Nodens swept over Adam, gorging itself on the man’s overwrought emotions.
Adam shivered in its cold caress. His body felt weak and weightless. He closed his eyes and moaned. When he opened his eyes again, all he saw was darkness. Something whispered in his ear. Then another. And another. His wife. His children. His friends and his dog. Each of them spoke to him, promising in detail the terrors and anguish that waited beyond.
Blinking the tears from his eyes, Levi watched.
Deep in the forest was a blue glow. It grew brighter and larger as it raced toward them, dispelling the darkness in its path. It reminded Levi of a freight train.
Nodens tried to flee the onrushing light, but was trapped by the lime. It tried to cross the barriers, tried to break free and return to the doorway and rejoin its other half—but it was too late. Already, the cold light had severed its link with the rest of its body, churning in the portal. Now the dazzling brilliance rolled forward. The darkness sizzled at its touch, dissipating like smoke.
Enraged, Nodens poured itself inside the man, Adam Senft. It was furious at this violation—angered that it would have to resort to seeking shelter inside one of the Creator’s toys, a bag of flesh and blood and pus. And all because of this little human with the beard. But it had no choice. The light devoured everything in its path, and Nodens grew weaker as it advanced.
Levi mouthed a silent prayer as the light bore down on them. He felt cold fingers dig through his mind, and knew that Nodens was aware of his presence. Sensing its rage and humiliation, Levi smiled.
“I bind and banish you according to the Law. You may not pass through the door. Go now and bother this Earth no more.”
Levi tensed.
The light crashed into them.
Nodens screamed with Adam’s mouth and then a blue sun burst to life and rose over the forest, before burning out. A few wisps of energy floated into the air, crackling in the silence that followed. Then they faded and the night returned.
The night returned—but the darkness was gone.
So was Adam Senft. Not a trace of either remained.
Still kneeling, Levi leaned forward and pressed his face into the ground. Twigs and stones dug at his flesh, but he didn’t care. Then, as tears rolled down his face, Levi slowly climbed to his feet and walked toward the gateway. He could feel its energies in the distance, pulling to him like a magnet.
Sobbing, he begged God and his father and Adam Senft for forgiveness.
And just like always, nobody answered.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Maria and Ken followed Levi’s voice. It echoed across the forest—strange words that had very few consonants. They left the trail and, after a short walk, they found him at a circle of standing stones, putting rocks covered with sigils into holes.
And crying.
Tears streamed down Levi’s dirty face. His face and hands were scratched and bloody. His eyes were red. His hat had fallen from his head. The brim was bent. Maria handed it to him while Ken helped him up. Levi thanked her, and put the hat back on his head.
Maria glanced around at the burned-out wasteland.
“This was LeHorn’s Hollow, wasn’t it?”
Levi nodded. “Part of it.”
“Where’s Adam?” she asked.
Levi didn’t respond. Instead, he placed the bloody palm of his right hand against each standing stone, leaving red handprints on them. Using his index finger, he drew symbols with the blood.
“There,” he said. “This gate is sealed and can be opened by none, except for the Gatekeeper. The entity has been bound and banished.”
He slowly walked toward the trail. Maria jumped in front of him.
“Hey! Not so fast, Levi. Where is Adam?”
“Gone.”
“What do you mean, gone? Did the darkness kill him?”
“No.” Levi shook his head. “I did.”
Maria stared, stunned. “W-what are you implying, Levi?”
“I’m not implying anything. I’m telling you. To bind and banish an entity as strong as the one we faced, a sacrifice is required. Adam was that sacrifice.”
“You…sacrificed him?”
Levi nodded. Then he brushed past her and continued through the woods, heading toward the trail. After a moment, they followed him. Levi remained silent, refusing to answer their questions.
Eventually, they reached the Ghost Walk. The path seemed normal again. There was no blue glow, no sparks of energy. The lines of lime were just that—lime. But neither were there any dead bodies. Maria and Ken had heard people screaming, heard the slaughter taking place in the woods. But the trail was swept clean. They were gone, just like Adam. Even the bloodstains were missing.
Upon reaching the exit, Levi stepped out into the field, mumbling to himself. His head hung low and his feet dragged wearily. Maria and Ken ran after him.
“Levi…”
He didn’t turn around.
“Levi!” Maria shouted. “Goddamn it, look at me!”
Sighing, he turned. “Please don’t take that name in vain, Maria. I’ve asked you before.”
“You…” She shook with rage. “You killed an innocent man.”
“Adam Senft was far from innocent. You said so yourself.”
“That doesn’t matter.”
“Doesn’t it? Look around us. Is the night closing in on us?
Is the darkness breeding? No, it’s not. I’ve rid us of the threat—sealed the gate and saved this planet and everyone on it, including you. Billions of lives versus the life of one damned soul. Are you telling me the sacrifice wasn’t worth it? That one man’s life is more valuable than the lives of everyone on Earth?”
Ken cleared his throat. “Sounds like Wrath of Khan to me. I didn’t know Amish people watched Star Trek.”
Levi regarded him coldly. Then he turned back to Maria.
“I did what I had to do, Maria. I did what the Lord required of me. I’m a soldier. He asked me to do it, so that none of you would have to. I get to live with that. I get to suffer so that you won’t. That’s my ghost. I’ve freed you of yours.”
“What kind of a God would ask you to do such a thing?”
“My God—the same as your God. You still believe, don’t you?”
Maria didn’t answer him.
Levi turned again and strode away. His muscles ached and his bones were sore. He sighed. It was a long walk back to Lancaster and it would be an even longer time before he could rest. First he would need to cleanse himself upon arrival. Then he had to tend to Dee and Crowley.
“Levi,” Maria called. “Come back. We’re not finished yet.”
He paused.
“What, Maria?”
“You asked me what I believe in? I believed in you.”
He nodded his head sadly. “Yes, you did. And before you met me, you believed in nothing. But that’s the thing with belief, Maria. It’s easy to believe in something when it doesn’t require anything from you. It’s much harder, though, when the object of your belief requires something of you or asks for something you don’t want to give. That’s when real belief occurs.”
She stared at him, speechless. In the distance, police sirens wailed. Ken glanced from Levi, to Maria, and then back again.
“What do you believe?” Levi repeated. “Do you believe in ghosts?”
She hesitated, thinking of her parents and how they’d appeared in the darkness.
“No. I think we make our own ghosts.”
Levi asked a third time. “Then what do you believe in? You don’t believe in ghosts. Your belief in me has been shattered. What’s left? Do you believe in God—in Allah? His voice spoke to you, after all. Was that enough to strengthen your belief?”
“I…I don’t know what to believe anymore.”
He smiled, sadly. “Well, look at the bright side, Maria. In a few hours, the sun will rise. You can have faith in that. Believe in it. The sun doesn’t require much. There are no sacrifices to be made in its name. Every morning, the sun rises and reminds you that it exists, so you can believe in it without hardship.”