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Spook closed his eyes Heat fro his skin He had heard Kelsier speak to crowds of skaa And, Kelsier had said the things that Durn now referred to Then, the Survivor had been a voice of hope, of spirit His same words repeated noever, became words of hatred and destruction Spook felt sick

"Again, Durn," he said, looking up, feeling particularly harsh, "I don't pay you to spout Citizen propaganda at et no further coin fro Spook's eyes behind the cloth "Count the skulls," he said quietly With that, Durn took his hand off Spook's shoulder and retreated into the crowd

Spook didn't follow The scents of s too powerful for hi fresh air He stu the rough grain of its wood press against his side It see flakes of ash were a part of the pyre behind, bits of death cast upon the wind

He heard voices Spook turned, noting that the Citizen and his guards hadthe crowd, encouraging theilant Spook watched for a ti the Citizen as he moved back toward the market pit

He's punished them, now he needs to bless them Often, especially after executions, the Citizen visited the people personally,encouragement

Spook took off down a side street He soon passed out of the wealthier section of town, arriving at a place where the street fell away before hi wall had collapsed, for a slope down into the dry canal, then hopped down, skidding his way to the botto his covered eyes, and h the busy street with the dexterity of one who had grown up a street urchin

Even taking a more roundabout route, he arrived at Marketpit before the Citizen and his retinue Spook watched through the raining ash as thethat numbered in the hundreds

You want to be hi beside athis people hope, and now you think to steal his legacy

This man was no Kelsier This man wasn't even worthy to utter the Survivor's na a paternal air, speaking to the people of the market He touched them on the shoulders, shook hands, and smiled benevolently "The Survivor would be proud of you" Spook could hear his voice even over the noise of the crowd "The ash that falls is a sign from him--it represents the fall of the empire, the ashes of tyranny From those ashes ill ed forward, putting down the top of his hood and feeling before himself with his hands, as if he were blind He carried his dueling cane across his back, in a strap obscured by the folds of his baggy gray shirt He was h crowds While Vin had alorked hard to reed to achieve both things without ever trying In fact, he'd often tried the opposite He'd drea a man like Kelsier--for even before he'd reatest skaa thief of their tih to try to rob the Lord Ruler hiht, Spook had never been able to distinguish hinore yet another ash-faced boy, especially if you couldn't understand his thick Eastern slang It had taken actually --to finally convince Spook to abandon his dialect That hen Spook had begun to understand that there was a power in words

Spook subtlythe Citizen He got jostled and shoved, but nobody cried out against hiht up in the press of people was easy to ignore--and as ignored could get where it wasn't supposed to With so, Spook soon placed hith from the Citizen

The ood wo as he held an elderly wo the fields Without him and his kind, ould not be able to eat! A nation ruled by skaa also has to be one worked by skaa"

"Butcan't he come back, even for a bit?" the woood woman," the Citizen said "In time" His crimson uniform made him the only splash of color on the street, and Spook found hi He tore his eyes away and continued to oal

Beldre stood to the side, as usual Alatching, but never interacting The Citizen was so dynaotten Spook understood that feeling quite well He let a soldier jostle hi hiht next to Beldre She sht that was supposed to be forbidden

What would Kelsier have done? He'd have attacked, perhaps, killing the Citizen Or, he'd have ainst the man in another way Kelsier wouldn't have let such terrible things happen--he'd have acted

Perhaps he would have tried to make an ally out of someone trusted by the Citizen?

Spook felt his heart--always so an to ainst Beldre The guards weren't watching--they were focused on the Citizen, keeping him safe with so many random elements around

"Your brother," Spook whispered in her ear, "you approve of his murders?"

She spun, and he noticed for the first ti it shove hiure out who had spoken The crowd, following her brother, carried her fro jostled in the sea of elbows, for a short tih the people with subtle care until he was again beside Beldre

"You think this is any different froather up random people and execute theain, finally identifying Spook a her eyes despite the blindfold People moved between them, and she was carried away

Her mouth moved Only someone with the enhanced senses of tin could have seen with enough detail to make out the words on her lips