Get out now, you fool, the voice said again.
He ignored it. Above all else, the Horseman remembered that voice. He remembered a scared little man fleeing from him in a car. And he remembered watching his head sail away from his body, parting them forever in a sea of blood. He was not one to take orders from such a creature. The woman, that was different. She was “the last,” and he knew he must honor her. He could remember kneeling to her in the dirt.
The Horseman stopped in front of the room where he knew his prey waited. Perhaps it was a trick and he wouldn’t be there. The Horseman couldn’t see the sense in that, didn’t understand why such a subterfuge would be necessary or wise. He would find Kieran and kill him, no matter where he hid. He may have forgotten much, but he remembered that.
He raised his leg and kicked in the door, which had been barely reattached to its hinges since his last visit here. The door crumbled before him.
The Headless Horseman drew his sword and walked into the room to find the man who had murdered him.
*****
Kieran watched the Horseman burst through the door, sword in hand. He was scared, but ready. He knew explanations wouldn’t work. He nodded at Tim and knelt on the ground. He lay his hands on the floor and stretched out his neck as far as it would go. He didn’t know exactly how people used to prepare for the guillotine, but he imagined it was like this.
Kieran could only see the Horseman’s boots and watched as they came forward. He heard him tear off the cell door like it was no obstacle to him. Kieran wanted to look up and fought down the urge to beg. This would either work or it wouldn’t. This was the hardest part of his plan. He could never predict human behavior.
Still, there was an upside if she did decapitate him — at least he wouldn’t have to worry and scheme any longer. He thought that might be a relief.
The Horseman stood in front of him and Kieran closed his eyes. He did the one thing that didn’t come naturally to him: he waited to die.
The Horseman stood in front of him for what felt like years instead of minutes. Kieran kept waiting for some kind of movement to tell him what was going on. If he had to guess, he would have said the Horseman was internally debating something. But since he had his eyes closed, Kieran just had to assume what was going on.
Finally, after what felt like a brief lifetime, the Horseman raised his sword. He positioned himself for the killing blow. Kieran didn’t move. At this stage, running wouldn’t help him. He had gambled and lost.
But just as the Horseman seemed about to bring down the sword, Kieran heard Tim shout from the corner where he stood anxiously waiting.
“Stop!” Tim shouted. “Kate, don’t do this.”
It didn’t work. The sword came crashing down toward Kieran. He didn’t move his head to see it, but he could practically hear the blade slicing through the air. He tensed his muscles involuntarily, wondering only how much it would hurt.
But the blade stopped just above Kieran’s neck in what seemed like defiance of the laws of physics. Instead of taking off his head, the Horseman cut a small notch into Kieran’s skin, forcing him to cry out. The ghost leaned down and picked Kieran up by his shirt, holding him at arm’s length. Kieran dangled in the air.
“Ugh,” Kieran managed and he tried to hold onto the Horseman’s arm.
The Horseman tossed Kieran against the cement wall, where he slumped to the ground. Dazed, Kieran watched as Tim ran forward and leapt unto the Horseman’s back. But without a neck to grab on to or a head to use for leverage, the Horseman easily threw Tim off. Although Tim seemed to hit the floor hard, he immediately popped up again and headed back towards the Horseman.
The Horseman ignored Tim, stalking slowly toward Kieran. He didn’t try to move, just sat there waiting. Kieran couldn’t understand why the Horseman hadn’t killed him the first time.
Perhaps he just wanted to play with you first, he thought.
But Tim thrust himself between the Horseman and his prey.
“If you’re going to kill him, you’ll have to kill me first,” he said.
The Horseman hesitated. Kieran thought he was arguing internally again.
Some part of him wants to kill Tim, too, he realized.
Kieran didn’t have to wait long to find out which part that was. There was a flash of light and the Horseman disappeared, replaced by a human, but arguably more dangerous, enemy. Kieran recognized him from the newspaper photos as Kyle Thompson.
Kyle smiled at Tim.
“Excellent,” Kyle said. “That’s just what I wanted.”
