Knife of Dreams

“Master Norry is here, my Lady, with that Hark fellow. Said he’d heard you were up and wondered if you could spare him a few minutes.’’

He had heard she was up? If he was having her watched… ! The import broke through her grumpiness. Hark. He had not brought Hark since that first visit, ten days ago. No, eleven days, now. Ebullience replaced peevishness. Telling Deni to send them in. she followed the woman as far as the anteroom, where a patterned carpet covered most of the red-and-white floor tiles. Here, too, only a pair of stand-lamps were lit, giving off a dim, wavering light and a scent of roses.

Master Norry looked more than ever a white-crested wading bird with his long, spindly shanks, and tufts of hair sticking up behind his ears, but for once, he almost seemed excited. He was actually rubbing his hands together. He was not carrying his leather folder tonight; even in the dim light, the ink stains on his crimson tabard showed. One had turned the tuft of the White Lion’s tail black. He offered a stiff bow, and the nondescript Hark imitated him awkwardly, then knuckled his forehead for good measure. He was wearing a darker brown than he had previously, but the same belt and buckle. “Forgive the hour, my Lady,” Norry began in that dry voice.

“How did you know I was awake?” she demanded, emotions bouncing again.

Norry blinked, startled by the question. “One of the cooks mentioned sending up warm goat’s milk for you when I went to get some for myself, my Lady. I find warm goat’s milk very soothing when I can’t sleep. But she mentioned wine, too, so I assumed you had visitors and might still be awake.”

Elayne sniffed. She still wanted to snap at someone. Keeping that out of her voice required an effort. “I suppose you’ve success to report, Master Hark?”

“I followed him like you said, my Lady, and he’s been to the same house three nights, counting this one. It’s on Full Moon Street in the New City, it is. Only place he ever goes except taverns and common rooms. He drinks some, he does. Dices a lot, too.” The man hesitated, dry-washing his hands nervously. “I can go now. right, my Lady? You’ll take off whatever it was you put on me?”

“According to the tax rolls.” Norry said, “the house is owned by the Lady Shiaine Avarhin. my Lady. She seems to be the last of the House.”

“What else can you tell me about the place, Master Hark? Who else lives there besides this Lady Shiaine?”

Hark rubbed his nose uneasily. “Well, I don’t know as they lives there, my Lady, but there’s two Aes Sedai there tonight. I saw one of them letting Mellar out while the other was coming in. and the one who was coming in said, ‘A pity there are only two of us, Falion, the way Lady Shiaine works us.’ Only, she said Lady like she didn’t mean it, she did. Fu

Elayne laid a hand on his arm. Excitement bubbled in her voice, and she let it. “What were their accents?”

“Their accents, my Lady? Well, the one with the cat. she’s from right here in Caemlyn I’d say. The other… Well, she didn’t say above two sentences, but I’d say she was Kandori. Called the other Marillin, if that helps, my Lady.”

Laughing, Elayne capered a few steps. She knew who had set Mellar on her now, and it was worse than she had feared. Marillin Gemalphin and Falion Bhoda, two Black sisters who had fled the Tower after doing murder. That had been to facilitate theft, but it was the murders that would see them stilled and beheaded. It had been to find them, and the others with them, that she. Egwene and Nynaeve had been sent out of the Tower. The Black Ajah had planted Mellar next to her, to spy most likely, but still a chilling thought. Worse than she had feared, and yet, finding the two now was like completing the circle.

Hark was staring at her with his mouth hanging open, she realized. Master Norry was studiously examining the lion’s stained tail. She stopped dancing and folded her hands. Fool men! “Where is Mellar now?”

“In his rooms, I believe,” Norry said.

“My Lady, you’ll take it off now?” Hark said. “And I can go? I did what you asked.”

“First you have to lead us to this house,” she said, darting past him to the twi

Hark was wringing his hands and shifting from one foot to the other anxiously. “My Lady, what do you mean we’ll talk? You promised to take this thing off me if I followed the man. you did. And I did, so you have to keep your word.”

“I never said I’d remove the Finder, Master Hark. I said you’d be exiled to Baerlon instead of hanging, but wouldn’t you rather remain in Caemlyn?”

The man widened his eyes, trying to look sincere. And failing. He even smiled. “Oh, no, my Lady. I’ve been dreaming about the fresh country air in Baerlon, I has. I’ll wager there’s never a worry about getting rotten meat in your stew there. Here, you got to sniff careful before you eat anything. I’m looking forward to it, I am.”

Elayne put on the stern face her mother had always worn passing judgment. “You’d be out of Baerlon two minutes behind the Guardsmen who escorted you there. And then you’d hang for breaking your exile. Much better for you to remain in Caemlyn and take on a new line of work. Master Norry, could you use a man with Hark’s talents?”

“I could, my Lady,” Norry replied without even a pause for thought. A satisfied smile touched his thin lips, and Elayne realized what she had done. She had given him a tool to encroach on Mistress Harfor’s ground. But there was no undoing it, now.

“The work won’t be so remunerative as your former ‘trade,’ Master Hark, but you won’t hang for it.”

“Not so what, my Lady?” Hark said, scratching his head.

“It won’t pay so well. What do you say? Baerlon, where you’ll surely cut a purse or bolt, and hang for either one, or Caemlyn, where you’ll have steady work and no fear of the hangman. Unless you take up cutting purses again.”

Hark swayed on his feet, scrubbing the back of his hand across his mouth. “I needs a drink, I does,” he muttered hoarsely. Very likely he believed the Finder would allow her to know if he cut a purse. If so, she had no intention of disabusing him.

Master Norry scowled at the man, but when he opened his mouth. she said, “There’s wine in the small sitting room. Let him have one cup, then join me in the large sitting room.”

The large sitting room was dark when she walked in. but she cha