Chapter 24
“ Fear is your salvation, my friends. Do not shy from it. Do not run from it. If you do, it will control your path. It is only by grasping it and absorbing it that we can truly understand it, that we can revel in it and turn its power into our own. Fear is not the enemy. Fear will set you free.”
— Letter from Robert Crowley, Oct. 31, 1873
Tuesday, Oct. 31
All Hallow’s Eve
Quinn pulled onto the road feeling the butterflies in his stomach. He eased the car back from his not-very-fast speed of 15 miles an hour. It was tough even to go that fast without feeling like the car was shaking all around him. Easy does it, he thought. Easy does it.
Some part of him still wanted to run. No matter how angry he was, no matter that he wanted to face this thing once and for all, it was hard to put himself in a position where two bad things were liable to happen, maybe at the same time. Even if ol’ Headless didn’t show up, Kate and Quinn had made sure someone else would.
My God, we are desperate, he thought. There must have been another choice or some other way. But they couldn’t think of any. The Horseman would be here. To defeat Lord Halloween, Quinn must destroy the Horseman. And Quinn could think of no more worse spot than here, heading into a trap of his own making.
And what did Quinn have to protect him? Nothing. Not a gun, which he had no idea how to use and would probably end up in the hands of his assailant anyway. Not a knife or a sword. Nothing.
He had come empty-handed, unless he counted Janus’ lighter, which he still carried in his pocket. It was the only thing he had of Janus. And if he was going to do this, he needed all the support that he could get. He hoped it would be his good luck charm.
Not that he was entirely alone. Kate was waiting a couple of miles away. When he needed her, she would be there. He just wondered if it would be in time.
(I’ll be in time) she thought.
(I know.)
The road got bumpier and Quinn knew he was only a mile from the bridge. Not that he believed it would keep him safe, as it had in the dream. Quite the contrary, given whom he thought would be waiting for him. But it was one of the few landmarks he knew on the road.
A large popping noise came and Quinn felt the car shift violently to the left. He pressed the gas to keep it steady, but knew immediately one of the tires had blown.
He brought the car to a stop and got out.
Outside the car, he saw the problem immediately. The two front tires were both blown. He leaned closer to the road and saw why. Nails had been laid across the road.
Quinn shivered.
(Well, we knew he would do something.) Kate thought.
(Yeah, but I thought I would at least get to the bridge.)
(Don’t let it throw you.) she thought.
(Easy for you to say. Or think, rather.)
So Quinn’s car was out of it. And this meant the trap had been sprung. Lord Halloween was here.
Quinn looked up the road and then behind him nervously. The scene was too familiar. The moonlight shone brightly through the treetops, which waved slightly in the breeze.
How many times have I dreamt this scene? But this time it’s real. He took some comfort in the fact that this was the last time he would have to make this trip. One way or another.
He thrust his hands into his pockets and walked down the road. He was only about a mile away, he thought. He moved slowly, however. As much as he wanted to run, he was afraid of doing so. Whatever was planned for him at the other end of this little trip, he did not want to run in blindly.
And then he started to hear it. The sound was far away now, but in the distance he could hear a horse at full gallop. Quinn knew it would be here soon. He started jogging, but did not push himself too fast. It would not be good to run out of energy already.
He looked behind him, as he had hundreds of times before in his dreams, and saw nothing. Nothing but the forest on all sides.
Looking ahead, he hurried. Maybe the Horseman would find him too soon. Or finish him off. And Lord Halloween would find nothing out here.
Quinn picked up the pace and saw the field on his right. He had stood there only a week before, looking at a tree carved with the word Sanheim.
The sound of the horse was louder now. Quinn chanced a look behind him. Did he see it already? That figure at the end of the road, riding with his cape unfurled behind him?
(You will have to face him.) Kate thought.
(I know.)But he kept running instead. Now that the moment was on top of him, he did not want to face this thing. He was not ready.
Quinn reached the curve in the road, ran around it and could see the bridge ahead.
In that moment, the question of who might be waiting for him under the bridge was gone. Instead, the dream reasserted itself-he needed to get to the bridge.
Quinn hoped he would make it in time. He looked at his watch. It was almost 10 o’clock. Quinn heard the hooves louder now and then heard something else-the sound of menacing laughter.
He turned to look, actually stopping dead in his tracks. And there in the distance he came, tearing around the bend in full fury. A headless figure astride a horse, with a blade swinging at his side.
(How could I ever think this was a good idea?)
(You have to face him, Quinn. You have to face him before you get to that bridge. You can’t go in there. It’s not safe.)
But he could feel her fear as well as she saw the thing bearing down on him. The Headless Horseman crossed the distance between them as if it was nothing.
(Move, Quinn, now!) she called.
Quinn’s only thought was for the bridge. But he knew he would not reach it.
Instead, he panicked and darted into the trees on the side of the road. Quinn ran through the forest, with tree limbs tearing at him. Everything seemed horribly familiar.
The Horseman did not stop. He followed at full speed, and the noise sounded as if the trees themselves were being thrown aside to make way for the headless Hessian.
(What do I do?) he yelled out in his mind.
But now he heard nothing, nothing but the terrible sounds behind him. Quinn suddenly felt very alone.
He ran deeper into the woods, afraid to look behind him. He went to the left, hoping the Horseman would not see the change fast enough to cut him off. But he seemed to predict Quinn’s moves. The crashing sounds were near deafening.
Quinn turned to the right again, back the way he had come earlier. He had to reach the bridge. Some part of him knew he would not be safe there either. He had to find a way to face this thing before he got there. But he couldn’t think clearly anymore. Around him, he heard what sounded like trees being ripped from their roots.
Quinn’s hands were now scratched and bleeding. He saw ahead of him a break in the trees and knew that the bridge would not be far beyond it.
The Horseman was almost on top of him. Quinn looked behind only to see the horse’s hooves about to crush him. He dropped and rolled to the right, and the Horseman shot by.
As the Horseman sliced his way through the forest and came about, Quinn threw himself to the left again and heard the sword slice near his head as the Horseman came by.
Quinn darted forward and zigzagged through the trees. He had to get out of there.
And suddenly he was out. He stumbled up the hillside. The bridge was 20 feet away.
Quinn ran and waited to hear the sounds of the Horseman behind him. But now he heard nothing.
Quinn didn’t stop to look back. He did not know what had happened and he didn’t care. He almost jumped to the bridge.
