BYROBERTJORDAN

TheWheelofTimeTheEyeoftheWorld

TheGreatHuntTheDragonRebornTheShadowRisingTheFiresofHeaven

LordofChaosACrownofSwordsThePathofDaggers

WintersHeart

CrossroadsofTwilightKnifeofDreams

TheGatheringStorm(byRobertJordanandBrandonSanderson)TowersofMidnight(byRobertJordanandBrandonSanderson)AMemoryofLight(byRobertJordanandBrandonSanderson)

NewSpring

TheWorldofRobertJordansTheWheelofTime(withTeresaPatterson)

*

TheConanChronicles1TheConanChronicles2

COPYRIGHT

PublishedbyHachetteDigital

ISBN:978-0-7481-1722-2

Copyright2012byTheBandersnatchGroup,Inc.

ThephrasesTheWheelofTimeandTheDragonReborn,andthesnake-wheelsymbolaretrademarks

ofTheBandersnatchGroup,Inc.

Themoralrightoftheauthorhasbeenasserted.

MapsbyEllisaMitchellInteriorillustrationsbyMatthewC.Nielsenand

EllisaMitchell

Allcharactersandeventsinthispublication,otherthanthoseclearlyinthepublic

domain,arefictitiousandanyresemblancetorealpersons,livingordead,ispurely

coincidental.

Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,storedin

aretrievalsystem,ortransmitted,inanyformorbyanymeans,withoutthepriorpermissioninwritingofthepublisher,norbeotherwisecirculatedinanyformof

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HachetteDigitalLittle,BrownBookGroup100VictoriaEmbankment

London,EC4Y0DY

www.hachette.co.uk

http://www.hachette.co.uk

ForHarriet,thelightofMr.Jordanslife,

andforEmily,thelightofmine.

CONTENTS

MAPSPROLOGUE: By Grace andBannersFallen1EastwardtheWindBlew2TheChoiceofanAjah3ADangerousPlace4AdvantagestoaBond5ToRequireaBoon

6AKnack7IntotheThickofIt8ThatSmolderingCity9ToDieWell10TheUseofDragons11JustAnotherSell-sword12AShardofaMoment13WhatMustBeDone14DosesofForkroot15YourNeckinaCord

16ASilenceLikeScreaming17Older,MoreWeathered18ToFeelWasted19TheChoiceofaPatch20IntoThakandar21NotaMistaketoIgnore22TheWyld23AttheEdgeofTime24ToIgnoretheOmens25QuickFragments

26Considerations27FriendlyFire28TooManyMen29TheLossofaHill30TheWayofthePredator31ATempestofWater32AYellowFlower-Spider33ThePrincesTabac34Drifting35APracticedGrin

36UnchangeableThings37TheLastBattle38ThePlaceThatWasNot39ThoseWhoFight40Wolfbrother41ASmile42Impossibilities43AFieldofGlass44TwoCraftsmen45TendrilsofMist

46ToAwaken47WatchingtheFlowWrithe48ABrilliantLance49LightandShadowEPILOGUE: To See theAnswer

AndtheShadowfellupontheLand, and the World wasriven stone from stone. Theoceans fled, and themountains were swallowedup, and the nations werescattered to the eight cornersof theWorld.Themoonwasas blood, and the sunwas asashes. The seas boiled, andthe living envied the dead.Allwasshattered,andallbut

memory lost, and onememory above all others, ofhimwhobroughttheShadowand the Breaking of theWorld.And him they namedDragon.

fromAlethninTaerinalta

Camora,TheBreakingoftheWorld.Authorunknown,theFourth

Age.

PROLOGUE

ByGraceandBannersFallen

Bayrd pressed the coinbetween his thumb andforefinger. It was thoroughly

unnerving to feel the metalsquish.

He removed his thumb.The hard copper now clearlybore its print, reflecting theuncertain torchlight. He feltchilled, as if hed spent anentirenightinacellar.

His stomach growled.Again.

Thenorthwindpickedup,makingtorchessputter.Bayrdsat with his back to a largerock near the center of the

war camp. Hungry menmuttered as they warmedtheir hands around firepits;the rations had spoiled longago. Other soldiers nearbybeganlayingalloftheirmetalswords, armor clasps,mailontheground,likelinentobedried.Perhaps theyhopedthat when the sun rose, itwould change the materialbacktonormal.

Bayrdrolledtheonce-coininto a ball between his

fingers.Lightpreserveus,hethought. Light He droppedthe ball to the grass, thenreached over and picked upthestoneshedbeenworkingwith.

I want to know whathappenedhere,Karam,LordJarid snapped. Jarid and hisadvisorsstoodnearbyinfrontof a table drapedwithmaps.I want to know how theydrewsoclose,andIwantthat

bloodyDarkfriendAesSedaiqueenshead!Jaridpoundedhis fist down on the table.Once, his eyes hadntdisplayed such a crazedfervor. The pressure of it allthelostrations,thestrangethings in the nightswaschanginghim.

Behind Jarid, thecommand tent lay in a heap.Jarids hairgrown longduringtheirexileblewfree,face bathed in ragged

torchlight.Bits of dead grassstill clung to his coat fromwhenhedcrawledoutofthetent.

Baffledservantspickedatthe iron tent spikes,whichlike all metal in the camphadbecomesofttothetouch.Thetentsmountingringshadstretched and snapped likewarmwax.

The night smelledwrong.Of staleness, of rooms thathadnt been entered in years.

The air of a forest clearingshould not smell like ancientdust. Bayrds stomachgrowled again. Light, but hewouldve liked to havesomething to eat. He set hisattention on his work,slapping one of his stonesdownagainsttheother.

He held the stones as hisoldpappilhadtaughthimasaboy. The feeling of stonestriking stone helped pushaway the hunger and

coldness. At least somethingwasstillsolidinthisworld.

LordJaridglancedathim,scowling. Bayrd was one often men Jarid had insistedguard him this night. IwillhaveElaynes head,Karam,Jaridsaid,turningbacktohiscaptains. This unnaturalnight is the work of herwitches.

Her head? Erisskepticalvoicecamefromtheside. And how, precisely, is

someone going to bring youherhead?

Lord Jarid turned, as didthe others around the torchlittable.Eristaredatthesky;onhis shoulder, he wore themark of the golden boarchargingbeforearedspear.Itwas themarkofLordJaridspersonal guard, but Erisvoice bore little respect.Whats he going to use tocut that head free, Jarid?Histeeth?

The camp stilled at thehorribly insubordinate line.Bayrd stopped his stones,hesitating. Yes, there hadbeentalkabouthowunhingedLord Jarid had become. Butthis?

Jarid sputtered, facegrowing redwith rage. Youdareusesuchatonewithme?Oneofmyownguards?

Eri continued inspectingthe cloud-filled sky. Youredocked two months pay,

Jarid snapped, but his voicetrembled. Stripped of rankand put on latrine duty untilfurther notice. If you speakbacktomeagain,Illcutoutyourtongue.

Bayrdshiveredinthecoldwind. Eri was the best theyhad inwhatwas left of theirrebel army.Theother guardsshuffled,lookingdown.

Erilookedtowardthelordand smiled. He didnt say aword,butsomehow,hedidnt

have to. Cut out his tongue?Every scrap of metal in thecamp had gone soft as lard.Jarids own knife lay on thetable, twistedandwarpedithad stretched thin as hepulled it from his sheath.Jarids coat flapped, open; ithadhadsilverbuttons.

Jarid Karam said. Ayoung lord of aminor houseloyaltoSarand,hehadaleanface and large lips. Do youreally think really think

this was the work of AesSedai?Allofthemetalinthecamp?

Ofcourse,Jaridbarked.What else would it be?Dont tell me you believethosecampfiretales.TheLastBattle? Phaw. He lookedback at the table. Unrolledthere,withpebblesweightingthe corners, was a map ofAndor.

Bayrd turned back to hisstones. Snap, snap, snap.

Slateandgranite.Ithadtakenworktofindsuitablesectionsofeach,butPappilhadtaughtBayrd to recognize all kindsofstone.TheoldmanhadfeltbetrayedwhenBayrdsfatherhad gone off and become abutcherinthecity,insteadofkeepingtothefamilytrade.

Soft, smooth slate.Bumpy, ridged granite. Yes,somethingsintheworldwerestill solid. Some few things.Thesedays,youcouldntrely

on much. Once immovablelords were now soft aswell, soft as metal. The skychurned with blackness, andbrave menmen Bayrd hadlong looked up totrembledandwhimperedinthenight.

Im worried, Jarid,Davies said. An older man,Lord Davies was as close asanyone was to being Jaridsconfidant. We havent seenanyone in days. Not farmer,not queens soldier.

Something is happening.Somethingwrong.

She cleared the peopleout, Jarid snarled. Shespreparingtopounce.

Ithinkshesignoringus,Jarid,Karamsaid,lookingatthe sky. Clouds still churnedthere. It seemed like monthssinceBayrd had seen a clearsky.Whywouldshebother?Our men are starving. Thefood continues to spoil. Thesigns

Shes trying to squeezeus, Jarid said, eyes widewithfervor.ThisistheworkoftheAesSedai.

Stillnesscamesuddenlytothe camp. Silence, save forBayrds stones. Hed neverfelt right as a butcher, buthed found a home in hislordsguard.Cuttingupcowsor cutting up men, the twowere strikingly similar. Itbotheredhimhoweasilyhedshiftedfromonetotheother.

Snap,snap,snap.Eri turned. Jarid eyed the

guard suspiciously, as ifready to scream out harsherpunishment.

He wasnt always thisbad, was he? Bayrd thought.Hewanted the throne forhiswife,butwhatlordwouldnt?It was hard to look past thename. Bayrds family hadfollowed the Sarand familywith reverence for

generations.Eri strode away from the

command post. Where doyou think youre going?Jaridhowled.

Erireachedtohisshoulderand ripped free the badge ofthe Sarand house guard. Hetossed it aside and left thetorchlight, heading into thenight toward the winds fromthenorth.

Most men in the camphadntgonetosleep.Theysat

aroundfirepits,wantingtobenearwarmthandlight.Afewwith clay pots tried boilingcutsofgrass,leaves,orstripsof leather as something,anything,toeat.

They stood up to watchErigo.

Deserter, Jarid spat.After all weve beenthrough, now he leaves. Justbecausethingsaredifficult.

The men are starving,Jarid,Daviesrepeated.

Imaware.Thankyousomuchfortellingmeabouttheproblems with every bloodybreathyouhave.Jaridwipedhis brow with his tremblingpalm, thenslammed itonhismap. Well have to strikeone of the cities; theres norunning from her, not nowthatsheknowswhereweare.Whitebridge. Well take itand resupply. Her Aes Sedaimust be weakened after the

stunt they pulled tonight,otherwise shed haveattacked.

Bayrd squinted into thedarkness. Other men werestanding, lifting quarterstaffsor cudgels. Some wentwithout weapons. Theygathered sleeping rolls,hoisted packs of clothing totheir shoulders. Then theybegantotrailoutofthecamp,their passage silent, like themovement of ghosts. No

rattling of chain mail orbuckles on armor. Themetalwas all gone. As if the soulhadbeenstrippedfromit.

