Lucy's Fortune by Christopher Beraht

Author:Christopher Beraht [Beraht, Christopher]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781656499707
Published: 2020-02-03T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

The silence was disconcerting as Lucy walked through the camp, going from domicile to domicile, hoping to see activity but finding nothing. Anxiety began to creep into her chest as she continued, and then she heard it, a low musical sound off in the distance. She stopped, trying to discern what it was, and concluding it was an organ, realized it was coming from the church. Overjoyed with excitement she ran toward the building.

As she drew closer, she could hear Reverend Keaton speaking inside though she could not make out the words. Maybe it was Sunday already. Had she been gone days? Then another thought occurred to her. There was another reason they might have all been gathered here. The sudden pain in her chest as she thought of Giovanni made her feel as if she was going to collapse. She put her hand on the door and fought hard against the tears.

With a deep breath she opened the door to the church and stepped inside. Reverend Keaton, a large bruise on the right side of his face, saw her immediately and he stopped speaking. Slowly all the church gatherers sitting in their pews began to turn to see what had gotten his attention. “It’s her!” somebody gasped and other murmurs began to arise from the crowd and blend into each other. Lucy could feel their eyes on her, crawling over her skin like insects.

“We thought you were dead,” Reverend Keaton said as he stepped down from the pulpit. “It’s a miracle.”

“And what else might she bring here?” asked a woman in the crowd. “She brought that thing to begin with.” Lucy looked toward the voice and might not have identified the source of the remark if the woman, in a grey dress and a bonnet, had not stood up. “She’s a witch,” the woman continued. “We know what the scriptures have to say about that.”

There were grumbles from others in agreement. Lucy saw that among them was Horace who stood and stared angrily at her but said nothing. Lucy guessed that at least half of the room was against her. Reverend Keaton turned to address them.

“Did you not see this girl stand against a demon with your own eyes? She is only a child and she showed remarkable bravery. I have seen enough violence in my life and certainly enough done in the name of God. There is no reason for your hostility.”

“I only came back because I have nowhere else to go,” Lucy said quietly. “I’ll go if that is what you want.”

There were murmurs from the group again, this time there were arguments over whether she should stay. Somehow, this made her feel more alone. Though she had been one for several days, this was the first time that she felt like an orphan.

“I will not lie,” Reverend Keaton said. “If you were to leave then it would bring peace to the group, but I imagine that you would not want to leave without seeing your friend.

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