Chapter 27
Chapter Twenty-Seven
We baked muffins well past midnight. Amidst the companionable silence, I kept waiting to hear the howls or screams again, but none were heard.
The hair on the back of my neck pricked at every change in the air, certain that Reverend Mother would be standing over my shoulder, ready to drag me outside by my ear and banish me.
That never happened either.
I didn’t even happen upon Sister Pandorian for the duration of the baking session, which I found odd, since her and Delilyx seem to always be found together. Once the last muffin was wrapped and ready for the next day, Lilith and I retreated to our room.
Almost too much had transpired to even know where to begin to speak of it. I didn’t know if I should mention more of my relationship with Reverend Mother, inquire about Lilith’s past and secrets, or go over what happened in the woods.
We washed up separately and got into each of our beds one after the other. After some time passed as I stared at my usual spot on the ceiling, I turned over to find Lilith doing the same.
When she noticed me looking over, she asked, “You’re not with Veilentine, right?”
The corner of my mouth lifted slightly. “No, I’m not.”
She let out a sigh. “The blood.”
“I know.”
“Delilyx’s hand… a coincidence?”
“What else could it be?” I answered honestly. “None of this makes any sense.”
Lilith turned over, propping her head on her elbow. “I keep trying to unravel all the tangled ties in my mind. It’s as if all the clues are there, but none of them add up. Do you think the blood on the trees, the sounds in the woods, and the missing persons are all connected?”
“I can’t see how, exactly, but they must be, right?”
Lilith shrugged a shoulder. “Your town is a creepy one.”
“Granted, it was only marginally creepy before you came here. It’s another level now.”
With a smile that didn’t reach her eyes, she added, “Even with the creatures chasing us through the woods and blood on the trees, it’s still less scary than Silent Damnation.”
“The church you were fighting me kicking and screaming to run back to tonight, that one.”
Letting out a small breath, she nodded. “I fear if I report to them all of this… strangeness… it will prompt them to investigate further. This needs to come to an end, all of the mayhem here, so I can tell them all is well.”
“So, they did send you to spy?”
Lilith looked down at the floor. “There was no other way.”
My lips pressed together, holding back the onslaught of questions I wanted to ask.
It had been a long day, though, and the weary look on her face made me feel like I shouldn’t press her.
“If we figure out what’s going on, maybe we can put a stop to it, and you can let your church know there’s nothing to see here, right? ”
“Yes.”
“Tomorrow’s Saturday, our free day.”
“Yes, and?”
“Let’s go get your lock back… and see what we find along the way. Everything strange seems to be happening in the woods, and it all culminated at the giant stone we found. If we take a look around, maybe we can find the missing piece and untangle the threads.”
“You remember my lost lock?”
“Of course, I do.”
Lilith laid her head back down on the pillow and closed her eyes. “Okay, tomorrow we go back into the woods.”
We awoke before the sun the next morning.
I held my breath with every step down the hall, anxiety tensing my shoulders, ready to receive the wrath of Veilentine at any moment.
Surely she had to be seething after the events of the previous day.
Father Benedict was not in the kitchen with his early morning cup of tea.
I half wondered if Reverend Mother was speaking to him in her office, telling him they needed to dismiss me for my irredeemable sins.
I imagined Father Benedict nodding in agreement, wagging his finger, saying, “I knew there was something not right with that nun.” I pictured them calling me a wolf in sheep’s clothing as I quietly slipped on my boots in the mudroom.
By some small miracle, we made it outside without being spotted. They’d all know I went to the forest, breaking the rules to not venture that far, but what could I do that was worse than what I’d already done?
I’d made my stance. I’d chosen Lilith over my Reverend Mother, and my banishment was impending, coming for me at any moment.
I may as well have used the time left to try to get Lilith out of this mess with Damnation, and in turn, save Altar Church and Howl Moor from any further prying eyes from rigid churches.
Low fog crept over the grass and fields. By the fence, the outline of a dog appeared. Bernard stretched and let out a squeaky yawn before trotting over to us. He nuzzled under my palm before lifting his lip over his canine tooth and letting out a low, noncommittal snarl at Lilith.
“Why do you do that?” I asked the church dog, scratching under his chin. “Lilith is nice, boy.”
Unconvinced, Bernard pranced next to me as we began our trip into the forest. “He looks right at me,” Lilith said. “I still don’t believe he’s blind.”