Elayne doesnt daremoveagainstus in strength,Jarid said, perhapsconvincing himself. Theremust be strife in Caemlyn.All of thosemercenaries youreported, Shiv.Riots,maybe.Elenia will be workingagainst Elayne, of course.Whitebridge. Yes,

Whitebridgewillbeperfect.Wehold it, you see, and

cut the nation in half. Werecruitthere,pressthemeninwesternAndortoourbanner.Go to whats the placecalled? The TwoRivers.Weshouldfindablehandsthere.Jarid sniffed. I hear theyhavent seen a lord fordecades. Give me fourmonths,andIllhaveanarmyto be reckonedwith. Enoughthat she wont dare strike at

uswithherwitchesBayrdheldhisstoneupto

the torchlight. The trick tocreating a good spearheadwastostartoutwardandworkyourway in.Heddrawn theproper shape with chalk onthe slate, then had workedtowardthecentertofinishtheshape.Fromthere,youturnedfrom hitting to tapping,shavingoffsmallerbits.

Hed finished one sideearlier; this second half was

almostdone.Hecouldalmosthearhispappilwhispering tohim. Were of the stone,Bayrd. No matter what yourfather says. Deep down,wereofthestone.

More soldiers left thecamp. Strange, how few ofthem spoke. Jarid finallynoticed.He stood up straightand grabbed one of thetorches, holding it high.What are they doing?

Hunting? Weve seen nogame in weeks. Settingsnares,perhaps?

Nobodyreplied.Maybe theyve seen

something, Jarid muttered.Or maybe they think theyhave. Ill stand nomore talkofspiritsorotherfoolery; thewitches are creatingapparitions to unnerve us.Thatsthatswhat ithas tobe.

Rustling came from

nearby.Karamwasdigginginhis fallen tent. He came upwithasmallbundle.

Karam?Jaridsaid.Karam glanced at Lord

Jarid, then lowered his eyesandbegantotieacoinpouchat his waist. He stopped andlaughed,thenemptied it.Thegold coins inside hadmeltedinto a single lump, like pigsearsinajar.Karampocketedthis lump. He fished in thepouchandbroughtoutaring.

The blood-red gemstone atthe center was still good.Probablywontbeenoughtobuyanapple, thesedays,hemuttered.

I demand to know whatyouaredoing,Jaridsnarled.Is this your doing? Hewaved toward the departingsoldiers. Youre staging amutiny,isthatit?

This isnt my doing,Karam said, lookingashamed.Anditsnotreally

yours, either. Im Imsorry.

Karamwalkedawayfromthe torchlight. Bayrd foundhimself surprised. LordKaram and Lord Jarid hadbeenfriendsfromchildhood.

Lord Davies went next,runningafterKaram.Washegoing to try to hold theyounger man back? No, hefell into step beside Karam.They vanished into thedarkness.

Ill have you hunteddown for this! Jarid yelledafter them, voice shrill.Frantic. Iwill be consort totheQueen!Nomanwillgiveyou, or anymember of yourHouses, shelter or succor fortengenerations!

Bayrd looked back at thestone in his hand. Only onestep left, the smoothing. Agood spearhead needed somesmoothing to be dangerous.Hebroughtoutanotherpiece

ofgranitehedpickedup forthe purpose and carefullybegan scraping it along thesideoftheslate.

Seems I remember thisbetter than Id expected, hethought as Lord Jaridcontinuedtorant.

There was somethingpowerful about crafting thespearhead. The simple actseemed to push back thegloom. There had been a

shadow on Bayrd, and therest of the camp, lately. Asifasifhecouldntstandinthe light no matter how hetried.Hewokeeachmorningfeeling as if someone hedloved had died the daybefore.

It could crush you, thatdespair. But the act ofcreating somethinganythingfought back. Thatwas one way to challenge

him. The one none of themspoke of. The one that theyall knew was behind it, nomatterwhatLordJaridsaid.

Bayrd stood up. Hedwant to do more smoothinglater, but the spearheadactually looked good. Heraised his wooden spear haftthe metal blade had fallenfreewhenevilhadstruck thecampand lashed the newspearheadinplace,justashispappil had taught him all

thoseyearsago.The other guards were

looking at him. Well needmore of those,Morear said.Ifyourewilling.

Bayrd nodded. On ourway out, we can stop by thehillside where I found theslate.

Jarid finally stoppedyelling, his eyes wide in thetorchlight. No. You are mypersonal guard.Youwill notdefyme!

Jarid jumped for Bayrd,murder in his eyes, butMorearandRossecaught thelord from behind. Rosselooked aghast at his ownmutinous act. He didnt letgo,though.

Bayrd fisheda few thingsout from beside his bedroll.After that, he nodded to theothers,andtheyjoinedhimeight men of Lord Jaridspersonal guard, dragging thesputtering lord himself

through the remnants ofcamp. They passedsmoldering fires and fallentents,abandonedbymenwhowere trailing out into thedarkness in greater numbersnow, heading north. Into thewind.

At the edge of camp,Bayrd selected a nice, stouttree.Hewaved to theothers,and they took the rope hedfetchedandtiedLordJaridtothe tree. The man sputtered

untilMoreargaggedhimwithahandkerchief.

Bayrdsteppedinclose.Hetucked a waterskin into thecrook of Jarids arm. Dontstruggle too much or youlldrop that, my Lord. Youshould be able to push thegag offit doesnt look tootightand angle the water-skin up to drink. Here, Illtakeoutthecork.

Jarid stared thunder atBayrd.

Its not about you, myLord, Bayrd said. Youalways treated my familywell.But,here,wecanthaveyou following along andmaking life difficult. Theresjust something that we needto do, and youre stoppingeveryone from doing it.Maybe someone should havesaid something earlier. Well,thats done. Sometimes, youlet the meat hang too long,and the entire haunch has to

go.He nodded to the others,

who ran off to gatherbedrolls. He pointed Rossetoward the slate outcroppingnearby and told himwhat tolook for in good spearheadstone.

Bayrd turned back to thestruggling Lord Jarid. Thisisnt witches, my Lord. Thisisnt Elayne I suppose Ishould call her the Queen.Funny, thinking of a pretty

young thing like that asqueen. Id rather havebouncedheronmykneeataninn than bow to her, butAndor will need a ruler tofollowtotheLastBattle,anditisntyourwife.Imsorry.

Jaridsagged inhisbonds,the anger seeming to bleedfrom him. He was weepingnow.Oddthingtosee,that.

Illtellpeoplewepassif we pass anywhere youare, Bayrd promised, and

that you probably have somejewels on you. They mightcome for you. They might.He hesitated. You shouldnthave stood in the way.Everyone seems to knowwhat is comingbut you. TheDragon is reborn, old bondsare broken, old oaths doneaway with and Ill behanged before I let Andormarch to the Last Battlewithoutme.

Bayrd left, walking into

the night, raising his newspear onto his shoulder. Ihave an oath older than theone to your family, anyway.An oath the Dragon himselfcouldntundo. Itwasanoathto the land. The stones wereinhisblood,andhisbloodinthestonesofthisAndor.

Bayrd gathered the othersand they left for the north.Behind them in the night,their lord whimpered, alone,

as the ghosts began to movethroughcamp.

Talmanes tugged on Selfarsreins,makingthehorsedanceandshakehishead.Theroanseemedeager.PerhapsSelfarsensed his masters anxiousmood.

The night air was thickwith smoke. Smoke andscreams. Talmanes marchedthe Band alongside a road

clogged with refugeessmudged with soot. Theymoved like flotsam in amuddyriver.

ThemenoftheBandeyedthe refugees with worry.Steady! Talmanes shoutedto them. We cant sprint allthewaytoCaemlyn.Steady!He marched the men asquicklyashedared,nearlyata jog. Their armor clanked.Elayne had taken half of theBandwithher to theFieldof

Merrilor, including Esteanand most of the cavalry.Perhaps she had anticipatedneedingtowithdrawquickly.

Well, Talmanes wouldnthavemuchuseforcavalry inthe streets, which were nodoubt as clogged as thisroadway. Selfar snorted andshook his head. They wereclosenow; thecitywalls justaheadblack in the nightheld inanangry light. Itwasasifthecitywereafirepit.

By grace and bannersfallen,Talmanesthoughtwithashiver.Enormouscloudsofsmokebillowedoverthecity.Thiswasbad.Farworsethanwhen the Aiel had come forCairhien.

Talmanes finally gaveSelfar his head. The roangallopedalongthesideoftheroad for a time; thenTalmanes reluctantly forcedhiswayacross,ignoringpleas

for help. Time hed spentwith Mat made him wishthere were more he couldoffer these people. It wasdownright strange, the effectMatrim Cauthon had on aperson. Talmanes looked atcommon folk in a verydifferentlightnow.Perhapsitwas because he still didntrightlyknowwhethertothinkofMatasalordornot.

On the other side of theroad,hesurveyedtheburning

city, waiting for his men tocatch up. He could havemountedallofthemthoughthey werent trained cavalry,everyman in theBandhadahorseforlong-distancetravel.Tonight,hedidntdare.WithTrollocs and Myrddraallurking in the streets,Talmanes needed his men inimmediate fighting shape.Crossbowmen marched withloadedweapons at the flanksofdeepcolumnsofpikemen.

He would not leave hissoldiers open to a Trolloccharge,nomatterhowurgenttheirmission.

But if they lost thosedragons

Light illumine us,Talmanes thought. The cityseemedtobeboiling,withallthat smoke churning above.Yet some parts of the InnerCityrising high on the hilland visible over the wallswere not yet aflame. The

Palace wasnt on fire yet.Could the soldiers there beholding?

No word had come fromthe Queen, and from whatTalmanes could see, no helphad arrived for the city. TheQueenmust still beunaware,andthatwasbad.

Very,verybad.Ahead, Talmanes spotted

Sandip with some of theBands scouts. The slenderman was trying to extricate

himself from a group ofrefugees.

Please, good master,one young woman wascrying. My child, mydaughter,intheheightsofthenorthernmarch

Imustreachmyshop!astout man bellowed. Myglasswares

My good people,Talmanes said, forcing hishorse among them, I shouldthink that if you want us to

help,youmightwishtobackaway and allow us to reachthebloodycity.

The refugees reluctantlypulled back, and Sandipnodded to Talmanes inthanks. Tan-skinned anddark-haired, Sandip was oneof the Bands commandersand an accomplished hedge-doctor.Theaffablemanworea grim expression today,however.

Sandip, Talmanes said,

pointing,there.In the near distance, a

large group of fighting menclustered,lookingatthecity.

Mercenaries, Sandipsaid with a grunt. Wevepassed several batches ofthem. Not a one seemedinclinedtoliftafinger.

Weshallseeaboutthat,Talmanes said. People stillflooded out through the citygates, coughing, clutchingmeager possessions, leading

crying children. That flowwould not soon slacken.Caemlynwasasfullasaninnonmarketday;theonesluckyenough tobeescapingwouldbe only a small fractioncomparedtothosestillinside.

