Page 47 of Bewitched By the Headless Horseman
She laughed softly and surveyed the crowd again, noticing most of the ghosts had left. Her gaze locked on a familiar form wearing a royal blue cloak—Reese. He was talking to two other guys when he glanced over his shoulder and his eyes met hers.
With a smile, he headed in her direction, raking a hand through his curly blond hair. “I didn’t know you were coming, or I could’ve given you a ride.”
“Eh, I’m not staying long. I just came to toss my pumpkin into the flames to satisfy the Horseman.” Behind her Kit scoffed at her words. “I have more work to do for Lucia.”
Reese cocked his head. “Oh yes, moreparanormalthings. By the way, I came across a few comic books that Gideon would die to have in his store. I can text you later about them if you want.”
“Sure.” Something was weird, and she couldn’t put her finger on it.
“See ya, Stevie.” Reese didn’t return to his friends and instead left through the woods toward the cars.
“Gideon is walking this way. He could’ve told him about the comic books himself without asking to text you,” Kit muttered under his breath.
“Sorry it took us so long,” Lucia said, handing Stevie a chocolate bar. “The moon is out, so I want you to go deeper in the woods away from the bonfire. Gideon and I will keep an eye out here near the edge. If you end up needing the shovel, text me and I’ll get it for you.”
Stevie and Kit slipped past the bonfire and trekked farther into the woods. She looked behind her, not seeing a soul in sight. But all she could think about was what if Levi was following them, hidden in a cloaking spell?
With a shaky breath, Stevie took out the bone from her backpack. “Try holding it the best you can.” She lifted the bone between them, the gold flickering beneath the moonlight. Kit’s ghost hand sank right through it, but he steadied his fingers atthe bone’s middle. It didn’t matter though—Lucia had said his energy could still ignite the spell.
“How long do we wait?” Kit asked after about sixty seconds had passed.
“Let’s say five minutes,” Stevie said. “It might take some time to get cranking since Lucia hasn’t ever performed a spell like this.” But there was the possibility it wouldn’t work either.
After another minute went by, a flicker of light illuminated and the gold dust glowed brightly. Stevie stepped left and the light faded. As she walked in the opposite direction, the gold lit up once more.
“This treasure hunt might work after all.” She grinned as anticipation stormed through her veins. They went forward, backward, sideways, until she made another left and a golden line, like a string of yarn, shot out, piercing through the dirt in front of a tree.
Stevie tapped her foot against the soft ground. “Have you searched here before?”
“I have, but ghosts can’t truly dig in the ground.”
“You’re in luck, because I can. Let me text Lucia.” But as she held up the bone, the line wasn’t penetrating the dirt at all—it pointed toward thetree.
Kit knelt before the trunk, his finger brushing over the bark and trailing across a seam. “Here.”
Stevie dug her fingernails into the bark and a part of the tree silently opened like a door.
“Something isn’t right,” Kit said, unsheathing his sword and shifting his feet in a full circle while scanning the woods. “As powerful as Levi is, it wouldn’t be that easy.”
“Maybe he forgot to lock it? Unless this is a different witch’s treasure.” She lifted the bone, its gold lighting up the small area. Within the tree rested an old black metal box and she drew itout. She easily opened the lid, finding it not quite empty. A lock of dark hair lingered inside a preserved jar.Kit’shair.
“That bastard,” Kit growled. “He knew you would come here at some point and did it to toy with us.”
“Who knows how long the head has been missing though…” she trailed off. “Even then, he can’t touch bones, so someone would’ve had to do it. And are they still alive, or had he convinced a seer to move it long ago? It would also mean that he was most likely the one to cast the spell on your bones at the abandoned house. Maybe he got a seer to put them there after having them dug up, hoping to keep them further separated from your head?”
“I don’t think we’ll have an answer tonight. But I’ll make damn certain we find one.”
Stevie ran a towel through her wet hair after a hot shower. As the water pelted her skin, she kept wondering about the empty box, needing more than ever for the Crowned Witch to get into town. Even if Lucia sent her a third letter, she would get here before receiving it. Stevie had given the lock of Kit’s hair to Lucia to make a spell, and if it didn’t work, they would bring a few strands to Adelia.
Kit sifted through one of her coin collections on her bedroom floor. “That one’s from Spain,” Stevie said, studying his fingers and the way he twirled a coin between them. “Look at you and your hidden ability. You should join a magic act.”
“Perhaps I’ll be the man with the disappearing head,” Kit purred. She continued to observe his fingers, the coin, and he chuckled. “Do you like watching my hand, Pumpkin? Do you want to feel my fingers?”
Stevie jerked her head up, trying to think of a witty retort. For one of the rare times in her life, she drew a blank. Instead she could only nod.
He caught the coin and slipped it back into her box. “My eyes are closed, in case you’re curious.”
“Good.” She smiled, shutting hers too. “I wouldn’t want to be left hanging. But don’t think for a second I have a secret hand fetish.” It was only because he didn’t have a face she could see, so she’d come to observe other parts of him.
