middle looked up, and he had a face that reminded me of a rat. “Yes, sir. You’re our new boss.”
There was a smile in the Horseman’s voice when he said, “I have no use for the weak. I only rule the strong.”
“We’re strong!” The rat-faced man said, the words rushing out of his lips.
“Leprechauns are not strong,” the Horseman hissed, then he lifted a hand to his guards. The zombies stepped forward, and he said, “Kill them.”
I lept to my feet, heart racing. “No! Stop!”
“They have no value to us, my love.”
I was shaking. “I’m not going to just sit here and watch you murder three people in cold blood, not again.”
“Yes,” the leprechaun rushed out. “We’re valuable to you. We make deals with humans. Sometimes the deals kill them, but they always hurt them. We can make our deals crueler. You’ll see. Leprechauns are creatures to be feared.”
The Headless Horseman waved his hand again, and the guards withdrew swords and advanced. I didn’t know what came over me, but I turned to the Horseman and attacked. My fists pounded into his stomach, and I grabbed the dagger at his side, and lifted it above my head.
A second later, the banshee smashed into me, knocking me to the ground. I stabbed her in the arm, and she screamed, not the pretty sound from before, but a scream of pain.
“Bitch!” she shouted, then punched me in the mouth.
I tasted blood, but I yanked the dagger out, and used the hilt to smash her in the face. Leaping to my feet, I was ready and willing to kill the Horseman. Instead, I saw that the leprechauns were dead, lying in pools of blood on the floor, and the Horseman had his guards at his side.
Shouting, I leapt toward the guards, shoved one to the ground, then kicked the sword out of the other zombie’s hands.
“Enough!” the Horseman shouted. The dagger flew out my hand and into his.
I ran toward him, but he swept his hand and I went flying. My back and head hit the side of the wall, and I slid down, the world going black for a long minute before it came back into focus. I groaned and staggered to my feet.
The banshee stood beside the Horseman, gripping her bleeding shoulder and glaring at me.
“You see,” he said, slowly, “I can never be killed. Not only am I too powerful for you, but my banshee will always scream before my death. You’ll never surprise me, and you’ll never win. The people you try to protect will die, and you will learn that the only place for you is at my side.”
I looked at the leprechauns. The bastards were assholes, but I didn’t want them to die. Somehow, it felt like if I couldn’t protect three people standing in front of me, then I couldn’t help anyone.
“I’m not going to let you get away with this.”
“Oh, Mary, this is getting old. We both know you don’t have a choice.” Then his voice changed. “Bring in the next group.”
Over the next hour, I fought, I screamed, I did everything in my power, but the Horseman just kept killing. I found myself kneeling on the stone ground, staring out at the floor covered in blood. Bloody streaks led out the door from where the zombie man dragged the bodies out.
I’d never felt this helpless in my life.
I’d never felt this angry.
A new group was brought in, and my stomach lurched. They were children. Not human, but still children.
“No!” I said again, my voice hoarse.
The children were crying. Gathered together like terrified animals. Blood was speckled across them, but I hoped it wasn’t theirs.
“Don’t hurt them,” I said.
The Horseman lifted a familiar hand to gesture to the guards. They advanced, swords drawn.
“No!” I shouted, and then I leapt between the kids and the guards, daring them to try.
“I could just throw you again,” the Horseman began, sounding amused, “or perhaps, we could work something out.”
My heart hammered. “What do you want?”
“There are four children. If you can choose four people to replace them from the cells, I’ll let the children live. I may even let them leave.”
“You’re sick,” I whispered.
There was a smile in his voice. “And the clock is ticking, Bloody Mary. What will you choose? Children, or a supernatural that might deserve his or her death?”
I hated that I started speaking. I hated that I could see no other way out of this than to play his game. “I’ll choose their replacements.”
The