First of all, I want to thank you dear guest for your review. You have no idea how happy I was to read it. Thank you, thank you, thank you (and thank you very much for your advice. I will definitely publish this story on other platforms as well). I hope you and everyone else will like the second half of this story as well. Now that we have Rand back, it is time to concentrate on getting Moiraine's powers back. But it's a long way to Tar Valon…
Egwene, Perrin, and Loial were all very happy when they heard that they would leave the Aiel in the morning. No one had felt very welcomed, and the stories about these strong warriors were stuck in their heads.
Mother Fiosä gave Rand the advice to stay close to Moiraine as long as the bond existed. And she suggested taking the fastest way to Tar Valon. The sooner this bond was gone, the better it was for everyone.
Grievan's men escorted the little group back to the spine of the world, then they were back on familiar ground, and Lan took the lead. Tar Valon was at least a week away, and since the Trollocs had invaded the Ways, there was no way that they could use them again.
At least this time, they didn't have to rest as soon as the sun was starting to settle down. And Rand and Moiraine started to look better with every day that passed since they were able to sleep peacefully through the night. On the first night, Egwene had tried to snuggle up with Rand, but he didn't want her close while he was sleeping. He didn't know what he would do during his sleep and didn't want to endanger her.
On the second night, Nynaeve started to keep Lan company, while he was securing their camp. They even used the time and took some walks, while they talked, just like they did this night. Tar Valon was still days away, and if the wisdom was honest to herself, she didn't want to arrive at the White Tower too soon. It would mean that Egwene and herself would become novices, and that was something that scared her. All this time, she had assumed that Moiraine would be there with them. And as much as she despised the woman, Nynaeve had relied on the knowledge that there would be one Aes Sedai, who they would be able to talk to if things would go wrong. But now, she knew about Moiraine's exile and that was scaring her.
"Are you alright?" Lan looked at her closely, while they were walking through the woods. This night, they had camped inside a forest, and Lan wanted to know all the weak spots he had to cover if an attack should happen.
"I was thinking."
"About what?"
"When we return to Tar Valon, what will you do? Moiraine got exiled from the tower, so, this probably includes you. But your quest is over. Rand fought against the Dark One and won. What will you do next?"
"Did Rand win?"
"He went to the eye of the world with Moiraine. They both said that he fought against him. What…?"
"And still he appears in Rand's dreams."
Nynaeve opened her mouth, but then she stopped. Lan was right. Although Rand had fought at the eye of the world, the Dark One was still torturing him. And he had created this bond between Moiraine and Rand, which was also still intact. All of those things should be impossible if the Dark One was truly dead or at least defeated. "What does this mean for you?"
"I don't know yet. I will have to talk to Moiraine about it, as soon as we have dealt with this situation."
"Do you think that she will continue? She can't channel anymore."
"And you really think that this will stop her?" Lan chuckled at the thought of his stubborn Aes Sedai slowing down.
Nynaeve glared at him angrily, while she absently rubbed her chest. For a few minutes now, she had this weird feeling of being pulled somewhere, which she tried to ignore, but it was still there. Lan noticed her movement and tilted his head questionably. "If you don't stop doing that you will rub yourself a hole into your chest."
"Hm?" The wisdom hadn't listened to him. Lan stepped in front of her and took her hand into his.
"What is bothering you?"
"I… I don't know how to… describe it."
"Can I do anything?"
"It's… I have this feeling as if something is… calling me. As if my body is supposed to… go somewhere. Light, I sound like a lunatic." Nynaeve laughed, but when she looked at Lan's face and saw that his stoic mask was back in place, her laughter faded. "What is it?"
"Something is calling you?"
"Well, there is this pull that… I don't know. I've never felt this before." Suddenly, Lan turned around and pulled her back to their camp. Nynaeve did her best to follow him, but he was fast. "Lan! What is going on?!"
"We need to leave!" They reached the camp, where everyone was gathered around the fire. They looked up when Lan and Nynaeve almost stumbled over them. "Pack your stuff! We need to leave immediately!" Lan saw Egwene and Rand, who were also rubbing their chests, then his eyes searched for Moiraine. But she wasn't there! "Where is Moiraine?!"
"She left a few minutes ago and didn't tell us where she went." Egwene pointed behind her. "We assumed that she would search for you."
"Damn it!" The warder started to run in the direction, Egwene had shown him. "Get up and pack everything!" His feet carried him as fast as possible, but there was still no sign of his Aes Sedai.
'Where are you, Moiraine?!'
Lan kept running until he finally saw a glimpse of her blue cloak in front of him. "Moiraine!" He quickened his pace once more. He needed to be faster. If he wouldn't reach her in time… A big barrel came into his sight and it had no lid. Moiraine had almost reached it and her hand was already reaching out for the black liquid, which was inside the barrel. Lan knew that he couldn't be gentle with her. Not this time.
When he had closed the distance, he crushed into her and threw her on the ground. She groaned in pain, but he couldn't care about it now. They had to run as far away as possible.
"Let me go.", Moiraine whined and tried to move under him. Her fingers reached out for the barrel again, so, Lan grabbed her hand and pulled it to him.
"Resist, Moiraine. You can't touch it."
"I can't. It calls for me."
Lan jumped to his feet, then he pulled her up as well before he quickly threw her over his shoulder. He wouldn't allow her to touch the substance. His stomach was burning when he thought about how close she had been to touch it. Why had no one called for him, when she had disappeared without saying anything? They had to be way more careful.
Slowly, he moved backward, while his eyes were searching for enemies. Where were they? Did they just drop the barrels and then left? How many barrels did they drop?
