The Hex Series Chapter Six Part Two.

Elsewhere across the country, a coven of witches gathered. A hag with black teeth and withered hair sat on a throne made of bones, eyes closed in deep thought. "sister Agnes." One of the dark sisters screeched.

Sister Agnes casually opened her good eye, as she stared calmly at the witch who disturbed her train of thought. Gulping the sister spoke. "sister, we have gathered the necessary ingredients if you would join us so we could summon the rider and carry out our Mistress Sarah's orders."

Several witches in dark robes, gathered in a circle holding hands. As they chanted. "Headless Horseman hear our cry. Return to life for one more ride, in service for the one who cannot die."

With fiery blast the Headless Hessian of the Hollow appeared. Sister Agnes smiles cruelly at the horseman as she rubbed her hands in glee; oh, the plans she has for him.

Done with her shower, Thorn stepped out the bathroom and quickly got dressed, putting a white leather jacket on, a black shirt and with burgundy pants and with red boots and putting her hair into a ponytail, Thorn noted that Quinn still slept as she exited their hotel room and she made her way towards Lunas and Dusk's door. Knocking on said door, Thorn asked them if they wanted to explore the estate before dinner.

Going down the long wooden hallway and with high ceilings the girls made their way downstairs and exited the mansion, they started exploring the cemetery behind the estate.

"Can't you fee it?" Thorn asked her friends as they made their way further into the cemetery.

Dusk raised an eyebrow. "feel what?"

Thorn sucked in a breath. "the history… I dunno the oldness."

Luna smiled. "I remember you saying that when we walked through that old witch graveyard back in Oakhaven."

"You think this is where they buried the Horseman?" Luna sked no one in particular.

Dusk shrugged, "legend says he had been buried her somewhere."

Thorn nodded. "So, the story goes, but his head wasn't buried with him."

Dusk and Luna followed Thorn to an older part of the graveyard, using their phone's flashlights they examined some of the headstones.

"I have one here that says 1776 thru 1777." Dusk said. "but that would make-." Dusk said not wanting to finish her sentence.

"That would make it a child." Luna said finishing what Dusk did not say.

"Poor baby." Thorn murmured.

"This is what used to happen before vaccines, that's why so many families would have so many children." Luna explained.

"Hmm, none of these markers are the right one." Thorn said.

Crunch!

"You hear that?" Luna asked

"Just the wind." Dusk said.

A horse neighed and made everyone look up

Dusk elbowed Thorn. "hey Thorn, I'm dreaming right?"

In the distance, a pair of red eyes shone in the gloom

A man whose uniform has seen better days a man with no head rode carelessly into the moonlight

Torn pieces that flap along with the wind, the red uniform once a bright red is now color of dried blood. Even the white has taken on a yellow tint. The horseman stared at the girls; and they could feel his anger. The steed's breath came out heavily, its skin the color of death. The man kicked the horse to urge it forward towards the girls. He unsheathed his sword the rusty blade barely glinting. The demonic steed got even closer and the horseman raised his sword and swung at where Thorn was

the sword missed by mere inches as the sword cut straight through the stone headstones.

The sword would have cut clean through Thorns neck if she had not hit the dirt at the last second.

Getting to her feet Thorn was glad the other girls had hit the dirt as well at the last second. Grabbing their wrists and pulling them to their feet Thorn grabbed their wrists and started running hoping that would unfreeze them.

They ran towards the estate, as fast as their feet would carry them, the horseman was hot on their tail, Thorn could almost feel the demonic steed's breath on her neck.

"Thorn, you have to do something!" Luna shouted.

"What?" Thorn shouted back fear in her voice

"Magic!" Dusk suggested, screaming over the roaring wind.

"Please, work, please work." Thorn thought as she raised her hands and dug deep tapping into anything that might save their lives

The horse whinnied again, as it prepared to jump in front of them cutting off their escape, but Thorn yelled and both the steed and horseman hit a twelve foot wall of fire that flared to life saving them from the horseman for now at least.

Thorn could almost feel the horsemen anger as he turned his steed around and retreated into the darkness.

Luna looked at Thorn in awe at what just happened.

"Jeez Thorn I didn't know you could pull fire out of your ass." Dusk said

Thorn shrugged breathless, "yeah, who knew?" the world spun and forced Thorn to her knees, black spots began to appear at the edge Thorn's vision, Thorn knew it wasn't long before she passed out completely.

Seconds later Thorn did just that.

"Grab her feet." Luna commanded Dusk.

Together they managed to get Thorn inside the estate.

Half carried and half dragged Thorn they managed to get her into parlor and managed to sit her upright on one of the chairs.

"Is she okay?" Dusk asked concern in her voice.

"How should I know? I'm a bass player not a doctor. If anyone who should know it's, you Dusk. Afterall your father is a doctor."

Dusk grimaced, but she did what she could, from what she remembered from her father's teachings. Dusk placed two of her fingers on Thorn's neck and felt her pulse, slow and steady.

