Breeze had never seen it that way. Soothing wasn’t invasive. If it was, then ordinary interaction with another person was comparably invasive. Soothing, when done right, was no more a violation of another person than it was for a woman to wear a low-cut gown or speak in a commanding voice. All three produced common, understandable, and—most important—natural reactions in people.
Take Sazed, for example. Was it “invasive” to make the man less fatigued, so he could better go about his ministrations? Was it wrong to Soothe away his pain—just a bit—thereby making him better able to cope with the suffering?
Tindwyl was an even better example. Perhaps some would call Breeze a meddler for Soothing her sense of responsibility, and her disappointment, when she saw Sazed. But, Breeze had not created the emotions that the disappointment had been overshadowing. Emotions like curiosity. Respect. Love.
No, if Soothing were simple “mind control,” Tindwyl would have turned away from Sazed as soon as the two left Breeze’s area of influence. But Breeze knew that she wouldn’t. A crucial decision had been made, and Breeze had not made that decision for her. The moment had been building for weeks; it would have occurred with or without Breeze.
He had just helped it happen sooner.
Smiling to himself, Breeze checked his pocket watch. He still had a few more minutes, and he settled back in his chair, sending out a general Soothing wave, lessening people’s grief and pain. Focusing on so many at once, he couldn’t be very specific; some would find themselves made a little emotionally numb as he Pushed too strongly against them. But, it would be good for the group as a whole.
He didn’t read his book; in truth, he couldn’t understand how Elend and the rest spent so much time with them. Dreadfully boring things. Breeze could only see himself reading if there were no people around. Instead, he went back to what he’d been doing before Sazed had drawn his attention. He studied the refugees, trying to decide what each one was feeling.
This was the other great misunderstanding about Soothing. Allomancy wasn’t nearly as important as observational talent. True, having a subtle touch certainly helped. However, Soothing didn’t give an Allomancer the ability to know someone’s feelings. Those, Breeze had to guess on his own.
It all came back to what was natural. Even the most inexperienced skaa would realize they were being Soothed if unexpected emotions began bouncing around inside of them. True subtlety in Soothing was about encouraging natural emotions, all done by carefully making the right other emotions less powerful. People were a patchwork of feelings; usually, what they thought they were “feeling” at the moment only related to which emotions were currently most dominant within them.
The careful Soother saw what was beneath the surface. He understood what a man was feeling, even when that man himself didn’t understand—or acknowledge—those emotions. Such was the case with Sazed and Tindwyl.
Odd pair, that one, Breeze thought to himself, idly Soothing one of the skaa to make him more relaxed as he tried to sleep. The rest of the crew is convinced that those two are enemies. But, hatred rarely creates that measure of bitterness and frustration. No, those two emotions come from an entirely different set of problems.
Of course, isn’t Sazed supposed to be a eunuch? I wonder how this all came about….
His speculations trailed off as the warehouse doors opened. Elend walked in—Ham, unfortunately, accompanying him. Elend was wearing one of his white uniforms, complete with white gloves and a sword. The white was an important symbol; with all of the ash and soot in the city, a man in white was quite striking. Elend’s uniforms had to been crafted of special fabrics designed to be resistant to ash, and they still had to be scrubbed every day. The effect was worth the effort.
Breeze immediately picked at Elend’s emotions, making the man less tired, less uncertain—though the second was becoming almost unnecessary. That was partially the Terriswoman’s doing; Breeze had been impressed with her ability to change how people felt, considering her lack of Allomancy.
Breeze left Elend’s emotions of disgust and pity; both were appropriate considering the environment. He did, however, give Ham a nudge to make him less argumentative; Breeze wasn’t in a mood to deal with the man’s prattlings at the moment.
He stood as the two men approached. People perked up as they saw Elend, his presence somehow bringing them a hope that Breeze couldn’t emulate with Allomancy. They whispered, calling Elend King.
“Breeze,” Elend said, nodding. “Is Sazed here?”
“He just left, I’m afraid,” Breeze said.
