The dominant spirit, however, that haunts this enchanted region, and seems to be commander-in-chief of all the powers of the air, is the apparition of a figure on horseback …
– “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”
I didn’t stop to think. I just ran for the log, grabbed it, and headed straight for him. Vincent turned around a second too late, and I drove the hot end right into the top part of his chest-aiming for the section of tattoos that he’d said were his protection spells.
He screamed in outrage as his skin sizzled and split, the raw edges of the wound turning black with soot. A large red burn mark blossomed, and he looked down at it, shock written all over his face.
I held on tightly to the wood, barely even noticing that it was warm to the touch, and pointed it at him, brandishing it as the only weapon I had.
He took a step toward me, but the front door suddenly shuddered open, and the man in the white suit, the man who had been at the insane asylum and who had been watching me in the cemetery, stepped into the cabin.
“Grifyth!” he yelled.
Everything happened at once then, in a blur of motion that left me stunned, as the man tackled Vincent and they went flying past me. The man in the white suit shoved Vincent into the bathroom and slammed the door shut between them. Reaching for a kitchen chair, he wedged it up under the knob. It didn’t take long for the pounding on the other side to begin.
I glanced over at him. “Who are you, and what are you doing here?”
“Well, I was coming to rescue you,” he said in an amused voice. “But it looks like you were taking care of that yourself.”
He put out a hand and reached for me. “Come on. We’re leaving.”
Apparently I didn’t have a choice in the matter, because he was already hauling me behind him, and my legs followed.
“What’s going to happen with Vincent?” I said.
“He’s not going to be happy when he gets out, but we need to get you back to the other Revenants.” He directed me to a gray car sitting outside. We both got in.
“What’s your name?” I asked.
“You can call me Monty.”
“Do you know where Caspian is?”
He nodded. “With the Revenants. But he doesn’t have much more time.”
He looked sad as he started up the car, but he floored it and we drove away. He was going over the speed limit by a good thirty miles as we headed back to Sleepy Hollow, but something told me we weren’t going to be stopped by any cops.
“You were at the asylum, right?” I said. “Gray’s Folly?”
“Yes.”
“How did Uri know you would be there?”
“I spent a lot of time there when I was human. The place was named for me, actually.”
The puzzle pieces were starting to slide into place. But the biggest one, the most obvious one, didn’t fit yet, and I wanted to tread delicately. I don’t know why, but he struck me as someone with a wounded soul.
“Monty … can I ask you something?” I said.
He nodded.
“Are you Vincent’s partner? His other half?”
Sorrow crossed his face, along with something else. And I knew the answer was yes.
“How can that be?” I said. “I thought Shades were supposed to be male and female? A love match?”
“Most are. But when Grifyth was a child-I’m sorry, I mean Vincent. When he was a child, he was a student at my school. He died there, but I still kept seeing him everywhere. I thought that I was being punished for not saving him.”
“Not saving him? How did he die?”
Monty’s expression darkened. “He drowned.”
Vincent had drowned? Now it made sense. Shades and their other halves were a love match. But for Monty it had been a self-sacrificing love.
“So when you found out you were like me, you completed him out of guilt, right?”
He sighed. “I did. That was many lifetimes ago now.”
We passed the enormous covered bridge as we drove through Sleepy Hollow, and I glanced back at it for a moment. It reminded me of what I was rushing toward. If I was going to save Caspian, if I was going to complete him, there was only one thing I was sure of: I had to die first.
Reaching over to touch his hand as we pulled up to the cemetery, I said, “Thank you, Monty. I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t come.” Then I got out of the car, unsure if he would follow, but I knowing where I had to go.
To the river. To the spot where Kristen had died.
They were all there, waiting for me, forming a small circle, with Uri and Cacey off to one side and Kame and Sophie on the other. Caspian was standing in the middle, gesturing and speaking loudly.
I went running. Flying. Toward the bridge. Toward him.
He met me halfway, and I stumbled, hands reaching out for him. They went through, of course, but I was so happy to see him that I didn’t care.
“Where were you?” he asked. “Oh, God, Astrid. I was so worried! We didn’t know where to look, but I didn’t want to leave in case you came here. What happened? Why didn’t you-”
“Vincent was here,” I said. “He took me, to my family’s cabin. He kidnapped me.”
