Page 60 of Hollowed

“But—”Iwanted to tell her he had not killed her brother as she believed.Thather brother was safe, living somewhere away from this wretched town.

“No.Nothingyou say will fix this.”Shewalked to the door and opening it, stepping to the side as she jerked her head toward the cold night. “Now.Getout beforeIsay somethingIwill regret.Youshould not be inSleepyHollow.Youdo not belong here.Youare not welcome here.”

Myfire flooded from the sharp sting of hurt in my chest, flames licking down my arms and dancing from my fingertips.Takinga deep breath,Iclenched my hands into fists, keeping my flames to myself asIstepped out into the night. “Ciara,I—”

Sheshut the door in my face, the lock clicking louder than any noiseIhad heard in my entire life.

Standingthere, in the lantern’s glow beside her doorway,Ifelt empty and hopeless.Alexander’swords flooded back into my mind and allIcould hear was his voice telling meIwas naïve and foolish.Hisvoice turned into my mother’s, telling meIwas a failure.Secondby second, my mind threw every insecurity into my face.Mybreathing quickened and the edges of my vision blackened slightly.

Ineeded to get out of here.

AsIescaped down the alley between the shops,Ihad to run my hand along the wall to keep myself from falling.Mylegs wobbled asItried to control my breathing, but the words that had been hurled at me my entire life kept coming, louder and louder and louder.

Finally,Islunk into the darkness of the alley, turning my back against the stone and sliding to the ground.Idid not realizeIwas crying until the tears trickled into the corner of my mouth.Lickingmy lips,Iclosed my eyes and tipped my head back against the wall.Myheart felt like it was about to burst from my chest.Icould not breathe.

Ifelt the heat begin to emanate from my hands, butIdid not open my eyes to see the flamesIknew were there.Theyonly fueled my self-loathing and proved that theHorseman’swords were right.

Anunnaturally cold breeze washed over me.Itpulled me from my spiral of emotion.Iopened my eyes, looking around.Athick mist hovered above the ground, creeping from the mouth of the alley, closer and closer to whereIwas sitting.

Thesluagh.

Scrambling,Istood from the ground and backed up several steps.Seeingthe mist pulled me back into reality.Ineeded to do something, or this mist would take over the town and turn into something far more harmful than an unusual fog.

Takinga deep breath to center myself,Ilifted my hands, palms out to the mist.

Itwas time to see if my fire would damage this.

Focusingall my energy on pulling at that ball of fire in my chest,Ienvisioned the flames traveling from my heart and down my arms.Iwould prove to myself, toAlexander, thatIdid have control over my magic.

Tendrilsof flame emerged from my fingertips, lighting up the alley.Mylips pulled back from my teeth in what was undoubtably not a friendly smile.Rememberinghow it felt whenIlit the grass on fire in the clearing withAlexander,Ipushed the fire from my body, willing it toward the mist.

Eruptingfrom my hands, a ball of flame left my palm, striking at the center of the mass of thick fog.Anotherworldly sound—like a pained shriek—sounded, echoing in the alley.Iwinced at the high-pitched whine but kept my hands directed there, sending another wave of flame at the mist.

Withanother shriek that faded into the night, the fog disappeared, leaving me alone in the alley.Ipanted asIlooked at where the mist had been.

Slowly, as my heart and breathing returned to normal, a smile broke across my face, a genuine one this time.Ihad done it.Andmy fire could harm this mist, which would hopefully translate to the sluagh.

“Youcan do this,Katrina,”Isaid to myself, rolling my shoulders back and lifting my chin.Thewords of those insecurities, thrown back in my face by theDullahanand then again by my mind… they would not stop me.Iwould prove to myself thatIcould saveSleepyHollow.

AndIwould say it untilIbelieved it.

Iwill saveSleepyHollow.Iwill saveSleepyHollow.Iwill saveSleepyHollow.

Chantingmy new mantra in my head,Ipulled the hood of my cloak up and set my feet in the direction of theVanTasselmanor.

Iwould confront my parents myself.

Twenty-Eight

Passingthrough the town, it was noticeably empty.Thethick mist still hovered over the ground, but asIwalked, it parted, almost skittering away from me.Partof me was proud that this mist was frightened of me, and the other part of me was horrified that this mist was intelligent enough to realizeIcould harm it.

Uneasechurned in my stomach asIpassed by the closed shops.Nolanterns were lit inside any of them, and those that had curtains had them drawn tightly over the windows and doors.Itshould not have been this empty, even though night had firmly settled in.

AndIfeared what it meant thatIhad not seen another soul since leaving the alley.

Continuingmy journey through the town square,Iswallowed down the bile that rose into my throat at the sight of the treesAdelaidehad been hanging from.Forthe rest of my days, the image of her lifeless body and gaping eye sockets staring out at the town she had sworn to protect would be burned into my mind.

Shiverscrawled down my spine, tickling like icy fingers.Itook a deep breath and continued my path, my eyes flicking up to the trees asIpassed them.