Monster High: Season of the Witch

47. A Brush with Death

Beatrix stared at the figure below.

Although a dark hood concealed his face, she was certain the horseman was watching her too.

Terror surged through her as a thought flashed in her mind.

Grey?

No. It wasn't him. 

The dark rider had a larger frame, and the staff he held was longer than Grey's.

Suddenly, Autumn's voice cut through the silence, "Bea! We should head back!"

At the sound of her friend's voice, the horseman immediately guided his steed back into the trees, vanishing like a shadow.

At first, she thought he was fleeing.

However, judging by the hooves echoing in the layer of forest below, it became clear that the horseman was winding around the trees.

He was making his way toward the steep hill where she stood.

"Go! Go! Go!" Beatrix screamed at Jackson and Autumn, sprinting back and pointing in the direction of the perimeter fence.

Despite having no idea why Beatrix was so horrified, Jackson and Autumn didn't ask questions and dashed back the way they'd come.

Beatrix could already hear the horseman breaking out of the tree line below and charging up the hill.

The galloping grew closer and closer, each hoofbeat thundering in Beatrix's ears.

The trio rushed through the trees, dodging branches and rocks, but to Beatrix's dismay, she soon caught up to Autumn and Jackson. Even in the grip of terror, they couldn't run fast enough.

Pieces of straw flew out from Autumn's seams as they frantically ran.

Beatrix snapped her head back and saw the horseman reaching the top of the hill. The dense forest seemed to hinder his horse, so he dismounted in one swoop. With his scythe in hand, he pursued them on foot.

And holy hells, was he fast.

Even with his thick black robes, the Reaper moved through the frosty pines with ease, like he'd navigated the wood countless times before. He was closing the gap between them rapidly.

With her hands still scalding hot with fire magic, Beatrix couldn't even push or pull Autumn and Jackson along to escape faster.

That thought made Beatrix stop in her tracks.

Autumn and Jackson didn't notice and kept dashing through the trees.

Beatrix spun around.

Taking a breath, she rubbed her palms together and imagined a blazing flame between them.

In an instant, a ball of fire ignited in her hands.

"Stay back! I'm armed!" Beatrix yelled at their pursuer, her words sharp, the magical flame flickering.

The Reaper stopped. His black steed neighed in distress a few yards away.

In a blood-curdling standoff, Beatrix watched him through the tree branches.

It was like staring into an abyss, like there was an empty void beneath the horseman's hood. He was huge, probably close to a full seven feet.

Oddly, the Reaper attempted to sidestep Beatrix, as if searching for a way around her.

This made Beatrix grin.

Was he afraid of her witchcraft?

She didn't know how much damage she could inflict on a Reaper, but his reaction suggested she could at least impair him with her magic.

"That's right. Back off," Beatrix spat. "You're not stealing any more students' souls."

Then, without warning, the Reaper made a break for it. He rushed ahead to bypass her.

"Hey!" Beatrix yelled and unintentionally sent a thin flame out of her hands—which was as exhilarating as a bolt of lightning shooting from her fingertips.

The Reaper parried, ducking behind a tree trunk to avoid the whip of flames.

A nearby tree lit up.

Fueled by adrenaline, Beatrix unleashed another fiery blast, this time targeting the tree he used for cover.

As the second tree was set ablaze, the Reaper retreated, putting more distance between them.

Jackson and Autumn had reached the perimeter fence and were struggling to pry back the iron bar Beatrix had moved earlier.

"We can't get through!" Jackson yelled.

There seemed to be no security guards around, because as Autumn and Jackson called for help, no one came.

Beatrix noticed the surface of her hands shifting from a flaming red to a cooler orange.

After that second blast of flames, the magic was wearing off.

This posed two problems: first, she wouldn't be able to fend off the Reaper much longer. Second, she needed her magic hands to bend the iron bar so they could get back on school grounds.

They were doomed if they stayed trapped on this side of the fence.

Likely sensing Beatrix's fear, the Reaper tightened his grip on his scythe staff and advanced through the woods with a new determination. His sweeping black robes dragged along the mossy forest floor.

The fire was quickly spreading to more trees, hellish flames contrasting with the Reaper's dark silhouette.

A soft hand tugged at Beatrix's shirt. Autumn yanked Beatrix through the brush. "This way!"

The Reaper returned to his horse, climbed back on, and pursued them again.

"Look for any weak spots in the fence to break through!" Beatrix shouted to Jackson and Autumn. They were running parallel to the school's perimeter.

Twisted tree branches and foliage were their only form of protection as the Reaper kept pace. He guided his horse with relentless precision between the pines.

Beatrix's hands were barely a light yellow now. No longer hot enough to meld an iron beam and bend back the fence. She felt like such an idiot for putting the bar back in place earlier; she should've risked getting caught by the security guard.

The Reaper was gaining on them.

Autumn retrieved her phone from her pocket while sprinting, but the orange iCoffin slipped out of her grasp and fell to the ground. "Oh no!"

"Leave it!" Beatrix ordered.

Jackson looked like he was about to pass out. "There's no weak spots!" he yelled.

"So what do we do?" Beatrix heaved.

"We have to run around to the school's main entrance!"

"How far is that?"

"I don't know!" Jackson wailed.

Thump-a-thump-a-thump-a-thump.

The dark horse emerged out of the corner of Beatrix's eye, coming up on her diagonally to block her path and separate her from the others.

The horseman poised his black staff, ready to swing.

Beatrix veered out of the way and conjured another flame, but only a weak spark sputtered out of her palms. However, the small flicker of fire was enough to make his horse whinny and rear back in fear.

The Reaper struggled to get the animal under control and nearly lost his balance.

"C'mon! I'm just getting started!" Beatrix hollered at him. She was bluffing, of course, but she wanted to buy Jackson and Autumn more time. They weren't losing their souls on her watch. And maybe she could set the Reaper's robes on fire if she got close enough.

But then, the weirdest thing happened—once the Reaper got his horse to calm down, he didn't challenge Beatrix again.

Instead, he charged forward to continue pursuing Jackson and Autumn at full speed, ignoring her.

Either the horseman was genuinely wary of witchcraft, or he only had his sight set on her friends.