Beauty and the Horseman's Head (Unnatural States of America Book 2)

by Holly Kelly

  Rough hands pulled and wrenched her arms around her back. Hope cried out for help as coarse ropes lashed around her wrists.

  “Keep her quiet,” Eli said, and her screams were cut off when they stuffed fabric across her mouth and tied it at the back of her head.

  A large man lifted her up and dropped her over his shoulder. His sour odor wafted up to her and had her swallowing bile. He dropped her like a sack of potatoes into the wooden bed of a wagon. Before this was over, she’d have bruises from head to toe. She squeezed her eyes to keep her tears from falling.

  No. She would not be bruised. She would be dead.

  There was no way she would sell her virtue for her life. There was a small comfort in knowing Talila would be in good hands with Rebekah. But Conall? Her heart broke all over again as the hope of his return extinguished in the reality of her dire situation. If she died, she would never see him again.

  Hope lay in the bed of the wagon with nothing to cushion her. Each bump, each divot in the road caused shooting pain in her shoulder and hip. Not to mention the cloth in her mouth was soaked through with saliva and tasted of mud and grit. The riotous jeers and the sickening tales of her captors made Hope’s stomach sour. Still, she wished their journey would never end. She did her best not to think about what would happen once they stopped, but trying not to think about it only made it that much harder not to. Truly, there was no one to save her. No one who even knew where to begin to find her.

  When the sky took on an orange glow, she knew her time was nearly up. Blinking back tears, Hope propped herself on her elbow to peer over the side of the wagon.

  They entered a clearing with no buildings in sight. When the driver pulled on the reigns and the wagon stopped. Was this the place? Hangings usually occurred in town squares.

  Eli gave orders to unload the lumber and assemble the gallows. A group of ten men worked quickly as Hope’s heart sank. This really was it. This was the end.

  Rising to her knees, she bowed her head and opened her heart to the heavens.

  God, please help me. I have lived a Christian life. Though I have not been perfect, I have tried my best. Can you not find it in your heart to deliver me? If you choose not to save me from these wicked men, I will still be true to you. But there is one thing I beg of you. Please, watch over my family, and if it be Thy will, let Conall and Talila find one another. Please God, grant me this one request, and keep them safe.

  Laughter brought Hope back to the stark reality before her. She opened her eyes and looked up.

  A man with dark, curly hair and a scraggly beard sneered at her. “You think God hears you?” He looked up and shouted, “Obadiah, this criminal thinks God listens to the likes of her.”

  “God don’t hear you, missy,” Obadiah said, strolling up to her, his eyes tinged yellow. “If He answered prayers, I would have been struck down years ago. I have had many a man and woman pray for deliverance from me. And yet here I am, without a mark to show for it, while they lie in their graves.”

  Hope considered warning him that death would come soon for him. The yellow in his eyes meant his liver was failing. She held her tongue. He’d find out soon enough.

  “Your best bet is to take up Eli’s offer. Bedding him has got to be better than the gallows there yonder.” Obadiah turned to the first man. “I don’t know why he don’t just take her and have his way with her.”

  The man shook his head. “He said he won’t unless she begs him. Put the noose around her neck, and I gander she will.”

  They thought she’d change her mind when faced with death? They did not know her very well.

  Hope turned her back on them. She would not waste the last moments of her life looking at such filth. She spent the next hour pouring her heart out to God. This time, she did not kneel. Spending her time praying accomplished two things: it helped her prepare to meet God, and her prayerful thoughts drowned out the crude conversations of the men. She smelled the overpowering scent of sandalwood before she saw him. If Eli thought drenching himself in cologne would make him more appealing, he was completely wrong. It turned her stomach.

  “Get her out of the wagon,” Eli said, facing her.

  The two men dragged her out and put her on her feet. After lying so long on the wooden planks, Hope stumbled a bit before she righted herself.

  “Have you considered my offer?” Eli asked, stepping around to untie the fabric from her mouth.

