Page 27 of Hollowed

“Haveyou decided?” he asked, putting down his knife and turning his entire attention to me.Hiseyes were brighter than fire, and far more intense, as they looked deep into my soul.Itwas as if he knew my answer beforeIdid.

“Iwill help you.”Iswallowed hard, my words sticking in my throat.Hisgaze was so intenseIlooked away, focusing on my fingernails asIpicked at the edges of the skin. “SleepyHollowmay be hell for me, but two of the most important people in my life live there.Ifthere is anythingIcan do to protect them and the other innocent people,Iwill do it.”

Fora moment, his silence was deafening, andIthoughtIhad answered incorrectly.ButasIlifted my head to meet his gaze and opened my mouth to take it back, he nodded. “Verywell.”

Isucked in a breath, rolling my shoulders back. “Now, tell me whatIneed to know.”

“Eat,” he told me, waving his hand at the platter of food in front of him.Hepicked up his bread and took a bite. “Wewill talk over breakfast.”

Mygaze drifted to his throat as he swallowed.Mycheeks burned even hotter, andIfelt my hands heat from whereIhad shoved them beneath my thighs.Quickly,Ipulled them from beneath my legs and clasped them in my lap to keep from burning another piece of theHorseman’sfurniture. “Tellme what the threat is.”

“Iam not completely certain, butIbelieve they are summoning the sluagh.”Hehesitated over the last word, as if it was not what he had been planning to say.

Icyfingers trailed down my spine.Ionly knew a little about the sluagh, but whatIdid know was not good.Sluaghwere malevolent spirits, ghosts of those who had died horrible deaths, roaming where they died and seeking to cause havoc and pain everywhere they could.Theidea that someone was attempting to summon them was far from reassuring.

Icleared my throat, pushing back my fear of facing down a horde of evil spirits.Instead,Ilatched onto the deception and hesitation in his voice. “Youknow more than that.”

Heraised an eyebrow. “Ihave suspicions that more is at play, but all the evidenceIhave at the current moment points toward the sluagh.”

“Whatevidence?”Ipressed. “Andwho do you suspect is summoning them?”

“Thefog that has been circling theHollowis not natural.Evenpeaceful spirits have been more restless than they typically are, and animals are behaving strangely at night.”Hepaused and looked up at me. “You’veseen that yourself.Allthose things point toward someone summoning something toSleepyHollow.Andfrom whatIhave found, the disturbance of the existing spirits is pointing to sluagh.”

“Ithought that was impossible.”Apassage from a children’s book of legends came to mind, oneHenryhad read to me whenIwas far too old to listen to such stories, yet still young enough to cherish them all the same. “Oncesluagh are in theOtherworld, we cannot bring them back to earth.They’resupposed to be locked away for good.”

“Nothingis impossible,Katrina,” he said, his voice dropping an octave as he leaned in. “Notwhen it comes to magic.”

Anotherchill rolled down my spine, along with a bead of sweat. “Whatthreat would the sluagh pose toSleepyHollowspecifically?”

“Beyondattempting to pick off souls?Itis unknown.”Hereleased a heavy sigh. “Oneor two sluagh would not be much of a threat, but based on the intensity of the omensI’veseen,Ibelieve it will be a great many sluagh.Andthat would be very dangerous to any living creature that winds up in their path.Atthe very least, we can be grateful they don’t seem to be powerful enough to cause any real harm.Yet.”

“Whatomens?”Goosebumpsbroke out across my arms.HadImissed them?Orwere they only for his eyes and his magic to be aware of? “Thefog?Orsomething else?”

“Therehave been…”Hetilted his head from side to side, as if he couldn’t decide what to say. “Therehave been rumblings in the spirit world.Disturbancesin the magic.Yes, the fog is an omen, but the animals are acting oddly as well.Wecan feel most of it in the magic of the veil around the town.”Hepressed his fingers together, resting them under his chin. “Whatdo you know about the sluagh?”

Ihad learned most of whatIknew from a tale of a heroic mage fiercely battling them and sentencing them to theOtherworld, escaping with nothing but a scratch across his chin.Pushingpast the burning in my neck and chest,Igave my answer. “Theyscavenge souls and try to lead people to their death to get the souls, right?”

“Yes,” he confirmed, his eyebrows rising as though he wasn’t expecting me to know that. “Anduntil we can discover more about how many sluagh are coming, and figure out who is summoning them and why, we are at a disadvantage.”

Mystomach twisted and my mind flashed toCiaraandHenry.Theyhad no way of protecting themselves from the sluagh.Gods, no one did, really.Thesluagh would destroy the entire town and serve up souls on a silver platter, ready for the taking. “Howcan we find out more?Andwhat difference will my magic make?”

“Youare very powerful,Katrina.”Hespoke slowly, as if he expected me to bolt like a frightened animal. “Thereis little you could not destroy if you put your mind to it.”

Ibreathed a shaky sigh.Iwas not powerful, no matter what this mythical being before me said.Nomatter what prophecy my mother believed was about me.Mypowers had been a threat to my safety my entire life.Atfirst, they induced the rage of my mother, and now, they had caused my death sentence.ButIwas not the solace, or thesavior,theHorsemanmade me out to be.Iwas nothing.

“Iam not,”Iwhispered.

“Certainlynot with that approach to things,” he said, taking a sip of his tea. “Tellme, has anyone ever truly pushed your powers to its limits?Orhave they simply let you fall into complacency when you assert you cannot do something?”

Mycheeks burned at his insinuation, andIhad to fight to hold my head high. “Ihad some training as a child, but my mother determinedIhad low-level powers and stated it was not worth continuing the lessons.”

Hisface darkened, obviously displeased by my words. “Youshould still have been trained.Powerslike yours need to be honed, not left to fester and evolve on their own.”

“Howdo you even know what my powers are?”Iasked, feeling panic build in my chest.Iclosed my eyes for a moment and took several deep breaths, digging my nails into the flesh of my palms and pushing my fire back down to burn low in my stomach. “Howdo you know all of this?”

Isaw the hesitation on his face as he leaned back in his chair. “It’sthe same answer as howIknew your name.Itis part of my magic.Iam a protector, and to do my job,Imust know whatIam dealing with.Ican tell that you have a great well of power, but it is repressed and untrained.”

“Youcan sense the powers of everyone in the town?”

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