Jamison started to stand, grabbing at anything he could find to hold on. He took one quick look around and then dropped back to his knees by Rory.
"You decide," he ordered. "No, don't argue. You can understand better what you can do and which way will be safest."
"Safest," Rory said with a nod. "Toward the sea. If any of Kellic's people suspect an intentional breakout, they'll be waiting --"
Lightning hit the dock again, but they were already drifting past it. The light illuminated the area, and Rory fixed the area ahead in his mind, even knowing the half dozen craft would move in ways he could not guess.
"You're hurt!" Jamison grabbed at him.
"Careful." He winced at the touch on his arm. "Nothing serious. I was saying they'll be waiting for us to go upstream and likely have the guns manned on the castle grounds. We're going out to the sea. If you know the coast well, make a decision on north or south. If north, I'll say that we won't go far. Atria is in the midst of some special curse of their own, and we don't want to get caught up in that never-ending winter."
"South," Jamison decided. "Down toward the Arch River. It is about fifteen miles from here, with a wide delta. Difficult to navigate and the haunt of pirates, but we can get through that, right?"
Lightning hit a ship a few yards ahead of them.
"I'll take pirates over this," Rory admitted.
It took hours for them to get clear of the city. Rory feared that they could still be too close when the sun came up. Fortunately, the rush of the water from the storm kept the current strong, and heading downstream was definitely the better idea in this case. Other pieces of boats went with them, and at least one had a crew. They drifted past it, and Montinique shouted good luck to someone on board. That craft sat lower in the water and already had cargo on board.
The storm, which had blown up from the sea and pressed inward, was well behind them when they reached the waves. They found bits of boats here, and Rory suspected some of them must have foundered at sea as the storm raced for the shore.
By then, Jamison was taking care of Rory's two wounds, which had both been more annoying than serious. They moved well away from the shore, and Mantinique had come to speak with Rory.
"South, I agree." The Captain looked that way with a decisive nod. "I'm not so sure about the delta, but after last night I suppose pirates wouldn't be such a bad problem."
"Everything is a problem," Rory said. He looked toward the north but then shook his head. "We don't need more crazy weather, though. And we need to get out of this area. I would wish for the others to get away as well. Still, as the weather gets better, they may be all that keeps Kellic's people from coming after us by still blocking the river and getting in the way. We'll have to keep our eyes open for anyone from the army along the shore, but I think we can go out far enough to be well out of their range."
"It's not going to be easy sailing with just the four of us," Mantinique warned. "There's a reason the city is on the Baron River and not on the Arch. It's a treacherous River. I don't know how far upstream We'll be able to get. I'd rather not abandon the ship, but we may have to head out over the land."
"Or," Jamison added, "you could drop us off at some convenient spot along the shore and let us head inland, and you can go back and play at the idea that you just worked free and were coming back for your crew. I don't like that we left them behind, and not because we could use them now."
"They had orders to get out and scatter," Mantinique replied with a wave of his hand. "If they hear the ship is still in port, the crew will just show back up and say they got scared by the weather. They will make their way out of the city and head toward home if it's gone. I suspect they'll be home before we are."
"Dangerous for them," Jamison said with a worried shake of his head.
"Not as dangerous as sitting in port and waiting for Kellic to realize that we were from the area just south of your father's land. That's not your fault, you know. Even if you had never shown up for this little excursion, Kellic would still have been suspicious of us."
"Kellic is suspicious of everyone," Rory added. "He's not going to make a good King."
"That's something we can all agree on," Mantinique replied with a nod. He looked weary, which made Rory feel all the more tired. "Were still in the outflow of the river's current. We can still follow it for a few miles out into the sea, but we need to rig sails. Unless there's something you are specifically doing, Rory, like keeping the boat in one piece, I suggest you get some rest now. You won't want to enter the Arch in the state you're in now."
There was no use arguing it. Rory nodded and moved from bow to deck and laid in the sun. He slept. No one was likely to sneak up on them out here in the ocean. He didn't sense any magic nearby, and the few scudding clouds that raced across the sky were not harbingers of danger.
He slept, knowing there would be more trouble soon enough.
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