text stringlengths 1.73k 3.83k |
|---|
I can see.” He obliged, creating a small lattice of crystals to support her as she lowered her head into the elevator, her hair hanging down. The two guards stood amid some large crates, facing each other and leaning back against separate boxes. TwinSoul was right. They weren’t paying attention. Actually, they appeared... |
rubble. TwinSoul lagged behind, despite his promise, as Marasi and Moonlight hurried into the shadows. None of those speaking were visible yet, as the tunnel turned ahead. Marasi crouched behind some rubble, Moonlight joining her. The stone chunks only just came up past her knees when she crouched, but it was better th... |
Moonlight said. “And the way you act—your attitude as part of a team—is one of the main reasons we came to you.” And not, she implied, to Wax. They went on, Marasi chewing on those tenets. She swallowed the last one easily. Not moving against one another? Not undermining the mission or goals of another member of the gr... |
Autonomy will kill her.” “And invade the whole rusting Basin,” Gave said, hands to his face. “Maybe the world. Damn. It wasn’t supposed to be like this…” He downed his shot and hauled himself to his feet. Marasi shared a glance with the others. They’d known Autonomy was planning some sort of decisive attack if Telsin f... |
whisper a Command as you work, though we find it isn’t strictly necessary. Trauma on the part of the subject is helpful as well.” At a nod from her, the assistants threaded the long spike through the skin of the woman’s upper back. Almost like they were sewing with a six-inch needle. The poor woman made a pained whimpe... |
remaining loyalists—those not working directly for Telsin—into the caverns.” “But—” Labcoat began. “We wait,” he said, “for Telsin to initiate her plan. We give her every opportunity. And then … then if it doesn’t work…” “We survive,” Labcoat said. “We survive.” He nodded to himself. “I’m going to the Community to see ... |
here. One gunshot…” Marasi hesitated, weighing the risks. It might be foolish, she acknowledged, but she hadn’t become a constable to leave people to be murdered. She stood up straight. “It is a risk I will take. Are you with me, or do I do it alone?” The other two stood. “Let’s do it quickly then,” Moonlight said. Ste... |
was as close to an arbiter as they had. “Harmony is preoccupied,” TenSoon said, “but our time is tight. So I will agree to this if the humans do. The Basin may use the Bands right now. But they revert to the Malwish.” “Do it,” the governor said. “If it could save the city … I agree.” It was not the best situation for a... |
He couldn’t have been prepared for this? Unless he’d known the Bands would be drained. Unless he’d come to Elendel looking for a crisis that would make them call on the Bands, so he could offer his deal. And then … “I don’t know if I can allow this,” the governor said. “I don’t know that we can forbid it,” TenSoon grow... |
cover in this canyon, so Wayne had to do the smart thing: turn into some. He stepped in front of Wax, who was ducking backward around the corner. Too slow, but fortunately the next shots from the enemy hit Wayne, making him grunt. Bullets really hurt. He supposed that was the point, but some other wounds were so big th... |
closed. “Unfortunately, any delay is to their advantage. Which means we’re going to have to go on the offensive.” “Close confines down here, mate,” Wayne said. “Not great for Steelpushing. Real easy to get stuck in slow time while they coordinate to trap us.” “See if you can catch all four of us inside a speed bubble t... |
the side to reset the bone as his muscles pulled it back into place. He fended off her next attack with one arm while the other healed, letting her force him to retreat. At that moment, Wax flew between them and slammed into the tunnel wall with a grunt. He tossed a handful of bullets in the air, then ducked—tricking n... |
to gettin’ exploded, now don’tcha.” “Not that pain,” he whispered. They met again, but she was just plain better at the fightin’ part than he was. Oh, Wayne was fine with the canes. But he lived his life. And in doin’ so, he’d let the trainin’ slack off—having a little gum chew out behind the building instead of workin... |
and Ruin … that was a power that the Ascendant Warrior was said to have had. These guys really were cheating. No wonder Wax had lost his fight. No wonder Wayne had essentially lost his—the dueling portion at least. But if he could keep their attention … He grunted at the Push. Then he stepped forward anyway, feeling th... |
