Page 22 of Bitter Heat
“I need to have a look to see.” Janus wished they were near hot water so that he could wash his hands, but they were where they were, and there was no way he was abandoning Kerry now to seek out additional help. It would be utterly impossible to get Kerry across the water or through the hills to the boarding house in this state. He’d have to hope for the best.
“It’s fine. I’m all right,” Kerry said, going pale and starting to shake. “I’m just fi—” He screamed again, his body arching, and his legs twisting up. Blood spurted from his anus, and Janus didn’t wait any longer.
“I have to check you now. Do you understand? You could be hemorrhaging. I need to see so I can decide what to do.”
Kerry nodded, sobbing, as another rush of blood leaked from him.
He positioned Kerry on his side and then bent low, pressing two fingers in to milk the omega glands for additional slick, but the blood was enough that he was able to move on to pressing his hand into Kerry without much effort. Kerry froze, cried out, and then went incredibly, almost horribly still.
“It’s all right,” Janus said as soothingly as he possibly could. He tried to summon memories of his sweet Caleb’s calm tone during the worst of his illnesses. “I have you. It’s just a moment of discomfort now. No sudden movements, please, even if it hurts. I just need to check—”
Kerry shuddered and screamed again, and the clamp around Janus’s wrist was breathtaking. He knew it had to hurt Kerry as well, so he wasn’t surprised when Kerry broke down in panicked sobs as soon as the cramp passed.
“Shh,” Janus soothed, pressing as deeply as he could without hurting Kerry more. The mouth to Kerry’s womb was soft, no doubt about that, and tacky. Someone had applied ripening paste…but who? Who would leave Kerry alone to suffer like this? Janus had only known Zeke a day or two, but he already knew that was something Kerry’s pater would never do.
At least there didn’t seem to be anything caught in the opening and no sign of a puncture. He had to hope for the best. Once the pills wore off, the cramping would stop, and hopefully the blood as well.
Removing his hand slowly, he was grateful for the proximity of the water. He washed in the lake, and then came to pull Kerry’s head into his lap again. He was still crying, but the cramps seemed to have slowed a bit. Janus swept soothing hands through Kerry’s hair, down his neck, and over his shoulders. Kerry didn’t protest, but he didn’t entirely relax either.
“The womb is still closed,” Janus finally said, softly. “The blood is from the harsh contractions causing leaking of lining, and possibly some internal tearing of your inner walls, though I didn’t feel a puncture, which would be…” He didn’t finish that thought. “There could still be damage to the child from the strength of the contractions. You could still go on to have a miscarriage, but at this point, your womb has held him in.”
Kerry curled inward, his head shifting in toward Janus’s stomach, his breath rushing against Janus’s genitals and lower abdomen. Then he began to cry—wet, harsh sobs that shook his shoulders—but they were different from his sobs of pain before. These were sobs of grief, lost hope, and utter sorrow.
Janus didn’t know what to say, so he continued to stroke and comfort. The sun lowered in the sky. He knew there was no way Kerry could swim home, and he wasn’t the man of strength he used to be. Carrying someone of Kerry’s lanky frame and size over that great of a distance would be impossible. All he could think to do was to wait it out.
Once the cramps fully stopped, Kerry was able to wash off in the lake water. His dark eyes remained haunted and empty. He slid them away at every turn, avoiding Janus’s gaze and ignoring his offers of reassurance.
“We’ll have to support each other,” Janus finally said, helping Kerry rise unsteadily to his feet. “Do you know the way?”
Kerry blinked, the lost gaze of a man on the verge of saying that Janus should just leave him behind. Janus was about to protest that unspoken sentiment when Kerry raised a shaking hand and pointed toward a path leading into the forest. “It runs the edge of the lake. That way is home.”
Janus nodded and hefted Kerry’s limp arm over his shoulders. “Come on then. You’ll need a hot bath, tea, and a bed. Then I’ll need to examine your womb and passage again to make sure everything is working as it should for elimination, which could be problematic for a few days. But we’ll make sure that you’re going to be all right.”
“I will never be all right,” Kerry whispered, his legs quivering as he struggled to stay upright.
But they took a step forward together onto the path Kerry indicated. And as the limbs of the trees closed over their heads, Janus heard the sorrowful call of a bird announcing that the sun had finally set.
They floundered homein the gloaming, one man exhausted and broken, and the other still recovering from sickness, a hard day, and a long swim. As they approached the final rise leading up to the boarding house, Zeke met them bearing a flashlight and a worried expression.
“Wolf-god, what’s happened?” Zeke exclaimed, seeing them staggering together, naked, dirty, and both beyond exhausted.
“Pater…” Kerry muttered, falling from Janus’s embrace into Zeke’s arms. The old man could barely hold Kerry up, though, and the flashlight fell to the ground. The forest around them chirped, croaked, and groaned with life—insect, bird, frog, and tree.
“Sweet boy,” Zeke whispered, clutching Kerry close. “Oh, what have you done? What have youdone?”
Kerry began to cry again, and Janus stood by helplessly, his hands dangling at his sides, and his nakedness feeling suddenly important, despite his previous obliviousness.
Zeke caught his eye, taking his measure, and found him trustworthy in some way. He clenched Kerry closer to him and sighed. “Sweet boy, let’s—”
The sound of a hiss and growl made them all freeze. Wildcats? Janus didn’t know, but Zeke’s spine stiffened right up, so whatever it was, it couldn’t be good.
“Let’s get up to the house now,” Zeke murmured, tugging Kerry against his side and wrapping his arm around Kerry’s lower back. “The cats smell blood, I think.”
Exhausted, Janus picked up the flashlight and followed, glancing behind him into the darkness and fully expecting to see yellow cat eyes gazing back at him. Nothing moved, and no wildcats or glowing eyes appeared. Though, as they moved slowly up the incline to the yard, then up the back porch stairs and into the warmth of the kitchen, Janus couldn’t shake the prickle of fear up his back.
They moved on through the kitchen, past the table Zeke had set for dinner, pressing onward for the stairs. Getting Kerry up them was a group effort, and they all gasped with relief when they finally maneuvered him down the hall to his bedroom and let him down gently onto his mattress. From his golden cage, Kiwi squawked in distress, and the room required more light than was afforded by the gloaming out the window. Zeke lit several candles and then collapsed on the bed next to his son. Janus wished for battery-powered lamps now.
“What happened?” Zeke demanded, pushing the long hair out of Kerry’s face. “How could Fan have let this happen to you?”
