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Rand stopped Adelin with a hand on her bare arm; others who noticed stopped as well, so he spoke to theo when I tell you to, ill you do if I have to use you in battle?" He did not intend to if he could help it; he knew they were fierce warriors, but he had been raised to believe it was a ic ht say it was foolish, especially omen like this, but that was how he felt He knew better than to tell theo in your own good time?"

They looked at hi to sonorance of the simplest facts "In the dance of spears," Adelin told hio as you direct, but this is not the dance Besides, you did not tell us to go"

"Even the Car’a’carn is not a wetlander king," a grayhaired Maiden added Sinewy and hard despite her age, she wore only a short shift and her shoufa He was getting tired of that phrase

The Maidens resu as they left him alone with Moiraine and Lan The Warder had finally put up his sword, and looked as at ease as he ever did Which was to say as still and calht, and with an air of being on the brink of sudden movement that made the Aiel appear placid in co at the teaze could have come from a blueeyed hawk

"I an

"We can talk to her off Lan’s face hardened further, if such was possible; Warders were far more protective of their Aes Sedai, of their position as well as their persons, than they were of thenored Lan His side still wanted to hunch hied to keep erect; he was not about to show her any weakness "If you think I’ll help you get that foxhead away froain" So Or at least it had stopped her channeling fro Mat while he touched it "He paid a hard price for it, Moiraine, and it is his" Thinking of how she had thumped his shoulders with the Power, he added dryly, "Maybe I’ll ask if I can borrow it from him" He turned away froh one way or another the urgency was gone; the Darkhounds would have done what they intended by now

"Please, Rand," Moiraine said, and the open pleading in her voice halted hi like that froht you had become a man," the Warder said harshly "Is this how a ant boy" Lan practiced the sith hiht -- but if Moiraine said the right word, the Warder would do his best to kill hiently Her hands gripped her skirts so hard that they treht die in the next attack I could fall from my horse and break h iven my entire life to the search for you, to find you and help you You still do not know your own strength; you cannot know half of what you do I -- apologize -- iven you" Those words -- words he had never thought to hear froed, but they came; and she could not lie "Let me help you as much as I can, while I can Please"

"It’s hard to trust you, Moiraine" He disregarded Lan, shifting in the ht; his attention was all on her "You have handled me like a puppet, made me dance the way you wanted, from the day we met The only times I’ve been free of you were either when you were far away or when I ignored you And you h was as silvery as the ed it "It has been s on a puppet Do you want an oath not to try ive it" Her voice hardened to crystal "I even swear to obey you like one of the Maidens -- like one of the gai’shain, if you require -- but you ain, more softly "I ask you, hu at her, and Rand thought his own eyesout of his head "I will accept your help," he said slowly "And I apologize, too For all the rudeness I’ve shown" He had the feeling he was still being ood cause to be rude, when he was -- but she could not lie

Tension drained from her visibly She stepped closer to look up at him "What you used to kill the Darkhounds is called balefire I can still sense the residue of it here" He could, too, like the fading s after a pie was carried out of the rooht "Since before the Breaking of the World, the use of balefire has been forbidden The White Tower forbids us even to learn it In the War of Power, the Forsaken and the Shadoorn themselves used it only reluctantly"

"Forbidden?" Rand said, frowning "I saw you use it once" He could not be sure in the pale light of the ht color flamed in her cheeks For this once, perhaps she was the one off balance

"Sometimes it is necessary to do that which is forbidden" If she was flustered, it did not show in her voice "When anything is destroyed with balefire, it ceases to exist before the moment of its destruction, like a thread that burns away froreater the power of the balefire, the further back in tie will reer Very much so"

"But if it doesn’t exist before you destroy it" Rand raked fingers through his hair in confusion

"You begin to see the proble one of the Darkhounds chew through the door, but there is no opening, now If it had slavered on him as much as he remembers, he would have been dead before I could reach him For as far back as you destroyed the creature, whatever it did during that tier happened Only the memories remain, for those who saw or experienced it Only what it did before is real, now A few tooth holes in the door, and one drop of saliv