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  　"This place is full of thieves," Jennsen said.

  　Tom shook his head. "Don't judge a place by one man. Don't get me wrong-they're around. But most folks here are honest enough. The way I see it, wherever you go there will always be thieves. Always has been, always will be. The man I fear most is the one who preaches virtue and a better life while using people's good intentions to shade their eyes from the light of truth."

  　"I guess so," she said.

  　"Maybe virtue and a better life is a goal worthy of such means," Sebastian said.

  　"From what I've seen in life, a man who preaches a better way at the cost of the truth is a man who wants nothing more than for himself to be the master and you the slave."

  　"I see what you mean," Sebastian conceded. "I guess I'm fortunate not to have had dealings with such people."

  　"Count your blessings," Tom said.

  　At his table, Jennsen took the hand of both Joe and Clayton. "Thank you for helping. I can't believe you got my purse back."

  　Their grins had much in common with Tom's.

  　"Most fun we've had in a while," Joe said.

  　"Not only that," Clayton added, "but we can't thank you enough for keeping Tom busy so we could spend a couple days visiting the palace. About time Tom gave us a break."

  　Tom put a hand against Jennsen's back, urging her around the table, to his wagon beyond. Sebastian followed the two of them between the wine barrels and the stand beside them selling leather goods, where, before, Irma had sold her sausages.

  　Behind Tom's wagon, Jennsen saw his big horses. Then, beyond them, she saw the others.

  　"Our horses!" Jennsen's jaw dropped. "You got us our horses?"

  　"Sure did," Tom said, beaming with pride. "Found Irma this morning when she came to the market with another load of sausages. She had the horses with her. I told her you'd promised to come see me today before you left, so she was glad to have a chance to get them back to you. All your supplies are there with them."

  　"That's good luck," Sebastian said. "We can't thank you enough. We're in a hurry to get going."

  　Tom gestured to Jennsen's waist, where she kept the knife under her cloak. "I figured."

  　Jennsen looked around, feeling a rising flood of di【创建和谐家园】ay. "Where's Betty?"

  　Tom frowned. "Betty?"

  　Jennsen swallowed. "My goat, Betty." It was a mighty effort to keep her voice steady. "Where's Betty?"

  　"I'm sorry, Jennsen. I don't know anything about a goat. Irma only had the horses." Tom's face sagged. "I never thought to ask about anything else."

  　"Do you know where Irma lives?"

  　Tom's head hung. "Sorry, no. She showed up this morning and she had your horses and things. She sold her sausages and waited around for a while before she said she had to get on home."

  　Jennsen seized his sleeve. "How long ago?"

  　Tom shrugged. "I don't know. Couple hours ago?" He glanced over his shoulder at his brothers. They both nodded.

  　Jennsen's jaw trembled. She feared to test her voice again. She knew that she and Sebastian couldn't hang around waiting. With the wizard so close, trying to stop her, she knew they would be lucky to get away with their lives. Returning would be out of the question.

  　A glance to Sebastian's face confirmed it.

  　Tears stung her eyes. "But... didn't you find out where she lived?"

  　Tom's gaze sank as he shook his head.

  　"Didn't you ask if she had anything else belonging to us?"

  　He shook his head again.

  　Jennsen wanted to scream and pound her fists against his chest. "Did you even think to ask when she would be back?"

  　Tom shook his head.

  　"But we promised her money for watching our horses," Jennsen said. "She would say when she would be back so she could be paid."

  　Still looking at his feet, Tom said, "She told me she was owed money for watching the horses. I paid her."

  　Sebastian pulled out money, counted out silver coins, and held them out to Tom. Tom refused it, but Sebastian insisted, finally tossing the money on the table to settle the debt.

  　Jennsen choked back her desperation. Betty was gone.

  　Tom looked heartbroken. "I'm sorry."

  　Jennsen could only nod. She wiped her nose as she watched Joe and Clayton saddling their horses for them. The sounds of the market seemed distant. In a numb state, she hardly felt the cold. When she saw the horses she had thought...

  　Now, she could think only of Betty bleating in distress. If Betty was even still alive.

  　"We can't stay," Sebastian answered softly to the pleading look she gave him. "You know that as well as I. We have to be on our way."

  　She looked back to Tom. "But I told you before, about Betty." Desperation drove into her voice. "I told you that Irma had our horses and my goat, Betty. I told you-I know I did."

  　Tom couldn't meet her eyes. "You did, ma'am. I'm sorry, but I just forgot to ask her. I can't lie to you and tell you anything else or make an excuse. You told me. I forgot."

  　Jennsen nodded and put a hand on his arm. "Thank you for getting our horses, and all the other help. I couldn't have done it without you."

  　"We have to get going," Sebastian said, checking his saddlebags and securing the flaps. "It's going to take time to work our way through the crowds and out of here."

  　"We'll give you an escort," Joe said.

  　"People get out of the way of our big draft horses," Clayton explained. "Come on. We know the quickest way out. Follow us and we'll get you through the crowds."

