Knife of Dreams (The Wheel of Time 11)

It must not be different this time, Lews Therin panted. You promised!

A faint scowl appeared on Logain's face, and he shook his head slightly. He could not like hearing Min question her ability. Rand almost regretted telling him about her viewing of him, though it had seemed harmless encouragement at the time. The man had actually asked Aes Seclai to confirm Min's ability, though he had been wise enough to try to keep his doubting from Rand.

"I cannot see what makes this young woman so vehement for you, boy," Cadsuane mused. She pursed her lips in thought, then shook her head, ornaments swaying. "Oh, you’re pretty enough, I suppose, but I just cannot see it."

To avoid another argument with Min—she did not call them that; she called them "talking," but he knew the difference—Rand took out Verin's letter and broke the blob of yellow sealing wax impressed with the head of a Great Serpent ring. The Brown sister's spidery hand covered most of the page, a few letters blotted where raindrops had soaked the paper. He walked closer to the nearest lantern. It gave off a faint stink of spoiled oil.

As I said, I have done what I can do here. I believe that I can fulfill my oath to you better elsewhere, so I have taken Tomas and gone to be about it. There are many ways to serve you, after all, and many needs. I am convinced that you can trust Cadsuane, and you certainly should heed her advice, but be wary of other sisters, including those who have sworn fealty to you. Such an oath means nothing to a Black sister, and even those who walk in the Light may interpret it in ways you would disapprove of. You already know that few see that oath as invoking absolute obedience in all things. Some may find other holes. So whether or not you follow Cadsuane's advice, and I repeat that you should, follow mine. Be very wary. It was signed simply, "Verin."

He grunted sourly. Few thought the oath meant absolute obedience? It was more like none. They obeyed, usually, yet the letter was not always the spirit. Take Verin herself. She warned him against the others doing things he might disapprove of, but she had not said where she was going or what she intended to do there. Was she afraid he might not approve? Maybe it was just Aes Sedai concealment. Sisters kept secrets as naturally as they breathed.

When he held out the letter to Cadsuane, her left eyebrow twitched slightly. She must have been truly startled to show so much, but she took the letter and held it where the lantern's light illuminated it.

"A woman of many masks," she said finally, handing the page back. "But she gives good advice here."

What did she mean about masks? He was about to ask her when Loial and Elder Haman suddenly appeared in the doorway, each carrying a long-handled axe, with an ornately decorated head, on his shoulder. The white-haired Ogier's tufted ears were laid back, his face grim, and Loial's ears were flickering. With excitement, Rand guessed. It could be difficult to tell.

"I trust we are not interrupting?" Elder Haman said, his ears rising as he looked sadly at the line of bodies.

"You are not," Rand told him. sticking the letter back in his pocket. "I wish I could come to your wedding, Loial, but—"

"Oh, that's done, Rand," Loial said. He must be excited: it was unlike him to interrupt. "My mother insisted. There won't even be time for much of a wedding feast, maybe none, what with the Stump and me having to—" The older Ogier laid a hand on his arm. "What?" Loial said, looking at him. "Oh. Yes. Of course. Well." He scrubbed under his broad nose with a finger the size of a fat sausage.

Something he was not supposed to be told? Even Ogier had secrets, it seemed. Rand fingered the letter in his pocket. But then, so did everyone else.

"I promise you this, Rand," Loial said. "Whatever happens, I will be there with you at Tarmon Gai'don. Whatever happens."

"My boy," Elder Haman murmured, "I don't think you should. . . ." He trailed off, shaking his head and rumbling under his breath, like a distant earthquake.

Rand crossed the straw in three strides and offered his right hand. Smiling widely, and with an Ogier that meant very wide, Loial took it in a hand that enveloped his. This close, Rand had to crane his neck to look up at his friend's face. "Thank you, Loial. I can't tell you how much hearing that means to me. But I'll need you before then."

"You . . . need me?"

"Loial, I've sealed the Waygates I know, in Caemlyn and Cairhien, Illian and Tear, and I put a very nasty trap on the one that was cut open near Fal Dara, but I couldn't find the one near Far Madding. Even when I know there's a Waygate actually in a city, I can't find it by myself, and then there are all those cities that don't exist anymore. I need you to find the rest for me, Loial, or Trollocs will be able to flood into every country at once, and no one will know they're coming until they're in the heart of Andor or Cairhien."

Loial's smile vanished. His ears trembled and his eyebrows drew down till the ends lay on his cheeks. "I can't, Rand," he said mournfully. "I must leave first thing tomorrow morning, and I don't know when I'll be able to come Outside again."

"I know you've been out of the stedding a long time, Loial." Rand tried to make his voice gentle, but it came out hard. Gentleness seemed a fading memory. "I'll speak to your mother. I'll convince her to let you leave after you've had a little rest."

"He needs more than a little rest." Elder Haman planted the butt of his axe haft on the floor, gripping the axe with both hands, and directed a stern look at Rand. Ogier were peaceful folk, yet he looked anything but. "He has been Outside more than five years, far too long. He needs weeks of rest in a stedding at the least. Months would be better."

"My mother doesn't make those decisions anymore, Rand. Though truth to tell, I think she's still surprised to realize it. Erith does. My wife.” His booming voice put so much pride into that word that he seemed ready to burst with it. His chest certainly swelled, and his smile split his face in two.

"And I haven't even congratulated you," Rand said, clapping him on the shoulder. His attempt at heartiness sounded false in his own ears, but it was the best he could manage. "If you need months, then months you shall have. But I still need an Ogie

r to find those Waygates. In the morning, I'll take you all to Stedding Shangtai myself. Maybe I can convince someone there to do the job." Elder Haman shifted his frown to his hands on the axe haft and began muttering again, too softly to make out words, like a bumblebee the size of a huge mastiff buzzing in an immense jar in the next room. He seemed to be arguing with himself.

"That might take time," Loial said doubtfully. "You know we don't like to make hasty decisions. I'm not certain they will even let a human into the stedding, because of the Stump. Rand? If I can't come back before the Last Battle. . . . You will answer my questions about what happened while I was in the stedding, won't you? I mean, without making me drag everything out of you?"

"If I can, I will," Rand told him.

If you can, Lews Therin snarled. You agreed we could finally die at Tar-mon Gai'don. You agreed, madman!

"He'll answer questions to your heart's delight, Loial," Min said firmly, "if I have to stand over him the whole while." Anger suffused the bond. She really did seem to know what he was thinking.

Elder Haman cleared his throat. "It seems to me that I myself am more accustomed to Outside than almost anyone except the stonemasons. Um. Yes. In fact, I think I am likely to be the best candidate for your task."

"Phaw!" Cadsuane said. "It seems you infect even Ogier, boy." Her tone was stern, but her face was all Aes Sedai composure, unreadable, hiding whatever was passing behind those dark eyes.