Page 24 of Hollowed

“Donot give them a choice.Returnthose given to you and make it known you do not accept sacrifices.”Anythingwould have been better than leaving those to believe their loved ones were dead.Isucked in a harsh breath, trying to quell the heat in my blood. “Whycould you not at least tell the families of those you rescued?Givethem some form of closure; some way of knowing.”

Heshook his head, settling back in his chair. “Itis not that simple,Katrina.Thereare things at work that you know nothing of.Noteveryone is as honorable as you appear to be, and not everyone would think my acts are out of kindness.”

Mycheeks flushed at the admonishment, embarrassed tears burning in my throat.Thosehad been wordsI’dheard my entire life.Youare too stupid to understand,Katrina, andIdo not have the patience to explain it.Thatwas what those words truly meant. “Thenexplain it to me.”

“SleepyHollow’sEldersbelieve giving me sacrifices will protect them for a reason.”Hepaused. “Inthe old world, whenDeathcame calling, she delivered the news on the screams of a banshee, and then aDullahanwould carry the person away and deliver them toDeath.TheybelievedDeathhad marked their chosen.Ifthey discoveredIwas not shepherding the chosen to their fates, what do you think they would do then?”

Iwrapped my arms around my middle.Theywould simply kill the chosen themselves.Ifmy mother knew theHorsemanwas not killing the sacrifices, she wouldn’t even hesitate to make the sacrifices herself.Anythingfor the good of the town.

Hepicked up his story. “Peopleof old believed that giving someone willingly to theirDullahanwould satiate them and keep them from carrying off those called forDeath.Andfor some, it worked.Thatpractice evolved, and theDullahansbecame the protectors of their towns, accepting sacrifices to keep the townspeople alive and to protect them from anything threatening.Moreand more, that threat is becoming the humans around us.Theyare growing scared of what they do not understand.Butin any world, with any people, there are those that wish to harm others, and those that wish to take what is not theirs.”

“But—”

“Thiswill take longer if you keep interrupting me.”

Mymother would have hissed the words, her lips snarling to frame her teeth, but theDullahansaid it softly, like the interruption was amusing to him.

Atthis point,Iwould not have been surprised if flames were coming out of my skin through my cheeks.

“Ihave been here for a long time.Istopped aging at twenty-one years, butI’vebeen alive for nearly one hundred years.Deathsent me here as a child, andIgrew up in this house, watching the town from the shadows.Thetown has always clung to the ways of the old world, more so than other havens.Theyfear humans, and in some ways, even though they do not know it, humans fear them.It’sclear in their stories and the tales they tell around fires at night to scare each other.Ifthey knew we truly existed, they would destroy us for no other reason than they do not understand us.Andthis town… this town is not ready for that.”

Isat silently, waiting for him to continue.Buthe didn’t.Ichewed on the inside of my cheek, trying to find the wordsIwanted to say.

Hehuffed a small laugh. “Youmay speak now,Katrina.Iam finished.”

Therewere many thingsIwanted to ask, to say, but nothing would come out.Hisnotion was correct, andIcould not argue about it. “Doyou protect us?Hasthere ever been a threat toSleepyHollow?”

“Yes,” he replied.Hehesitated for a moment, opening and closing his mouth.

“Now, or in the past?”

“Both.”

“Whatis threatening us now?”Iasked, my heart speeding up. “Thefog?”

“Thereare many threats.Humanswandering too close, exploring the lands.Thingsslipping out from theOtherworldthat shouldn’t be here.Othersupernaturals who do not have good intentions when crossing the bridge.”Heshrugged, exuding a careful irreverence. “Lately, there have been more and more things slipping out from theOtherworld.”

“Isthat what the fog is?”

“Thefog.”Hesighed heavily. “Thecreatures and spirits that escaped theOtherworldstarted as harmless and irritating.Theyweren’t dangerous, but lately—lately they’re becoming something more.”

“Whatis the fog?”Ipressed harder, trying to pull the answers from him.Henryflashed through my mind.Hewas far too old to protect himself from something theDullahanconsidered dangerous. “Youknow what it is, don’t you?”

Heleaned forward, the intensity of his stare burning hotter than any fireIcould ever conjure. “Tellme what you think you’ve seen,Katrina.AndperhapsIwill be able to tell you what you actually saw.”

“Severaldays ago,”Istarted, twisting my fingers in my lap.Wouldhe believe me?Orwould he dismiss me just asIchabodhad?Ihad to take the risk and hope that he would take my word, or at least be able to explain what truly had chased me through the trees. “Iwas in a grove in the forest, and there was a fog.Itcrept along the base of the trees, staying out of the grove at first.Itwas so thick; you couldn’t see the ground below it.Andthen something whispered my name, and the fog started creeping toward me, like fingers reaching out.”

Hewas quiet, andInoticed an unnatural stillness about him as he looked at me. “Didit touch you?”

Ishook my head. “No,Iran before it could, butIalso felt it chasing me.Itstopped whenIleft the forest.”

“Wasthere anything else?”

“Acrow,”Ianswered, the image of its glassy black eyes staring back at me filled my head. “I’veseen a crow twice, and it acted oddly both times.Thefirst time, it stopped on the path directly in front of me and just stared, never moving even asIran around it.ThenIsaw it again on a branch in the town square.”

Shiverswent down my spine, and despite the fire raging in the fireplace, the air around theDullahanseemed to darken and crackle with energy, like lightning about to strike.

“Haveyou told the council about the threat?”Myvoice was barely above a whisper as fear kept me from speaking louder. “Dothey know about the fog?”

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