Page 156 of Nightshade
She looked toward the closed door of her bedroom, frowning. At the caw of the bird, she snapped her attention back and pushed the satchel beneath her bed. “One moment. I have to make sure no one is awake. You do not want me to be followed, do you? We shall never escape unnoticed.”
The bird tipped its head, eyeing her up and down.
“It may just be the wind.” On tiptoes, she padded toward the door and opened it only a crack, to peer out into the empty corridor. Her room, being the closest to the bell tower, often captured the sounds of wind that rushed through the tower’s peak. At the sight of no one in the hallway, she climbed the stone staircase, toward the enormous bell.
Clang. Clang. Clang.
Clang.
Clang.
Clang. Clang. Clang.
The sound, louder that time, told her the noise definitely came from somewhere within the tower. She did not dare whisper, for fear that someone might catch her out of bed, while she scampered up the stone stairwell. It was at the peak that Lustina noticed a flash of light off in the distance.
An oncoming storm.
A voice inside of her chided her to leave. Ignoring it, she stepped carefully across the platform, rounding the bell, which remained still, until she reached the other side.
With a sharp inhale, she just managed to slap a hand to her mouth before a scream could escape her. Limbs as heavy as the bell’s iron, she couldn’t focus. Every muscle trembled with fear and disbelief.
From ropes that hung beneath the bell yoke, Pentash Maria and Aurelia dangled by their necks. Skin blue and eyes vacant with death.
Tears filled Lustina’s eyes. A thick dread weighed heavy in her chest, crushing the air out of her. The crucifix that hung from Maria’s waist tapped against the bell.
Clang. Clang. Clang.
Clang.
Clang.
Clang. Clang. Clang.
Lustina couldn’t move.
Go, Lustina! the voice from before urged, and she turned to see the raven sat on the bannister of the tower. Go now!
She backed herself to the stairwell and gathered the skirt of her dress so that she would not trip.
Abandoning the satchel beneath her bed, she ran out of the bell tower and through the courtyard. A half-dozen ravens flew overhead, and she followed after them into the woods. There, more ravens gathered to join the flock, the sound of their unified wings flapping like thunder. Over the fallen brush, she ran beyond the exhaustion of labored breaths and the ache of muscles.
Something stirs ahead, a voice said to her, and the birds changed direction, leading her away from the path she followed.
Deeper into the woods, the trees grew thicker, the sky darker than before. She could no longer see the birds overhead, but listened for their voices.
Above their ruckus came another sound, and Lustina looked ahead toward a cave, where dozens of bats emerged, taking to the sky.
The voices she’d heard before were drowned by cawing, the squeal of the bats, and the clashing of wings as a fight ensued in the sky. Beyond the canopy of trees, Lustina could hardly discern the birds from the bats, and she remained still as they battled overhead.
At a grip on her arm, she screamed and turned to find the Pentash Mother standing alongside her.
“Whatever are you doing out this late, child?”
Wriggling to get loose, Lustina lurched away, but something gripped her other arm. One of the pentroshes she recognized from the monastery. Heart pounding in her chest, she let out a scream that was quickly captured in the palm of the Pentash Mother’s hand. Lustina dug her heels into the cold dirt, as she was dragged across the forest. Others joined in, faces she recognized from the village, who carried her through the forest.
“Help me!” she screamed, but to no avail, as the palm covering her face tightened, nails digging into her cheeks.
She arched and bucked and screamed, until she flew through the air, her stomach light, and the ground crashed into her spine. Pain climbed up her back into her sinuses, and she turned to her side on a cough, where she found what must have been the entire village gathered at the bank of the river.
