“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.”
He turned his back on her and began walking once more.
“Levi?”
He responded without looking back.
“Believe, Maria. The sun will rise and you will never have reason to fear the dark again.”
And then he was gone.
Ken blinked. “Where the hell did he go?”
Fighting back tears, Maria shrugged.
“He disappeared into thin fucking air. I don’t believe it.”
“I do.” Maria wiped her eyes. “That’s not the weirdest thing I’ve seen him do.”
Ken put his arm around her, awkwardly at first, but then with more confidence. Maria leaned against him. Ken glanced around, but Levi was still absent.
“Who the hell is he, really?”
“I don’t know,” Maria whispered. “I thought I did, but I just don’t know.”
The police sirens drew closer.
“Jesus,” Ken muttered. “Jesus fucking Christ…”
Levi walked home in the darkness, with only his ghosts to keep him company. They followed along behind him, hovering in the corners of his vision. He knew from experience that if he turned to look, they’d vanish. The only time he saw them clearly was when he went to sleep.
Like always, his ghosts cried out in anguish and anger. They threatened and cajoled, but Levi kept walking. He’d learned over time to ignore them. But now, a new voice had been added to the cacophony. A new ghost.
“Be still, Adam,” he whispered. “Be still.”
Levi sighed. He still had a long way to go, and it would be a long time before the sunrise. This night seemed endless. Walking the line between the two, he disappeared into the black.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
This book is a follow-up to my novel Dark Hollow. Although knowledge of that book’s events are not necessary to enjoy this book, you might want to seek it out after you’ve read this one. Also, although many of the Central Pennsylvanian locations in this novel are real, I have taken certain fictional liberties with them. So if you live there, don’t look for your favorite Halloween attraction. You might not survive it….
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This time around, thanks go to:
The Muse and The Familiar—Cassandra and Sam.
The Magic Words—Don D’Auria and everyone else at Dorchester.
The Circle of Protection—Edward Lee, Tom Piccirilli, J.F. Gonzalez, Shane Ryan Staley, Kelly Laymon, Michael Laimo, Bryan Smith, Wrath James White, Maurice Broad-dus, Nate Southard, Tim Lebbon, Christopher Golden, James A. Moore, Chet Williamson, Norman Partridge, Douglas E. Winter, F. Paul Wilson, Tom Monteleone, Nick Mamatas, Jack Haringa, Nick Kaufmann, Lee Thomas, Carlton Mellick, Bev Vincent, Joe Hill, Geoff Cooper, Mikey Huyck, and Mike Oliveri.
The Ritual of Banishing—Tod “T. C.” Clark, Kelli Dunlap, Mark “Dezm” Sylva, and John Urbancik.
The Ritual of Binding—my readers and the members of the F.U.K.U.
Special thanks to Big Joe Maynard; Bob Ford of Whutta Design Agency; and Lynn Butcher and Gerard Houarner for their technical assistance.
HIGH PRAISE FOR THE FIENDISHLY FRIGHTENING BRIAN KEENE!
“Keene keeps getting better and better. Given how damn good he was to start with… soon, he will become a juggernaut.”
“Dark Hollow is another frightening entry in Brian Keene’s already impressive arsenal. The book deftly combines emotional terror and grisly gore with Keene’s immensely readable prose to create a gripping novel sure to please longtime fans and new readers alike.”