When Lan and Nynaeve returned to the door, they immediately noticed that things were getting difficult. Ten Aes Sedai stood in front of the door, which was blocked by the two previous warders. Sadly, the women tried to break through the barricade and used the One Power. Another warder appeared in the corridor and Lan yelled at his brother: "Grab two of them and get them somewhere safe! And call for more help!"

Then Lan noticed a blonde woman, who was standing in front of the two warders and was heavily attacking them. Liandrin! As much as he hated this woman, he had to take her with him. She was a powerful channeler and would kill the warders to get through.

"Lan! What are you doing?!", Nynaeve asked shocked when he pushed himself through the crowd to reach the blonde woman. When the wisdom saw with who he was returning, she furrowed her forehead. "Why are you saving this snake first? What about the others, who are standing closer?"

Lan, who had two Aes Sedai on his shoulders again, rolled his eyes, while he grabbed another woman. "I'm not doing this because I like her. She is a powerful Aes Sedai and I need to protect the other warders. If they die, these women will get through, and who knows how many else."

Sighing, Nynaeve grabbed the other arm of the third Aes Sedai, which they would guide back to the room with the ropes. If she was honest, she wouldn't shed a tear if Liandrin would disappear forever. But Lan was right. Others would die too, just because she couldn't get over herself to save a terrible woman.

"Nynaeve!" Egwene appeared and her eyes widened in shock when she saw all these women. "What's going on? Why is everyone…?"

"No time to explain." Nynaeve let go of the woman, she and Lan had been holding and ran back to the remaining five Aes Sedai, who were still trying to get through the warders. "Help me with her!"

Luckily, the young woman from the Two Rivers didn't ask any further questions. If the wisdom was telling you to help, you did exactly what she said. Together they pulled the Aes Sedai to Lan, who was trying his best not to lose his fight. Then Nynaeve took the arm of her previous Aes Sedai as well. "Let's get them as far away as possible."

It was harder to walk in a row, but at least it was working.

"Where is Moiraine?", Egwene asked panting.

"Safe. As well as the Amyrlin Seat." Lan hissed when Liandrin was pushing her fingernails into his back. "Damn you, Liandrin!"

"Put me down!" The Aes Sedai of the Red Ajah was breathing heavily. "I need to go back there!"

"You will die there!"

"You don't understand! It calls me! My blood…!"

"It's a poison of the Black Ajah! It will kill you as soon as you touch it!"

Two Aes Sedai appeared in front of them, and the little group had to move out of the way if they didn't want to be stuck. Egwene opened her mouth, but Nynaeve shook her head. "Save your breath. They can't turn around. The poison calls for them and they have to follow it."

"How did they get in here?", Liandrin asked through gritted teeth when they moved on.

"That is a question for the Aes Sedai when this is all over.", Lan answered "And now shut up and concentrate on resisting the poison."

Meanwhile, Moiraine tried to focus on Lan's feelings. As long as she was concentrating on him, she was able to kind of ignore the burning in her veins. Of course, the pain was still there, but it wasn't as present as before.

"Moiraine." It was Siuan's voice, but she couldn't look up. Her head felt so heavy.

"I'm here."

"Do you know when Lan will return?"

"I don't."

The Amyrlin groaned. "Then it would be really nice if you could make him reappear before it is too late for me."

Confused, Moiraine turned her head to her best friend. What was she talking about? "Why should it…?"

At this moment, Siuan freed her hands from the rope and sank to her knees. Nynaeve's knot hadn't been strong enough! With sad eyes, the Amyrlin stumbled to her feet and slowly made her way across the room to the door.

"No!" Moiraine pulled at her own rope, but Lan was better with his knots than Nynaeve. There was no way she could free herself. "Resist! Please! You have to resist!"

The other Aes Sedai noticed the free Amyrlin as well and started to pull at their ropes too.

"Mother!"

"You have to stop!"

"Don't go out there!"

"LAN!" Moiraine knew that she couldn't do anything to stop her friend. Her only hope lay with her warder that he would return in time to save the woman again.

Lan shrugged when he felt Moiraine's fear through the bond. Something has happened again. Nynaeve saw his reaction and furrowed her forehead. "What is it?"

"Moiraine. I have to get back to her, now."

