Mistborn Trilogy - Brandon Sanderson [597]
“Zinc Gate is the most well defended,” Sazed said quietly. “They will be able to hold it, I think.”
The messenger nodded. Ash blew along the wall top, piling in the cracks and alcoves in the stone, the black flakes adulterated by the occasional bit of bone-white snow.
“Is there anything you wish me to report to Lord Dockson?” the messenger asked.
Sazed paused, glancing along his wall’s defenses. He’d climbed down from the watchtower, joining the regular ranks of men. The soldiers had run out of stones, though the archers were still working. He peeked over the side of the wall and saw the koloss corpses piling up. However, he also saw the splintered front of the gate. It’s amazing they can maintain such rage for so long, he thought, ducking back. The creatures continued to howl and scream, like feral dogs.
He sat back against the wet stone, shivering in the chill wind, his toes growing numb. He tapped his brassmind, drawing out the heat he’d stored therein, and his body suddenly flooded with a pleasant sensation of warmth.
“Tell Lord Dockson that I fear for this gate’s defenses,” Sazed said quietly. “The best men were stolen away to help with the eastern gates, and I have little confidence in our leader. If Lord Dockson could send someone else to be in charge, that would be for the best, I think.”
The messenger paused.
“What?” Sazed asked.
“Isn’t that why he sent you, Master Terrisman?”
Sazed frowned. “Please tell him I have even less confidence in my own ability to lead…or to fight…than I do in that of our commander.”
The messenger nodded and took off, scrambling down the steps toward his horse. Sazed cringed as a rock hit the wall just above him. Chips flipped over the merlon, scattering to the battlement in front of him. By the Forgotten Gods… Sazed thought, wringing his hands. What am I doing here?
He saw motion on the wall beside him, and turned as the youthful soldier captain—Captain Bedes—moved up to him, careful to keep his head down. Tall, with thick hair that grew down around his eyes, he was spindly even beneath his armor. The young man looked like he should have been dancing at balls, not leading soldiers in battle.
“What did the messenger say?” Bedes asked nervously.
“Zinc Gate has fallen, my lord,” Sazed replied.
The young captain paled. “What…what should we do?”
“Why ask me, my lord?” Sazed asked. “You are in command.”
“Please,” the man said, grabbing Sazed’s arm. “I don’t…I…”
“My lord,” Sazed said sternly, forcing down his own nervousness. “You are a nobleman, are you not?”
“Yes…”
“Then you are accustomed to giving orders,” Sazed said. “Give them now.”
“Which orders?”
“It doesn’t matter,” Sazed said. “Let the men see that you are in charge.”
The young man wavered, then yelped and ducked as a rock took one of the nearby archers in the shoulder, throwing him back into the courtyard. The men below scrambled out of the way of the corpse, and Sazed noticed something odd. A group of people had gathered at the back of the courtyard. Civilians—skaa—in ash-stained clothing.
“What are they doing here?” Sazed asked. “They should be hiding, not standing here to tempt the koloss once the creatures break through!”
“Once they break through?” Captain Bedes asked.
Sazed ignored the man. Civilians he could deal with. He was accustomed to being in charge of a nobleman’s servants.
“I will go speak to them,” Sazed said.
“Yes…” Bedes said. “That sounds like a good idea.”
Sazed made his way down the steps, which were growing slick and wet with ashen slush, then approached the group of people. There were even more of them than he had assumed; they extended back into the street a short distance. The hundred or so people stood huddled together, watching the gates through the falling snow, looking cold, and Sazed felt a little guilty for his brassmind’s warmth.
Several of the people bowed their heads as Sazed approached.
“Why are you here?” Sazed asked. “Please, you must seek shelter. If your