Mistborn #02 The Well of Ascension

supposed to save me," he hissed.
    Vin flared every metal she had in a sudden jolt. She shoved Zane backward and Pulled herself against the door hinges. She flew backward and hit the door hard, the wood cracking slightly, but she was too tense—too shocked—to feel anything but the thud.
    Zane rose quietly, standing tall, dark. Vin rolled forward into a crouch. Zane was attacking her. Attacking her for real.
    But. . .he. . .
    "OreSeur!" Vin said, ignoring her mind's objections, whipping out her daggers. "Run away!"
    The code given, she charged, trying to distract Zane's attention from the wolfhound. Zane sidestepped her attacks with a casual grace. Vin whipped a dagger toward his neck. It barely missed as Zane tipped his head backward. She struck at his side, at his arm, at his chest. Each strike missed.
    She'd known he'd burn atium. She'd expected that. She skidded to a stop, looking at him. He hadn't even bothered to pull out his own weapons. He stood before her, face dark, mist a growing lake at his feet. "Why didn't you listen to me, Vin?" he asked. "Why force me to keep being Straff's tool? We both know where that must lead."
    Vin ignored him. Gritting her teeth, she launched into an attack. Zane backhanded her indifferently, and she Pushed slightly against the deskmounts behind him—tossing herself backward, as if thrown by the force of his blow. She slammed into the wall, then slumped to the ground.
    Directly beside the startled OreSeur.
    He hadn't opened his shoulder to give her the atium. Hadn't he understood the code? "The atium I gave you," Vin hissed. "I need it. Now ."
    "Kandra," Zane said. "Come to me."
    OreSeur met her eyes, and she saw something within them. Shame. He glanced away, then padded across the floor, mist up to his knees, as he joined Zane in the center of the room.
    "No. . ." Vin whispered. "OreSeur—"
    "You will no longer obey her commands, TenSoon," Zane said.
    OreSeur bowed his head.
    "The Contract, OreSeur!" Vin said, climbing to her knees. "You must obey my orders!"
    "My servant, Vin," Zane said. "My Contract. My orders."
    My servant. . ..
    And suddenly, it clicked. She'd suspected everyone—Dockson, Breeze, even Elend—but she'd never connected the spy to the one person that made the most sense. There had been a kandra in the palace all along. And he had been at her side.
    "I'm sorry, Mistress," OreSeur whispered.
    "How long?" Vin asked, bowing her head.
    "Since you gave my predecessor—the real OreSeur—the dog's body," the kandra said. "I killed him that day and took his place, wearing the body of a dog. You never saw him as a wolfhound."
    What easier way to mask the transformation? Vin thought. "But, the bones we discovered in the palace," she said. "You were with me on the wall when they appeared. They—"
    She'd taken his word on how fresh those bones had been; she'd taken his word on when they had been produced. She'd assumed all along that the switch must have happened that day, when she was with Elend on the city wall—but she'd done so primarily because of what OreSeur had said.
    Idiot! she thought. OreSeur—or, TenSoon, as Zane had called him—had led her to suspect everyone but himself. What was wrong with her? She was usually so good at sniffing out traitors, at noticing insincerity. How had she missed spotting her own kandra?
    Zane walked forward. Vin waited, on her knees. Weak , she told herself. Look weak. Make him leave you alone. Try to—
    "Soothing me will do no good," Zane said quietly, grabbing her by the front of her shirt, picking her up, then throwing her back down. Mist sprayed beneath her, puffing up in a splash as she slammed to the floor. Vin stifled her cry of pain.
    I have to stay quiet. If guards come, he'll kill them. If Elend comes. . .
    She had to stay quiet, quiet even as Zane kicked her in her wounded side. She grunted, eyes watering.
    "You could have saved me," Zane said, peering down at her. "I was willing to go with you. Now, what is left? Nothing. Nothing, but Straff's orders." He punctuated that sentence with a kick.
    Stay small , she told herself through the pain. He'll leave you alone eventually. . ..
    But it had been years since she'd had to bow before anyone. Her days of cringing before Camon and Reen were almost misty shadows, forgotten before the light offered by Elend and Kelsier. As Zane kicked again, Vin found herself growing angry.
    He brought his foot back, angling it toward her face, and Vin moved. As his foot arced down,