The Fragile Tower - Book 1 of the No.1 magical fantasy series

The Fragile Tower Chapter 13 - The Lonely Cabin

She could feel warmth and something soft which tickled her neck for a long time before she was aware of anything else. She was happy to lie there and do nothing but feel for what seemed like hours.

Then something lifted from her mind a little and she began to wonder. Was it hair brushing against her? She had the half-formed thought that Benjamin might have crawled into her bed like he used to do as a toddler. But that didn't seem right somehow, and then she remembered that he had been taken, and she had to find him.

The comfortable warmth suddenly seemed like a trap to keep her from her brother, and she fought to sit up. There was something heavy keeping her down. With a huge effort, she opened her eyes, and then fought to focus.

The weight was a thick, white, furry animal pelt. She pushed it away, her arms feeling shockingly weak. She had to fight to lift it but once it was over the edge of whatever she was lying on, it slid and fell away. Then she put her hands behind her, and finally managed to sit up.

The pain in her head was incredible. It blocked out vision, feeling, awareness. Everything except a sluggish thought, that she could just lie down again and give up. But she had to find Benjamin. She didn't know where she was, or how long she'd been here, but she knew that.

So she hunched forwards, her eyes closed and her hand to her temple, while the pain thundered through her and the room span. Slowly, gradually, it started to ease, and after a minute she could open her eyes again.

It was a cabin, she saw, like the kind Dad had taken them all to a couple of summers ago in order to enjoy the great outdoors. It had been wooden, just like this one, with one window and door.

But this was plainer. There was no furniture, and she was sitting in a bed that was really just a raised platform. The only interruption to the plain wooden walls was a brick fireplace and chimney. The dim light in the room came from the glowing embers of the fire. A wood fire, she saw, rather than coal like the one Aunt Frances had in her living room.

On a shelf above the fire she saw a series of objects laid out, and saw with relief that one of them was the book, and that it seemed to be intact in spite of her plunge into the river. Thank goodness for waterproof pockets.

Her eyes travelled to the pelt on the floor, and she began to think she knew where she was. She could imagine a hunter living in a place like this, a place with no decoration, where all he needed to do was sleep. There wasn't even any sign of food here.

There was a kettle nestled in a small iron frame within the fire, though, one of the old-fashioned ones she'd seen in period dramas. And on the floor there were two mugs next to a metal tin which she thought might hold tea.

Grace only realised as she looked at them how parched she was. Her mouth felt as dry as dust. It sent a jolt of anxiety through her. She must have been asleep for hours. She tried to remember what had happened to her last, but her mind was a confused muddle of strange creatures and green eyes, and she gave up for now. What she needed urgently was something to drink.

There were only a few feet of bare floor between her and the fireplace, but even tilting her head slightly brought on a fresh rush of pain, and she had to bite back a yell of frustration. How could she go after Benjamin when she could barely move?

With a sigh, she realised that she just had to do it, and ignore the pain. If whatever she'd done to her head hadn't killed her, she was probably on the mend, she supposed.

She moved her legs first, sliding them off the edge of the bed. Even the small movement to her neck and head hurt, but it was manageable. She put her feet onto the floor and leaned her weight on them slightly. Her feet were bare, but the true-seer was still fastened around her ankle. That was one relief, anyway.