Mistborn Trilogy - Brandon Sanderson [31]
Breeze rolled his eyes. “There’s really no question to it at all. You shouldn’t think about such things, Hammond—you’ll hurt your brain. I offered her encouragement, I simply did it through an irregular means.”
“But—”
“I’m not going to argue it with you, Ham.”
The beefy man sighed, looking a little bit forlorn.
“Are you going to bring me the drink…?” Breeze asked hopefully, looking at Vin. “I mean, you’re already up, and you’re going to have to come back this direction to reach your seat anyway….”
Vin examined her emotions. Did she feel irregularly drawn to do as the man asked? Was he manipulating her again? Finally, she simply walked away from the bar, leaving the drink where it was.
Breeze sighed. He didn’t stand to go get the drink himself, however.
Vin walked tentatively toward the two men’s table. She was accustomed to shadows and corners—close enough to eavesdrop, but far enough away to escape. Yet, she couldn’t hide from these men—not while the room was so empty. So, she chose a chair at the table beside the one that the two men were using, then sat cautiously. She needed information—as long as she was ignorant, she was going to be at a severe disadvantage in this new world of Misting crews.
Breeze chuckled. “Nervous little thing, aren’t you?”
Vin ignored the comment. “You,” Vin said, nodding to Ham. “You’re a…a Misting too?”
Ham nodded. “I’m a Thug.”
Vin frowned in confusion.
“I burn pewter,” Ham said.
Again, Vin looked at him questioningly.
“He can make himself stronger, my dear,” Breeze said. “He hits things—particularly other people—who try to interfere with what the rest of us are doing.”
“There’s much more to it than that,” Ham said. “I run general security for jobs, providing my crewleader with manpower and warriors, assuming such are necessary.”
“And he’ll try and bore you with random philosophy when it isn’t,” Breeze added.
Ham sighed. “Breeze, honestly, sometimes I don’t know why I…” Ham trailed off as the door opened again, admitting another man.
The newcomer wore a dull tan overcoat, a pair of brown trousers, and a simple white shirt. However, his face was far more distinctive than his clothing. It was knotted and gnarled, like a twisted piece of wood, and his eyes shone with the level of disapproving dissatisfaction only the elderly can display. Vin couldn’t quite place his age—he was young enough that he wasn’t stooped over, yet he was old enough that he made even the middle-aged Breeze look youthful.
The newcomer looked over Vin and the others, huffed disdainfully, then walked to a table on the other side of the room and sat down. His steps were marked by a distinct limp.
Breeze sighed. “I’m going to miss Trap.”
“We all will,” Ham said quietly. “Clubs is very good, though. I’ve worked with him before.”
Breeze studied the newcomer. “I wonder if I could get him to bring my drink over….”
Ham chuckled. “I’d pay money to see you try it.”
“I’m sure you would,” Breeze said.
Vin eyed the newcomer, who seemed perfectly content to ignore her and the other two men. “What’s he?”
“Clubs?” Breeze asked. “He, my dear, is a Smoker. He is what will keep the rest of us from being discovered by an Inquisitor.”
Vin chewed on her lip, digesting the new information as she studied Clubs. The man shot her a glare, and she looked away. As she turned, she noticed that Ham was looking at her.
“I like you, kid,” he said. “The other twixts I’ve worked with have either been too intimidated to talk to us, or they’ve been jealous of us for moving into their territory.”
“Indeed,” Breeze said. “You’re not like most crumbs. Of course, I’d like you a great deal more if you’d go fetch me that glass of wine….”
Vin ignored him, glancing at Ham. “Crumb?”
“That’s what some of the more self-important members of our society call lesser thieves,” Ham said. “They call you crumbs, since you tend to be involved with…less inspired projects.”
“No offense intended, of course,” Breeze said.
“Oh, I wouldn’t ever take offense at—” Vin paused, feeling an irregular desire to please the well-dressed man.