Talmanes, Sandip saidquietly, that citys going tobecome a death trap soon.There arent enough waysout. If we let the Bandbecomepinnedinside

Iknow.But

At the gates a wave offeeling surged through therefugees. It was almost aphysicalthing,ashudder.Thescreams grew more intense.Talmanes spun; hulkingfiguresmovedintheshadowsinsidethegate.

Light! Sandip said.Whatisit?

Trollocs,Talmanessaid,turning Selfar. Light!Theyre going to try to seizethe gate, stop the refugees.

Therewere five gates out ofthe city; if the Trollocs heldallofthem

This was already aslaughter. If the Trollocscould stop the frightenedpeople fromfleeing, itwouldgrowfarworse.

Hurry the ranks!Talmanesyelled.Allmentothe city gates! He spurredSelfarintoagallop.

The building would havebeencalledaninnelsewhere,though Isam had never seenanyone inside except for thedull-eyedwomenwhotendedthe few drab rooms andprepared tasteless meals.Visits here were never forcomfort. He sat on a hardstool at a pine table sowornwithage,ithadlikelygrayedlong before Isams birth. Herefrained from touching thesurface overly much, lest he

come away with moresplinters than an Aiel hadspears.

Isamsdentedtincupwasfilled with a dark liquid,though he wasnt drinking.He sat beside the wall, nearenough the inns singlewindow to watch the dirtstreetoutside,dimlylitintheevening by a few rustylanterns hung outsidebuildings. Isamtook care nottolethisprofileshowthrough

the smeared glass. He neverlooked directly out. It wasalways best not to attractattentionintheTown.

That was the only namethe place had, if it could besaid to have a name at all.The sprawling ramshacklebuildingshadbeenputupandreplacedcountless timesovertwo thousand years. Itactually resembled a good-sized town, if you squinted.Most of the buildings had

been constructed byprisoners, often with little orno knowledge of the craft.Theyd been supervised bymen equally ignorant. A fairnumberofthehousesseemedheldupbythosetoeithersideofthem.

Sweat dribbled down theside of Isams face, as hecovertly watched that street.Which one would come forhim?

In the distance, he could

barelymakeouttheprofileofamountainsplittingthenightsky. Metal rasped againstmetal somewhere out in theTown like steel heartbeats.Figures moved on the street.Men, heavily cloaked andhooded,withfaceshiddenupto the eyes behind blood-redveils.

Isamwascarefulnottolethiseyeslingeronthem.

Thunder rumbled. Theslopes of thatmountainwere

filledwithoddlightningboltsthatstruckupwardtowardtheever-presentgrayclouds.Fewhumans knew of this Townnot so far from the valley ofThakandar, with ShayolGhul itself looming above.Few knew rumors of itsexistence. Isam would nothavemindedbeingamongtheignorant.

Another of the menpassed. Red veils. They kept

themupalways.Well,almostalways.Ifyousawonelowerhis veil, it was time to killhim. Because if you didnt,hedkillyou.Mostofthered-veiledmenseemedtohavenoreason to be out, beyondscowling at each other andperhaps kicking at thenumerous stray dogsslat-ribbed and feralwheneverone crossed their path. Thefew women who had leftshelter scuttled along the

edges of the street, eyeslowered. There were nochildrentobeseen,andlikelyfew to be found. The Townwas no place for children.Isam knew. He had grownfrominfancyhere.

OneofthemenpassingonthestreetlookedupatIsamswindow and stopped. Isamwent very still. The SammaNSei, the Eye Blinders, hadalways been touchy and full

of pride.No, touchywas toomildaterm.Theyrequirednomore than whim to take aknifetooneoftheTalentless.Usually it was one of theservantswhopaid.Usually.

The red-veiled mancontinuedtoregardhim.Isamstilledhisnerves anddidnotmakeashowofstaringback.His summons here had beenurgent,andonedidnotignoresuch things if one wished tolive. But still if the man

took one step toward thebuilding,IsamwouldslipintoTelaranrhiod, secure in theknowledge that not even oneof the Chosen could followhimfromhere.

AbruptlytheSammaNSeiturnedfromthewindow.Inaflash he was moving awayfrom the building, stridingquickly.Isamfeltsomeofhistensionmelt away, though itwould never truly leave him,

not in this place. This placewas not home, despite hischildhood here. This placewasdeath.

Motion. Isam glancedtoward the end of the street.Another tall man, in a blackcoat and cloak, was walkingtowardhim,hisfaceexposed.Incredibly, the street wasemptying as Samma NSeidarted off down other streetsandalleys.

So it was Moridin. Isam

hadnotbeentheretowitnesstheChosens firstvisit to theTown,buthehadheard.TheSamma NSei had thoughtMoridinoneoftheTalentlessuntil he demonstrateddifferently. The constraintsthat held them did not holdhim.

The numbers of deadSammaNSeivariedwith thetelling, but the claim neverdippedbelowadozen.Bythe

evidence of his eyes, Isamcouldbelieveit.

WhenMoridinreachedtheinn,thestreetwasemptysavefor the dogs. And Moridinwalked right on past. Isamwatched as closely as hedared. Moridin seemeduninterestedinhimortheinn,which was where Isam hadbeen instructed to wait.PerhapstheChosenhadotherbusiness, and Isamwould beanafterthought.

After Moridin passed,Isamfinally tooka sipofhisdark drink. The locals justcalled it fire. It livedup toits name. It was supposedlyrelated to some drink fromthe Waste. Like everythingelse in the Town, it was acorrupt version of theoriginal.

How long was Moridingoing to make him wait?Isamdidntlikebeinghere.Itremindedhimtoomuchofhis

childhood. A servant passeda woman with a dress sofrayed that it was practicallyragsand dropped a plateontothetable.Thetwodidntexchangeaword.

Isam looked at his meal.Vegetablespeppers andonions, mostlysliced thinandboiled.He picked at oneand took a taste, then sighedand pushed the meal aside.Thevegetableswereasblandas unseasoned millet

porridge. There wasnt anymeat.Thatwasactuallygood;he didnt like to eat meatunlesshedseen itkilledandslaughteredhimself.Thatwasaremnantofhischildhood.Ifyouhadntseenitslaughteredyourself, you couldnt know.Not for certain. Up here, ifyoufoundmeat,itcouldhavebeensomethingthathadbeencaughtinthesouth,ormaybean animal that had beenraised up here, a cow or a

goat.Or it could be something

else. People lost games uphere and couldnt pay, thendisappeared. And often, theSamma NSei who didntbreedtruewashedoutoftheirtraining. Bodies vanished.Corpses rarely lasted longenoughforburial.

Burn this place, Isamthought, stomach unsettled.Burnitwith

Someone entered the inn.He couldnt watch bothapproaches to the door fromthis direction, unfortunately.She was a pretty woman,dressed in black trimmedwith red. Isam didntrecognizeherslimfigureanddelicate face. He wasincreasingly certain he couldrecognize all of the Chosen;hed seen themoften enoughin the dream. They didntknow that, of course. They

thought themselves mastersof the place, and some ofthemwereveryskilled.

He was equally skilled,and also exceptionally goodatnotbeingseen.

Whoever this was, shewas in disguise, then. Whybother hiding herself here?Eitherway,shehadtobetheonewhohadsummonedhim.Nowomanwalked theTownwith such an imperiousexpression, such self-

assurance, as if she expectedthe rocks themselves to obeyif told to jump. Isam wentquietlydownononeknee.

That motion woke theache insidehisstomachfromwhere hed been wounded.He still hadnt recoveredfrom the fightwith thewolf.He felt a stirring inside ofhim; Luc hated Aybara.Unusual.Luctendedtobethemore accommodating one,Isamthehardone.Well, that

washowhesawhimself.Either way, on this

particular wolf, they agreed.On one hand, Isam wasthrilled; as a hunter, hedrarely been presented withsuch a challenge as Aybara.However, his hatred wasdeeper.HewouldkillAybara.

Isamcoveredagrimaceatthepainandbowedhishead.Thewomanlefthimkneelingand took a seat at his table.She tapped a finger on the

side of the tin cup for a fewmoments, staring at itscontents,anddidnotspeak.

Isamremainedstill.Manyof those fools who namedthemselves Darkfriendswould squirm and writhewhen another asserted powerover them. Indeed, headmittedwithreluctance,Lucwould probably squirm justasmuch.

Isam was a hunter. Thatwasallhecaredtobe.When

you were secure with whatyouwere,therewasnocauseto resent being shown yourplace.

Burnit,butthesideofhisbellydidache.

I want him dead, thewoman said. Her voice wassoft, yet intense. Isam saidnothing.

Iwanthimguttedlikeananimal, his bowels spilledonto the ground, his blood amilkpanforravens,hisbones

lefttobleach,thengray, thencrackintheheatofthesun.Iwanthimdead,hunter.

AlThor.Yes. You have failed in

the past.Her voicewas ice.He felt a chill. This onewashard.HardasMoridin.

Inhisyearsofservice,hehad learned contempt formost of the Chosen. Theybickered likechildren, foralltheir power and supposed

wisdom. This woman madehim pause, and he wonderedifheactuallyhadspiedonallof them. She seemeddifferent.

Well? she asked. Doyouspeakforyourfailures?

Each time one of theothershastaskedmewiththishunt, he said, another hascometopullmeawayandsetmeonsomeothertask.

In truth, hed rather havecontinued his hunt for the

wolf. He would not disobeyorders, not direct ones fromthe Chosen. Other thanAybara, one hunt was muchthe same to him as another.Hewouldkill thisDragon, ifhehadto.

Such wont happen thistime, the Chosen said, stillstaringathiscup.Shehadntlookedathim,andshedidnotgivehimleavetostand,soheremained kneeling. Allothers have renounced claim

on you. Unless the GreatLord tells you otherwiseunless he summons youhimselfyou are to keep tothistask.KillalThor.

Motion outside thewindow caused Isam toglance to the side. TheChosendidntlookasagroupof black-hooded figurespassed. The winds didntcause the cloaks of thesefigurestostir.

They were accompaniedbycarriages;anunusualsightin the Town. The carriagesmoved slowly, but stillrocked and thumped on theuneven street. Isam didntneedtoseeintothecarriagescurtained windows to knowthat thirteen women rodeinside, matching the numberof Myrddraal. None of theSammaNSei returned to thestreet. They tended to avoidprocessions like this. For

obvious reasons, they hadstrong feelings about suchthings.

The carriages passed. So.Another had been caught.Isam would have assumedthat the practice had ended,oncethetaintwascleansed.

Before he turned back tolook at the floor, he caughtsight of something moreincongruous. A small, dirtyface watching from theshadows of an alleyway

across the street. Wide eyesbut a furtive posture.Moridins passing, and thecoming of the thirteens, haddriven the Samma NSei offthe street. Where they werenot, the urchins could go insomesafety.Maybe.

