Nynaeve and Egwene are nearly assassinated by a Gray Man, and they have reason to believe he had an accomplice.
Nynaeve and Egwene head to the novices’ quarters. Elayne isn’t there, but Nynaeve says she needs to speak with them both. They’re heading into Egwene’s room when a crossbow bolt narrowly misses killing both of them. Nynaeve looks around and spots the shooter, whom she freezes in place with a weave of Air. When they reach his location, he has a dagger in his chest — so he must have had an accomplice. Footsteps approach, so Nynaeve releases her weave and allows the dead man to crumple to the ground. It’s Sheriam Sedai, aghast at finding a corpse in the novices’ quarters. Nynaeve decides it would invite unwanted questions if Sheriam knew the man wanted them dead. So she practices her Aes Sedai half-truths and simply says they found the him laying there.
Sheriam explains that this is a Gray Man — a Darkfriend who gave up his soul to serve the Dark One as an assassin. They are effective at the job because they’re so difficult to spot that most people don’t even see them. Sheriam covers the body with an opaque weave and instructs them to go to Nynaeve’s room. On the way, Nynaeve notes that it was strange how Sheriam didn’t wonder who stabbed the Gray Man. You see, this is why the Black Ajah investigation is doomed — of course Sheriam isn’t going to remark on who stabbed him, Nynaeve. You told her you just found the body laying there, so why the fuck would an Aes Sedai give two shits about who you think stabbed him?
A side note: this whole braid-tugging thing is getting out of control. I know this drove me crazy the first time I read the series, and it wasn’t so bad in the first two books. But in this book? The floodgates have opened. Nine fucking braid-tugs so far, and we’re only a quarter of the way through the book. Nynaeve, you’re on notice.