She moved forward, fast, speeding up, not worried now about making a noise because getting to this woman was now the main objective. As fast as she could. She’d worry about the consequences later. They had enough of them already.
The woman heard the rustling of the leaves and turned around just in time to see Cora lunging towards her. Now, Cora saw her face clearly, saw her wide blue eyes. Before she could scream, Cora clamped her hand over her mouth.
She held her hard. The woman struggled, but not a lot. Not as much as Cora had thought she would. Perhaps struggling was discouraged in this cult. Maybe that was why. Maybe she'd learned that when people grabbed you and held you, you should stay still and quiet.
That was a chilling thought all on its own, but she didn't have time to pursue it. Instead, she hissed fiercely in the woman's ear, "I won't hurt you if you stay still. Understand?"
The woman gave a nod. She was breathing hard.
"Please, please don't kill me," she whispered in a shaking voice. The words made Cora recoil. Her compliance wasn't just learned behavior. It was a frantic effort to save herself.
Something dark and chilling was afoot here. Being killed? She was now sure that others had been.
It didn't seem like the woman was going to scream. Not right now, anyway. Cora didn't know about what would happen later, but she knew she needed to be fast.
She dragged her backward, behind the cover of the tree, to where Gabe was waiting.
"Take off your robe," she said. "I need it. I need to get in there."
The woman's eyes widened in fear as Cora tugged the white cloak off her shoulders. Underneath it, she was wearing clothing that Cora guessed had been issued by the cult. A gray skirt and a black top, shapeless and cheap and loose fitting.
"Why are you doing this?" she asked in a hoarse whisper. "Who are you?"
"We're looking to help you. People have died, right?" Cora whispered back. “Is that what you’ve heard?”
The woman pressed her lips together and shook her head, her eyes bright with fear. For sure, she knew something had happened. But for sure, she wasn't talking.
She was too scared to. But she could try to push it, at least.
"Who died?" she asked, hissing out the words. "Did a woman called Heidi die?"
Again, the other woman shook her head. She wasn't saying a thing. If Cora wanted answers, she'd need to go in and find someone who could give them to her.
Cora quickly pulled the cloak on over her own clothes, covering herself from head to toe. She tugged the hood over her head, wrapped the loose folds around her. She hoped she’d pass as one of them.
"Do not scream," she threatened the woman again as Gabe grasped her arms. "We won't hurt you, but if you scream, that promise goes out the window."
Cora was already moving away towards the church. She couldn't wait, couldn't hesitate. She had to do this.
She picked up the basket that the woman had dropped and filled it with a few more pine needles.
Then, with her head down, walking slowly, she rounded the corner of the church. She almost bumped into another of the white-robed acolytes, also heading out with an empty basket. That was an additional risk. Cora hoped to hell that wherever this woman was going, it would not be close enough for Gabe and his hostage to be seen.
Or for the hostage to decide that it was worth screaming for help.
Those were risks she couldn't do anything about right now.
The woman murmured an acknowledgment as she passed. Keeping her head down, Cora muttered something unintelligible back under her breath.
Then she rounded the corner and approached the church door.
The guard standing there moved toward her, and Cora caught her breath. Surely she wasn't going to be searched or checked for some form of ID?
Her heart accelerated, but to her relief, all the guard did was produce some essential oil, which he sprinkled over the pine needles, before taking out a cigarette lighter and lighting them so that they smoldered. The blend of pine and oil produced a suffocatingly strong smell that made Cora's eyes water and her nose twitch. Holding the smoking basket, she headed inside and joined the circle, picking an empty spot and hoping she was standing in the right place.
Nobody was saying anything, and she wasn’t getting any strange looks, so hopefully she was blending in.
Discreetly, Cora glanced around her, taking in what was happening here because now the chanting was rising to a crescendo. Now she thought that the real business of the evening was going to get underway.
