A Memory of Light

these events, and other oddities, as something far worse.
    The world was unraveling.
    She needed to be strong. Pevara herself had devised the plan of bringing women here to bond these men, though Tarna had suggested it. She couldn’t let them discover how disturbing she found it to be trapped in here, facing down enemies who could force a person to the Shadow. Her only allies men who, only months ago, she would have pursued with diligence and gentled without remorse.
    She sat down on the stool Emarin had used earlier. “I would like to discuss this ‘plan’ you are developing.”
    “I’m not sure I’ve actually developed one yet, Aes Sedai.”
    “I might be able to offer some suggestions.”
    “I wouldn’t say no to hearing them,” Androl said, though he narrowed his eyes.
    “What’s wrong?” she asked.
    “Those people outside. I don’t recognize them. And . . .”
    She looked back out the window. The only light came from buildings, shining an occasional red-orange glow into the drenched night. The passersby still moved very slowly down the street, in and out of the light of windows.
    “Their clothing isn’t wet,” Androl whispered.
    With a chill, Pevara realized he was right. The man at the front walked with a wide-brimmed, drooping hat on his head, but it didn’t break the rain or stream water. His rustic clothing was untouched by the downpour. And the dress of the woman beside him wasn’t blowing at all in the wind. Now Pevara saw that one of the younger men was holding his hand behind him, as if pulling the reins of a pack animal—but there was no animal there.
    Pevara and Androl watched in silence until the figures passed too far into the night to be seen. Visions of the dead were growing increasingly common.
    “You said you had a suggestion?” Androl’s voice trembled.
    “I . . . Yes.” Pevara tore her eyes away from the window. “So far, Taim’s focus has been on the Aes Sedai. My sisters have all been taken. I am the last.”
    “You’re offering yourself as bait.”
    “They will come for me,” she said. “It is only a matter of time.”
    Androl fingered the leather strap and looked pleased with it. “We should sneak you out.”
    “Is that so?” she said, eyebrow raised. “I have been elevated to the position of maiden in need of rescue, have I? Very valiant of you.”
    He blushed. “Sarcasm? From an Aes Sedai? I wouldn’t have thought I’d hear that.”
    Pevara laughed. “Oh my, Androl. You really don’t know anything about us, do you?”
    “Honestly? No. I’ve avoided your kind for most of my life.”
    “Well, considering your . . . innate tendencies, perhaps that was wise.
    I couldn’t channel before.”
    “But you suspected. You came here to learn.”
    “I was curious,” he said. “It’s something I hadn’t tried before.”
    Interesting, Pevara thought. Is that what drives you then, leatherworker? What has set you drifting on the winds, from place to place?
    “I suspect,” she said, “you have never tried jumping off a cliff before. The fact that you haven’t done something shouldn’t always be a reason to try it.
    Actually, I have jumped off a cliff. Several of them.”
    She raised an eyebrow at him.
    “The Sea Folk do it,” he explained. “Off into the ocean. The braver you are, the higher the cliff you choose. And you have changed the topic of the conversation again, Pevara Sedai. You are quite skilled at that.”
    “Thank you.”
    “The reason,” he said, holding up a finger, “that I suggested we sneak you out is because this isn’t your battle. You shouldn’t have to fall here.”
    “It isn’t because you want to hurry an Aes Sedai away, out of meddling in your business?”
    “I came to you for help,” Androl said. “I don’t want to be rid of you; I’ll happily use you. However, if you fall here, you do so in a fight that is not your own. That isn’t fair.”
    “Let me explain something to you, Asha’man,” Pevara said, leaning in. “This is my fight. If the Shadow takes this tower, it will mean terrible things for the Last Battle. I have accepted responsibility for you and yours; I will not turn away from it so easily.”
    “You’ve accepted responsibility’ for us? What does that mean?”
    Ah, perhaps I shouldn’t have shared that. Still, if they were going to be allies, perhaps he needed to know.
    “The Black Tower needs guidance,” she explained.
    “So that’s the point of bonding us?” Androl asked. “So we