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"ARE YOU SURE IT WAS THE MIST SPIRIT?" Elend asked, frowning, a half-finished letter--scribed into a steel foil sheet--sitting on his desk before him He'd decided to sleep in his cabin aboard the narrowboat, rather than in a tent Not only was it more comfortable, he felt more secure alls around hi down on their bed, pulling her legs up and setting her chin on her knees "I don't know I kind of got spooked, so I fled"

"Good thing," Elend said, shivering as he remembered what the mist spirit had done to him

"Sazed was convinced that the mist spirit wasn't evil," Vin said

"So was I," Elend said "If you'll re you that 1I felt it was friendly That was right about the time it stabbedto keep , I would take the power forit up"

"You don't know its intentions for certain, Vin You could be connecting coincidences in your mind"

"Perhaps However, it led Sazed to discover that Ruin was altering text"

That much, at least, was true--if, indeed, Sazed's account of the matter could be trusted The Terrisman had been a little bitinconsistent since Tindwyl had died No, Elend told hiuilt No, Sazed is trustworthy Hewith his faith, but he is still twice as reliable as the rest of us

"Oh, Elend," Vin said softly "There's so much we don't know Lately, I feel like e I don't kno to read The in to fathom how"

"It's probably on our side," Elend said, though it was hard not to keep flashing back to memories of how it had felt to be stabbed, to feel his life fading away To die, knohat it would do to Vin

He forced himself back to the conversation at hand "You think theRuin, and Sazed says it gave him important information That makes it the enemy of our enemy"

"For the moment," Vin said "But, the mist spirit is much weaker than Ruin I've felt them both Ruin wasvast Powerful It can hear whatever we say--can see all places at once The mist spirit is far fainter More like a memory than a real force or power"

"Do you still think it hates you?"

Vin shrugged "I haven't seen it in over a year Yet, I'es, and I always felt hatred and ani That night when I first saw the an to sense that the er my home"

"Are you sure the spirit isn't what kills people and makes them sick?"

Vin nodded "Yes, I'h Elend felt she was a bit quick to judge So about in thethat would be related to people dying suddenly in those same mists

Of course, the people who died in thedisease Elend sighed, rubbing his eyes His unfinished letter to Lord Yoet back to it in the ht, I told so and turn the sun yellow"

Elend raised an eyebrow "That informant you spoke of?"

Vin nodded The two sat in silence

"I never expected you to ad like that," he finally said

"I'es, aren't I? Even Sazed said so, before he started to go strange It's my destiny"

"The same 'destiny' that said you would take up the power of the Well of Ascension, then release it for the greater good of mankind?"

Vin nodded

"Vin," Elend said with a s we need to worry about right now I mean, we have proof that the prophecies were twisted by Ruin in order to trick people into freeing him"

"Someone has to worry about the ash," Vin said

There wasn't ical side of hi that they should focus on the things they could do-- the secrets left by the Lord Ruler, securing the supplies in the caches Yet, the constant ashfall see even denser If that continued, it wouldn't be long before the sky was nothing more than a solid black storm of ash

It just seemed so difficult to think that Vin--his wife--could do anything about the color of the sun or the falling ash Deers across the ood member of the Church of the Survivor

He looked across the cabin at her, sitting on the bed, expression distant as she thought about things that shouldn't have to be her burden Even after leaping about all night, even after their days spent traveling, even with her face dirtied by ash, she was beautiful

At thatVin didn't need another person worshipping her She didn't need another faithful believer like Deood ood husband

"Well, then," he said "Let's do it"

"What?" Vin asked

"Save the world," Elend said "Stop the ash"

Vin snorted quietly "You make it sound like a joke"

"No, I' "If this is what you feel you must do--what you feel that you are--then let's do it I'll help however I can"

"What about your speech before?" Vin said "In the last storage cavern--you talked about division of labor Me working on thethe e"