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Ca apprehensive

"Well," Ham said, "apparently the Ministry found it"

It see faction in Terris culture A large number of the youths think that their unusual powers should be used forThey are rowdy, even violent--far different fro Terris philosophers and holy men that I have known

They will have to be watched carefully, these Terrisiven the opportunity and the motivation

11

KELSIER PAUSED IN THE DOORWAY, blocking Vin’s view She stooped down, trying to peek past him into the lair, but too many people were in the way She could only tell that the door hung at an angle, splintered, the upper hinge torn free

Kelsier stood for a longpast Dockson toward her "Haht, Vin You may not want to see this"

Vin stood where she was, looking at hi into the room Dockson followed, and Vin could finally see what they had been blocking

The floor was scattered with corpses, their twisted liht of Dockson’s solitary lantern They weren’t rotting yet--the attack had happened only that --but there was still a s slowly, the scent of misery and of terror

Vin remained in the doorway She’d seen death before-- seen it often, on the streets Knifings in alleys Beatings in lairs Children dead of starvation She had once seen an old woman’s neck snapped by the backhand of an annoyed lord

The body had lain in the street for three days before a skaa corpse crew had finally come for it

Yet, none of those incidents had the same air of intentional butchery that she saw in Camon’s lair These men hadn’t simply been killed, they had been torn apart Limbs lay separated from torsos Broken chairs and tables impaled chests There were only a few patches of floor that were not covered in sticky, dark blood

Kelsier glanced at her, obviously expecting so over the death, feeling… numb What should her reaction be? These were the men who had mistreated her, stolen from her, beaten her And yet, these were the men who had sheltered her, included her, and fed her when others iven her to the whoremasters

Reen probably would have berated her for the traitorous sadness she felt at the sight Of course, he had always been angry when--as a child--she’d cried as they left one town for another, not wanting to leave the people she’d grown to know, no matter how cruel or indifferent they were Apparently, she hadn’t quite gotten over that weakness She stepped into the roo any tears for thesethat they had not coore itself was disturbing She tried to force herself to maintain a stiff face in front of the others, but she found herself cringing occasionally, glancing away froled corpses The ones who had perforh

This seeht What kind of person would do so like this?

"Inquisitor," Dockson said quietly, kneeling by a corpse

Kelsier nodded Behind Vin, Sazed stepped into the room, careful to keep his robes clear of the blood Vin turned toward the Terrisrisly corpse Kelsier was a Mistborn, and Dockson was supposedly a capable warrior Ha the area However, others--Breeze, Yeden, and Clubs-- had stayed behind The area was too dangerous Kelsier had even resisted Vin’s desire to coht Sazed without apparent hesitation The ard the steith a new curiosity Why would it be too dangerous for Mistings, yet safe enough for a Terrisman steward? Was Sazed a warrior? Hoould he have learned to fight? Terrismen were supposedly raised from birth by very careful trainers

Sazed’s save her few clues He didn’t appear shocked by the carnage, however

Interesting, Vin thought, picking her way through shattered furniture, stepping clear of blood pools,her way to Kelsier’s side He crouched beside a pair of corpses One, Vin noticed in a moment of shock, had been Ulef The boy’s face was contorted and pained, the front of his chest a mass of broken bones and ripped flesh--as if soe apart with his hands Vin shivered, looking away

"This isn’t good," Kelsier said quietly "Steel Inquisitors don’t generally bother with siators would just come doith their troops and take everyone captive, then use theood show on an execution day An Inquisitor would only get involved if it had a special interest in the crew"

"You think…" Vin said "You think it ht be the same one as before?"

Kelsier nodded "There are only about twenty Steel Inquisitors in the whole of the Final Eiven time I find it too much of a coincidence that you would catch one’s interest, escape, and then have your old lair get hit"

Vin stood quietly, forcing herself to look down at Ulef’s body and confront her sorrow He had betrayed her in the end, but for a time he had almost been a friend

"So," she said quietly, "the Inquisitor still has

"Then this is my fault," Vin said "Ulef and the others…"

"It was Camon’s fault," Kelsier said firator" He paused, then looked over at her "You going to be all right?"

Vin looked up froed "None of them were my friends"

"That’s kind of coldhearted, Vin"

"I know," she said with a quiet nod

Kelsier regarded her for a moment, then crossed the room to speak with Dockson

Vin looked back at Ulef’s wounds They looked like the work of sole man

The Inquisitor must have had help, Vin told herself There is no way one person, even an Inquisitor, could have done all this There was a pileup of bodies near the bolt exit, but a quick count told her that most--if not all--of the creas accounted for One h…could he have?

There are a lot of things we don’t know about the Inquisitors, Kelsier had told her They don’t quite follow the norain