"It is not nonsense," Egwene said. "The truth, I'm afraid. There are others, but I will have to give you their names later. We can't yet take them into custody. I need time to plan and think, an evening perhaps. We will strike soon. But until we do, I want Sheriam and Moria watched. Don't be alone around them."
Siuan shook her head in disbelief. "How certain are you about this, Egwene?"
"Certain enough," Egwene said. "Watch them, Siuan, and be thinking of what to do. I'll want to hear your suggestions. We'll need a way to take them quietly, then prove to the Hall that what we've done is justified."
"This could be dangerous." Siuan rubbed her chin. "I hope you know what you are doing, Mother." She emphasized the last word.
"If I err," Egwene said, "then it will be on my head. But I don't think that I do. As I said, much has changed."
Siuan bowed her head. "Are you still captive?"
"Not exactly. Elaida has—" Egwene hesitated, frowning to herself. Something was wrong.
"Egwene?" Siuan asked, anxious.
"I. ..." Egwene began, then shuddered. Something was pulling on her mind, clouding it. Something was . . .
Pulling her back.
The girl had a bloody gash on her cheek. Egwene sat up sharply, and at that moment the entire
"What is going on?" Egwene demanded.
"Shadowspawn!" Nicola cried. "In the air, serpents that throw flame and weaves of the One Power! They're destroying us! Oh, Mother. It's Tarmon Gai'don!"
Egwene felt a moment of primal, nearly uncontrollable panic. Tarmon Gai'don! The Last Battle!
She heard screams in the distance, followed by the shouts of soldiers or Warders. No . . . no, she needed to focus! Serpents in the air. Serpents that wielded the One Power ... or with
It wasn't Tarmon Gai'don, but it was nearly as bad. The Seanchan had finally attacked the White Tower, just as Egwene had Dreamed.
And she couldn't channel enough Power to light a candle, let alone fight back.
Siuan awoke with a start. Something was wrong. Something was very,
Gareth Bryne stood alert, heron-marked steel drawn and ready. He wore only his smallclothes, and she had to keep herself from staring at his muscled body, which was in far better shape than that of most men half his age. "What is it?" he asked tensely.
"Light!" Siuan said. "You sleep with your sword?"
"Always."
"Egwene is in danger."
"What kind of danger?"
"I don't know," she admitted. "We were meeting and she vanished suddenly. I think ... I think Elaida may have decided to execute her. Or at least pull her from her cell and ... do something to her."
Bryne didn't ask for details. He simply sheathed his sword, then proceeded to put on a pair of trousers and a shirt. Siuan still wore her now-wrinkled blue skirt and blouse—it was her habit to change after her meetings with Egwene, once Bryne was sound asleep.
She felt an anxiety she couldn't quite define. Why was she so on edge? It wasn't uncommon for something to wake a person while they were dreaming.
But most people weren't Egwene. She was a master of the World of Dreams. If something had awakened her unexpectedly, she would have dealt with it, then returned to calm Siuan's worries. But she hadn't, despite Siuan's waiting for what had seemed like an eternity.
Bryne stepped up to her, now wearing his stiff gray trousers and uniform coat. He'd buttoned up his high collar, marked with three stars on the left breast and golden epaulets on the shoulders.
A frenzied voice called from outside. "General Bryne! My Lord General!"
Bryne glanced at her, then turned toward the tent flaps. "Come!"
A youthful soldier with neat black hair pushed into the tent and gave a quick salute. He didn't apologize for coming so late—Bryne's men knew that their general trusted them to awake him if there was need. "My Lord," the man said. "Scout's report. Something is going on in the city."
" 'Something,' Tijds?" Bryne asked.
"The scouts aren't certain, my Lord," the man said with a grimace. "With the cloud cover, the night is dark, and the spyglasses aren't much help. There have been bursts of light near the Tower, like an Illuminator's show. Dark shadows in the air."
