"What if they are true, Bair?" Aviendha found herself asking. "What if there isn’t anything we can do?"
Bair turned. "You saw your children, you said?"
Aviendha nodded. She hadn’t spoken in detail of that segment of the vision. It had seemed more personal to her.
"Change one of their names", Bair said. "Never speak of the name that child was called in the vision, not even to us. Then you shall know. If one thing is different, then others may be different as well. Will be different. This is not our fate, Aviendha. It is a path we will avoid. Together".
Aviendha found herself nodding. Yes. A simple change, a small change, but full of meaning. "Thank you, Bair".
The aging Wise One nodded to her, then stepped through the gateway, running in the night toward the city ahead.
Talmanes threw his shoulder against a hulking, boar-faced Trolloc in crude chain armor. The beast smelled horrid, like smoke, wet fur and unwashed flesh. It grunted at the force of Talmanes’ assault; the things always seemed surprised when he attacked them.
Talmanes pulled back, ripping his sword out of the beast’s side as it collapsed. He then lunged forward and rammed his sword into its throat, heedless of its ragged fingernails scratching at his legs. Life faded from the beady, too-human eyes.
Men fought, called, grunted, killed. The street ran up a steep incline toward the Palace. Trolloc hordes had entrenched here, holding position and keeping the Band from reaching the top.
Talmanes sagged against the side of a building—the one next to it was on fire, lighting the street with violent colors and bathing him in heat. Those fires seemed chilly compared to the flaring, horrible pain of his wound. The flare ran down his leg to his foot and was beginning to work its way across his shoulder.
Blood and bloody ashes, he thought. What I’d give for another few hours with my pipe and book, alone and peaceful. The people who spoke of glorious death in battle were complete flaming fools. There was nothing glorious about dying in this mess of fire and blood. Give him a quiet death any day.
Talmanes pushed himself back up to his feet, drops of sweat falling from his face. Below, Trollocs amassed themselves behind his rear position. They had closed the road behind Talmanes’ force, but Talmanes was able to proceed, cutting through the Trollocs ahead.
Retreat would be difficult to pull off. As well as this roadway being full of Trollocs, fighting in the city meant that Trollocs could wind through the streets in small groups and attack his flanks, as they advanced and later when they retreated.
"Throw everything you’ve got at them, men!" he bellowed, hurling himself up the street and into the Trollocs blocking the way up. The Palace was quite close now. He caught a goat-faced Trollocs sword on his shield right before it would have taken off Dennel’s head. Talmanes tried to shove the beast’s weapon back, but Light, Trollocs were strong. Talmanes barely kept this one from throwing him to the ground as Dennel recovered and attacked its thighs, bringing it down.
Melten fell in beside Talmanes. The Borderlander was true to his word to stay close, in case Talmanes needed a sword to end his life. The two led the push up the hill. The Trollocs began to give, then rallied, a snarling, roaring heap of dark fur, eyes and weapons in the firelight.
There were so many of them.
"Steady!" Talmanes yelled. "For Lord Mat and the Band of the Red Hand!"
If Mat were here, he would probably curse a lot, complain as much, then proceed to save them all with some battlefield miracle. Talmanes couldn’t reproduce Mat’s blend of insanity and inspiration, but his yell did seem to encourage the men. The ranks tightened. Gavid arrayed his two dozen crossbowmen—the last Talmanes had with him—atop a building that hadn’t burned away. They started driving flight after flight of bolts into the Trollocs.
That might have broken human enemies, but not Trollocs. The bolts dropped a few, but not as many as Talmanes would have hoped.
There’s another Fade back there, Talmanes thought. Pushing them forward. Light, I can’t fight another. I shouldn’t have fought the one I did!
He shouldn’t be on his feet. Melten’s flask of brandy was gone, long since drained to deaden what it could. His mind was already as fuzzy as he dared allow. He fell in with Dennel and Londraed at the front, fighting, concentrating. Letting Trolloc blood out onto the cobbles to stream down the hillside.
The Band gave a good fight of it, but they were outnumbered and exhausted. Down below, another Trolloc fist joined the ones on the street behind him.
That was it. He would have to either hit that force behind—turning his back on the one in front—or break his men into smaller units and send them retreating through side streets to regroup at the gate below.
Talmanes prepared to give the orders.
"Forward the White Lion!" voices yelled. "For Andor and the Queen!" Talmanes spun as men in white and red broke through the Trolloc lines atop the hill. A second force of Andoran pikemen poured out of a side alleyway, coming in behind the Trolloc horde that had just surrounded him. The Trollocs broke before the oncoming pikemen, and in moments the entire mass—like a pus-filled blister—burst, Trollocs scattering in all directions.
Talmanes stumbled back. Momentarily he had to prop himself up with his sword as Madwin took command of the counterstrike and his men killed many of the fleeing Trollocs.
A group of officers in bloodied Queens Guard uniforms rushed down the hillside; they didn’t look any better than the Band. Guybon led them. "Mercenary", he said to Talmanes, "I thank you for showing up".