Elend seemed distracted. “Ah, well,” he said. “I’ll find him later.” Elend looked around the room, lips downturned. “Ham, tomorrow, I want you to round up the clothing merchants on Kenton Street and bring them here to see this.”
“They might not like that, Elend,” Ham said.
“I hope they don’t,” Elend said. “But we’ll see how they feel about their prices once they visit this room. I can understand food’s expense, considering its scarcity.
However, there is no reason but greed to deny the people clothing.”
Ham nodded, but Breeze could see the reticence in his posture. Did the others realize how strangely nonconfrontational Ham was? He liked to argue with friends, but he rarely actually came to any conclusions in his philosophizing. Plus, he absolutely hated fighting with strangers; Breeze had always found that an odd attribute in one who was hired, essentially, to hit people. He gave Ham a bit of a Soothing to make him less worried about confronting the merchants.
“You aren’t going to stay here all night, are you, Breeze?” Elend asked.
“Lord Ruler, no!” Breeze said. “My dear man, you’re lucky you managed to get me to come at all. Honestly, this is no place for a gentleman. The dirt, the depressing atmosphere—and that’s not even making mention of the smell!”
Ham frowned. “Breeze, someday you’re going to have to learn to think about other people.”
“As long as I can think about them from a distance, Hammond, I shall be happy to engage in the activity.”
Ham shook his head. “You’re hopeless.”
“Are you heading back to the palace then?” Elend asked.
“Yes, actually,” Breeze said, checking his pocket watch.
“Do you need a ride?”
“I brought my own carriage,” Breeze said.
Elend nodded, then turned to Ham, and the two retreated the way they had come, talking about Elend’s next meeting with one of the other Assemblymen.
Breeze wandered into the palace a short time later. He nodded to the door guards, Soothing away their mental fatigue. They perked up in response, watching the mists with renewed vigilance. It wouldn’t last long, but little touches like that were second nature to Breeze.
It was getting late, and few people were in the hallways. He made his way through the kitchens, Nudging the scullery maids to make them more chatty. It would make their cleaning pass more quickly. Beyond the kitchens he found a small stone room, lit by a couple of plain lamps, set with a small table. It was one of the palace’s boothlike, solitary dining rooms.
Clubs sat in one corner of the booth, gimped leg stretched out on the bench. He eyed Breeze with a scowl. “You’re late.”
“You’re early,” Breeze said, sliding into the bench across from Clubs.
“Same thing,” Clubs grumbled.
There was a second cup on the table, along with a bottle of wine. Breeze unbuttoned his vest, sighed quietly, and poured himself a cup as he leaned back with his legs up on his bench.
Clubs sipped his wine.
“You have your cloud up?” Breeze asked.
“Around you?” Clubs said. “Always.”
Breeze smiled, taking a sip, and relaxed. Though he rarely had opportunities to use his powers anymore, Clubs was a Smoker. When he was burning copper, every Allomancer’s abilities were invisible to those burning bronze. But more important—at least to Breeze—burning copper made Clubs
immune to any form of emotional Allomancy.
“Don’t see why that makes you so happy,” Clubs said. “I thought you liked playing with emotions.”
“I do,” Breeze said.
“Then why come drink with me every night?” Clubs asked.
“You mind the company?”
Clubs didn’t answer. That was pretty much his way of saying he didn’t mind. Breeze eyed the grumpy general. Most of the other crewmembers stayed away from Clubs; Kelsier had brought him in at the last moment, since the Coppercloud they usually used had died.
“Do you know what it’s like, Clubs?” Breeze asked. “Being a Soother?”
“No.”
“It gives you remarkable control. It’s a wonderful feeling, being able to influence those around you, always feeling like you have a handle on how people will react.”
“Sounds delightful,” Clubs said flatly.
“And yet, it does things to you. I spend most of my time watching people—tweaking, Nudging, and Soothing. That’s changed me. I don’t…look at people the same way. It’s hard to just be friends with someone when you see them as something to be influenced and changed.”
