random people come join us.”
“I agree with Telden,” Jastes said. “Five people is enough.”
“See, now,” Elend’s voice said. “I don’t think you’re being fair.”
“Elend…” another voice said sufferingly.
“All right,” Elend said. “Telden, did you read the book I gave you?”
“I tried,” Telden said. “It’s a bit thick.”
“But it’s good, right?” Elend said.
“Good enough,” Telden said. “I can see why the Lord Ruler hates it so much.”
“Redalevin’s works are better,” Jastes said. “More concise.”
“I don’t mean to be contrary,” said a fifth voice. “But, is this all we’re going to do? Read?”
“What’s wrong with reading?” Elend asked.
“It’s a bit boring,” the fifth voice said.
Good man, Vin thought.
“Boring?” Elend asked. “Gentlemen, these ideas—these words—they’re everything. These men knew that they’d be executed for their words. Can you not sense their passion?”
“Passion, yes,” the fifth voice said. “Usefulness, no.”
“We can change the world,” Jastes said. “Two of us are house heirs, the other three are second heirs.”
“Someday, we’ll be the ones in charge,” Elend said. “If we put these ideas into effect—fairness, diplomacy, moderation—we can exert pressure even on the Lord Ruler!”
The fifth voice snorted. “You might be heir to a powerful house, Elend, but the rest of us aren’t as important. Telden and Jastes will probably never inherit, and Kevoux—no offense—is hardly that influential. We can’t change the world.”
“We can change the way our houses work,” Elend said. “If the houses would stop squabbling, we might be able to gain some real power in the government—rather than just bow to the whims of the Lord Ruler.”
“Every year, the nobility grows weaker,” Jastes said in agreement. “Our skaa belong to the Lord Ruler, as does our land. His obligators determine who we can marry and what we can believe. Our canals, even, are officially ‘his’ property. Ministry assassins kill men who speak out too openly, or who are too successful. This is no way to live.”
“I agree with you there,” Telden said. “Elend’s prattling about class imbalance seems like silliness to me, but I can see the importance of presenting a unified front before the Lord Ruler.”
“Exactly,” Elend said. “This is what we have to—”
“Vin!” a voice whispered.
Vin jumped, nearly falling off the window ledge in shock. She glanced around in alarm.
“Above you,” the voice whispered.
She glanced up. Kelsier hung from another window ledge just above. He smiled, winked, then nodded down toward the wall-walkway below.
Vin glanced back at Elend’s room as Kelsier dropped through the mists beside her. Finally, she pushed herself off and followed Kelsier down, using her same coin to slow her descent.
“You’re back!” she said eagerly as she landed.
“Got back this afternoon.”
“What are you doing here?”
“Checking up on our friend in there,” Kelsier said. “Doesn’t seem like much has changed since the last time.”
“Last time?”
Kelsier nodded. “I’ve spied on that little group a couple of times since you told me about them. I shouldn’t have bothered—they’re not a threat. Just a bunch of noblelings getting together to drink and debate.”
“But, they want to overthrow the Lord Ruler!”
“Hardly,” Kelsier said with a snort. “They’re just doing what noblemen do—planning alliances. It’s not that unusual for the next generation to start organizing their house coalitions before they come to power.”
“This is different,” Vin said.
“Oh?” Kelsier asked with amusement. “You’ve been a noble so long that you can tell that already?”
She flushed, and he laughed, putting a friendly arm around her shoulders. “Oh, don’t get like that. They seem like nice enough lads, for noblemen. I promise not to kill any of them, all right?”
Vin nodded.
“Perhaps we can find a way to use them—they do seem more open-minded than most. I just don’t want you to be disappointed, Vin. They’re still noblemen. Perhaps they can’t help what they are, but that doesn’t change their nature.”
Just like Dockson, Vin thought. Kelsier assumes the worst about Elend. But, did she really have any reason to expect otherwise? To fight a battle like Kelsier and Dockson were, it was probably more effective—and better for the psyche—to assume that all of their enemies were evil.
“What happened to your makeup, by the way?” Kelsier asked.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” Vin said, thinking back to her conversation with Elend. Why did I have to cry? I’m such an idiot! And, the way I blurted out that question about him sleeping with skaa.
