Tarasin Palace, Ebou Dar [late afternoon, Taisham 19]
When Mat had said "We're bloody well getting out of here" in the Rahad, he'd meant for it to carry on until the entire party was out of Ebou Dar. If he'd had his preference (and not that the Aes Sedai had asked), he wouldn't have stopped for more than a wave at the palace as they headed out of town.
But nooooooooo. Without his consent (or knowledge, if he was being honest), Nynaeve and Elayne had made some sort of bloody agreement with the Sea Folk of all people to use the Bowl, and so they'd sat around waiting for them to show up, and engage in pointless posturing, and finally Mat had completely lost his temper at all of them.
So now he was herding fifty women (which seemed more like herding bloody cats and no, he wouldn't be thinking that anywhere Karla might hear it) toward the bloody courtyard, hoping that he wouldn't have to follow up on his threat of tying them all to pack horses and dragging them out of town. He kept glancing into the sky--the storm felt like it would break at any moment--and was looking around for his friends from Fandom in the throngs of people, horses, and trunks of clothing.
He caught Arthur's eye just as the first flash of lightning shot across the sky. To his shock, most of the women in the group looked up at the exact same moment to watch it.
"Channeling," Nynaeve said, going white.
"Seanchan," Elayne added.
"Blood and flaming ashes," Mat said, staring at his friends. "Elayne, I need a gateway, and right bloody now." He lowered his voice. "Merlin can channel."
Her blue eyes went wide for a second, but she prepared the weave as Mat closed the distance between the gateway preparation area and the people who'd visited him. "This is where we say our goodbyes, I fear," he said, trying to keep the tension from his voice, and coming fairly close. "The weather is about to shift for the worse. I think it's probably a good time for you to catch your portals." He gestured at Elayne. "She'll set you on your way." He took his hat off to ruffle his hand through his hair. "And thank you. All of you. I don't know what would have happened this morning without your assistance, but I can't imagine even my luck would have held against whatever that man was."
But nooooooooo. Without his consent (or knowledge, if he was being honest), Nynaeve and Elayne had made some sort of bloody agreement with the Sea Folk of all people to use the Bowl, and so they'd sat around waiting for them to show up, and engage in pointless posturing, and finally Mat had completely lost his temper at all of them.
So now he was herding fifty women (which seemed more like herding bloody cats and no, he wouldn't be thinking that anywhere Karla might hear it) toward the bloody courtyard, hoping that he wouldn't have to follow up on his threat of tying them all to pack horses and dragging them out of town. He kept glancing into the sky--the storm felt like it would break at any moment--and was looking around for his friends from Fandom in the throngs of people, horses, and trunks of clothing.
He caught Arthur's eye just as the first flash of lightning shot across the sky. To his shock, most of the women in the group looked up at the exact same moment to watch it.
"Channeling," Nynaeve said, going white.
"Seanchan," Elayne added.
"Blood and flaming ashes," Mat said, staring at his friends. "Elayne, I need a gateway, and right bloody now." He lowered his voice. "Merlin can channel."
Her blue eyes went wide for a second, but she prepared the weave as Mat closed the distance between the gateway preparation area and the people who'd visited him. "This is where we say our goodbyes, I fear," he said, trying to keep the tension from his voice, and coming fairly close. "The weather is about to shift for the worse. I think it's probably a good time for you to catch your portals." He gestured at Elayne. "She'll set you on your way." He took his hat off to ruffle his hand through his hair. "And thank you. All of you. I don't know what would have happened this morning without your assistance, but I can't imagine even my luck would have held against whatever that man was."