A/N: Hi again! I thought this was going to be a long chapter, but it didn't get as long as I'd thought because I can't write battle scenes to save my life. (So, yes, apologies in advance for the crappiness towards the end there...) Also again, huge thanks to anyone who have read & reviewed so far and please keep doing so. And the rest of you who are just reading, I'm glad you're enjoying the story as well, and please do consider taking a moment to leave a comment, you have no idea how much it makes my day.

Chapter Nine

Logain's study was crowded with people; Asha'man and Aes Sedai and a few non-channeller Warders were gathered before the desk, behind which stood Logain himself, watching the gathered crowd. "You all know your part in this," the leader of the Black Tower said. "Get a move on. I want all teams in position before evening."

Erin looked around at the other members of her team. Or rather, Androl Genhald's team, as it was. They were five, six counting Taim, whereas the other teams had four channellers. Androl's bondmate, Pevara Tazanovni of the Red Ajah, was of course in the team, as were Corele and Flinn. Androl's rank as something of a second-in-command to Logain - Erin wasn't sure how official the rank was - placed him as the leader of the team, but the stocky Asha'man looked at Pevara, who took charge.

The Red sister gave the team an evaluating look. "The clothes will do," she said. And indeed, neither Flinn nor Androl were wearing the Asha'man uniform. "But we'll need to disguise at least myself, Androl, Erin, and… him." The last part was accompanied with a stiff nod towards Taim. "Corele, you'll be our bait. Flinn should pass for a regular Warder easily enough, he was gone from the Black Tower before Marle was recruited, I don't think you've ever met." The short woman's dark eyes glinted with determination. "Come with me. Can't focus on proper masks in this crowd."

Not an hour later Erin was staring at herself in the mirror. She was… pretty. Large, dark eyes looked back at her from a delicate, heart-shaped face framed by dark curls. Pevara herself - wearing a young girl's face, pale with freckles and a slightly upturned nose that some might find cute - was adding some final touches to her costume. "You'll be posing as a rich merchant's daughter," the Red sister said. "And I as your maid."

For a brief moment Erin wondered why the roles weren't the other way around - Pevara was not only placed at the head of the operation, but also stood higher in the One Power than Erin - but then she realised that in her guise as a maid Pevara would be more free to move and watch everything unnoticed. Erin might as well get a room for herself and sit there for all the good she would be able to do. With a frown, she banished such thoughts. Her part was important, too; Pevara needed someone to act the other role or there would be no point for her to be a maid.

Taim and Androl were wearing new faces as well; they looked perfectly ordinary and enough alike that they could have been brothers. "And we're your men-at-arms, two brothers from Whitebridge, hired by your paranoid father to see that you get safely to Caemlyn," Androl added with a grin. The expression faltered slightly as he included Taim in his gesture, but the Asha'man recovered quickly. Taim didn't seem to notice; he was frowning at the mirror and the feeling over the bond was just generally unimpressed. Corele and Flinn watched the proceedings, the former with a touch of impatience, while the latter seemed to find Taim's reaction to his new face highly amusing.

"Of course, it goes without saying that we can't appear to know Corele and Flinn," Pevara said. "Even if we never catch a glimpse of Marle. Corele will need to appear to be alone except for her elderly Warder."

Erin turned to Taim and, smiling up at him, raised her hand to push a stray lock of now light brown hair behind his ear. "You don't look too bad," she said, attempting a light tone. In truth, it was beyond strange to see him like this, and she found that she much preferred his real face, but the mask wasn't ugly, either.

The bond transferred a flash of amusement, but it felt somehow… reserved. "Neither do you," he replied. Erin smiled at that, but of course the bond had also transferred the twinge of resentment as she was inadvertently reminded that her own face wasn't much to look at. "I probably shouldn't have said that," Taim said, with the slightest hint of a question in his voice.

