The Gathering Storm

Clever. Her allies had apparently heard of Verin's presence in Egwene's room and decided to use it as an excuse to get someone in. She unrolled the paper, which contained only one word. "Wait."

She sighed, but there was nothing to do. She didn't dare get out the book and continue reading, however. Soon, she heard voices outside, and what sounded like an argument. Another knock came at the door.

"Come," Egwene said, curious.

The door opened and Meidani stepped into the room. She pointedly closed the door on Turese. "Mother," she said, curtsying. The slender woman was wearing a tight gray dress which pulled a little too obviously across her ample chest. Had she been scheduled for a dinner with Elaida this evening? "I am sorry to keep you waiting."

Egwene waved dismissively. "How did you get past Turese?"

"It is known that Elaida . . . favors me with visits," she said. "And Tower law says that no prisoner can be forbidden visitors. She could not stop a sister from wishing to visit a simple novice, though she did try to make a point of arguing it."

Egwene nodded, and Meidani glanced at Verin, frowning. Then she paled. Verin's features had grown waxy and dull, and it was obvious that something was wrong. It was a good thing that Turese had never looked closely at the "sleeping" woman.

"Verin Sedai is dead," Egwene said, glancing at the door.

"Mother?" Meidani asked. "What happened? Where you attacked?"

"Verin Sedai was poisoned by a Darkfriend shortly before her conversation with me. She was aware of the poison, and came to pass on some important information to me during her last moments." It was incredible what a few true statements could conceal.

"Light!" Meidani said. "A murder inside the White Tower? We have to tell someone! Gather the guard and—"

"It will be dealt with," Egwene said firmly. "Keep your voice down and pull yourself together. I don't want the guard outside to hear what we are saying."

Meidani paled, then looked at Egwene, likely wondering how she could be so callous. Good. Let her see the collected, determined Amyrlin. As long as she didn't see a hint of the grief, confusion and anxiety inside.

"Yes, Mother." Meidani curtsied. "Of course. I apologize."

"Now, you bring news, I assume?'

"Yes, Mother," Meidani said, composing herself. "Saerin instructed me to come to you. She said you would need to know of the day's events."

"And I do," Egwene said, trying not to show her impatience. Light, but she'd already been able to figure out that part. Couldn't the woman get on with it? There were Black Ajah to deal with!

"Elaida is still Amyrlin," Meidani said, "but only by a hair. The Hall of the Tower met and censured her formally. They informed Elaida that the Amyrlin was not an absolute ruler, and that she couldn't continue to make decrees and demands without consulting them."

Egwene nodded. "Not an unexpected turn," she said. More than one Amyrlin had become only a figurehead because she'd overextended herself in a similar way. It was what Elaida had been heading for, and that would have been satisfactory, had these not been the end of days. "What of penance?"

"Three months," Meidani said. "One for what she did to you. Two for behavior unbecoming her station."

"Interesting," Egwene said, thoughtful.

"There were some who called for more, Mother. It seemed that for a moment she might be deposed right there."

"You were watching?" Egwene asked with surprise.

Meidani nodded. "Elaida asked for the proceedings to be Sealed to the Flame, but she gained no support in the move. I think that her own Ajah was behind that, Mother. All three of the Red's Sitters are out of the Tower. I still wonder where Duhara and the others went."

Duhara. A Black. What is she up to? And the other two? Were the three together, and if so, could the other two be Black as well?

She'd have to address that later. "How did Elaida take all of this?"

"She didn't say much, Mother," Meidani said. "She sat and watched, mostly. She didn't look very pleased; I was surprised she didn't start ranting."

"The Reds," Egwene said. "If she is really losing support in her own Ajah, they'd have warned her ahead of time not to make more waves."

"That was Saerin's assessment as well," Meidani replied. "She also noted that your own insistence that the Red Ajah not be allowed to fall—spread by a group of novices who overheard you—was part of what kept Elaida from being deposed."

"Well, I wouldn't mind her deposed," Egwene said. "I just didn't want the entire Ajah disbanded. Still, this might be for the best. Elaida's fall has to come in a way that doesn't tear the Tower down with her." Though, if Egwene could do it again, she might retract those words said earlier. She didn't want anyone to think that Egwene had been supporting Elaida. "I assume that Silviana's sentence has been dismissed?"

"Not completely, Mother," Meidani said. "She is being held as the Hall decides what to do to her. She still defied the Amyrlin in a very public way, and there is talk of penance."

Egwene frowned. It smelled of a compromise; Elaida had probably met in closed conference with the head of the Red Ajah—whoever that was, now that Galina had vanished—hashing out the details. Silviana would still be punished, although not as strongly, but Elaida would submit to the will of the Hall. It indicated that Elaida was on shaky ground, but that she could still make demands. Her support wasn't as completely eroded within her own Ajah as Egwene had hoped.