Isamwanted to scream atthechildtogo.Tellittorun,toriskcrossingtheBlight.TodieinthestomachofaWormwasbetter than to live in thisTown, and sufferwhat it did

toyou.Go!Flee!Die!The moment passed

quickly, the urchin retreatingto the shadows. Isam couldremember being that child.Hed learned somany thingsthen. How to find food thatyou could mostly trust, andwouldntvomitbackuponceyoufoundoutwhatwasinit.How to fight with knives.How to avoid being seen ornoticed.

Andhowtokillaman,of

course. Everyone whosurvived long enough in theTown learned that particularlesson.

The Chosen was stilllookingathiscup.Itwasherreflectionshewaslookingat,Isam realized. What did sheseethere?

I will need help, Isamfinally said. The DragonRebornhasguards, andhe israrelyinthedream.

Helphasbeenarranged,

she said softly. But you areto find him, hunter. None ofthis playing as you didbefore, trying todrawhim toyou. Lews Therin will sensesuch a trap. Besides, he willnot deviate from his causenow.Timeisshort.

She spoke of thedisastrous operation in theTwoRivers.Luchadbeeninchargethen.WhatknewIsamof real towns, real people?Almost, he felt a longing for

those things, though hesuspected that was reallyLucsemotion.Isamwasjusta hunter. People held littleinterest for him beyond thebest places for an arrow toentersoastohittheheart.

That Two Riversoperation, though it stanklike a carcass left to rot. Hestill didnt know. Had thepoint really been to lurealThor, or had it been tokeep Isam away from

important events? He knewhis abilities fascinated theChosen; he could dosomething that they couldnot. Oh, they could imitatethe way he stepped into thedream, but they neededchanneling,gateways,time.

He was tired of being apawn in their games. Just lethim hunt; stop changing thepreywitheachpassingweek.

One did not say suchthingstotheChosen.Hekept

hisobjectionstohimself.Shadows darkened the

doorway to the inn, and theserving woman disappearedinto the back. That left theplace completely empty saveforIsamandtheChosen.

You may stand, shesaid.

Isam did, hastily, as twomen stepped into the room.Tall,muscularandred-veiled.They wore brown clothinglike Aiel, but didnt carry

spears or bows. Thesecreatureskilledwithweaponsfardeadlier.

Though he kept his faceimpassive, Isam felt a surgeof emotion. A childhood ofpain, hunger and death. Alifetime of avoiding the gazeofmen like these.He foughthard to keep himself fromtrembling as they strode tothe table, moving with thegraceofnaturalpredators.

The men dropped their

veils and bared their teeth.Burn me. Their teeth werefiled.

These had been Turned.Youcouldseeitintheireyeseyes that werent quiteright,werentquitehuman.

Isam nearly fled rightthen,steppingintothedream.Hecouldntkillbothofthesemen.Hedhavebeenreducedto ash before he managed totakedownoneofthem.Hed

seen Samma NSei kill; theyoften did it just to explorenew ways of using theirpowers.

They didnt attack. Didthey know this woman wasChosen? Why, then, lowertheir veils? Samma NSeinever lowered their veilsexcept to killand only forthe kills they were mosteagerlyanticipating.

They will accompany

you, the Chosen said. Youshall have a handful of theTalentlessaswelltohelpdealwith alThors guards. Sheturnedtohimand,forthefirsttime, she met his eyes. Sheseemedrevolted.As if shewere disgusted to need hisaid.

They will accompanyyou, she had said. NotTheywillserveyou.

Bloodysonofadog.This

wasgoingtobeahatefuljob.

Talmanes threw himself tothe side, narrowly avoidingtheTrollocsaxe.Thegroundtrembled as the axe brokecobblestones; he ducked andrammedhisbladethroughthecreatures thigh. The thinghad a bulls snout, and itthrewbackitsheadtobellow.

Burn me, but you havehorrid breath, Talmanes

growled,whipping his swordfree and stepping back. Thethingwent down on one leg,and Talmanes hacked off itsweaponhand.

Panting,Talmanesdancedback as his two companionsstrucktheTrollocthroughthebackwithspears.Youalwayswanted to fight Trollocs in agroup. Well, you alwayswantedtofightanyonewithateamonyourside,but itwasmoreimportantwithTrollocs,

considering their size andstrength.

Corpses lay like heaps oftrash in the night. Talmaneshad been forced to fire thecity gates guardhouses togive light; the half-dozen orso guards who had remainedwere now recruits in theBand,forthetimebeing.

Like a black tide, theTrollocsbegantoretreatfromthe gate. Theydoverextended themselves in

pushing for it. Or, rather,beingpushedforit.Therehadbeen a Halfman with thiscrew. Talmanes lowered hishandtothewoundinhisside.Itwaswet.

Theguardhousefireswereburning low. Hed have toorder a few of the shops setonfire.Thatriskedlettingtheblazespread,butthecitywasalready lost. No sense inholding back now. Brynt!he yelled. Set that stable

aflame!Sandip came up as Brynt

went running past with atorch.Theyllbeback.Soon,probably.

Talmanes nodded. Nowthat the fighting was done,townspeople began to floodout of alleys and recesses,timidly making for the gateandpresumablysafety.

We cant stay here andhold this gate, Sandip said.Thedragons

I know.Howmanymendidwelose?

Idonthaveacountyet.Ahundred,atleast.

Light,Matsgoingtohavemyhidewhenhehearsaboutthat.Mathatedlosingtroops.There was a softness to theman equal to his geniusanodd, but inspiring,combination. Send somescouts to watch the cityroadways nearby for

approaching Shadowspawn.Heap some of these Trolloccarcasses to make barriers;theyll work as well asanythingelse.You,soldier!

One of the weariedsoldiers walking past froze.Hewore the Queens colors.MyLord?

We need to let peopleknowthisgateoutofthecityis safe. Is there a horn callthatAndoran peasantswouldrecognize? Something that

wouldbringthemhere? Peasants, the man

said thoughtfully. He didntseem to like the word. Theydidnt use it often, here inAndor. Yes, the QueensMarch.

Sandip?Illsetthesounderstoit,

Talmanes,Sandipsaid.Good. Talmanes knelt

tocleanhisswordonafallenTrollocs shirt, his sideaching. The wound wasnt

bad. Not by normal terms.Justanick,really.

Theshirtwassogrimyhealmost hesitated to wipe hisweapon, but Trolloc bloodwas bad for a blade, so heswabbeddownthesword.Hestoodup,ignoringthepaininhis side, then walked towardthe gate, where hed tiedSelfar. He hadnt dared trustthe horse againstShadowspawn. He was agood gelding, but not

Borderland-trained.None of the men

questionedhimasheclimbedinto the saddle and turnedSelfar westward, out of thecity gate, toward thosemercenaries hed seenwatching earlier. Talmaneswasnt surprised to find thattheyd moved closer to thecity. Fighting drew warriorslike fire drawing coldtravelersonawinternight.

They hadnt joined in the

battle.As Talmanes rode up,he was greeted by a smallgroup of the sell-swords: sixmen with thick arms, andlikelythick wits. TheyrecognizedhimandtheBand.Mat was downright famousthese days, and so was theBand, by association. Theyundoubtedly also noticed theTrolloc bloodstains onTalmanes clothing and thebandageathisside.

That wound had really

begun to burn fiercely now.Talmanes reined in Selfar,then patiently patted at hissaddlebags. I stowed sometabacheresomewhere

Well? one of themercenariesasked.Theleaderwas easy to pick out; he hadthefinestarmor.Amanoftenbecame leader of aband likethisbystayingalive.

Talmanes fished hissecond-best pipe out of his

saddlebag. Where was thattabac?Henevertookthebestpipe into battle. His fatherhadcalledthatbadluck.

Ah,hethought,pullingoutthe tabac pouch. He placedsome in the bowl, thenremoved a lighting twig andleaned over to stick it into atorch held by a warymercenary.

We arent going to fightunless paid, the leader said.He was a stout man,

surprisingly clean, though hecouldhavedonewithabeardtrim.

Talmanes lit his pipe,puffing smoke out. Behindhim, the horns startedblowing.TheQueensMarchturnedouttobeacatchytune.Thehornswereaccompaniedby shouts, and Talmaneslooked back. Trollocs on themain thoroughfare, a largerbatchthistime.

Crossbowmen fell into

ranksandbeganloosingatanorderTalmanescouldnthear.

Were not the headmanbeganagain.

Do you know what thisis? Talmanes asked softlyaround his pipe. This is thebeginning of the end.This isthe fall of nations and theunification of humankind.This is the Last Battle, youbloodyfool.

The men shuffleduncomfortably.

Do you do you speakfor the Queen? the leadersaid, trying to salvagesomething.Ijustwanttoseemymentakencareof.

If you fight, Talmanessaid,Illpromiseyouagreatreward.

Themanwaited.Ipromiseyouthatyoull

continue to draw breath,Talmanessaid,takinganotherpuff.

Is that a threat,

Cairhienin?Talmanesblewoutsmoke,

then leaned down from hissaddle,puttinghisfacecloserto the leader. I killed aMyrddraaltonight,Andoran,he said softly. It nickedmewithaThakandarblade,andthe wound has gone black.That means I have a fewhours at best before thebladespoisonburnsmefromtheinsideoutandIdieinthemost agonizing way a man

can. Therefore, friend, Isuggest that you trust mewhen I tell you that I reallyhavenothingtolose.

Themanblinked.You have two choices,

Talmanes said, turning hishorse and speaking loudly tothetroop.Youcanfightlikethe rest of us and help thisworld see new days, andmaybeyoull earn somecoinin the end. I cant promisethat. Your other option is to

sit here, watch people beslaughtered and tellyourselves that you dontworkforfree.Ifyourelucky,andtherestofussalvagethisworld without you, youlldraw breath long enough tobe strung up by yourcowardlynecks.

Silence.Horns blew fromthedarknessbehind.

The chief sell-swordlooked toward hiscompanions. They nodded in

agreement.Go help hold that gate,

Talmanes said. Ill recruittheothermercenarybands tohelp.

Leilwin surveyed themultitude of camps dottingthe place known as theFieldof Merrilor. In the darkness,withthemoonnotduetorisefor some time, she couldalmost imagine that the cook

fires were shipborne lanternsinabusyportatnight.

Thatwasprobablyasightshe would never see again.Leilwin Shipless was not acaptain; she would never beoneagain.Towishotherwisewastodefytheverynatureofwhoshehadbecome.

Bayle put a hand on hershoulder. Thick fingers,rough from many days ofwork. She reached up andrestedherhandonhis.Ithad

been simple to slip throughone of those gateways beingmade at Tar Valon. Bayleknewhiswayaroundthecity,though he had grumbledaboutbeingthere.Thisplacedosetthehairsonmyarmstopoints,hedsaid,and,Ididwish to never walk thesestreetsagain.Ididwishit.

Hed come with heranyway. A good man, BayleDomon. As good as shedfound in these unfamiliar

lands, despite moments ofunsavory trading in his past.That was behind him. If hedidnt understand the rightwayofthings,hedidtry.

This do be a sight, hesaid,scanningthequietseaoflights. Whatwantyou todonow?

We find NynaevealMearaorElayneTrakand.

