“Please,” he whispered. “Please, open. We need to get out of here…”
Evin fell to Taim’s weave.
“What was that?” Taim bellowed.
“I don’t know,” Mishraile said. “Evin attacked us! He had been talking to the pageboy, and—”
Both spun toward Androl. Androl stopped trying to make the gateway, instead flinging a weave of fire in desperation toward Taim.
Taim smiled. By the time Androl’s tongue of fire reached him, it vanished into a weave of Air and Water that dissipated it.
“You are a persistent one,” Taim said, slamming Androl against the wall with a weave of Air.
Androl gasped in pain. Emarin stumbled dizzily to his feet, but a second weave of Air knocked him down. Dazed, Androl felt himself hoisted up and pulled across the room.
The ugly woman wearing black stepped out of the circle of Aes Sedai and walked up beside Taim. “So, M’Hael,” she said. “You are not nearly as in control of this place as you indicated.”
“I have inferior tools,” Taim said. “I should have been given more women earlier!”
“You ran your Asha’man to exhaustion,” the woman replied. “You squandered their strength. I will take charge here.”
Taim stood on the dais, beside Logain’s slumped form, the women and the Fades. He seemed to consider this woman, perhaps one of the Forsaken, a greater threat than anyone else in the room.
“You think that will work, do you?” Taim asked. “When the Nae’blis hears of how you are bungling—”
“The Nae’blis? I care not for Moridin. I have already provided a gift to the Great Lord himself. Beware, I am in his favor. I hold the keys in my hands, Hessalam.”
“You mean… you actually did it? You stole them?”
Taim smiled. He turned back to Androl, who hung in the air, struggling without success. He wasn’t shielded. He flung another weave at Taim, but the man blocked it indifferently.
Androl wasn’t even worth shielding. Taim dropped him from the weaves of Air. Androl hit the ground hard. He grunted.
“How long have you trained here, Androl?” Taim asked. “You shame me. That is the best you can do when trying to kill?”
Androl struggled to his knees. He felt pain and worry from Pevara behind, her mind clouded with forkroot. In front of him, Logain sat on his throne, locked in place, surrounded by the enemy. The man’s eyes were closed; he was barely conscious.
“We are done here,” Taim said. “Mishraile, kill these captives. We will take those above and carry them to Shayol Ghul. The Great Lord has promised me more resources for my work there.”
Taim’s lackeys approached. Androl looked up from his knees. The darkness grew all around, shapes moving in the shadows. The darkness… it terrified him. He had to let go of saidin, he had to. And yet, he could not.
He had to begin weaving.
Taim glanced at him, then smiled and wove balefire.
Shadows, all around!
Androl clung to the Power.
The dead, they come for me!
He wove by instinct, the best weave he knew. A gateway. He hit that wall, that blasted wall.
So tired. Shadows… Shadows will take me.
A white-hot bar of light sprang from Taim’s fingers, pointed right at Androl. Androl shouted, straining, thrusting his hands forward and snapping his weave into place. He hit that wall and heaved.
A gateway the width of a coin opened in front of him. He caught the stream of balefire in it.