lust. 'And that would have been a pity. For she was promised to me, Aes Sedai. I won't have her die here in this dungeon. She doesn't die until I have had time to… enjoy her.' He looked at the Black sister. 'Besides, you think those whom we serve would be pleased if they knew you'd let the Queen of Andor die without yielding her secrets?'
Chesmal looked dissatisfied, but she apparently saw the wisdom in his words. Behind them, the secretary slipped out of the cell and—after glancing both ways—slunk down the hallway toward the steps and hurried up them. Chesmal crossed the hallway toward Elayne. Blessedly. Elayne was getting fuzzy-headed. She rested her back against the wall, barely feeling the pain of her broken shoulder, and slid down until she was sitting.
'Idiot girl,' Chesmal said. 'I saw through your ploy, of course. I was leading you on, knowing that help was coming.'
The words were hollow; she was lying for the benefit of the others. The Healing. Elayne needed… that… Healing. Her mind was growing dull, her vision darkening. She held her hand to her side, terrified for herself, for her children.
Her hand slipped. She felt something through the fabric in the pocket of her dress. The foxhead medallion copy.
Chesmal put her hands on Elayne's head, crafting Healing weaves. Elayne's veins became ice water, her body overwhelmed by a wave of Power. She drew in a deep breath, the agony in her side and shoulder vanishing.
'There,' Chesmal said. 'Now, quickly, we need to—'
Elayne whipped free the other medallion and held it up. By reflex, Chesmal grabbed it. That made the woman unable to channel. Her weaves vanished, including Elayne's shield.
Chesmal cursed, dropping the medallion. It hit and rolled as Chesmal wove a shield.
Elayne didn't bother with a shield. This time, she wove Fire. Simple, direct, dangerous. The Dark sister's clothing burst into flame before she could finish weaving, and she cried out.
Elayne hauled herself to her feet. The hallway shook and spun—the Healing had taken a lot out of her—but before things stopped spinning, she wove another thread of Fire, lashing it at Mellar. He had risked the life of her children! He had stabbed her! He…
The weaves unraveled the moment they touched him. He smiled up at her, stopping something with his foot. The second medallion. 'Here now,' he said, scooping it up. 'Another one? If I shake you, will a third fall free?'
Elayne hissed. Chesmal was still screaming, afire. She fell to the ground, kicking, the hallway growing pungent with the scent of burned flesh. Light! Elayne hadn't meant to kill her. But there wasn't time to spare. She wove Air, snatching up Eldrith again before the woman could escape. Elayne pushed her forward, between herself and Mellar, just in case. He watched with keen eyes, edging forward, holding the two medallions in one hand and his dagger in the other. It still glistened with Elayne's blood. 'We aren't finished, my Queen,' he said in a soft voice. 'These others were promised power. But my reward was always to be you. I always collect what I am owed.' He watched Elayne with care, expecting some trick.
If only she had one! She could barely stand upright. Holding the Source was difficult. She backed away, keeping Eldrith between herself and Mellar. His eyes flicked to the statuesque woman; she stood with arms tied to her sides by Air, floating an inch above the ground. With a jerking motion, he jumped forward and slit Eldrith's throat. Elayne started, scrambling backward.
'Sorry,' Mellar said, and it took Elayne a moment to realize he was addressing Eldrith. 'But orders are orders.' With that, he ducked, plunging his dagger into Temaile's unconscious body.
He couldn't escape with the medallions! With a surge of strength, Elayne drew in the One Power and wove Earth. She pulled at the ceiling above Mellar as he stood up. Stones shattered, blocks falling downward, causing him to yell and cover his head as he ducked away. Something rang in the air. Metal on stone.
The hallway shook, and dust sprayed in the air. The rain of rocks drove Mellar away, but kept her from chasing. He vanished up the stairwell to the right. Elayne sank down to her knees, feeling drained. But then she saw something glittering among the rubble of the ceiling blocks she'd pulled down. A bit of silvery metal. One of the medallions.
