The darkness pressed in on all sides, and Ken screamed.
Maria tried to pull him away, but before she could, two figures stepped out of the darkness.
Maria
…
“M-Mom? Dad?”
Her parents glided toward her. Their skin, hair, eyes, and clothes were black.
You have failed us, Maria. You are an embarrassment to
this family. To your culture. Your heritage. Our standing in
the community
.
“No.” Maria closed her eyes. “You’re not real. Levi said you take the form of the things that haunt us. The things we fear.”
Maria, look at us!
“I’M NOT AFRAID OF YOU!”
Maria opened her eyes again. Her parents reached for her, and her resolve shattered. Maria screamed.
“Adam,” Levi shouted, “to me!”
The darkness swirled around Ken and Maria, poised to strike.
Levi scooped up a handful of salt and ran toward them.
“
Ia Ishtari, ios daneri, ut nemo descendre fhatagn Shtar
! God, guide my hand.”
He tossed the salt at the entity. The crystals sparked, turning blue as they soared through the air. They pelted the darkness, and it withdrew, shuddering.
“Grab Ripple before he falls,” Levi told Adam as he reached for Maria.
Stumbling, they guided Maria and Ken back to the beginning of the trail, out of reach of the darkness. Levi peered into Maria’s eyes.
“Are you okay?”
She nodded. “I think so.”
“Ripple, how about you?”
“I’ll live. The fuck just happened?”
“We’ve been trying to tell you,” Levi said, “but you would not listen. Now I’m afraid I’ll have to insist that you stay out of my way.”
“Fuck that,” Ken said. “I want to help. And for what it’s worth, I’m sorry.”
Levi knelt, picked up the bag of salt, and handed it to Ken.
“Be careful that you don’t spill it.”
Ken frowned. “What am I supposed to do with this?”
“If you’re being sincere and you really do want to help, then listen to me carefully. I saw an exit not far from the entrance. Am I correct in assuming that this trail loops around?”
“Yeah. So what?”
Levi placed one hand on Ken’s shoulder and his other hand on the ruptured bag. Then he repeated the same phrase he’d shouted before throwing the salt. For a second, Ken felt a slight charge go through him, like licking a battery. Then it faded. The air smelled of ozone.
“What did you just do?”
Levi shook his head. “I need you and Maria to take this salt to the exit. Pour a line of it all the way across the exit, connecting to the lime lines on either side. You don’t have to use a lot of it. In fact, try to conserve. But the line must completely touch both sides. Think of it as an invisible wall. Okay?”
Ken nodded. “Sure. What will that do?”
“Just what I said. It will create an invisible wall. Once you’ve done that, I want the two of you to stand on the far side of that line. Make absolutely sure you’re not standing on the trail or between the lines. Do you understand?”
“This is like before,” Maria said. “With the circle of protection?”
“Exactly. But this time, instead of keeping something out, we’re trying to keep something in.”
“A trap?”
Levi winked at her.
“Stay clear of the path,” he told them, “but be ready for me to call you. When I do, proceed into the woods—making absolutely sure you walk on the outside of the lines, avoiding the path—and sprinkle the salt onto the trail.”
Maria coughed. “But won’t the salt break the circle?”
“No. I’ve already prepared it. As long as neither of you cross the barriers, we’ll be fine. Be mindful of that as you sprinkle the salt. Don’t let your hands or fingers cross the lines. Just the salt. You won’t have to go very far. Probably only a few feet. A few yards at the most.”
“How will we know when to stop?”
“You’ll know.”
“You want us to go into the woods?” Ken asked.
“Correct.”
“And that thing—that dark stuff—is in the woods?”
“Yes.”
“Fuck that.”
“Then Maria can do it alone. Three is a better number than four, anyway. In certain Chinese dialects, the word for four is very similar to the word for death. I have no time to reassure you, Mr. Ripple. This is our last chance and we are out of time.”
Ken flinched, staring at him. Then he turned to Maria.
“Do you trust this guy?”
She nodded. “If you’d seen what I have, you’d trust him, too.”
Ken turned back to Levi. “You’re not like any Amish per son I’ve ever met.”
“I’m not Amish.”
“But you were talking about God. Don’t you believe in Him?”
“I do. But I am not Amish and I am not a Christian.”
“Well, what are you then?”
