Chapter 17 When Lightning Strikes
Lan awoke to the sounds of battle. He peered through the small, barred window out into the courtyard. Lightning streaked across the darkened sky, illuminating men in combat with soldiers wearing strange armour. Seanchan. Lan cursed as he grabbed his sword and began to pick the lock. The lock clicked as it fell away and Lan stepped into the corridor. The Warder moved cautiously down the narrow hall, his sword ready to strike. He stopped at the correct cell and whispered into the gloom.
"Egwene? Elayne?"
There was a scuffle of feet as someone stood up and two faces appeared in front of him. Apart from looking a little worse for wear, the two Aes Sedai seemed fine yet both were unsteady on their feet.
"Lan, thank the Light its you!" gasped Elayne. "What is going on out there?"
"A Seanchan attack," he said as he worked on the lock. He heard Elayne's sharp intake of breath and, out of the corner of his eye, saw Egwene's features darken.
As soon as the lock fell away the two women staggered out and began to hurry down the corridor. Taking up his sword Lan led the way. The clang of metal upon metal was deafening and the cries of the dying blood curdling, but Lan had seen war before so he blocked them out.
"I can feel the One Power being used outside," Egwene whispered. "In massive amounts. They came more than prepared."
Once again Lan's mind turned to Nynaeve. She was somewhere out there in all that chaos, surrounded by women who had been trained to be a weapon. Trained to capture others like themselves. The thought of Nynaeve chained and collared made bile rise in his throat.
Abruptly, heavy timbres came crashing down from the roof nearly crushing Lan under its colossal weight. Fortunately Lan had dived out the way, knocking Egwene and Elayne from the debris. A stray bolt of lightning struck the roof behind the three, causing the roof to cave-in.
As the dust settled Lan rose and pulled the two women to their feet. They were trapped. Something sparked in the debris behind him. The straw from the roof had ignited and was quickly spreading along the beams and soon turned into a wall of impenetrable flame.
"The roof!" Egwene cried over the crackle of the fire. The fallen ceiling had left a hole in the roof that could be reached if they climbed the rubble. Lan secured his sword in his belt and pushed the women up the rubble in front of him. The fire was working its way across the floor that was littered with wooden shards. Lan shoved Elayne and Egwene simultaneously through the gap. The fire had spread to the roof, tearing at the thatch. Lan scrambled out after them and together they rushed to the edge of the roof. Arrows flew through the air and below them men killed other men.
"Crouch down!" Lan roared as he scanned the ground, looking for something they could land on. "There, jump there." Lan pointed to a pile of straw that was some way away from the building. "We can make it," he said confidently. "Egwene you go first."
Egwene ran forward, eyes closed and jumped. As she did, Lan gave her a push off. She landed squarely in the straw. Encouraged by her friend's success, Elayne ran, jumped and landed all fruitfully.
Lan could feel the fires heat burning into his back as he readied himself. He ran and jumped from the rooftop. The air whistled in his ears and the wind pushed his hair but he was on target. An arrow streaked towards him, striking him on the shoulder, knocking him off course. He landed badly with excruciating pain ripping through his leg. He glimpsed his companions running towards him but a tall man striding towards him held his attention. Vainly, Lan drew his sword. He parried the first strike of his attacker and the second but his strength failed him third time round. Unprotected he was an easy target for his assailant. He drew back his foot a delivered a kick to the warrior's stomach but the Seanchan just smiled and struck him across the face with an armoured hand. Blood filled Lan's mouth as he stared up at the sword above his head.
Lan awoke to the sounds of battle. He peered through the small, barred window out into the courtyard. Lightning streaked across the darkened sky, illuminating men in combat with soldiers wearing strange armour. Seanchan. Lan cursed as he grabbed his sword and began to pick the lock. The lock clicked as it fell away and Lan stepped into the corridor. The Warder moved cautiously down the narrow hall, his sword ready to strike. He stopped at the correct cell and whispered into the gloom.
"Egwene? Elayne?"
There was a scuffle of feet as someone stood up and two faces appeared in front of him. Apart from looking a little worse for wear, the two Aes Sedai seemed fine yet both were unsteady on their feet.
"Lan, thank the Light its you!" gasped Elayne. "What is going on out there?"
"A Seanchan attack," he said as he worked on the lock. He heard Elayne's sharp intake of breath and, out of the corner of his eye, saw Egwene's features darken.
As soon as the lock fell away the two women staggered out and began to hurry down the corridor. Taking up his sword Lan led the way. The clang of metal upon metal was deafening and the cries of the dying blood curdling, but Lan had seen war before so he blocked them out.
"I can feel the One Power being used outside," Egwene whispered. "In massive amounts. They came more than prepared."
Once again Lan's mind turned to Nynaeve. She was somewhere out there in all that chaos, surrounded by women who had been trained to be a weapon. Trained to capture others like themselves. The thought of Nynaeve chained and collared made bile rise in his throat.
Abruptly, heavy timbres came crashing down from the roof nearly crushing Lan under its colossal weight. Fortunately Lan had dived out the way, knocking Egwene and Elayne from the debris. A stray bolt of lightning struck the roof behind the three, causing the roof to cave-in.
As the dust settled Lan rose and pulled the two women to their feet. They were trapped. Something sparked in the debris behind him. The straw from the roof had ignited and was quickly spreading along the beams and soon turned into a wall of impenetrable flame.
"The roof!" Egwene cried over the crackle of the fire. The fallen ceiling had left a hole in the roof that could be reached if they climbed the rubble. Lan secured his sword in his belt and pushed the women up the rubble in front of him. The fire was working its way across the floor that was littered with wooden shards. Lan shoved Elayne and Egwene simultaneously through the gap. The fire had spread to the roof, tearing at the thatch. Lan scrambled out after them and together they rushed to the edge of the roof. Arrows flew through the air and below them men killed other men.
"Crouch down!" Lan roared as he scanned the ground, looking for something they could land on. "There, jump there." Lan pointed to a pile of straw that was some way away from the building. "We can make it," he said confidently. "Egwene you go first."
Egwene ran forward, eyes closed and jumped. As she did, Lan gave her a push off. She landed squarely in the straw. Encouraged by her friend's success, Elayne ran, jumped and landed all fruitfully.
Lan could feel the fires heat burning into his back as he readied himself. He ran and jumped from the rooftop. The air whistled in his ears and the wind pushed his hair but he was on target. An arrow streaked towards him, striking him on the shoulder, knocking him off course. He landed badly with excruciating pain ripping through his leg. He glimpsed his companions running towards him but a tall man striding towards him held his attention. Vainly, Lan drew his sword. He parried the first strike of his attacker and the second but his strength failed him third time round. Unprotected he was an easy target for his assailant. He drew back his foot a delivered a kick to the warrior's stomach but the Seanchan just smiled and struck him across the face with an armoured hand. Blood filled Lan's mouth as he stared up at the sword above his head.