Monty came strolling up behind me, and the others welcomed him. He didn’t seem very comfortable around them, but Uri slapped him on the back, and I heard him say, “I knew you’d help.”
Caspian came closer to me. “He took you? Oh, love. Did he hurt you?”
My eyes slid away from his. “He was … his usual charming self.”
Caspian looked me over, his eyes narrowing. “What did he do?”
“He sort of used his fist to subdue me,” I admitted. “In the face.”
“Jeez,” Cacey said. “He really has gone off the deep end.”
Caspian glared at her.
“Later,” I said. “We don’t have much time.”
“Why?” Caspian asked suspiciously. “That’s what they keep saying. Does someone want to clue me in?”
“At midnight it’s November third,” I replied. I looked over at Cacey. “Vincent told me everything. About the original Revenants. About the fact that you were once all human. Why didn’t you tell me? Why did you lie?”
Kame held up one hand. “There were certain things we couldn’t tell you, Abbey.”
I turned to Uri. “You told me practically everything. Why didn’t you tell me about what would happen to Caspian? Was it really that hard? I had to find out from Vincent.”
“This was all new to us, Abbey,” Uri replied. “Vincent and Monty were the only ones authorized to tell you anything. We were just here to find Vincent and bring him back, to restore the balance.”
“Oh, come on. You had to have had some idea. All the signs were there. You might not have known the exact date, but you knew it was getting close.”
“Well, now you know, and that’s that,” Cacey said.
“There is a bigger issue to be dealt with here, Acacia,” Kame said. “You know that.”
I traded looks with Caspian. “What’s the bigger issue?”
“Vincent is your Revenant,” Kame replied. “That means he must help you cross over.”
“But he doesn’t want to do the job. So that means I’ll have to do it,” Monty said. “And I’m going to need the help of everyone.”
“Nothing needs to be done,” Caspian said. “We’ll just keep things the way they are.” He softened his tone. “November first will come around again next year, Astrid.”
I closed my eyes briefly, but that didn’t stop the tears from coming. “You don’t understand,” I told him. “All the recent changes lately, you losing your touch, falling into a deep sleep … it means something more. If I don’t complete you now, you’ll move on. Without me.”
Caspian looked around for one of the Revenants to tell him I was wrong.
The answer came from Cacey. “Your time is up, sweetie.”
He looked down at the ground, stunned disbelief written all over his face, and my tears came harder. I tried to push them away, scrubbed my hands across my face, but the tears just came faster. “Please,” I said. “Please. Just let me be with him.”
“It’s not up to us,” Cacey said. “That’s just the way it goes.”
“But you guys have powers. You have to be able to do something.”
Uri came over and put his arms around me, wrapping me in a protective embrace. Turning me away from the group, he whispered, “Abbey, you don’t understand. You don’t have to die. You get to live. Doesn’t that mean something to you? Anything?”
I gazed at Caspian. “Not without him.”
Uri let out a frustrated sigh. “I didn’t tell you this before, but my death hurt. It was painful, and I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.”
I shook my head stubbornly. “I don’t care. I don’t care if it hurts. Besides, Nikolas told me that his death was easy.”
“It’s different for everyone, that’s true, but don’t you see? Why would you want to give up all of this? I don’t get it.”
I wrapped my hand in his. “Think about Cacey. Acacia. Then tell me you still don’t get it.” A half smile stretched across his lips, then disappeared. “See?” I said. “You get it.”
Straightening my shoulders, I stepped away from him and moved to Caspian. “Love,” I whispered. “It’s okay. I’ve decided.”
His eyes were filled with anguish, and he put one hand up next to my cheek. “You can’t, Abbey. You can’t do this. You have to let me go. Just let me go.” Very purposefully he stepped away from me and turned his back, moving next to Sophie on the other side of the circle.
“Do it,” he said tersely. “Take me with you and let her stay.”
“Caspian.” I raised my voice. “This is my choice. Don’t take that away from me.”
“You can’t think that I’m-”
Cacey held up her hand and interrupted us. “Wait, wait, wait. There’s no need for any of this. It still doesn’t change the fact that we can’t do it. It’s Vincent and Monty’s job, remember?” she said.