Erin shook her head. "Don't worry," she said, a touch wryly. "It's quite fine." Light, she really needed to start acting her age! She hadn't been bothered by her looks or the lack thereof in decades. Being friends with Sarielle she had got used to being outshone in every way possible, except at Healing. She didn't need to be any prettier than she was; it wasn't as if she was trying to attract suitors, for Light's sake! But regardless, she cast one last look at the mirror before following Pevara and Androl out. She knew Taim noticed, but she could barely bring herself to care.

They Travelled a couple of miles west of the city of Four Kings - Androl, Pevara, Erin and Taim. Corele and Flinn would be following a while behind. They had agreed on an inn, and a couple of alternatives if the first one didn't have room for both parties; Corele would upon her arrival sense whether the other Aes Sedai were inside and if they weren't, she would continue to the next one.

The first inn had rooms enough - not that they were planning on sleeping there, but not getting rooms would have looked suspicious. Taim found himself tasked with looking after the horses, and by the time he got to the common room Erin was sitting at a table in the common room with a glass of wine and a platter of dried fruit before her. Pevara was nowhere to be seen, but Androl was seated at the table next to Erin's, and as he saw Taim the Asha'man gestured him over. Taim went, although he would have much rather sat with Erin. Erin looked at him as he passed her table and smiled up at him, something like regret briefly shading the bond.

"Her father pays us for protecting her, not for flirting with her," Androl said sharply as Taim sat down at the table.

Taim looked around and saw a serving girl, easily within earshot, and smirked. "Whatever you say… brother." He briefly wondered whether he was supposed to be the younger or older brother, and whether such a detail was relevant in any way.

Androl looked like he wanted to scowl at the 'brother' part, but smoothed his expression into an outwardly jovial grin. For a moment it seemed as though he was listening to something - nobody was speaking - and then the grin widened a fraction. Taim watched him warily; was the man mad? He thought Flinn had said the madness of the Taint could now be Healed, as well.

It was perhaps half an hour before Corele and Flinn showed up. The Aes Sedai made a fine show of being 'discreet' about her identity; the hood of her cloak drawn up as if to conceal her ageless features, the Great Serpent ring only briefly visible as she paid the innkeeper for a room and supper. Before too long, word would spread that there was an Aes Sedai staying at The Red Rooster, and if the Marle character was around… Well, that was still no guarantee that he would show himself, but if he really was hunting Aes Sedai, he would. And if he did not show up here, perhaps one of the other teams employing similar tactics in other cities would have better luck.

The evening dragged on with excruciating slowness. At some point a musician wandered in, a young man playing the flute, and soon after that the crowd in the common room more than doubled and the noise became tenfold. Yet there was no sign of Marle. Erin's feelings across the bond were a curious mixture of alertness and boredom, and Taim had to admit that he could have done with some action himself. The game of stones he had started with Androl had ground to a halt and he didn't even remember whose turn it was supposed to be, anymore.

Suddenly he became aware that Erin had got up and was approaching. He turned to look at her - the beautiful mask-face was set in a determined smile. "I don't suppose either of you two dances? Such a lively tune, seems a shame to waste the chance," she said, loudly over the noise, nodding at the flutist and the other couples that were already dancing.

"Miss Denna," Androl began, addressing Erin by the agreed alias, but whatever he was about to say, Taim interrupted him.

"I might," he said and rose from his seat in a smooth movement, offering the Aes Sedai his hand. She took it. He thought he could hear Androl muttering behind him as he led Erin to join the other dancing couples.

The Aes Sedai seemed to dance better than the last time, which seemed to be years ago. She liked dancing, that much was evident even without the bond; her eyes shone in a way that had nothing to do with the mask she was wearing. And if she perhaps clung to him tighter than was strictly necessary, well, he couldn't be sure it wasn't just his paranoia and he most certainly wasn't going to bring the subject up.

