Page 27 of Sword of Rage
He grunted and hunched forward, trying to catch his breath, his face turning a deep shade of red. It was a beautiful sight to see.
“Why are you bent over? I’m a woman and, according to you, not very strong.” Gytha folded her arms, waiting for his response.
“Stop,” Harley demanded. “The both of you are acting like children.” She wrapped her arm around Ledger, comforting him like a mother would.
Ackley snorted at the irony. Before he had a chance to come up with a snarky reply, movement to his left caught his attention. Three stories up, a group of people carrying torches were shouting and climbing down the ladders to the lower levels.
“We’re about to get company. Move. Now.” He turned and started jogging toward the cave.
“We’ll never make it without you,” Ledger said, his voice a little higher pitched than previously.
Judging by how quickly the mob was descending, Ackley estimated they had less than five minutes to make their escape. While he could easily reach the cave in time, navigating through the dark water during high tide would be difficult. And even if he could accomplish such a feat, he doubted Gytha would fare so easily with Harley and Ledger.
“I’ll manage,” Gytha said, as if reading his thoughts.
He knew she’d manage. But would that be good enough? Probably not. He squeezed his eyes together and cursed. Once the decision was made, there was no point in second guessing it. “Let’s go.” Grabbing Ledger by the shoulder, he hurried him along.
Without questioning him, Gytha took Harley’s arm and followed close behind.
“Where to?” Ackley demanded, scanning the area for potential threats.
“Sharp right.” Ledger was walking straighter now. “The boats are in the northern cliffside.”
When they got closer, Ackley saw hundreds of boats stashed in the actual cliff. It appeared as if someone had taken a shovel and carved out spaces for each boat in the rocks. Some spaces had two boats jammed in.
Ledger jogged along the cliffside, counting.
At this point, Ackley didn’t care which boat they used so long as they took one and got the heck out of there.
“Here.” Climbing up to the third row, Ledger yanked on the end of a boat, sliding it out of its space.
Ackley helped him, grabbing hold of the other side. The two men carried the boat toward the water. Examining it, unease filled Ackley. The rickety thing didn’t look like it would float. Had Ledger built it himself? The wood boards appeared hastily slapped together. This was a bad idea. They reached the water just as the mob descended to the ground level.
“Lower the boat into the ocean,” Ledger commanded as he rushed into the water. “Help the two ladies in.”
Ackley almost asked who the second lady was when he realized Ledger was referring to Gytha. Gytha wasn’t a lady, but he knew better than to say anything. He didn’t need the warrior woman’s wrath right now.
Gytha deftly jumped in, then reached out to help Harley. While no waves crashed against them, the water—which was now up to Ackley’s knees—did have a strong pull to it. Harley fell in the boat, unable to climb in with her heavy wet dress clinging to her legs. Ledger swung in next, grabbing one of the two oars.
Voices rang out not far behind Ackley. Gritting his teeth, he jumped in the boat and grabbed the other oar. He and Ledger began rowing in sync. No one spoke as they headed west, trying to get out of sight from the mob that had reached the shoreline.
“As soon as we’re out of the cove,” Ledger said, “turn north.”
Ackley didn’t want to look back. He suspected people were already getting into boats and heading out after them. Thankfully it was nighttime, and they could hide easier in the dark than in the daylight. “Do you think those people know what direction we’re headed?” If they did, perhaps they should take a different route.
“Yes,” Ledger said between strokes. “But there’s no other way.”
“It’s fine,” Gytha said. “We’ll outpace them. Row faster.” She reached into the water and started paddling with her hands. She whacked Harley. “Help. You row over there.”
With shaking arms, Harley stuck her hands in the water and paddled, though it didn’t help much.
They rounded the cliff, out of sight of the city and prying eyes. Ackley kept his feet planted against the bench seat in front of him as he rowed. Now that they were traveling north, he felt the rocking of the water as it tilted the boat from side to side. Vomit rose in his mouth.
“Keep it steady,” Ledger barked.
Sweat dripped down Ackley’s forehead and cheeks—not from exertion but from the back and forth, the up and down. “Where’s the blasted cave?” he said through gritted teeth.
“Not much farther,” Ledger huffed. “Let’s move in closer to the cliff so we don’t miss it.”