the other with half her head gone. She might be dead, though Wayne couldn’t be certain. Head shots were tricky. They could end you, but it all depended on the damage done. Wax maybe should have put another few shots in them as they fled, but the man looked pretty ragged from the fight. Breathing deeply, he slumped back... |
to face him—even those who had voted with him. They turned away as he passed, stretching and chatting. In the hall, he headed toward his chambers, crossing over inlaid floors and beneath a row of chandeliers. Crystal and marble. This was his life now. Everything he’d fled as a young man ornamented each footstep, and th... |
a second, once the proper metal arrives. He had no idea what that meant. And he didn’t care. Not today, Harmony, he thought. Leave me alone. “What’s that?” Steris said. “Something from Harmony,” Wax said. She paused, looking at him. “So, likely,” he added, “something useless.” Steris drew her lips to a line. She was a ... |
stuffed kandra on the head. “Well, that,” Max said, “and … um … flying?” He looked at Wax with big, hopeful eyes. Nearby, their motorcar pulled up to the curb and Hoid, the driver, stepped out. “Your carriage, sir,” he said, holding the passenger door. But rusts, who could deny a child when he looked at you like that? ... |
arm of one guard, who had been pulling out a pistol. Moonlight moved behind her—hopefully dealing with the other guard, because the man Marasi had attacked decided to slam into her, shoving her back against a table full of beakers. She grunted as he rammed her own rifle up almost to her neck. Glassware shattered on the... |
away. Moonlight entered a moment later and began binding them. TwinSoul stumbled in behind her, holding to the doorframe for stability. “I appear to have run afoul of your powers,” he said to Marasi. “Sorry about that,” she said. “I note two disabled guards,” he said. “And one dead scientist. So the operation went well... |
Editor of the Seasons? Marasi had been interviewed by her staff the other year … It was a newspaper that had been sympathetic to Elendel interests. Preservation … Entrone hadn’t merely been experimenting on his citizens, he’d been experimenting on his political opposition. It was shockingly brazen. How had he made thes... |
way. Marasi turned to Moonlight. “Can you make a door in the ground?” Marasi said. “There might be tunnels beneath us.” Moonlight shook her head. “Even if there were, the thickness of the stone would be far too great for my stamp.” “I believe, my lady Marasi,” TwinSoul said, “that you should allow me to take the people... |
the tunnel. “By the grace of Silajana, Suna, Vishwadhar, and the Twelve Primal Aethers, I am Sanvith Prasanva Maahik va Sila, Grand Aetherbound of the twelve kingdoms, Raj of the Coriander Court. And these people are under my protection.” To punctuate his words, a colossal mace finished forming from roseite in his ston... |
to it.” “You willing to keep going forward?” Marasi asked. “If there really is a perpendicularity here,” she said, “then … yes. As much as I want to get out with this information, protecting the planet must come first.” She hesitated. “I’m new to this large-scale sort of thinking. Spent a long time looking out for myse... |
near distance, six terrible petrol-powered warships, each larger than the one before. It was strange to think that, even combined, they posed an insignificant threat compared to the bomb Wax was hunting. All that work to create weapons of war, invalidated by a single discovery. He gestured to a final hatch and ladder, ... |
there, streetlamps—which were just starting to come on as the sun neared the horizon—became his anchors, like stepping stones across a lake. He Pushed on a pair at a time for lift and momentum, then began using buildings as enormous anchors. Then a moving car, to gain even more speed, borrowing its momentum. Air became... |
darted in, over the edge of the highway, and increased his weight tenfold. He slowed in the air as a result, and hit the side of the passing truck with a Steelpush, grinding it into the highway’s sidewall. It jostled more than he would have liked, but it did slow. Wax changed trajectory, staying alongside the truck, fo... |
of landing inside a building via the balcony, charging through, and emerging on the other side to find his quarry right below. A balcony railing was a springboard, and nearby structures let him fine-tune his descent. Here, he could fly in a way he’d never been able to in that land of dust and stone. He could acknowledg... |
was back there, something that seemed not quite human. It made a sound like nails or claws on stone, accompanied by unnatural growls. Marasi hurried through the blasted-out tunnel, Moonlight at her side, trying to balance their speed. If they moved too quickly, they might run straight into a patrol. But if they slowed ... |