He’s going to kill you, Tim, Kieran thought.
But Tim surprised both Kieran and Kyle by throwing the first punch. It never connected. Instead, Kyle dodged it easily and delivered his own punch to Tim’s kidney. The editor slumped to the floor.
“She told you not to interfere, old man,” Kyle said. “You can’t say she didn’t warn you.”
“I want to talk to her,” Tim said.
“I don’t give a damn what you want,” Kyle responded. “I’m going to gut you right here and there’s nothing you can do to stop me. I should have done this years ago.”
“You have to stop listening to him, Kate,” Tim said, struggling to his feet again. “This isn’t you. You aren’t Kyle Thompson.”
“Get it through your thick skull, Anderson,” Kyle said. “I own this girl now. She read my mind and I infected her. She thought she killed me, but she only gave me more power — she made me immortal.”
Kieran watched as Kyle reached down and pulled a long, gleaming knife from a side pocket. But Tim didn’t back down, continuing to stand between Kieran and Kyle.
“That’s a lie,” Tim said. “This is all in your head, Kate. You never became Kyle.”
“Oh, did you miss the part where she murdered unarmed prisoners?” Kyle responded, laughing. “She murdered them in cold blood, Tim. She could have captured them; they had surrendered. But she ordered her ghosts to kill them. Do you know how much blood is on her hands?”
Kyle advanced on Tim, flicking the knife toward him. Tim jumped to the side, out of range.
“I want to talk to Kate,” Kieran said, trying to draw Kyle’s attention away from Tim. But Kyle ignored him.
He flicked the knife again at Tim, giggling as his victim dodged to the other side.
“This is going to be fun,” Kyle said.
“I want to talk to Kate,” Kieran said louder this time.
Kyle kept advancing on Tim, periodically feinting left and right, his eyes dancing with delight as Tim moved like a demented puppet.
“I want to talk to Kate!” Kieran shouted.
Kyle looked at Kieran, still sitting against the wall, with an expression of undisguised disgust.
“Here’s a quarter,” he said. “Call someone who cares.”
Kyle shot around Tim and aimed a kick at Kieran. But Kieran was ready for it. He caught the intended blow and lifted Kyle’s foot up, throwing his attacker off balance. Kyle fell to the floor and Kieran leapt up. He scrambled on top of Kyle before he could move with a sudden burst of ferocity. He wrenched the knife from Kyle’s hand and waved it in front of his face.
“Is that how it’s going to be?” Kieran asked. “You’re so damn crazy you don’t even kill the man who murdered your lover? Instead you attack a defenseless old man?”
“I’m really not that old,” Tim responded. “I wish everyone would stop saying that.”
Kieran gave him an exasperated look before returning to Kyle, who was grinning.
“Don’t worry, I was going to get to you,” he said.
He kicked Kieran off and rolled to the side. Kyle stood up and brushed himself off. His eyes never left Kieran, who held the knife out in front of him.
“You can’t win,” Kyle said. “Even if you stabbed me with that thing, I’d just turn into something else. Something worse. Why don’t you go back to waiting to die and I’ll make that happen for you? Then I can turn my full attention to Mr. Anderson.�
�
“I want to talk to Kate,” Kieran said again.
“Well, she doesn’t want to talk to you,” Kyle responded, and rushed Kieran.
Kieran was thankful that after he fled Loudoun last year, he had at least kept himself in shape. Even with his terrible hangover and the lingering buzz from the vodka, his responses were quick. Kyle went for the knife, but Kieran grabbed his arm and used the momentum against him, turning Kyle around and wrapping his arm around his throat. Kieran held the knife point to Kyle’s neck.
“Go ahead and try it,” Kyle said sneering. “Gut her like you did Quinn. It’s what you came here for, isn’t it?”
“Would you like that, Kate?” Kieran asked. “Do you really want me to end it all?”
Kyle struggled, but couldn’t break out.
“I’ll make you a deal,” Kieran said. “You let me talk to Kate for five minutes and I’ll give her the knife when I’m done. If you want, you or she can kill me then.”
