Page 23 of Legacy of Thorns
“But it worked when we needed it.” Archer’s perpetual cheerfulness was unabated by the near miss.
For a moment they all stood in silence, exchanging uneasy looks as they considered what had just happened.
“Now what?” Morrow looked to Finley.
Nisha watched him too. Apparently he was the leader of this strange gang, despite being years younger than the other two. What had brought them together? Daphne didn’t want to feel any curiosity about Finley after what he’d done, but it bubbled up just the same.
He gazed up at the sky. “I’d rather not be out in the open tonight.”
The days were lengthening again now that winter was past, but it was still close to twilight after all the time they’d spent in the brambles.
“I once found an abandoned woodcutter’s cabin in this area,” Nisha offered. “If I remember rightly, it wasn’t too far from here, and our pursuers have no reason to connect it with you. I doubt they even know it exists.”
Finley nodded decisively. “That sounds perfect. We can at least spend the night there and reassess in the morning.”
Nisha took the lead, Morrow assuming her old position in the rear, his body tense and alert in a way Daphne hadn’t yet seen. After the unexpected terror of being chased, she was glad to have his bulk between her back and the descending night.
They moved quickly, but it was still almost full dark by the time a building loomed out of the forest ahead of them. It was neater than Daphne had expected, with wooden slats and a wraparound porch. Was it really abandoned?
But when Finley tried the door, it swung open easily beneath his hand. And the inside showed clearly that no one had been there for some time. The windows were all still intact, so none of the forest had blown inside, but everything was so dusty that Daphne sneezed three times before she’d made it all the way in.
“How tiresome,” she said to no one in particular.
It didn’t take much rummaging to discover a broom that had been abandoned along with the cottage, and she began to sweep with long, flagging strokes. Despite her long nap, she was already exhausted again. Was it the excitement and emotion of the day sapping her energy? Or was something else going on? The uneasy thoughts slowed her sweeping even further.
Archer intercepted her, wrestling away the broom. “Let me do that!” He plied the tool with far more enthusiasm than she had.
She let him take over, turning her attention to the furniture and shelves instead. Thankfully Nisha unearthed a couple of cleaning cloths from her pack and dipped them both into a bucket of water Finley had managed to produce by working a small, manual pump in the wall.
Nisha nodded toward the water pouring from the spigot. “The well beneath the house is the reason I remembered this place. Very convenient.”
“As the one who usually carts most of the water, I appreciate that,” Morrow said with a rumbling chuckle.
He had finished clearing the fireplace and was lighting a fire, coaxing it into a small, cheery blaze that gave light to the room. Finley finished with the pump and stepped to Daphne’s side, gazing into the fledgling flames alongside her.
“Don’t worry,” he said, although she hadn’t spoken. “The smoke from the chimney won’t be visible at night, and we’ll put it out well before dawn.”
Daphne hadn’t been worried. The comfort, light, and warmth of a fire outweighed any small risk—at least in the darkness.
“Enough talking.” Nisha thrust one of the wet cloths at Finley and the other at Daphne. “The sooner we get rid of this dust, the better.”
Daphne took the cleaning implement without complaint, in complete agreement with Nisha. She was willing to sleep in thedirt when camping outside, but she had no desire to do the same inside the cabin.
While Daphne and Finley dusted, Morrow took over the pump, rinsing the cloths as needed and periodically dumping the dirty water outside. Nisha, meanwhile, went on a search for anything that could be used as a chair or stool, managing to find several old crates and even two abandoned stools that needed only a small bit of repair.
The larger items of furniture, such as the table and beds, had been left when the house was abandoned—most likely because they were too large to fit through the doorways and too heavy to be easily transported. But all the smaller items, like chairs, had been taken.
Daphne cared more about beds than chairs, however. While she wouldn’t admit it, she missed her bed back in her cousin’s palace, and was already thinking of the large bed in the room she and Nisha had claimed. The other room had only two narrow beds, but there was room enough on the floor for a bedroll, so the men would fit, even if one of them was relegated to the floor.
By the time the cabin was at an acceptable level of cleanliness, Nisha had found five makeshift seats to place around the table, and the last hints of daylight had disappeared, deep dark falling. Between the forest canopy and what had to be cloud cover above, there was no hint of either stars or moonlight.
Daphne shook out her cleaning cloth for the final time and closed the door firmly behind her. The fire inside burned warm and inviting.
An empty spot in the main room had likely once held a stove, but that had been taken by the departing occupants. The open fireplace stood as a substitute, however, and Morrow had already started preparing the evening meal.
“Why was a neat place like this abandoned?” Daphne asked, as they finally took their places at the table.
“There are dwellings like this scattered throughout the forest,” Finley said, “and a reasonable number are abandoned. It isn’t easy living such an isolated life, and many people eventually decide to move back to more populated areas.”
