The Gathering Storm

alone.' She pursed her lips. 'I worry we won't be able to handle him together. Let's go.'

Min followed. 'Handle' Rand? That was another problem. Nynaeve and Cadsuane were both so concerned with handling that they failed to see that it might be best to help him instead. Nynaeve cared for Rand, but she saw him as a problem to be fixed, rather than a man in need.

And so Min accompanied the Aes Sedai out of the mansion. They walked into the dark courtyard—Nynaeve making a globe of light—and hurried around the back, past the stable and toward the gatekeeper's cottage. They passed Alivia on the way; the former damane looked disappointed. Likely, she'd been turned away by Cadsuane and the others again—Alivia spent a great deal of time trying to get the Aes Sedai to train her in new weaves.

They finally reached the gatekeeper's cottage—at least, the gatekeeper's cottage was what it had been until Cadsuane prevailed upon him to move out. It was a single-story, thatch-roofed structure of painted yellow wood. Light shone out between the shutters on the windows.

Nynaeve stepped up to the front and knocked on the sturdy oak door; it was answered shortly by Merise. 'Yes, child?' the Green asked, as if intentionally trying to goad Nynaeve.

'I have to speak with Cadsuane,' Nynaeve growled.

'Cadsuane Sedai, she has no business with you right now,' Merise said, moving to close the cottage door. 'Return tomorrow, and perhaps she will see you.'

'Rand al'Thor just burned an entire palace full of people from existence with balefire,' Nynaeve said, loud enough to be heard by those inside the cottage. 'I was with him.'

Merise froze.

'Let her in,' Cadsuane's voice said from inside. Reluctantly, Merise pulled open the door. Inside, Min saw Cadsuane sitting on some cushions on the floor with Amys, Bair, Melaine and Sorilea. The front room—the main room—of the cottage was decorated with a simple brown rug on the floor, mostly obscured by the seated women. A gray stone fireplace burned with a calm flame at the back, the wood nearly consumed, the fire low. A stool sat in the corner, with a pot of tea on it.

Nynaeve barely gave the Wise Ones a glance. She pushed her way into the cottage, and Min followed more hesitantly.

'Tell us of this event, child,' Sorilea said. 'We felt the world warping from here, but did not know what had caused it. We assumed it to be the Dark One's work.'

'I'll tell you,' Nynaeve said, then took a deep breath, 'but I want to be a part of your plans.'

'We shall see,' Cadsuane said. 'Relate your experience.'

Min took a seat on a wooden stool at the side of the room as Nynaeve gave her account of Natrin's Barrow. The Wise Ones listened, tight-lipped. Cadsuane just nodded occasionally. Merise, face full of horror, refilled cups of tea from the pot on the stool—by the smell it was Tremalking black—then set it to hang by the fire. Nynaeve finished, still standing.

Oh, Rand, Min thought. This must be tearing you apart inside. But she could feel him through the bond; his emotions seemed very cold.

'You were wise to come to us with this, child,' Sorilea said to Nynaeve. 'You may withdraw.'

Nynaeve's eyes opened wide with anger. 'But—'

'Sorilea,' Cadsuane said calmly, cutting Nynaeve off. 'This child could be of use to our plans. She is still close to the al'Thor boy; he trusted her enough to take her with him this evening.'

Sorilea glanced toward the other Wise Ones. Aged Bair and sun-haired Melaine both nodded. Amys seemed thoughtful, but did not object.

'Perhaps,' Sorilea said. 'But can she be obedient?'

'Well?' Cadsuane asked of Nynaeve. They all seemed to be ignoring Min. 'Can you?'

Nynaeve s eyes were still wide with anger. Light, Min thought. Nynaeve P Obey Cadsuane and the othersP She's going to explode at them!

Nynaeve tugged on her braid with a white-knuckled grip. 'Yes, Cadsuane Sedai,' she said through clenched teeth. 'I can.'

The Wise Ones seemed surprised to hear her speak the words, but Cadsuane nodded again, as if she'd expected that response. Who could expect Nynaeve to be so ... well, reasonable?

'Sit down, child,' Cadsuane said with a wave of the hand. 'Let's see if you can follow orders. You might be the only one of the current crop who is salvageable.' That made Merise flush.

'No, Cadsuane,' Amys said. 'Not the only one. Egwene has much honor.'

The other two Wise Ones nodded.

'What is the plan?' Nynaeve said.

'Your part in it is—' Cadsuane began.

'Wait,' Nynaeve said. 'My part? I want to hear the whole thing.'

'You'll hear when we're ready to tell you,' Cadsuane said curtly. 'And don't make me regret my decision to speak in your behalf.'

Nynaeve forced her mouth shut, eyes aflame. But she did not snap at them.

'Your part,' Cadsuane continued, 'is to find Perrin Aybara.'

'What good will that do?' Nynaeve asked, then added, 'Cadsuane Sedai.'

'That is our business,' Cadsuane said. 'He has been traveling in the south recently, but we can't discover exactly where. The al'Thor boy might know where he is. Find out for us, and perhaps I'll explain the point.'

Nynaeve nodded reluctantly, and the others turned to a discussion of how much strain from balefire the Pattern could take before unraveling completely. Nynaeve listened in silence, obviously trying to glean more about Cadsuane's plan, though there didn't seem to be many clues.

Min only half-listened. Whatever the plan, someone would need to watch out for Rand. His deed this day would be destroying him inside, no matter what he proclaimed. There were plenty of others worrying about what he would do at the Last Battle. It was her job to get him to that Last Battle alive and sane, with his soul in one piece.

Somehow.

CHAPTER 38 News in Tel'aran'rhiod

Egwene, see reason,' Siuan said, faintly translucent because of the ter'angreal ring she had used to enter Tel'aran'rhiod. 'What good can you do, rotting in that cell? Elaida will see that you're never let free, not after what you said you did at that dinner.' Siuan shook her head. 'Mother, sometimes you just have to face truth. You can only repair a net so many times before you need to toss the thing aside and weave a new one.'

Egwene sat on a three-legged stool in the corner of the room, the front part of a cobbler's shop. She'd chosen the location at random, just in case, eschewing a location in the White Tower itself. The Forsaken knew that Egwene and the others walked the World of Dreams.

With Siuan, Egwene could be more relaxed, more her real self. The two of them both understood that Egwene was now the Amyrlin and Siuan her lesser, but at the same time, they shared a bond. A camaraderie due to the station they both had filled. That bond, strangely, had turned into something akin to friendship.

At the moment, Egwene was nearly ready to strangle her friend. 'We've been over this,' she said firmly. 'I cannot flee. Each day I spend imprisoned—but do not break—is another blow to Elaida's rule. If I disappear before her trial, it will undermine everything we've worked for!'

'The trial will be a sham, Mother,' Siuan said. 'And if it isn't, the punishment will be light. From what you've