“But Monty wants to try. Doesn’t that mean anything?” I asked.
Kame leaned over and said something to Sophie. She shook her head, then replied, “I don’t know. The chain has been interrupted. We can’t be sure-”
The sound of hoofbeats came thundering up from behind us, and we all turned to look. Nikolas was sitting on top of a dark gray horse, with Katy behind him.
“We have searched the other side,” he said, “and still no sign of-” As soon as they saw me, they came to a stop.
“Abbey!” Katy said, sliding down from the horse. “We were so worried! We have been looking everywhere for you.”
She came toward me, and I gave her a big hug. “I was with Vincent, but I’m okay.”
“What did he do to you?” She turned my face and looked at my jaw. “You poor thing.”
“I’m okay,” I whispered. “Everything’s going to be fine now.”
“Abbey?” Someone else called my name. From behind me. The voice was high pitched, but it sounded like …
“Cyn?”
She stepped forward hesitantly, and I could see that Vincent was holding her with one hand across her throat. Something glinted, and I knew it was a knife.
Immediately Caspian moved next to me and Nikolas edged his horse closer.
“Did you start without me?” Vincent called. “You know I couldn’t stay away. But I have my insurance policy here.” He pushed Cyn forward roughly, and she stumbled.
“What are you doing?” Cacey asked. “Are you crazy?”
Vincent glared at her.
“Okay, okay, don’t answer that,” she muttered.
“Let the girl come to us,” Kame instructed Vincent, his tone soothing. “We can discuss this.”
“There’s nothing to discuss.” He jerked her head back. The wicked edge of a blade shone against her pale throat. “I’m not being replaced.”
“Hey, schizo,” Cyn said to Vincent, “want to loosen up on the grip? I won’t struggle.”
Vincent ignored her.
“Why don’t you let Cyn go?” I said. “She doesn’t have anything to do with me and Caspian being completed.”
“Can’t,” he replied. “See, what I need is for you to make the decision not to complete him. And the only way I see that happening now is for me to hold on to her so you don’t do anything stupid.”
“Why didn’t you just stay away?” I said suddenly. “If you didn’t want to do the job, why not just head off to some tropical paradise and stay as far away from me and Sleepy Hollow as possible?”
He sighed heavily. “Radar thing. It’s like a time clock on steroids. A real bitch.”
“What’s the radar thing?”
“A program that’s hardwired inside our brains to guarantee we show up and do our job.” He shifted the knife away from Cyn and gestured to his head. “See, when a Shade’s time is up, we get this little blip that starts beeping in the back of our heads. The more we ignore it? The louder it becomes, until it’s this crazy full-on blaring signal that drives you mad and all you can think about is finding your Shade. You have to get within ten feet of your charge to shut it down.”
He grimaced, and I could tell that he’d obviously experienced that a time or two.
“Anything else you want to know?” he said. He glanced at his watch. “We have some time to kill.”
I saw movement out of the corner of my eye, and realized it was Uri and Caspian edging closer.
Vincent saw it too.
“I will gut her like a fish right here and now if you don’t back the fuck up,” Vincent threatened, moving the knife to Cyn’s stomach. “I won’t kill her, but I’ll make her bleed.”
They halted.
“This is getting old,” Cyn called out. “One of you want to tell me what his damage is?” She hissed in pain as Vincent dug the edge of the knife in deeper. “Okay, okay. Forget it.”
“No! Don’t!” I said. “You win, Vincent. End of story.”
“Actually …” He cocked his head. “That’s not the end of the story. Did they tell you the other part? The best part? Probably not. Because they’re cowards.”
“Like you’re anything better?” Caspian said.
“I’m lots of things, but I’m no coward,” Vincent replied. “I have balls of solid rock.” Then he turned his attention to me. “You know that friend of yours? The dead one? It was supposed to be you.”
I tried to keep my face blank. “You already told me that. You thought she was Caspian’s other half and wanted to get her out of the way so they could never find each other.”
He shook his head, but grinned gleefully. “It was only a mistake on my part to get involved with her. If I’d been more patient, I could have avoided that. When she died”-he looked over at the Crane River-“right over there, I believe, you were supposed to be here. It was your death day. Not hers. Before I interfered, you would have met Caspian, and then who knows where we’d all be? I just got tired of having a loose end, so I decided to take care of it on my own. Now you’re unwritten and none of us know when it’s gonna happen.”
