The pillars of creation

Sebastian had stopped two steps below her. Nyda was at her side. The Mord-Sith's gaze followed Jennsen's.

The man's hawklike glare was fixed on Jennsen, as if they were the only two people in the entire palace.

"Dear spirits," Nyda whispered. "That has to be Nathan Rahl."

"How do you know?" Sebastian asked.

She stepped up beside Jennsen, her attention fixed on the man. "He has the eyes of a Rahl, of Darken Rahl. I've seen those eyes in enough nightmares.»

Nyda's gaze slid to Jennsen. Her brow drew together.

Jennsen realized where she had seen the man's eyes-in the mirror.

CHAPTER 29

In the distance, across the landing, Jennsen saw the wizard's eyes going wide. His hand came up, pointing across the throng of people.

"Stop!" He called out in a deep, powerful voice. Even above the racket around her, Jennsen could clearly hear that voice ring out. "Stop!"

Nyda was staring at her, as if the spark of recognition was but an instant away. Jennsen seized her arm.

"Nyda, you have to stop him."

Nyda broke the gaze to look over her shoulder at the man rushing toward them. She looked back at Jennsen.

Jennsen remembered Althea saying that she could see some Rahl in Jennsen's looks, and that others who knew Darken Rahl might recognize her.

Jennsen gripped red leather in her fist. "Stop him! Don't listen to anything he says!"

"But he might only-"

Gripping the fistful of red leather tightly, Jennsen shook the woman. "Haven't you heard anything I've said? He might keep me from helping Lord Rahl. He might try to trick you. Stop him. Please, Nyda-Lord Rahl's life is in grave danger."

Invoking the name of Lord Rahl tipped the balance back.

"Go," Nyda said. "Hurry."

Jennsen nodded and dashed down the steps. She only had time for a brief look. She saw the prophet's long legs striding toward them, his hand held out, calling for them to stop. Nyda, Agiel in her fist, ran for him.

Jennsen scanned the area for soldiers, then turned back for a look, trying to see if Nathan Rahl was still coming, trying to see if Nyda was stopping him. Sebastian snatched her hand, pulling her in a headlong rush down the steps. Jennsen didn't get a chance for another glimpse of her wizard kin.

She hadn't realized how it would affect her to see someone who was related to her. She hadn't expected to see it in his eyes. There had only been her mother and her, before. It was the strangest feeling-a kind of pensive longing-seeing this man who was in some way her blood.

But if he caught her, her doom would be sealed.

Together, she and Sebastian raced down the steps, dodging people who were on their way up. Some people grumbled at them to watch where they were going, or cursed them for running. At each landing, she and Sebastian skirted the crowds and flew down the next flight of stairs.

When they reached a level where soldiers were stationed, they slowed. Jennsen pulled her hood up a little tighter, making sure that her hair was hidden, along with some of her face, fearing people might recognize her for being the daughter of Darken Rahl. Anxiety knotted her insides at having discovered that there was that, too, she now had to worry about.

Sebastian's arm around her waist held her close as he wound his way through the flowing river of people. To avoid soldiers on patrol moving by near the balusters, he had to guide Jennsen to the side with benches, taking them closer among the stands, weaving through lines of people.

The landing was choked with people buying trinkets and treasures of their visit to the People's Palace. The air was filled with the aroma of meats and spices from some of the stands. Couples sat on benches eating, drinking, smiling, talking excitedly. Others simply watched people pass. There were shadowy spaces between stands and pillars where some couples sat tight together on short benches or, where there were no benches, stood close in the dark, cuddling, kissing.

When Jennsen and Sebastian reached the edge of the landing, about to head down, they spotted a large patrol of soldiers coming up the steps. Sebastian hesitated. She knew he had to be thinking about the last time soldiers took notice of him. This was a large group; it would be impossible to pass them without being within an arm's length. As they marched up the steps, the men looked carefully at everyone.

Jennsen doubted that she would ever again be able to talk Sebastian out of a prison cell. It was likely, since she was with him, that this time they might take her in to be questioned. If they detained her, Nathan Rahl would seal her fate. She felt the sense of panic, of doom, closing in on her.