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"I wouldn’t harm the people of the city," Rand said, voice emotionless "That army deserves the demonstration, not the city A rain of fire upon the to strike and bite"
"They have done nothing other than ask you toher horse closer to hireal sat like a viper in his hand Once, it had cleansed the Source If only it had melted away as the female one had!
She wasn’t certain ould happen if he ai, but she suspected it would still work The Guardian didn’t stop weaves fro made; Nynaeve had been able to craft weaves just fine, when she’d drawn upon her Well
Either way, she knew that she had to stop Rand froer--or whatever it was he felt--upon his allies "Rand," she said softly "If you do this, there will be no turning back"
"There’s already no turning back for me, Nynaeve," he said, his eyes intense Those eyes shifted, soray, soray He continued, voice flat "My feet started on this path theon that mountain"
"You don’t have to kill anyone today Please"
He turned to look back at the city Slowly,"Hurin!" he barked
He er is slipping out in his voice
The thief-taker rode up to the front of the group The Aiel kept their distance, however "Yes, Lord Rand?"
"Return to your masters inside of their box," Rand said, voice under control again "You are to give thee, Lord Rand?"
Rand hesitated, then slipped the access key back in its place "Tell theon Reborn rides to battle at Shayol Ghul If they wish to return to their posts with honor, I will provide theht Otherwise, they can rerandchildren why they were hundreds of leagues away from their posts when the Dark One was slain and the prophecies fulfilled"
Hurin looked shaken "Yes, Lord Rand"
With that, Rand turned his horse about and rode back toward the clearing Nynaeve followed, too slowly Beautiful though Moonlight was, she’d have traded the beautiful mare in an instant for a biddable, dependable Two Rivers horse like Bela
Hurin stayed behind He still looked shaken His reunion with "Lord Rand" had obviously been far froritted her teeth as the trees obscured her view of hiateway, a direct gateway to Tear
They rode out into the Traveling ground prepared outside the Stone of Tear’s stableyards The air was hot and y in Tear, despite the overcast sky, and thick with the sounds ofRand rode out to where stablehands waited, then dismounted, his face unreadable
As Nynaeve cliht and handed the reins to a ruddy-faced stable worker, Rand walked past her "Look for a statue," he said
"What?" she asked with surprise
He glanced back at her, stopping "You asked where Perrin was He’s camped with an army beneath the shade of an enor the earth I’m certain scholars here can tell you where it is; it’s very distinctive"
"Howhow do you know that?"
Rand just shrugged "I just do"
"Why tell side him across the yard of packed earth She hadn’t expected hiotten into the habit of holding onto whatever he knew, even if that knowledge wastoward the keep, voice growing al when I cannot If you seek Perrin out, tell him that I will soon need him"
With that, he left her
Nynaeve stood in the horse yard, watching hio There was a wet scent to the air, the smell of new rain, and she could feel that she’d round, but enough to leave wetted sections of stone in shaded corners To her right,across sandy earth between pickets The Stone was the only fortress she kneith exercise areas for cavalry--but, then, the Stone was far from ordinary
The rumble of hoofbeats was like the sound of a distant stor northward The storm there felt closer than it had before She’d assuht, but now she wasn’t so certain
She took a deep breath, then hastened to the keep She passed Defenders in their immaculate uniforms, the upper arm portions ribbed and puffy, breastplates smooth and curved She passed stableboys, each probably drea that sa horses back to the stables for hay and currying She passed dozens of servants in linens, doubtless far more comfortable than Nynaeve’srock of a structure, sheer walls broken only by s Except that she could still spot the place where Mat had destroyed a section of stone with his Illu to rescue Nynaeve and the others from their imprisonment Fool boy Where was he? She hadn’t seen hi time Since Ebou Dar had fallen to the Seanchan In a way, she felt as though she’d abandoned hih she’d never adh in front of the Daughter of the Nine Moons when she’d defended that scoundrel! She still didn’t knohat had come over her
Mat could care for hi in some inn while the rest of the at dice Rand was another matter He’d been so much easier to deal hen he’d continued to act like other men--stubborn and immature, but predictable This new Rand with the cold e
The narrow corridors of the Stone were still unfaot lost Her disorientation wasn’t helped by the fact that hallways and walls soed places She’d tried to discount such tales as superstitious nonsense, but the day before, she’d woken to discover that her room had indeed suddenly and mysteriously moved Her door had opened to a smooth wall of the same seamless rock as the Stone itself She’d been forced to escape through a gateway, and had been shocked to learn that herlooked out froht!
Cadsuane said it was the Dark One’s touch on the world, causing the Pattern to unravel Cadsuane said a lot of things, and few of theot lost twice as she wove her way through the corridors, but she eventually arrived at Cadsuane’s roorant her rooms Nynaeve knocked--she’d learned that she’d better--then entered
The Aes Sedai froroup--Merise and Corele--sat in the roo to look like they were not waiting on the infernal wo quietly with Min, whom she had all but appropriated in recent days Min herself didn’t seem to mind, perhaps because it wasn’t easy to spend time with Rand these days Nynaeve felt a stab of syirl Ny-naeve only had to deal with Rand as a friend; all of this would be much harsher on the