VI.
I touched his neck gingerly, trying to ascertain if he was really alive. His eyes slid open a little bit, enough so that I could see the whites. Breath came out of his mouth, not a lot, but enough that I could assume he wasn�t dead. Bobby helped me prop him up against the wall, at the same time judging the extent of the damage. Jay�s body trembled and he started coughing. I waited for him to show some signs of cognizance, but he sank back on the wall and his eyes closed.�We have to get him out of here!� Bobby hissed. I nodded. How were we going to take him anywhere? �I�ll tie him to your back, ok?� I knew that if we took a cart or a horse, there would be more tracks to follow, and Amir and Lord Ryan would be able to track us more easily than on foot.
I knelt in front of Jay and let Bobby drape Jay�s arms over my shoulders and tie them in place. Jay�s head hit my neck and he whimpered a bit. I felt him starting to move, then his hands clenched in front of me and he began screaming at the top of his lungs. Bobby tore off a strip of his tunic and tied it in Jay�s mouth, acting as a sort of pain release and gag. �Shhh Jay, it�s okay.� I whispered, reaching my hands around and hugging him gently. He buried his face in my shoulder and quietly passed out. I grabbed his legs and staggered to my feet. �Where are we going?�
�We have to try and make it as far away from here as we can. You know the penalty for leaving the land.� A penalty much worse than Jay�s mother was facing right now. I shifted Jay�s weight on my back slowly and we walked up into the night.
Flames licked the sky and the catcalls and jubilation of the villagers drifted away with the smoke. We joined the fleeing words.
A few hours later we were still keeping to the woods and the stream beds, hoping that Lord Ryan�s hounds couldn�t follow our trail. Jay woke up periodically and his grasp would momentarily choke me, but he always passed out before I choked. I couldn�t imagine the pain, and I didn�t really want to. Bobby, why was he still with us? He could have left at anytime, but he stayed with me. He could have said that I threatened him, or that Jay had put a spell on him, and he wouldn�t even have to face Father Jonathan.�Hey, I see a cave!� he exclaimed, pointing to one up in the rocks. He ran back and helped me with Jay. �If we can just hide for a year and a day, we should be fine. You know Lord Ryan can�t do anything under the law after that.� That didn�t mean Lord Ryan wouldn�t try. And a year and a day was a long time.
�Bobby, you should probably go back to the village now. I don�t want you to get in trouble over this.� I said as I untied Jay and laid him lightly on the floor. Bobby shook his head.
�I�m not going back.� he said. He went to the entrance of the cave and sighed. �There was nothing there for us. Everyone hated me except you, because of my mother.�
Jay stirred and his hand slowly touched my leg. His eyes were unfocused and moved around almost independently of each other. �P...Paige?� he gasped, clenching his hand on my leg. �I didn�t tell them anything...� he panted, �I didn�t tell them anything!!� I could only bite my lip at how he was gripping me, his teeth ground together and he pulled himself into a position where he could see my face. �He said that the devil was my father, so I need to...� He put his arm in his mouth and bit down on it for a few seconds, his face in utter agony. �So I need to bear his mark...�
�Uh...why a pitch-fork?� But his grip slackened and he laid in my lap. I sighed and ran my fingers through his hair. Tears came unbidden to my eyes. Why couldn�t life just be simple? I asked for so little.
Bobby answered my question. �I saw Father Thomas�s bible once, it�s got some pictures. One of them was the devil with a pitchfork. Fuck if I know why he picked that to use.�
My finger traced Jay�s neck, taking care to avoid that area. But the heat radiated off of it in spires of pain. �After all that shit about how we�re all the same...� I sighed and bent down to kiss Jay�s forehead. �But really Bobby, where can we go? Lord Ryan will tell the other land owners, they�ll gather up a search party and we�ll be caught in a few weeks.� One had to be realistic, the last time some serfs had run, they were found, then drawn and quartered by their old neighbors. Bobby�s mother had helpfully told us the story when we were four. I still remembered the nightmares.
�There�s always London.� he said. �I�ve heard that work can be had there.�
�We�re going to be conspicuous though, especially with Jay.�
�That can easily be covered up. Don�t you know how many people are horribly disfigured?�
I nodded and pulled Jay closer. He moved a bit, but didn�t wake up. �London�s miles away though, I don�t know if we can make it.�
Bobby sat down across from me. �I don�t know either. But we have to try.�
Lips lapped at my throat, I moaned and opened my eyes. Jay stared at me weakly, trying to curl up closer to me. �Paige...it hurts.� he whispered. Hugged him to my chest gently.�I know.� I said, kissing him softly on the lips. He hissed in pain and I held his head to my chest. Sniffles as he desperately tried to keep from full out crying. �It�s okay.� I soothed, rocking him tenderly. �You�re safe now.� Fabric held with frantic fingers and knuckles bitten by teeth.
�You should leave me to die....� choked out from clenched jaw, veins jutting out from neck, turning the skin into a shadow of itself. Bobby was still asleep on my other side, curled up against me. Why was I the magnet for comfort?
�Jay, I�m not going to leave you.� He smiled a bit and closed his eyes without screwing them up from pain.
�You�re still wearing the choker.� he whispered. I was going to ask where his was, but my mind flashed back to the root cellar and I shook my head to get rid of the images.
�Just concentrate on getting better. We�re going to go to London.� I told him. His fingers trailed down my chest and lingered on my belt. Shuddered as he probed a bit lower. �Jay...� I began, and he turned his head so he could look at me. Pain glistened underneath the brave facade he presented. My lips sought out his and he exhaled in relief. Kissed him deeply until he pulled away and bit on his lips.
�Jay, it�ll get better. I promise.� He closed his eyes and nodded the nod of one who�s just agreeing to avoid an argument. I laid there and held him until the sun rose.