Shock hit me. I glanced over at Uri. “Is that true?” I asked. “Tell me. Is that true?”
Nikolas got down from his horse. “Abbey,” he said, “you have been given a chance-”
“Been given a chance!” I said hysterically. “I haven’t been given a chance! My life was spared because my best friend’s was taken in its place.”
Vincent grinned. “I was hoping that she’d bring you along with her. Then I would have had a two-for-one.”
Suddenly Cyn started whispering something. I thought I caught the word “veil,” but she was talking faster and faster and I couldn’t hear what she was saying. Her eyes closed and her head slumped forward.
She jerked once, then stood upright. When her eyes opened again, they had changed.
“Abbey,” she said, “it’s okay.”
Blinking rapidly, I tried to clear my vision. Cyn was doing whatever she’d done at the séance. Her smile, her eyes, her expression … Except for the longer hair, everything about her was Kristen. She’s really here.
“Kristen?” I said in a whisper.
Vincent must have been seeing it too, because he looked just as stunned.
Cyn put her hand on my arm. “I’ve missed you so much.” She put her other hand on my face. “I’m sorry I lied to you. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about him. For almost a whole year I kept his secret because I was so ashamed. I didn’t want you to think any less of me. I just wanted to get him out of my life without you ever finding out. That’s why I didn’t ask you to go with me. To the bridge.”
My vision blurred again. Stupid tears. “I could never think less of you, Kris,” I said. “I miss you so much. There’s so much I want to tell you.”
She smiled. “I know about everything now. I know when you come to visit me in the cemetery. I knew when your boy was keeping watch for you, and tending my grave.” She glanced back at Caspian. “He’s good for you. Very good for you. Do you love him?”
“Yes,” I whispered. “More than anything.”
Vincent interrupted us. “I don’t know what’s going on, but this-”
“You know what you need to do.” The voice that interrupted came from behind Vincent. Monty was standing there. “Grifyth, you know what you need to do. Let them be together. Let this be over with.”
“My name is Vincent!” he said. Rage turned his face purple, and Cyn/Kristen grabbed for my hand. “And you should know that!”
He pulled the knife away from Cyn for a split second to point it at Monty, and I pulled Cyn’s hand as hard as I could to jerk her away from him. She must have been thinking the same thing, because she propelled herself at me.
Vincent reached out to grab her, but he only got a handful of her hair and it slithered out of his grasp. Uri and Caspian launched themselves at him, and all three of them went down in a tangled heap.
I could hear punches flying and grunts of pain as fists hit flesh, but I couldn’t see what was happening.
When the dust finally settled, Uri was sitting on Vincent’s chest, pinning his arms down on either side, with Caspian holding his feet. Monty stood by, looking unsure of himself.
He glanced at me, and I could see guilt written all over his face. Guilt that he hadn’t done anything to stop his partner.
“Make it right,” I told him. “You can still make this right.”
He shook his head.
The other Revenants and Nikolas and Katy were still waiting by the riverbank. Grabbing Cyn’s hand, I raised my voice. “Vincent interfered. He was supposed to do one job, and he did another. He took a life that wasn’t his to take. You need to set the balance right.”
“Abbey, we can’t just-,” Cacey started to say.
But I held up one hand. “Yes. You can. I don’t care how you have to do it, but you need to set things right. Bring Kristen back. Take me. Restore the balance.”
“Abbey,” Caspian pleaded. “Don’t. Don’t do this for me.”
I turned to face him. “I would give up my heart and breath and soul for you. Gladly. But this is bigger than you. And bigger than me. It’s my destiny to be your other half, but it’s also my destiny to be the best friend that I can. To Kristen. She was robbed of her future, her dreams. Vincent took that away from her when he had no right to.”
“I won’t stand in the way of your decision,” he said. “I’ll support you. Always.”
My heart almost broke again at the unwavering look of love in his eyes.
Kame spoke up. “You realize what will have to happen if we do this, right, Abbey? What you’re asking? We’ll have to change time. To change the order of things.”