  Hope attempted to spit the grit from her mouth.

  “No,” she rasped, wiping her mouth off. “I haven’t given it a second thought.”

  At those words, his eyes narrowed, and blossoms of red blotched his face. “I should beat you to an inch of your life before putting the noose around your neck.”

  Hope’s heart took off in a sprint. She’d been preparing for a quick death. She felt faint at the thought of being beaten first. Still, she tried to put on a brave face. She would not die sniveling and cowardly. “You can do what you wish. I have made peace with my Maker.”

  His chest rose and fell as the thin set of his lips relaxed. He took Hope by the arm and led her toward the gallows. She looked down as she stepped up the wooden stairs. When she reached the top, she saw the noose hanging—the course rope looked thick and strong. Hope was surprised by the length. It seemed a bit short—though, truth be told, she’d not been to many hangings. She found them too barbaric.

  He looped the heavy rope over her head and dropped his gaze to rest on her. “I will give you one last chance,” he whispered. “I don’t want to see you die. I have always cared for you, Hope. Loved you since the moment I laid eyes on you. I lied when I said I had our marriage annulled. I did no such thing. You are my wife, and I will deny you nothing. If you now beg for your life, I will grant it. Beg for me to make you mine, and I will take you. I will worship you both body and soul. You don’t even have to live in a prison the rest of your life. We can return to England, I still have friends and allies there. You can live a life you’ve only dreamed of. Just say the word, and I will save you.”

  Hope stood in silent resolve, refusing to look at him. He would save me? He is the one threatening my life. She realized in that moment how sick he was—it was a sickness of the mind and spirit that afflicted him. She felt his anger building at her silence, gathering strength. She prayed for God to have mercy on his soul.

  “Answer me!” he roared.

  Hope finally looked at him. “There is only one word I can give you, Eli. And that word is ‘never.’”

  “So be it,” Eli snarled, and he cranked the lever.

  The floor dropped from below Hope’s feet. Her thoughts filled with images of Conall, Talila, her friends, and her students as a myriad of emotions swirled in her mind. Her descent was much slower than expected. Though her thoughts and emotions were poignant, she was still acutely aware of the sensation of falling. It was not unlike the feeling of jumping from the high branch of a tree into a pond. But instead of cool water greeting her, pain like a vice snapped around her neck. A cheer rang out and faded into deafening silence.

  Chapter 30

  Conall buttoned his royal tunic and strapped his bow and arrows to his back. His brother had finally allowed him weapons. It had taken time, but he was slowly regaining the king’s trust. Looking at his view in the mirror, he was satisfied that everything was in place—he looked every bit the part of a royal prince.

  Minutes later, he joined his friends and relatives in the hall. The jovial mood was apparent, and Conall put on a smile as he greeted the others.

  “This will be the grandest festival yet,” Dyffros said, clapping him on the back. “And I have arranged for a beautiful escort for you.” He winked.

  Conall smiled. “That is why I come to these events. Not only for the food, but also for the scenery and entertainment,” he said as he winked.

  “It’s the best part,” Dyffros smiled back

  Haryk put his arm around him. “And this woman will not get you banished if you take advantage.
”

  Conall chuckled. “Right you are brother.”

  The king mounted his horse, and Conall followed on his own steed. All but the servants in the castle left as they made their way to the equinox festival. The smells of the festival were carried on the wind—roast pig, fruit pies, sweet cakes, and though he could not smell it, there would be ale enough to fill a river.

  Scattered tents were seen amongst the tall trees, and lights hanging from branches everywhere filled the forest with a warm glow. Music played, and laughter filled the air.

  When they reached the clearing, he found men and women drinking and dancing in various states of undress. Uproarious laughter and riotous revelry everywhere.

  “Ah,” Dyffros said. “There she is.”

  Conall followed his line of sight, and his heart turned cold. “Seirye.”

