Mistborn #02 The Well of Ascension

In truth, all of his actions—all of the deaths, destructions, and pains that he has caused—have hurt him deeply. All of these things were, in truth, a kind of sacrifice for him .

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    ELEND YAWNED, LOOKING OVER THE letter he'd penned to Jastes. Perhaps he could persuade his former friend to see reason.
    If he couldn't. . .well, a duplicate of the wooden coin Jastes had been using to "pay" the koloss sat on Elend's desk. It was a perfect copy, whittled by Clubs himself. Elend was pretty certain that he had access to more wood than Jastes did. If he could help Penrod stall for a few more weeks, they might be able to make enough "money" to bribe the koloss away.
    He set down his pen, rubbing his eyes. It was late. Time to—
    His door slammed open. Elend spun, and caught sight of a flustered Vin dashing across the room and into his arms. She was crying.
    And she was bloody.
    "Vin!" he said. "What happened?"
    "I killed him," she said, head buried in Elend's chest.
    "Who?"
    "Your brother," she said. "Zane. Straff's Mistborn. I killed him."
    "Wait. What? My brother ?"
    Vin nodded. "I'm sorry."
    "Forget about that, Vin!" Elend said, gently prying her back and pushing her into his chair. She had a gash on her cheek, and her shirt was slick with blood. "Lord Ruler! I'm going to get Sazed right now."
    "Don't leave me," she said, holding his arm.
    Elend paused. Something had changed. She seemed to need him again. "Come with me, then. We'll both go see him."
    Vin nodded, standing. She teetered just a bit, and Elend felt a spike of fear, but the determined look in her eyes wasn't something he wanted to challenge. He put his arm around her, letting her lean on him as they walked to Sazed's quarters. Elend paused to knock, but Vin simply pushed her way into the dark room, then wobbled and sat down on the floor just inside.
    "I'll. . .sit here," she said.
    Elend paused worriedly by her side, then raised his lamp and called toward the bedchamber. "Sazed!"
    The Terrisman appeared a moment later, looking exhausted and wearing a white sleeping robe. He noticed Vin, blinked a few times, then disappeared into his chambers. He returned a moment later with a metalmind bracer strapped to his forearm and a bag of medical equipment.
    "Now, Lady Vin," Sazed said, setting the bag down. "What would Master Kelsier think, seeing you in this condition? You ruin more clothing in this manner, I think. . .."
    "This isn't a time for levity, Sazed," Elend said.
    "I apologize, Your Majesty," Sazed said, carefully cutting the clothing away from Vin's shoulder. "However, if she is still conscious, then she isn't in serious danger." He peered closer at the wound, absently lifting clean cloths from his bag.
    "You see?" Sazed asked. "This gash is deep, but the blade was deflected by the bone, and missed hitting any major vessels. Hold this here." He pressed a cloth to the wound, and Elend put his hand on it. Vin sat with her eyes closed, resting back against the wall, blood dripping slowly from her chin. She seemed more exhausted than in pain.
    Sazed took his knife and cut away the front of Vin's shirt, exposing her wounded chest.
    Elend paused. "Perhaps I should. . ."
    "Stay," Vin said. It wasn't a plea, but a command. She raised her head, opening her eyes as Sazed tisked quietly at the wound, then got out a numbing agent and some needle and thread.
    "Elend," she said, "I need to tell you something."
    He paused. "All right."
    "I've realized something about Kelsier," she said quietly. "I always focus on the wrong things, when it comes to him. It's hard to forget the hours he spent training me to be an Allomancer. Yet, it wasn't his ability to fight that made him great—it wasn't his harshness or his brutality, or even his strength or his instincts."
    Elend frowned.
    "Do you know what it was?" she asked.
    He shook his head, still pressing the cloth against her shoulder.
    "It was his ability to trust," she said. "It was the way that he made good people into better people, the way that he inspired them. His crew worked because he had confidence in them—because he respected them. And, in return, they respected each other. Men like Breeze and Clubs became heroes because Kelsier had faith in them."
    She looked up at him, blinking tired eyes. "And you are far better at that than Kelsier ever was, Elend. He had to work at it. You do it instinctively, treating even weasels like Philen as if they were good and honorable men. It's not naivete, as some think. It's