Briefly I thought about Mom and Dad. Uncle Bob and Aunt Marjorie. It wasn’t fair that I wouldn’t have the chance to say good-bye to them.
But that was life.
“I’m asking you to repair the order,” I said. “I’m ready.”
He hesitated. “We can’t be sure about what will happen, after. This is a real mess. It’s something entirely different from anything we’ve done before.”
I looked to Monty. “Are you willing to try to help me cross over?”
He glanced at Vincent.
“Don’t you fucking do it, Monty!” Vincent yelled, bucking against Uri and trying to throw him off. “It won’t work. And if you-”
Uri clamped his hand down over Vincent’s mouth. “Enough from you.”
“He’s burned on his upper shoulder,” I called out, gesturing on myself where I’d hurt Vincent. “Just there.”
Uri poked Vincent’s chest and he made an angry, choked sound.
“He may not be willing, but he’s still here,” said Monty. “I can try to use that bond.” Then he nodded. “Yes. I am willing.”
I let out a deep breath. Kame smiled at me. “Now or never, baby girl.”
I smiled back, and then I locked eyes with Caspian. “Now. Definitely now.”
“We’re going to need Uri,” Cacey said. “And Caspian.”
Nikolas stepped forward. “I can take their place.”
Cacey gave him a sideways glance. “Are you sure about that?”
Drawing himself up to his full height, Nikolas scowled at her. “You doubt a Hessian?”
“Okay, okay.” She shook her head, and Nikolas went over to where Vincent was lying. He quickly exchanged places with Caspian and Uri, and had no trouble whatsoever subduing Vincent on his own.
Caspian came to join me, and I turned to Cyn. She still looked like Kristen.
“Bye, Kris,” I whispered, holding up my hand. “I love you. Don’t forget that. Take care of my mom and dad.”
She placed her hand against mine, our palms touching, and nodded.
“Bye, Abbey,” she said with a sad smile. “I love you, too.”
Then she stepped back.
The Revenants moved forward, forming a tight circle around me and Caspian. Their arms were touching. Uri straightened, and said, “Acacia, I call upon you.”
Cacey answered. “Uriel, I call upon you.”
“Sophiel, I call upon you,” Kame said.
“Kame, I call upon you,” she replied.
“And I call upon myself,” Monty said, “And Grifyth.”
Monty picked up my hand, and then picked up Caspian’s. Bringing them together, one on top of the other, he placed his hand on mine, directly above the ring Caspian had given me, and then pushed down.
With Monty’s hand touching mine, I could touch Caspian. I looked down. “I …”
When I glanced up again, Caspian was smiling.
“I promise you forever,” I vowed to him, staring into his green eyes. “Whatever that is. Whatever I can give you. You have all of it. All of me.”
“I promise you forever,” he replied. “Whatever that is. Whatever I can give you. You have all of it. All of me.”
“Now,” Monty said.
I closed my eyes.
The feeling of water swept over me.
The scene flashed and changed, and the cottage was in front of me. Nikolas and Katy’s cottage. But instead of seeing their belongings, I recognized Caspian’s art pad. His charcoal. Empty bottles stood along the windowsill, waiting to be filled with new perfumes.
A bowl of fresh peppermint leaves sat on the table beside my flower press and oil distiller, waiting … for me and Caspian. The new caretakers of the cemetery.
Nikolas and Katy came walking toward me, leading Nikolas’s horse behind.
“Did it work?” I said. “Am I crossing over?”
They just smiled.
“Take good care of Stagmont,” Nikolas said, handing me the reins to the horse. “He’ll stay with you now. At the cemetery.”
I nodded. “And you?”
“On to something new.”
As he spoke his face started changing, the wrinkles lessening. His hair turned darker, and so did Katy’s. The faded strawberry blond color she used to have became a rich, vibrant shade of red. Color bloomed in her cheeks. She laughed as she held her hands out in front of her. Then she turned to Nikolas.
But Nikolas wasn’t the old man I’d once met raking leaves. Now he was young. No more than twenty. Katy was young too. Maybe seventeen.
They stepped back, turning away from me. Katy lifted her hand to wave, and I did the same. But already the scene was changing again. They were dissolving around the edges. Moving on. Becoming the new Revenants.
Everything started to fade. …
And the last thing I remembered was feeling a smile on my lips.