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.”