Page 23 of Halloween in Sleepy Hollow
“It requires four women,” the man—no, Randy—replies. “One for each element.” A soft shuffling follows, then the faint sound of a lighter being struck. “Fire. Water. Earth. Air. If I make a sacrifice to all four before Halloween is over, it’s supposed to summon the Headless Horseman. And then he’ll share his powers with me.”
Cole raises his hand again, this time gesturing to follow.
It’s time.
Then he shoves the door the rest of the way open and races inside, shouting, “Drop the gun! Now! Drop it! Drop it!”
The man screeches, “No!No!You’re ruining it!”
Oliver barks, “Drop your weapon! Drop it or I’ll shoot!”
As I rush into the vault, everything seems to shift into slow motion.
Cole and Oliver both converge on the man, their weapons trained on him as they command him to put his hands in the air.
Thea’s head turns towards me. Relief washes across her face. She blurts, “Ben!”
My gaze sweeps over her, cataloging every detail. The tear stains on her cheeks. Her rumpled hair. The smudges of dirt on her costume. Her hands?—
Shit.
Thatasshole.
He tied her up.
He tied up mywife. Held her hostage. Terrified her. Traumatized her.
“Cash!” Ari calls out. “I’m okay!”
Shea bursts into tears.
“I’ll help the other ones,” Kane says. He heads to the opposite side of the room, where four more women are tied up.
The four sacrifices, I assume.
Thatasshole.
A flicker of a thought races through my mind.
Make him pay for whathe’s done.
But then I shove the idea aside as I move towards someone so much more important.
As I run towards Thea, time speeds up again.
Desperation beats at me, urging me forward.
And then.
I pull Thea into my arms.
She sags against me, burying her face in my neck.
“Ben,” she breathes, “Iknewyou’d come.”
Tears burn behind my eyes. My throat goes thick. “Oh, sweetheart.”
I’m dimly aware of the chaos surrounding me. Of Randy whining about how we ruined everything. Of Oliver reading him his rights. Of the loud sobs from the other four women once their gags are removed.
