Chapter 4

The next day, they came for me.

A black car pulled up to the small, dilapidated shed where I had taken shelter. The aide got out.

"Mr. Fuller is unwell," he said, without any preamble. "Stress-related. His personal doctor has recommended a traditional folk remedy."

I said nothing.

"The remedy requires the hair of a Hollow Keeper," the aide continued, a flicker of something ugly in his eyes. "You' re the last one. The Governor requests your presence at the mansion."

It wasn' t a request.

They drove me to the Governor' s mansion, the same place where I had watched my parents get arrested. They brought me into the main parlor. Sabrina was there, sitting on a velvet couch, sipping a glass of wine. Andrew Fuller was next to her, looking pale and annoyed.

"Ah, the mountain man," Andrew said, his voice dripping with contempt. "Come to perform your little folk magic for me?"

He stood up and walked towards me. In his hand, he held a large, gleaming hunting knife.

"The doctor said the hair must be given willingly," he sneered. "But we can be persuasive."

He grabbed a fistful of my hair. Sabrina watched, a faint, cruel smile on her lips. She didn' t move. She didn' t say a word.

Andrew pressed the cold steel of the knife against my scalp.

"Just a little trim," he said.

Then he pulled. The knife sliced through my skin. The pain was sharp, blinding. I didn' t scream. I didn' t give him the satisfaction. I just stared at Sabrina, at the woman I had once loved, as her new partner sadistically scalped half of my head.

Blood ran down my face, dripping onto the pristine white carpet. Andrew threw the bloody lock of my hair onto the floor in disgust.

"There," he said, wiping the knife on his pants. "Maybe that will help."

He was smirking. Sabrina was smirking. They were enjoying this.

They sent me back to my shed, bleeding and humiliated. The physical pain was nothing compared to the cold, burning rage inside me.

The following day, the aide returned.

"Mr. Fuller' s condition has worsened," he announced. "The doctor believes the first remedy was insufficient. A more powerful ritual is required."

He paused for effect.

"The only cure is to burn the remains of your parents in a ritual fire."