Knife of Dreams (The Wheel of Time #11)

Knife of Dreams (The Wheel of Time #11) Page 221

“None,” Sumeko replied. “Vandene and the other two accept you as Aes Sedai, so you must be.” Conviction was strong in her voice, but then, she had reason to want to believe. If Elayne were a liar, her dreams of returning to the Tower, of joining the Yellow Ajah, died.

“But this Duhara believes she was speaking the truth,” Alise spread her hands. “I’m not saying I doubt you. I don’t. But the woman believes.”

Elayne sighed. “The situation is . . . complicated.” That was like saying water was moist. “I am Aes Sedai, but Duhara doesn’t believe. She can’t, because that would be admitting Egwene al’Vere truly is the Amyrlin Seat, and Duhara won’t do that until Elaida has been brought down.” She hoped Duhara would believe then. Accept, at least. The Tower had to be made whole. “Sumeko, you will order the Kinswomen to stay in groups? Always?” The stout woman muttered that she would. Unlike Reanne, Sumeko had no flair for leadership, or liking for it, either. A pity no older Kinswoman had appeared to take the burden from her. “Alise, you’ll make sure they obey?” Alise’s agreement was firm and quick. She would have been the perfect candidate if the Kin did not determine their rankings by age. “Then we’ve done what we can. It’s long past time you were in your beds.”

“Long past time for you, too,” Alise said as she stood. “I could send for Melfane.”

“No need to rob her of sleep, too.” Elayne said hastily. And firmly. Melfane was short and stout, a merry woman with a ready laugh, and unlike her aunt in other ways, as well. Merry or not, the midwife was a tyrant who would not be pleased to learn that she was awake. “I’ll sleep when I can.”

Once they left, she released saidar and took up a book from several on the second sideboard, yet another history of Andor, but she could not concentrate. Bereft of the Power, she felt grumpy. Burn her, she was so weary that her eyes felt grainy. She knew that if she lay down, though, she would stare at the ceiling till the sun rose. In any case, she had stared at the page for only minutes when Deni appeared again.

“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. Funny. She was carrying a stray cat, a thing scrawny as she was.” He bobbed a sudden, nervous bow. “Begging your pardon, my Lady. Didn’t mean no offence, speaking of an Aes Sedai that way, but it took me a minute to realize she was Aes Sedai, it did. There was good light from the entry hall, there was, but she was so thin and plain, with a wide nose, that nobody would take her for Aes Sedai without some study.”

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