without his direct orders, but Rand must take responsibility. Men. Bonding women!"
"They claim saidin is cleansed," Siuan said.
Egwene raised an eyebrow, but did not object. "Yes," she said, "I suppose that might be a reasonable possibility. We will need further confirmation, of course. But the taint arrived when all seemed won; why should it not leave when all seems to be approaching pure madness?"
"I hadn't considered it that way," Siuan said. "Well, what should we do, Mother?"
"Let the Hall deal with it," Egwene said. "It seems they have matters in hand."
"They'd be better at keeping them in hand if you'd return, Mother."
"Eventually," Egwene said. She sat back and laced her fingers in her lap, somehow looking far older than her face would suggest. "My work is here, for now. You'll have to see that the Hall does as it should. I have great faith in you."
"And it's appreciated, Mother," Siuan said, keeping her frustration inside. "But I'm losing control of them. Lelaine has begun to set herself up as a second Amyrlin—and is doing it by pretending to support you. She's seen that appearing to act in your name serves herself."
Egwene pursed her lips. "I would have thought Romanda would take the advantage, considering that she discovered the Forsaken."
"I think she assumed she'd hold the advantage," Siuan said, "but she spent too long basking in her victory. Lelaine has, with no small effort, become the most devoted servant of the Amyrlin who has ever lived. You would think that you and she were the closest of confidants, to hear her speak! She's appropriated me as her attendant, and each time the Hall meets it's 'Egwene wanted this' and 'Remember what Egwene said when we did that.'"
"Clever," Egwene said.
"Brilliant," Siuan said, sighing. "But we knew one of them was eventually going to claw her way ahead of the other. I keep diverting her toward Romanda, but I don't know how long I can keep her distracted."
"Do your best," Egwene said. "But don't worry if Lelaine refuses to be diverted."
Siuan frowned. "But she's usurping your place!"
"By building upon it," Egwene said, smiling. She finally noticed that her dress had changed to brown, for she switched it back in a heartbeat, not breaking the conversation. "Lelaine's gambit will only succeed if I fail to return. She is using me as a source of authority. When I return, she'll have no choice but to accept my leadership. She'll have spent all of her effort building me up."
"And if you don't return, Mother?" Siuan asked softly.
"Then it will be better for the Aes Sedai to have a strong leader," Egwene said. "If Lelaine has been the one to secure that strength, then so be it."
"She has good reason to make certain you don't return, you know," Siuan said. "At the very least, she's betting against you."
"Well, she can't very well be blamed for that." Egwene let down her guard enough to show a grimace. "I'd be tempted to bet against myself, if I were on the outside. You'll simply have to deal with her, Siuan. I can't let myself be distracted. Not when I see so much potential for success here, and not when there is an even greater price for failure."
Siuan knew that stubborn set to Egwene's jaw. There would be no persuading her tonight. Siuan would simply have to try again during their next meeting.
All of it—the cleansing, the Asha'man, the crumbling of the Tower—made her shiver uncomfortably. Though she'd been preparing for these days for most of her life, it was still unsettling to have them finally arrive. "The Last Battle really is coming," Siuan said, mostly to herself.
"It is," Egwene said, voice solemn.
"And I'm going to face it with barely a lick of my former power," Siuan said, grimacing.
"Well, perhaps we can get you an angreal once the Tower is whole again," Egwene said. "We'll be using everything we have when we ride against the Shadow."
Siuan smiled. "That would be nice, but not necessary. I'm just grumbling out of habit, suppose. I'm actually learning to deal with my... new situation. It's not so difficult to stomach, now that I see that it has some advantages."
Egwene frowned, as if trying to figure out what advantages there could be in lessened power. Finally, she shook her head. "Elayne once mentioned a room to me in the Tower, filled with objects of power. I assume it really exists?"
"Of course," Siuan said. "The basement storeroom. It's in the second level of the basement, on the