Bayle scratched at hisbeardedchin;heworeitafterthe Illianer style, with the

upperlipshaved.Thehaironhis head was of varyinglengths;hedstoppedshavinga portion of his head, nowthatshehadfreedhim.Sheddone that so they couldmarry,ofcourse.

It was well; the shavenhead would have drawnattention here. Hed donequite well as sojhin oncecertain issues had beenresolved.Intheend,however,she had to admit that Bayle

Domon was not meant to besojhin. He was too rough-cut, and no tide would eversoftenthosesharpedges.Thatwas how she wanted him,thoughshedneversaysooutloud.

Itdobelate,Leilwin,hesaid.Perhapsweshouldwaituntilmorning.

No. There was a quiet tothecamps,true,butitwasnotthe quiet of slumber. It wasthequietof shipswaiting for

therightwinds.She knew little of what

was happening hereshehadnt dared open hermouthinTarValontoaskquestions,lest her accent reveal her asSeanchan.Agatheringofthissize did not occur withoutdedicated planning. She wassurprisedat the immensityofit;shedheardofthemeetinghere,onethatmostoftheAesSedai had come to attend.Thisexceededanythingshed

anticipated.She started across the

field, and Bayle followed,both of them joining thegroup of Tar Valon servantsthey had been allowed toaccompany,thankstoBaylesbribe. His methods did notplease her, but she had beenabletothinkofnootherway.She tried not to think toomuch about his originalcontacts in Tar Valon. Well,if she was never to be on a

shipagain, thenBaylewouldfind no more opportunitiesfor smuggling. That was asmallcomfort.

Youre a ships captain.Thats all you know, all youwant.Andnow,Shipless.Sheshivered, and clenched herhands into fists to keep fromwrapping her arms aroundherself. To spend the rest ofherdaysontheseunchanginglands,neverabletomoveata

pace brisker than what ahorsecouldprovide,never tosmell the deep-sea air, neverto point her prow toward ahorizon,hoistanchor,setsailandsimply

She shook herself. FindNynaeve and Elayne. Shemight be Shipless, but shewouldnotletherselfslipintothedepthsanddrown.Shesether course and startedwalking. Bayle huncheddownslightly,suspicious,and

triedtowatchallaroundthemat once. He also glanced atherafewtimes,lipsdrawntoa line. She knew what thatmeant,bynow.

Whatisit?sheasked.Leilwin, what do we be

doinghere?Ivetoldyou.Weneedto

findYes, but why? What do

you think youwill do?TheydobeAesSedai.

They showedme respect

before.And so you do think

theylltakeusin?Perhaps. She eyed him.

Speak it, Bayle. You havesomethingonyourmind.

He sighed. Why do weneed be taken in, Leilwin?We could find ourselves aship somewhere, in AradDoman.WheretheredobenoAesSedaiorSeanchan.

I wouldnt run the kindofshipyouprefer.

He regarded her flatly. Ido know how to run anhonest business, Leilwin. Itwouldnobe

She raised a hand,quietinghim,thenresteditonhisshoulder.Theystoppedonthe pathway. I know, mylove. I know. Im speakingwords to distract, to set usspinninginacurrentthatgoesnowhere.

Why?That single word

scratchedatherlikeasplinterunder a fingernail. Why?Why had she come all thisway, traveling with MatrimCauthon, putting herselfdangerously near theDaughteroftheNineMoons?Mypeoplelivewithagravemisconception of the world,Bayle. In doing so, theycreateinjustice.

They did reject you,Leilwin,hesaidsoftly.Youdonolongerbeoneofthem.

I will always be one ofthem.Mynamewasrevoked,butnotmyblood.

I do be sorry for theinsult.

She nodded curtly. I amstill loyal to the Empress,maysheliveforever.But thedamane they are the veryfoundation forher rule.Theyare the means by which shecreates order, by which sheholds the Empire together.

Andthedamanearealie.Suldam could channel.

The talent could be learned.Now, months after she haddiscoveredthetruth,hermindcould not encompass all ofthe implications. Anothermight have been moreinterested in the politicaladvantage; another mighthave returned to Seanchanand used this to gain power.Almost, Leilwin wished she

haddonethat.Almost.But the pleas of the

suldam growing to knowthose Aes Sedai, who werenothing likewhat shed beentaught

Somethinghadtobedone.And yet, in doing it, did sheriskcausingtheentireEmpireto collapse? Her movementsmustbeconsideredvery,verycarefully, like the last roundsofagameofshal.

The two continued tofollow the lineof servants inthe dark; one Aes Sedai oranother often sent servantsfor something theyd left intheWhiteTower,sotravelingback and forth was commona good thing for Leilwin.Theypassed theperimeterofthe Aes Sedai camp withoutbeingchallenged.

She was surprised at theease of it until she spottedseveral men alongside the

path.Theywereveryeasy tomiss; something about themblended into thesurroundings, particularly inthe darkness. She noticedthem only when one moved,breaking off from the othersto fall into step a shortdistance behind her andBayle.

Inseconds,itwasobviousthat hed picked the two ofthem out. Perhaps it was theway they walked, the way

theyheld themselves.Theydbeen careful to dress plainly,though Bayles beard wouldmarkhimasIllianer.

Leilwinstoppedlayingahand on Bayles armandturned to confront the onefollowing them. A Warder,she assumed fromdescriptions.

TheWarder stalked up tothem.Theywerestillneartheperimeter of the camp, thetents organized in rings. She

had noticed with discomfortthatsomeofthetentsglowedwith a light too steady tocomefromcandleorlamp.

Ho,Baylesaid,raisingafriendly hand to theWarder.We do be seeking an AesSedai named NynaevealMeara. If she is not here,perhaps one named ElayneTrakand?

Neithermakestheircamphere, the Warder said. Hewas a long-armed man, and

he moved with grace. Hisfeatures,framedbylong,darkhair, looked unfinished.Chiseled from rock by asculptorwhohadlostinterestin the project partwaythrough.

Ah, Bayle said. Thatdo be our mistake, then.Could you point us towherethey do be making camp? Itdo be a matter of someurgency, you see. He spokesmoothly,easily.Baylecould

be quite charming, whennecessary. Much more sothanLeilwincould.

That depends, theWarder said. Yourcompanion, she wishes tofindtheseAesSedai,too?

She do Bayle began,but the Warder held up ahand.

Iwouldhearitfromher,hesaid,inspectingLeilwin.

It do be what I wish,Leilwin said. My aged

grandmother! These women,theydidpromiseuspayment,andIdomeantohaveit.AesSedaidonotlie.Everyonedoknowthisfact.Ifyouwillnottakeustothem,thenprovidesomeonewhowill!

The Warder hesitated,eyes widening at the barrageofwords.Then,blessedly,henodded. This way. He ledthemawayfromthecenterofthe camp, but he no longerseemedsuspicious.

Leilwin let out a quietbreath and fell into stepwithBayle behind the Warder.Bayle looked at her proudly,grinning so widely hedcertainly have given the twoof them away if the Warderhad looked back. Shecouldnthelpahintofasmileherself.

TheIllianeraccenthadnotcome naturally to her, butboth had agreed that herSeanchan tongue was

dangerous, particularly whentraveling among Aes Sedai.Bayle claimed that no trueIllianer would accept her asone of them, but she wasclearly good enough to foolanoutsider.

She felt relieved whenthey moved away from theAesSedaicampintothedark.Having two friendstheywere friends, despite theirtroubles with one anotherwho were Aes Sedai did not

meanshewantedtobeinsidea camp full of them. TheWarder led them to an openarea near the middle of theField ofMerrilor. There wasaverylargecamphere,withagreatnumberofsmalltents.

Aiel, Bayle said softlyto her. There do be tens ofthousandsofthem.

Interesting. Fearsomestories were told of Aiel,legends that could not allpossibly be true. Still, the

talesif exaggeratedsuggested that thesewere thefinestwarriorsthissideoftheocean. She would havewelcomed sparring with oneor two of them, had thesituation been different. Sherested a hand on the side ofher pack; shed stowed hercudgelinalongpocketontheside,easilywithinreach.

Theycertainlywerea tallfolk, these Aiel. She passedsome of them lounging by

campfires,seeminglyrelaxed.Those eyes, however,watchedmorekeenlythantheWarders had. A dangerouspeople, ready for killingwhile relaxing beside fires.She could not make out thebanners that flapped abovethiscampinthenightsky.

Which king or queen dorule thiscamp,Warder? shecalled.

Themanturnedtoher,hisfeatures lost in the night

shadow. Your king,Illianer.

At her side, Baylestiffened.

MyThe Dragon Reborn. She

was proud that she didntmiss a step as they walked,butitwasanearthing.Amanwhocouldchannel.Thatwasworse, far worse, than theAesSedai.

TheWarder led themtoatent near the center of the

camp.Youarefortunate;herlight is on. There were noguardsatthetententrance,sohe called in and receivedpermissiontoenter.Hepulledback the flap with one armand nodded to them, yet hisotherhandwasonhissword,and he stood in fightingposture.

She hated putting thatsword to her back, but sheentered as ordered. The tentwas lit by one of those

unnaturalglobesoflight,anda familiar woman in a greendress sat at a writing desk,workingona letter.NynaevealMeara was what, back inSeanchan, one would call atelartiawomanwithfireinhersoul.Leilwinhadcometounderstand that Aes Sedaiwere supposed to be calm asplacid waters. Well, thiswoman might be that onoccasionbut she was thekind of placid water found

onebendawayfromafuriouswaterfall.

Nynaeve continued towriteas theyentered.Shenolonger wore braids; her hairwas loose around the top ofher shoulders. It was a sightas strange as a ship with nomast.

Ill be with you in amoment, Sleete, Nynaevesaid. Honestly, theway youlot have been hovering overmelatelymakesmethinkofa

mother bird who has lost anegg. Dont your Aes Sedaihaveworkforyoutodo?

Lanisimportanttomanyof us, Nynaeve Sedai, theWarderSleete said in acalm,gravellyvoice.

Oh, and hes notimportant tome?Honestly, Iwonderifweshouldsendyouout to chop wood orsomething. If one moreWardercomestoseeifIneed

She glanced up, finallyseeing Leilwin. Nynaevesface immediately grewimpassive. Cold. Burninglycold. Leilwin found herselfsweating. This woman heldher life in her hands. Whycouldnt it have been Elaynethat Sleete had brought themto? Perhaps they shouldnthavementionedNynaeve.

These two demanded tosee you, Sleete said. Hissword was out of its sheath.

Leilwin hadnt seen that.Domon muttered softly tohimself.Theyclaimthatyoupromisedtopaythemmoney,and they have come for it.They did not identifythemselves in the Tower,however,andfoundawaytoslip through one of thegateways. The man is fromIllian. The woman,somewhere else. Shesdisguisingheraccent.

Well, perhaps she wasnt

as good with the accent asshed assumed. Leilwinglanced at his sword. If sherolled to the side, hedprobably miss a strike,assuming he went for thechestorneck.Shecouldpullthecudgeland

She was facing an AesSedai. Shed never stand upfrom that roll. Shed becaughtinaweaveoftheOnePower,orworse.

