Thursday's Third Scene featuring Havens - Affinities Book 2 #MFRWauthor #fantasy #teen

Jaydren

With a burst of speed Jay turned from the hut and raced toward the camp where his siblings waited.  Ky’s call had held an urgency that spurred him to hurry.  The path he took wound in a serpentine manner around clusters of firs and stark stands of hardwoods.  Towing the sled through the maze would be difficult.

He passed the first place he’d noted as a possible shelter.  The fallen trees and bushes formed a space resembling a cave.  Dead leaves lay in a thick mat on the ground.  There was room to pitch the tent but he was glad he’d continued past.  The abandoned hut could shelter them for days while they decided where to go.

Jay sighed.  If only Ash would search the winds for signs of people they could have formed an idea of where they were.  He understood her fear.  With the twin bond he had experienced some of Ky’s panicked reaction when she’d been Dom Senet’s prisoner.  Being separated from her siblings had been hard, but when the two-way conversation had been cut off, her hopes must have vanished.  His had.

He caught the scent of burning wood and then saw a great cloud of smoke.  Finally he was close enough to see leaping flames.  Why had they built the fire so high?  If there were people nearby they would come to investigate and they might be enemies.  He stretched his legs into longer strides.  “What happened?”

Bran looked up.  “Ash … Ash.”

Ky put her hands on Bran’s shoulders.  “She broke through the ice on a pond and was soaked and chilled.  She needs a warm place.”

“The abandoned hut isn’t far.”

“What kind of hut?”

Jay shrugged.  “Made from logs.  Could be a woodcutter’s place.  There’s a big stack of cut wood and a fireplace.  Took a glance inside.  Saw some bunks.”

Ky rose and walked to the sled.  “Then let us hurry.”  She dropped the folded half of the tent inside.

Jay nodded.  “We’ll be there before midday.”

“Come and help.”  Bran reached for the head of the sleep saque.  “We need to lift her into the sled.”

Jay and Ky joined him.  They carried Ash to the sled and managed to lift her over the high side.  Jay heaped snow over the fire while Ky and Bran made sure they’d left nothing behind.

While Bran and Ky pulled the sled, Jay followed and stirred the snow to obscure their trail with a fir branch.  Light flurries had begun to fall.  Jay smiled.  With luck, the snowfall would continue until all signs of their passing vanished.

They wove a path around bushes and trees.  When they passed the tangle, Jay pointed to the way the growth formed a cave.  “We could have used that but the hut is better.  Not much further to go.”

“Good,” Bran said.

Soon the dark structure appeared.  Jay dropped the fir branch and began to push the sled.  He studied their destination.  Gaps between the logs had been sealed with yellow clay.  Once they had the fire started the small structure would soon warm.  He ran ahead and opened the door into a square room.  “How will we get Ash inside?”

“On the sled,” Bran said.

“Will it fit?”  Ky asked.

Without spilling Ash, Jay wondered.  He moved to help.  Bran pulled.  Jay and Ky pushed.  The runners squealed on the wood.  Then like a cork pulled from a bottle, the sled popped into the room.  Jay and Ky landed in a tangle on the floor.  He freed himself and lay back to gulp deep breaths of air.

“Jay, help us lift Ash onto one of the bunks,” Bran called.

He pushed to his feet and took hold of the foot of the sleep saque.  The three struggled to lift Ash onto a lower bunk closest to the fireplace.  Jay rooted in the sled, found the brazier, the firebricks and the flasks of tea and broth.

“Ky, light the bricks.” 

“Be right there.”  She emerged from behind a door he hadn’t noticed before.  “The necessary,” she said.  “Kind of small.”

Once his twin lit the fire, Jay found two pans and emptied the flasks into them.  He placed journey bread and cheese on a cloth and set them on the small table.  There were only two rickety chairs so they would have to take turns.

Bran sat beside Ash and opened the sleep saque.  “Just as I feared.”

“What?”  Jay asked.