Kelsier shrugged. “Okay, then. We should get going—I doubt young Venture and his comrades will discuss anything relevant.”
Vin paused.
“I’ve listened to them on three separate occasions, Vin,” Kelsier said. “I’ll summarize for you, if you want.”
“All right,” she said with a sigh. “But I told Sazed I’d meet him back up at the party.”
“Off you go, then,” Kelsier said. “I promise not to tell him you were sneaking around and using Allomancy.”
“He told me I could,” Vin said defensively.
“He did?”
Vin nodded.
“My mistake,” Kelsier said. “You should probably have Saze fetch you a cloak before you leave the party—you’ve got ash all over the front of your dress. I’ll meet you back at Clubs’s shop—have the carriage drop you and Sazed off there, then continue on out of the city. That’ll keep up appearances.”
Vin nodded again, and Kelsier winked and jumped off the wall into the mists.
In the end, I must trust in myself. I have seen men who have beaten from themselves the ability to recognize truth and goodness, and I do not think I am one of them. I can still see the tears in a young child’s eyes and feel pain at his suffering.
If I ever lose this, then I will know that I’ve passed beyond hope of redemption.
24
KELSIER WAS ALREADY AT THE SHOP when Vin and Sazed arrived. He sat with Ham, Clubs, and Spook in the kitchen, enjoying a late-night drink.
“Ham!” Vin said eagerly as she came in the back door. “You’re back!”
“Yup,” he said happily, raising his cup.
“It seems like you’ve been gone forever!”
“You’re telling me,” Ham said, his voice earnest.
Kelsier chuckled, rising to refill his drink. “Ham’s a bit tired of playing general.”
“I had to wear a uniform,” Ham complained, stretching. He now wore his customary vest and trousers. “Even plantation skaa don’t have to deal with that kind of torture.”
“Try wearing a formal gown sometime,” Vin said, seating herself. She’d brushed off the front of her dress, and it didn’t look half as bad as she’d feared. The blackish gray ash still showed up a bit against the dark fabric, and the fibers were rough where she’d rubbed against stone, but both were barely noticeable.
Ham laughed. “It seems that y
ou’ve turned into a proper young lady while I was gone.”
“Hardly,” Vin said as Kelsier handed her a cup of wine. She paused briefly, then took a sip.
“Mistress Vin is being modest, Master Hammond,” Sazed said, taking a seat. “She’s growing quite proficient at courtly arts—better than many actual nobles that I have known.”
Vin flushed, and Ham laughed again. “Humility, Vin? Where’d you ever learn a bad habit like that?”
“Not from me, certainly,” Kelsier said, offering Sazed a cup of wine. The Terrisman raised his hand in a respectful refusal.
“Of course she didn’t get it from you, Kell,” Ham said. “Maybe Spook taught her. He seems to be the only one in this crew who knows how to keep his mouth shut, eh, kid?”
Spook flushed, obviously trying to avoid looking at Vin.
I’ll have to deal with him sometime, she thought. But…not tonight. Kelsier’s back and Elend’s not a murderer—this is a night to relax.
Footsteps sounded on the stairs, and a moment later Dockson strolled into the room. “A party? And no one sent for me?”
“You seemed busy,” Kelsier said.
“Besides,” Ham added, “we know you’re too responsible to sit around and get drunk with a bunch of miscreants like us.”
“Someone has to keep this crew running,” Dockson said lightheartedly, pouring himself a drink. He paused, frowning at Ham. “That vest looks familiar….”
Ham smiled. “I ripped the arms off of my uniform coat.”
“You didn’t!” Vin said with a smile.
Ham nodded, looking self-satisfied.
Dockson sighed, continuing to fill his cup. “Ham, those things cost money.”
“Everything costs money,” Ham said. “But, what is money? A physical representation of the abstract concept of effort. Well, wearing that uniform for so long was a pretty mean effort. I’d say that this vest and I are even now.”
Dockson just rolled his eyes. In the main room, the shop’s front door opened and closed, and Vin heard Breeze bid hello to the apprentice on watch.
“By the way, Dox,” Kelsier said, leaning with his back against a cupboard. “I’m going to need a few ‘physical representations of the concept of effort’ myself. I’d like to rent a small warehouse to conduct some of my informant meetings.”
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