I know them, Sleete,

Nynaeve said, voice cool.You did well in bringingthemtome.Thankyou.

Hisswordwassheathedatonce,andLeilwinfeltcoolaironherneckasheslippedoutofthetent,quietasawhisper.

If youve come to begforgiveness, Nynaeve said,youve come to the wrongperson. Ive half a mind togiveyouovertotheWardersto question. Maybe they canbleed somethinguseful about

your people from thattreacherousmindofyours.

It is good to see youagain too,Nynaeve,Leilwinsaid coolly. So whathappened? Nynaevedemanded.

What happened? Whatwas the woman talkingabout?

I did try, Baylesuddenly said, regretfully. Idid fight them, but I wastakeneasily.Theycouldhave

fired my ship, sunk us all,killedmymen.

Better that you and allaboard should have died,Illianer,Nynaeve said. Theterangreal ended up in thehandsofoneoftheForsaken;Semirhagewashidingamongthe Seanchan, pretending tobe some kind of judge. ATruthspeaker? Is that theword?

Yes,Leilwinsaidsoftly.Sheunderstoodnow.Iregret

breakingmyoath,butYouregret it, Egeanin?

Nynaeve said, standing,knocking her chair back. Regret is not a word Iwould use for endangeringthe world itself, bringing usto the brink of darkness andall but shoving us over theedge! She had copies of thatdevice made, woman. Oneended up around the neck ofthe Dragon Reborn. The

Dragon Reborn himself,controlled by one of theForsaken!

Nynaeve flung her handsintotheair.Light!Wewereheartbeats from the end,because of you. The end ofeverything.Nomore Pattern,no more world, nothing.Millions of lives could havewinked out because of yourcarelessness.

I Leilwins failures

seemed monumental,suddenly. Her life, lost. Hervery name, lost. Her ship,stripped from her by theDaughter of theNineMoonsherself. All were immaterialinlightofthis.

I did fight, Bayle saidmorefirmly.IdidfightwithwhatIcouldgive.

Ishouldhavejoinedyou,itappears,Leilwinsaid.

Ididtrytoexplainthat,Bayle said grimly. Many

times now, burn me, but Idid.

Bah, Nynaeve said,raising a hand to herforehead. What are youdoing here, Egeanin? I hadhopedyouwere dead. If youhad died trying to keep youroath, then I could not haveblamedyou.

I handed it to Surothmyself, Leilwin thought. Aprice paid for my life, the

onlywayout.Well? Nynaeve glared

ather.Outwithit,Egeanin.I no longer bear that

name. Leilwin went downonherknees.Ihavehadallstripped from me, includingmy honor, it now appears. Igive myself to you aspayment.

Nynaeve snorted. Wedont keep people as if theywere animals, unlike youSeanchan.

Leilwin continuedkneeling.Baylerestedahandon her shoulder, but did nottry topullher toherfeet.Heunderstoodwell enough nowwhyshehadtodoasshehad.Hewasquitenearlycivilized.

On your feet, Nynaevesnapped. Light, Egeanin. Iremember you being sostrong you could chew rocksandspitoutsand.

It is my strength thatcompels me, she said,

lowering her eyes. DidNynaeve not understand howdifficultthiswas?Itwouldbeeasier to slit her own throat,only she had not the honorleft to demand such an easyend.

Stand!Leilwindidastold.Nynaeve grabbed her

cloakoffthebedandthrewiton.Come.Welltakeyoutothe Amyrlin. Maybe shellknowwhattodowithyou.

Nynaeve barged out intothe night, and Leilwinfollowed. Her decision hadbeen made. There was onlyonepaththatmadesense,oneway to preserve a shred ofhonor, and perhaps to helpher people survive the liesthey had been tellingthemselvesforsolong.

Leilwin Shipless nowbelongedtotheWhiteTower.Whatevertheysaid,whatevertheytriedtodowithher,that

factwould not change. Theyowned her. She would be adacovale to this Amyrlin,andwouldridethisstormlikea ship whose sail had beenshreddedbythewind.

Perhaps, with whatremained of her honor, shecouldearnthiswomanstrust.

Its part of an oldBorderlander relief for thepain,Melten said, removing

the bandage at Talmanesside. The blisterleaf slowsthe taint left by the cursedmetal.

Melten was a lean, mop-haired man. He dressed likean Andoran woodsman, witha simple shirt and cloak, butspoke likeaBorderlander. Inhis pouch he carried a set ofcolored balls that hedsometimes juggle for theother members of the Band.Inanother life,hemust have

beenagleeman.Hewasanunlikelymanto

be in the Band, but they allwere,inonewayoranother.

I dont know how itdampens thepoison,Meltensaid. But it does. Its nonatural poison, mind you.Youcantsuckitfree.

Talmanespressedhishandto the side.Theburningpainfeltlikethornyvinescrawlingin under his skin, creepingforward and tearing at his

flesh with every movement.He could feel the poisonmoving through his body.Light,butithurt.

Nearby, the men of theBand fought throughCaemlyn up toward thePalace. Theyd come inthrough the southern gate,leaving the mercenary bandsunder Sandips commandholdingthewesterngate.

If there was humanresistance anywhere in the

city,itwouldbeatthePalace.Unfortunately, fists ofTrollocs roved the areabetween Talmanes positionand the Palace. They keptrunning across the monstersandgettingdrawnintofights.

Talmanes couldnt findout if, indeed, there wasresistance above withoutgetting there. That meantleadinghismenuptowardthePalace, fighting all the way,and leaving himself open to

being cut off from behind ifone of those roving groupsworked around behind him.There was nothing for it,though.Heneededtofindoutwhatifanythingremainedof the Palace defenses. Fromthere, he could strike furtherintothecityandtrytogetthedragons.

The air smelled of smokeand blood; during a briefpause in the fighting, theydpiled dead Trollocs against

the right side of the street tomakeroomforpassage.

There were refugees inthis quarter of the city, too,thoughnotafloodofthem.Astream, maybe, seeping infrom the darkness asTalmanes and the Bandseized sections of thethoroughfare leading uptoward the Palace. Theserefugeesneverdemandedthatthe Band protect their goodsor rescue their homes; they

sobbed with joy at findinghuman resistance. Madwinwas in charge of sendingthem toward freedom alongthe corridor of safety theBandhadcarvedfree.

Talmanes stared uptoward the Palace, atop thehillbutonlybarelyvisible inthenight.Thoughmostofthecity burned, the Palace wasnot aflame; its white wallshung in the smokynight likephantoms. No fire. That had

to indicate resistance, didntit? Wouldnt the Trollocshave attacked it as one oftheirfirstactionsinthecity?

Hedsentscoutsalongthestreetupaheadashegavehismenand himselfa shortbreather.

Melten finished tyingTalmanespoulticetight.

Thank you, Melten,Talmanessaid,noddingtotheman. I can feel the poulticeworking already. You said

thisispartofthecureforthepain.Whatistheotherpart?

Melten unhooked a metalflask from his belt andhanded it over. Shienaranbrandy,fullstrength.

Its not a good idea todrinkincombat,man.

Take it, Melten saidsoftly. Keep the flask anddrink it deep, my Lord. Orcomethenextbell,youwontbestanding.

Talmanes hesitated, then

tooktheflaskandtookalongswallow. It burned like thewound. He coughed, thentucked the brandy away. Ibelieve you mistook yourbottles, Melten. That wassomething you found in atanningvat.

Melten snorted. And itssaid you have no sense ofhumor,LordTalmanes.

Ihaventone,Talmanessaid. Stay close with thatswordofyours.

Melten nodded, eyessolemn. Dreadbane, hewhispered.

Whatsthat?Borderlander title. You

slewaFade.Dreadbane.It had about seventeen

boltsinitatthetime.Doesnt matter. Melten

clasped him on the shoulder.Dreadbane.When you canttake the pain any longer,maketwofistsandraisethemtowardme.Iwillseethedeed

done.Talmanesstoodup,unable

to suppress a groan. Theyboth understood. The severalBorderlanders in the Bandagreed; wounds made by aThakandar blade wereunpredictable. Some festeredquickly, others made mensick. When one went blacklikeTalmanes,thoughthatwas theworst.Nothing shortoffindinganAesSedaiinthenext few hours could save

him.See, Talmanes

muttered,itisagoodthingIhave no sense of humor,otherwise I should think thePatternwasplayingajokeonme.Dennel!Youhaveamaphandy?Light,buthemissedVanin.

My Lord, Dennel said,hurrying across the darkstreet carrying a torch and ahastily drawn map. He wasone of the Bands dragon

captains.IthinkIvefoundafasterwaythroughthestreetsto where Aludra had thedragonsstored.

Were fighting to thePalacefirst,Talmanessaid.

My Lord. Dennelswordscamemoresoftlyfromhiswidelips.Hewaspickingat his uniform, as if it didntfit right. If the Shadowreachesthosedragons

Im well aware of thedangers, Dennel, thank you.

Howfastcouldyoumovethethings, assuming we reachthem? Im worried aboutextending ourselves too far,andthiscityisgoingupfasterthanoil-soakedloveletterstoa High Lords mistress. Iwant to get theweapons andleave the city as quickly aspossible.

I can level an enemybulwarkinashotor two,myLord, but the dragons donotmove quickly. They are

attached to carts, so thatwillhelp,but theyarentgoingtobe any faster than say, aline of supply wagons. Andtheywouldtaketimetosetupproperlyandfire.

Thenwe continue to thePalace,Talmanessaid.

ButAt the Palace, he said

sternly, we might findwomenwhocanchannelusagateway straight to Aludraswarehouse. Besides, if we

find the Palace Guard stillfighting,weknowwehaveafriend at our backs. Wewillretrieve those dragons, butwelldoitsmartly.

He noticed Ladwin andMar hurrying down fromabove.ThereareTrollocsupthere! Mar said, hasteningup to Talmanes. A hundredstrong at least, hunkereddowninthestreet.

Form ranks, men!Talmanes shouted. Wepush

forthePalace!

Thesweattentfellcompletelystill.

Aviendha had anticipatedincredulity, perhaps, at hertale.Questions,certainly.Notthispainfulsilence.

Though she had notexpected it, she didunderstand it. She had felt itherselfafterseeinghervisionof the Aiel slowly losing

jietohinthefuture.Shehadwitnessedthedeath,dishonorand ruination of her people.At least now she hadsomeonewithwhomtosharethatburden.

The heated stones in thekettlehissed softly.Someoneshould pour more water, butnone of the rooms sixoccupants moved to tend it.The other fivewere allWiseOnes, nakedas wasAviendhaafter the manner

ofsweattents.Sorilea,Amys,Bair, Melaine and Kymer ofthe Tomanelle Aiel. Allstared straight ahead, eachalone for the moment withherthoughts.

One by one, theystraightened their backs andsat up, as if accepting a newburden. That comfortedAviendha; not that shedexpected the news to breakthem.Itwasstillgood toseethem set their faces toward

the danger instead of awayfromit.