Clubs grunted. “So that’s why we never used to see you with women.”
Breeze nodded. “I can’t help it anymore. I always touch the emotions of everyone around me. And so, when a woman comes to love me…” He liked to think he wasn’t invasive. Yet, how could he trust anyone who said they loved him? Was it he, or his Allomancy, that they responded to?
Clubs filled his cup. “You’re a lot sillier than you act.”
Breeze smiled. Clubs was one of the few people who was completely immune to his touch. Emotional Allomancy wouldn’t work on him, and he was always completely forthcoming with his emotions: everything made him grumpy. Manipulating him through non-Allomantic means had proven to be a fruitless waste of time.
Breeze regarded his wine. “The amusing thing is, you almost didn’t join the crew because of me.”
“Damn Soothers,” Clubs muttered.
“But you’re immune to us.”
“To your Allomancy, maybe,” Clubs said. “But that isn’t the only way you people do things. A man always has to watch himself around Soothers.”
“Then why let me join you every evening for wine?”
Clubs was silent for a moment, and Breeze almost thought he wasn’t going to respond. Finally, Clubs muttered, “You’re not as bad as most.”
Breeze took a gulp of wine. “That is as honest a compliment as I think I’ve ever received.”
“Don’t let it ruin you,” Clubs said.
“Oh, I think I’m too late for ruining,” Breeze said, topping off his cup. “This crew…Kell’s plan…has already done a thorough job of that.”
Clubs nodded in agreement.
“What happened to us, Clubs?” Breeze asked. “I joined Kell for the challenge. I never did know why you joined.”
“Money.”
Breeze nodded. “His plan fell apart, his army got destroyed, and we stayed. Then he died, and we still stayed. This blasted kingdom of Elend’s is doomed, you know.”
“We won’t last another month,” Clubs said. It wasn’t idle pessimism; Breeze knew people well enough to tell when they were serious.
“And yet, here we are,” Breeze said. “I spent all day making skaa feel better about the fact that their families had been slaughtered. You spent all day training soldiers that—with or without your help—will barely last a few heartbeats against a determined foe. We follow a boy of a king who doesn’t seem to have a shade of a clue just how bad his predicament is. Why?”
Clubs shook his head. “Kelsier. Gave us a city, made us think we were responsible for protecting it.”
“But we aren’t that kind of people,” Breeze said. “We’re thieves and scammers. We shouldn’t care. I mean…I’ve gotten so bad that I Soothe scullery maids so that they’ll have a happier time at work! I might as well start dressing in pink and carrying around flowers. I could probably make quite a bundle at weddings.”
Clubs snorted. Then he raised his cup. “To the Survivor,” he said. “May he be damned for knowing us better than we knew ourselves.”
Breeze raised his own cup. “Damn him,” he agreed quietly.
The two fell silent. Talking to Clubs tended to turn into…well, not talking. However, Breeze felt a simple contentment. Soothing was wonderful; it made him who he was. But it was also work. Even birds couldn’t fly all the time.
“There you are.”
Breeze snapped his eyes open. Allrianne stood at the entrance to the room, just at the edge of the table. She wore light blue; where had she gotten so many dresses? Her makeup was, of course, immaculate—and there was a bow in her hair. That long blond hair—common in the West but almost unheard of in the Central Dominance—and that perky, inviting figure.
Desire immediately blossomed inside of him. No! Breeze thought. She’s half your age. You’re a dirty old man. Dirty! “Allrianne,” he said uncomfortably, “shouldn’t you be in bed or something?”
She rolled her eyes, shooing his legs out of the way so she could sit on the bench beside him. “It’s only nine o’clock, Breeze. I’m eighteen, not ten.”
You might as well be, he thought, looking away from her, trying to focus on something else. He knew that he should be stronger, shouldn’t let the girl get near him, but he did nothing as she slid up to him and took a drink from his cup.
He sighed, putting his arm around her shoulders. Clubs just shook his head, the hint of a smile on his lips.
