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"And when they did," Meira said sourly, "twentythree of us died And ai’d’siswai did not return either Here, we have littlethe Brotherless" She soaked the last word in scorn

"That was Rand al’Thor’s work!" Sevanna told theainst us, think e can do when he is ours!" When he is ht The Aes Sedai had been able to take and hold hi the Aes Sedai had not, else they would have used it "Remember instead that we had the Aes Sedai beaten until he took their side Aes Sedai are nothing!"

Once again her effort to strengthen their hearts produced no visible effect All they could re to capture Rand al’Thor, and they with therave of all her sept, and even Tion frowned uneasily, doubtless recalling that she, too, had run like a frightened goat

"Wise Ones," a man’s voice said behind Sevanna, "I have been sent to ask for your judgained its equanimity What she could not do, he had done with his very presence No Wise One would allow any but another Wise One to see her out of countenance Alarys stopped stroking her hair, which she had pulled over her shoulder Plainly none of thearded thereen eyes much older than his smooth face He had full lips, but there was a set to his otten how to smile "I am Kinhuin, of the Mera’din, Wise Ones The Jumai say we may not take our full share from this place because we are not Jumai, but it is because they will have less since we are two for every Jument, Wise Ones"

Now that they kneho he was, some could not hide their dislike of the men who had abandoned clan and sept to come to the Shaido rather than follow Rand al’Thor, a wetlander and no true Car’a’carn, as they thought Tion’s face merely went flat, but Rhiale’s eyes flashed, and Meira teetered on the edge of a scowl Only Modarra showed concern, but then, she would have tried to settle a dispute between treekillers

"These six Wise Ones will give judgraveness totheir surprise that she intended to stand aside It had been she who arranged for ten times the number of Mera’din to accompany the Jumai as ith any other sept She really had suspected Caddar, if not of what he had done, and she had wanted as many spears around her as possible Besides, they could always die in place of Jumai

She affected surprise at the others’ surprise "It would not be fair for me to take part sinceback to the greeneyed ment, Kinhuin And I am certain they will speak in favor of the Mera’din"

The other woave her hard looks before Tion motioned abruptly for Kinhuin to lead the way He had to tear his eyes away fro a faint s at her, not Someryn -- she watched therounds For all theirpredictions to the man about their decision -- the chances were they would decide that way Either way, Kinhuin would remember and tell the others of his socalled society The Ju that tied the Mera’din to her elcoh not toward the stable Now that she was alone, she could see to so much more important than the Brotherless She checked what she had tucked into her skirt at the small of her back, where her shawl hid it She would have felt if it slipped a hair, but she wanted to touch its sers No Wise One would dare think her less than they, once she used that, perhaps today And one day, it would give her Rand al’Thor After all, if Caddar had lied in one thing, h a blur of tears Galina Casban glared at the Wise One shielding her As if there were any need for the slender woht then she could not have so round between two squatting Maidens, Belinde adjusted her shawl and gave a thin shts Her face was narrow and foxlike, and her hair and eyebrows had been bleached nearly white by the sun Galina wished she had crushed her skull instead ofher

It had not been an attempt at escape, an and ended with exhaustion, every daysince they had stuffed her into that coarse black robe; the days ran together like an everlasting strea Surely not more She wished she had never touched Belinde If the wo, she would have begged to be allowed to carry rocks again, or move a pile of pebbles stone by stone, or any of the tortures they filled her hours with Anything rather than this

Only Galina’s head stuck out of the leather sack that hung suspended frolowed in a bronze brazier, a slow burn, heating the air inside the sack She huddled in that sweltering heat with her thu her nakedness Her hair clung da for air, when she was not sobbing Even so, this would have been better than the endless, senseless, backbreaking labor they subjected her to except for one thing Before snugging the neck of the sack beneath her chin, Belinde had emptied a pouch of soun to sweat, it had begun to burn like pepper flung in the eyes It seeht, it burned!

That she called on the Light measured her desperation, but they had not broken her for all their trying She would get free -- she would! -- and once she did, she would es pay in blood! Rivers of blood! Oceans! She would have the back her head, she howled; the wadded rags in her mouth muffled the sound, but she howled, and she did not knohether it was a shriek of rage