“I will pay more.”
“I made a promise, my good Lord,” the man said. “I could not break it, regardless of the price.”
“I see.” Galad waved to Bornhald. The soldier gave commands, and Children in white tabards moved forward, weapons out.
“What…what are you doing?” Gill asked.
“Separating your people,” Galad said. “We’ll talk to each of them alone and see if their stories match. I worry that you might have been…unforthcoming with us. After all, what it seems like to me is that you are the camp followers of a large army. If that is the case, then I would very much like to know whose army it is, not to mention where it is.”
Gill’s forehead started to sweat as Galad’s soldiers efficiently separated the captives. Galad waited for a time watching Gill. Eventually Bornhald and Byar came jogging up to him, hands on their swords.
“My Lord Captain Commander,” Bornhald said urgently.
Galad turned away from Gill. “Yes?”
“We may have a situation here,” Bornhald said. His face was flushed with anger. Beside him, Byar’s eyes were wide, almost frenzied. “Some of the prisoners have talked. It’s as you feared. A large army is nearby. They’ve skirmished with Aiel—those fellows over there in the white robes are actually Aiel themselves.”
“And?”
Byar spat to the side. “Have you ever heard of a man called Perrin Goldeneyes?”
“No. Should I have?”
“Yes,” Bornhald said. “He killed my father.”
Chapter 5
Writings
Gawyn hastened down the hallways of the White Tower, booted feet thumping on a deep blue rug atop crimson and white floor tiles. Mirrored stand-lamps reflected light, each like a sentry along the way.
Sleete walked quickly beside him. Despite the lamps’ illumination, Sleete’s face seemed half-shrouded in shadow. Perhaps it was the two-day stubble on his jaw—an oddity for a Warder—or the long hair, clean but unshorn. Or maybe it was his features. Uneven, like an unfinished drawing, with sharp lines, a cleft in his chin, a hook to his once-broken nose, cheekbones that jutted out.
He had the lithe motions of a Warder, but with a more primal feel than most. Rather than the huntsman moving through the woods, he was the silent, shadow-bound predator that prey never saw until the teeth were flashing.
They reached an intersection where several of Chubain’s guards stood watch down one of the halls. They had swords at their sides and wore white tabards emblazoned with the Flame of Tar Valon. One held up a hand.
“I’m allowed in,” Gawyn said. “The Amyrlin—”
“The sisters aren’t done yet,” the guard replied, hostile.
Gawyn ground his teeth, but there was nothing to be done about it. He and Sleete stepped back and waited until—finally—three Aes Sedai walked out of a guarded room. They looked troubled. They strode away, followed by a pair of soldiers carrying something wrapped in a white cloth. The body.
Finally, the two guards reluctantly stepped aside and let Gawyn and Sleete pass. They hurried down the hallway and entered a small reading room. Gawyn hesitated beside the door, glancing back down the hallway. He could see some Accepted peeking around a corner, whispering.
This murder made four sisters killed. Egwene had her hands full trying to keep the Ajahs from turning back to their mistrust of one another. She’d warned everyone to be alert, and told sisters not to go about alone. The Black Ajah knew the White Tower well, their members having lived here for years. With gateways, they could slip into the hallways and commit murder.
At least, that was the official explanation for the deaths. Gawyn wasn’t so certain. He ducked into the room, Sleete following.
Chubain himself was there. The handsome man glanced at Gawyn, lips turning down. “Lord Trakand.”
“Captain,” Gawyn replied, surveying the room. It was about three paces square, with a single desk set against the far wall and an unlit coal-burning brazier. A bronze stand-lamp burned in the corner, and a circular rug filled nearly the entire floor. That rug was stained with a dark liquid beneath the desk.
“Do you really think you’ll find anything the sisters did not, Trakand?” Chubain asked, folding his arms.
“I’m looking for different things,” Gawyn said, going forward. He knelt down to inspect the rug.
Chubain sniffed, then walked into the hallway. The Tower Guard would watch over the area until servants had come to clean it. Gawyn had a few minutes.