"Well, there you are," Kellic said with a pretentious shake of his head. "I feared you might be wise enough to stay away. Oh, and you have a friend. This saves me all kinds of trouble, doesn't it, Jamison?"
If Prince Kellic had been alone, Rory and Jamison might have had a chance to take him and probably save the country from considerable trouble in the future. Unfortunately, Rory saw four others with him, including Poltin. That huge, dim-witted but strong man reached past his Prince to grab Rory.
He never even checked for a weapon. Rory's blade was small but sharp. He also moved with extraordinary speed as he swept it up and sliced through the back of the man's wrist, scoring the bone and severing tendons.
Poltin screamed in rage and pain and attacked like an unthinking animal. Rory kept himself between Kellic and his men and Jamison. He had no trouble sending the howling Poltin to his knees after maiming the man's other hand.
"Kill them!" Kellic ordered rage plain in his voice. The fire spread light, and the man looked insane with fury.
One of his men grabbed hold of Kellic and physically pulled the Prince away. "We must go. People heard Poltin. You do not want to be seen here, King Kellic."
A shame the Prince -- now King -- listened to him. They grabbed Poltin, one of the men muffling the man with a cloth. He was too well known as Kellic's man to leave behind, but Rory didn't give him much chance of surviving to reach the castle.
In a moment, they were alone. Rory sagged against the building, surprising Jamison, who grabbed his arm and pulled him away. Rory fought to get his feet to cooperate. By the time they reached the fence, he had climbed up and over with no problem. However, he went to his knees on the other side.
"Have you been injured?" Jamison asked with open worry. He pulled Rory back to his feet and looked him over as best he could there in the dark.
"I'm not injured, but I did something challenging. I'll be better in a couple minutes."
Jamison gave a quick nod and let them back towards the door into the building where he and his wife lived. He said nothing, but Rory could see him putting together the pieces.
"You are from Sunry," Jamison said as he paused at the door.
"I thought we'd establish that part already," Rory replied and tried to make light of it.
Jamison pushed open the door and signaled him inside first. There were others out in the halls, but no one paid them much notice as the people rushed about, worried about the fire next door. Rory could see the flames whenever they passed by an open door with a view of a window.
They hurried up the steps while others hurried down. Keltrina met them at the door and grabbed her husband in a quick hug while she herded them both inside.
"I have the packs ready," Keltrina said with a wave of her hand toward the spot by the door. She looked at Rory. "We've always been ready to run since we are not friends with Prince Kellic. If you are not his friend, you are definitely not safe."
"Especially if you're part of the government and loyal to the King. No one expected him to die so soon, you know. I do not trust this sudden demise with Kellic already prepared to move. We ran into him, Kel. We have to go right now."
The two of them gathered up a couple packs and a basket that must have held food. Rory took one of the packs from Kel and headed out the door ahead of Jamison. There were even more people out in the halls now, most of them wondering what they should do.
"I suggest," Jamison said quite loudly and drew a lot of attention. "I suggest that you gather your valuables and get out of the building just to be safe. There are trees between the two buildings, and they could easily catch fire and spread it here."
People began yelling questions and even a few demands, but Jamison paid no attention as he herded his two companions down the stairwell and out into the street. The doorman was nowhere around but might have gone to help others.
"No one is come out," a woman in a servant's uniform said with a frantic rush of words. "That's unnatural, it is. Something evil has happened more than just this fire."
Rory would have stopped and agreed, but he feared being recognized. They would mark him as someone who had survived -- the only survivor, which in turn would make him the most likely to have killed all the others.
Or used magic to keep them where they were while the fire killed them. The one thing he dared not do was fall into the hands of anyone who suspected magic.
The three of them had already turned in another direction and hurried past the growing crowds. The town guards had started a bucket brigade going from the fountain down the road, but it was apparent that the fire was too far gone already.
The scene drew quite a crowd, though, which helped and hindered them. The people pressed inward, but Jamison led the way out, and Rory kept Keltrina in front of him and Jamison within sight.
He was aware of people who might be trouble for them. Kellic would have sent others to grab them. He looked back to see three men pushing into the building where the Jamisons lived. If they asked any questions, they were likely to learn that the three of them had left only minutes before.
Getting away was their only hope.
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