Give the Devil His Due (The Sanheim Chronicles, Book Three) (19 page)

The first scarecrow faced Quinn again and then slowly lowered himself to one knee.

“We follow you, Prince of Sanheim,” the scarecrow said. “Lead us, Horseman.”

“Lead us, Horseman!” the scarecrows shouted, as they all knelt on the ground.

The first scarecrow looked up expectantly and subtly gestured at Quinn. Somewhat belatedly, Quinn realized he was supposed to give a speech. He decided to keep it short.

“Rise, my...friends,” Quinn paused uncertainly. “Lord Halloween is dead. But our work is just beginning!”

There were shouts and cheers and, for Quinn at least, a lot of confusion. He felt as if he’d suddenly been pushed on stage in the middle of a play without knowing what his role or lines were. If anyone else sensed it, however, they didn’t show it.

The first scarecrow rose and the others followed suit.

“Go, my brothers and sisters,” he said. “Go and prepare. Enjoy your freedom!”

There were more cheers, and then a sudden mass exodus. Quinn watched as the scarecrows jumped and ran into the cornfield in all different directions. Soon Elyssa, Janus and Quinn were left with just the lead scarecrow and his companion.

Quinn turned to him.

“I know you,” he said. “I just don’t know from where.”

The scarecrow flashed him a lop-sided grin that seemed odd on his pumpkin face.

“Right you are, my boy,” he replied.

Quinn had been called many names over the years, only some of them meant as compliments. But only one person he remembered had ever called him “my boy.”

“Buzz!” he said, and practically knocked him over in a hug.

He felt the scarecrow change form. It wasn’t a sudden flash, but almost a rippling that overtook his body. In a moment, Quinn saw a young man, not the older, weathered reporter he had known at the
Loudoun Chronicle
. Death had been beneficial to him. His once haggard and unshaven look was gone, replaced by a smooth young man in his mid-twenties.

But Quinn would have known him anywhere. Buzz still wore his olive green jacket, the one he wore almost every day Quinn had known him. He appeared more calm and collected. His eyes — which had always darted back and forth, scanning the room for perceived enemies — seemed focused and alert. His thinning, gray hair was now thick and brown.

Quinn realized how much he had missed Buzz. Lord Halloween had killed two members of the
Loudoun Chronicle’s
staff in 2006 — Janus and Buzz — before Quinn had lopped off his head. Most of Quinn’s grief had been reserved for Janus, his best friend. But the newsroom was never the same without Buzz’s often eccentric and paranoid ramblings.

“Wow, it feels good to be human again,” Buzz said. “Kyle wouldn’t let us change back; he insisted this was the ‘real’ us.”

“How the hell did you get here?” Quinn asked.

“It’s a long story,” Buzz replied. “Suffice to say I went undercover once I knew who had set up shop here.”

“I don’t believe it,” Quinn said. “Even in death, you were hunting Kyle?”

“You bet your ass I was,” Buzz replied. “I nearly got him the first time, did you know that? I put a bullet within millimeters of his head. But he got away. When I found out he was here, it gave me purpose. I’ve just been waiting for my chance to strike.”

“And he never knew it was you?”

Buzz shook his head.

“I’m very crafty, my boy,” he responded. “He never suspected a thing.”

Janus walked up to him and clapped him on the back.

“You should have seen him, Quinn. He scared the shit out of me.”

“He was the one who kidnapped you in the cornfield?” Quinn asked.

Janus nodded. Quinn gave Buzz an exasperated look.

“You nearly got me killed running through that maze,” he said.

“Had to make it look good,” Buzz responded. “I figured you’d come out of it all right.”

Quinn thought of the circular saw blades and shivered.

“So you all know each other,” Elyssa said, eying the three men coldly.

“Let me introduce you,” Quinn said. “This is Buzz. He used to work with us at the
Loudoun Chronicle
and spent years trying to identify Lord Halloween. By the time he figured out it was Kyle, he was convinced the police wouldn’t help and decided to take matters into his own hands. It ended up getting him killed. Though his notes were damn useful later in piecing together Kyle’s sordid history.”

“I hope you gave me some credit in your investigation,” Buzz responded.

“Yeah, Buzz, we gave you credit,” Quinn responded. “But what I want to know is how you and Janus planned this whole bit out?”

“We had a chance to talk when we were running through the corn,” Janus said. “Buzz had to tie me up when Kyle asked him to.”

“I needed to make it look good,” Buzz said.

“But he told me when he got the chance, he would free me,” Janus said. “You should have seen the look on Kyle’s face. I don’t think it crossed his mind that someone would betray him.”

“Certainly not me,” Buzz said. “I’ve been a good and loyal servant. I just needed the right time to move. He intended to drop Janus from the tower as a message to you. The only way to save him was to convince Kyle that he should kill Janus slowly.”

“Risky,” Elyssa said.

“My middle name is danger,” Janus said, smirking.

“How long had he been planning this?” Quinn asked, gesturing to the cornfield and beyond it the amusement park.

“A few months, I think,” Buzz replied. “Time is funny here, so it’s hard to tell.”

“What was this place before?” Quinn asked, staring out at the corn.

“I don’t really know,” Buzz said. “I came only once I heard rumors that ‘Lord Halloween’ had arrived. When I got here, it was part Kansas cornfield and part amusement park.”

“I get the amusement park, but I don’t understand why there’s a cornfield here,” Quinn said.

“You should have read my notes more carefully,” Buzz responded. “Kyle was born in Derry, Kansas. His father was a farmer who, I believe, was also an alcoholic who beat Kyle regularly. I learned that bit late in the game, just before I went to Kyle’s house to confront him. This place was home to him, or his twisted version of it. If I had to guess, I’d say the scarecrows scared the shit out of him when he was little too. Why else would he be so focused on them?”

