"You spoke with Mezat?" Androl asked.
"Sure did," Norley replied. "Shared a lunch with him." Norley waved at Mishraile as they passed him supervising a group of soldiers practicing theit weaves. The golden-haited man turned away dismissively.
"And?" Androl asked, tense.
"It's not really Mezar," Norley said. "Oh, it has Mezar's face, right enough. But it's not him. I can see it in his eyes. Trouble is, whatever the thing is, it has Mezar's memories. Talks right like him. But the smile is wrong. All wrong."
Androl shivered. "It has to be him, Notley."
"It ain't. I promise you that."
"But- "
"It just ain't" the stout man said.
Androl took a deep breath. When Mezar had returned a few days back explaining that Logain was well and that all would soon be resolved with Taim Androl had begun to hope that there was a way out of this mess. But something had seemed off about the man. Beyond that, the M'Hael had made a great show of accepting Mezar as a full Asha'man; the Dragon had raised him. And now Mezar once fiercely loyal to Logain was spending his time with Coteren and Taim's other lackeys.
"This is getting bad, Androl," Norley said softly, smiling and waving toward another group of practicing men. "I'd say it's time for us to leave here, whether or not it's against orders."
"We'd never get past those guard posts," Androl said. "Taim won't even let those Aes Sedai leave; you heard the fit that plump one threw at the gates the other day. Taim doubles the guard at night, and gateways don't work."
"Well, we have to do something, don't we? I mean . . . what if they've got Logain? What then?"
"I . . ." I don't know. "Go talk to the others who are loyal to Logain. I'm going to move us to a shared barrack. Them and their families. We'll tell the M'Hael that we want to give more space for his new recruits. Then we'll post a guard at nights."
"That's going to be a little obvious."
"The division is already obvious," Androl said. "Go do it."
"Sure thing. But what are you going to do?"
Androl took a deep breath. "I'm going to find us some allies."
Norley moved off to the left, but Androl continued down the path, through the village. It seemed that fewer and fewer people were showing him respect these days. Either they were afraid to do so, or they'd thrown their lot in with Taim.
Packs of black-coated man stood, with arms folded, watching him. Androl tried not to feel a chill. As he walked, he noted Mezar hair graying at the sides, skin a Domani copper standing with a group of lackeys. The man smiled at him. Mezar hadn't ever been one who smiled easily. Androl nodded to him, meeting his eyes.
And he saw what Norley had seen. Something was deeply wrong, something not-quite-alive inside those eyes. This didn't seem to be a man, but a parody of one. A shadow stuffed inside human skin.
Light help us all, Androl thought, hurrying by. He made his way to the southern side of the village, to a group of small huts with bleached white wood walls and thatched roofs that needed to be replaced.
Androl hesitated outside. What was he doing? This was where the women of the Red Ajah were staying. They said they'd come to bond the Asha'man, but they hadn't done it so far. That was obviously some kind of ruse. Perhaps they'd come here to try to find a way to gentle the entire lot.
But if that were the case, then at least he could count on them not siding with Taim. When you stared down the gullet of a lionfish, a pirate's
brig didn't seem so bad. Androl had heard the saying once while working a fisher's boat in the south.
Taking a deep breath, he knocked. The plump Red answered the door. She had the ageless face of an Aes Sedai not young, really, but also not old. She eyed him.
"I hear you want to leave the Black Tower," Androl said, hoping he was doing the right thing.
"Has your M'Hael changed his mind?" she asked, sounding hopeful. She actually smiled. A rare action for an Aes Sedai.
"No," Androl said, "so far as I know, he still forbids you to leave."
She frowned. "Then "
Androl lowered his voice. "You're not the only one who would like to leave this place, Aes Sedai."