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It was not a pleasant thought Enter a Waygate -- they could be found just outside Ogier stedding, and in Ogier groves -- enter and walk for a day, and you could leave by another Waygate a hundred leagues from where you started The Ways were dark, now, and foul, and to travel them meant to risk death or madness Even Fades feared to travel the Ways

"If it is, Rand," Loial said slowly, "can a s we have not yet seen that can do worse than kill us?" Hurinalong as if they had not a concern in the world Unconcern would kill quickly in the Ways Rand sed, hoping his sto about what is past," he said "Frolanced at Hurin The sniffer’s head had sunk between his shoulders, and his eyes darted as if he wondered ould leap at him, and from where The man had run down ained for "Hold on to yourself, Hurin We are not dead, yet, and on’t be We will just have to be careful from here on That’s all"

It was at that moment they heard the scream, thin with distance

"A woman!" Hurin said Even this much that was normal seemed to rouse him a little "I knew I saw -- "

Another scream came, more desperate than the first

"Not unless she can fly," Rand said "She’s south of us" He kicked Red to a dead run in two strides

"Be careful you said!" Loial shouted after hiht, Rand, reme the stallion run The screams drew him on It was easy to say be careful, but there was terror in that woman’s voice She did not sound as if she had tie of another stream, in a sheerbanked channel deeper than most, he drew rein; Red skidded in a shower of stones and dirt The screalance Perhaps two hundred paces away, the woman stood beside her horse in the streaainst the far bank With a broken length of branch, she was fending off a snarlingso were as big as a bear, or if a bear had a frog’s graygreen hide, ithiround, unliht be too late The woe of the branch It was a fair distance -- he kept blinking as he tried to judge it; the distance see target His bandaged handaard, but he had an arrow loosed almost before his feet were set

The shaft sank into the leathery hide for half its length, and the creature spun to face Rand Rand took a step back despite the distance That huge, wedgeshaped head had never been on any aniine, nor that wide, hornylipped beak of aflesh And it had three eyes, s itself, the thing bounded toward hi leaps To Rand’s eye, some of the leaps seeh he was sure they were all the saly cal her screa of another arrow back to his ear Reluctantly, he sought the void; he did not want to, but it was for this that Taht him, and he knew he could never ht with a sense of loss, and eht of saidin was there, but he shut it away He was one with the boith the arroith thetoward him One with the tiny eye He did not even feel the arrow leave the bowstring

The creature rose in another bound, and at the peak, the arrow struck its central eye The thing landed, fountaining another huge splash of water and mud Ripples spread out from it, but it did not move

"Well shot, and bravely," the wo to uely surprised that she had not run once the thing’s attention was diverted She rode past the bulk, still surrounded by the ripples of its dying, without even a doard glance, scrambled her horse up the bank and disrolm,and belted in silver, and her boots, peeking out from under her hems, were tooled in silver, too Even her saddle hite, and silvermounted Her snowy mare, with its arched neck and dainty step, was almost as tall as Rand’s bay But it was the woht -- who held his eyes She was tall, for one thing; a hand taller and she could almost look him in the eyes For another, she was beautiful, ivorypale skin contrasting sharply with long, nightdark hair and black eyes He had seen beautiful women Moiraine was beautiful, if cool, and so was Nynaeve, when her tewene, and Elayne, the DaughterHeir of Andor, were each enough to take a ue stuck to the roof of his ain

"Your retainers, my Lord?"

Startled, he looked around Hurin and Loial had joined the the way Rand knew he had been, and even the Ogier seemed fascinated "My friends," he said "Loial, and Hurin My naht of it before," Loial said abruptly, sounding as if he were talking to hi as perfect human beauty, in face and forier’s ears stiffened in embarrassment Rand’s own ears were red; Loial’s words had been too close to what he hihed al formality, like a queen on her throne "I am called Selene," she said "You have risked your life, and saved mine I am yours, Lord Rand al’Thor" And, to Rand’s horror, she knelt before hi at Hurin or Loial, he hastily pulled her to her feet "A man ill not die to save a wo It was a Shienaran saying, and he knew it sounded pompous before it was out of his mouth, but her manner had infected him, and he could not stop it "I meanThat is, it was " Fool, you can’t tell a wo "It was uely Shienaran and for else to say as if