Chapter 16 #2
“I worked late closing the tavern. Darrell Brand and his men were there celebrating something or other well past three in the morning when I finally kicked them out. Had just kicked off my work boots when I realized I hadn’t fed the critters that day.
Usually, I go on my lunch break, but I worked through it that day we were so busy.
” Batilda tapped her calloused palm against her knee.
“Thought it was strange as I walked up it was quiet as death. That should’ve been my first clue that something was wrong.
You know those birds of mine are a squawking mess any time of day or night, especially when they see me and know that food is coming.
But this night, all was quiet around my pond.
Panicked, I searched the brush and found my billiard ducks huddled together.
They don’t typically nest in the bushes, so there was the next clue I ignored. ”
“And the swans?” I asked thinly. “Where were they?”
Batilda’s jaw tensed as she looked down, avoiding my stare. “When I turned around, I could have sworn it was a spirit standing there in the trees. White and glowing as it swayed in the moonlight. Wished it would have been.”
My brows furrowed as I lightly touched her muscular forearm. “Tell me?”
“My three swans were hanging by their feet from a branch… all in a row… dead.”
My blood turned to ice despite the rare rays of sunlight washing over us. Such an idyllic scene: women laughing, the sun beaming, a fountain shimmering, and a tale of an eerie loss of innocent life. “I don’t understand,” I stammered. “Who could have done such a thing, and why?”
“Who or what, more like it.”
“It doesn’t make sense.”
“Ten years ago, things like this started happening… well… it’s a warning, I reckon. What’s it called in the bible, Sister? A plague? A spirit of death?”
I swallowed against the dry sensation in my throat and glanced around, finding Sister Pandorian and Delilyx laughing with two women as they stuck their needles into fabric and shared a bowl of green apple slices. “God is not sending a plague or the spirit of death to Howl Moor. How could he?”
Batilda let out a dark chuckle. “I don’t know.
I reckon the god who wiped out humanity with a flood might take notice of swans and secluded, rainy towns.
Things slip through the iron of hell when you’re not lookin’, while the character of god exists on pages we refuse to see.
I think there are things we can’t explain.
Regardless, you’d do best to keep to the church after dark. ”
“Maybe you’ve heard too many bible stories, Batilda.” I feigned a weak smile.
The barkeep laughed. “Could be true.”
“I’m sorry about your swans. I know you loved them.”
“Thank you, Sister.”
“Hey, have you seen—” My quandary was answered before I finished the thought, as a flash of gold and black caught the corner of my vision.
Lilith strolled in with Iris by her side.
The young mother wore a pressed and clean green dress, her hair combed and pinned back as she smiled and joined her friends on a quilt.
Sister Lilith glanced up, holding a squishy-cheeked baby on her hip, and waved to us across the way, taking the baby’s hand and making it giggle as she guided him to wave as well.
Batilda patted my back. “I like your girl, Sister. She’s a good one.”
“Oh, she’s not my girl. You know, she’s just… new… a new nun here visiting.”
Standing, the barkeep chuckled as if she didn’t believe my sudden defense before wishing me farewell. I hoped she didn’t think anything was going on between Lilith and I. If it were plain to her… and my sisters… who else could have noticed? I’d thought myself discreet, but—
Sister Lilith swayed over, the sunlight shining through the stray wisps of blonde that had fallen from her veil. She smiled at the baby and pinched its cheek. My heart swelled, and by the time she reached me, I was surely a puddle by the fountain. “Hello,” she said cooly. “Beautiful day.”
“Beautiful girl,” I answered.
Sister Lilith’s cheeks flushed pink. “Quiet before someone hears you.”
“Where have you been? I’ve looked for you all morning.”
“I got up early to ask Reverend Mother if I could come into town and offer my assistance to Mrs. Maison.”
“What kind of assistance?”
Sister Lilith gave the baby’s side a soft pinch, sending him into a fit of giggles. “This kind.”
A soft smile bloomed across my features as I reached out, letting little Archie wrap his grip around my finger. “How do you know how to calm little ones?”
“I love babies.” She bounced him naturally as we spoke. “I have a little brother and a little sister back home... I basically raised them.”
“Where is… I mean… did something happen to your mother?”
Lilith’s blue gaze reached mine, dancing with some untold story, a story I wished so badly to uncover, to be worth telling someday.
“Forgive me for prying. I’m only ever simply curious.”
“My mother is alive, if that’s what you’re asking. She’s just… unable to care for them. I was better at calming them, anyway.”
“It must have been difficult to take your vows and leave them, then.”
“All I do, I do for them,” she said softly, brushing a tiny curl from Archie’s forehead.
I opened my mouth to ask more, to delve deeper into this rare moment of Lilith revealing a part of her past, when Delilyx bounded over, thrusting her embroidery hoop between us. “Look! It’s a bat.”
“That it is… making art of the enemy?” I asked, amused.
Sister Pandorian joined us, crossing her arms and eyeing Lilith with suspicion. “How’d you get little Archie to be so content?”
Sister Lilith glanced up, a brief wave of skepticism crossing her features. “The answer is always either fresh air or water. It fixes everything with kids, I’ve found.”
“Interesting.” Sister Pandorian glanced over her shoulder. “Well, I’ve never seen Iris looking so rested, so you must have done something right.”
“I showed up during the witching hour and took the baby, letting her sleep. My mind is typically… restless… during those hours anyway.”
“The witching hour?” Sister Delilyx asked, looking up from her cross-stitched bat wings. “What’s that?”
“The hours around three to four in the morning. Most new mothers dread them, as infants are unsettled during that time.” Archie Junior tugged at Sister Lilith’s habit and chewed on its end.
“He’s teething. See how his gums are white?
Once he pops a tooth, he’ll sleep better, giving his tired mama a break. ”
“Do bats and beasts enjoy the witching hour, too?” Sister Delilyx inquired.
Sister Pandorian and I shot each other a glance as Lilith searched our faces for a moment before answering. “I’d suspect it got its name for a reason… however, that reminds me… I thought I’d offer to help you search for your missing bible, if you’d let me?”
Delilyx raised a skeptical eyebrow. “Trust me, I’ve looked everywhere, so have my sisters.”
“Sometimes a fresh pair of eyes can help. It’s only an offer; you do not need to accept if you don’t want to.”
Sister Delilyx looked to Pandorian and me. Her partner only shrugged as if to say, do whatever you want. “Okay, then. Let’s look around on free day.”
“Free day?” Sister Lilith asked.
“Saturday,” Pandorian answered. “Saturdays are our free days where we may do as we please.”
Sister Lilith nodded. “Saturday it is.”
Pandorian surprised me by asking, “Would you like to come for a stroll in the forest with us this afternoon?”
The topic of the woods squeezed my chest, and I felt a slight urge to divulge what Batilda had told me of her swans…
however… the nuns were warming to each other, and I didn’t want to interrupt them.
It was like watching a snake choke down a chicken egg.
If I spooked it, he’d spit out the egg and slither off, never to be seen again.
Lilith’s smile reached her eyes this time. “Sure, yes, I would enjoy that very much.”
It was daylight, in fact, and very bright and warm. Batilda had advised avoiding the woods at night. This should be harmless and fine. We’d stick to the trails on a pleasant stroll.
So why did my skin prickle at the prospect?