Holding her breath, she grabbed it. Blessedly, the Source didn't leave her. Mellar had escaped with the copy, it seemed, but she still had the original.
She sighed, allowing herself to sit back against the cold stone wall. She wanted to lapse into unconsciousness, but forced herself to tuck away the medallion, then remain awake until Birgitte appeared in the hallway. The Warder panted heavily from having run, her red coat and golden braid wet with rainwater.
Mat stepped down into the hallway after her, wearing a scarf up around his face, his wet brown hair plastered to his head. His eyes darted from side to side, a quarterstaff held at guard.
Birgitte knelt by Elayne's side. 'Are you all right?' she asked urgently.
Elayne nodded in exhaustion. 'I got myself out of this one.' In a way. 'Did you happen to do the world a favor and kill Mellar on your way in?'
'Mellar?' Birgitte asked, alarmed. 'No. Elayne, there's blood on your dress!'
'I'm fine,' she said. 'Really, I've been Healed.'
So Mellar was free. 'Quickly,' she said. 'Search the hallways. The Guards and the Kin who were guarding this place—'
'We found them,' Birgitte said. 'Stuffed into the bottom of the stairwell. Dead. Elayne, what happened?' To the side, Mat poked at Temaile's corpse, noting the dagger wound in her chest.
Elayne pressed her hands to her abdomen. Her babes would be all right, wouldn't they? 'I did something very rash, Birgitte, and I know that you are going to scream at me for it. But would you first please take me to my rooms? I think we should have Melfane look at me. Just in case.'
An hour after the failed assassination attempt on Egwene, Gawyn stood alone in a small room that was part of the Amyrlin's chambers. He'd been released from the weaves that had held him, then told to stay put. Egwene finally strode into the room. 'Sit,' she said.
He hesitated, but her fierce eyes could have set candles aflame. He sat down on the stool. This small room held several dressers and trunks for clothing. The doorway led out to the larger sitting room where he'd been captured in weaves; a doorway off of that room led to Egwene's bedchamber. Egwene shut the door, sequestering the two of them from the many guards, Warders and Aes Sedai milling about in the rooms outside. Their conversations made a low hum through the door. Egwene still wore red and gold and she had golden threads woven into her dark hair. Her cheeks were flushed with anger at him. That made her even more beautiful than usual.
'Egwene, I—'
'Do you realize what you have done?'
'I checked to see if the woman I love was safe, following the discovery of an assassin outside her door.'
She folded her arms beneath her breasts. He could almost feel the heat of her anger. 'Your yelling has drawn half of the White Tower. They saw you captured. The assassin probably knows, now, about my weaves.'
'Light, Egwene! You talk as if I did it on purpose. I was only trying to protect you.'
'I didn't ask for your protection! I asked for your obedience! Gawyn, don't you see the opportunity we've missed? If you hadn't scared Mesaana away, she'd have walked into my traps!'
'It wasn't one of the Forsaken,' Gawyn said. 'It was a man.'
'You said you couldn't see the face or make out the figure because it was blurred.'
'Well, yes,' Gawyn said. 'But he fought with the sword.'
'And a woman couldn't use a sword? The size of the person you saw indicated a woman.'
'Maybe, but one of the Forsaken? Light, Egwene, if it had been Mesaana, then she'd have used the Power to burn me to dust!'
'Another reason,' Egwene said, 'that you should not have disobeyed me. Perhaps you're right—perhaps this was one of Mesaana's minions. A Darkfriend or Gray Man. If that were the case, I'd have them captive and be able to learn about Mesaana's plots. And Gawyn, what if you had found Mesaana? What could you have done?'
He looked down at the floor.
'I told you that I had taken precautions,' she continued. 'And still you disobeyed! And now, because of what you've done, the murderer knows that I was anticipating her. She'll be more careful next time. How many lives do you think you just cost us?'