  She gave him a full smile and rushed into his arms. He pushed her back.

  “If I had known. . . .”

  “What? Am I really that repulsive to you?”

  A tear glimmered in her eye. The show of emotion shocked to him. Was she really broken-hearted?

  “I just don’t know what I did,” she sobbed. “You once loved me. You once wanted to marry me.”

  Conall shook his head. “It’s not you, Seirye. I just . . .” He couldn’t finish his words. He didn’t want to think about what he’d lost.

  “How about a dance?” Seirye asked. “I will not ask more of you.”

  Conall nodded and took her hand.

  The dance started out awkwardly but as the music filtered through, he pushed back his reservations and depressing thoughts and focused on the melody. It was lively, and his heart lightened as he began to remember why he so loved to dance.

  They stopped to have a drink, and his mood lifted even more. He might even go so far as to say he was having fun.

  Hours later, he laughed as he twirled his way through the crowd. Seirye jumped into his arms, and he twirled her around. Her body was warm, and she smell like peppermint. When her lips met his, he kissed her back. As he deepened the kiss, the wrongness of her sweet taste hit him like a club to the back of his head.

  What am I doing? He pushed her back, berating himself for his betrayal. What would Hope think of him? How could he forget her—even for a moment.

  “Conall?” she said as he turned his back and stomped into the woods.

  Seirye rushed after him, trying to pull him back. “What have I ever done to you to make you hate me?”

  “I don’t hate you, Seirye. I hate myself.”

  “Is this what human love does to you? Makes you hate yourself? She’s the problem, isn’t she? Your beloved Hope.”

  Conall’s heart froze in his chest. “Where did you hear that name?”

  “Oh, um. You mean, where did I hear the human’s name? Haryk must have mentioned it.”

  “I never told him her name.” Anger burned the iciness in his heart away as fury built. He hid his anger, knowing she would not tell him a thing if she felt threatened.

  “I don’t remember.” She avoided his gaze.

  “Seirye,” he pressed.

  “What does it matter? She’s nothing. Don’t you see? She’s a human with a pitifully short life span. For all you know, she could be dead already.”

  Those words got his heart pounding. “What have you done?” His voice was low—just above a whisper—but there was a hard edge he couldn’t mask. “Tell me.”

  Her eyes widened as she shook her head. “I-I did not do anything. It was the humans that wanted her. They’re the ones threatening her.”

  Conall sickened, knowing exactly what she was talking about. It was the reason Hope had to flee to Sleepy Hollow in the first place. “And you led them to her, didn’t you?”

  “No. I didn’t mean to.”

  “You must think me a fool.” He let her go. “You knew exactly what you were doing.”

  “And what if I did? What of it? She would die anyway.” She turned a hopeful eye to him. “And now there is nothing to keep us apart. Conall, I don’t know what happened to you in the human world, but you need to forget it, forget her.”

  He looked away, bitterness and anger threatening to overtake his reasoning.

  “Is she still alive?”

  “Yes, but she’s as good as dead. They’re hanging her at dawn.”

  Conall’s heart pounded in his chest. How much time did he have? Seirye was his best hope at saving his wife. “Is there anything I could do to convince you to stop them?” he asked. “I am sure you could—”

  “And why would I? So you can keep pining after her?”

  “But if I—”

  “No, forget it. There is nothing you can do or say to convince me to save that filthy rat. Even if you hate me forever, I will not lift a finger to help her. I am glad she’ll be dead. Food for the buzzards, that is all she’s good for.”

  Conall drew his sword and thrust it into Seirye’s chest. Her eyes widened as she slumped forward. Conall caught her in his arms and pulled his blade from her body.

  She turned to him and hissed. “Why?”

  “I will destroy everyone and everything that threatens the woman I love.” He lowered her to the ground. “But you are not dead yet, my sweet. This wound will heal if you receive care quickly, so you still have a chance. Tell me how to get back to the human world, and I will take you to the healers.”

