Page 81 of Hollowed
Shamecoursed through me, acidic and bitter on my tongue asIswallowed it down.Lookingat my hands, so pale and scarred,Iwanted to vomit.
Youare useless,Katrina.Truly, a waste of magic.Mymother’s words from our first and only magic lesson came back, swirling through my mind and scorching a path through my heart.Youdisappoint me.
Myhead hung low with the weight of her cutting words, butIpushed back, allowingHenry’ssupport to surface.Thatit wastheirfault, not mine.Theymade me this way.
Imade my way back to the table, flinging myself onto the chair without a care of how it jostled my sore shoulder.Ideserved the pain.
“I’llgo make us some tea.”Priscillastood, pattingHenry’shand.Shethrew a pointed look at him as she left.
Henrysighed. “Whatis it, my girl?”
“PerhapsIshould just give myself toDeath,”Isaid, picking at my fingernails instead of looking at him.Icould not bear to see the disappointment on the face of my mentor.Myfingers crept up to the pendant nestled between my collarbones, rubbing my fingers over the stone.
OneofHenry’sage-ravaged fingers tucked under my chin, raising my eyes to his.Hiseyes were shiny with tears, and his lower lip trembled slightly. “KatrinaVanTassel, if you ever say that again,Iwill kill you myself.Iwanted you to leave theHollowso you would have a chance at a life.Andwhile that didn’t happen, this old man’s sentiment remains.Youhave such a life ahead of you, such a life beyond these trees.Theworld is not reduced toSleepyHollow, my dear.Andfor all the pain it's wrought on you, you owe it nothing.Yethere you are.Andthat makes you better than most.”
“Ifmy sacrifice will save them—truly save them—is that not a worthy death?”
“No, it’s not.Becauseyour sacrifice toDeathwould not save them.Justlike your sacrifice to theDullahanwould not save them.Itis beyond time forSleepyHollowto step up and save itself for once.”
“Thetown wants me dead.”Myvoice cracked, the reality settling in that many of the townspeople hadn’t thought twice about my being namedRoghnaithe, nor had they questionedDeath’sproposal to hand me over.Whatkind of town was this—that so readily would give the life of one of their own? “Theyneed me dead.Intheir minds, that’s the natural order of things, the only way forSleepyHollowto survive.”
“Thistown can burn for allIcare,” he bit out.Heleaned back, his brown eyes shining with determination. “AllIcare about is you,Katrina.Ineed you to live.”
Hiswords rang through my mind, while indecision rivaled in my soul.Iwanted to live, to see beyond the edges of theHollow, to step out of the shadow my parents had cast.ButthenI’dmetAlexander, andIcouldn’t leave him to die, just soIcould live.Ichewed on my lip, debating how to phrase my thoughts toHenry, but no words would do them justice.
ButIdidn’t have to worry about that.Thesky darkened in a heartbeat’s time, gray clouds moving in as if heavy breath had blown them in.Achill came with it, bringing both a drop in temperature and an electrified feeling that clung to the hairs on my neck and arms.Standing,Ilooked up at the sky, turning my head in every direction, looking for what was coming.
Henrystood with me, tapping my arm untilIbrought my gaze down from the clouds. “Weneed to go inside,Katrina.”
Ascream pierced the air, every muscle of my body flinching asIsqueezed my eyes shut.Mybody was frozen, paralyzed by the knowledge that, ultimately,Iwas the reason for that scream.Imagesof the creaturesI’dseen in the book ofOtherworldmonsters flashed through my mind.Iwondered which one had been summoned toSleepyHollow.
Henrypulled at my hand.Hislips moved, butIcould hear no words, nothing but the thundering of my heart.
Ireached up, rubbing at my functioning ear until my body knew whatIwas trying to accomplish.
“—’side now,” he finished, tugging me toward the door again.
Priscillawaited in the doorway, her eyes glued to the looming sky.
Ilet myself be led inside, despite the screams echoing deep into my bones.Henrysat me down on the lounge inPriscilla’soffice, kneeling in front of me. “Youare not to blame for this.”
“Ineed to go help,”Iwhispered, though my common sense screamed at me to do anything but.
“No,” he said firmly, turning around and sliding a book from the table.Hepushed it into my lap. “Youneed to find a way to defeatDeath.That’sthe only way to saveSleepyHollow.”
Reluctantly,Inodded, curling my fingers around the book numbly.Henodded, patting my knee as he stood. “Goodgirl.Wewill all research.Wewill find an answer.LettheCiallmhardo their jobs tonight.”
Abitter silence drew over the room, the three of us flipping through pages as the faint sounds of panic trickled in from outside.Myfingers tightened around the book.
“Henry,”Icalled.Hemet my gaze and tipped his head questioningly.Itook a deep breath. “Iwill live.Iwill live, andIwill save this town, whether they like it or not.Iwill be the villain in their story, so long as they live through it.”
Hesmiled, the expression not quite reaching his eyes. “Katrina, the villain depends entirely on who is telling the story.Andthis is your story.Nottheirs.”
Thirty-Eight
PriscillaandIsat across from the table from each other the next morning, both silently waiting forHenryto return with news.Atdawn, he’d left the bookstore, heading to theCiallmharhouse to gather information about the previous night’s attacks.Theteapot betweenPriscillaand me sat untouched.Iwas too nervous, too frightened of whatHenrymight tell us, to put anything in my stomach.Fromthe way it swirled and twisted,Iknew whateverImanaged to drink would just come right back up.
Iwatched as a sliver of morning sun traveled across the wood in front of me, slowly inching closer and closer to the table’s edge before sliding to the floor and continuing its journey.Priscillareached out to me, catching my attention and pulling my gaze up to her.