As usual all speech in italics is in the Old Tongue.
Chapter CXL - A Cunning Plan
Rand didn't even blink as the team from the Hall simply obliterated the small group of channelers that had attacked them. They'd come in with every precaution, ready for the inevitable trap and it had been almost disappointing. He'd wanted to kill them himself and he hadn't even needed to channel.
It was too easy. There's something wrong.
Extensive anti-Traveling wards were already being spun by the Hall's team. No one would be able to hit him from a distance while he was here and if they wanted to face him head on. Well, he'd relish that.
They're not that incompetent, they want to strike at you, you could have dealt with those people by yourself without an angreal.
Lews Therin sounded worried. Rand wasn't in the mood for the man's offensive ramblings. He tuned the voice out. He'd been sensible, he'd brought back-up. Now he could allow himself at least a few minutes to mourn his father, to think of all the things he'd never had the chance to say to him, before he had to go back to being the Dragon Reborn.
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There were two aspirants on the gates to the Dragon's Palace, of course there were, a man and a woman there to apply a slicing web to anyone who came through. Moridin could have obliterated them with a thought. Or frankly, just gone straight through the walls, but he could not have young al'Thor's lover getting away so there had to be no warning.
Instead he spun the True Power, bathing in the familiar agonising ecstasy of it and forcing it into a web of compulsion that he laid over both of them. It might be unnecessary, but the only way he could hide the saa was with a web over his eyes. "Master Naelson, with a message for the the Head Steward about supplies."
The boy nodded, "He's clean. Please go through Master Naelson." It had not been a particularly heavy compulsion, but since he had used the True Power permanent damage was almost a certainty. Probably not before al'Thor ended everything though.
Now, to make his way to this Min. She should be easy enough to find with some of the advantages the Great Lord had given him. A calm, smooth entry and then a calm, smooth exit. No one the wiser until al'Thor returned.
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As Taija jogged through the streets of Caemlyn she mentally cursed the people who weren't getting out of her way fast enough. They'd move for Jaer. Why was the city so crowded anyway?!
It was fine, surely. No one would be so over-confident that they'd just attack right in the middle of Rand's centre of power, so close to the Hall. She sped up her jog a bit. Surely not.
It took her far too long to get to the Dragon's Palace, worry and frustration growing inside her. Taija felt some relief when she saw that the place wasn't in flames, two aspirants on guard at the gates as there should be.
They saw her coming and hurriedly bowed. "Taija sedai, is everything alright?" The girl hit her with the required slicing web and she quickly reapplied the webs concealing her channeling.
"I hope so, I need to see Min as soon as possible. Where is she?"
Of course they'd got no idea, but she was immediately assigned a servant to lead her. After a moment's thought Taija spun a web of concealment over herself, changing her appearance to that of an Andoran soldier. If one of the Forsaken was here she certainly didn't want them to spot her first.
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It was with some relief that Taija was led straight to Rand's chambers. There hadn't been any attack, no explosions, no nothing. Maybe she was just being paranoid. Fedwin was stood outside the door and jumped as Taija untied the web changing her appearance.
"Taija!"
"Check my identity first!" She snapped the words at him and he blushed and hit her with a slicing web. As Taija reapplied her webs she nodded, slightly mollified. "Right, don't forget that! Is Min inside?"
"Yes she is. Along with Setora and Nalil."
"Great, thank you." Taija pushed the door open and strode inside.
Everything was as it should have been. Min was sitting in there talking as she played some kind of dice game with a couple of maidens of the spear. The two Hall aes sedai were leaning against the wall, watching with vague interest and Cadsuane was knitting, because of course she was. Min looked up and frowned slightly, Taija still wasn't sure why she seemed to dislike her, but she was never rude so Taija gave her a polite bow before nodding her head to the other aes sedai in the room. "Sorry to bother you, I just heard what happened to Rand and I was worried so I came here."
"Oh." Min didn't seem to be quite sure what to say to that so she resorted to politeness. "Thank you Taija sedai, you're very welcome of course."
Taija gave her another, slightly awkward bow and then headed over to an empty corner, maybe she could go back to chewing over what she'd heard in Paral again since it seemed like she was just being paranoid.
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Taija wasn't sure how long she was lost in her introspection, but it suddenly came to an end when she heard a scream followed the whoomph of something catching fire. Light they were actually doing it! No. She couldn't panic. If they were here they thought they could take on a substantial force. She was already spinning, air in a solid barrier over the door, a quick and dirty ward tied to it. Taija gave Fedwin a silent apology, she could be sorry if she was lucky enough to survive.
"Get up! Is there another exit?"
Min looked confused as did the others, she was barely starting to register what was going on, but the maidens had sprung straight to their feet and Cadsuane was laying down her knitting. Of course she'd be more alert than she looked. Taija spared a tiny slither of thought to bemoan the Hall aes sedai's lack of experience, they were just children really.
One of the maidens shook her head. Stand and fight? One of the Forsaken, all them together. It could be a terminal mistake for them. The door exploded, the flames slamming into Taija's barrier of air and she had a moment to see a man, dressed in black before her ward detonated flinging him backwards. Not Demandred. Ishamael in his new body? Nope! She couldn't. She was going to die if she stood and fought.
