Page 63 of Fallen
When he looked at her in that way, it was like she was the only woman alive.
Eventually, the tension got too much. Clearing her throat, Coira glanced away. “Mother Shona says that MacKinnon was sick.”
“Aye … I noticed it too.”
“She also tells me that three nuns back in Kilbride have fallen ill … and one of the men we’ve taken captive has a fever.”
When she glanced back at Craeg, she saw he was frowning. “Aye … the sickness is upon us. How long before the rest of us fall prey to it?”
The warmth his gaze had caused ebbed away at these words. Nonetheless, his question was valid. All of them could now be on borrowed time.
“I wonder how Fenella is faring?” Coira said, voicing her thoughts aloud.
“Gunn has ridden back to the ravine to fetch her and the others,” Craeg replied. “They will join us in Kilbride … we shall find out soon if she lives.”
The shadows were long, the afternoon sun gilding the hills, when the bloodied band reached Kilbride Abbey at last. Old Magda opened the gates to admit them, her wrinkled face tensing when she saw that five of the nuns who had left that morning—Sister Mina among them—now returned as corpses.
The elderly nun’s gaze filled with tears, and she made the sign of the cross before her. “Dear Lord have mercy, what happened?”
Mother Shona went to Sister Magda and placed a comforting arm around her shoulders. “There was a battle,” she murmured, her voice brittle. “MacKinnon fell … but so did some of those opposing him.”
Watching the two women embrace, Coira’s throat started to ache.
Kilbride was a tight-knit community. The sisters might not have been related, but they were as close as if united by blood.
Tears streamed down both Mother Shona and Sister Magda’s faces when they drew apart.
“How are the others?” the abbess asked.
Sister Magda’s mouth trembled. “They steadily worsen,” she murmured. “Sister Morag has started vomiting blood.”
This news brought gasps from the surrounding nuns.
“I shall go to her,” Sister Elspeth announced. The woman’s face was strained and pale, and she favored her injured arm. However, Coira knew that Sisters Morag and Elspeth were close friends.
“No, Sister.” The abbess turned to Sister Elspeth and held up a hand, forestalling her. “Sister Magda and I will be the only ones to tend the sick. We can’t risk the rest of ye falling prey to this plague.”
Sister Elspeth’s thin face went taut, and she opened her mouth to argue. But Coira spoke up, preventing her. “Iwill tend to them.” All gazes swiveled to her, including Sister Elspeth’s. Coira held the older nun’s eye, before her mouth curved into a weary smile. “I am a healer and have already dealt with the sickness. Mother Shona is right … the rest of ye should keep yer distance.”
Her gaze fused with Sister Elspeth’s then, a look of understanding passing between them. The irony of the moment wasn’t lost upon Coira. For years, she and Sister Elspeth had barely tolerated each other. Coira had never been one of the circle of nuns who’d hung on Sister Elspeth’s every word, and the nun had resented her for it.
But all of that was behind them now.
“Thank ye,” Sister Elspeth replied, her voice unusually flat and heavy. “Peace be with ye … Coira.”
Coira.Not Sister Coira.
Coira was suddenly aware then that she was no longer one of them. For the first time, she felt as if she stood on the outside looking in. This abbey was no longer her home.
My time at Kilbride has truly come to an end.
Looking about her, Coira realized how quiet the abbey seemed, especially after all the visitors they’d had of late. Craeg’s men were putting up tents outside the abbey walls, for the abbess had warned him that there were sick nuns inside. Only Craeg had entered the yard with the nuns, and now he stood silently at Coira’s side, observing the exchange between the abbess and her flock.
Coira tensed then, realizing exactly why the abbey seemed so quiet. It wasn’t just the absence of MacKinnon and his rowdy warriors—besides Craeg, there weren’tanymen here. Her gaze swept back to the abbess. “Where are Father Camron and his monks?”
Mother Shona released a weary sigh. The abbess then glanced over at the kirk, where Coira noted that the doors were barred shut.
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