  　Both men pulled a horse over so they could step up on a barrel and mount up bareback. They deftly guided the huge horses out of the narrow way between the stands and barrels without so much as jostling anything. Sebastian stood waiting for her, holding the reins to their horses, Rusty and Pete.

  　On her way past, Jennsen paused and gazed up into Tom's eyes, sharing with him a private, wordless moment among all the people around. She stretched up and kissed his cheek, then held her own cheek against his for a moment. His fingertips just touched her shoulder. As she drew away, his wistful gaze stayed on her face.

  　"Thank you for helping me," she whispered. "I'd have been lost without YOU."

  　Tom 【创建和谐家园】iled then. "My pleasure, ma'am."

  　"Jennsen," she said.

  　He nodded. "Jennsen." He cleared his throat. "Jennsen, I'm sorry-"

  　Jennsen, holding back her tears, touched her fingers to his lips to silence him. "You helped me save Sebastian's life. You were a hero for me when I needed one. Thank you from the depths of my heart."

  　He stuffed his hands in his pockets as his gaze sank to the ground once more. "Safe journey to you, Jennsen, wherever you may go in your life. Thank you for letting me join you for a 【创建和谐家园】all part of it."

  　"Steel against steel," she said, not even understanding why, but it somehow sounded right. "You helped me in that."

  　Tom 【创建和谐家园】iled then, with a look of intense pride and gratitude.

  　"That he may be the magic against magic. Thank you, Jennsen."

  　She patted Rusty's muscular neck before putting a boot into a stirrup and boosting herself up onto the saddle. She cast the big man a last look over her shoulder. Staying with his things, Tom watched as Jennsen and Sebastian followed Joe and Clayton out into the sea of people. Their two big escorts, yelling and whistling, moved people out of the way, creating a clear path ahead. People stopped and looked when they heard the commotion coming, then stepped aside at the sight of the huge horses.

  　Sebastian, flashing a heated scowl, leaned toward her. "What was the big ox babbling about magic?" he whispered over at her.

  　" I don't know," she said in a low voice. She let out a sigh. "But he helped me get you out."

  　She wanted to tell him that Tom might be big, but he was no ox. She didn't though. For some reason, she didn't want to talk about Tom to Sebastian. Even though Tom had been helping her to rescue Sebastian, what they had done together for some reason felt very private to her.

  　When they finally reached the edge of the marketplace, Joe and Clayton waved them a farewell as Jennsen and Sebastian urged their horses ahead at a gallop, out onto the cold, empty Azrith Plains.

  　CHAPTER 30

  　Jennsen and Sebastian rode north and west, across the Azrith Plains, not far from where only that morning she had ridden back with Tom in his wagon from the swamp around Althea's place. Her visit to Althea only the day before, along with the treacherous journey through the swamp, seemed remote to her, now. She had spent most of the day getting up into the palace, talking her way past guards and officials, getting Sebastian released, bluffing the Mord-Sith, Nyda, into helping them, and getting down and out of the plateau with Wizard Rahl at their heels. With so much of the day already gone, they weren't able to travel a great distance before darkness descended and they had to make camp out in the open plain.

  　"With those cutthroats not all that far away, we don't dare make a fire," Sebastian said when he saw her shivering. "They could spot us from miles away and if we're night-blinded by a fire we would never know they were sneaking up on us."

  　Overhead, the moonless sky was a vast glittering mantle of stars. Jennsen thought about what Althea said, that a bird could be seen on a moonless night by noting the stars it blocked out as it passed overhead. She said that was how she could see one who was a hole in the world. Jennsen saw no bird, just three coyotes in the distance, trotting along on a night patrol of their territory. In the flat, empty land, they were easy enough to spot by starlight alone as they went on their hunt for 【创建和谐家园】all nocturnal animals.

  　With numb fingers, Jennsen untied her bedroll from the back of the saddle and pulled it down. "And where would you propose we get the wood to make a fire, anyway?"

  　Sebastian turned and stared at her. A 【创建和谐家园】ile stole onto his face. "I never thought of that. I guess we couldn't have a fire even if we wanted one."

  　She scrutinized the empty plain as she dragged the saddle off of Rusty's back and laid it on the ground near Sebastian. Even with only the cold starlight, she could make out things well enough. "If anyone approached, we could see them coming. Do you think one of us should keep watch through the night?"

  　"No. Without a campfire and not moving, they'd never find us out in this great dark expanse. I think it would be better to get some sleep so we can make good time tomorrow."

  　With the horses picketed, she used her saddle for a seat. As she unfurled her bedroll, Jennsen found two white cloth bundles inside. She knew she hadn't put any such things in her bedroll. She undid the knot at the top of one bundle and discovered a meat pie inside. She saw, then, Sebastian making the same discovery.

  　"Looks like the Creator has provided for us," he said.