  She shook her head and coughed. Blood trickled from her mouth. “Never.”

  “Are you willing to die?” he asked.

  “Why is she so important to you? What does she have that I don’t?”

  “My love.”

  “You once loved me.” A tear slipped down her cheek.

  “I did not know what love was until I met Hope.”

  “No,” she shouted. “I curse your human, and I curse you too. I am the only woman who has ever loved you.”

  “What you feel for me is not love, Seirye. Love is putting someone else’s wants and needs above your own. If you truly loved me, you would want me to be happy.”

  “I want you to suffer. I want you to suffer as I have suffered.”

  “Please, Seirye. Just tell me how to find her.”

  “Never.”

  Conall continued to plead with her, but to no avail. Her desire for vengeance was greater than her desire to live. The light extinguished from Seirye’s eyes. Her head dropped forward as her heart stilled.

  She was gone.

  A shadow fell over Conall’s shoulder. “What have you done?” Haryk growled.

  Conall turned to see his brother and his guard and said, “I have lost the only woman I ever loved.”

  “Oh, so you’ve decided you love Seirye after all. It’s your blade that is stained with her blood. Why did you kill her?” he said, incredulous.

  “She went after my wife in the human world and set things in motion that would assure her death.”

  Haryk sank down beside him. “You love a human enough to kill the woman you pined after for more than a century?”

  “I love a human enough to kill even you if you threatened her, brother.”

  The guards drew their swords and took a step toward them. Haryk raised his hand to stop them. “And here I thought you’d finally forgotten your human. These last months were but an act?”

  Conall nodded. “Everything I’ve done was so I could return to my wife.”

  “At last. You understand.”

  Conall looked up in surprise.

  “You understand why I banished you. You were lucky to get away with your life after what you did to my Edwina.”

  Conall sighed. “Yes, I understand.”

  Haryk gestured to Seirye. “Still, I cannot let this go unpunished.”

  Conall nodded, feeling utterly defeated. “Do what you will. I don’t care. I cannot save Hope, and I refuse to live in a world without her. My life is worth nothing now.”

  “We’ll see about that.” Haryk stood, scowling intently at Conall. He turned to his
men and shouted, “My brother is guilty of murder. He has admitted to his crime, and now he will pay for it.”

  Haryk hesitated, and then said, “I decree that Conall, Prince of the Elvin court is, as of this moment, stripped of his title. He is no longer a prince. No longer my brother. And he is banished from Faery for all time. If he attempts to return, he will die.” Despite his words, his brother put out his hand and lifted him from the ground. Haryk embraced him. His brother slipped something into his pocket and whispered so that only Conall could hear, “This stone will allow you to travel anywhere you want to go. I only ask that you don’t return here. I can’t begin to understand why you would choose a human over your Elvin kind, but I will fight you no longer. You are free. The safest place for a human and elf to live in peace is in the ‘between’—the realm between our worlds.”

  Conall said, “Thank you, brother.”

  “Don’t thank me. One day you will regret what you did here. Now go and save your human.”

  Chapter 31

  Darkness descended, and the air grew chill. The familiar scent of Tarrytown filled his nostrils. Conall’s heart raced. He’d done it. He was back.

  And he had until dawn.

  Looking up, he saw Victor’s house with the lights still blazing. He ran to the door and pounded on it. If anyone knew where Hope was, they would.

  Victor opened the door, and his jaw dropped. “Conall! I am so relieved to see you!” He looked behind Conall. “We were so worried. Where is Hope?”

  “I was hoping you would tell me,” Conall said.

  “She’s not with you?” Victor said, his eyes widening.

  He shook his head. “I don’t have time to explain, but Hope is in danger. Where is the last place you saw her?”

  Rebekah rushed forward, her eyes red and swollen with tears. “We found her hat trampled on the road to the festival, but we haven’t been able to find any other sign of her.”

  “Take me to where you located her hat.”