was silent and mostly dark, lit only by a few emergency lights. Marasi and Moonlight stopped at the mouth of the cavern. Was this the Community? Why split the cavern like that? Whatever the reason, the order to quarters had been obeyed, and apparently any soldiers in the area had gone to deal with TwinSoul. That let Ma... |
dresses—walked the “streets,” though there were no horses or automobiles she could see. “What in Preservation’s name?” Marasi whispered. “I suppose … this is the Community they built for themselves to escape the destruction above?” She frowned. A short time ago, she might have theorized it was designed to withstand the... |
to convince Kell to give me some of that Investiture so I could. Never thought I’d be using this in the field though. I can fight them in this form, but that would leave you alone.” “I can’t just run, Moonlight,” Marasi said. “It’s my fault we drew those troops. Beyond that, the Basin is my home. I can’t leave it to En... |
strange rune at the center. Once she finished, her light stabilized, then brightened. She sighed in satisfaction again and stood in the center of the circular drawing of light. Only then did she address Marasi. “Ah!” she said, her voice slightly higher pitched than before. “A mortal! How are you, child?” She searched a... |
treatment of your gods.” “Yup,” Marasi said. “Pious. I’ll be pious.” She stepped toward the door, then paused, noticing the last jar of light in the rucksack. She took the bag—which seemed to have some other useful equipment in it too—but handed Moonlight the burned notebook and leather folio of stamps. “You’ll want th... |
“And to their credit in the accomplishment. Though, I do not think your sister understands the nature of true Autonomy yet. Her attempts have a … fabricated, forced uniqueness to them. Not the raw wounds of true individualism. “She will learn. The longer she holds the power, the longer she becomes an avatar of my natur... |
Wax spotted something just inside the broken window. “Hey,” he said. “Is that a case of Logshine?” * * * A short time later, Wax touched down at the laboratory where he’d left Wayne. As he’d hoped, the younger man had dealt with the enemies, even tying a few up. Now Wayne had settled down with a handkerchief that had s... |
type of woman who liked to be prepared. Marasi pulled the sack tighter against her shoulder. Unfortunately, she was drawing attention. People turned to watch her as she passed. Conversations between promenading couples died. Eyes lingered on her, as if she were the one person on inspection day who’d neglected to wear a... |
herself be seated, trying to understand. They didn’t want the mayor to find out about her, so were these dissenters within the Set? But their clothing, these homes, this place … And this woman. The stately blonde patted Marasi’s hand, then vanished into another room. Perhaps a kitchen? Marasi almost bolted. Perhaps the... |
the rucksack, and having no chance to wash up … Well, maybe she did. “You poor people,” Marasi whispered. “She’s in shock,” said mousy Drenya. “Can you tell us what it’s like up there?” the man with the toolbelt said, stepping forward, a cloth cap in his fingers. “Are the ashfalls still strong? It’s been a year since w... |
only a few. So they made an impossible decision, randomly selecting people.” “It wasn’t completely random,” one of the women said. “It was weighted toward women of childbearing age, for obvious reasons. And an emphasis on Allomancers or those from the lines of Allomancers. Again for obvious reasons.” “We couldn’t bring... |
searched for these people for years, on and off. They’d worried that the Set had done terrible things to them, but had never imagined anything like this. Locking them all up in a bunker? Convincing them that the world had ended? One of the Set’s primary long-term goals was to gain access to Allomantic powers, and the f... |
fallback explanation in case someone snuck through the defenses. “I can’t prove it to you now,” Marasi said. “Though I will find a way. Please, consider my words. They will soften the blow when you have to confront the truth. I’m a senior officer in the Elendel Constabulary.” She pulled out her credentials. “For years ... |
in it. It’s dangerous there because he needs metals to work the devices—if mutants ever invade, they’ll go for him first.” “How very brave of him,” Marasi said, hurrying to the window—the others moved aside for her. “No doubt he has a nice tunnel to the surface too. You know the flat outer walls? Those have one-way gla... |