"Maybe, get some water?" Dusk said after several minutes.

By that time, after getting Thorn some water, Ryan came running into the parlor. Ryan took one look at Thorn and said. "what happened?"

Luna eyed Ryan, before making eye contact with Dusk, who shrugged.

" Your not going to believe this; but" it was several minutes before Luna quit speaking, she told Ryan everything, how magic and witches and ghosts and vampires were real, and how Thorn had just saved them from the headless horsemen.

"Wait, hold up a minute, you mean to tell me that Ravencroft actually existed? I always thought those were just stories, my grandfather would tell to scare the living daylights out of me."

Luna blinked, "you mean to tell me you've heard of Ravencroft before tonight?"

Ryan nodded. "But it was just supposed to be a story! I mean a real witch coming down to Sleepy Hollow and having dark plans for the town? Come on."

"what do you know?" Dusk demanded as she pulled Ryan by his shirt collar.

Ryan put his hands up in attempt to appease Dusk. "they were just supposed to be stories, honest."

"Dusk, calm down." Luna said. "let the man explain, and if we don't like his explanation you can hurt him."

Dusk smiled, before she let go of Ryan.

Ryan smoothed out his shirt as best as he could, "my grandfather would tell the story of Sarah Ravencroft and the Headless Hessian."

Ryan took in a deep breath before he continued. "shortly after the battle near here, supposedly a powerful witch came to town, looking to cause discord and destruction. The witch wanted to tear Sleepy Hollow apart from the within, neighbor against neighbor, brother against brother, and so she spread a little rumor, did a little magic that made it certain people were involved with witchcraft and the like and then people started to die, not the people accused of witchcraft mind you, but the accusers themselves, and so the Headless Hessian was born."

Luna shook her head in disbelief, "but why would the soldier, agree to that? I mean soldiers are supposed to be honorable."

Ryan smirked. " there's no honor in war, just survivors and as to why the Hessian did that? I suppose, if your life were cut short by cannon fire, you'd be pretty angry, maybe angry enough to cut a deal with a witch and come back."

"How do we stop it then?" a new voice asked. Luna and Dusk whipped around and saw Thorn, Thorn was awake!

Luna rushed to Thorn and gave her a big hug and Dusk gave her a happy smile.

Thorn winced but returned the hug. "How did the townspeople stop it back then?"

Ryan shrugged. "No idea."

"What do you mean, you have no idea?" Dusk asked.

Ryan raised an eyebrow, "just like I said, I have no idea. But I have a place where you could search for clues, so to speak."

"And where's that?" Dusk demanded.

"There's an older part of the cemetery, that not many people go to, a lot of unmarked graves and unknown soldiers are buried there." Ryan explained.

"So basically, a needle in a haystack." Dusk reasoned.

Luna shook her head, "more like a needle within a needle stack."

Thorn stood up. "where's the graveyard?"

"Thorn, you're not seriously, considering going after that thing?" Luna said.

Thorn nodded. "We have to, for whatever reason, the Headless Hessian followed us here, so its our responsibility to stop it. I ask you again, Ryan our biggest fan. Where's the graveyard?"

Ryan sighed. "It's called the Old Dutch Cemetery, it's about a five-minute walk from here, if you go out back and head straight."

"Thorn, wait, just think about this for a second. We could die. You could die." Luna pleaded.

"I know. Either way I'm doing this with or without you."

"You're asking us to risk our lives." Dusk said.

"We have to stop it, if we don't a lot of innocent people will die, just like if we hadn't stopped Ravencroft, the world would've died."

Luna sighed, "were The Hex Girls, we can do anything."

Dusk smirked. "yeah, were the freakin Hex Girls."

The Hex Girls, quickly walked through the estate and walked outside, following Ryan's directions, the trio found themselves going from paved sidewalk to a dirt road, the boneyard was small just like Ryan said it would be.

Thorn smirked, "I hate to say it, but let's split up and search for clues."

Luna rolled her eyes but broke off with the group and started to explore one of the crypts.

Dusk smiled, "I wonder how mystery Inc, would feel about you stealing their line."

Thorn shrugged. "what Fred doesn't know, won't hurt him."

A giant stone pillar sat defiantly by its lonesome and for whatever reason Thorn was drawn to it, Thorn moved her hand over the stone, it wasn't rough like she expected. Instead of roughness it was smooth, almost like someone had spent hours, smoothing out the pillar making it nice and smooth.

Thorn, as she moved her fingers over the smooth stone in no order, the stone glowed blue! The stone moved aside, and dirt stairs were revealed.

"Hey guys!" Thorn shouted to her sisters, "I found something."

Turning on her phone's flashlight, Thorn headed down the dark staircase going slow so not to trip and fall and break her neck.

Hitting a dirt floor, Thorn shown her flashlight and down the long hallway, rows and rows of skeletons resting on their earthen bunks.

"Wow, I hadn't known so many soldiers had died, in that battle." Dusk said.