“She doesn’t have to deal with you,” Kyle said. “She could turn into the banshee and be free immediately. She could scream at you until your head exploded from the pain.”
“Then do it and be done with this,” Kieran replied. “All I’m asking is for her to hear me out. That’s it.”
“She doesn’t want to talk to you,” Kyle responded. “Not after what you did.”
“I can save Quinn,” Kieran said. “I can bring him back.”
“She doesn’t believe you,” Kyle said.
Kieran pushed Kyle away from him and threw the knife on the ground at his feet.
“Then kill me,” he said. “Just know that you gave up your only chance at saving Quinn. Why else do you think I would come back, Kate? Why would I present myself for the Loudoun police to find, knowing full well that you would find out? I know Quinn’s death made you crazy, but did it make you stupid too?”
Kieran watched as Kyle sneered, but the taunt appeared to finally work. There was another flash of light and Kyle was gone, replaced by Kate, who regarded Kieran with her icy, blue eyes.
“You came back to finish your master’s work,” she said. “He wants you to kill me too.”
“You really think I work for him?” Kieran said. “He betrayed me and left me to die at your hands.”
“Lucky me,” Kate responded.
“You can’t have it both ways,” Kieran said. “If Sanheim wanted you to kill me, I can’t still be working for him. Besides, do you really think he would send me here to sacrifice myself in the sheer hope you would spare me? Does that kind of half-assed planning sound like him?”
“It was a bluff,” Kate said.
“You could have killed me when I was lying on the ground. There was nothing stopping you. That’s no bluff.”
“So what’s the plan, then?” Kate asked, her tone mocking. “You have my attention. What do you want? Did you finally grow a conscience? Or are you hoping to lull me into a false sense of security so I follow your insane scheme and get myself or others killed? It won’t work, Kieran. I’ll never trust you again. Never.”
“Kate,” Tim interrupted. “He told me the plan. You should listen to him.”
Kate barely glanced at Tim.
“He stabbed Quinn in the back,” she said. “Did you know that, Tim? Quinn trusted this man and died by his hand. And now you want me to do the same?”
“No,” Tim said. “All I want is to help you.”
“Then help me kill him,” she said. “That’ll be a start.”
“No, that will be the end, Kate,” Tim said. “I tried to tell you before. Killing him won’t bring Quinn back.”
“And his crazy idea will? I haven’t even heard it yet and I know it’s not possible. You can’t bring back the dead, Tim. I may be nuts, but even I remember that.”
Kieran once again knelt in front of her.
“Just listen to me,” he implored. “All I want is to say my piece. If you want to kill me afterward, I won’t move a muscle.”
“I don’t need your permission,” she said. “This was all just foreplay. I can kill you at any time.”
“I can save him, Kate,” Kieran said. “What I told you at the asylum was true. I know you weren’t ready to hear it, but I can save him.”
“Why? Why would you even try? You took him from me in the first place.”
“I made a mistake,” Kieran said. “I know how you feel because that’s how I felt after I lost Grace. Sanheim promised to give her back to me if I betrayed Sawyer and Elyssa, which made sense. Sawyer had killed her, after all. But at the last minute, Sanheim said I had to kill you or Quinn too. I was so far gone at that point, I couldn’t think straight. I should have known it was a lie.
“But the world is a remarkable place, Kate. Every once in a great while, it gives you a second chance. I’ve done the research. I’m not saying it will be easy. I’m not promising we’ll succeed. But I swear on my love for Grace that I know how to bring him back. I just can’t do it alone. I need your help, your power. We can do this, Kate. You don’t need to trust me, you just need to work with me.”
“I won’t let you do this,” Kate said. “I won’t let you talk me into a false hope. You just want to hurt me more.”
“I know what I did to you,” Kieran said. “I know the voices in your head because I’ve heard them myself. When Grace died… It took me decades to come to terms with that. So please realize, I know what I’m saying — how can I hurt you more than I already have? Losing Quinn was your worst nightmare. What could I possibly do that’s worse than that?”