Still, this was a fortunate turn of events. Silviana would live, and Egwene—it appeared—would be allowed to return to her life as a "novice." The Sitters were displeased enough with Elaida to reprimand her. Given just a little more time, Egwene was confident she could get the woman overturned and the Tower reunited. But dared she spend that time?

She glanced at the table, where the precious books lay hidden from eyes. If she staged a mass assault on the Black Ajah, would that precipitate a battle? Would she destabilize the Tower even further? And could she realistically hope to strike at all of them like that? She needed time to consider the information. For now, that meant staying in the Tower and working against Elaida. And, unfortunately, that meant letting most of the Black sisters run free.

But not all of them. "Meidani," Egwene said. "I want you to report to the others. They must take Alviarin into captivity and test her with the Oath Rod. Tell them to take any reasonable risk to achieve it."

"Alviarin, Mother?" Meidani asked. "Why her?"

"She's Black," Egwene said, stomach turning. "And near the head of their organization in the Tower. This was the information Verin died to bring me."

Meidani paled. "Are you certain, Mother?"

"I'm confident in Verin's trustworthiness," Egwene said. "But it would still be advisable to have others remove, then replace, Alviarin's oaths and ask her if she's Black. Every woman should be given that chance to prove herself, no matter the evidence. You have the Oath Rod, I assume?"

"Yes," Meidani said. "We needed it to prove Nicola's trustworthiness; the others wanted to bring some Accepted and novices in, as they can run messages where sisters cannot go."

It was wise, considering the divisions among the Ajahs. "Why her?"

"Because of how often she speaks to the others about you, Mother," Meidani said. "It's well known that she's one of your greatest advocates among the novices."

It was odd to hear that of a woman who had effectively betrayed her, but the girl couldn't really be blamed for that, all things considered.

"They didn't let her swear all three oaths, of course," Meidani said. "She's not Aes Sedai. But she did take the oath about lying and proved herself not a Darkfriend. They removed the oath after."

"And you, Meidani?" Egwene asked. "Have they removed the fourth oath from you?"

The woman smiled. "Yes, Mother. Thank you."

Egwene nodded. "Go, then. Pass on my message. Alviarin must be taken." She glanced at Verin's body. "I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to take her with you as well. It will be better if she vanishes, as opposed to my having to explain her death in my room."

"But—"

"Use a gateway," Egwene said. "Skim if you don't know the area well enough."

Meidani nodded, then Embraced the Source.

"Weave something else, first," Egwene said thoughtfully. "It doesn't matter what; something that requires a lot of power. Perhaps one of the hundred weaves one takes in the test to become Aes Sedai."

Meidani frowned, but did as asked, weaving something very complicated and power-intensive. Soon after she began, Turese poked her head into the room suspiciously. The weave blocked her sight of Verin's face, fortunately, but Turese wasn't focused on the "sleeping" Brown. She focused on the weave, opening her mouth.

"She is showing me some of the weaves I will need to know if I take the test to become Aes Sedai," Egwene said curtly, cutting off Turese's words. "Is that forbidden?"

Turese glared at her, but pulled the door shut and withdrew.

"That was to prevent her from poking in and seeing the weaves for gateways," Egwene said. "Quickly now. Take the body. When Turese looks in again, I will tell her the truth—that you and Verin left through a gateway."

Meidani glanced at Verin's corpse. "But what should we do with the body?"

"Whatever seems appropriate," Egwene said, growing testy. "I'll leave that to you. I don't have the time to deal with it now. And take that cup with you; the tea is poisoned. Dispose of it carefully."

Egwene glanced at her flickering candle; it was burned nearly all the way down to the table itself. To the side, Meidani sighed softly, then created a gateway. Weaves of Air moved Verin's body in through the opening, and Egwene watched her go with a pang of regret. The woman had deserved better. Someday, it would be known what she had suffered and what she had accomplished. But not for a time yet.

Once Meidani was gone with the corpse and the tea, Egwene lit another candle, then lay down on her bed, trying not to think of the body that had occupied it previously. She relaxed herself, thinking of Siuan. The woman would be going to sleep soon. She needed to be warned about Sheriam and the others.

Egwene opened her eyes in Tel'aran'rhiod. She was in her room, or at least the dream version of it. The bed was made, the door closed. She changed her dress to that of a stately green gown fitting an Amyrlin, then moved herself to the Tower's Spring Garden. Siuan wasn't there yet, but it was probably still a little early for their meeting.

Here, at least, one could see none of the filth that piled up in the city or the corruption that worked at the roots of Ajah unity. The Tower gardeners moved like natural forces, planting, cultivating, and harvesting as Amyrlins rose and fell. The Spring Garden was smaller than most of the other Tower gardens; it was a triangular plot of land pressed between two walls. Perhaps in another city, this plot would have been used for storage or simply filled in with stone. But in the White Tower, both options would have been unsightly.