Sightblinder is too closeto the world now, saidMelaine. The Pattern hasbeentwistedsomehow.Inthedream we still see manythings that may or may nothappen, but there are toomanypossibilities;wecannottell one from another. Thefate of our people is uncleartothedreamwalkers,asisthefate of the Caracarn once

hespits inSightblinderseyeon the Last Day.We do notknow the truth of whatAviendhasaw.

We must test this,Sorilea said, eyes like stone.We must know. Is eachwoman now shown thisvisioninsteadoftheother,orwastheexperienceunique?

Elenar of the Daryne,Amys said. Her training isnearly complete; she will bethe next to visit Rhuidean.

We could ask Hayde andShannitoencourageher.

Aviendha suppressed ashudder. She understood toowell how encouraging theWiseOnescouldbe.

That would be well,Bair said, leaning forward.Perhapsthisiswhathappenswhenever someone goesthrough the glass columns asecond time? Maybe that iswhyitisforbidden.

None of them looked at

Aviendha, but she could feelthem considering her. Whatshe had donewas forbidden.Speaking of what happenedinRhuideanwasalsotaboo.

There would be noreprimand.Rhuidean had notkilled her; this was what theWheel had spun. Baircontinued to stare into thedistance.Sweattrickleddownthe sides of Aviendhas faceandherbreasts.

Idonotmisstakingbaths,she told herself. She was nosoft wetlander. Still, a sweattentwasnttrulynecessaryonthis side of the mountains.There was no bitter cold atnight, so the heat of the tentfelt stifling, not comforting.And if water was plentifulenoughforbathing

No.Shesetherjaw.MayIspeak?

Dont be foolish, girl,

Melaine said. The womanwasroundinthebelly,nearlyto term. Youre one of usnow. No need to askpermission.

Girl? It would take timefor them to see her truly asone of them, but they didmake an effort. Nobodyorderedhertomaketeaor tothrow water on the kettle.With no apprentice aroundandnogaishain handy, theytookturnsdoingthesetasks.

Iamlessconcernedwithwhether the vision repeats,Aviendha said, than withwhat I was shown. Will ithappen?Canwestopit?

Rhuidean shows twotypesofvision,Kymersaid.She was a younger woman,perhaps less than a decadeAviendhas senior,withdeepred hair and a long, tannedface. The first visit is whatcould be, the second, to thecolumns, what has

happened.Thisthirdvisioncouldbe

either, Amys said. Thecolumns always show thepast accurately; why wouldtheynotshowthefuturewithequalaccuracy?

Aviendhasheartlurched.But why, Bair said

softly, would the columnsshow a despair that cannotchange? No. I refuse tobelieve it. Rhuidean hasalways shown us what we

neededtosee.Tohelpus,notdestroy us. This vision musthave a purpose as well. Toencourage us toward greaterhonor?

Itsunimportant,Sorileasaidcurtly.

ButAviendhabegan.Itsunimportant,Sorilea

repeated. If this visionwereunchangeable, if our destinyis to fall as you havespoken,wouldanyofusstopfightingtochangeit?

The room grew still.Aviendha shook her head.Wemust treat it as if it canbe changed, Sorilea said.Best not to dwell on yourquestion,Aviendha.Wemustdecidewhatcoursetotake.

Aviendha found herselfnodding. I Yes, yes, youarecorrect,WiseOne.

But what do we do?Kymer asked. What do wechange? For now, the LastBattlemustbewon.

Almost, Amys said, Iwish for the vision to beunchangeable, for at least itproveswewinthisfight.

It proves nothing,Sorilea said. Sightblindersvictory would break thePattern, and so no vision ofthe future can be sure ortrusted.EvenwithpropheciesofwhatmighthappeninAgestocome, ifSightblinderwinsthis battle, all will becomenothing.

This vision I saw has todo with whatever Rand isplanning,Aviendhasaid.

Theyturnedtoher.Tomorrow, she said.

From what youve told me,hes preparing for animportantrevelation.

TheCaracarn has afondness for dramaticpresentations, Bair said, hertone itself fond. Hes like acrockobur who has toiled allnightmakinganestsothathe

can singof it in themorningtoallwhowilllisten.

Aviendha had beensurprised to discover thegatheringatMerrilor;shehadfound it only by using herbond to Rand alThor todetermine where he was.Arrivingheretofindsomanytogether,thewetlanderforcescollected, she wondered ifthis was part of what shedseen. Was this gathering thestart of what would become

hervision?I feel as if I knowmore

than I should. She spokealmosttoherself.

You have had a deepglimpse of what the futuremay hold, Kymer said. Itwillchangeyou,Aviendha.

Tomorrow is key,Aviendhasaid.Hisplan.

From what you said,Kymer replied, it sounds asif he intends to ignore theAiel, his own people. Why

would he give boons toeveryone else, but not tothose who are mostdeserving? Does he seek toinsultus?

I dont think that is thereason, Aviendha said. Ithink he intends to makedemandsofthosewhoattend,notgrantthemgifts.

Hedidmentionaprice,Bairsaid.Apriceheintendsto make the others pay. Noone has been able to pry the

secretofthispricefromhim.He went through a

gateway to Tear earlier thisevening and returned withsomething, Melaine said.The Maidens report ithekeeps his oath to bring themwith him, now. When wehave inquired after his price,he has said that it issomething that theAiel neednotworryabout.

Aviendhascowled.He ismakingmenpayhiminorder

to do what we all know hemust? Perhaps he has beenspending toomuch timewiththatmindertheSeaFolksenthim.

No, this is well, Amyssaid. These people demandmuch of theCaracarn. Hehas a right to demandsomething of them in return.They are soft; perhaps heintendstomakethemhard.

Andsoheleavesusout,Bair said softly, because he

knows that we are alreadyhard.

Thetentfellsilent.Amys,lookingtroubled,ladledsomewaterontothekettlesheatedstones. It hissedas the steamrose.

That is it, Sorilea said.Hedoesnot intend to insultus.Heintendstodoushonor,in his own eyes. She shookher head. He should knowbetter.

Often, Kymer agreed,

the Caracarn gives insultby accident, as if he were achild. We are strong, so hisdemandwhatever it ismattersnot.Ifitisapricetheotherscanpay,socanwe.

Hewouldnotmakethesemistakes if he had beentrainedproperlyinourways,Sorileamurmured.

Aviendha met their eyesevenly. No, she had nottrained him as well as hecouldhavebeen trainedbut

they knew that Rand alThorwas obstinate. Besides, shewas their equal now.Although she had troublefeeling thatwaywhile facingSorileas tight-lippeddisapproval.

Perhaps it was spendingsomuchtimewithwetlanderslikeElayne,butsuddenly,shedid see things asRandmust.To give the Aiel anexemptionfromhispriceif,indeed, that was what he

intendedwas an act ofhonor. If he had made ademand of them with theothers, theseveryWiseOnesmight have taken offense atbeing lumped with thewetlanders.

What was he planning?She saw hints of it in thevisions, but increasingly, shewas certain that the next daywould start the Aiel on theroadtotheirdoom.

Shemust see that did nothappen. This was her firsttask as a Wise One, andwould likely be the mostimportantshewasevergiven.Shewouldnotfail.

Her task was not just toteach him, Amys said.What I wouldnt give toknow that he was safelyunder thewatchful eyes of agoodwoman.She looked atAviendha, face laden with

meaning.He will be mine,

Aviendha said, firmly. Butnot foryou,Amys,or forourpeople. She was shocked atthestrengthof thatsentimentwithinher.ShewasAiel.Herpeople meant everything toher.

But this choice was nottheir choice.Thischoicewashers.

Be warned, Aviendha,

Bair said, laying a hand onher wrist. He has changedsince you left.He has grownstrong.

Aviendha frowned. Inwhatway?

Hehasembraceddeath,Amys said, sounding proud.He may still carry a swordand wear the clothing of awetlander,butheisoursnow,finallyandtruly.

I must see this,Aviendha said, standing. I

will discover what I canregardinghisplans.

There is not much timeremaining,Kymerwarned.

One night remains,Aviendha said. It will beenough.

The others nodded, andAviendha started to dress.Unexpectedly, the othersjoinedher,dressingaswell.Itappearedthattheyconsideredher news important enoughthat they would be going to

share it with the other WiseOnes, rather than continuingtositinconference.

Aviendha was the first tostep out into the night; thecool air, away from thesweltering heat of the sweattent, felt good on her skin.She took a deep breath. Hermindwasheavywithfatigue,butsleepwouldneedtowait.

The tent flaps rustledbehind the otherWise Ones,Melaine and Amys speaking

softly to one another as theyhastened into the night.Kymer walked purposefullytowardtheTomanellesectionof the camp. Perhaps shewould speak with her sister-father, Han, the Tomanellechief.

Aviendha started tomoveoff herself, but a bony handtook her arm. She glancedoverher shoulder to seeBairstanding behind her, dressedagaininblouseandskirt.

Wise One, Aviendhasaidbyreflex.

Wise One, Bair repliedwithasmile.

IstheresomethingIwouldgotoRhuidean,

Bairsaid,glancingatthesky.Would you kindly make agatewayforme?

Youregoingthroughtheglasscolumns.

One of us needs to.Despite what Amys said,Elenar is not ready,

particularly not to seesomethingofthisnature.Thatgirl spends half of her dayssquawking like a buzzardoverthelastscrapofarottingcarcass.

ButOh, dont you start, too.

Youre one of us now,Aviendha, but Im still oldenough to have tended yourgreatmother when she was achild. Bair shook her head;herwhitehairalmostseemed

to glow in the filteredmoonlight.Iamthebestoneto go, she continued.Channelers must bepreserved for the battle tocome.Iwouldnothavesomechildwalkintothosecolumnsnow. I will do it. Now, thatgateway?Will you grant myrequest,ordoIneedtobullyAmysintodoingso?

Aviendha would haveliked to see anyone bullyAmys into anything. Maybe

Sorilea could do it. She saidnothing,however,andcreatedthe proper weave to open agateway.

The thought of anotherseeingwhat shed seenmadeher stomach twist. Whatwould it mean if Bairreturnedwith the exact samevision? Would that indicatethefuturewasmorelikely?

It was that terrible, wasit?Bairaskedsoftly.

Horrible. It would have

madespearsweepandstonescrumble,Bair. Iwouldratherhave danced withSightblinderhimself.

Then it is much betterthat I go than another. Itshould be the strongest of uswhodoesthis.

Aviendha stopped herselffromraisinganeyebrow.Bairwasastoughasgoodleather,but the other Wise Oneswerentexactlyflowerpetals.Bair, Aviendha said, a

thought occurring to her.HaveyouevermetawomannamedNakomi?

Nakomi. Bair tried theword in her mouth. Anancient name. I have neverknown anyone who uses it.Why?

I met an Aiel womanwhiletravelingtoRhuidean,Aviendha said. She claimednottobeaWiseOne,butshehad a way about her Sheshook her head. The

question was merely idlecuriosity.

Well, we shall knowsome of the truth of thesevisions, Bair said, steppingtowardthegateway.