"I don't think, these are soldiers." Luna said.

"Why's that?" Dusk asked.

"Because I'm pretty sure some of them just moved." Luna replied fear in her voice.

Luna pointed at one of the empty bunks, it indeed was empty, Dusk was about to tell Luna to quit pulling her leg, but then Dusk heard it.

Scraping against stone, the skeletons raised their rusty swords and pointed at them, the skeletons jaws moved, and no sound came out, but Luna was quite sure she knew what they were saying, Trespassers.

Luna elbowed Thorn." Um, Thorn? How about a little magic?"

Thorn, breathed in and breathed out as she tried to remember what she did, to make the horseman flee. Thorn clenched her hands into fists and what was it? Thorn thought.

Fire! Thorn remembered. Thorn unclenched her hands and a small ball of fire appeared in hand, Thorn raised her hand and threw the small flame ball at the skeletons, they crumpled into a pile of bones.

The skeletons, no longer a threat, the trio made their way past the crypt and found themselves inside a giant circular room and an altar, various knives and bowls laid haphazardly.

Finding an old tome, Thorn leafed through it, trying to find a spell or incantation that would stop the horseman.

As Thorn leafed through the spell book, Thorn noticed that most of the wording looked like it was dried blood.

"Hmm." Thorn said aloud.

"What?" Luna asked.

"Yeah, come on Thorn don't leave us in the dark." Dusk whined.

"Dusk can I borrow your switchblade?" Thorn asked.

"Uh sure." Dusk said as she fished the blade out of her boot and handed it to Thorn.

Thorn pricked her finger and let the blood droplets fall onto the book, after several seconds of saturating the book with her blood, the book glowed briefly and the book fell onto the floor and rapidly flipped through tis pages before stopping on the page.

Thorn carefully picked the book up and read silently.

"Come on we need to get to the surface." Quickly the trio made their way to the surface. At the edge of graveyard stood the horseman, waiting silently for his targets.

"Don't worry, he can't enter." Thorn said confidently.

"How do you know that?" Luna asked.

"Because were standing inside a consecrated cemetery." Thorn answered.

"Then how come he was able to attack us before; we were in a cemetery." Dusk asked.

"We were near the edge; the borders were weakest and we foolishly ran out."

"Hessian!" Thorn shouted.

The Hessian moved as close as he could get.

Thorn flipped open the book, "in this passage I can free you from the torment of being alive, I imagine carrying the weight of one's mistake can get heavy. But before I do that, I want you tell me who brought you back."

Thorn had no idea how he did it, but before long the Hessian's voice spoke inside Thorn's head.

"Why should I trust you, witch? I already made that mistake once and look where it got me. I became a puppet, a mere plaything for someone else to pull my strings.

"Well first of all, I'm not a witch, I'm a Wiccan and second of all we are the ones who banished your first master, we banished her beyond the black."

Silence, the only sounds could be made were the heavy breathing coming from the horse.

" I used to have a name and some honor, I came over here to stop the colonies from becoming a country and to make a little gold for my family, I wonder if they are waiting for me beyond the black? Probably not."

"You're the one who came back for vengeance." Thorn reminded him.

"I thought I was done, I rose once before, only to get vengeance on the cannon crew who took my life, after I was done with them, I thought I could rest. But she made me kill and slaughter innocents and to strike fear into the hearts of men."

"Think of this part of your redemption." Thorn said.

"Redemption? I barely know the meaning as I said it was a mistake and it cost me dearly, I killed many who were deserving and many who were not."

"Well? What's it gonna be?" Thorn asked.

For several minutes, there was nothing. Thorn thought she screwed up.

"Very well, witch. I do not know the name of the coven who brought me back, but it had similar hallmarks of the witch Sarah Ravencroft."

Thorn looked at her bandmates, "heavy." Dusk whispered.

"As agreed, Hessian I will now read the spell that will send you back to beyond the black." Thorn said as she recited the spell.

"Headless Horsman, return to the black for I call upon powers far and near to banish what's not welcome here, by this charm I banish what causes me harm and I ask to send unwanted things away." At first there was nothing then a giant crack in the earth tore open and several black arms grabbed the Hessian and his horse and dragged him to the underworld.

And then everything sealed back up, no trace of the horseman and no trace of the giant fissure that appeared.

"Come on sisters, looks like our work here is done, I'm sure Quinn is probably wondering where we are." Thorn said as she grabbed Luna's and Dusk's hand.

"What are we going to do about Ravencroft, I mean if she comes back?" Luna asked.

"Whe only thing we can do. Prepare." Thorn answered.

Back in the coven, whispers and cries could be heard as the coven saw the truth about what happened to their agent.

"Sister Lilith, did you recover as much ash as you could?" Sister Agnes asked her young witch.

"Yes." Sister Lilith said. As she pulled out a small leather bag and showed Sister Agnes.

Sister Agnes smiled. "Good, gather the ingredients we have another spell to prepare for."