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More remarkable, however, were the canals They had been refilled so the occasionalthe patina of ash that covered the water Here and there, debris and refuse clogged the ays, but they were passable inhis canine head, continuing on his way He'd stowed the bag with Kelsier's bones outside, not wanting to look odd carrying a pack on his back

What had been the purpose of burning the city, then restoring its canals? He would likely have to wait to find the answer He'd seen no army camped outside; if Vin had been here, she'd already oal noas to find what passed for leadership in the re down the Hero of Ages

As he walked, he heard the people talking--speaking of how they'd ed to survive the fires that had claimed much of the city They actually seemed cheerful There was despair, too, but there seemed an inordinate amount of happiness This was not a city whose people had been conquered

They feel they defeated the fire, TenSoon thought,aa third of the city as a disaster--they see saving two-thirds of it as a miracle

He followed the flow of traffic toward the center of tohere he finally found the soldiers he'd expected They were definitely Elend's, bearing the spear and the scroll on the arms of their uniforms However, they defended an unlikely location: a Ministry building

TenSoon sat back on his haunches, cocking his head The building was obviously a center of operations People bustled about under the eyes of the watchful soldiers, et inside He briefly considered going to fetch Kelsier's bones froht He wasn't certain if he wanted to deal with the raain There was another way to get in--equally shocking, perhaps, but far less theologically disturbing

He padded over to the front of the building and walked up the steps, drawing a few startled looks As he approached the front doors, one of the guards shouted at hi the butt of a spear his direction

"Here now!" the s Whose hound is this?"

TenSoon sat back on his haunches "I belong to no uard juot a twisted sense of pleasure He i, and he went about startling rando's body that he'd never considered

"Wha" the soldier said, looking around to see if he were the victim of some joke

"I said," TenSoon repeated, "that I belong to no e concept--the weight of which, undoubtedly, the guard could never grasp TenSoon, a kandra, was outside of the Homeland without a Contract As far as he knew, he was the first of his people to do such a thing in seven hundred years It felt oddlysatisfying

Several people were staring at hi to their coambled "I've coe for your leaders here"

To TenSoon's satisfaction, several of the other guards jumped The first one, however--now an old hand when it ca into the building "In there"

"Thank you," TenSoon said, rising and walking through a now-quiet crowd as he made his way into the Ministry offices He heard comments about "trick" and "well-trained" behind hient He wound his way through groups and lines of people, all ignorant of the odd occurrence at the entrance to the building At the end of the lines, TenSoon found

Breeze The Soother sat in a throne-like chair, holding a cup of wine, looking very pleased with himself as he made proclamations and settled disputes He looked much as he had when TenSoon had served as Vin's servant One of the guards stood whispering to Breeze Both eyed TenSoon as he padded up to the front of the line The guard paled slightly, but Breeze just leaned forward, sainst the marble floor "Were you always a kandra, or did you eat the bones of Vin's hound recently?"

TenSoon sat "I was always a kandra"

Breeze nodded "I knew there was so odd about you--far too well behaved for a wolfhound" He s his wine "Lord Renoux, I presume? It's been a while"

"I'm not him, actually," TenSoon said "I'm a different kandra It'scoave Breeze pause He eyed TenSoon, and TenSoon felt just a moment of panic Breeze was a Soother--and, like all Soothers, he held the power to take control of TenSoon's body The Secret

No, TenSoon told himself forcefully Allomancers are weaker now than they once were Only with duralumin could they take control of a kandra, and Breeze is only a Misting--he can't burn duralu on the job, Breeze?" TenSoon asked, raising a canine eyebrow

"Of course," Breeze said, raising the cup "What good is being in charge if you can't set your oorking conditions?"