What if they are true,Bair? Aviendha foundherselfasking.Whatifthereisntanythingwecando?

Bair turned. You sawyourchildren,yousaid?

Aviendha nodded. Shehadntspokenindetailofthat

segment of the vision. It hadseemedmorepersonaltoher.

Change one of theirnames, Bair said. Neverspeak of the name that childwas called in the vision, noteven to us. Then you shallknow. If one thing isdifferent, then othersmay bedifferent as well. Will bedifferent.Thisisnotourfate,Aviendha.Itisapathwewillavoid.Together.

Aviendha found herself

nodding. Yes. A simplechange, a small change, butfullofmeaning.Thankyou,Bair.

The aging Wise Onenodded to her, then steppedthrough thegateway, runningin the night toward the cityahead.

Talmanes threw his shoulderagainst a hulking, boar-facedTrollocincrudechainarmor.

Thebeastsmelledhorrid,likesmoke,wetfurandunwashedflesh. It grunted at the forceof Talmanes assault; thethings always seemedsurprised when he attackedthem.

Talmanes pulled back,ripping his sword out of thebeasts side as it collapsed.He then lunged forward andrammed his sword into itsthroat, heedless of its raggedfingernails scratching at his

legs. Life faded from thebeady,too-humaneyes.

Men fought, called,grunted,killed.Thestreetranupa steep incline toward thePalace. Trolloc hordes hadentrenched here, holdingposition and keeping theBandfromreachingthetop.

Talmanes sagged againstthe side of a buildingtheone next to it was on fire,lightingthestreetwithviolentcolors and bathing him in

heat. Those fires seemedchilly compared to theflaring, horrible pain of hiswound. The flare ran downhis leg to his foot and wasbeginning to work its wayacrosshisshoulder.

Blood and bloody ashes,hethought.WhatIdgive foranother few hours with mypipe and book, alone andpeaceful. The people whospoke of glorious death in

battlewere complete flamingfools. There was nothingglorious about dying in thismess of fire and blood.Givehimaquietdeathanyday.

Talmanes pushed himselfback up to his feet, drops ofsweat falling from his face.Below, Trollocs amassedthemselves behind his rearposition.TheyhadclosedtheroadbehindTalmanes force,but Talmanes was able toproceed, cutting through the

Trollocsahead.Retreatwould be difficult

to pull off. As well as thisroadway being full ofTrollocs, fighting in the citymeant that Trollocs couldwind through the streets insmall groups and attack hisflanks, as they advanced andlaterwhentheyretreated.

Throweverythingyouvegot at them, men! hebellowed, hurling himself upthe street and into the

Trollocsblockingthewayup.The Palace was quite closenow.He caught a goat-facedTrollocsswordonhisshieldright before it would havetaken off Dennels head.Talmanes tried to shove thebeasts weapon back, butLight, Trollocs were strong.Talmanesbarelykeptthisonefrom throwing him to theground as Dennel recoveredand attacked its thighs,bringingitdown.

Melten fell in besideTalmanes. The Borderlanderwas true to his word to stayclose, in case Talmanesneeded a sword to end hislife.The two led thepushupthe hill. The Trollocs beganto give, then rallied, asnarling,roaringheapofdarkfur,eyes andweapons in thefirelight.

There were so many ofthem Steady! Talmanesyelled.ForLordMatandthe

BandoftheRedHand!If Mat were here, he

would probably curse a lot,complain as much, thenproceedtosavethemallwithsome battlefield miracle.Talmanes couldnt reproduceMats blend of insanity andinspiration, but his yell didseem to encourage the men.The ranks tightened. Gavidarrayed his two dozencrossbowmenthe lastTalmanes had with him

atop a building that hadntburned away. They starteddriving flight after flight ofboltsintotheTrollocs.

That might have brokenhuman enemies, but notTrollocs.Theboltsdroppedafew, but not as many asTalmaneswouldhavehoped.

Theres another Fadeback there, Talmanesthought. Pushing themforward. Light, I cant fight

another. I shouldnt havefoughttheoneIdid!

He shouldnt be on hisfeet.Meltensflaskofbrandywasgone, long sincedrainedto deaden what it could. Hismindwasalreadyas fuzzyashe dared allow. He fell inwithDennelandLondraedatthe front, fighting,concentrating.LettingTrollocbloodoutonto thecobbles tostreamdownthehillside.

The Band gave a goodfight of it, but they wereoutnumbered and exhausted.Downbelow,anotherTrollocfist joined the ones on thestreetbehindhim.

That was it. He wouldhave to either hit that forcebehindturning his back ontheoneinfrontorbreakhismen into smaller units andsend them retreating throughside streets to regroup at thegatebelow.

Talmanespreparedtogivetheorders.

Forward the WhiteLion! voices yelled. ForAndor and the Queen!Talmanes spun as men inwhite and red broke throughtheTrolloclinesatopthehill.A second force of Andoranpikemenpouredoutofasidealleyway, coming in behindtheTrollochordethathadjustsurroundedhim.TheTrollocsbroke before the oncoming

pikemen,andinmomentstheentiremasslikeapus-filledblisterburst, Trollocsscatteringinalldirections.

Talmanes stumbled back.Momentarily he had to prophimselfupwithhis swordasMadwin took command ofthecounterstrikeandhismenkilled many of the fleeingTrollocs.

A group of officers inbloodied Queens Guarduniforms rushed down the

hillside; they didnt look anybetterthantheBand.Guybonled them. Mercenary, hesaid to Talmanes, I thankyouforshowingup.

Talmanes frowned. Youactas ifwesavedyou.Frommy perspective, it happenedtheotherwayaround.

Guybon grimaced in thefirelight. You gave us somerespite; those Trollocs wereattacking the Palace gates. Iapologize for taking so long

to reach youwe didntrealize, at first, what haddrawntheminthisdirection.

Light. The Palace stillstands?

Yes, Guybon said.Were full of refugees,though.

What of channelers?Talmanes asked, hopeful.Why havent the Andoranarmies returned with theQueen?

Darkfriends. Guybon

frowned. Her Majesty tookmostof theKinswomenwithher, the strongest ones atleast. She left four withenough power to make agateway together, buttheattackanassassinkilledtwoof thembefore the other twocould stop him. Alone, thetwo arent strong enough tosend for help. Theyre usingtheirstrengthtoHeal.

Bloodandbloodyashes,Talmanessaid,thoughhefelt

a stab of hope as he said it.Perhaps these women couldnotmakeagateway,buttheymight be able to Heal hiswound.Youshould lead therefugees out of the city,Guybon. My men hold thesoutherngate.

Excellent,Guybon said,straightening. But you willhave to lead the refugees. ImustdefendthePalace.

Talmanes raised aneyebrow at him; he didnt

take orders from Guybon.The Band had its owncommand structure, andreported only to the Queen.Mathadmadethatclearwhenacceptingthecontract.

Unfortunately, Guybondidnt take orders fromTalmanes, either. Talmanestook a deep breath, but thenwavered, dizzy. Meltengrabbedhis arm to keep himfromtopplingover.

Light,butithurt.Couldnt

his side just do the decentthingandgrownumb?Bloodandbloodyashes.HeneededtogettothoseKinswomen.

Talmanes said hopefully,Those twowomenwho canHeal?

I have sent for themalready, Guybon said. Assoon as we saw this forcehere.

Well,thatwassomething.I domean to stay here,

Guybon warned. I wont

abandonthispost.Why? The city is lost,

man!TheQueenorderedus to

send regular reports throughgateways, Guybon said.Eventually, shes going towonderwhywe havent sentamessenger.Shewill sendachanneler to see why wehavent reported, and thatmessenger will arrive at thePalacesTraveling ground. It

My Lord! a voicecalled.MyLordTalmanes!

Guybon cut off, andTalmanes turned to findFilgerone of the scoutsscrambling up the bloodiedcobblesofthehillsidetowardhim. Filger was a lean manwith thinning hair and acouple of days worth ofscruff, and the sight of himfilled Talmanes with dread.Filger was one of thosetheyd left guarding the city

gatebelow.My Lord, Filger said,

panting, the Trollocs havetaken the city walls. Theyrepackingtheramparts,loosingarrows or spears at anyonewho draws too close.LieutenantSandipsentme tobringyouword.

Blood and ashes! Whatofthegate?

Were holding, Filgersaid.Fornow.

Guybon,Talmanessaid,

turning back. Show somemercy, man; someone needsto defend that gate. Please,take the refugees out andreinforce mymen. That gatewill be our only method ofretreatfromthecity.

But the Queensmessenger

The Queen will figureout what bloody happenedonce she thinks to look here.Look about you! Trying todefendthePalaceismadness.

You dont have a city anylonger,butapyre.

Guybons face wasconflicted, his lips a tightline.

You know Im right,Talmanes said, his facetwisted in pain. The bestthingyoucando is reinforcemymen at the southern gateto hold it open for as manyrefugeesascanreachit.

Perhaps, Guybon said.ButtoletthePalaceburn?

You can make it worthsomething, Talmanes said.What if you left somesoldierstofightatthePalace?Have them hold off theTrollocs as long as they can.That will draw the Trollocsaway from the peopleescaping out thisway.Whentheycanholdnolonger,yoursoldierscanescapethePalacegrounds on the far side, andmaketheirwayaroundtothesoutherngate.

A good plan, Guybonsaid,grudgingly.Iwilldoasyou suggest, but what ofyou?

I have to get to thedragons, Talmanes said.WecantletthemfalltotheShadow. Theyre in awarehouse near the edge ofthe Inner City. The Queenwanted them kept out ofsight, away from themercenary bands outside. Ihavetofindthem.Ifpossible,

retrieve them. If not, destroythem.

Verywell,Guybonsaid,turning away, lookingfrustrated as he accepted theinevitable. My men will doasyousuggest;halfwill leadthe refugees out, then helpyour soldiers hold thesouthern gate. The other halfwill hold the Palace a littlelonger, then withdraw. ButImcomingwithyou.

Dowe really need somanylampsinhere?theAesSedaidemanded from her stool atthebackoftheroom.Itmightas well have been a throne.Think of the oil yourewasting.

We need the lamps.Androl grunted. Night rainpelted the window, but heignored it, trying to focus onthe leather hewas sewing. Itwould be a saddle. At themoment, he was working on

the girth that would goaroundthehorsesbelly.

He poked holes into theleather in a double row,letting the work calm him.The stitching chisel he usedmade diamond-shaped holeshecoulduse themallet onthemforspeed, ifhewanted,butrightnowhelikedthefeelof pressing the holeswithoutit.

He picked up his stitch-mark wheel, measuring off

the locations for the nextstitches, thenworkedanotherof theholes.Youhad to linetheflatsidesofthediamondstoward one another for holeslike this, so that when theleather pulled, it didnt pullon the flats. The neat sticheswouldhelpkeepthesaddleingood shape over the years.The rows needed to be closeenough together to reinforceone another, but not so closethattherewasdangerofthem

ripping into one another.Staggeringtheholeshelped.

Littlethings.Youjusthadtomake sure the little thingsweredoneright,and

Hisfingerss