He was still peering about as the flames grew, now licking at the ceiling. "I guess you could be right."

Surrender.

"Sebastian, we have to get out of here, now, or we'll be next." Jennsen clutched the cloak at his shoulder, pulling him away. "They may be near-right now."

"But, how could they know?"

"Dear spirits, Lord Rahl is a wizard! How does he do anything he does? How did he find my house?"

Sebastian was still looking, prodding at the rubble with his sword. Jennsen tugged again at his cloak, urging him toward the open door.

" Your house. . " he said, frowning. " Yes, I see what you mean.

"We have to get out of here before they catch us!"

He nodded, reassuring her. "Where do you want to go?"

They both watched the dark doorway over their shoulders as well as the growing conflagration to their other side.

"We've no choice, now," Jennsen said. "Lathea was our only hope to find an answer. We have to go to the People's Palace, now. Find her sister, Althea. She's the only one with any answers. She's a sorceress, too, and the only one who can see the holes in the world-whatever that means."

"Are you sure that's what you want to do?"

She thought about the voice. It sounded so cold and lifeless in her head. It had surprised her. She hadn't heard it since her mother's murder.

"What other choice do we have, now? If I'm ever to know why Lord Rahl wants to kill me, why he murdered my mother, why I'm hunted, and maybe how to escape his clutches for good, then I have to go find this woman, Althea. I have to!"

He hurried with her through the door and out into the bitter night. "We better go back and get our things together. We can get an early start."

"With them this close, I fear to be trapped in the inn while we sleep. I have the money from my mother. You have what you took from the men. We can buy horses. We have to leave tonight and hope that no one saw us come here earlier, or again, now."

Sebastian sheathed his sword. His breath streamed out into the night as he considered their options.

He glanced back through the door. "With the fire, at least there won't be any evidence of what happened here. We have that much going for us. No one saw us come here earlier, so no one will have cause to ask us questions. No one will know we were here again. They won't have any reason to tell soldiers about us."

"As long as we get out of here before it's discovered and everyone gets suspicious," Jennsen said. "Before soldiers start asking about strangers in town.»

He took her arm. "All right. Let's be quick, then."