Mistborn: Secret History (Mistborn, #3.5)(49)

Downstairs a door thumped, and Spook jumped. He kept expecting loud noises to hurt his ears more than they did, and even after all these weeks he still wasn’t used to walking around with his eyes uncovered. On his desk one of his aides had left a little writing board—they didn’t have paper—scratched on with charcoal, listing a few of his appointments for the next day. And at the bottom was a quick note.

I finally got the smith to make this as you requested, though he was timid about handling Inquisitor spikes. Not sure why you want it so much, Your Majesty. But here you go.

At the base of the board was a tiny spike shaped like an earring. Hesitant, Spook picked it up and held it before him. Why did he want this, again? He remembered something, whispers in his dreams. Get a spike forged, an earring. An old Inquisitor spike will work. You can find one in the caverns that used to be beneath Kredik Shaw. . . .

A dream? He considered, then—perhaps against his better judgment—jabbed the thing through his ear.

Kelsier appeared in the room with him.

“Gah!” Spook said, leaping back. “You! You’re dead. Vin killed you. Saze’s book says—”

“It’s okay, kid,” Kelsier said. “I’m the real one.”

“I . . .” Spook stammered. “It . . . Gah!”

Kelsier walked over and put his arm around Spook’s shoulders. “See, I knew this would work. You’ve got them both now. Broken mind, Hemalurgic spike. You can see just enough into the Cognitive Realm. That means we can work together, you and I.”

“Oh hell,” Spook said.

“Now, don’t be like that,” Kelsier said. “Our work is important. Vital. We’re going to unravel the mysteries of the universe. The cosmere, as it is called.”

“What . . . what do you mean?”

Kelsier smiled.

“I think I’m going to be sick,” Spook said.

“It’s a big, big place out there, kid,” Kelsier said. “Bigger than I ever knew. Ignorance almost lost us everything. I’m not going to let that happen again.” He tapped at Spook’s ear. “While dead, I had an opportunity. My mind expanded, and I learned some things. My focus wasn’t on these spikes; I think I could have worked it all out, if it had been. I still learned enough to be dangerous, and the two of us are going to figure the rest out.”

Spook pulled back. He was his own man now! He didn’t need to just do whatever Kelsier said. Hell, he didn’t even know if this really was Kelsier. He’d been fooled once before.

“Why?” Spook demanded. “Why would I care?”

Kelsier shrugged. “The Lord Ruler was immortal, you know. By a combination of the powers, he managed to make himself unable to age—unable to die, under most circumstances. You’re Mistborn, Spook. Halfway there. Aren’t you curious about what else is possible? I mean, we have a little pile of Inquisitor spikes, and nothing to do with them. . . .”

Immortal.

“And you?” Spook asked. “What do you get from this?”

“Nothing big,” Kelsier said. “Just a little thing. Someone once explained my problem. My string has been cut, the thing holding me to the physical world.” His smile broadened. “Well, we’re just going to have to find me a new string.”





POSTSCRIPT





Kelsier’s journey was something that I started outlining soon after finishing the first Mistborn book, back in 2003 or 2004. It’s one of those things that, as a writer, is really hard not to talk about to fans when they ask questions. (And I’ll admit I broke down more than once and whispered to a heartbroken fan to keep their eyes open for signs of what Kelsier might be up to in the rest of the series.)

It’s always a dangerous thing for a writer to resurrect a character. It threatens to undermine the consequences in a story, and minimizes the risks characters take. At the same time, I knew Kelsier’s story—in specific—was not yet finished. Readers sensed this. There was more to be told.

It has been a pleasure to be able to bring it to you. For many years, I wasn’t certain if I’d actually write this story. What Kelsier was doing was canon to the Mistborn books (and the hints of what he was up to saturated the third book). However, I wasn’t convinced I could write the story in a way that felt cohesive, rather than as a series of footnotes.

In the end, I decided the greater problem would have been not writing the story—precisely because of the hole in the Mistborn books Kelsier left. There were too many questions that couldn’t be answered without this story.

Anyway, thanks as always for following along with me on this journey. And, for those who haven’t read them, I’d like to take a moment here to recommend the Wax and Wayne books (Era Two of Mistborn, beginning with The Alloy of Law). If you enjoyed this story, I think you’ll like what you find. The Wax and Wayne books take what was in the original trilogy and build upon it, expanding the lore of Scadrial in some very interesting directions.

Beyond that, if you watch closely during the Wax and Wayne books, you might figure out what Kelsier is up to during that time.

Because he’s not done yet. Not even close.





ACKNOWLEDGMENTS


So, I dropped this one on my team like a strike from a stealth bomber. They were already busy with the art and proofreading for the books we’re doing this spring, and then I popped up with another surprise novella and asked if it could possibly be ready in time to be released alongside The Bands of Mourning.