“I am something worse. I am a soldier. Now go, please.”
Ken and Maria hurried back into the field and over to the exit. Adam studied Levi closely. The man’s expression was grim but determined as he opened his bag and began removing items from it.
“Earlier,” Adam said, “after we found the book, you said there was one more thing I had to do to help you. I’m guessing this is where that comes in?”
Levi nodded.
“Well, for what it’s worth, I just want to say thanks.”
“There is no need to thank me. I’m just doing what I’m called upon to do.”
The darkness began to gather again, lapping at the forest floor just feet from where they stood. It trembled and quivered, but did not progress farther.
Levi spread the items out on the ground, just at the edge of the forest, on the other side of the entrance. Then he turned to Adam.
“I need you to stand here, just inside the trail.”
“But the darkness—”
“Cannot reach this far. Not yet. Look at it. I’ve weakened it, at least temporarily. It needs to recuperate.”
Cautiously, Adam stepped back onto the trail again. He watched the forest carefully, tensed and ready to flee, but the darkness remained where it was. Behind him, Levi picked up another handful of salt and recited the same words over it. Then he took one step backward, just outside of the entrance. Kneeling, he poured the salt out of his hand in a straight line, just as he’d instructed Ken and Maria to do—joining it to the Ghost Walk’s outline. For a brief moment, the lime lines seemed to glow blue. Then the light faded.
“Seriously,” Adam said, still watching the darkness. “I mean it. I want to thank you. It’s been a really long time since I’ve trusted anybody—or since anybody has trusted me. But you changed that, and I’m grateful.”
As Adam talked, Levi sat two candles on either side of the entrance and lit them. Under his breath, so that Adam wouldn’t hear him, he prayed.
“Lord forgive me, for I do this in Your name. Please have mercy upon all our souls. Thy will be done, Lord.”
“Levi?”
“Thy will be done…”
“Hey, man? Are you listening? I’m unburdening my soul here, dude.”
“Forgive me, Father.”
“Levi, didn’t you hear me? I said thank you.”
Levi glanced up. “For what?”
Adam smiled. “For believing in me. For letting me help. I appreciate it. All this time, I’ve wished there was some way I could redeem myself. Some way to make up for everything that’s happened. And you’re giving me that. So I’m saying thanks.”
“Redemption?” Levi smirked. “There is no redemption for you, Adam Senft. You murdered your wife in cold blood. You slaughtered her—the woman who you swore before God and your family to love and honor and cherish and respect. You made a sacred, holy vow and then you discarded it. You pushed your wife out of the attic window.”
“No! I was trying to save her. I just wanted to kill the baby. Hylinus had—”
“You killed Tara. She split open and spilled out all over the ground. By your hand, Adam. By your red right hand. The reasons don’t matter, only the results. You fancied yourself one of us—a magician. Yet you were nothing more than a child playing war with a loaded gun. And then, when things turned tragic—when things went wrong—you didn’t even accept responsibility for your actions. You blamed it on everyone else. On Hylinus. On Nelson LeHorn. And especially on God.”
Still standing on the path, Adam whirled around. “It wasn’t my fault.”
“Then whose fault was it?”
“It was God’s fault!”
“No!” Levi shouted. “It was
your
fault! How dare you blame Him? He gave you everything. Your wife. Your dog. Your friends and family. And how did you repay that kindness? By leading them to their deaths and then blaming Him. You disgust me.”
“Shut up, Levi. You just shut the hell up, right now!”
“God didn’t do this to you, Adam Senft. You did this to yourself. And now you’re damned.”
Adam snarled, clenching his fists. “You motherfucking son of a bitch! I’ll fucking kill you!”
He charged, running at Levi with his head down and fists raised. His lips were pulled back, revealing gritted teeth. Levi remained sitting, not moving from his spot on the other side of the entrance. When Adam’s foot came in contact with the line of salt, he screamed, flying backward through the air and crashing to the trail with a thud.
“Oh, no,” Levi whispered. “Not this time. You already broke one circle. You don’t get to break another one.”
Groaning, Adam sat up. “Let me out of here. You hear me, motherfucker? I said let me out of here.”
Levi shook his head. “I’m sorry, Adam, but I’m afraid that’s impossible. It’s too late. Look at the darkness.”
Stumbling to his feet, Adam turned and stared down the trail. The entity was moving again. It swirled like mist, coalescing into different shapes.
