“Well, you can let them ride on back to our camp, and we’ll be on our way.”
The young Whitecloak turned his mount to the side, scowling. “We have unfinished business, Darkfriend.”
“No need for this to turn nasty, Bornhald,” Perrin said. “The way I see it, we can still each go our own way.”
“The Children would rather die than leave justice undone,” Dain said, then spat to the side. “But I will leave that for the Lord Captain Commander to explain. He wishes to see you for himself. I have been ordered to come and tell you that he is waiting beside the road a short ride ahead. He would like you to meet with him.”
“You think I’m going to walk into such an obvious trap?” Perrin asked.
Bornhald shrugged. “Come or do not. My Lord Captain Commander is a man of honor, and swears by oath you will return safely—which is more than I’d have given a Darkfriend. You may bring your Aes Sedai, if you have them, for safety.” With that, Bornhald turned his mount and galloped away.
Perrin stood thoughtfully, watching him retreat.
“You’re not really thinking of going, are you, son?” Tam asked.
“I’d rather know for certain who I’m facing,” Perrin said. “And we did ask for parley. Maybe bargain for our people back. Burn me, Tam. I have to at least try before attacking them.”
Tam sighed, but nodded.
“He mentioned Aes Sedai,” Perrin said, “but not Asha’man. I’ll bet he doesn’t know much about them. Go have Grady dress like a Two Rivers man and tell him to report to me, along with Gaul and Sulin. Ask Edarra if she’ll join us too. But don’t tell my wife about this. We five will go on ahead and see if the Whitecloaks will really meet with us peacefully. If something goes wrong, we’ll have Grady ready to get us out by gateway.”
Tam nodded and hurried away. Perrin waited nervously until Tam returned with Gaul, Sulin and Edarra. Grady came a few minutes later, wearing a brown wool cloak and brown and green clothing borrowed from one of the Two Rivers men. He carried a longbow, but walked like a soldier, with his back straight, his eyes keen as he looked about him. There was a particular air of danger to him that no common villager would bear. Hopefully, it wouldn’t spoil the disguise.
The six of them broke away from camp, and blessedly, Faile didn’t seem to have heard what was happening. Perrin would bring her if there was a longer parley or discussion, but he intended this trip to be quick, and he needed to be able to move without worrying about her.
They went on foot, and found the Whitecloaks a short distance ahead down the road. There looked to be only about a dozen of them, standing near a small tent that had been set up beside the road. They were upwind, which relaxed Perrin a little. He caught scents of anger and disgust, but it didn’t feel like a trap to him.
As he and the others neared, someone stepped from the small tent, wearing white. The tall man had fine features and short, dark hair. Most women would probably call him handsome. He smelled…better than the other Whitecloaks. They had a wild scent to them, like that of a rabid animal. This leader of theirs smelled calm, and not sickly at all.
Perrin glanced toward his companions.
“I do not like this, Perrin Aybara,” Edarra said, looking from side to side. “These Children have a sense of wrongness about them.”
“Archers could hit us from those trees,” Tam said with a grunt, nodding to a stand in the distance.
“Grady, you’re holding the Power?” Perrin asked.
“Of course.”
“Be ready, just in case,” Perrin said, then stepped forward toward the small group of Whitecloaks. Their leader studied Perrin with hands clasped behind his back. “Golden eyes,” the man said. “So it is true.”
“You’re the Lord Captain Commander?” Perrin asked.
“I am.”
“What will it take for you to release the people of mine you’re holding?”
“My men tell me they tried such an exchange once,” the Whitecloak leader said. “And that you deceived them and betrayed them.”
“They had kidnapped innocents,” Perrin said. “And demanded my life in return. Well, I took my people back. Don’t force me to do the same thing here.”
The Whitecloak leader narrowed his eyes. He smelled thoughtful. “I will do what is right, Goldeneyes. The cost is irrelevant. My men tell me you murdered several Children a few years back, and have never known justice for it. That you lead Trollocs to attack villages.”
“Your men are not very reliable,” Perrin said with a growl. “I want a more formal parley, where we can sit down and discuss. Not something improvised like this.”
“I doubt that will be needed,” the Whitecloak leader said. “I am not here to bargain. I merely wanted to see you for myself. You wish your people freed? Meet my army on the field of battle. Do this, and I will release the captives, regardless of the outcome. They are obviously not soldiers. I will let them go.”
“And if I refuse?” Perrin asked.
“Then it will not bode…well for their health.”
Perrin ground his teeth.
“Your force will face ours under the Light,” the Whitecloak leader said. “Those are our terms.”
Perrin glanced to the side. Grady met his eyes, and there was an obvious question in them. He could take the Whitecloak leader captive right here, with barely a thought.
Perrin was tempted. But they had come under the Whitecloak’s oath of safety. He would not break the peace. Instead, he turned, and led his people back toward his camp.
Galad watched Aybara withdraw. Those golden eyes were unsettling. He had discounted Byar’s insistence that this man was not merely a Darkfriend, but Shadowspawn. However, looking into those eyes, Galad was no longer certain he could dismiss those claims.
To the side, Bornhald let out a breath. “I can’t believe you wanted to do this. What if he had brought Aes Sedai? We couldn’t have stopped the One Power.”
“They would not have harmed me,” Galad said. “And besides, if Aybara had the ability to assassinate me here with the One Power, he could have done the same to me in my camp. But if he is as you and Child Byar say, then he worries greatly about his image. He didn’t lead Trollocs against the Two Rivers directly. He pretended to defend them.” Such a man would act with subtl