Several songs later - Taim had lost count, trying to focus on both the dancing and watching everything around him at once - Erin finally returned him to his seat at the table. Erin joined them, seeing as her previous table had been occupied while she had been dancing. Taim could see a glimpse of Pevara, as the Red Aes Sedai moved deftly among the crowd; she somehow managed to look like she was going about some important tasks although for all Taim could see she was just walking back and forth across the common room.

The flutist started a slower song for a change - Taim thought it was The Wind that Shakes the Willows, but without hearing the lyrics he couldn't be sure - and most of the dancers cleared out to get back to drinking. Taim had a feeling that he was being watched - a look around confirmed that nobody remotely resembling Marle was around… And then his eyes fell on the flutist. The man seemed to be staring right back at him, but only for a moment, and after a minute Taim couldn't be sure that he hadn't just imagined the whole thing. The flutist certainly looked nothing like Marle - and, Taim reminded himself, he looked nothing like the Taim Marle knew, either - with his black hair and piercing blue eyes. And while it was difficult to tell his exact height while he was sitting, he looked a fair bit taller than Marle.

Taim leaned closer to Androl and said, "I'm guessing that Marle fellow knows Mirror of Mists…"

Androl glanced at him sharply. "Fair assumption," he replied. "You certainly did, and we must assume that therefore your followers did, also. How come? Do you think..?" He trailed off and followed Taim's gaze to the flutist. The Asha'man snorted. "He might know Mirror of Mists, but I'm fairly certain he had no musical talent."

Taim fought the urge to glare. "I'm certain there's something suspicious about him…"

"Very well," Androl said. "We'll keep an eye on him, too." But he didn't seem convinced.

And as soon as Androl was focused on something else again - or so it seemed to Taim - the flutist looked straight at Taim again and a small smile curved the young man's lips. And Taim couldn't help the dreadful certainty that he knew this man. Whether it was Marle or not, he knew with as much certainty as he had known that going to the White Tower was a bad idea, that he had seen that innocent-looking smile before, and that it was not a good sign nor was there anything innocent behind it. He fought a shudder and lowered his gaze, breaking eye contact. He could feel Erin's alarm, but outwardly the Aes Sedai in disguise was watching the proceedings in the common room with a bored expression. He tried to send something reassuring over the bond, but no matter how accomplished a liar he might be, he couldn't pretend that he wasn't shaken.

Finally the common room began to empty, leaving behind only a couple of drunks that had to be hauled out or into their rooms. Erin had retired to her room a while ago - it would have looked too suspicious for her to stick around that long, even if the men did. "He's not coming tonight," Androl stated the obvious.

Taim nodded. "He could be anywhere in the world," he said. "Why did we expect to find him like this, anyway?"

The Asha'man scowled. "If you had better ideas…"

"…I would have said so," Taim finished the sentence. He shook his head. "For all we know he could be in Mayene or Saldaea. Or he could be hiding and waiting for everyone to go to sleep before striking."

Androl nodded. "Pevara is warding the building, just to alert her if anyone channels saidin. It's safe enough," he added when Taim was about to protest. "Even if he's close enough to sense a woman channelling, he should just assume it's Corele doing something."

"Very well." Taim stood up at a pointed look from a tired-looking serving girl. "I don't know about you, brother, but I'm going to get some sleep before we need to be up again." Without waiting to see if Androl was following, he strode up the stairs to the second floor - and stopped dead in his tracks as he reached the top and turned around the corner to see the flutist. As if the man had been waiting for him. He forced himself into motion and was about to walk past the young flutist, but the man gripped his arm. Taim gave him a flat stare. "What do you think you're doing?"

The youth ignored the question. "You're dead," he said.

There seemed no chance of convincing him that Taim wasn't who he thought he was. How he had recognised him with the Mask of Mirrors in place, Taim couldn't begin to guess. "Was that a threat… or a statement of an unfortunate and rather outdated fact?" he asked coolly.

