Mercury Mind (The Downfall Saga Book 1) Read Free

hanging from a peg on the wall and tossed it to him. “I’ll look at your cuts as soon as you’re done eating.”
    Donovan hung his cloak from an empty peg on the wall, and began to undress. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Mrs. Betha in a flurry of activity, grabbing jars out of the pantry, slicing bread and ladling soup from a pot into a small wooden bowl. Once he was done toweling off, he slipped on a pair of pants, tying the laces at the waist, hung his wet clothes on the wall and headed over to see what she had prepared.
    He hadn’t realized that he was hungry until he stared down at the table and his stomach growled to remind him. There was a soup with potatoes and carrots, thick slices of bread with honey and butter, and a few slices of roast beef.
    “Thank you, Mrs. Betha,” he said, sitting down on a plain wooden stool.
    “Mama B,” she said. “The students call me Mama B.”
    “Thank you, Mama B,” he said, amidst a mouthful of bread.
    “Take your time eating,” she said, “I’ll start drying your clothes while you eat.” Emptying out his pack, she spread everything out to dry.
    Donovan didn’t heed her advice. He burnt the roof of his mouth while shoveling hot soup into his mouth, but even that didn’t stop him. The food may have looked simple, but its flavor was immense. When he finished eating, he headed over to watch her work the dough. Ripping it into little chunks, which she rolled into balls that would be baked into buns. She arranged them on a metal tray. Once the tray was full, she placed it in one of the ovens, before turning her attention to Donovan.
    “How was the food?” she asked.
    “Amazing.”
    “Glad to hear that I’ve still got it,” she said. “Now let’s take a look at those cuts.” She brought over a bucket of warm water and a rag. She gently began to scrub away the dried blood on his chest. “Someone sure did a number to you. What kind of a monster would do this to a boy?”
    Donovan sat stoically as she finished cleaning the wound. Drying it off, she wrapped several bandages around his chest.
    “Now don’t pick at it.”
    Donovan headed over to his clothes and gingerly put on a shirt, while Mama B cleaned up the table. Donovan let out an involuntary yawn. The meal was already making him sleepy.
    “I don’t mean to be rude, but I could really use some rest.”
    “Of course, my dear. The dorms are all torn apart while we’re getting them ready for the new students. I’ll make you a spot in here if you promise not to get into any mischief. It’s not perfect but at least it’s warm and dry.”
    “It’ll be brilliant,” said Donovan. “Can I help you with anything?”
    “No, dear. Just have a seat and I’ll be back in a jiff.”
    She left and came back several minutes later, arms full of blankets. With a practiced efficiency, she quickly made a bed in the corner of the room.
    “Now you go settle down while I finish up a few things.” She gave him a big hug. “Remember, if you ever need anything, you come see Mama B.”
    It felt like he’d just put his head down to sleep when something woke him. With bleary eyes and a heavy brain, he tried to figure out what had happened. The storm outside had passed, and pale moonlight filtered through the small windows.
    He lay still, concentrating, when he realized that he could feel a slight vibration in the ground. Building in intensity, the movement grew stronger and stronger. A pot, precariously place on the edge of a shelf under a table, slowly vibrated over the edge. Donovan stared at it, transfixed, until it hit the ground with a loud clang, jolting him into action. While organized, there was a lot of clutter in the kitchen, from knives to pots to glass jars sitting on shelves. He threw aside his covers and began crawling towards the door. The pounding continued to grow stronger, with more and more objects clattering to the ground, adding their own notes to the growing din. The constant vibration made it