Page 84 (1/2)

"Yes," Rand said

"I remember the last time ere here," she said idly "Such chaos, such madness And at the end of it all, we found you with that wound in your side"

"Yes," Rand whispered He had earned that first of his unhealable wounds here, fighting Ishareararding that pain as an old friend, a reminder that he was alive

"I saw you up in the air," Nynaeve said "I didn’t believe it Itried to Heal that wound, but I was still blocked then, and couldn’t suer Min wouldn’t leave your side"

Min hadn’t co had changed between them Just as he had always feared that it would When she looked at hi her

Just a feeeks before, he wouldn’t have been able to keep her fro hile protest

Coldness It would be over soon No rooret or sorrow

The Aiel ran ahead to check for an ambush Many of them wore the red headbands Rand wasn’t worried about an ambush The Seanchan would not betray him, not unless there was another Forsaken in theirthe sword he wore at his waist It was the curved one, with the scabbard of black, painted with the twisting dragon, red and gold For more reasons than one, it made him think of the last time he had been in Falme

"I killed a man with a sword for the first time in this city," Rand said softly "I’ve never spoken of it He was a Seanchan lord, a blademaster

Verin had told me not to channel in the city, so I faced him with the sword only I beat him Killed hiht to carry a heron-mark blade"

Rand shook his head "There were no witnesses Mat and Hurin were fighting elsewhere They sawblow"

"What do witnesses matter?" she scoffed "You defeated a blademaster, so you are one Whether or not it was seen by others is immaterial"

He looked at her "Why carry the heron mark if not to be seen by others, Nynaeve?"

She didn’t respond Ahead, just outside of the city, the Seanchan had erected a striped pavilion of black and white There appeared to be hundreds of sul’da the open-sided tent, da their dresses of red and blue with the lightning bolt on the breast Rand had brought only a few channelers: Nynaeve, three Wise Ones, Corele, Narishma, Flinn A fraction of what he could access, even without turning to his forces stationed in the east

But no, it was better to bring only a token guard, to look as though he ca turned into a battle, Rand’s only hope would be a quick escape via gateway Either thator do sourine of thefroainst a hundred damane Two hundred He could re saidin It had been the Power to level cities, to destroy any who stood against him

No It wouldn’t turn to that He couldn’t afford to let it turn to that Surely the Seanchan knew that attacking hiain, aware that a traitor in their ranks had tried to capture or kill him They would have to see his sincerity

But if they didn’tHe reached down and grasped the access key, just in case, and slipped it into his oversized outer coat pocket Then, taking a deep breath, he steadied hiht the void There, he seized the One Power

Nausea and dizziness threatened to toss hi Tai’daisher, hand clutching the access key in its pocket He gritted his teeth In the back of his mind, Lews Therin roused The ht, and when Rand finally won, he found that he’d sluain

"Rand?" Nynaeve asked

Rand straightened his back He was Rand, wasn’t he? So who he was Had he finally pushed Rand, the intruder, into seclusion and become Lews Therin? The previous day, he had woken atand whispering to hi golden hair in his hands, and could re her dead at his feet, slain by the One Power

Who was he?

Did it really ain

"We are fine" Rand did not realize he’d used the plural until the words were out of his h it still see was distorted a fraction, as it had been since the battle where See had taken his hand He barely noticed it anyh the access key, filling himself with saidin It was so sweet, despite the nausea that it caused He longed to take in more, but held himself back He already held more of the Power than any lanced at the figurine at his side The globe at the top glowed faintly "Rand "

"I’ a little extra, as a precaution" The more of the One Power a person held, the more difficult it was to shield them If the damane tried to capture hiht be able to resist a full circle

"I will not be captured again," he whispered "Never again They will not take me by surprise"

"Maybe we should turn back," Nynaeve said "Rand, we don’t have to meet them on their terms It--"