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“Carriage,” Hoid said, “for you. Sir.”

73

The shock wave hit Steris like a thunderclap. She gasped in surprise, her ears ringing from the sound of the detonation. Rusts.

She and the governor had been carried via Allomancer far into the center of the city—close to their original evacuation command post—following their efforts at the docks. But that obviously hadn’t been far enough to escape completely. Around her, windows rattled. Any closer to the docks and they would have shattered. And the buildings nearest the explosion…

Fortunately, the only ill effects she felt—standing atop a building this far from the blast—was that shock wave. And so, after her initial panic, she watched that brilliant light in the distance slowly fade.

A moment ago, that explosion had been like a momentary sun on the horizon, magnificent and ominous all at once, blazing through the mists. Now, in seconds, all that remained were the afterimage and the faint ringing in her ears.

The governor peeked up over the rooftop’s stone railing, where he’dducked at the initial explosion. Then he stood up straight. “He’s done it, hasn’t he? Preservation! He’s done it! He detonated the bomb early! The city is saved!”

Steris nodded, exhaling a long breath. Wax had been exactly where she’dhoped he would be. Now that she’dseen that light—then survived the detonation—a new worry struck her.

You’dbetter not have been on that ship when the explosion happened, Waxillium Ladrian,she thought.You… just… just have gotten off, all right?

“Will the tsunami come?” the governor said.

“Yes,” Steris said. “Imminently.”

“We… uh…” The governor straightened his cravat. “Weactuallyhelped, didn’t we?”

“Yes,” she said. “The dockside buildings are going to be a disaster zone in the weeks to come—we’ll need to rebuild. But I think we evacuated most people from the dangerous section.”

Water was pulling back rapidly from the docks as she watched. Receding in advance of a tsunami. Hopefully it would not be a big one. The studies she’dread were inconclusive about how water would react to explosions.

“Thank the Survivor,” the governor said. “I’m… glad you let us retreat. I worried you’dinsist on staying by the docks.”

“There is no need to go down with the city,” Steris said, “if the city isn’t going down.”

He nodded eagerly. He was actually quite an agreeable man. Which made sense. He’dbeen chosen by people who wanted to steer him. People who’dnever expected him to put his hands on the helm and take control.

She blinked, her eyes bearing the afterimage of that explosion.

Just… be safe…Steris thought toward that distant, now faded, point of light.Please.

74

Wayne floated.

Floated someplace high. Damn. Was that the planetitselfbeneath him? Itwasa sphere, as everyone said. He’dalways hoped maybe it would be, like, doughnut shaped or something. To throw the smart folks for a loop.

Felt kinda strange to be all the way up here, in the darkness. He leaned forward and felt a disorientation, like he should be falling. He was woozy, unsteady.

Huh. Who’dhave thought being dead would be so much like being drunk? He could write a whole damn book of scripture about that, he could.

A figure hovered next to him. Vast. His robes like the infinite colors of creation, his essence seeming to expand into the darkness of space itself. But at his core, he had the appearance of a bald, kindly Terrisman.

“Hey, God,” Wayne said. “How’s… um… creation? Time and space? Reality? You know, things?”

“Good,” Harmony replied. “Because of you.”

“Now wait,” Wayne said. “I ain’t gonna be aghost,am I?”

“No. You were Invested when you died, so you will persist a short time, but will soon join the Beyond.”

“Good, good.”