a bunch of dangerous people captive? You convinced them that they weren’t actually captives. Marasi turned and met Armal’s eyes. “Which way to the lord mayor’s home?” “I…” Marasi held her gaze until Armal glanced back down—at Marasi’s credentials—and then looked to the side. “You know, don’t you,” Marasi said. “That wh... |
Wax held his bottle out, and Wayne reached forward to clink the necks together. Then Wayne tipped his head back and drank, welcoming the strong taste. Hoppy, bitter. Like a good beer should be. Out in the Roughs they knew that. Why clean it all up, make it taste like somethin’ other than it was? City beers … they were ... |
do will change that. No number of good deeds will bring him back or earn you forgiveness.” Wayne looked away, feeling sick—and not just because he was storin’ up health. “I know I said I didn’t need a speech, Wax. But I don’t know that you need to rub it in, neither.” “Fortunately,” Wax said, “you don’t need forgivenes... |
woke up and found the school was plumb gone? Well damn, that’d be the best rusting day ever!” Wax sighed. “I figure,” Wayne continued, “that’s why the city keeps building more schools. Have you seen how many there are these days? The government is saving them up, in case they need to make some kids happy. Then they’ll ... |
them up. The billboard had some electric lights on it, to make the thing visible at night—which was good for readin’. Huh. Maybe Wax had a good reason for pickin’ this spot after all. Wayne began counting ammo for Wax’s guns, setting it aside in little pouches. “So,” he said, “they was testin’ some flyin’ bomb out in t... |
… how…” Wayne continued fishing in his duffel, then pulled out a strange wicker ball with a weight at the center. “Is this something Ranette made?” Wax grinned, waving for Wayne to toss it over. Then Wax launched it into the air with a Steelpush. “Max must have helped Steris pack. Sent me a little gift.” He launched it... |
“Steris packed it.” “What?” Wayne said, opening the top. He revealed a gun. Stocky, with a barrel a good four inches across. Unlike anything he’d ever seen. “Something special.” Wax took it out, then removed other pieces from the box to assemble something that looked a bit like a single-barrel shotgun, only with a much... |
He stood at the edge of the billboard ledge, the two of them facing the spire. Wax slid the last of those metal vials Harmony had given him into the aluminum-lined sheath at his belt. Wayne downed some himself. “Wayne,” Wax said, “do you remember how this started? This new life, after the Roughs? I’d given up after Les... |
outside their townhomes, in deliberate defiance of Entrone’s orders. Some pointed. Well, the time for sneaking was gone anyway. Feeling alone, Marasi used Moonlight’s picks to undo the lock on the mansion’s back door, then slipped in. She passed through a kitchen that seemed a little too clean and quickly found another... |
talking. She exchanged a few more shots with the remaining bodyguard, then reloaded. As she did, she heard footsteps. Dodging back by reflex, she narrowly escaped getting caught in a slowness bubble. Not made by her, but one that had extended through the wall. She could pick it out by the faint shimmering of the air. S... |
going to open a portal to let Autonomy’s army begin an invasion of our world. I know the plan.” He grunted, then slumped forward further. He was still slime—the way he’d casually ordered the execution of those captives had proved it—but he was also obviously burdened by events. Perhaps she could shake his conviction. “... |
that you weren’t supposed to store too much harmonium in one place, or “strange things happen, yah?” He didn’t know what those things were. But Marasi swore she could make out a warping of the air in that room. That liquid was somehow powering the portal. Entrone had stepped up to the faintly visible barrier of the slo... |
for her. She tried to pull back, noting another group of shapes stepping out from the shadows outside the building. Had Armal and the others followed her up to the mansion? She had hoped they would overhear Entrone admitting the truth via the radio. But perhaps … perhaps they’d been close enough, in their curiosity, to... |
go toward the bridge though. She hesitated, still at the mouth of the chamber. These brick walls were so old. Who had built them, centuries ago? Was this like the Originator Tomb in the heart of Elendel? Had people huddled in this cavern, their walls and bridge falling, as Harmony remade the world? Regardless, she was ... |
