A look at her visitor’s face told Hannah something was off. For starters, Mother Rachel wasn’t staring at her disapprovingly. The matron’s characteristic sharp gaze seemed vague and unfocused. She looked through Hannah rather than at her, as if listening to ghostly voices. Hannah dutifully went to sit in her armchair and waited for Mother Rachel to lecture her for the next hour.
The matron remained transfixed. When she spoke, it was as if the words were being dictated from beyond. Her voice rose barely above a murmur. “The Lord tells us: ‘If thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched.’ What could be plainer than that? And he also says: ‘If thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.’ It’s all spelled out in black and white. Everything is so clear when you read the Bible.”
She finally turned to glance at Hannah, as if realizing for the first time that the room had a second occupant. The girl assumed her usual bland facial expression.
This seemed to irritate Mother Rachel because some of her old tartness came back. “Still silent, are we?”
Hannah tried to look baffled by the comment.
“I could read to you until I’m blue in the face and it wouldn’t make any difference. Your heart is hardened against salvation. My husband deludes himself if he thinks he can ever win you back.”
The girl began to feel uneasy.
The old woman advanced and stood over her. “The Lord told me what must be done. I am his instrument. Once I’ve broken your evil spell over him, Abraham will understand.”
Mother Rachel reached into her apron pocket and drew out a butcher knife.
Hannah froze in terror for a moment until she saw the blade sweep downward. She jumped aside and screamed at the top of her lungs.
***
Erik was sitting in his room reviewing the notes from his last conference call with Maddie. He vaguely registered the murmur of a female voice through the wall and concluded that Mother Rachel must be sermonizing Hannah for the umpteenth time. Suddenly, and without warning, he heard an ear-piercing shriek.
The paladin leaped to his feet. “Hannah!” He shouted. “Hannah, are you alright?”
He heard a heavy object fall and then another scream.
“She’s trying to kill me!”
He hoped whoever was in there had left the door unlocked, but he’d break it down if he had to. His eyes searched for a convenient weapon, but they fell on the intercom phone instead. He pressed the button. When a female voice answered, he said, “Send help right away. Somebody is in Hannah’s room. They’re trying to hurt her. Get here quick before it’s too late.”
The receiver dropped. He assumed the person on the other end of the line was running to the guest quarters.
He could hear more shouts and screams coming from the adjoining chamber.
Erik pounded on the wall. “Hannah, help is coming. Hang on!”
He grabbed the key to his own locked room and raced for the door.
***
Hannah ducked out of the way as Mother Rachel slashed at her again. The matron seemed too deeply immersed in her delusion to even notice Erik’s shouts from the adjoining room.
The girl knew her rescuer was on the way, so all she had to do was keep out of the range of that blade.
Mother Rachel was now muttering wildly to herself about blood atonement. Hannah could guess all too easily whose blood she meant to spill. Out of the corner of her eye, Hannah could see the doorknob turning. Erik was testing the lock, but the door remained shut. The girl backed against the wall between her nightstand and dresser.
The matron bore down on her, a triumphant gleam in her eye now that her quarry had been cornered.
All of a sudden, a loud thud came from the other side of the room. It was Erik trying to break down the door.
Mother Rachel paused in confusion. She appeared to be struggling to sift out the difference between the voices in her head and noises coming from outside. She turned aside and looked toward the opposite end of the room to identify the source of the sound.
That diversion was all Hannah needed. In one swift motion, the girl gripped the metal handle of her nightstand drawer. She yanked out the drawer and swung it as hard as she could at the back of Mother Rachel’s head. The Bible and Jedediah Proctor’s Revelations went flying across the room. The old woman fell forward with such force that her forehead bounced off the floor. After that, she lay still. The girl swooped down and reached into Mother Rachel’s apron pocket for the key to her prison. She was about to make a run for it when she heard another thud as Erik’s shoulder rammed the other side of the door.
“Hannah, answer me! Are you alright? I can hear somebody running this way to help you.”
“I’m OK, Erik. Get back to your room before they realize you’re out.”
Without another word, he slipped back to his own quarters. Hannah heard his door shut only seconds before a female voice rounded the corner and shouted down the hallway. “Sister Hannah! Sister Hannah!”
The girl caught herself in time and remembered she was supposed to be mute. Jumping over Mother Rachel, she ran to the door and pounded from the inside. Then she slipped the stolen key into her own pocket.
“Hold on. I’m coming.” Sister Ruth, the consecrated bride who brought her meals, burst into the room.
Hannah didn’t need to say anything. The matron lying face down on the floor with a knife gripped tightly in her hand told the whole story.
“She attacked you?” Sister Ruth asked in disbelief.
Hannah nodded and lifted up the
