Page 29 of Bewitched By the Headless Horseman (The Bewitching Hour #1)

As Stevie placed two waffles on her plate and drank her daily brew to kick Levi’s magic inside her blood to the curb, a loud knock pounded on the door.

Lucia grasped a golden envelope when Stevie answered. “I have good news to help level the bad, but also some more bad.”

“Would that mean someone found Levi’s bones, or you felt Kit’s stallion somewhere?

” Stevie asked. After the council dug up Levi’s bones, they’d been missing from the empty coffin, not even a strand of hair had remained.

As for Inferno, Stevie and Kit had searched endlessly for him throughout Sleepy Hollow, to no avail.

“Neither, but I did bring a brew with a horse’s hair for Kit to try.

He just needs to drink the solution after adding a drop of your blood.

There’s also this.” Lucia held up the envelope.

“Adelia arrived early this morning and one of her servants brought it for us to meet with her this afternoon. As for the bad—I went to help spell the land this morning, as per usual, and when I pressed my hand against the earth, I not only felt warmth, but a pulse . The ground itself feels hollower.”

Stevie’s chest tightened. “It’s Levi.”

Lucia fidgeted with the hem of her shirt, seeming nervous for the first time since Stevie had known her. “I’m going to get ready for the meeting.”

“All right.” Stevie took the vial from Lucia, then forced down the waffles, but her stomach churned with nausea over what her sister-in-law had said.

If the land was becoming hollower because of Levi, what exactly was he trying to do?

Her heart lodged in her throat at the thought that she wouldn’t have an answer before the next full moon in order to save Kit.

Stevie polished off her milk to calm her nerves.

Kit still wasn’t back from searching the town, so she took a hot shower while her pulse thrummed. She needed the time to speed up so they could discuss everything with Adelia.

After toweling off and blow drying her hair, Stevie put black winged liner on top of a light gray eyeshadow.

She ran a brush through her orange locks, and even though she was still weighing the possibilities, she couldn’t block out how she and Kit had kissed two nights ago, the feel and coolness of him, his hands both strong and ethereal against her.

“Stop being an idiot,” Stevie scolded herself as she padded into the living room. She shouldn’t be reminiscing about such things when it felt like her town could crack in half.

“I suppose sometimes I can be an idiot,” Kit teased.

Stevie’s gaze flicked to Kit relaxing on the couch, Roxy lying beside him.

Her heart picked up that he’d made it safely back. “I wasn’t talking about you . I meant me.”

“Hmm,” he said, a smile in his voice. “I would have to disagree. By the way, you look lovely.”

“I thought you hated this dress.” She grinned, gliding her hands down the silken skirt.

“It looks better on you.”

“Well, thank you, Kit. We’re finally meeting with the Crowned Witch.

” She sank down next to him, and Roxy hopped to the other side of the couch to sit near her.

Since Inferno had been taken, she’d asked Roxy to stay inside with her or go next door to Lucia’s, at least until they learned more. “Any luck finding your horse?”

“No sign of him. I know that bastard has him,” he ground out.

“We can try this. Lucia made a spell.” Stevie uncorked the vial that she’d left on the coffee table and pricked her finger. She squeezed out a drop of blood into the contents. “Drink it and we’ll see if Inferno comes here.”

Kit tossed back the liquid as Stevie rubbed the healing ointment on her finger. He released a whistle and they waited and waited, but Inferno never came.

Stevie let out a heavy breath and explained to him what Lucia had said about the earth, how it didn’t feel right. “We know it’s dark magic, and that he’s planning something evil.”

Maybe it had something to do with the ghosts not having to return to being separate from the living, but why?

Stevie furrowed her brow and checked her phone.

It was time . Forgoing her backpack, she tucked Kit’s bone into a small satchel she’d used as part of her Lord of the Rings costume three years ago.

As they stepped outside into the light fog, Lucia was locking up her door. “Gideon said he’s on standby in case we need him, which makes him feel important.” She arched a brow at Stevie’s feet. “Mary Janes? Really?”

Stevie placed a hand on her hip. “Would you rather I wear my Converse?” She hadn’t thought about shoes when they’d been out and about, but she figured the Mary Janes would be fine since they were black.

Lucia waved a hand in the air and leather heeled boots with pointy toes and thin laces replaced her shoes. “Thank you, Fairy Godmother,” Stevie cooed.

“Those will do, and I don’t think Adelia will be paying enough attention to know I spelled them.”

They piled into Lucia’s car, and Stevie told her that the brew was a no-go for returning Kit’s horse.

Lucia scowled. “Sneaky warlock. I don’t like him.

I promise on my life as a witch, we’re going to find him, and I’m going to do worse than turn him into a cat.

” She looked in the rearview mirror toward Kit.

“So, how was the Crowned Witch during your time? Was she bitchy? I heard that most of them before Adelia were.”

“She was never there.” He shrugged. “Always taking care of things outside our village, and Levi was the head of the council during those days.”

Stevie repeated Kit’s words to Lucia and how although the witches of the council’s magic had dwindled, they were at least a step above that one. But the first thing she would do if she oversaw the town would be to have Lucia put a spell on the cemetery to make sure bones weren’t so easily taken.

Lucia drove into the woods, the car jostling them.

She held up a hand, making the trees part for them until they reached a dirt road leading to two iron gates.

The area was hidden and protected from tourists, but even while Adelia was away, there were always servants keeping watch to make sure no one entered.

