Towers of Midnight (The Wheel of Time 13)

Pevara kept her tongue as she walked through the village of the Black Tower with Javindhra and Mazrim Taim. There was activity all through the place. There was always activity in the Black Tower. Soldiers felling trees nearby; Dedicated stripping the bark away, then slicing the logs into lumber with focused jets of Air. Sawdust coated the path; with a chill, Pevara realized that the stack of boards neatby had probably been cut by Asha'man.

Light! She'd known what she'd find here. It was much harder to face than she'd assumed it would be.

"And you see," Taim said, walking with one hand folded fingers making a fist behind his back. With his other hand, he pointed toward a distant, part-finished wall of black stone. "Guard posts spaced at fifty-foot intervals. Each with two Asha'man atop them." He smiled in satisfaction. "This place will be impregnable."

"Yes indeed," Javindhra said. "Impressive." Her tone was flat and uninterested. "But the item I wished to speak with you about. If we could choose men with the Dragon pin to "

"This again?" Taim said. He had fire in his eyes, this Mazrim Taim. A tall, black-haired man with high, Saldaean cheekbones. He smiled. Or the closest he came to such an expression a half-smile that did not reach his eyes. It looked . . . predatory. "I have made my will known. And yet you continue to push. No. Soldiers and Dedicated only."

"As you demand," Javindhra said. "We will continue our consideration."

"Weeks pass," Taim replied, "and still you consider? Well, far be it from me to question Aes Sedai. I care not what you do. But the women outside my gates claim to be from the White Tower as well. Do you not wish me to invite them in to meet with you?"

Pevara felt a chill. He always seemed to know too much, and hint that he knew too much, about internal White Tower politics.

"That won't be needed," Javindhra said coldly.

"As you wish," he said. "You should make your choices soon. They grow impatient, and al'Thor has given them permission to bond my men. They will not suffer my stalling forever."

"They are rebels. You need pay them no heed at all."

"Rebels," Taim said, "with a much larger force than you. What do you have? Six women? From the way you talk, you seem to intend to bond the entirety of the Black Tower!"

"Perhaps we might." Pevara spoke calmly. "No limit was placed upon us."

Taim glanced at her, and she had the distinct feeling she was being inspected by a wolf considering whether she'd make a good meal. She shoved that feeling aside. She was Aes Sedai, no easy meat. Still, she couldn't help remembering that they were only six. Inside a camp filled with hundreds of men who could channel.

"I once saw a skyfisher dying on the city docks of Illian," Taim said. "The bird was choking, having tried to swallow two fish at once."

"Did you help the sorry thing?" Javindhra asked.

"Fools will always choke themselves when they grasp for too much, Aes Sedai," Taim said. "What matters that to me? I had a fine meal of it that night. The flesh of the bird, and of the fish. I must go. But be warned, now that I have a defensible perimeter, you must give me warning if you wish to pass outside."

"You mean to keep comings and goings that tight?" Pevara asked.

"The world becomes a dangerous place," Taim said smoothly. "I must think of the needs of my men."

Pevara had noticed how he saw to the "needs" of his men. A group of young soldiers passed by, saluting Taim. Two bore bruised features, one with an eye swollen shut. Asha'man were beaten brutally for making mistakes in their training, then forbidden Healing.

The Aes Sedai were never touched. In fact, the deference they were shown bordered on mockery.

Taim nodded, then stalked off, meeting up with two of his Asha'man

who waited nearby, beside the smith

y. They immediately began speaking in hushed tones.

"I don't like this," Pevata said as soon as the men wete away. Perhaps she said it too quickly, betraying her worries, but this place had her on edge. "This could easily turn to disaster. I'm beginning to think that we should do as I originally stated bond a few Dedicated each and return to the White Tower. Our task was never to lock down the entité Black Tower, but to gain access to Asha'man and learn about them."

"That's what we're doing," Javindhra said. "I've been learning much these last few weeks. What have you been doing?"

Pevara did not rise to the other woman's tone. Must she be so contrary? Pevara had leadership of this team, and the others would defer to her. But it didn't mean that they would always be pleasant about it.

"This has been an interesting opportunity," Javindhra continued, scanning the Towet grounds. "And I do think he will yield eventually on the subject of full Asha'man."

Pevata frowned. Javindhra couldn't honestly think that, could she? After how stubborn Taim had been? Yes, Pevara had yielded to suggestions that they remain in the Black Tower a little longer, to learn of its workings and ask Taim to allow them access to the more powerful Asha'man. But it was obvious now he would not give in. Sutely Javindhra saw that.

Unfottunately, Pevara was having great difficulty reading Javindhra lately. Originally, the woman had seemed against coming to the Black Tower, only agreeing to the mission because the Highest had ordered it. Yet now she offered reasons to remain here.