Tonight, he felt too many emotions from his Aes Sedai he wasn't used to. First, it had been her panic, and now she was afraid of something. What was going on tonight? The warder mended his pace and pulled the Aes Sedai forcefully with him. He couldn't be gentle anymore when his Aes Sedai needed him.

They reached the corridor with their destination, but before they could enter the room, the Amyrlin exited.

"Damn it!" Lan let go of the woman beside him and grabbed Siuan instead. Now, he understood, why Moiraine had been so afraid. Her best friend had freed herself!

"LAN!" Moiraine's cry echoed through the corridor, while he pushed Siuan back into the room.

"I'm here." Shocked, he saw that every Aes Sedai was fighting against their ropes because they wanted to help the Amyrlin Seat. "I have her."

He felt Moiraine's relief when she saw that he had brought Siuan back, and the other Aes Sedai became calmer as well. "Nynaeve, can you take care of the Amyrlin?"

The wisdom left Egwene with the other two Aes Sedai and joined Lan. "Are you sure that I should do this? Apparently, she is stronger than my knots."

Sighing, Lan shoved Siuan into Nynaeve's arms. "Just get her over there, again. I take care of Liandrin and then I will tie up the Amyrlin." Lan put the other Aes Sedai, who was over his shoulder back on her feet. She would be the one, who they would have to let walk back to the door. But he couldn't allow Liandrin to return. She was too powerful.

So, he brought the red sister to a free spot, took the rope, and placed her on her feet. While he pressed her hands together, she glared at him angrily. "Don't think that I will thank you for this."

"Don't worry. I didn't expect it."

"I would've survived."

"Is that so? Then how about I let YOU walk back to the door and help your sister instead, who I just let walk. Are you really that stupid that you can't see when you need help?"

If looks could kill, Lan would be dead now. It was never a good idea to insult Liandrin, but her hands were already tied up, so, she couldn't use the One Power to hurt him. "I don't need help from you.", she hissed through gritted teeth.

"Not from me or do you mean men in general?"

Liandrin tried to free her hands from his grip, but Lan was stronger. Smiling, he stood up and grabbed the other end of the rope. This time, he didn't wait until the woman was standing. Instead, he just pulled on his side. This way, she was pulled up by force. Satisfied, he heard her shriek when she was hurled up into the air. Then he tied the rope to the wall hook behind her.

"You…! Wait until this is over! I will make you pay for that!"

"I'm so sorry, Liandrin. I'm afraid I don't have the time to be gentle. There are still so many Aes Sedai out there, who need my help." But Lan couldn't hide his big smile. This had been really satisfying. Content with himself, he moved to Nynaeve, who had guided the Amyrlin back to her previous spot.

"Maybe this time, you…"

"Help, Egwene. I'll take the Amyrlin."

Relieved, Nynaeve ran to her friend, while Lan pressed Siuan's hands together and untied the rope at the wall hook. "You had to fight against the rope, didn't you?" He had turned his voice to a whisper, so, only Siuan could hear him. The poor woman was shaking, but she was able to give him a sad smile.

"Ask Moiraine. I'm not known for giving up that easily."

"Well, I had hoped that this time you would." Lan pressed her hands together and tied the rope around them again. "It would be really nice if you could not free yourself from it again. Firstly, I'm losing time where I could save another sister, and secondly, all these women in here are willing to follow you just to protect you from the poison. Including Moiraine. I would be very thankful if you would try harder to resist the poison."

Siuan nodded, and when Lan was done, he pulled her back up until her arms were stretched above her head. Since Nynaeve and Egwene were still handling the other Aes Sedai, Lan took a moment to walk to Moiraine. Her eyes were closed and sweat was running down her face.

Softly, he cupped her face in his hands, and immediately, she opened her eyes. "How are you holding up?"

"I've been better."

"I'll work as fast as possible."

She nodded, then she gulped and let her eyes wander over the Aes Sedai in the room. There was Liandrin, who was killing Lan from afar, and some other sisters from different Ajahs. But one face was missing.

"Where is Alanna?"

"I haven't found her yet. Maybe, Ihvon and Maksim have found her already."

Moiraine's eyes returned to Lan and they were filled with tears. "Please, find her, Lan. Please, find Alanna."

Her warder nodded, then he ran out of the room. He couldn't waste any more time.