Bernard ran up ahead, sniffing the air, and leading us onto the trail. The fog rippled across the forest floor as the morning light filtered through the leaves in ribbons of shimmering light. “Up here is the tree from last night.” I pointed.
“How do you know?”
“Your bag is right where I dropped it.”
Lilith inspected the tree, curving her fingers through the notches in the bark. “Dried blood. You’re right, this is it. But if the blood is now dry… that means somehow we’d caught it when it was fresh last night.”
“We should check the other tree, the one by the lake, and see if there’s dried blood on that one, too.”
We meandered forward, not in a big rush, despite the feeling of gloom that spread across the woods. Despite the howls and screams, it felt better to be in the woods just the two of us than in town or in church amongst many.
Lilith broke the silence as we walked. “What did your parents think about you becoming a nun?
I let out a huff of a laugh. “Oh, they hated it. They wanted me to get married to a wealthy man and have children. My vows luckily denied them both.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Why are you sorry? It was a thrill finding an avenue to disappoint them. One they could do nothing about. For a while, my vows felt like freedom from all of that—all the expectations on women to do things a certain way. Really, I just traded one set of rules for another.” I kicked at a pebble as we stepped over a tree root.
“What about you, what did your parents think?”
For a long while, I thought she wouldn’t answer, until finally, she did.
“It was just my mother and she… after my father died, she quit trying. She gave up on life, stopped talking, stopped getting out of bed. She became a shell of a human, really, leaving everything to me. So, I suppose there’s no way to tell what she thought about it. ”
“The drawings in your letter from Damnation… the other woman was your mom?”
Lilith nodded.
“And the two children?”
“My little brother, Sylvain, and little sister, Lyra.”
“They’re the one who drew the picture for you?”
“Lyra drew it, she’s nine, and Sylvain colored, he’s seven. I miss them.” Lilith’s mouth tensed. “I just hope they’re okay without me there.”
“Is your mother not able to look after them?”
“No… I’ve… I’ve recently had to entrust the church with that.”
My heart pained as I took in this information. This whole time Lilith had the weight of caring for a family back home on her shoulders. However, how or why would Damnation be involved in that?
“So, along with the letter requesting your testimony, they sent the children’s drawings?”
“Yes,” Lilith said, her tone tense.
“I take it that colorful artwork wasn’t a kind-hearted gift, then?”
Lilith shook her head slowly. “Kind-hearted isn’t a tenant found in their version of the bible.”
We stopped to catch our breath. “I hear the lake up ahead.” I reached out and took Lilith’s elbow, gently guiding her towards me. Wrapping her in a hug, I kissed the top of her head covering. “Whatever’s going on, I’m positive it’s not your fault.”
Lilith buried her face in my chest and muffled her reply. “How can you say that? Of course it is. I’ve failed my younger siblings… failed to protect them.”
“You never should have had to… and the church should be helping, not threatening. Whatever you’ve done, whatever you agreed to in coming here… I know you did it because you had to.” I lifted a shoulder. “We’re just nuns. There’s not much freedom of choice afforded to us.”
Lilith sucked in a breath and tugged away from our embrace. “Right… just nuns.”
We moved ahead of the trail, finally stopping by the initial tree where we’d first encountered blood. “This is the spot,” I said, inspecting the bark. It didn’t take long before I found the spot of dried blood. “It’s faint and only in the grooves because it’s rained so much, but it’s here.”
Lilith hummed. “Do you think maybe it’s a path of some sort? The tree at the bottom of the trail, leading up to this one?”
“Maybe so…” I gestured to the area nearby that led up the mountain to the stone. “We should check the trees on our way up the mountain and test your theory. If it’s a path leading anywhere, that seems the most interesting and bizarre spot.”
“Indeed,” Lilith said, tensing her jaw and looking towards the lake. “Want to swim while we’re here?”
My eyebrows raised in surprise and I pressed a hand to my chest. “Sister, I’m appalled you’d try to get me naked. How ever could we do such a sinful thing?”
After hitting my arm, she giggled. “You can check your moth traps... and I would like a moment to clear my mind. Water helps me with that. It’s why I was swimming that day you found me. A few moments of peace before coming to Lost Souls.”
“A swim sounds nice,” I agreed, tugging off my head covering and draping it over my typical vine as Lilith watched. “Do you… want me to turn around?”