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	She ran like she was the one seeking escape from Thomas's guards.  She had no expectation of seeing anyone, least of all Richard.  He was smart enough to keep well away from the road.  But nearly thirty years of living with Alice so close under the surface told her to pay attention and she knew better than to ignore that voice.  As frightening as Alice was, it was better to keep her where she could be watched now.
	Jess was aware of Catherine and Sarah running after her, and for once she was grateful.  She still didn't trust either one of them, but they needed her and that made them safe enough.  Alice was aware of them, too, and Jess wouldn't even think about what she wanted to do to them.  Maybe they had used her, but that just made them no different from anyone else, and they had at least pretended to be kind.
	“Slow down.  Think!  You don't want to rush in through the front door,” Sarah said.
	“If Marcus sees you coming, he'll kill her,” Catherine said.
	Jess put her head down and sped up, trying to outrun them.  Their footsteps were already faint enough, and if she could get out of range of their voices, maybe she could have some peace.  But she already had a stitch in her side, which slowed her down, and she was running out of breath.  They caught her on the next bend and pulled her back down with a hand on each arm.  
	As she fell, she felt Alice twisting her around and her teeth closed on a mouthful of Sarah's sleeve, which tore.  As much as it hurt, she wouldn't let her mouth open again for a second bite.  For her part, Sarah just put her hands around one of Jess's arms to help steady her.
	“Slow down and walk, damn it.  We haven't brought you this far, just to let you ruin everything,” Catherine said.
	“You haven't done anything.  You just keep chasing your tail,” Jess said.
	“To keep you from running blindly into things, yes.  I--”
	“Stop.  If  he's hurt Megan, I will kill him,” Jess said.
	“Don't say things you don't mean,” Sarah said.
	“I mean every word.  She's mine.  I was stupid to think anyone else could do anything for her,” Jess said.
	“My father died trying to help her,” Catherine said.
	“That was stupid, too,”  Jess said.
	Jess felt Catherine stiffen, and she winced as the wolf's claws dug into her arm.  She felt sorry for what she had said, but that didn't make it any less true.  It had been stupid to let Robert Coburn take any of her risks for her.  He had died in vain.
	“I see.  If that's the way you feel, maybe I've been stupid, too,” Catherine said.
	“You'll have to make up your own mind about that.  Now let me go.  I don't think I have much time left,” Jess said.
	“You have more than you think.  As long as he thinks he has her safe, Marcus isn't going to hurt his little toy,” Catherine said.
	“You watch your God-damned mouth.  She's not a toy, and she isn't his.  You all think the same way.  You're just as bad--”
	“That isn't fair.  We've done everything we can to help you,” Sarah said.
	Catherine let go and stepped away with her ears turned back, no longer listening.
	“No, forget it.  Look at her.  She's not going to be any help to us anymore, anyway,” Catherine said.
	“You aren't going to get me like that, either,” Jess said.
	Catherine just flattened her ears even further and pried Sarah's fingers off of Jess's arm.
	“Sorry. She always has had a short temper,” Sarah said, and she flinched when Catherine snarled at her.
	“You're sorry?  After what she just said?  And I might get angry, but I don't kill people.  If this bitch had done what we'd said from the beginning, we might be okay now,” Catherine said.
	“So that's it?  The first time your pet mouse doesn't do what she's told, you decide to throw me away.  You decide I'm not going to be useful to you anymore,” Jess said.
	Her fingers hurt now and only felt better when she closed them up into fists.  She pressed her hands against her stomach, one on top of the other to keep them flat.  All she could think of was how good it would feel to hit Catherine, just once, and she wasn't going to let Alice win.
	“I thought you would be more grateful.  I picked you up off the street.  I saved you, when I could have just left you to those guards.  I should know better than to expect a whore to have any gratitude,” Catherine said.
	“Yes, you should,” Jess said.
	Catherine bared her teeth and, for a moment, Jess thought she might pounce.  Alice hoped that she might, and both of Jess's hands cramped as she pressed them tighter against herself.  Then the moment passed and Catherine turned away and started walking back towards camp.  She grabbed for Sarah's hand as she passed, but Sarah dodged her and went to Jess instead.  The girl's eyes were damp and Jess could see she was trembling, and there was something about her quiet anger that was more frightening than anything she had faced before.
	“I hope you find her, and get away safe.  I know that Cath does too, even after the way you've treated her,” Sarah said.
	“It doesn't matter.  She can think what she wants.  You can, too, for all I care,”  Jess said.
	She took off the coat they had given her and threw it at Sarah, who let it fall to the ground.
	“You'd better go catch her and make sure she behaves.  With all those nervous soldiers around, she could get hurt,” Jess said.
	“I hope that, once you're happy again, you'll realize she's your friend, too,” Sarah said.
	“I know she is,” Jess said.
