Page 3 of The Warrior Priest
The market was always busy, and it was easier to disappear as long as you darted around carts, stalls and people without knocking anything over. Easier, that is, if you were small and nimble. Rhys was surprisingly fleet for a large man, but he wasn’t in the least unobtrusive. Everyone noticed him.
I risked a glance behind us. “They’re still following.”
“Surprising. I thought they’d run out of steam by now.”
He leapt over a wooden crate while I darted around it, only to have a wheelbarrow full of cabbages thrust at me. I wasn’t sure if the cabbage seller did it on purpose or if it was an accident, but it slowed me down as I lost my balance.
Rhys grasped me around my waist before I fell, and tucked me into his side, lifting my feet off the ground. Not only was it an ungainly position, he would have felt all of my feminine curves, what little curves my undernourished figure had.
“Put me down! I’m not a sack of potatoes.”
He glanced around and finally released me. “Down that lane,” he ordered. “We need to get out of the market. Coming here was a bad idea.”
“I could have told you thatifI’d known your plan,” I tossed over my shoulder as I ran.
“It would have been a good plan, if you’d avoided that wheelbarrow.”
“How was I supposed to avoid it when it was shoved directly at me? I don’t have legs like a giant leaping spider,” I said pointedly.
“I’ve been compared to a few creatures before, not always favorably, but never a spider.” How could he sound so calm? My heart thundered in my chest, not only from fear but also exertion. I was used to sneaking, not running for my life.
I dared another glance back at the pursuing constables, only to trip over the uneven cobblestones.
Rhys once again grabbed my jerkin, causing the beleaguered seams at my shoulders to finally rip apart. “You’re good at thieving, not so good at escaping.”
“I don’t usually need to escape,” I spat out between labored breaths. “Today is not a good day.”
“Cheer up. It’s about to get better.”
“Why?” I followed Rhys’s gaze.
He looked directly ahead where a brick wall loomed. The lane came to an end. The only exit was behind us, where the constables were still in pursuit.
“How is that better?”
He flashed a grin. “Change of plan.”
“Whatplan?”
He stopped and linked his fingers together, forming a cradle. “Up you go.”
I looked up. The building was the only single-level one in the entire lane. With Rhys’s help, I could escape across the roof. But could he climb up without any assistance? There was nothing for him to stand on to give him a boost.
“Now, Jac.” It was the tersest he’d sounded throughout the entire escapade.
I glanced along the lane. The constables had slowed, but there was no way to get past them out of the lane. “What about you?”
“Don’t worry about me. I’ve been in stickier situations than this and got out of them.”
“With Merdu’s warriors at your back,” I said as I placed my foot into his hands. I grasped the roof tiles and hauled myself up. Rhys made it easier, pushing me as high as he could.
Despite a niggling doubt, I wasn’t too concerned about him. Constables wouldn’t arrest a warrior priest.
Below me, the constables drew their swords and faced off against Rhys. They were alone in the lane. There were no witnesses. They could attack him with no one finding out what they’d done. Rhys had to rely on his own skill with the sword, and two against one weren’t favorable odds.
But he didn’t even draw his sword. He simply ran at the wall below and leapt. Using the wall as leverage, he stretched up to grasp the overhanging roof. Swinging his legs, he managed to get half of his body onto the roof. But one of the tiles broke under the weight. He slipped.
“Rhys!” I grabbed his shoulders. The pendant around my neck emerged from beneath my shirt as I leaned forward.
