Mistborn #03 The Hero of Ages

It is a disturbing precedent you set."
    It was brilliant, TenSoon thought. I hate Zane for making me do it, but I can still see the genius in it. Vin never even suspected me. Who would?
    "You should have refused to do this act," KanPaar said. "You should have pled the need for clarification of your Contract. If others were to begin using us in this way, to kill one another, then we could be wiped out in a matter of years!"
    "You betrayed us all with your rashness," said another.
    Ah, TenSoon thought. So that is their plan. They establish me as a traitor first, so that what I say later lacks credibility . He smiled. He was of the Third Generation; it was time he started acting like it.
    "I betrayed us with my rashness?" TenSoon asked. "What of you, glorious Seconds? Who was it who allowed a Contract to be assigned to Kelsier himself? You gave a kandra servant to the very man who was planning to kill the Father! "
    KanPaar stiffened, as if he'd been slapped, translucent face angry in the blue lamplight. "It is not your place to make accusations, Third!"
    "I have no place anymore, it seems," TenSoon said. "None of us do, now that the Father is dead. We have no right to complain, for we helped it happen."
    "How were we to know this man would succeed when others hadn't," a Second sputtered. "He paid so well that—"
    KanPaar cut the other off with a sharp wave of the hand. It wasn't good for those of the Second Generation to defend themselves. However, HunFoor—the kandra who had spoken—hadn't ever really fit in with the others of his generation. He was a little more . . . dense.
    "You shall speak no more of this, Third," KanPaar said, pointing at TenSoon.
    "How can I defend myself if I cannot—"
    "You aren't here to defend yourself," KanPaar said. "This is not a trial—you have already admitted your guilt. This is a judgment. Explain your actions, then let the First Generation pronounce your fate!"
    TenSoon fell silent. It was not time to push. Not yet.
    "Now," KanPaar said, "this thing you did in taking the place of one of your own brothers is bad enough. Need we speak on, or would you accept judgment now?"
    "We both know that OreSeur's death has little to do with why I am here," TenSoon said.
    "Very well," said KanPaar. "Let us move on, then. Why don't you tell the First Generation why—if you are such a Contract-abiding kandra—you broke Contract with your master, disobeying his interests and helping his enemy instead?"
    KanPaar's accusation echoed in the room. TenSoon closed his eyes, thinking back to that day over a year ago. He remembered sitting quietly on the floor of Keep Venture, watching as Zane and Vin fought.
    No. It hadn't been a fight. Zane had been burning atium, which had made him all but invincible. Zane had played with Vin, toying with and mocking her.
    Vin hadn't been TenSoon's master—TenSoon had killed her kandra and taken his place, spying on Vin at Zane's order. Zane. He had been TenSoon's master. He had held TenSoon's Contract.
    But against all of his training, TenSoon had helped Vin. And, in doing so, he had revealed to her the great Secret of the kandra. Their weakness: that an Allomancer could use their powers to take complete control of a kandra's body. The kandra served their Contracts to keep this Secret hidden—they became servants, lest they end up as slaves. TenSoon opened his eyes to the quiet chamber. This was the moment he had been planning for.
    "I didn't break my Contract," he announced.
    KanPaar snorted. "You said otherwise when you came to us a year ago, Third."
    "I told you what happened," TenSoon said, standing tall. "What I said was not a lie. I helped Vin instead of Zane. Partially because of my actions, my master ended up dead at Vin's feet. But I did not break my Contract."
    "You imply that Zane wanted you to help his enemy?" KanPaar said.
    "No," TenSoon said. "I did not break my Contract because I decided to serve a greater Contract. The First Contract!"
    "The Father is dead!" one of the Seconds snapped. "How could you serve our Contract with him?"
    "He is dead," TenSoon said. "That is true. But the First Contract did not die with him! Vin, the Heir of the Survivor, was the one who killed the Lord Ruler. She is our Mother now. Our First Contract is with her!"
    He had expected outcries of blasphemy and condemnation. Instead, he got shocked silence. KanPaar stood, stupefied, behind his stone lectern. The members of the First Generation were silent, as usual, sitting