Taija spun balefire carving it straight through the wall in front of her. "Run you idiots!" Her voice rose to a shriek.
Balefire speared back through the wall. Taija threw herself down under it just before it cut off suddenly. One of the Hall aes sedai, Nalil, was caught by it, just gone. Colours reversing and then fading. Thank fuck the maidens were more on the ball, they'd grabbed Min and were dragging her away at speed. "Go with them Cadsuane!"
"There's no exit there!" Taija spun saidar into flowing patterns, thick webs shooting out obliterating the wall in front, hurling liquid fire away from her. Setora's webs joined her, far weaker, but nothing to be trifled with.
"You're a fucking channeler Cadusane. Make one! I'll be right behind you!"
Deep, delighted laughter came from in front of her and Taija's webs were sliced. It hurt, far more than it should have, she stifled a whimper and clung on to saidar, even as she saw its light wink out from around Setora. Taija was backing away slowly moving towards the bedrooms, ready to run. Setora seemed to be frozen in place.
Despite the pain Taija didn't let up on her bombardment. "Come on Setora! Pull yourself together or you're a dead woman!" She couldn't afford to spare her more attention than that. Fire blasted back at her and Taija sliced it. Finally, Setora seemed to be moving.
Actually, he seemed to be holding back, if it really was Ishamael. Taija shouldn't have been able to go toe to toe with him, even with her angreal and he'd probably got one of his own. did he not want everyone in here dead?
Without any warning the fires winked out, but Setora was through the door to the bedroom and Taija was ready to follow her. Then the man in black stepped through the wreckage that used to be the wall. He looked delighted as his eyes landed on Taija. How were his eyes so black?! Taija spun balefire and he dived aside, but she took the opportunity to take a step backwards out of the room and complete the web she'd been preparing.
With a silent apology to anyone above her Taija spun water and earth together and ripped them, through the palace, reaching above the room and bringing four floors worth of rubble crashing down on it. Then she turned to run, grabbing Setora as she went.
As soon as Setora was moving Taija accelerated to a full sprint, there was a hole in the wall leading to a corridor, at least Cadsuane had made herself useful. But Taija could already see them turning a corner ahead of her. She spun a couple of nasty traps in the hole and sprinted after them. Behind her she heard a rumbling of moving stone. This was far too close to her last minutes in her own time, before everything went to shit. Please not again.
It was a matter of seconds to catch up with the the others. Why weren't they moving faster?! Didn't they understand what was happening?! A maiden nearly ran Taija through with her spear before realising who she was. "You need to move! Do you want to die?!" Taija couldn't keep the panic out of her voice. She didn't want to die, not like this, not again.
"I…"
Cadsuane cut Min off, "She cannot, something hit her ankle." Taija realised Min was being supported by one of the maidens as they went. Fuck. Couldn't Cadsuane just carry her with the Power?! Taija's mind was moving at lightning speed. Fuck. This was all wrong. Grim realisation ran through her. Rand needed Min if he was going to get through this. She knew what Ishamael wanted to do, it was obvious. She'd done her duty again and again. Trying to keep a bunch of children alive. What was one last time?
With a sick feeling in Taija's stomach she turned her attention to the maiden. did Ishamael have some way of tracking Min? She didn't know. A gamble, it was all she had, Min couldn't outrun him. She couldn't outfight him, not her and Cadsuane together. "Are you willing to die for the Chief of Chiefs?" She didn't have time to explain, all she could do was ask is if the maiden was willing to let her condemn her to death. Why did this have to happen?!
The maiden didn't hesitate. "Yes. Anything."
Taija immediately spun inverted saidar on her and Min, tying off the webs. Both of their appearances rippled, Min growing taller, Dedicated clothing appearing on her, a spear on her back. The maiden made the reverse transformation, shrinking into Min's form. "You're now Min, come with me. Cadsuane, get her out of here, carry her with the Power if you have to. Don't stop whatever you do. I'm going to try to lure him away." Taija turned to the maiden. "Follow me, just whatever you do don't forget that you're Min now." She'd probably killed the girl with this plan and she didn't even know her name.
Taija would have disguised herself and pretended to be Min, but Ishamael would never believe that Min would be left unescorted. It had to be either her or Cadsuane and she could at least hold him off for long enough for Cadsuane and Min to escape. Taija turned back the way she came, running for a few metres, and then blew a hole straight through the wall. The maiden followed after her, she'd even put on a limp. Taija slowed down a bit. Fuck. He was going to catch them. She needed him to catch them. Another hole. She needed to make it look like she was desperately fleeing while leaving a trail so obvious any idiot could follow it.
Taija thought she must have been somewhere in the servants' areas of the palace, a huge kitchen, thankfully empty of staff, when she heard the happy chuckle behind her and whirled to face him. "Min, run!" Thank the Light the maiden did as she was told and rather than something stupid like Taija half expected from these modern Dedicated. Like try to stab him with a spear or something.
Then her attention was taken completely by trying to survive. The longer she could hold him off the more likely help was to come, the more likely it was Cadsuane would be able to get the real Min out. Taija spun frantically. There was no holding back here, she drew as much as her angreal would let her. Fire and spirit sliced through webs all around her, a storm of saidar. At the same time she spun balefire, the blinding beam of pencil thick light spearing through where Ishamael had been just a moment ago.