Page 56 of Bewitched By the Headless Horseman
Stevie arched a brow and found six cats near the black flower bushes. The felines meowed as she passed, but she didn’t have time to pet them.
“Come on.” Julian motioned them inside. “The Crowned Witch has much to do and doesn’t have all day. Follow me.”
“I don’t like him,” Kit muttered under his breath.
“Likewise. But if Adelia’s found a solution to your problems, then maybe everything can be solved a day early.” Stevie beamed, walking beside Kit down the hallway to hopefully change his doomed fate.
Adelia sat at the head of the dining room table, sipping from a brass goblet. A golden dress hugged her curvy form, and her hair was tucked under a white aristocratic wig, her lips a glossy red.
“Thank you for meeting me on such short notice, Stevie.” Adelia smiled, setting down her goblet. “Is Kit with you? We should get started immediately since a few things have come to light.”
“He’s here,” Stevie confirmed. “Any news on Reese or Levi?”
“The pitiful council has been as quiet as scared little rabbits.” Adelia stood from her chair and walked toward Stevie, her dress swishing. “However, I found Reese. But first I need Kit to describe what Levi looks like.”
Stevie’s heart practically stilled in her chest. Adelia had Reese! That meant they could get some answers if the witch hadn’t already.
Kit shrugged. “He was a couple of inches shorter than me, sharp angles, thin lips, slim, blond wavy hair to his shoulders, blue eyes, used to wear a ruby amulet.”
Stevie repeated Kit’s description, and Adelia shook her head. “No, no, we need more than that. What was the shape of his nose? Are his teeth crooked or straight?”
“He did have a canine tooth that stuck out slightly further than the rest. And there was a bump on his nose from when it had been broken,” Kit said.
Stevie’s eyes widened as she put the features together, interlocking the pieces to form a deceptive little puzzle. He could’ve easily tied back his hair, dressed more modern, switched out the satchel for a backpack, and hid away his amulet. A simple disguise but good enough for her not to put him on a suspect list. Kit had never been around to identify him either. Besides at the bonfire where she hadn’t thought to point the ghost out to him. “I think I know who Levi is.”
“What do you meanknowhim?” Kit sounded alarmed.
“Go on.” Adelia nodded, focusing harder on Stevie.
“The resident ghost in the comic book shop where my brother works matches that description minus the ruby amulet. He told me his name was Erik, and he always has a backpack with him.” Stevie was positive she was right on the money that Erik was Levi.
And then there was Reese who also dealt with comics…
Adelia tapped a finger against her cheek. “When Kit encountered Levi before he was murdered, what was the last thing the warlock said to him?”
Before Kit spoke, another familiar voice spilled through the room. “I can tell you precisely what I said. I know the tale rather well.”
Stevie whirled around to find Reese standing in the room, dressed in a similar old fashion as everyone else. A black suitwith a high collar and his fingers caressing a ruby amulet hanging from a silver chain around his neck.
He hadn’t said Levi, he’d saidI.
Levi wasinsideof Reese.
The world of the living and the dead had never collided in that sense. Ghosts weren’t supposed to be able to take possession of a living body the way demons from the Hollow could. But Levi had. Because of the dark magic the warlock toyed with.
“You,” Stevie hissed. “You’re so dead. You even got my fox to like you.”
“Me. Levi, yes.” The warlock smirked. “Your pathetic fox shouldn’t be so trusting.”
Kit barreled toward Levi, swinging his unsheathed sword, but before the blade connected with the warlock’s heart, the Horseman was thrown backward, landing hard against the floor.
“In case you’re wondering how it’s possible, Kit.” Adelia’s gaze was focused on him,seeingthe Horseman clearly as he pushed up from the floor. He reached for his weapon, but his sword slid to the other side of the room by magic. “Ghosts of a witch or warlock can take possession of the living, but only ones who gave their soul up to be tied to the Hollow.”
Adelia was working with Levi. She had betrayed them all.
“You’re aseer?” Stevie spat. “And you’re working withhim? Why?” She inched toward the Crowned Witch, then halted. Adelia was one of the most powerful witches in the world, and Stevie was nothing but a seer, a witch’s assistant. She needed to book it out of there and call Lucia, not fight.
“Wrong guess.” Adelia smiled wide. “I’m not a seer.”