“You’re not a man,” Levi goaded, trying to stoke Adam’s fears higher. “You’re nothing. You failed as a writer, as a husband, as a father, and as a friend. You’re not a protector. You’re a joke. You couldn’t save your wife or your children. And now, you can’t even save yourself.
“Look at it, Adam! Everyone that you damned. Tara. Big Steve. Merle Laughman. Dale Haubner. Cliff Swanson. Cory Peters. Paul and Shannon Legerski. Shelly Carpenter. Leslie Vandercamp and her boyfriend, Michael Gitleson. Officer Al Uylik. All dead because of your arrogance. Because of your incompetence. Their families grieve while you shirk the blame. Look upon your works, magus. Go on! Look into the darkness and stare upon your ghosts.”
Adam’s screams echoed across the forest and field. He shrank away, pressing against the invisible barrier behind him. The darkness rushed forward, flowing along the trail.
Levi’s voice rose in pitch and drowned out Adam’s wails.
“
Eloim shammanta. Barra, Gigum xul. Barra, Maskim
xul. Ia idimmu, descente Shtar. Destrato Nud. Destrato Verminus.
Destrato Nuada
.”
“Get back!” Adam screamed. “Levi, help me! Let me out!”
“
Destrato Lud. Destrato Shub-Niggurath. Destrato Pahad.
Destrato Lilitu. Destrato Lamashtu. Destrato Othel. Sator
opera verminni. Sator opera fhatagn
.”
Levi paused, watching. Attracted by the magnitude of Adam’s fears and guilt, Nodens was focusing on the distraught man, attracted by his boiling emotional energies. As it narrowed the distance between them, stretching to the very limits of its current boundaries, the entity condensed its mass, shrinking down and thickening. Without taking his eyes off it, Levi reached down and grabbed a candle with each hand. Then he touched the flames to the lime. Immediately, the darkness solidified inside the lines, occupying the Ghost Walk and withdrawing from the surrounding woods. The portion of Nodens that was left in the gateway retreated inside the portal.
“Got you.” There was no glee in Levi’s voice.
Levi had effectively split the entity in two. The earthbound portion was trapped inside the Ghost Walk. The rest, he knew, was cowering on the other side of the doorway, weakened and—for the first time in eons, he hoped—afraid.
“Levi,” Adam begged, “please don’t do this. Don’t do this to me.”
“For what it’s worth, Mr. Senft. I am sorry.”
The darkness spoke.
Adam
…
“Tara,” Adam whispered. “Baby, I’m so sorry…”
“Maria!” Levi yelled. “Ken! Do it now!”
He turned back to Adam and watched him writhe as the darkness slithered over him. Adam’s cries died in his throat.
The darkness hovered in front of him, savoring his emotions. Then, overcome with hunger, Nodens began to feed. Levi turned away.
“God forgive me,” he wept. “God, please forgive me…”
“It sounds like they’re fighting,” Ken said. “Maybe we should go back over there.”
“No.” Maria reached out and clasped his arm. “Let’s just do what Levi said, and wait for his signal.”
Privately, she was concerned as well. Standing where they were, in the field and near the trail’s exit, she couldn’t make out every word. Their voices were garbled. But Levi’s tone had taken on a distinctly ugly sound. It was mean. Spiteful. Full of hatred and disgust—not at all like the man she’d come to know over the last forty-eight hours.
Then Adam started screaming.
Ken started forward again, but Maria pulled him back.
“Wait.”
“Why?”
“Because we have to trust him. He’s a man of God, right?”
“I don’t know what the hell he is.”
Ken glanced around the field. The police still hadn’t arrived—or if they had, then they were having trouble making it through the surging crowds. Rather than running, the crowds had come closer, drawn like flies at the prospect of some human misfortune—an accident, a heart attack, a murder. Excited by the possibility of seeing someone dragged out of the woods on a stretcher, they waited. The Ghost Walk’s staff was holding them at bay, keeping them confined in a rough semicircle near the ticket booth. Beyond the midway, other people were leaving, perhaps anxious to escape the morbid curiosity of their fellow citizens. The upper half of the field was jammed with cars and a long line had formed on the road—another traffic jam, this time leading away from the Ghost Walk. Maybe that explained the cops’ tardiness.