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"A dangerous accusation," she said calerous "Siuan Sanche tried to claim the Black Ajah was real when she was under the question She begged to tell us of them Elaida would not hear it, and will not Tales of the Black Ajah are a vile slander against the Tower"

"You are Black Ajah," he said in a louder voice

"You want to steal that?" She sounded as though he had not spoken "The ruby is not worth it, Fain Or whatever your name is That blade is tainted so none but a fool would touch it except with tongs, or be near it for a er than necessary You can see what it did to Verine So why did you coht to what you should not have knoas here? You cannot have had time for any search"

"I could dispose of Elaida for you One touch of this, and even Healing will not save her" He tried to gesture with the dagger, but could not budge it a hair, if he could have moved it, Alviarin would be dead by now "You could be first in the Tower, not second"

She laughed at him, cool contemptuous chimes "Do you think I would not be first if I had wished it? Second suits me Let Elaida claim credit for what she calls successes, and sweat for her failures, too I knohere the power lies Now, answerinstead of one"

There would be two in any case, whether he answered her with suitable lies or not; she did notthat hurt; the ony He refused to whi and crashing in silence against the black cliffs, the fires of the forges glowing red beneath, and lightning stabbing up into a sky fit to drive o on, but he made himself "I have taken the path down to the belly of Shayol Ghul, down the long ith stones like fangs brushing my head, to the shore of a lake of fire and ain! "-- that holds the Great Lord of the Dark in its endless depths The heavens above Shayol Ghul are black at noon with his breath"

Alviarin was standing upright now, eyes wide Not fearful, but ian softly, then shook herself and stared at hily "Who are you? Why are you here? Did one of the For-- the Chosen send you? Why was I not inforiven to the likes of ?" The accents of his native Lugard were strong again; in a way it was his native city "Do the Chosen confide everything in you, then?" So inside seemed to shout that this was not the way, but he hated Aes Sedai, and that so inside him did, too "Be careful, pretty little Aes Sedai, or they’ll be giving you to a Myrddraal for its sport"

Her glare was icicles stabbing his eyes "We shall see, Master Fain I will clear away this mess you have her with the Chosen" Eyeing the dagger, she backed from the rooone a full minute

Silently he snarled at hi for theer, he nicked hi the weapon under his coat He was not at all what she thought He had been a Darkfriend once, but he was beyond that, now Beyond it, above it Soed to communicate with one of the Forsaken before he could dispose of her Better not to try No time to find the Horn of Valere now There were followers awaiting hi He had put fear into them He hoped some of the humans were still alive

Before the sun rose he was out of the Tower, off the island of Tar Valon Al’Thor was out there, soain

Chapter 20

(Full Aes Sedai Sy Spine of the World, Rand guided Jeade’en up the stony slope froonwall pierced the sky, dwarfing all otherafternoon sun The tallest thrust well above clouds that mocked the Waste with proine why a man would want to climb a mountain, but it was said that hts turned back, overcome with fear and unable to breathe He could well believe that ato clih the Cairhienin are consu at his shoulder, "they will follow you so long as they know that you are strong Be firm with theives true justice"

He tried to ignore her, as he did the other riders, and the creak and ru further back The broken gorges and gullies of the Waste were behind the hills, nearly as barren, were little better for wagons No one had traveled this path in over twenty years

Moiraine talked at him that way from daybreak to sunset whenever he let her Her lectures could be on ss -- details of court behavior, say, in Cairhien or Saldaea or soe: the political influence of the Whitecloaks, or perhaps the effects of trade on rulers’ decisions to go to war It was as if she meant to see him educated, as a noble would be, or should be, before he reached the other side of thehow often what she said reflected what anyone back in Emond’s Field would have called simple common sense And also how often it did not

Occasionally she ca; for instance, that he should trust no wowene, Elayne and Nynaeve, or the news that Elaida was now the Amyrlin Seat Oath to obey or no, she would not tell him how she knew that She said it was someone else’s place to tell if she chose, someone else’s secret, and she could not usurp it He suspected the Wise One dreaht in the eye and refused to say aye or nay He wished he could make them swear Moiraine’s oath; they interfered between hio through theht that minute he did not want to think about Elaida or the Wise Ones, or listen to Moiraine Noanted to study the pass ahead, a deep gap in the h a blunt axe had tried to chop through again and again, never quite succeeding A few minutes hard ri