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Witches, get the hell out of there. Do
whatever it takes.”
    She nodded as icy fear twisted around her heart. She looked
into his eyes, never fully appreciating how beautiful they were. Reaching, she
caressed his cheek. He growled and took her mouth with a savage intensity that
took her breath away. She kissed him back, loving how his kiss did not become
softer. It almost felt like goodbye.
    Ian pulled away.
    “Run,” he commanded. “Run, Lexi.”
    Without looking at him, she gathered her skirts above her
knees and took off. She ran down the small path between two rows of corn.
Stalks hit her face but she ignored the stinging and kept moving. She vaguely
heard Ian behind her.
    A gunshot echoed in the distance. She cried out and ran
faster. Her heart pounded with each step she took. A rock jutted up from the
soil and caused her to stumble and fall to her knees. She could feel blood
trickling down her leg but she didn’t care.
    Getting out of the cornfield was all that mattered. She
pushed off the soft soil and got to her feet. Another gunshot blasted and she
realized just how close it was. Pure adrenaline ensured that she did not grow
tired as she ran this time.
    “Get her,” a woman’s voice howled in the distance. “She’s
almost to the forest.”
    Lexi didn’t look to see where the voice was coming from. It
didn’t matter. It was one of the Witches and that was not good.
    “Come on legs,” she cried out. “Move. Move. Move.”
    Her lungs burned with each breath she took. She could see
the line of trees just ahead and they waved to her like a beckoning oasis.
    “No,” another woman’s voice screamed. “She’s going to make
it.”
    “I’m going to make it,” she breathed out. “I’m going to make
it.”
    She ran from the cornfield toward the forest. As she ran,
the sun rose behind her, bathing her in a burst of morning light. Another
bullet whizzed past her. It was so close that she could hear the whistling
noise it made.
    “Come on.” she told her legs. “Almost there.”
    Footsteps came behind her and a branch broke on the ground.
She didn’t have any more energy to run faster. If this was Horace, then she was
dead. An arm went around her waist and she screamed.
    “It’s me, Lexi.” Ian said into her ear. “We need to get
behind that tree.”
    He dragged her toward a tree. Another bullet flew past them
and shattered the tree into a million pieces. Ian cursed and led her deeper
into the forest. The gunshots stopped and she heard a man screaming in despair.
    “No.” he roared. “I did what you said. Don’t hurt me.”
    Ian pulled her behind a large tree and fell to the ground.
He held onto her tightly and she could feel his heart pounding. She closed her
eyes and waited for her own heartbeat to return to normal, if that would ever
be possible.
    “Are you hurt?” Ian asked softly. “When you went down all I
could think was—”
    “Shhh. I’m fine,” she said as she nestled closer. “What do
you think happened to him?”
    “Come on. We’ll look and see.”
    He stood and offered a hand to help her. She took it and
smiled in thanks. He peered around the tree to make sure it was safe. He then
pulled her around so she could see. The sight before her eyes sickened her.
    Throughout the cornfield, scarecrows were strewn about. They
weren’t normal scarecrows made of straw, though. They were the bodies of people
who Horace killed. They had been left to decay in the heat of the fields, their
scent as frightening as their appearance. Lexi put her hand over her mouth to
hold back her gag.
    In the center of the field, a man stood on a platform made
of wood. He wore a coat and pants, much like his scarecrows. His long, thin
hair blew in the wind as he howled in anger. He waved his gun and batted
imaginary things away.
    Lexi watched the madman in silence. In pity.
    “He was once a good man,” Ian spoke in a broken whisper. “They
made him this way.”
    Ian raised his gun.
    “I don’t want