for the enormous body. “So kind of you to deliver yourself to me.” Marasi turned and dashed for her rifle. Thumping footsteps chased her, gaining on her, forcing her to throw herself to the ground just before reaching the rifle. Her move let her narrowly dodge a grab. She rolled as he punched, hitting the ground and gr... |
he’d run out of strength anytime soon. Within moments, he had forced her up to the precipice of the chasm, near the clump of rocks he’d been hiding behind earlier. She put those between them, but they weren’t very high. A quick glance told her that the chasm now inches behind her was at least fifty feet deep. No escape... |
to yank free. Those eyes. They were glowing a vivid red now. “The ash comes again,” the man said through bloody lips, his voice strangely grating. “The world will fall to it. You will get what you deserve, and all will wither beneath a cloud of blackness and a blanket of burned bodies made ash.” Marasi gritted her teet... |
couldn’t move—and without his aluminum-lined hat he was completely subject to Armal’s control. Some soldiers came running up, but one of the other townspeople dealt with them using what appeared to be a Soothing. It seemed that Armal had spread the Investiture around as Marasi had suggested. Ultimately, the plan had wo... |
them, in a place with a dark sky and misty ground. Thousands of inhuman soldiers with golden skin and glowing red eyes. Living statues. They carried rifles of an advanced design, and their stares seemed to bore holes in her mind. The men of gold and red had arrived. Bearers of the final metal, Miles had called them. De... |
when have you known that sort of thing?” “It’s in a little kids’ book that Max and I read sometimes,” he said. “Right about my level.” Wax tried the door in the wall to the left of the large windows, but it was locked. “Assassinating the Lord Ruler?” Wax asked. “Isn’t that a little violent for a children’s book?” “Mate... |
Wax could well understand the origins of those myths as the three soldiers passed underneath him in a tight cluster. He dropped and disposed of them the old-fashioned way: a few coins flung in the air, delivered noiselessly into their brains from behind. No crack of gunfire. No shouts of pain. Just the thump of bodies ... |
of metal. He slipped it into his ear, then carefully—ritualistically—checked Vindication’s chambers to be certain there was a round in each. As before, he felt a faint disconnect from the trellium earring. But he didn’t see visions. He felt Telsin’s attention come on him, and heard—faintly—what she was doing. Giving or... |
and Pushed it forward—his weight increased—and ripped the door to the stairwell off the hinges, slamming it against the men hiding inside. Predictably, several others ducked through the opening to try shooting him. He downed them each with a bullet to the head. Then he shot the fire extinguisher, blasting white smoke a... |
tempest, constantly seeking upward. Toward the false heaven of a monstrous god. And as he did, he noticed mist trickling down the steps—there was a small vent to the outside on each floor. Enough for Harmony’s blood to spill in. It rarely came indoors, but it coated the steps tonight like a ghostly liquid. Metal plinge... |
brought me back to Elendel? Was this why you had Lessie watch me? Did you always know?” There was no answer, of course. Wax wasn’t pierced by the right metal currently, and couldn’t commune with God. Still, he felt as if he could feel Harmony trying to push through, trying to see. Fighting Trell’s influence. “Don’t ask... |
a distraction. Wayne grabbed his friend’s arm, then shook his head. “I know you,” Wayne continued loudly, looking up toward the ceiling. “Yeah. I know how you feel. You’re guards. Watchmen. Fellows what was hired to protect the building. You don’t know about this nonsense—about cities being destroyed, about dark gods. ... |
a guy who had been there before. The two ducked out from behind the pillar, weapons out, and saw a whole host of people pushing and scrambling to get through that exit. Wax lowered his gun, dumbfounded, and Wayne grinned as every damn person left. Sure, a few at the tail end glanced back—with concern, like maybe they w... |
thought. Then she dropped both her grenades, and used the same mental command to open the portal to them. The movement on the other side stopped. Frozen in time as the Allomancers around her continued—wide eyed—drawing from the pool. Siphoning away the awesome power until, at last, the glow faded. The room was suddenly... |
miscreant!” the man growled. “Go and fight Getruda, as is your task. I must prove myself against Ladrian!” “Why?” Wayne said as he tried to get his arm around the man’s neck—but also palmed a bit of bendalloy and popped it into his mouth. “Why do you two have this freakish obsession with copying us?” “Survival,” the ma... |