That smile appeared again, a smile that women would most likely find attractive; confident but seemingly open and light-hearted. "You don't remember me," the youth said. It wasn't a question and so Taim didn't answer. At this distance he could see something curious in the young man's eye; a black spot against the otherwise flawless blue. The man's smile widened as he saw that Taim had noticed it. He didn't comment on it, however. Instead he said, "But I'm sure you will… Remember."

"How very reassuring," Taim replied, voice dripping with sarcasm. Then there was another set of footsteps coming up the stairs, and the flutist released his grip on Taim's arm and without another word walked past him and vanished into a room. Taim drew a deep breath and raised a hand to his temple; to his dismay, the hand was shaking slightly.

Androl walked up to him. "You..?" the Asha'man began but cut off with a frown.

Taim flashed a thin almost-smile. "Quite fine, thank you," he replied dryly, in answer to the unspoken question. He turned and opened the door to the room he would be sharing with Androl - Erin and Pevara shared another room across the corridor - and the Asha'man followed. "Figure we should keep watch or will Pevara's wards be enough?" Taim asked.

Androl looked as if he was listening to something, and then replied, "The wards will suffice." After a moment he added, "I wasn't planning on sleeping, but you might as well if you want to, since you're not going to sense his channelling anyway."

In the room she was sharing with Pevara, Erin awoke with a start. She sat up with an audible gasp before she remembered that she wasn't alone; Pevara sat cross-legged on the other bed, reading a book by candlelight. The Red sister looked up and shot Erin a questioning look. Erin shook her head, not trusting herself to speak. She was hesitant about masking the bond this night, in case something did happen that she needed to be aware of, but, Light, whatever was going on in her Warder's sleeping mind, it wasn't fun. She focused on smoothing her skirts while she gathered her composure, very aware of Pevara's cool regard.

"He has nightmares often?" the Red sister asked suddenly.

Erin forced her expression blank. "He? Who said anything about him?" she asked carefully. Too carefully, she realised, but she hadn't been prepared for the question.

Pevara, obviously, wasn't fooled. "Do you forget that Androl shares room with… your Warder?" she countered.

Erin grimaced. She was increasingly convinced that Pevara and her bondmate had some special way of communicating with each other, something more specific than merely feeling each others' emotions and physical state, but asking about it would have been too personal. "Ever since Logain's… interrogation," she answered the original question. "I usually mask the bond." She knew the exact moment when Taim woke up, disoriented and almost surprised to be alive. She could feel him mentally scrambling for a semblance of calm, could imagine him lying perfectly still so as not to catch Androl's attention. She wished there was something she could do, some form of comfort she could offer that he would accept. But his pride and his vanity left very little room for such trivial things as basic human contact. Such trivial things…

Suddenly Pevara sat bolt upright. "He's here." She set the book aside and got up. "Channelling, right outside Corele's room unless I'm badly mistaken."

Erin got up, too, and put herself on the verge of embracing saidar to allow the other Aes Sedai to pull her into a circle. Androl joined them, although his trickle of saidin wasn't much, and together they rushed out into the corridor-

Which was on fire.

Erin could almost read the decision Pevara had to make; she could either channel to extinguish the fire, or try to catch Marle before he got away. She chose the latter. With only a quick weave to protect the four of them from catching fire, Pevara led the way to Corele's room, and Androl and Taim broke through the door. Inside the room, Marle stood slightly bent over the bed, where Corele was sitting stiffly, presumably shielded and tied up with flows of Air. Flinn was just picking himself up from the floor, and as he saw Pevara, he joined the circle. Pevara had a shield prepared-

But Marle whirled around and the shield missed. Anger and panic flashed in the pale blue eyes that darted from Pevara to Corele to Flinn in a fraction of a moment. A gateway opened behind Marle before Pevara could try shielding him again, and he stepped through. Erin didn't think; she dived after him just before the gateway winked out. She felt the circle breaking, she felt the frantic bewilderment from Taim through the bond, and then she physically collided with Marle and they landed hard on the ground.

