The Great Hunt

"I am not ... what you said," Egwene muttered. She pulled at the collar again; it gave no more than before. She thought of knocking the woman down and trying to pry the bracelet from her wrist, but rejected it. Even if the soldiers did not try to stop her – and so far they seemed to be ignoring her and Re

"The very first thing you must learn," Re

Egwene gasped. Suddenly her skin burned and prickled as if she had rolled in stinging nettles, from the soles of her feet to her scalp. She tossed her head as the burning sensation increased.

"Many sul'dam," Re

Quivering, Egwene gritted her teeth. Her nails dug into her palms with the effort of not scratching wildly. Idiot! It's only your name. "Egwene," she managed to get out. "I am Egwene al'Vere." Instantly the burning itch was gone. She let out a long, unsteady breath.

"Egwene," Re

That, she realized, was what she had detected in the woman's voice – a certain good will for a dog in training, not quite the friendliness one might have toward another human being.

Re

Egwene's eye throbbed. She pushed herself to her feet and tried to ignore Re

Sitting slowly back on her heels, Min nodded, then put a hand to her head as if she wished she had not moved it.

Jagged lightning crackled across the clear sky, then struck among the trees some distance off. Egwene jumped, and suddenly smiled. Nynaeve was still free, and Elayne. If anyone could free her and Min, Nynaeve could. Her smile faded into a glare for Liandrin. For whatever the reason the Aes Sedai had betrayed them, there would be a reckoning. Someday. Somehow. The glare did no good; Liandrin did not look away from the palanquin.

The bare-chested men knelt, lowering the palanquin to the ground, and Suroth stepped down, carefully arranging her robe, then picked her way to Liandrin on soft-slippered feet. The two women were much of a size. Brown eyes stared levelly into black.

"You were to bring me two," Suroth said. "Instead, I have only one, while two run loose, one of them more powerful by far than I had been led to believe. She will attract every patrol of ours within two leagues."

"I brought you three," Liandrin said calmly. "If you ca

Lightning flashed again in the near distance, and moments later something roared like thunder not far from where it struck; a cloud of dust rose into the air. Neither Liandrin nor Suroth took any notice.

"I could still return to Falme with two new damane," Suroth said. "It grieves me to allow an ... Aes Sedai" – she twisted the words like a curse – "to walk free."

Liandrin's face did not change, but Egwene saw a nimbus abruptly glow around her.

"Beware, High Lady," Re

There was a stir among the soldiers, a reaching for swords and lances, but Suroth only steepled her hands, smiling at Liandrin over her long nails. "You will make no move against me, Liandrin. Our master would disapprove, as I am surely needed here more than you, and you fear him more than you fear being made damane."

Liandrin smiled, though white spots marked her cheeks with anger. "And you, Suroth, fear him more than you fear me burning you to a cinder where you stand."

"Just so. We both fear him. Yet even our master's needs will change with time. All marath'damane will be leashed eventually. Perhaps I will be the one who places the collar around your lovely throat."

"As you say, Suroth. Our master's needs will change. I will remind you of it on the day when you kneel to me."

A tall leatherleaf perhaps a mile away suddenly became a roaring torch.

"This grows tiresome," Suroth said. "Elbar, recall them." The hooknosed man produced a horn no bigger than his fist; it made a hoarse, piercing cry.

"You must find the woman Nynaeve," Liandrin said sharply. "Elayne is of no importance, but both the woman and this girl here must be taken with you on your ships when you sail."

"I know very well what has been commanded, marath'damane, though I would give much to know why."

"However much you were told, child," Liandrin sneered, "that is how much you are allowed to know. Remember that you serve and obey. These two must be removed to the other side of the Aryth Ocean and kept there."

Suroth sniffed. "I will not remain here to find this Nynaeve. My usefulness to our master will be at an end if Turak hands me over to the Seekers for Truth." Liandrin opened her mouth angrily, but Suroth refused to allow her a word. "The woman will not remain free for long. Neither of them will. When we sail again, we will take with us every woman on this miserable spit of land who can cha

"If either is allowed to remain here," Liandrin said tightly, "our master will trouble himself with you, Suroth. Take them both, or pay the price." She strode to the Waygate, clutching the reins of her mare. Soon it was closing behind her.

The soldiers who had gone after Nynaeve and Elayne came galloping back with the two women linked by leash, collar, and bracelet, the damane and the sul'dam riding side by side. Three men led horses with bodies across the saddles. Egwene felt a surge of hope when she realized the bodies all wore armor. They had not caught Nynaeve or Elayne, either one.

Min started to rise to her feet, but the hook-nosed man planted a boot between her shoulder blades and drove her to the ground. Gasping for breath, she twitched there weakly. "I beg permission to speak, High Lady," he said. Suroth made a small motion with her hand, and he went on. "This peasant cut me, High Lady. If the High Lady has no use for her...?" Suroth motioned slightly again, already turning away, and he reached over his shoulder for the hilt of his sword.

"No!" Egwene shouted. She heard Re