Page 63 of Bewitched By the Headless Horseman
As Levi smacked Roxy away from Clara with his magic, Maxine barreled forward, growing to massive size with smaller Venus flytraps snapping beside her. She clamped her rows of teeth around Levi’s shoulder and rattled him like a ragdoll to exorcise the ghost from Reese’s body. Clara’s ghost formremained still and Lucia focused her chanting on Levi. Ginger came out of her daze, no longer looking like Stevie, and didn’t hesitate to hold up her hand toward Levi too. His pale form finally spilled forward to the ground, and Roxy didn’t miss a beat to pin him down.
“Release him, Maxine!” Stevie yelled, and the plant let go of Reese, his body collapsing near Levi’s. Maxine drew back but didn’t shrink in size just yet.
“And to you, Levi Brom Bonham,” Lucia shouted louder. “I bind you to the Hollow on this night. I bind the both of you.”
The earth before them split in two, a jagged fissure leading to the gate tore the ground open. Lucia continued, her voice speeding up, “The two of you will be dinner for the king and queen below. You will keep them satisfied as they feast on your magic and essence.” Both ghosts roused then, clawing at the dirt as an invisible force dragged them toward the abyss, then swallowed them into its depths.
A demon’s hand, decaying skin peeling back from bone, reached from the darkness and wiggled its decrepit fingers toward Stevie and Lucia. A second arm pierced through the thin opening, this one hoofed. The crack needed to be closed, but before the chant could be performed, another white form flew into the demon’s grasp, the hand sinking below the surface with its treasure.
Kit.
Chapter Twenty-Five
“They’ve got Kit!” Stevie screamed and hurled herself toward the opening gate. Deep growls filled the air, but all her sense had already gone out the window after seeing Kit’s ghost taken by a demon. Just as her fingers brushed the ground, Lucia yanked her back.
“We have time!” Lucia said, her chest heaving. “The Eyes are still open, and I can feel my spell trying to tie him back to the land. But we have to focus, or we won’t be able to get him out.”
“Fuck!” Reese gritted his teeth as he sat on his knees, gripping his bleeding shoulder.
“I’ll make them suffer more than they can imagine down there,” Adelia snarled.
“Go to your Horseman’s remains,” Lucia rushed out, placing Kit’s finger bone into Stevie’s palm. “Then we’ll close the gate. If it cracks any further, we’ll have to shut it sooner. Your blood won’t be enough for Kit since his ghost is gone, so I’ll have to also perform a necromancy spell to get him out of the Hollow.”
Stevie sank beside Kit’s remains and added his finger bone to the pile.
“I’ll help with the spell,” Adelia added. “You too, Ginger. A triad of strong witches is a power like no other.” She turned to Reese. “And you, boy, don’t you dare run.”
Reese’s throat bobbed as he nodded.
“Stevie, add your blood to Kit’s bones and save the skull’s mouth for last,” Lucia instructed, handing her the dagger. “Then we’ll start the necromancy spell to draw him out from the Hollow.”
Stevie sliced open her hand—Lucia wasn’t kidding when she’d said more blood than usual would need to be shed.Holding her palm above Kit’s remains, she let the bright red liquid trickle onto his bones, and finally, inside his skull.
Adelia, Ginger, and Lucia clasped hands, forming a circle around Stevie and the bones. They chanted, the sound musical, their incantation a soft melody, one that Stevie hoped would hurry and pull Kit’s soul from the Hollow. Reese stood in the same position, silently watching them, but she couldn’t worry about him now.
The bones rattled, clacking together as they moved around. Stevie’s lips parted when one after another slid against the next, locking in place. Her drops of blood spread across the bones, licking up each speck of white until the entire skeleton was red. Organs sprung up inside the rib cage like flowers rising from the dead. Muscle came next, followed by a spiderwebbing of veins. And then tan skin slipped out, hugging the layers of flesh beneath it. Black hair sprouted from Kit’s head and grew to his shoulders. The way Kit’s body was coming to life reminded her ofHellraiser, which was her mom’s movie of choice, the way the villain’s body received layers of flesh after murdering people. Minus the killing shenanigans. But Kit’s chest wasn’t rising, and when she pressed her hand to his chest, the heart remained still.
Stevie wasn’t a witch, yet she would assist them, regardless if it didn’t make the song more powerful. She enfolded her hand around Kit’s, humming the song until a pale white form rose from the ground, drifting above their heads.Kit. But not only Kit.Inferno.
Tears beaded Stevie’s lashes—however, she didn’t stop the incantation, not even as Kit’s ghost lowered into his physical body, and Inferno just outside the circle. Both their eyes were closed, though a ghost never slept. Roxy nudged the horse with her nose, but the Hollow had already begun to do something to them.
“He needs more seer blood,” Adelia uttered. “Not you, Stevie. Go with Lucia and seal the gate. Kit and his horse’s ghost are safe here.” She looked toward Reese and snapped, “You, boy. Help fix this now. Do your part. More blood in his mouth.”
Even though Stevie wanted to see if Kit and Inferno would wake, she needed to take care of the town and help close the crack. She knelt beside Lucia near the opening, where more ghoulish hands swiped at the air, beckoning them closer.
“Two more drops of blood is all we’ll need,” Lucia said, placing her palm against the dirt. “Repeat the words after me.”
Stevie winced while squeezing her hand, the blood falling to the ground in what felt like slow motion. The demons’ growls grew desperate, more ravenous for a taste of her blood. Flashes of beady yellow eyes glowed from within the darkness as the demons waiting to enter Sleepy Hollow peered up at them.
Lucia chanted, deep and otherworldly, and Stevie followed her words. The ground quaked beneath them, not pulling apart further but sealing back together. They continued repeating the spell until the line vanished as if it had never been there. Lucia smacked her hand against the dirt, giggling, actually giggling. “We did it. Me and my badass assistant.”
“You mean, badass witch.” Stevie smiled, her chest heaving.
“And now you and your Horseman can rekindle your romance. I do believe he’s awake.” Lucia grinned as Roxy trotted up to her side.
Stevie whirled around to find Kit standing, wearing Reese’s robe and running a hand down Inferno’s mane. Adelia, Ginger, and Reese lingered a few feet away from him.
“Hi, Your Non Headlessness,” Stevie breathed, stepping toward him, studying the face that she’d been waiting to make a comeback.
