Read Online A Witch Alone (The Winter Witch Trilogy #3) by Ruth Warburton - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Ruth Warburton
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tonight, but all of a sudden the exams felt terrifyingly close. How many weeks were left? I wasn’t certain, but I had a horrible feeling that it might be down to single figures.
As if in time with my thoughts the wind groaned in the chimney and I went to the window and looked out. There was something wrong about the weather again, the same false note Abe had mentioned the other night.
But the air outside was sharp and cold, not a wisp of fog to be seen. So it wasn’t that. There was a storm building though. I could hear it in the howl of the wind and the crash of the surf against the far-off cliffs. The sky was clear overhead, but away out to sea I could see rolling black shadows, building and boiling in the distance. A crow wheeled and cried in the darkness, its wingspan a star-blotted blackness against the dark of the night sky.
And then the phone started ringing.
Automatically I looked at the clock. 9.50 p.m.? Who’d be ringing now? I clattered down the stairs to grab the phone before it rang out.
‘Hello?’
‘Anna?’ The voice at the other end was strange: croaky and hoarse, like someone who’d been crying.
‘Um … yes … ?’
‘Anna, it’s me – Elaine.’
‘Elaine! What – what’s happened? Are you OK? Is Seth—?’ I stopped. I couldn’t speak. My hands were cold and numb against the phone. I thought of the storm, of the distant boiling clouds in the black night, of a small boat, horribly fragile …
‘Seth’s fine,’ Elaine said, but her voice was cracked and odd, and there was an echo on the line. She wasn’t phoning from the pub. ‘Anna, I’m really sorry to ring so late, and I’m really, really sorry to ask you this …’
She stopped and I swallowed against the fear and said, more harshly than I meant, ‘Elaine, please, you’re scaring me. Just say it.’
‘Anna, it’s Bran,’ she gulped, and there was a sob in her voice. ‘He’s d-dying. I really think he’s dying and so do the doctors. And he’s raving and sobbing and c-crying out – for Seth, but also for you. And I can’t do anything about Seth, he’s stuck in some port, trying to get a visa. And I know I have no right to ask you this, p-please believe me I do know that. You don’t owe him anything. But I thought—’
‘I’m coming,’ I said.
Even as I spoke, getting the right department and ward, I was shrugging into my coat.
Elaine was wrong. I owed Bran. And I owed this to Seth.
‘Dad,’ I called as I ran into the night, ‘Dad, get your keys.’
‘Anna!’ Elaine jumped up from the side of the bed as I entered. Her face, even in the soft, low light from the bedside lamp, was grey and drawn.
‘Elaine.’ I kissed her. ‘You look … tired.’
‘I am tired.’ She passed a hand over her face and it trembled. ‘It’s been … Oh, I can’t bear it.’
It hurt to see her like this, her face so raw and naked, and so alone. Seth should have been here, helping her. And he wasn’t.
‘Is there anything I can do?’ I asked in a whisper.
‘Well … I hate to ask … but could you sit with him for a few minutes while I go to the loo? I didn’t want to leave him before, but he’s asleep now so I think he’ll be fine for a while. They gave him something to help. You know, with … with the pain …’ she put a hand to her face.
‘Of course.’ I swallowed. ‘It’s no problem, I promise.’
‘OK,’ Elaine nodded and drew a deep breath. ‘Thank you. I’ll feel better knowing you’re here and can ring the bell. Just to warn you –’ she took another shaky breath ‘– he’s not very … lucid. He’s on very strong pain medication. He might not recognize you if he wakes, but maybe …’
She stopped. I knew what she was thinking. Maybe that would be for the best.
‘It’ll be fine,’ I said. ‘I’ll get one of the nurses to call you if he wakes up, I promise.’
‘Thanks, Anna.’ She gave me a watery smile and I watched as she walked, slow and
As if in time with my thoughts the wind groaned in the chimney and I went to the window and looked out. There was something wrong about the weather again, the same false note Abe had mentioned the other night.
But the air outside was sharp and cold, not a wisp of fog to be seen. So it wasn’t that. There was a storm building though. I could hear it in the howl of the wind and the crash of the surf against the far-off cliffs. The sky was clear overhead, but away out to sea I could see rolling black shadows, building and boiling in the distance. A crow wheeled and cried in the darkness, its wingspan a star-blotted blackness against the dark of the night sky.
And then the phone started ringing.
Automatically I looked at the clock. 9.50 p.m.? Who’d be ringing now? I clattered down the stairs to grab the phone before it rang out.
‘Hello?’
‘Anna?’ The voice at the other end was strange: croaky and hoarse, like someone who’d been crying.
‘Um … yes … ?’
‘Anna, it’s me – Elaine.’
‘Elaine! What – what’s happened? Are you OK? Is Seth—?’ I stopped. I couldn’t speak. My hands were cold and numb against the phone. I thought of the storm, of the distant boiling clouds in the black night, of a small boat, horribly fragile …
‘Seth’s fine,’ Elaine said, but her voice was cracked and odd, and there was an echo on the line. She wasn’t phoning from the pub. ‘Anna, I’m really sorry to ring so late, and I’m really, really sorry to ask you this …’
She stopped and I swallowed against the fear and said, more harshly than I meant, ‘Elaine, please, you’re scaring me. Just say it.’
‘Anna, it’s Bran,’ she gulped, and there was a sob in her voice. ‘He’s d-dying. I really think he’s dying and so do the doctors. And he’s raving and sobbing and c-crying out – for Seth, but also for you. And I can’t do anything about Seth, he’s stuck in some port, trying to get a visa. And I know I have no right to ask you this, p-please believe me I do know that. You don’t owe him anything. But I thought—’
‘I’m coming,’ I said.
Even as I spoke, getting the right department and ward, I was shrugging into my coat.
Elaine was wrong. I owed Bran. And I owed this to Seth.
‘Dad,’ I called as I ran into the night, ‘Dad, get your keys.’
‘Anna!’ Elaine jumped up from the side of the bed as I entered. Her face, even in the soft, low light from the bedside lamp, was grey and drawn.
‘Elaine.’ I kissed her. ‘You look … tired.’
‘I am tired.’ She passed a hand over her face and it trembled. ‘It’s been … Oh, I can’t bear it.’
It hurt to see her like this, her face so raw and naked, and so alone. Seth should have been here, helping her. And he wasn’t.
‘Is there anything I can do?’ I asked in a whisper.
‘Well … I hate to ask … but could you sit with him for a few minutes while I go to the loo? I didn’t want to leave him before, but he’s asleep now so I think he’ll be fine for a while. They gave him something to help. You know, with … with the pain …’ she put a hand to her face.
‘Of course.’ I swallowed. ‘It’s no problem, I promise.’
‘OK,’ Elaine nodded and drew a deep breath. ‘Thank you. I’ll feel better knowing you’re here and can ring the bell. Just to warn you –’ she took another shaky breath ‘– he’s not very … lucid. He’s on very strong pain medication. He might not recognize you if he wakes, but maybe …’
She stopped. I knew what she was thinking. Maybe that would be for the best.
‘It’ll be fine,’ I said. ‘I’ll get one of the nurses to call you if he wakes up, I promise.’
‘Thanks, Anna.’ She gave me a watery smile and I watched as she walked, slow and
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