that Wayne and the Coinshot were frozen mid-conflict. Wayne was wrestling the fellow for some reason. Whatever. Wax shot the woman as she drew close, but she barely flinched. She seemed to have a lot of health stored up—and that made sense if she’d begun preparing to fight him and Wayne years ago. He jumped back, float... |
fired a few shots. Wayne took one of those—ouch—but managed another hit of bendalloy. That was the key. People expected a man like him to run out of such an expensive metal. But the fellow didn’t know. He wasn’t merely fighting Wayne the amiable miscreant. He was fighting Wayne Terrisborn, filthy rich snob with way, wa... |
threw herself the other direction, rolling to the ground and becoming a blur. Wax cursed, dancing away—noticing something from the corner of his eye that made him feel comfortable backing up. A moment later, his back pressed up against Wayne’s. “So, how’re things?” Wayne said. “Could be better,” Wax replied. “I hear yo... |
the fellow along the arm something fierce. Huh, Wayne thought. Look at that. The wound didn’t heal. He wasn’t a Bloodmaker. So there was some limit on the number of spikes the Set could stick inna person. Or maybe Trell/Telsin just didn’t want them to be so powerful they could challenge her. Being in the air let Wayne ... |
than anything else, and she kept trying to find a way to engage him directly. Wax didn’t let her. He cut the woman on one side. Then the other. Then he delivered a bullet directly into her arm—and caught sight of a glimmer of metal. The wound healed over in a moment, but he knew what he’d seen. Her metalmind. A second ... |
Trell, the Set. They’ve lied. You are somebody. And someone out there misses you.” She grinned. “They said you’d get into our heads. They said it! But see, I’m smarter than you think. I got into your heads first.” She came running at him. Wax turned Vindication a fraction of a degree and pulled the trigger—delivering t... |
the guns. They continued to rise, then exploded from the top of the mists into a land bathed in starlight. “You did everything you could to learn to fight Wax,” Wayne said, “but you didn’t train to defeat me. That says you’ve been too single-minded. You should pick up a hobby or somethin’!” They finally crested the hei... |
to grab ahold and launch them both up into the open skylight—toward the mist, which cascaded down like a ghostly waterfall. But Wax paused. “Mate?” Wayne asked. Still staring up, Wax fished in his pocket, then brought out a small earring. Shaped like a bent nail. A religious icon for a Pathian, but to him, so much more... |
on it furiously, sparing him nervous glances. “Wayne,” Wax hissed, gun trained on Telsin, “go help those engineers take a lunch break.” “Gladly,” Wayne said, hurrying over. It didn’t take much work to get them corralled into a corner. Wax stood there, gun on Telsin, feeling … unnerved. He’d made it this far. He’d found... |
would end if she didn’t destroy Elendel, she’d have launched it anyway. On the hope that it worked. Because if she failed, everything ended anyway—so why not try? Feeling cold, Wax raised his hand and increased his weight. Then he Pushed against the rocket. The whole construction collapsed, and the enormous weapon—the ... |
manage. His anchor would give out, and he’d drop into the depths. “… Mate?” Wayne said, worried. “Wax? What’s wrong?” Could he get to Elendel fast enough? He doubted he could outpace that ship. And even if he could, what would he do when he arrived? The ship would almost certainly detonate the bomb as soon as it drew e... |
long.” He looked at her. “I didn’t know, Steris. I didn’t know they had been drained. I feel we were played somehow. I don’t do … human very well anymore.” “We will deal with the problem of the Bands,” she said, “if we have the luxury of surviving what is coming.” He growled softly, but it seemed more like a sigh than ... |
her forcefulness, causing the panicking governor to hesitate. “That ship,” she said, “will not reach this city.” “How do you know?” the governor said. “Because my husband, Waxillium Ladrian, will prevent it.” “And if he doesn’t?” the governor said. Steris flipped through her notebook to the disaster scenarios she’d ant... |
a small, nondescript building in a warehouse district. The door looked out onto a street—and a good portion of the city was visible beyond, twinkling with electric lights. Armal and the others gathered around her, staring. Marasi could only imagine their emotions. They’d believed her enough to fight Entrone and the Set... |
