He collapsed onto the spongy ground and stared through one slit at the empty space in front of him.
“Your will be done, Lord. On Yuggoth, as it is in Heaven.”
And then, a dark crack appeared in the air. Dim candlelight flickered inside of it. Levi heard voices— Randy’s and Marsha’s, followed a moment later by Donny’s.
“He said not to break the circle.” Donny sounded frantic.
“But he’s gone,” Randy said. “Let’s look in the pantry. Maybe he went back through that . . . other place, again.”
The crack grew wider. Moaning, Levi crawled toward it. Marsha and Randy stood in the doorway, gasping in surprise at the vista spread out before them.
“Don’t breathe,” Levi gasped. “Get back and don’t breathe it in.”
He heaved himself through the open door and tumbled onto Esther’s kitchen floor. The linoleum felt cool beneath his skin. Randy, Marsha and Donny hovered over him, their expressions concerned and alarmed.
“Jesus, Levi.” Donny scanned his wounds. “You look like you’ve been through a meat grinder.”
“We’ve got to get him to a hospital,” Marsha said. “No.” Levi shook his head weakly. “Must . . . close . . . door. Get rid . . . of . . . circle.”
“How?” Donny asked.
“The salt.” Randy stood up and then glanced down at Levi. “We’ve got to get rid of the salt, right?”
Levi nodded.
“How do you know that?” Marsha asked.
“I don’t know. I just do. He was fooling with salt earlier. I reckon it makes sense.”
The three of them brushed the lines of salt away from the doors and windows with their hands and feet. Slowly, the light beneath the pantry door faded. When they were finished, Donny returned. He knelt and pressed Levi’s copy of The Long Lost Friend into his hands. Levi couldn’t feel the book between his numb fingers, but knowing it was there made him feel better. He waited until Donny looked into his eyes again and then let his gaze fall upon the pantry door. Then he looked at Donny again.
“You want me to check?” the younger man asked.
“Yes . . .”
Slowly, Donny opened the door. He crouched as he did so, ready to leap out of the way should something charge through it. He relaxed when Esther’s canned goods stood revealed.
Levi smiled. He took one last shuddering breath, and then the darkness consumed him.
TWELVE
The first things Levi became aware of when he regained consciousness were the warm feel of sunlight on his face and the smell of incense. There were soft pillows beneath his head, and if he wasn’t mistaken, a feather comforter pulled over his body. He heard water dripping and then a moment later, a cold, wet cloth was placed on his forehead, chasing away the warmth from the sun. Levi opened his eyes. Myrtle stared down at him. Esther stood over her shoulder. He was lying in a bed. The room seemed strangely familiar. His finger was splinted with popsicle sticks and his wounds were bandaged with gauze.
“You’re awake,” Myrtle said. “Welcome back. How do you feel?”
“Much . . . much better, thank you. Where are we?”
“Your room,” Myrtle said. “We moved you up here after . . . well, after everything happened. We didn’t know what to do. The men folk said that you’d told them we couldn’t get out of town. So we brought you up here and I went home and got some of my things, and we’ve been caring for you as best we can.”
“The soul cage is most likely gone,” Levi said. “I would guess you’re all free to leave town again.”
“Is that what it was? That’s what was keeping us here? A soul cage?”
He nodded.
Myrtle frowned. “I’ve read about them. I thought they were tiny things.”
“Not this one. It took an incredible amount of power to construct, but it surely vanished when its creators left this level.”
“Level?”
“Level of reality. Plane of existence. When they left this world.”
“Will they be back?”
Levi paused before answering. He was keenly aware that both women were staring at him intensely.
“I don’t think so. In truth, there is still much I don’t know about them. But I don’t think they can return, and after I’ve finished my business in Virginia Beach, I’ll take measures that I think will insure they never bother anyone again. Their mortal remains—the remnants of what they once were before their transformation—must be located somewhere on Roanoke. All I have to do is find them and destroy them.”
“Do you think it’s safe to wait that long?” Myrtle asked.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, your injuries. I would imagine it will be several days at the very least before you’re up and about again.”
“I appreciate your concern, and everything you’ve done for me, but really, I’m fine.” After quickly verifying that he was dressed beneath the sheets, Levi pulled back the heavy feather comforter. Then he pulled up his shirt and peeled back the gauze, wincing as the medical tape pulled at his hair. The ragged slashes and tears that had crisscrossed his chest and abdomen only hours before were now closed. Only pink lines remained. He held up his splinted finger. While still puffy, it was no longer crooked. The bone had obviously been set.
“How . . . ?” Myrtle’s hand fluttered to her throat. “I’m a fast healer.” He took her hand and smiled.
“And I had you looking after me. I’m sure that helped, as well. You’re quite a capable woman, Myrtle. God has given you the talent of healing.”
He released her hand and Myrtle blushed. Beaming, she stood up and almost tripped over the chair. Esther turned around and Levi noticed she was hiding a grin behind her hand.
“Why don’t you be a dear, Myrtle, and run downstairs and get Mr. Stoltzfus some water? I’m sure he’s thirsty after his ordeal.”
Myrtle nodded, still blushing. “Yes, of course.”
She bustled out of the room and they heard her humming as she went down the stairs.
“You’re quite the flirt, Mr. Stoltzfus. I reckon Myrtle is quite smitten with you.”
Levi chuckled. “Thank you, Mrs. Laudry. Thank you for letting me use your home. I’m sorry for what I brought into it. I know that my ways are not your own, and I respect that. I’ll be out of your hair within the hour.”
“No. I’m the one who is sorry. I was wrong about you, Levi. You saved us. I may not agree with your methods, and I darn sure don’t understand everything that happened here last night, but I do know one thing. God sent you here. God has his hand on you, and he placed you here in Brinkley Springs so that you could confront those demons.”
“Yes, I believe that He did.”
“This isn’t the first time such a thing has happened,either, is it?”
“No.”
Her expression turned sad. “That must be a very lonely existence.”
“No lonelier than Christ felt when he prayed in the garden the night before his crucifixion. I do what I’m called to do, Esther. It’s not like I have a choice.”
“Well, I thank God for you, Mr. Stoltzfus.”
“Thank you.” He paused. “Are you okay?”
Esther dabbed at her eyes with her sleeve. When she spoke again, her voice was thick with emotion.
“I don’t know. I lived here all my life, and now . . . it’s all gone. Brinkley Springs was dying before they came. I knew that. Another ten or fifteen years and this would have been a ghost town. But still, I never imagined it would die like this. Murdered. All those people, folks I’ve known for years. Still, it would have been worse had you not been here.”