“Come and see.  I fear her feet are badly frost-bitten.  Her hands, too, but not as bad.  She could lose her toes.”

Jay stared at the blanched skin of his sibling’s feet.  He gently touched one.  “I feel a faint pulse.  How can we help her?”  He couldn’t imagine Ash being crippled.

Bran looked up.  “Find Ky.  I need her help.  We have to warm Ash’s hands and feet and bring more blood to them.  I’m glad she’s sleeping.  The restoration will be painful.”

“What can Ky do?”

“Remember what she did when we healed Zand?”

Jay nodded.  “I’ll get her.”  He ran to the door.  “Ky.”

“Here,” she called.  “By the woodpile.  The top layer and some of the sides are covered with ice but the rest is all right.  There’s enough for at least a sevenday, probably longer.”

“Bran needs your help with Ash.  He wants you to bring fire sort of like you did with Zand.”  Jay walked to where she stood.  “I’ll fetch the wood.”

Ky thrust the logs she held into his arms.  She sprinted to the house.  Jay followed.  He piled the logs beside the fireplace and returned with two more loads.  Finally, he laid a fire and with his knife shaved some scraps for kindling.

Bran and Ky stood beside the bunk.  Curiosity drew Jay across the room to watch and add his strength if needed.

“The hands were easy,” Ky said.

“We should have done her feet first,” Bran said.  “What if we waited too long?”

Ky shook her head.  “We had to be sure we knew what we were doing.  I’m ready.”

Bran cradled one of Ash’s feet in his hands.  Ky placed her fingers over his.  As Jay watched, the skin color changed from near-white to pale brown and finally to bronze.

Once they finished, Ky slumped and nearly tumbled to the floor.  Jay caught her and pushed her beside Ash.  Bran slumped at the foot of the bunk.  “Jay, some tea.  Add a lot of honey.”

Jay rushed to the brazier and scooped tea from the pan.  He added a liberal amount of the sweetening and carried the mug to the bunk.  After helping Ky sit, he held the cup so she could drink.  With a grin, she finished the tea and dangled her legs over the side.

Jay fixed a second cup of tea.  Bran drank, then left the bunk and searched in his pack.  He sprinkled herbs in a cup of tea.  Ash groaned.  Jay supported her while she drank.

Though they were protected from the wind, the hut was cold.  Jay searched for the fire starter Dragen had given them.  He sat on the stone hearth and struck sparks until one caught.  He blew on the spark and added shavings.  The flame grew.  Carefully, he added larger scraps and then a small log.  He groaned.  Instead of the smoke flowing up the chimney, it eddied into the room.  Jay’s eyes watered.  Ash began to cough.

“Do something,” Bran cried.

“Something’s blocking the chimney.”  Jay grabbed a poncho and dropped his cloak on the chair.  “Leave the door open.  Most of the smoke will escape.”

Jay went outside and stared at the roof.  Only a thin plume of smoke rose from the stone chimney.  He studied the trees around the hut and saw one of the hardwoods had a branch that hung over the roof and nearly touched the shingles.

He jumped, caught the lowest limb and pulled himself up.  After sliding to the trunk, he climbed until he reached the branch he wanted.  Several times his feet slipped and he clung to the bole until his heart steadied.  He straddled the limb and inched forward.  The branch narrowed and he hoped it would hold his weight until he reached the chimney.

As he prepared to drop to the roof, the branch cracked.  He sprawled on the roof.  Snow slid toward the edge threatening to take him along.  His breath exploded in a cloud of vapor.  He grabbed the stones.  His heart thundered.  He felt tears on his cheeks.

Once he caught his breath he pushed to his knees and peered into the chimney.  A ragged bird’s nest plugged most of the opening.  He tore the straw and twigs away.  Smoke poured from the opening and spiraled into the air.

Jay slid to the edge of the roof and lowered himself to the ground.  He saw Ky carrying in an armload of fir branches and went to cut more.  When he entered the hut the smoke had dissipated.  He hoped the vapor rising from the chimney wouldn’t betray them.