Chapter LXXXVII - Elaida Strikes Back

The White Tower

"Under the Light and by my hope of salvation and rebirth, I vow that I will never use my position or power as a weapon except against Shadowspawn, or in the last extreme of defending my life or that of my bondmate or another Aes Sedai."

Elaida took the oath rod from Renosa. "It is half done, and the White Tower is graven on your bones. Rise now, Aes Sedai, and choose your Ajah, and all will be done that may be done under the Light." She helped her to her feet.

As the girl announced that she wished to join the Green Ajah and all eyes were on her, Elaida placed her own replacement for the oath rod on the gilded pillow beside her. She would need to move fast now though. The false oath rod that she and Reiko had created might pass muster for a small time. However, assuming that the Black Ajah were in fact using it, sooner or later they would discover that it had been substituted.

"Welcome home sister. We have waited long for you."

She had thought about using an illusion, but in hindsight Reiko had been correct, with the materials and resources available in the Tower and the use of the One Power, it had been simpler to essentially build their own facsimile, although of course theirs was no ter'angreal.

Renosa's eyes had been normal, excited and nervous, no sign of the evil that infected so many. Did that mean she was innocent or that she was already a darkfriend. Elaida did not know and it made her feel sick knowing that if the girl was no darkfriend there was nothing she could do to save her.

===========

The Hall of Servants

Tel raised his voice as he addressed the class. "Alright, well done everyone. Now, we're going to be practising slicing a woman's webs. Helena has kindly volunteered to provide the saidar for this class, so please do be grateful to her. It's never much fun having your webs cut."

When the Hall had first been set up he'd been stunned by how lucky he had been. That he could find something where he could contribute and actually enjoy himself, despite everything. Now…

They used to say that good things sometimes happened to bad people. That couldn't be more true in his case. He deserved none of this and yet here he was. It was like seeing the world in full colour again. He hadn't even realised how grey everything had felt until after he could see again.

He didn't deserve this, none of it. He hadn't even dared to dream that Taija might look at him again, but she had. He'd woken up next to her this morning. Another thing he neither deserved nor expected, but once she decided she wanted something woe betide anyone who got in her way.

Most people never got a second chance, whether they deserved it or not. He might not deserve his, but he would make sure that no one ever regretted giving it to him.

One of the initiates let out a squawk as Helena slipped a web past his defences and he felt a grin stealing its way across his face. One he truly felt, which hadn't been the case for a very long time.

========

Cairhien

One of the Cairhienin lords was droning on about something dull, but Eben made himself listen. Bennae sedai always said that if you listened you could learn far more than people expected, that there would be nuggets of useful information beneath the boring pleasantries.

The flow of words was stopped shortly afterwards by Bennae sedai's surprised exclamation. "Galina, I did not expect to see you here."

"Bennae, what a pleasant surprise." Eben's eyes were drawn to a woman in a red dress, her face marked with the agelessness of the Tower aes sedai, just like Bennae's. She didn't sound like she meant it. A moment later goosebumps popped up over his skin. Someone was holding saidar. He did the only thing he could think of and seized saidin, the world sharpening around him as he did.

For a second nothing happened, everyone stood there. This Galina and the mass of Cairhienin all looking unsurprised, contrasting with the worried looks on his party's faces.

Then Rand sedai broke the silence his body quivering with tension, hand frozen halfway to his sword, "I'm shielded!"

Eben's eyes snapped to Galina. She had a growing smirk on her face. Bennae's eyes were on her too. How many Tower aes sedai were there in the throng of Cairhienin nobles? The other initiates were stunned, confusion painted across their faces. He had to act.

Taija sedai's lessons came into his head, he could almost visualise her there in front of him. She never looked or sounded vague when she was lecturing. "If you're dealing with a link, strike hard and fast. They'll overwhelm you if you stay still. Be flexible, identify the leader and kill them first."

Before he had time to think it through he'd made a decision, spinning saidin. Earth, fire, water straight at this Galina.

She exploded. There was no warning. One second she was there, the next a spray of blood and viscera showered the people around her. Eben tried to push down on the panic bubbling inside him. He'd just killed someone. Just like that. He hadn't thought it would look like that. He wanted to be sick. She'd been there and now she wasn't. A person, just blood and guts and he'd done it. He didn't even know if she'd done anything. He was going to be sick… He was… Saidin fled him and he bent double, emptying his stomach onto the marble floor.

======

The moment Galina exploded Rand felt the shield and bonds of air vanish. He was already moving, drawing his sword and diving into the crowd. If he stayed still he'd be caught. There! He spun fire and an ageless face disappeared into flames. He sliced webs as they came towards him, dancing through the Cairhienin. He had aes sedai to hunt.

