Page 30 of King Among the Dead

“The wound looks good,” Kay said, either ignoring or oblivious to the fast exchange of eye contact – Rose suspected the first. “Right now it’s the fever we’ve gotta worry about. It could get rough.”

He sighed. “I know. Whatareyou giving me?”

“Morphine for pain, and Cefotan for the infection, ‘cause that’s all I got. If we use that up, it’ll be down to the weak shit.”

He nodded. “I’d rather not have the morphine.”

“Yeah, tell me that again after you climb the stairs.”

“Is it smart to move him?” Rose asked, stomach tight with nerves.

He sent her another grin, this one wry. “Ill-advised, definitely, but it wouldn’t be the first time. I don’t want to convalesce in the kitchen.”

“And it’ll be easier now while his head’s clear. Come on. I’ll get under one arm, and you get under the other, honey, and we’ll go real slow.”

Kay pulled the covers clear – Rose had forgotten about the boxer-briefs, but again didn’t have time to linger, too worried about Beck as he slowly shifted on the mattress and swung his legs down over the side. He didn’t complain once, but he bit his lip so hard she thought he might draw blood, biting back the groan of pain that doubtless built in his throat.

He exhaled long and hard afterward, shaking his head a fraction. “Twisting’s the hard part,” he said, breathless. “Walking won’t be so bad.”

“Uh-huh,” Kay muttered. “Come here, Rose.”

When he draped his arm across her shoulders, she was shocked by the heat of it, his skin hot where it touched the exposed skin at the back of her neck.

On his other side, Kay grunted. “Shit, yeah, you’re burning up. You’ll be delirious in a few hours.”

“Such faith you have in me. Ready, ladies?”

“Readier than you.”

He made a game effort to support his own weight when he got his feet under him, but Rose felt the muscles over his ribs spasm as the wound pulled and grabbed, and he curled in on himself, leaning on them heavily.

Rose braced her feet, tightened her core, and refused to buckle, no matter how heavy he was.

Kay grunted again. “You sure do weight a lot for such a scarecrow. Can you walk?”

“Yeah.” Still breathless, all his energy put toward staying upright.

“Maybe this is a bad idea,” Rose said; she could feel him shivering against her.

“It’s okay.” His hair brushed her face as he turned his head toward her. “I can manage.” Breath warm in her ear; his nose skimming along her cheek.

She swallowed, and adjusted her grip on his wrist. Her other hand lay against his spine, the strong muscles that framed it. “Okay. We’ll go slow.”

“Easy does it,” Kay agreed.

Rose’s world narrowed down to her view of his feet and long, bare legs. She counted each step; measured progress in his inhales and exhales, and in the change from tile to hardwood underfoot.

Beck was winded by the time they reached the foot of the stairs, breathing loudly through his mouth.

“Rest a minute,” Rose suggested; she could hear the pleading note to her voice, and didn’t care. He washeavy, and she had serious doubts about him making it all the way to the second floor without his knees buckling.

“No. I’m fine.” But he stood breathing a moment, and then gathered himself with a little hiss before they started up.

Kay didn’t comment – Rose could hear that her breathing was labored, too. She hoped Beck was leaning most of his weight in her own direction, that he wasn’t overtaxing Kay.

Step, step, step, step…

Finally the landing.

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