And she understood now that it would find its way here because of her, that it was following her, and through her would destroy what she held dear. So she had to leave, had to get away, tonight, right now. She had to lead it away from here until she found a way to fight it, destroy it.

She ran through the corridors and clattered down the stairs, too driven by the need to escape to care about the noise she made. The lock on the front door thwarted her until she almost screamed with frustration. Finally, she forced herself to slow down enough to look, to think. After that, it took mere seconds to deal with what was, after all, a simple lock.

She ran to the stables, pulled open one side of the double door. A chimney lamp with a candle burning low hung on the wall above a cot where a stablelad snored softly.

As she hurried down the aisle, the dark horse put his head over the stall’s half-door and snorted an inquiry. Ointment glistened on his neck and face where cinders had burned him. Not too many. Not too bad, considering what they’d run through. When she opened the bottom half of the door, he stepped forward, and she watched his legs, his feet. No lameness. No injuries. She was almost sorry she didn’t have a reason to leave him behind.

He snorted again, a bit more forcefully.

“I’m sorry, boy,” she whispered, resting a hand on his muzzle. “I am sorry I can’t let you rest, but we have to go now. We have to get away from here.”

“Huh? Wha’?” The stablelad sat up, rubbed sleep from his eyes, and blinked at her. “What are you doing with the horse?”

Morag spun around, desperation changing to fury. “Get out of here. Get out. Now.”

The lad stumbled away from the cot, his fear-widened eyes watching her as he backed toward the outer door. He tripped when his shoulder hit the edge of the door. He was up and running almost before he fell.

Morag barely had time to throw the saddle over the dark horse’s back before Padrick burst into the stable.

“Morag?” he said, striding toward her. “What’s happened? What’s wrong?”

She turned on him, her teeth bared, her hands curled like claws. “Stay away from me. Leave me be. I have to get away from here. Now.”

Padrick raised his hands and stopped moving toward her, but he didn’t back away. “Why?”

“I have to leave!”

“Why?”

The whip-crack demand in his voice doused her with cold reason. She couldn’t kill him because he was in her way, and he wouldn’t get out of her way without an explanation.