  　Jennsen 【创建和谐家园】iled as she stared down at the meat pie in her lap. "Tom left these. "

  　Sebastian didn't ask how she knew. "The Creator has provided for us through Tom. Brother Narev says that even when we think someone has provided for us, it is actually the Creator working through them. We in the Old World believe that when we give to someone in need, we are really doing the Creator's good works. That's why the welfare of others is our sacred duty."

  　Jennsen said nothing, fearing that if she did, he might think she was criticizing Brother Narev, or even the Creator. She couldn't dispute the word of a great man like Brother Narev. She had never done any good works like Brother Narev had. She had never even left anyone meat pies or done anything else helpful. It seemed to her that she brought only trouble and suffering to people-her mother, Lathea, Althea, Friedrich, and who knew how many others. If any force worked through her, it certainly wasn't the Creator.

  　Sebastian, perhaps seeing something of her thoughts in her expression, spoke softly. "That's why I'm helping you-I believe it's what the Creator would want me to do. That's how I know Brother Narev and Emperor Jagang would approve of me helping you. This is the very thing we're fighting for-to have people care about others by sharing their burdens."

  　She 【创建和谐家园】iled not just her appreciation, but also at the notion of such noble intentions. Noble intentions, though, which, for reasons she didn't even fully understand, felt to her like a knife in the back.

  　Jennsen looked up from the meat pie in her lap. "So, that's why you're helping me, then." Her 【创建和谐家园】ile was forced. "Because it's your duty."

  　Sebastian looked almost as if he'd been slapped. "No." He came closer, going down on one knee. "No. I... in the beginning, of course, but... it's not just duty."

  　"You make it sound like I'm a leper you think you have to-"

  　"No-that's not it at all." As he searched for words, that radiant 【创建和谐家园】ile of his came to his face, that 【创建和谐家园】ile that made her heart ache. "I've never met anyone like you, Jennsen. I swear, I've never laid my eyes on a woman as beautiful as you, or as 【创建和谐家园】art. You make me feel like I'm... like I'm a nobody. But then when you 【创建和谐家园】ile at me, I feel like I'm someone important. I've never met anyone who made me feel this way. At first it was duty, but now, I swear... "

  　Jennsen sat in shock at hearing him say such things, at hearing the tender sincerity, the earnest pleading, in his voice.

  　"I never knew."

  　"I should never have kissed you. I know it was wrong. I'm a soldier in the army against oppression. My life is devoted to the cause of helping my people-all people. I don't have anything to offer a woman like you."

  　She couldn't imagine why he would think he had to offer her something. He had saved her life. "Then, why did you kiss me?"

  　He gazed into her eyes, looking as if he had to pull words up from some great painful depth. "I couldn't help myself. I'm sorry. I tried not to. I knew it was wrong, but when we were that close, and I was looking into your beautiful eyes, and your arms were holding me, and I was holding you... I'd never wanted anything so much in my life... I just couldn't help myself. I had to. I'm sorry. "

  　Jennsen's gaze fell away. She stared down at the meat pie. Sebastian pulled the familiar mask of composure around himself and sat back down on his saddle.

  　"Don't feel sorry," she whispered without looking up. "I liked the kiss."

  　He sat forward expectantly. "You did?"

  　Jennsen nodded. "I'm glad to hear that it wasn't done out of duty."

  　That made him 【创建和谐家园】ile and eased the tension.

  　"No duty ever felt that good," he said.

  　Together, they laughed-something she couldn't even remember doing. It felt good to laugh.

  　As Jennsen devoured one of the meat pies, relishing the flavorful spices and savory chunks of meat, she felt good again. She hoped she hadn't been too hard on Tom for forgetting about Betty. She had let her frustrations, fear, and anger come out at him. He was a good man. He had helped her when she needed it most.

  　Her thoughts lingered on Tom, on how good she had felt when she was around him. He made her feel important, feel confident in herself, whereas Sebastian often made her feel humble. Tom had a handsome 【创建和谐家园】ile-a different kind of handsome than Sebastian's 【创建和谐家园】ile. Tom had a hearty 【创建和谐家园】ile. Sebastian had an inscrutable 【创建和谐家园】ile. Tom's 【创建和谐家园】ile made her feel secure and strong. Sebastian's 【创建和谐家园】ile made her feel defenseless and weak.

  　After she had eaten every crumb of the meat pie, Jennsen wrapped herself in blankets over the top of her cloak. Still shivering, she remembered how Betty had kept them warm at night. In the silence, her sense of gloom returned to haunt her, refusing to allow her to fall asleep, despite her exhaustion from everything she had been through the last couple of days.

  　She didn't look forward to the forlorn prospect of what the future might hold for her. She could foresee only an endless hunt until Lord Rahl's men finally caught her. She felt empty without her mother, without Betty. She realized that she didn't have any idea where she would go, now, other than to keep running. She had been intent on Althea's help, but even that had proved to be an empty dream. In some distant comer of her mind, Jennsen had held out a spark of irrational hope that going to her childhood home of the People's Palace might somehow hold a favorable resolution.