“Well,” Vin said quietly, “that answers one question.”
“Mistress?” OreSeur said, sitting across the table from her in the dark room. With her Allomancer’s ears, she could hear exactly what was going on in the next boothlike room over.
“Allrianne is an Allomancer,” Vin said.
“Really?”
Vin nodded. “She’s been Rioting Breeze’s emotions ever since she arrived, making him more attracted to her.”
“One would think that he’d notice,” OreSeur said.
“You’d think,” Vin said. She probably shouldn’t feel as amused as she did. The girl could be a Mistborn—though the idea of that puff flying through the mists seemed ridiculous.
Which is probably exactly how she wants me to think, Vin thought. I have to remember Kliss and Shan—neither one of them turned out to be the person I thought they were.
“Breeze probably just doesn’t think his emotions are unnatural,” Vin said. “He must be attracted to her already.”
OreSeur closed his mouth and cocked his head—his dog’s version of a frown.
“I know,” Vin agreed. “But, at least we know he isn’t the one using Allomancy to seduce her. Either way, that’s irrelevant. Clubs isn’t the kandra.”
“How could you possibly know that, Mistress?”
Vin paused. Clubs always turned his copper on around Breeze; it was one of the few times he used it. However, it was difficult to tell if someone was burning copper. After all, if they turned on their metal, they hid themselves by default.
But Vin could pierce copperclouds. She could sense Allrianne’s Rioting; she could even sense a faint thumping coming from Clubs himself, copper’s own Allomantic pulse, something that Vin suspected few people beyond herself and the Lord Ruler had ever heard.
“I just know,” Vin said.
“If you say so, Mistress,” OreSeur said. “But…didn’t you already decide the spy was Demoux?”
“I wanted to check Clubs anyway,” she said. “Before I did anything drastic.”
“Drastic?”
Vin sat quietly for a moment. She didn’t have much proof, but she did have her instincts—and those instincts told her Demoux was the spy. That sneaking way he’d gone out the other night…the obvious logic of choosing him…it all fit.
She stood. Things were getting too dangerous, too sensitive. She couldn’t ignore it any longer. “Come on,” she said
, leaving the booth behind. “It’s time to put Demoux in prison.”
“What do you mean you lost him?” Vin asked, standing outside the door to Demoux’s room.
The servant flushed. “My lady, I’m sorry. I watched him, like you told me—but he went out on patrol. Should I have followed? I mean, don’t you think that would have looked suspicious?”
Vin cursed quietly to herself. She knew that she didn’t have much right to be angry, however. I should have told Ham straight off, she thought with frustration.
“My lady, he only left a few minutes ago,” the servant said.
Vin glanced at OreSeur, then took off down the corridor. As soon as they reached a window, Vin leaped out into the dark night, OreSeur following behind her, dropping the short distance to the courtyard.
Last time, I saw him come back in through the gates to the palace grounds, she thought, running through the mist. She found a couple of soldiers there, guarding.
“Did Captain Demoux come this way?” she demanded, bursting into their ring of torchlight.
They perked up, at first shocked, then confused.
“Lady Heir?” one of them said. “Yes, he just went out, on patrol just a minute or two ago.”
“By himself?” Vin asked.
They nodded.
“Isn’t that a little odd?”
They shrugged. “He goes by himself sometimes,” one said. “We don’t question. He’s our superior, after all.”
“Which way?” Vin demanded.
One pointed, and Vin took off, OreSeur at her side. I should have watched better. I should have hired real spies to keep an eye on him. I should have—
She froze. Up ahead, walking down a quite street in the mists, was a figure, walking into the city. Demoux.
Vin dropped a coin and threw herself into the air, passing far over his head, landing on top of a building. He continued, oblivious. Demoux or kandra, neither would have Allomantic powers.
Vin paused, daggers out, ready to spring. But…she still didn’t have any real proof. The part of her that Kelsier had transformed, the part that had come to trust, thought of the Demoux she knew.
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