Page 58 of Hollowed

“Ithought me leaving would spellSleepyHollow’sdoom,”Isaid.

Thoughhearing my mother had targeted members of her own town had set me into a panic, hearing this news was utterly indifferent to me.Idid not understand it, butIwould not question it.Myanxiety didn’t need any additional reasons to take charge of my mind.

“Ido not care if it does.”Hiswords were so matter-of-fact, they startled me.Asmuch as hearing the words made me want to hope that they meant he cared about me,Iwas not so foolish to let myself fall into that trap.Alexanderwas theDullahan, andIwas nobody.

“Iwill not run away like a coward.Notagain.Thisis my town,Alexander,”Isaid, tense and restless at the same time. “AndIwill save it, even if it does not want to be saved.”

“Iwould rather you be safe thanSleepyHollowsurvive,Katrina,” he said, his eyes pleading with me. “Thistown can burn to ashes for allIcare.”

Notstopping myself this time,Ireached for his face.Hiswords were pretty, and they sent a pang through my chest, butIknew they were false.Maybehe wanted to believe them, butIcouldn’t. “Weboth know that is not true,Alexander.Somethingmust be done.Wemust stop my mother.”

“Wecannot stopDeath,” he warned, his hand coming up to sandwich mine between the warm skin of his face and the slightly cooler skin of his hand.

Ismiled. “Perhapsnot.Butwe can certainly try.”

Twenty-Six

Darknesswas falling outside our room.Myconfidence in our ability to come up with a way to stop my mother waned as we discussed our options.Hourspassed, and we were no closer to discovering a solution than we had been this morning whenAlexanderhad dropped me off atPriscilla’s.Now, we sat on opposite sides of the bed, our discussions going in circles every time the other posed a question.

Optimistically,Alexanderbelieved we had less than two days to stop the summoning of the sluagh, and with them,Death.Morerealistically, though, we had until tomorrow evening at sundown.Themoon would be full, and the sluagh would be at their most powerful once the sun set and plunged the town into darkness.

“Approachingthem directly is our only option at this point,”Isaid with a sigh, rubbing at my temples. “Ifwhoever is summoning the sluagh know we know about the summoning, they wouldn’t try to complete the spell, would they?

“Theycan do whatever they wish if they have enough power,” he grumbled. “No, our best solution is to keep researching when we return to the bookstore and find a way to thwart their evil plans from here.Wecannot risk them knowing you are alive yet.”

“Why?”Mybrows furrowed.Itdid not make sense to keep my survival a secret, not if it meant we could stop my parents.

“Itis the only advantage we have, and we cannot give it up in a naïve attempt to appease to the nonexistent good in their black souls.”

Ibristled at the implication that rang in his words. “Ido not think my parents have an ounce of good left in them.ButIstill think confronting them so they cannot deny their plans would save us valuable time we do not have.Ifwe can stop them before the sluagh get here, beforeDeathfollows, it could make a difference.”

“Orit could speed their plans up,” he said with the raise of an eyebrow.Thepulsing vein running from his hairline to his brow told me everythingIneeded to know about what he thought of my input.Ismelt the smoke trickling from my fingers. “Wecannot stopDeath,Katrina.AndthoughIknow more about her than others, we can do little to even slow her down once she’s made up her mind.”

Justdays ago, he had told me my words had value and now he was sitting in front of me, dismissing them.

“Weneed to confront them directly, not skulk about in the shadows trying to ‘thwart their evil plans,’”Isaid, lowering my voice on the last bit to mimic him and show how ridiculous his words sounded.Itook a deep breath to quell my building frustration. “Atthe very least, we can get this over with sooner instead of waiting until after they act to be able to rectify the damage.”

“Andif we confront them, then what?Ifthey truly are the ones summoning the sluagh, they likely have more power than you know.Theycould kill you outright, or worse, summon the sluagh andDeathsooner,” he said, the muscle in his jaw twitched as he ground his teeth. “Itis foolish to think that would be a good plan of action.Wemust be smart about this.”

“Foolish?”Iasked, my brow rising along with my quickly untethered anger.Moresmoke escaped my hands, drifting up into the air. “Iam far from foolish,Horseman.”

“Youare a petulant, naïve child who does not understand how the world around you truly works.”Hetook a step closer, looking up at the smoke before shaking his head. “Areyou truly so stubborn to refuse to listen to my centuries of passed down knowledge on the subject?Iknow more than you about this town, about this threat, and aboutDeath.”

“Thendo something about it rather than sitting here with me reading books.”Flameserupted at my fingertips.Hiswords had struck right through my heart, echoing the sentiments of my own parents’ words that he had condemned just days ago.Heavypressure grasped around my ribs as my vision danced with black spots.Beneaththe fabric of my dress,Iclenched my hands into fists, digging my nails into my palms. “Youare as alone asIam, hiding in the forest, too afraid to confront the town that killed your father.Tooafraid to tell them the truth.Imay be stubborn, but at leastIam not a coward.”

Helaughed, a harsh sound. “You?Nota coward?Youforget,Katrina, how we met.Youwere running away from your fate, from your home.Andfor what purpose?Togo run and hide somewhere else?No,Iam not a coward.Youare.”

Redflooded my vision, and my flames moved up my arms, caressing my skin from fingertip to elbow.

“Yousay you need me to save this town.Yousay you want to keep me safe and that you care about me.Yetyou condescend me at every turn and continue to dismiss me as ifIwere a child.Iknow my parents, andIknow the best way to approach this is to put it in their faces and stop it at the source.”

Eyeingmy hands, he waved his hand lazily, a thick blanket of purple haze coming down around us.Heraised an eyebrow. “Iwould not treat you like a child if you did not act like one.Atoddler could have better control over their magic than you.Youwould burn this inn down before you’d admit you’re wrong.”

Everyfiber of my being wanted to blast my fire at him, to prove him wrong.Myfingers twitched at my side, itching to blast a ball of fire at his chest.Itwould be a weak attempt at conveying my hurt and anger, though, soIclenched my jaw, tensing my neck and taking a deep breath in a pitiful attempt to calm myself. “Ido not have to sit here and take this from you,Horseman.”

Heopened his arm, gesturing to the front door with a scoff. “Thenby all means, please go attempt to pull this off alone.Yourmagic is uncontrollable.Youdo not know if it is your parents summoning the sluagh, and you have no clue how to stop them.Yes,Iwould be delighted to watch your failure.Andright after,Iwill sit back and watchSleepyHollowdestroyed at the hands of the sluagh.Atleast then,Deathwould not have a reason to be here.”

Myjaw clenched so tightlyIwas almost certainIwould crack a tooth.Fora moment,Iconsidered staying to continue arguing with this cowardly death omen, butIknew it was an exercise in futility.Nothingwe said to each other would get through.Closingmy eyes,Iwilled my flame to extinguish back into the depths of my soul.AndthenIdid exactly as he saidIshould and left the room, slamming the door behind me.

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