slid open the hood on his lantern. Unfortunately, that just lit up the mists—making a blazing halo around Wellid. He couldn’t make out much of the waters; the ship’s deck was pretty high up in the air. When he’d signed on, he hadn’t realized how intimidating it would be to look down. It was like he was atop a three-sto... |
the top bar of the railing. A shape followed, pitch black, vaguely human, heaving itself onto the deck. It had tentacles waving behind it, a hundred of them curling like the mists. In that shadow, Wellid saw a misbegotten shape. A thing that wasn’t human, a thing that couldn’t be human. The mists seemed to know this, f... |
Rusts. We … shall see … Telsin gasped and fell to her knees, trying to reassure herself. It was just Wax. He’d been an annoyance since childhood, but he’d never actually interrupted anything she’d set in motion. Honestly, he probably hadn’t even reached the ship. A jump like that was nearly impossible, and his aim wasn... |
lantern with him and leaving the two of them in darkness. “Damn,” Wayne said. “I meant for him to find a lifeboat or somethin’.” “The people on this ship are going to be zealots,” Wax said. “Considering they’re on a suicide mission.” Shouts from farther along the deck, including other lanterns being unshuttered, indica... |
wouldn’t work. The timing is too precise for humans. You’d end up detonating two of the bombs. “How much destructive power are we talking about?” Wax asked, folding out the bomb schematics. “What if we set a charge, get out of here, and let it blow in the middle of the ocean?” Waxillium, Wayne … Harmony said, and Wayne... |
people could achieve: a monument to ingenuity, a home to thousands of different ideas, types of people, and experiences. At Max’s urging he took them higher, using skyscrapers as his anchors to Push upward, back and forth, until they landed near the top of one building in particular: Ahlstrom Tower. The penthouse was t... |
loved equally. Maybe more, judging by the warmth he felt as Max laughed. This … this was where he belonged. More, this was where he wanted to belong. It felt calming to realize these things. He’d … finally stopped grieving, hadn’t he? With a grin of his own, he scooped Max up and gave the child a powerful hug—though Ma... |
evacuation and hurried with the governor to the city docks. Her master plan included these people leaving via boat, which meant tons of people now crowded the docks. If that bomb exploded nearby, all of these would be in serious danger. In addition, she worried about flooding. She knew only a little regarding this poss... |
storms, droughts, food shortages, and mass pipe breakings. There are seven more I want to get to.” He stared at her, his eyes wide, several of the remaining officials gathering around and nodding as they looked over her maps, instructions, and plans. “Your talents,” the governor whispered, “have previously been wasted,... |
eight people nodded to her, then launched into the air. Oh! Allomancers. She had all the official ones working on the main evacuation. But having these to sink ships would certainly help. And then she could use them to help carry the injured or infirm away with Steelpushes. The others followed one at a time, until only... |
have foreseen this. We wasted time coming up here.” “But—” Wayne said. “It makes a brutal sense,” Wax said. “They guided the ship here, then locked the course down before killing themselves. The thing will explode the moment it stops—as soon as it hits land. We’re not on a traditional ship. This is a rocket, like the o... |
of metal vials. He frowned, and came out with … a handkerchief. “Barely used,” Wayne said. “Wayne…” Wayne grinned and handed Wax his rifle, then fished in his pocket. “I thought it needed to be somewhere safe. So I made a nice little trade.” “Harmony,” Wax said, “if you can make this work, it will still detonate the sh... |
burns all the metals in you at once. Every single bit. The more you have, the more powerful it is. It doesn’t just work on steel. It works on any Allomantic metal. Wayne paused, the ship rocking, then whistled softly, understanding. “You mean…” How much bendalloy do you have left? He fished a pouch out of his pocket. H... |
enough against upcoming sources of metal to hold the ship back, treading water, while we gain more time and figure something else out. It would be exceptionally difficult, but it’s plausible.” “You can see the future,” Wayne said. “Would it work?” “I can see probabilities,” Harmony said. “I can see what might happen. I... |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.