"You." the thing's head growled. If anything, the smile got wider, and Mia was pretty sure she could see jagged teeth stuck at odd angles around the edges of its mouth. Mia started to shake.

The horse turned slowly, deliberately, before charging down the hill.

Mia stood up and took a few steps back. The thing moved so fast, she almost didn't see it until it was right on top of her. The hand that wasn't holding its head reached back, its long whip unfurling. It sliced through the air, coming straight for Mia's head. The whip was only inches from her face when Mia felt something push against her, knocking her to the ground. Zev cried out as the whip slashed across his shoulder.

When the horse rushed towards her, Mia's friends had come running. Suddenly, the Dullahan was surrounded by four more people, each brandishing a tiny piece of gold in their hands as a shield. The horse reared up in alarm, and Mia had to scramble quickly out of the way to keep from being trampled as it landed. She stood up, watching the confusion in the head's beady little eyes as the Dullahan realized it was surrounded.

The horse started to back up awkwardly out of the circle. Seizing the opportunity, Mia rushed forward past her friends and yanked the Dullahan's head out of its hand.

Even after the whole thing was over, Mia still didn't know what made her do it. But now that she had its head firmly in her grasp, the demon's confusion seemed to fade. The whip came down again, but by that time Mia was already running as fast as she could, going deeper into the woods.

The head was slimy and cold, and Mia almost dropped it out of disgust. She grabbed it by its greasy hair and made a mad dash down the hill, hoping that the trees would at least slow the horse enough for her to get away.

"Give me back my head!" the head screamed, twisting around to face her. Mia looked down and saw its tongue licking across its razor-sharp teeth. "You'll never get away from me!" it snarled.

Mia knew there was no turning back now. Even if she did give the thing its head back, there was no way it was going to just turn and walk away. So she ran, listening as the sound of hoofbeats behind her got steadily nearer.

Mia was sure the Dullahan was going to overtake her at any minute. After all, how could she outrun a horse? Even though running through the trees had slowed it down, Mia wasn't any more familiar with these woods than it was, and she stumbled over rocks and fallen tree limbs almost as often as the horse did.

The head twisted in her hands again, staring delightedly over her shoulder.

"I've got you now!" it growled.

Mia stared at it in horror and immediately tripped over a small bush in her way. She heard a loud crack! as the whip smashed into a tree just above her head. She scrambled up and made a hard right, the close call giving her renewed energy.

The horse neared again, and Mia was sure this was the end; she couldn't keep outrunning a ghost horse forever. The head laughed wickedly. Still, Mia ran. If he really was going to catch her, the least she could do would be to make it difficult for him.

As she wound her way deeper and deeper into the woods, Mia started to hear another sound. It started out so faint, she almost didn't hear it – a kind of gurgling noise. It wasn't until she was within eyesight that she realized she was coming up to a small brook.

Mia's heart sank as she realized she was coming up to a dead-end. She knew she wasn't able to cross running water, so unless she could jump far enough to carry her over the whole thing, she was done for. Normally, something like that would be enough to stop her dead in her tracks, but with the Dullahan gaining on her, the decision was much easier. She ran as fast as she could, and as her foot hit the edge of the bank, she jumped with all her might, hoping she wasn't too tired to make it to the other side.

As soon as she started her leap over the water, she felt a tightness in her chest, making it almost impossible to breathe. Her head fogged up, and she worried she was going to pass out from the effort. It was going to take all her might just to keep from falling as she hit the other side. Mia was about halfway over the water when she heard a faint ting! The horse reared up on its hind legs, crying out in pain.

Whatever it was that hit the horse had given Mia a few precious seconds to catch her breath. As she tried desperately to pull herself together, she turned and looked over her shoulder. The horse was backing up. Mia thought for a minute that she was safe, until she saw the rider crouch forward. The horse started to run, and Mia realized it was going to jump the stream and land right next to her.

Still panting heavily, Mia realized there was nothing else she could do. She'd run for what seemed like forever, and she just didn't have any more energy. Even if she did start up again, the rider and his horse didn't seem to be even the slightest bit winded. So she stood there, waiting to see how long it would take for him to cross the brook and get her. Hopefully it would at least be quick.

As the horse charged, Mia realized that it wasn't running alone. Three wolves, one black, one tan, and one gray-white, were running alongside it, and maybe – just maybe – gaining on it. Mia watched in relief, remembering for the first time that she had five friends with her who were working on dealing with the Dullahan as she ran. She watched as the tan wolf darted under the horse's legs, coming through on the other side.

The black wolf jumped on the back of the horse, trying to get at the rider, while the tan one leapt at the horse's hind legs. The gray wolf charged out in front, trying to scare the horse and stop it from even jumping.

The Dullahan struck out at the black wolf, knocking it back to the ground with a whimper. But the effort had knocked him off balance. The rider had shifted slightly to the right as the horse started to jump. At the same time, the horse shifted just a little to the left, trying to get away from the wolf still underfoot. And as the horse jumped, it smacked straight into the gray wolf, causing it to fall sideways into the water. The horse and rider struggled to right themselves.

"Just give it time." the head sneered at Mia. "I'll get back up. And when I do, there'll be no stopping me."

"Oh, shut up!" Mia told the head. It was bad enough that she was probably going to die – did she really have to be mocked too?

"Mia! The gold!" Carmine shouted.

Mia remembered the gold piece she still had sitting in her pocket. She reached her free hand down and grabbed it. The head started to make some comment, but Mia didn't want to hear it. Instead, she grabbed her gold piece and shoved it in its mouth, forcing it closed.

The beady black eyes widened in shock before starting to dart around even faster than before. Mia was glad; finally, the thing seemed scared. It was about time someone other than her was afraid for their life.

Its mouth still being forced shut, the head let out a muffled scream. Mia looked down and realized that the thing might actually be in pain. Its eyes continued to flick every which way, but Mia had stopped paying attention to them. Instead, she was more focused on the fact that pieces of the face seemed to be melting. It was so revolting that Mia would have dropped the head if it hadn't been for her fear that somehow this would allow the Dullahan the opportunity to pick it back up.

Bits of cheek, ear, and hair seemed to fall off, disintegrating before they hit the ground. Mia watched in shock as the thing continued to crumble and break apart. As the pieces came off the head, they turned to a fine ash that fell to her feet. After a few seconds, the head was half gone. Mia felt it shift and break apart under the weight of her own fingers as it made one last attempt to get free. In disgust, Mia dropped the head. As it hit the ground, it turned to ash, and Mia was left there, with nothing but a pile of dust and a half-buried gold coin in front of her.