The Salvation of Kora by Yolanda Olson

Author:Yolanda Olson [Olson, Yolanda]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-10-30T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter Eight

“Lily?”

Sister Olive sounds shocked as she calls my name out. I’m walking by the church grounds with no intention of stopping, but the tone of her voice causes me to slow down slightly.

“I’m fine,” I call back curtly with a nod as I continue walking. Devyn said that he works at the docks by the harbor, and I’m hoping he can help me again like he did last night.

“Wait!” she shouts, her voice cracking as she starts to run toward the low, stone wall that encircles the property.

I take a deep breath and stop walking for a moment. Sister Olive is pretty; she’s only a bit younger than I am, has hair the color of freshly fallen snow, and the skin color to match. Her eyes—which are normally welcoming and bright—are now cautious and shadowy, rendering the beautiful natural blue shade to darkened cobalt.

“Are you okay?” she asks as soon as she reaches the structure dividing us.

“Fine.”

“Lily, what happened?” she presses in a stern tone.

“Dad. He… I was asleep… I don’t know. This isn’t my blood, Sister. It’s his.”

Only, now that I’ve said it out loud do I realize how fucking stupid I must sound. Clearly, it’s not mine, but I don’t know what else to say right now.

“You can’t walk around like this,” she says in a softer tone. “Follow me to the gate and I’ll let you in. We’ll get you cleaned up and have a nice cup of tea while you tell me what you can remember, okay? I’ll have one of the Sisters fetch Father Whittaker while we wait.”

Thankful is how I should feel, but reluctance is the only thing that washes over me. If I walk through those gates I’ll put them all in danger, but if I keep walking through town while partially covered in blood, things could potentially end up worse.

Looking away for a moment, I chew my lower lip nervously.

“I’ll be fine, Sister,” I tell her softly.

The decision is an easy enough one to make. Father Whittaker and Sister Olive have been the only people in this town who have been consistently kind to me, and I can’t let Kora find them.

With a small smile and a wave, I resume walking as quickly as I can. I don’t have a plan, I have nowhere to go, and no one that I would let help me, for fear of putting them all at risk.

The only thing I can do is go back to where this hellish nightmare started and see if I can end it there.

If I can’t make it to the train station, I’ll try the bus terminal, and if all else fails, I’ll fucking walk back to Ashford Falls.

∞

The screams are terrible, the growls even more so, but it’s the laughter that will haunt me for the rest of my life.

I’ve been huddled in a corner in the next room, listening to the men try to drive the demon out of Kora. Even though I have my hands firmly covering my ears, I can still hear everything.

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