An unbreakable bond

Chapter 8

Slowly, Lan opened his eyes and was almost blinded by the sudden brightness around him. He was standing in the White Tower of Tar Valon! But it was awfully quiet. There were no Aes Sedai, no warders, and no novices walking through these corridors.

As quiet as possible, the warder moved through the tower, which he knew so well. He didn't want to miss a sound. When he passed the corridor, which ended at the Hall of the Tower, where the Aes Sedai were meeting the Amyrlin Seat, he had to stop. The door! It was covered with a black, shining layer. And there were a lot of symbols drawn on it. Was this the reason why Moiraine couldn't touch the source anymore? Was this layer blocking her? Could he...?

'No! This is not why I'm here. First, I have to find out where Rand is. If Nynaeve finds out that I'm trying to help Moiraine again, instead of finding Rand, she will kill me.'

Reluctantly, Lan turned around and ran. Surprised, he noticed that this version of the White Tower was missing a lot of doors. And then, there were doors, which didn't belong to the original building. For a second, Lan imagined what his mind would look like. Would it be the White Tower, since he was bonded to Moiraine? Or would his mind look like Malkier?

Suddenly, he noticed a black string of weaving. This wasn't Moiraine. She was using Saidar, and this was free from the influence of the Dark One. But Rand was a man. Men used Saidin, and this was impure.

'This is her bond to Rand! When I follow it, maybe it will lead me to them!'

Quickly, Lan ran beside the string, but he didn't dare to touch it. Finally, he reached Moiraine's bedroom and stopped. At least, this door was still looking like the original. The black string of weaving went right through the door.

Carefully, the warder opened the door, then he ducked under the string and entered the room. Just that it didn't look like a room anymore. He was standing on a mountain, and the wind was pulling at him. When he turned to his left, he saw the Blight in the background and there was Fal Dara, even when it was small.

'Rand is moving East.'

"You can't escape me!" It seemed as if the male voice was coming from the sky and was roaring inside of Lan's head. But when he searched the sky for the reason, he couldn't find anything. "This will never be over! You will come to me as you have been before!"

The pain was washing over him and brought him to his knees. How was that possible? Didn't Rand win against the Dark One? Why was he still torturing the boy in his dreams? Shouldn't this be impossible? And where was...?

Finally, his eyes fell on Moiraine's small frame. She was sitting on the ground, while her hands were holding her head as if it would explode any moment. A sleeping Rand al'Thor lay beside her, but his face was distorted from the pain. His curly, red hair was a mess.

Immediately, Lan was back on his feet and ran to his Aes Sedai. He didn't dare to touch Rand, but he needed to help Moiraine. When he laid his hand on her small back, she looked up and he saw the tears, which were running down her cheeks.

"Lan?" She was confused, but he just wiped away her tears and smiled at her.

"Yes, I'm here." Her hands were moving over his chest, then his shoulders until she reached his face. Obviously, she couldn't believe it. Fresh tears ran down her cheek when the realization hit her.

"You're really here. And I can feel you." Lan laid his forehead against hers. Yes, he was able to feel her and he was enjoying it, even if it meant that he had to feel the pain from Rand as well. "You have no idea how much I missed you in my head."