Kieran’s words hung in the air. It was Tim that answered.
“You could give her hope — and then take it away,” Tim said. “That’s what she fears most now.”
Kate nodded and strode toward Kieran, who remained kneeling on the ground. Kieran looked up at her and could see the determination in her eyes. She was going to kill him. He had exactly one last chance.
“Kill me, then,” Kieran said. “Have your revenge. I had mine, after all. But believe me when I tell you, revenge is an empty meal. It tastes like ash. Revenge won’t bring Quinn back, Kate. But I can.”
Kate stopped walking and stood there for a long time. Kieran couldn’t tell what was going on in her mind, but he had the idea there were voices shouting at one another. The determination that had been in her eyes a few seconds ago had vanished, replaced with doubt.
For several long minutes, the three people in the room neither moved nor spoke. Kieran was afraid that if he did, it would disturb the fragile truce between them. Kate’s look was far away as if she wasn’t even there anymore.
Finally, Kate’s eyes shifted back to Kieran’s face and she spoke.
“Okay,” she said.
It was just one word, but it was enough.
Chapter 7
Quinn watched the scarecrow aim his crossbow at Elyssa and knew he was out of time.
No matter what he did or how fast he ran, the grinning figure would have plenty of time to fire the bolt — and there was no question he would hit her. Maybe it shouldn’t have mattered. After all, Quinn had fought Elyssa what felt like only a few days earlier and considered her an enemy. But in that moment, he wanted nothing more than to save her. He didn’t even have a reason, it was just raw instinct.
Quinn felt like he was watching the whole scene play out in slow motion. Logically, he knew Elyssa was already doomed, but some part of him insisted that couldn’t be the case. There had to be some way to save her.
The situation triggered an old memory of him standing in his karate class trying to earn his white belt. The test was simple; all he had to do was punch and break a thin, wooden board. But try as he might, he couldn’t do it, jabbing uselessly at the board and bruising his knuckles in the process.
The instructor had finally sent for Master Chuang, the karate studio’s owner. He was an intimidating presence, a broad shouldered man in a green uniform who never – so far as Quinn had seen – cracked a smile.
Master Chuang wordlessly took the place of Quinn’s instructor and stared straight into Quinn’s eyes.
“You do not believe you can do this,” Master Chuang said.
“No, sir,” Quinn said.
“You cannot do something you know is impossible,” Master Chuang said. “You have to choose what to believe. You either believe you can break this board or that you cannot break this board. Which do you choose?”
Quinn didn’t know what the right answer was. It didn’t matter what he chose, he knew he couldn’t break the board. Believing something else wouldn’t change that.
“You are wrong,” Master Chuang responded, as if reading his thoughts. “What you believe is everything.”
Master Chuang pointed at Quinn’s heart.
“You must believe it here,” he said. “You must choose what you believe and believe it with all your soul.”
Quinn hadn’t fully understood what he was told; however, he had absorbed enough of the lesson. When Master Chuang presented the board to him again, Quinn quieted his doubts. Something clicked into place for him, a strange certainty that erased his remaining fears. Master Chuang counted off and when he punched the board, the wood didn’t just break — it shattered.
The memory flashed through his mind in the fraction of a second that he watched the scarecrow raise his arm. Quinn stopped wondering if he could get there in time and instead simply looked for a way to stop the scarecrow.
He saw the rock out of the corner of his eye. It was large and round, shaped more like a baseball than an actual stone. He didn’t question how it got there precisely when he needed it. Nor did he worry about the fact that he had never been particularly adept at throwing. Instead, a voice whispered in his head, “You must choose what you believe and believe it with all your soul.”
Without slowing his sprint, he scooped up the rock on the ground and threw it squarely at the scarecrow’s pumpkin head. Quinn had moved so fast that the figure was still fully extending his arm. The scarecrow was lining up his shot with a practiced ease that signaled he had previously missed Elyssa on purpose, just waiting for Quinn and Janus to arrive.
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