For a second it seemed like time stood still. Taim watched Erin vanish through the gateway after Marle, and he wasn't quick enough to follow. He tried - rather ridiculously, in retrospect - and would have simply ran into the wall if Flinn hadn't caught him. "Don't be an idiot," the old Asha'man growled.

"Is she out of her flaming mind?" Corele muttered, shaking her head, but nobody paid her much attention.

"Androl, you can follow him?" Pevara asked. The Asha'man didn't answer - at least in a way that anyone else could hear - but another gateway opened where Marle's had been, and Flinn led the way through. Taim followed right behind the old Asha'man, Corele, Pevara and Androl behind him. He had drawn his sword; he felt horribly outclassed among the channellers but didn't want to just hide behind them, either.

They came to a small forest clearing, and it seemed clear that this was the right place; here and there the grass was burnt and some of the nearest trees looked like something sharp had slashed at them. Erin was near, and alive and unharmed for now, but fighting for her life. A light flashed in the direction where the bond told him that she was, and he set off at a run through the bushes and trees.

Erin was there, hiding behind a tree - which burst into flames before her; Taim could feel the sudden bright light blinding the Aes Sedai as she stumbled backwards and shielded herself against the flames. Taim felt like he was trying to navigate a labyrinth blindfolded; unable to sense the channelling, he didn't have a clue where Marle was hiding. Fortunately Flinn and Androl were more useful; they seemed to know exactly where they were going, and after making sure that Erin wasn't seriously hurt, Taim darted after them.

The fight itself was short. Marle attempted to fire something at Corele, but the fiery bolts vanished into thin air well short of reaching her, and then he wasn't channelling anymore and Taim assumed that they had succeeded in shielding him. Glaring and snarling like a rabid dog, the former Asha'man seemed to be struggling against some invisible force holding him still. Seeing that the four channellers had the situation under control, Taim left them to it and returned to Erin.

He found the Aes Sedai curled up near the burnt tree. The bond told him that she wasn't badly hurt, but very much shaken up. He crouched beside her and spoke in a soft voice. "Erin? Are you all right?"

She raised her head and the worst of the shock and confusion seemed to drain out of her as she became aware of his presence. "Mazrim, thank the Light," she breathed. "I…" Her voice failed, and she tried again, "I can't see. I can't…" She seemed to break down, covering her face with her hands and drawing her knees up to her chest.

Taim swore under his breath and looked around; none of the others had followed him, they were all preoccupied with Marle. "It's all right, Erin," he said, trying to sound - and, more importantly, feel - convincing. "I'm going to take you to Flinn, he can help." He picked her up and started towards where he had left Flinn and the others. Cradled in his arms, Erin no longer felt quite so precariously balanced on the edge of hysteria. She still felt confused and disoriented, but the fear was almost completely gone and there was an undercurrent of… contentment? Taim suddenly felt cold. He didn't want to be dealing with this, he couldn't be dealing with…

"There you are! Is Erin hurt?" Flinn's voice startled him.

"Her eyes," Taim said. "Flinn-" he began, but the old Asha'man was already reaching out for Erin. Taim felt the shudder that shook the Aes Sedai in his arms. He shot Flinn a questioning look.

"She'll be fine," Flinn said calmly. "There would have been no permanent damage even without Healing. Come, now. We must find out where in the blazes we are so that we can get back to the Black Tower."

Yes. Of course. "Is Marle..?"

Flinn nodded as he turned and set off towards where the others must be. "Pevara has him shielded," he said. "Still linked with Corele, of course. Once we know enough of our location, Androl will make a gateway to get us back to the Black Tower."

Taim followed the old Asha'man through the woods, still carrying Erin. That earned him looks that ranged from concerned to sharp and speculative, but he ignored them all. Marle was exactly where he'd last seen him, still tied up and no longer snarling, though he looked like he wanted to. Pevara and Corele sat cross-legged on the ground nearby, while Androl paced back and forth restlessly behind them, a hand on the hilt of his sword. Taim set Erin down near the other Aes Sedai - the bond carried reluctance and a sense of loss as he let go of her. At least she didn't protest out loud.