"Lan." Moiraine's painful voice pulled him out of his thoughts. She had grabbed his tunic since it was the only thing, she was able to do. Quickly, Lan turned around and ran back to their camp.
Relieved, Lan noticed that the others had obeyed. Everything was packed, even Moiraine's and his stuff, and already on their horses back. Nynaeve furrowed her forehead when she saw that Lan was carrying the Aes Sedai, but there was no time for an explanation.
"Get on the horses and ride!"
"Where?", Perrin asked with fear in his voice.
"And from what are we running?", Rand added.
"RIDE!" Lan didn't care if he was hurting their feelings. It was possible that their enemies were still close by and he couldn't fight them. Not when he had to fear that Moiraine would return to the barrel. He placed her back on her feet and took a closer look. She was breathing heavily as if she had been the one, who had taken a run. Her body was shaken since he was blocking her from getting to the barrel.
'She can't ride on her own.'
"Is there anything I can do, Lan?" Loial appeared beside him and looked concerned. "What happens to her?"
Lan let his gaze move between his horse and Loial. Maybe, the ogier could help him. "Can you help her to sit on him?"
"You want Moiraine Sedai to ride your horse?"
"She can't ride on her own. I have to make sure that she stays on it."
The big ogier was still confused, but he shrugged his shoulders. He was sure that Lan had a reason for his behavior. He grabbed the small woman and placed her on the back of Lan's horse.
Quickly, the warder followed and sat down in his saddle. Moiraine was squirming, but with his arm around her waist, he was able to hold her in place. "Thank you, Loial. Now, get on your horse. We need to leave this place immediately."
"Why?"
"I will explain everything when we are safe." Lan took the reins when Nynaeve appeared beside him. He saw the question in her eyes, but he wouldn't give her an explanation now. "Come on."
They left the forest, and the warder urged them to keep going. It was in the middle of the night, and everyone was tired, but Lan didn't give them a break. Moiraine was still shaking in his arm, while she had her fingers buried in his forearm. They were still too close to the danger.
When the shaking stopped, Lan decided to slow down. Everyone was groaning, but it was Nynaeve, who caught up with the warder.
"Lan. We can't keep going on. Everyone is tired and they will fall from their horses if we don't stop now and get some sleep."
Worried, Lan looked at his companions and saw that the wisdom was right. They were barely sitting in their saddles. He nodded and Nynaeve sighed relieved.
They dismounted their horses and tied them to a tree. Lan helped Moiraine to dismount his horse. "How do you feel?"
"Terrible. We are still too close."
"I know. But the others can't move on. We have to rest for tonight. Do you think that you can resist the pull?"
"I have to."
They didn't make a fire this time. Instead, they laid out their blankets and then they lay down. Lan made sure that Moiraine was lying comfortably, but he saw that she had turned her hands into fists. She was still feeling the pull of the liquid. Quietly, he sat down behind her and laid a hand on her shoulder. He would keep an eye on her.
"Why did we have to run?", Rand yawned "What was so dangerous that we couldn't wait until the morning?"
Lan looked at the young man, who was obviously fine again. The same was with Nynaeve and Egwene, who were looking at the warder with questioning eyes.
"Have you ever heard of the Black Ajah?" Tired, everyone shook their head. Lan continued: "The Black Ajah are Aes Sedai, who serve the Dark One. They are rare, but they exist. Sadly, they have developed a poison. A deadly liquid, which lures people, who can channel. As soon as the person touches the liquid, they die. There is no cure for it."
Nynaeve, Egwene, and Rand touched their chests. Apparently, they remembered the weird feeling, which had tried to pull them to the barrel.
"And you think this pull we felt…" Nynaeve thought about Lan's reaction when she had told him about the feeling. "But I didn't see any kind of liquid."
"You don't have to. They place a large amount of it somewhere, and everyone, who has ever touched the One Power, will be drawn to it."
"Like Moiraine." Nynaeve's eyes fell on the Aes Sedai, who was still breathing heavily. The poor woman was fighting against the pull of the poison. "Why is she more affected than the rest of us?"
Lan sighed. "She uses the One Power far longer than you guys have. The longer you are connected to it, the more you rely on it. Which is a good thing since you will become better at using the One Power, but it also makes you more vulnerable to the poison."
"Will she win the fight?" Lan smiled at the words of the wisdom. She actually sounded worried. If she wasn't careful, people would believe that she liked the Aes Sedai.
"We just have to put some distance between us and the poison. Perrin, Loial. I know you are tired, but I will need your help. I don't know if the Black Ajah is moving the liquid. If the others should act strangely, you have to help me to get them on the horses."
Perrin nodded and rubbed his eyes. "I will stay awake as long as possible."
"I will stay awake as well.", Loial agreed "I don't need that much sleep."
"Thank you. The rest of you, try to get some sleep. If you feel anything, don't hesitate and tell us. We can't help you if we don't know if anything is wrong."
Rand mumbled something, but Nynaeve and Egwene nodded before they closed their eyes. Perrin leaned himself against a rock, while his eyes were moving from Egwene to Rand and Nynaeve before they returned to Egwene. Lan didn't know how long the young man would be able to stay awake, but he was thankful that he at least tried it.
Moiraine turned around and Lan focused on his bonded woman. "How bad?"
She didn't give him an answer, but he saw the pain in her eyes, and her lips were pressed to a thin line. If only he could… Lan took off his sword, then lay down beside her and put his arm protectively around her. Without hesitation, she snuggled closer to him.
"Don't worry. I'm here." He would protect her. The Black Ajah wouldn't win.