Knife of Dreams

A thunderous crash came close at hand, and her conveyance was jolted so violently that she bounced on the floorboards. Her knees and shins were going to be bruised from that. She sneezed in the dust that had risen with her, sneezed again. She could feel individual hairs lifting where they were not held down by the gag and blindfold. The air smelled peculiar. A lightning strike, it appeared. She hoped Birgitte had managed to involve the Windfinders, unlikely as that seemed. The time would come when the Kin would have to use the Power as a weapon-no one could stand aside from Tarmon Gai’don-but let them preserve their i

Unable to see, she could not cha

The wagon box creaked as someone heaved herself in. Birgitte. The bond carried a flash of joy. In moments, the ropes fell away from her and Birgitte’s hands went to the knot of the gag. Moving a little stiffly, Elayne untied the blindfold herself. Light, she was going to ache like fury until she could ask for Healing. That reminded her that she would have to ask the Windfinders, and the sadness rose all over again for Vandene and Sareitha.

Once she could spit out the gag. she wanted to ask for water to wash away the oily taste, but instead, she said, “What kept you?” Her laughter at the other woman’s sudden consternation was cut short by another sneeze. “Let’s get out of here, Birgitte. The Kin?”

“Windfinders,” Birgitte answered, holding open the canvas flap at the back of the wagon. “Chanelle decided she’d rather not report losing her bargain to Zaida.”

Elayne sniffed in disdain, a mistake. Sneezing repeatedly, she climbed down from the wagon as quickly as she could manage. Her legs were as stiff as her arms. Burn her, but she wanted a hot bath. And a hairbrush. Birgitte’s white-collared red coat looked somewhat rumpled, but Elayne suspected she made her warder appear fresh from the dressing room.

When her feet hit the ground, mounted Guardsmen in a thick ring around the wagon raised a loud cheer, shaking their lances in the air. Guardswomen whooped, too. apparently almost every last one of them. Two of the men bore Andor’s White Lion and her Golden Lily. That brought a smile. The Queen’s Guards were sworn to defend Andor, the Queen and the Daughter-Heir, yet the decision to carry her personal ba

Asne lay spreadeagled on the road, her empty eyes staring at the sky; the shield on her was u

“How did they find us?” Chesmal demanded. If she had not been lying in the road with a dirty face, no one would have thought her a prisoner.

“My Warder,” Elayne said, smiling at Birgitte. “One of them.”

“A woman Warder?” Chesmal said disdainfully.

Marillin shook in her bonds with silent laughter for a moment. “I’d heard that,’’ she said when the shaking ceased, “but it seemed too incredible to be true.”

“You heard this, and you never mentioned it?” Temaile said, twisting around to transfer her scowl to Marillin. “You great fool!”

“You forget yourself,” Marillin said sharply, and the next instant they were arguing about whether Temaile should defer to her! In truth. Temaile should-Elayne could sense their relative strengths-yet it hardly seemed a topic they would argue over now!

“Somebody gag these women.” Elayne ordered. Caseille dismounted. handing her reins to another Guardswoman. and strode over to begin cutting a strip from Temaile’s skirts with her dagger. “Load them into the wagon and cut away that dead horse. I want to get back inside the walls before Arymilla’s people beyond the ridge feel tempted.” The last thing she needed now was a pitched battle. Whatever the outcome, Arymilla could afford to lose more men than she. “Where are the Windfinders, Birgitte?”

“Still on the ridge. I think they believe they can deny taking part if they don’t get too near the carnage. But you don’t have to worry about being attacked here. The camps beyond the ridge are empty.” Caseille hoisted Temaile over her shoulder and staggered over to heave her into the wagon like a sack of grain. Guardswomen were picking up the other women, too. They wisely left the struggling Warders to the Guardsmen. It required two to handle each of them. A pair of tall Guardsmen were unfastening the dead horse’s harness.

“All I saw were camp followers, grooms and the like,” Charlz put in.

“I think all of her camps may be empty,” Birgitte went on. “She sent heavy assaults against the northern wall this morning to draw as many of our men as possible, and she has twenty thousand or more in Low Caemlyn below the Far Madding Gate. Some of the mercenaries changed colors and are attacking it from inside, but I sent Dyelin with everything I could spare. As soon as you’re safe inside the walls, I’ll take the rest to help her. To add to the good news. Luan and the rest of that lot are riding north. They could be here this afternoon.”

Elayne’s breath caught. Luan and the rest would have be dealt with when they appeared, but the other news… ! “Do you remember what Mistress Harfor reported, Birgitte? Arymilla and the others all intend to be with the first party to ride into Caemlyn. They must be outside the Far Madding Gate, too. How many men do you have here?”

“What’s the butcher’s bill, Guybon?” Birgitte asked, eyeing Elayne warily. The bond carried wariness, too. Great wariness.

“I don’t have a full tally yet, my Lady. Some of the bodies…” Charlz grimaced. “I’d say as many as five or six hundred dead, though, perhaps a few more. Twice as many wounded one way and another. As nasty a few minutes as I’ve ever seen.”

“Call it ten thousand, Elayne,” Birgitte said, thick braid swaying as she shook her head. She tucked her thumbs behind her belt, and determination filled the bond. “Arymilla has to have at least twice that at the Far Madding Gate, maybe three times if she’s really stripped her camps. If you’re thinking what I think you’re thinking… I told Dyelin to retake the gate if it had fallen, but it’s more likely she’s fighting Arymilla inside the city. If, by some miracle, the gate is holding, you’re talking better than two to one odds against us.”

“If they’re through the gate,” Elayne said stubbornly, “it’s unlikely they closed it behind them. We’ll take them in the rear.” It was not all stubbor