	Catherine's attempt to storm off was hampered by Sarah, who ran after her and slid an arm around her waist.  The wolf shied at the touch, then softened when the girl put a hand against her chest and she kissed Sarah on the top of her muzzle.  Neither of them looked back, but they paused just before they passed out of sight and Jess saw Catherine's ears droop.
	The part of her that was still thinking clearly felt guilty for what she'd said, and she wanted to run after them, but it was beginning to snow now, and she couldn't afford to stop or she might lose her nerve.  The flakes were heavy and wet, with a bitter wind behind them, and she had no desire to be snowed in with nothing but a ragged tent to keep her warm.  There were at least hostels in Jaspertree, and if she could find a collar one of the other Houses might take her in for a while.  They would remember what had happened to Silver Street and Marcus couldn't burn them all down.  If she could get enough of the Girls organized they might even be able to do what Thomas could only talk about.
	The worsening weather made the shadows between the trees darker, and snow and her imagination filled the forest with half-seen ghosts that raised the fur on the back of her neck.  For a while she thought she saw something sinuous and white, like a snake made out of mist, keeping pace with her by threading itself between the thorn bushes off to her right.  There were already snow drifts forming on the road, and they bled little streamers of snow when the wind blew across them.  She was very nearly convinced that this was all she had seen, and she was determined it wasn't going to be anything else.  Except it was too long to be a streamer, and it moved against the wind.
	She nearly drew her pistol on a great black shapelessness that lumbered across the road in front of her.  It paused when she thrust her hand into her pocket and she heard it cough.  She told herself that it was just a bear who had come out of his den a bit too early, but when it was gone, she couldn't find any footprints that weren't her own, and there was a stink of mushrooms where it had been.
	The horse was there in front of her so suddenly she thought it must be another phantom.  It stood still as a statue and she couldn't see any hint of breath in the freezing air.  If it was a figment, though, it was a good one.  The bridle it wore looked real enough and there was something familiar about the way it smelled.
	“Thomas gave him to me,” Sebastian said  “He gave me some food and some money, too, so we could find a place to stay.”
	Sebastian came out from the bushes where he'd been hiding behind the horse and made something of a show of throwing a blanket across the animal's back.  It was rust red, with white stripes that glowed in the dull light.  There wasn't a saddle but there were little red ribbons tied into the horse's shaggy mane.
	“I don't think I believe this.  You're not really here.  You couldn't get past us on this road without my seeing you,” Jess said.
	“You were too busy yelling at Catherine.  And I didn't use the road,” Sebastian said.
	“You saw that, then,” Jess said.
	“Yes, poor girl.  I don't think she meant any harm,” Sebastian said.
	“You think I should be sorry.  Well, I'm not, and if you're going to take up where she left off, don't bother,” Jess said.
	She hugged her arms in close, to make it harder for him to grab her, and lowered her head against the wind.  As long as she kept to the road it didn't matter too much what was in front of her.
	“You're never going to get there by walking,” he said.
	“Not if I have to keep stopping every time someone wants to give me a lecture,” she said.
	“Did I say one word?  I want to help you,” Sebastian said.
	“No.  I've already gotten one child killed.  Or worse,” she said.
	“You don't know that, and neither does Catherine,” he said.
	“Catherine's smarter than you are,” she said.
	She hoped he would get angry, like his sister had, but the only sound he made was a tiny click when he fastened a lead to the stallion's halter.  She quickened her pace, in a half-hearted attempt to outrun him, but he coaxed the horse into a trot.
	“I'm not going to go back now,” he said.
	“Yes, you are.  You have a sister, who needs you.  Sarah can't look after her alone.  I'm just someone you met in the night,” Jess said.
	“You're more than that.  You—”
	“Stop, right there.  If you dare tell me that you love me, I'll... You just can't, that's all,” she said.
	He was silent for a long time after that, and she found herself slowing down and turning her ears back to listen.  He spoke so softly, sometimes, that she was afraid she would miss it when he did answer her.  She nearly stopped when she felt his hand brush hers, but he gasped when she caught one of his fingers and pulled away again.  He coughed a little in an embarrassed fashion, and she steadfastly ignored the little tingle that shot through her entire body.
	“There's no point in wearing yourself out before you get there.  If you don't want to ride with me, I can probably keep up on foot easily enough,” he said.
	“Keep up?  With a galloping horse?” she said.
	“I could try.  I'm not in that bad a shape,” he said.
	“No, you couldn't.  But you'd try, wouldn't you?” she said.
	He bumped into her when she stopped, and she plucked the reins out of his hand. When he tried to grab them back, she caught his wrist with her free hand and pulled him against her.
	“You can come.  But only if you promise to do what I tell you, without arguing,” she said.
	“But--”
	“Or you can go home.  What's happening here is none of your business, and I'm not going to see you go down with the rest of us,” she said.
	“No arguments,” he said.