A nobleman went for his sword and Rand opened his throat with a flick. Something battered at his connection to saidin and he sliced it before turning an aes sedai into mush in a fist of air.

"Get them out of here! Back to the Hall!" He yelled as loudly as he could at Eben. A pair of warders, because that was all they could be with the way they moved, advanced on him, swords drawn. He deflected a blow, pivoted and sliced them in half with a web of air. He couldn't fight like this. He was hemmed in, fighting with one hand behind his back, not unless he was willing to wipe out half the noble houses in Cairhien.

Eben could Travel. He could get the initiates out, nobody would touch Bennae, he was the target, so if he could draw their attention away and then escape it would be fine. He'd move out, with several aes sedai already dead there probably wouldn't be enough to stop him now that he was fighting.

"Go Eben!" He lashed out with the Power, earth and fire ripping a hole in the wall. Another ageless face threw a fireball, he sent her tumbling into the crowd a bag of broken bones. Then he was through the hole he'd made and into the corridor, turning to face back into the room. Walking slowly backwards, away from the hole, he spotted a pair of aes sedai through it and sent a bar of fire carving straight through them. There'd be thirteen, but he and Eben had killed six between them. Seven would not be able to stop him. He would hold here until Eben got the initiates out and then he would follow. If Bennae didn't go with Eben they could come back for her with overwhelming force. Assuming she wanted to come. Assuming she wasn't part of this.

A web came through the gap, horrendously powerful, with a thought he sliced it. Where were the aes sedai in there? There must be another circle with that much strength. Had they brought 26? How hadn't he heard about this? Had the Cairhienin set him up?

He couldn't just blast indiscriminately, not with the initiates and civilians in there. A huge fireball came at him, blowing the hole wider as it passed. He snuffed it out with a thought, was that an aes sedai? He spun bolts of lightning sending high voltage electricity ripping through her. How many of these women were there? Two full circles?

Suddenly something crashed into his connection with saidin. Beating through it with inexorable force. He lashed out with spirit and fire to cut the web and hit nothing. No! Where? Behind? He whirled to face more ageless faces, set into grim determination. Too many, too many! He threw himself forward, if he could just get at them with his sword! The air turned solid around him, holding him in place.

=====

Eben heard Rand sedai's shout and pulled himself together, straightening up. He didn't have time for regrets, he needed to get the others out of here. They weren't trained for this kind of fight.

He seized saidin again and started to spin a gateway. It was slow, too slow. Right at the limit of his ability, but it started to form. Jaer stood beside him, indecision on his face. Didn't the Aiel have some sort of hang-up around the aes sedai?

Behind him a group of Aiel maidens burst into the room, their spears already bloody, leaping into action against the Cairhienin.

The web started to come together, he was spinning as fast as he could and then, without warning, it fizzled, in a bright shower of sparks. Wards? A moment later a shield slammed into him, easily cutting him off from the Power. He franticly looked around to see yet another group of ageless faced women had come in through the main doors, the maidens frozen in air or lying dead on the ground. Saidin winked out from Jaer and Noruan too. Then the women that had come with them gasped. They were all caught. Trussed up in spirit and air like birds for the pot.

As a hard faced man patted him down roughly, the only thought that comforted him was that at least Rand sedai and managed to get away. He would bring help, or just kill them all himself.

========

Bennae winced internally as young Rand was dragged back into the audience chamber. How many aes sedai had that fool woman sent here? Was she mad? There must be at least forty of them. The only comfort was that, based on the faces she saw, they had all left the Tower well before the turnings started.

She glanced around, technically she was not a prisoner, but she was well aware of how fine a distinction that might be. Saidar blazed around all of the aes sedai in the room. The living ones anyway, shields were held on the initiates and Rand. She had restrained herself of course, she had no desire to end up as collateral damage during the brief but bloody battle. However, now… after a moment's thought she embraced saidar too.

That got her a sharp look from Nesune. "You will release the Power Bennae, until we have established your involvement with this… travesty. You are walking on thin ice."

"Of course Nesune my apologies I will release it," as she spoke she sketched the start of a curtsy and achingly slowly wove an inverted web to conceal whether she was holding the Power around herself before tying it off. Taija did have the most wonderful tricks. If only they were not so hard to do at any speed. With the weave in place she released the Power, as she had said she would, and then promptly embraced it again, invisibly this time. The oaths could be such a flimsy shield.

She would watch and she would wait.