Since the home was first built, every Crowned Witch had lived there, and with the help of spells, not once had it ever looked deteriorated.

A middle-aged bald man lifted his hand as they approached. Lucia rolled down her window, showing him the Crowned Witch’s letter. “Hello, Julian, Adelia invited us today.”

Julian’s face remained neutral. “Give me a strand of your hair. You and your guest.”

They both plucked their hair, then Lucia passed them to Julian. He dropped them into a liquid jar he drew out from his pocket. The strands dissipated as the color of the contents turned yellow.

“You may proceed.” Julian flicked his hand and the gate opened, the creaking reverberating through the woods.

Lucia drove down the cobbled path toward the black and pink gothic home.

Stevie’s gaze swept from the obsidian roof with its cone-shaped towers to the large oval and rectangular windows decorating the front.

Various black flowers filled the gardens, blooming to their fullest. Pansies, tulips, dahlias, petunias, irises, and roses, all peeking out from emerald bushes.

Once Lucia parked the car, she walked ahead with Stevie and Kit close behind her. A man dressed in a light gray suit straight from the 1700s opened the door for them to a maid, her hair tucked beneath a white cap.

Golden sconces were lit against the beige wall, and portraits of every past Crowned Witch hung down the hallway, not a single speck of dust anywhere. Antique pieces sprawled the tables and shelves, making Stevie’s fingers itch to tuck one inside her satchel.

The maid led them down an ornate carpeted hallway into the dining area where a regal woman sat at the head of a long glass table that could easily fit twenty.

A bowl of grapes and a golden goblet lingered in front of her.

Adelia wore her gray hair in a curled style, her bright pink gown making her dark skin practically glow.

At any angle the witch looked ageless, both young and old at the same time.

“Darling Lucia. Come here. It’s been too long.” Adelia held out an elegant hand and Lucia knelt at the witch’s side, grasping it. “Your powers have grown much quicker than I expected. I feel the strength of your magic.”

“I practice as much as I can.” Lucia bowed her head, then smiled. “And I have an excellent assistant who makes it possible.”

Adelia tipped up Lucia’s chin. “There’s another reason I wanted to meet with you. A little over a year from now, my time will come to an end, and that means I will need a replacement. I’ve sent word to the council today that you will be my successor.”

“ Me ?” Lucia gasped. “Not Ginger?”

“Even when you were a child, your aunt always knew it would be you.” She batted Lucia away. “Now, let’s get on to other important matters. This is your assistant, I presume. But is the other guest here too?”

Stevie took a hesitant step forward after Lucia gave her the go-ahead to tell her what had been happening.

“The Headless Horseman, Kit, is with us, and he isn’t a demon ghost or anything close.

A warlock named Levi Brom Bonham murdered him, then spread lies about him to their village.

If Kit doesn’t find his head before the Eyes seal shut, he’ll be cursed to live eternity inside the Hollow. ”

Adelia tilted her head to the side, her expression neutral. “And this is important to me why?”

Stevie held her tongue from saying she wasn’t finished yet.

“There’s more. Lucia felt that the ground in our town was hollower, warmer, and pulsing.

I’m not sure if you received Lucia’s second letter, but the fog has grown thicker, lingering, the darkness comes earlier each day, and the stars’ lights have started to flicker out.

There’s no doubt in my mind that Levi is planning something for the new moon. ”

“We’re not sure what though,” Lucia added.

“You’re accurate.” Adelia took a sip of her drink. “The gate of the Hollow is threatening to open. I knew as soon as I returned.”

“What gate?” Lucia asked, her eyes widening.

“I’ve never heard of any gates,” Kit said, his body turning toward Stevie. And neither had she…

“Of course not. Even the Crowned Witch has rules she must obey, but because of what is occurring now, they must be broken.” She set her goblet on the table.

“The Hollow has seven gates around the world that were sealed long ago. However, on the night when both Eyes are open, the seal of the gate in this very town can be broken with the head of a male seer.”

So the Eyes of the Hollow were literally the Eyes of the Hollow .

“I’m going to tear that bastard’s head off myself,” Kit growled.

“Levi has a seer’s head. Kit’s,” Stevie rushed out.

“The ghost part he can grasp, but we’re not sure about the physical one.

An empty box was left in a tree for us to find, and Kit’s hair was placed there to taunt us, the head missing.

If he needs it to open the gate, then someone living would have to bring it. ”

Adelia snapped her fingers, the sound like thunder.

A book of old leather drifted into the room, straight into the witch’s waiting hands.

“Show me the seers living in Sleepy Hollow,” she instructed the tome.

The book flew open, the pages flipping until they came to a sudden stop.

She clucked her tongue and spoke again, “Now take me to Levi Brom Bonham’s living blood relatives.

” Her cool gaze lifted to Stevie after several seconds ticked by.

“It seems our Levi has a living family member who is a seer. Reese Willoughby.”

Stevie’s eyes widened. Reese .

“I knew there was something off about him,” Kit spat.

“That doesn’t mean he has the head or consulted with Levi,” Lucia said.

“He might not. There are other seers here.” Adelia focused on Stevie as if she could be a suspect for assisting the warlock.

“But if there is a possibility that Levi doesn’t truly have the Horseman’s physical head, it would mean he could find a way to use Reese’s,” Adelia added.

“This we will keep from the council for now. I will search for Levi myself, and Stevie will bring Reese here. As for you, Lucia, it looks as though I will begin your Crowned Witch training sooner than expected. It will start tomorrow morning.”