Talmanes frowned. "You act as if we saved you. From my perspective, it happened the other way around".
Guybon grimaced in the firelight. "You gave us some respite; those Trollocs were attacking the Palace gates. I apologize for taking so long to reach you—we didn’t realize, at first, what had drawn them in this direction".
"Light. The Palace still stands?"
"Yes", Guybon said. "We’re full of refugees, though".
"What of channelers?" Talmanes asked, hopeful. "Why haven’t the Andoran armies returned with the Queen?"
"Darkfriends". Guybon frowned. "Her Majesty took most of the Kinswomen with her, the strongest ones at least. She left four with enough power to make a gateway together, but—the attack—an assassin killed two of them before the other two could stop him. Alone, the two aren’t strong enough to send for help. They’re using their strength to Heal".
"Blood and bloody ashes", Talmanes said, though he felt a stab of hope as he said it. Perhaps these women could not make a gateway, but they might be able to Heal his wound. "You should lead the refugees out of the city, Guybon. My men hold the southern gate".
"Excellent", Guybon said, straightening. "But you will have to lead the refugees. I must defend the Palace".
Talmanes raised an eyebrow at him; he didn’t take orders from Guybon. The Band had its own command structure, and reported only to the Queen. Mat had made that clear when accepting the contract.
Unfortunately, Guybon didn’t take orders from Talmanes, either. Talmanes took a deep breath, but then wavered, dizzy. Melten grabbed his arm to keep him from toppling over.
Light, but it hurt. Couldn’t his side just do the decent thing and grow numb? Blood and bloody ashes. He needed to get to those Kinswomen. Talmanes said hopefully, "Those two women who can Heal?"
"I have sent for them already", Guybon said. "As soon as we saw this force here".
Well, that was something.
"I do mean to stay here", Guybon warned. "I wont abandon this post".
"Why? The city is lost, man!"
"The Queen ordered us to send regular reports through gateways", Guybon said. "Eventually, she’s going to wonder why we haven’t sent a messenger. She will send a channeler to see why we haven’t reported, and that messenger will arrive at the Palace’s Traveling ground. It—"
"My Lord!" a voice called. "My Lord Talmanes!"
Guybon cut off, and Talmanes turned to find Filger—one of the scouts—scrambling up the bloodied cobbles of the hillside toward him. Filger was a lean man with thinning hair and a couple of days’ worth of scruff, and the sight of him filled Talmanes with dread. Filger was one of those they’d left guarding the city gate below.
"My Lord", Filger said, panting, "the Trollocs have taken the city walls. They’re packing the ramparts, loosing arrows or spears at anyone who draws too close. Lieutenant Sandip sent me to bring you word".
"Blood and ashes! What of the gate?"
"We’re holding", Filger said. "For now".
"Guybon", Talmanes said, turning back. "Show some mercy, man; someone needs to defend that gate. Please, take the refugees out and reinforce my men. That gate will be our only method of retreat from the city".
"But the Queen’s messenger—"
"The Queen will figure out what bloody happened once she thinks to look here. Look about you! Trying to defend the Palace is madness. You don’t have a city any longer, but a pyre".
Guybon’s face was conflicted, his lips a tight line.
"You know I’m right", Talmanes said, his face twisted in pain. "The best thing you can do is reinforce my men at the southern gate to hold it open for as many refugees as can reach it".
"Perhaps", Guybon said. "But to let the Palace burn?"
"You can make it worth something", Talmanes said. "What if you left some soldiers to fight at the Palace? Have them hold off the Trollocs as long as they can. That will draw the Trollocs away from the people escaping out this way. When they can hold no longer, your soldiers can escape the Palace grounds on the far side, and make their way around to the southern gate".
"A good plan", Guybon said, grudgingly. "I will do as you suggest, but what of you?"
"I have to get to the dragons", Talmanes said. "We cant let them fall to the Shadow. They’re in a warehouse near the edge of the Inner City. The Queen wanted them kept out of sight, away from the mercenary bands outside. I have to find them. If possible, retrieve them. If not, destroy them".
"Very well", Guybon said, turning away, looking frustrated as he accepted the inevitable. "My men will do as you suggest; half will lead the refugees out, then help your soldiers hold the southern gate. The other half will hold the Palace a little longer, then withdraw. But I’m coming with you.
"Do we really need so many lamps in here?" the Aes Sedai demanded from her stool at the back of the room. It might as well have been a throne. "Think of the oil you’re wasting".
"We need the lamps". Androl grunted. Night rain pelted the window, but he ignored it, trying to focus on the leather he was sewing. It would be a saddle. At the moment, he was working on the girth that would go around the horse’s belly.
He poked holes into the leather in a double row, letting the work calm him. The stitching chisel he used made diamond-shaped holes—he could use the mallet on them for speed, if he wanted, but right now he liked the feel of pressing the holes without it.