Without another glance in her direction, Taim strode over to Androl. "Can you get us out of here?"

The Asha'man shot him an irritable glance. "Soon," he just said and continued his pacing. It didn't look like he was going to give a more specific answer, and so Taim returned to Erin's side. The Aes Sedai was rapidly regaining her composure - good - and she and Corele were talking in hushed voices. Pevara - looking like herself again - appeared somehow wholly focused on Marle, yet seemed to be watching everything around herself at the same time.

It seemed to take forever, but finally Androl announced, "Let's go." A gateway opened before Androl, and he and Flinn marched Marle through, with the three Aes Sedai close behind them. Taim went last, with a brief nod to Androl, who was waiting to close the gateway after him. The look in the Asha'man's eyes said that he would much rather have left Taim on the other side, but he said nothing. They went to seek Logain.

All Erin wanted was to go to sleep. She was tired, now that the adrenaline rush of the battle had faded, and emotionally she was exhausted. It was not that she hadn't seen battle before; even though she had spent the Last Battle tending to the wounded well out of harm's way, she had been there when the Seanchan had assaulted the White Tower, and she had been there when Siuan Sanche had been deposed and the Tower had been divided. She had seen something of the Battle of the Shining Walls. But never before had she been as alone against an enemy as she had been when she had found herself in that forest clearing, fighting for her life. Of course she hadn't been alone for long; the others had followed as soon as they could. She could still remember the bewildered shock that had flooded the bond when Taim had realised what she'd done, and the gateway had winked shut behind her… She stifled the urge to giggle. Whatever had possessed her to play the hero? She was no Moiraine Damodred.

Their escort stopped before the door to Logain's study. One of the Asha'man - not one Erin had met before - announced them, and they were allowed in immediately. The leader of the Black Tower didn't look like he had slept, either, even though it must be closer to morning by now. "Estevan Marle," he said, not exactly addressing the captive former Asha'man. "Take him down to the dungeons. Get Gabrelle and a couple of others to take over the shield, best not to take any risks. We'll deal with him once it's morning. Androl, take word to the rest of the teams that Marle has been caught."

It wasn't long after that that Marle was safely in a cell below the palace, shielded by two Asha'man linked with Gabrelle Sedai of the Brown Ajah. Erin followed Corele and Flinn to the travelling grounds; the original plan had been to wait for Sarielle and the rest of the Aes Sedai who might be returning to Tar Valon, but they seemed to be taking their sweet time in getting back and Corele had agreed that there was no point in prolonging their stay. Travelling really did make life so much easier.

Taim, walking right behind Erin, had been quiet ever since they had returned. Not that he was a talkative man at the best of times, but it seemed like there was an extra layer of reserve around him now. Even through the bond he felt distant and difficult to read. Erin wasn't sure what it was - her memories of the time immediately after the battle were hazy - but she had a sinking feeling that she had said or done something stupid.

She just didn't want him to hate her. Was that too much to ask?

She grimaced and mentally shook herself. Now she was just being ridiculous. She'd know if he hated her; nobody could conceal something that radical from their bondmate. No, he didn't hate her. The best she could describe is that he tolerated the bond and, by extension, her. She wished she could stop hoping for… more. And now she was straying into the realm of ridiculous fancies, again. Light, woman, get a grip.

Nobody spoke a word on the way to the Yellow Ajah quarters, and apart for the brief goodnights as they parted ways with Corele and Flinn, they got to their apartment in complete silence. Erin watched as Taim went straight towards his room without as much as looking at her. At the door he stopped briefly. The bond remained unreadable.

"Mazrim…" she called out softly.

He froze with his hand on the door handle. "Don't," he said.

Don't… what? Erin didn't even know what she wanted to say. Everything. Anything. Don't. And she didn't.