The Gathering Storm - By Robert Jordan & Brandon Sanderson Page 0,332

when Rand had announced his departure. What could they be up to? He doubted they were together; those women barely tolerated being in the same room. Anyway, they would hear where he had gone, and they would find him. From this point on, Rand would be easy to locate. No more hiding in wooded manors. No more traveling alone. Not with Lan and his Malkieri riding to the Gap. There wasn’t enough time left.

Bashere watched the open gateways, the Aiel passing through on silent feet. This method of voyaging was becoming familiar to them.

“Are you going to tell Ituralde?” Bashere finally asked. “About your withdrawal?”

“He will hear,” Rand said. “His messengers were ordered to bring reports to Bandar Eban. They will soon discover I’m no longer there.”

“And if he leaves the Borderlands to resume his war against the Seanchan?”

“Then he’ll slow the Seanchan down,” Rand said. “And keep them from nipping at my heels. That will be as good a use for him as any.”

Bashere eyed him.

“What do you expect me to do, Bashere?” Rand asked quietly. That look was a challenge, if a subtle one, but Rand would not rise to it. His anger remained frozen.

Bashere sighed. “I don’t know,” he said. “This whole thing is a mess, and I don’t see any way out of it, man. Going to war with the Seanchan at our backs, that’s as bad a position as I can think of.”

“I know,” Rand said, looking over the city. “Tear will be theirs by the time this is through, probably Illian as well. Burn me, but we’ll be lucky if they don’t conquer all the way up to Andor while our backs are turned.”

“But—”

“We have to assume that Ituralde will abandon his post once news of my failure reaches him. That means our next move has to be toward the Borderlander army. Whatever complaint your kinsmen have with me, it must be settled quickly. I have little patience for men who abandon their duties.”

Have we done that? Lews Therin asked. Who have we abandoned?

Quiet! Rand growled. Go back to your tears, madman, and leave me be!

Bashere leaned back thoughtfully in his saddle. If he was thinking of Rand abandoning the Domani, he said nothing. Finally, he shook his head. “I don’t know what Tenobia is about. Could be as simple as her anger at me for leaving to follow you; could be as difficult as a demand that you submit to the will of the Borderlander monarchs. I can’t imagine what would draw her and the others away from the Blight at a time like this.”

“We will soon find out,” Rand said. “I want you to take a couple of the Asha’man and find out where Tenobia and the others are camped. Maybe we’ll discover they’ve given up this fool’s parade and turned back toward where they belong.”

“All right, then,” Bashere said. “Let me see my men settled and I’ll be off.”

Rand nodded sharply, then turned his mount and began to trot down the street. The people were lined up on either side, ushering him onward. The last time he had visited Tear, he had tried to come in disguise, for all the good it had done him. Anyone who knew the signs would have known he was in the city. Unusual events—banners tying themselves together, men falling from buildings and landing unharmed—were only the beginning. His ta’veren effect seemed to be growing more powerful, causing increasingly greater distortions. And more dangerous ones.

During his last visit, Tear had been besieged by rebels, but the city hadn’t suffered. Tear had too much trade to be bothered by something as simple as a siege. Most people had lived as usual, barely acknowledging the rebels. Nobles could play their games, as long as they didn’t disrupt more honest folks.

Besides, everyone had known that the Stone would hold, as it almost always had. It might have been rendered obsolete by Traveling, but for invaders who didn’t have access to the One Power, the Stone was virtually impossible to take. In and of itself, it was more massive than many cities—a gargantuan sprawl of walls, towers and sheer fortifications without a single seam in its rock. It included forges, warehouses, thousands of defenders, and its own fortified dock.

None of that would be much use against an army of Seanchan with damane and raken.

Crowds lined the street up to the Stone Verge, the large open space that surrounded the Stone on three sides. It’s a killing field, Lews Therin said.

Here,