Page 14 of A Winter Awakening
Then he crawled the short distance to the mattress, which had been set up near the fire. They’d all be back tomorrow to help him. He just needed to make it one night on his own.
And he’d already burned his food.
He lay back and stared at the dark wood ceiling. Darkness lay outside. The wind rattled the windows. The smell of burned stew lingered in the air.
Gael sighed. They’d taken Daisy to a stable so she could be properly fed and cared for. And of course she couldn’t stay in the cabin. But Gael hated being alone. His own thoughts became louder in the silence. He wished Orteo had stayed.
But no doubt the oread had other pressing things to do. He’d stayed with Gael all of the previous night in the cave. He couldn’t look after Gael always. Still, he wished for the oread and his calming presence.
Gael tugged blankets and furs onto himself and grabbed one of the books Edwin had lent him. He opened it and started to read by the light of the lantern. He read for a while, but he just couldn’t keep his eyes open. He set the book down and dozed.
When he woke the fire glowed dimmer. Gael gazed at the embers.
Wareth had left him with a roaring fire and instructions to place wood on it to keep it from going out. Although, Wareth had said if it went out, he should still be all right with the residual heat in the cabin. The room already felt chiller with the fire dwindling. He watched the small, hypnotic flames as they flickered along the crackled log.
He read a little more but then finally decided he needed to add more logs. He didn’t like the chill in the air. Careful of his ankle, he hopped to the fireplace. He’d been given a crutch. But he could hop a couple of steps with no trouble. He grabbed a log, leaned down, and dropped it onto the middle of the fire.
The glowing embers split, black and gold scattering beneath the force of the logs. He pulled back and coughed.
He stared into the fireplace. The log didn’t catch alight. In fact, it seemed that the golden glow beneath it diminished. He watched as it grew fainter and fainter.
He dropped to his knees. “Oh no!”
He snatched at another log, small sticks, leaves, and twigs, dumping them onto the dwindling fire. Some of the small bits caught alight, but when he tried to add more, they seemed to go out.
He coughed. Because whilst the fire didn’t grow, smoke billowed out at him. It filled his lungs. His eyes watered. Rising, he stepped on his injured ankle. He cried out and coughed again. Smoke filled the room.
He needed to open a window. Careful of his foot now, he leaned on the furniture as he moved towards it.
He touched the window frame. How did one open a window? He’d never had to do it before. Servants took care of that. He pressed his hand against the icy glass. He shoved at it. But it didn’t budge. He grabbed at what looked like a handle. He pushed and pulled. But to no avail!
Limping, he made his way to the door and threw it open. He took a breath of fresh, icy air. Then he hobbled to the makeshift bed and collapsed. The air circulated and took the smoke into the night. No fire remained in the hearth.
He closed his eyes, taking deep, gulping breaths. Slowly, his heartbeat returned to normal. He pulled the blankets and furs over him and waited. Once the smoke left, he’d close the door.
“Everything will be all right,” he whispered to the empty room. “Everything will be all right.”
Gael woke, teeth chattering, the door still flung open. No smoke lingered in the air. But no heat remained either. Snowflakes rested on the floor near the open doorway.
“Blast!” Gael threw the blankets off. “I’m so stupid!” How could he have fallen asleep and let all the heat out?
He hopped to the door and slammed it shut. Then as quick as he could on his injured foot, he returned to the bed. He grabbed the blankets and furs and dragged them over him. But it wasn’t enough. The icy air still reached its fingers through the blankets and curled around him.
I’m such a bumble-headed idiot!
All he’d had to do was reheat the stew and keep the fire going! But he’d made a smoky mess and had to open the door to let it out.
Gael had failed. Again.
He squeezed his eyes shut. He tried to sleep, but it wouldn’t come. He huddled beneath the blankets, freezing and waiting for the dawn.
And for help.
Because Gael clearly couldn’t look after himself.
ChapterNine
“Gael?” Orteo said as he opened the door to the cabin.