Quinn considered this. He didn’t feel badly for Kyle Thompson, but it was a significant insight into him.

“I can’t figure out why Sanheim would put him in charge,” Quinn said. “I mean, I know he wants to get rid of me, but why this elaborate set-up? There has to be a simpler way to kill me.”

“I’m not sure about his motivations,” Buzz responded. “You’ll have to ask my partner about that.”

Buzz gestured to the scarecrow behind him, and Quinn raised an eyebrow, wondering who it was.

“From what Kyle let slip, his orders were quite simple: give you a series of obstacles and, if he could, kill you.”

“And then kill Kate,” Quinn said.

“That was clearly the plan,” Buzz said.

“And he would have gotten away with it too, if it weren’t for us meddling kids,” Janus said.

Quinn stared at him.

“You just had to say that, didn’t you?”

“Well, somebody did,” Janus replied.

The second scarecrow, who had been listening quietly, laughed.

“We’ll have time for more explanations later,” Buzz said. “For now though, we have to start getting ready.”

The second scarecrow rippled like Buzz until a young woman stood in front of them. Quinn had never met her, but she was immediately familiar. He was just starting to place her when he heard Elyssa gasp.

“Carol Cuthberson,” the woman said, and reached out her hand to Quinn. “In Leesburg, I was known as Madame Zora.”

“She’s been helping me,” Buzz said.

Quinn seized her hand and shook it.

Though they had never met, Quinn knew Zora quite well. She was the psychic who had first tipped Kate off to her abilities, and later, Quinn had investigated her murder.

“Great to meet you,” Quinn said.

Like Buzz, Carol looked nothing like she had when Kate met her. That woman was middle-aged and a little heavy set. This one was young, trim and very attractive. She looked like she was 18 years old. She came up and touched Buzz’s arm. It wasn’t much, but in that instant Quinn knew that “partner” meant much more than he had assumed when Buzz referred to her.

“Sorry I didn’t change form earlier, but I didn’t want to interrupt your reunion with Buzz,” Carol said. Quinn noticed that she eyed Elyssa as the words came out of her mouth. There was obviously history there. “We have a lot to discuss, but we also need to get ready.”

“For what?” Quinn asked.

“We need to go meet Kate,” Carol said.

Quinn looked at her in surprise.

“She’s here?” he asked. “Is she okay? Did she die?”

“No, she’s not here,” Carol said. “She’s still alive. But she’s coming very soon.”

“She is the last,” Quinn said. “You left us a note about that. But we had no idea what it meant.”

Carol nodded.

“I’ll explain more later,” she said. “For right now, all you need to understand is this: Kate’s on her way here and we are in desperate need of some information.”

“What information?” Quinn asked.

“Information about where she’s coming and how to help her,” Carol said, her face solemn. “If we don’t find out what we need to know, Kate will die.”

Part II

Chapter 16

Sanheim sat in a plush red chair, wearing his usual crisp black suit, and watched the woman slowly approach. He had time to savor her appearance. She was dressed in golden robes and wore a crown of white flowers in her long, black hair. When she moved, she seemed to sway her hips in an exaggerated manner. In her right hand, she carried a spear, her traditional weapon of choice.

Sanheim smiled in spite of himself. He was in no mood to be playful, but it amused him how she always dressed up for him. She never failed to look her absolute best.

“Carman,” he said when she neared him. “You came.”

The woman knelt in front of him.

“I always heed your call, Lord Sanheim,” she replied.

Sanheim leaned forward on his throne. He noticed a ripple of excitement pass through the audience around him. It had been some time since the two had shared the same room.

“Do you?” he replied. “You could have fooled me.”

“You wound me, my lord,” she said, looking up at him. But she smiled when she said it.

“Rise,” Sanheim responded. “Let us walk.”

He watched as she stood, and he slowly pushed himself off his throne. The two of them walked at a leisurely pace out of the castle, leaving the attendants chattering among themselves. To the others, it no doubt looked like a long-awaited moment of intimacy. Only Sanheim and Carman knew the truth.

“I take it your plan failed,” she said as they walked, once she was sure no one else could hear.

Sanheim didn’t bother to deny it, he simply shrugged.

“I thought the mortal would prove cleverer than he did,” he replied. “It’s not the first time I’ve overestimated someone.”

“What did the council say?” she asked.

“Nothing,” Sanheim said. “I haven’t bothered to inform them yet.”

Carman flashed him a look.

“You are playing a dangerous game, my love,” she said simply. “The truce…”

“There is no avoiding it now,” he replied, more sharply than he intended. “The truce will be broken. If I persist under their terms… the outlook won’t be pleasant. For either of us.”

“You would risk a war just to kill these two?”

Sanheim and Carman left the castle and walked down a path to a high cliff. Together they looked out over the waves. It was the same spot where Sanheim had met with Rippon not long ago.

“If I don’t, they could ruin everything,” Sanheim said finally. “Besides, it will take the council a long time to launch a full-fledged attack. We have plenty of time to prepare.”

She looked at him for a long time.

“Are you sure of that?” she asked.

His silence was her only response. After several minutes, she finally spoke again.

“What do you want of me?”

“I need you to stop the girl,” he said.

“I will, once she arrives,” Carman responded, looking as if she relished the idea.

“I can’t wait until then,” Sanheim said. “You have to move now.”

Carman looked at him in shock.

“You can’t mean it,” she said. “That’s a flagrant violation of the truce. They’ll know in a heartbeat.”

“I’ll keep Rippon busy,” Sanheim said. “I can play for time.”

“It’s too risky, my love,” she replied. “They’ll…”