Page 82 of Hollow

Over the last few days, Dimitri had done his best to put the attack behind him. The Hearst empire even seemed well on its way to crumbling. Patrick was rotting in the woods, suffering a slow agonizing death. The hunters were all dead. Even their corpses had fallen away into the shadowy abyss Jack controlled.

“Question.” Dimitri turned to Jack. “Does it get crowded in the shadows?”

“Huh?” Jack cocked his head.

“You have a hundred corpses just from the recent attack. Surely, the shadows are not infinite.”

“Um, they might be.” Jack shrugged. “I don’t really wander around too much. Easy to get lost.”

“Lost? They are your shadows.”

“Well, more precisely, they’re the dark void of the universe itself, but the Nuckelavee sort of hijacks them for itself and me by extension,” Jack explained, his shadowy eyes exploded into star shapes as he had a realization. “Hey, I guess they are infinite since the whole connected to the universe thing. Probably. Most likely. My best guess. Hmm. Glad I figured that out. I’m so smart.”

“So, the corpses just float around in there?”

“Oh, hell no. That’d probably smell rancid as fuck after a while.” Jack laughed. “No, I opened a doorway to the ocean and just chucked ‘em out to be fish chum.”

“Hmph.” Dimitri side-eyed Jack. “I do not know if I approve of littering the ocean with corpses. It should not be a watery grave.”

“Meh, think of it as compost,” Jack countered. “Plus, if the fishies can handle garbage island, I think they can handle a few dozen bloated corpses. It’s gotta taste better, anyway.”

“Garbage what?”

“We’ll go over that one another day.” Jack laughed.

It turned out Jack and Astaroth had taken it upon themselves to remove all trace of the hunter’s presence in Sleepy Hollow. They didn’t set up in a manor like Gordon and his team had, so it was easier to do away with their gear and vehicles by dropping them in the shadowy abyss and then sending them thousands of miles away. Dimitri hoped Jack didn’t then drop them into the nearby ocean or any ocean for that matter.

Jack returned to the show they had on, and Dimitri cozied up closer. Dimitri sank deeper into the cushions of the couch, twisting around so he could use Jack’s lap as a pillow. The pair lounged for hours, lost on silly shows. Jack’s hands absently moved about as he talked nonstop about the shows, explaining all the extra little details. Dimitri listened, remaining silent as Jack’s fingers twirled through Dimitri’s curly hair.

Dimitri could stay like this forever. Truly forever. With Jack.

Days turned into weeks, and life slowly settled back into normalcy. Well, as normal a life as two monsters living together in an enchanted forest could be. Dimitri still heard Patrick’s shrieks deep in the woods during his hikes. Thankfully, the fog turned thicker since Astaroth dragged the former Hearst heir away. It lessened the noise, dulling the cruel torture unleashed. Not that Dimitri felt particularly terrible for Patrick. If anyone in his life deserved such a gruesome end, it was a Hearst. Still, Dimitri didn’t realize how brutally savage Astaroth could be when eviscerating a soul for his own pleasures. He seemed to rip apart Patrick’s being one layer at a time, savoring the slaughter.

“Caw-caw-caw,” Nikolai called out, drawing Dimitri’s thoughts from such things as empathy.

The crow always knew when Dimitri’s mind wandered, and Patrick stole a bit of his attention. Nikolai would have none of that, especially during their walks. Well, flights and walks, since the flock of crows circled overhead most of the time. Occasionally, Nikolai would perch on Dimitri’s antlers, but this trip, he focused his energy on helping the wolves hunt.

It was fascinating how well the two species coordinated together. Even without the magical influence of the Leshy spirit, the two creatures had a harmonious relationship. Nikolai and the other crows would scout out potential targets, prey to be hunted, and the wolves would respond in kind by circling their quarry and sharing the bountiful meal with the birds.

Dimitri often used the walks to get to know the beasts better, learning the histories of the wolves, finding out what made them happy, and why they followed Nikolai hundreds of miles north. He also used this time to commune with the trees, to catch up with the voices of nature, and to ask they do their best to hide the presence of the wolves.

They weren’t native to the area, and while the fog worked well to keep hunters at bay, the wolves didn’t always stick close to home. They roamed far and wide, exploring the whole land, and Dimitri wanted to ensure they didn’t stumble onto any dangers when outside the enchanted fog’s reach.

When Dimitri returned home, he spotted Astaroth, who walked into the house a bloody mess. Jack immediately berated Astaroth for tracking in bloody and muddy footprints, then went to work cleaning the mess and wrapping the demon dog in a dozen towels.

“I see you are still hard at work.” Dimitri chuckled.

“Actually, just wrapping up a job.” Astaroth’s eyes glowed momentarily. “I grew bored of the mortal and finished him off once and for all.”

Patrick Hearst was dead, truly dead. Did that mean the worst of Dimitri’s fears had finally concluded? There were other Hearsts out there. There were hunters who tracked targets on their own and freelanced their services all the time. Even so, Dimitri didn’t dwell, didn’t let what could be haunt him.

“Do handle the remains for me, lesser peasant,” Astaroth said to Jack, pulling Dimitri from his thoughts. “I will leave coordinates to where the body can be retrieved.”

“Huh?” Jack cocked his head.

“I’m leaving for a time. Quite urgently, in fact,” Astaroth explained. “Otherwise, I would set aside some time to properly mangle the remains into a grotesque effigy for someone to stumble upon.”

“You are leaving?” Dimitri blinked, a bit taken aback.