Page 62 of Hollow

“Perhaps.” Gordon smirked. “I don’t doubt your skills. After all, you killed my best scouting team in a decade. No easy feat. Each of those men had nearly thirty cryptids under their belts.”

The original hunters who’d stormed the woods in search of Jack, back when they kept Dimitri collared and chained up. Those men were easy to dispatch. In fact, the most challenging part was the clean-up. Jack hated burying bodies, but he’d take a little satisfaction in dropping this pompous old man into a hole so deep the world would never find him.

“However, if you remove me, then the rest of my team will storm this quaint little hovel and shoot you both down in front of everyone,” Gordon explained. “And I assure you that will cause quite the spectacle with plenty of witnesses. Something tells me those bullets won’t do much to you. I did a bit more homework on the Nuckelavee, and it turns out you wicked things don’t have many weaknesses.”

Jack growled, grinding his teeth beneath the pumpkin mask.

“But Leshy are far easier to kill. Just ask Dimitri.” Gordon nodded to Dimitri, who remained petrified. “For immortal woodland guardians of the forest, they sure are easy to slaughter. Found a half-dozen and we only managed to bring back this worthless lout.”

Dimitri’s face turned ghostly white, and his eyes became vacant, lost in the horrors of his past. Jack didn’t push for answers, understanding Dimitri had endured so much, but he wondered what became of Dimitri’s father and mother. She was human, so maybe she wasn’t around anymore. But the mention of a half-dozen Leshy? Did Dimitri have other family in those woods? Siblings? Friends?

“I should kill you here and now,” Dimitri hissed, his jaw clamped tight.

“Careful, Dimitri. You know I’ve never been fond of your rebellious streak,” Gordon said matter-of-factly. “I’ll be certain to break that free-spirited attitude you’ve adopted since running away.”

Jack scowled, the pit of rage burning hotter inside him with each passing word. Gordon’s disgusting comments only further fueled the fury in Jack’s chest. He wanted to hack the old man up this very second.

“But I am a magnanimous man, one filled with more virtue than a fiendish creature like you could ever comprehend.”

The smugness on Gordon’s face twisted into sour contempt. This wasn’t just wealthy arrogance. It was disdain for Dimitri’s very being.

“If you return without resistance, I will let your little pumpkin-headed freak go without a fuss,” Gordon said, proposing the most foolish offer. “He can return to his sad, online clout. A Nuckelavee would be interesting to add to my collection, but irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. Let him become a young man’s trophy. My legacy is filled with great catches.”

“You speak as if you can actually threaten us,” Jack snapped. “Bring in your hunters, I’ll dispose of them before a single one fires off a shot.”

“Tempting.” Gordon locked eyes with the petrified Dimitri. “Would you like to test my forces, Dimitri?”

He averted his gaze, looking down at the table and away from Gordon.

Jack’s worries grew as the panic on Dimitri’s face worsened. It wasn’t that Jack feared Gordon or his forces, but he feared the grip this old man had on Dimitri.

“Return my property, Jack, and you can return to your peaceful, pointless existence,” Gordon said. “Leshy are hard to come by, given they’re damn near extinct.”

That sent a shiver through the air so sharp, Jack felt Dimitri’s pain. He’d been defeated by words alone, reminded of horrors Jack couldn’t even fathom. All he wanted was to slaughter Gordon and hold Dimitri close.

“I’m even willing to pay you a finder’s fee for your cooperation.” Gordon smiled as if nothing he said carried the weight of so much hate.

“Take your hunters and leave this town,” Jack said in a low rasp. “If you ever step foot in Sleepy Hollow again, wander in my woods again, I will kill every last one of you.”

“That so?” Gordon appeared unfazed.

“I don’t care if there are a thousand witnesses or a million pitchforks. I would burn down this little life I carved out to protect Dimitri. I would slaughter every single hunter on your payroll, and then I’d rip you apart piece by fucking piece.”

“Temperamental, I see.” Gordon pulled on his dress jacket, straightening it out as he stood to his feet. “I would prefer not to go to war over something as trivial as Dimitri, but if you wish for a fight, I will gladly deliver, monster.”

Jack’s shadows swirled around Gordon’s feet, and he prepared to drop the old man in the void of eternal darkness. He didn’t give a damn who looked over and saw.

“Stop,” Dimitri whispered, hand pressed to Jack’s.

This wasn’t a warning, merely a hope to stop Jack from giving in to such an impulsive and public move. Jack only held back out of respect for Dimitri. After all, he’d already resigned himself to burning everything to the ground for Dimitri. A dangerous sentiment, but one that rang true with every fiber of Jack’s being.

“Take a few days to consider my proposition.” Gordon gestured to his marksman, and they prepared to leave their table, too. “If you’re still feeling this hostile after some time to think, we can go to war.”

Jack watched them leave, keeping his shadows tucked in the corners of the restaurant and ready to launch on any potential threats. Mostly, he worried that Dimitri had been defeated before they even rallied to fight back.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Dimitri paced back and forth through the chateau, unable to settle his nerves since encountering Gordon Hearst. The head of the family had come to collect Dimitri.