Maria paused. “Well, as I’m sure you know, there are other murders connected to the hollow.”
“So you’re writing about me, too? Me and Tara?”
“I…” Maria turned her eyes to the ground.
“You’re just another scavenger,” Adam accused. “Trying to make a buck from someone else’s pain and suffering.”
“No,” Maria insisted. “It’s not like that.”
“Please,” Levi said. “We can discuss all of this later, after we’ve gotten clear of the area. If they find us now, we’re all in trouble. We’ve got more important things to worry about.”
He turned to Adam.
“You said you wanted our help. We can give you that. Others can only imagine the pain you’re feeling. The things you’ve been through. But I don’t have to imagine them. I move in that world every day. Let me help you.”
“You said you needed my help, too.”
“I do,” Levi agreed. “Hylinus and the tree-spirits weren’t the only dangers in LeHorn’s Hollow. Something else is there now—an entity more powerful than either of those. It’s forcing its way into our world and if we don’t stop it by tomorrow night, then the horrors you faced will pale in comparison to what will happen to all life on this planet.”
“Jesus…” Adam rubbed his shaved head. “What can I do? I don’t have any special abilities. I don’t know any magic. Not anything useful, at least. All I did was fool around with those books we took from LeHorn’s house.”
“That’s how you can help,” Levi said. “The police never obtained LeHorn’s copy of
“A-another family lives there now?” Adam’s voice cracked.
“I’m sorry,” Levi apologized. “You hid the book, didn’t you?”
Adam nodded, his mouth working soundlessly.
“And these loose pages you mentioned—do you remember if some of them were inside the book?”
“Yeah,” Adam sighed. “About a half dozen of them, actually.”
Levi arched his eyebrows, surprised at this revelation, but he stayed quiet.
“They weren’t part of the book,” Adam continued, “but I kept them anyway. Didn’t understand a word of them, but they were sort of interesting to look at. There were some pretty gruesome drawings on them. That’s why I recognized that thing you did with the fire.”
“Thank you, Lord,” Levi whispered. “Your name be praised.”
“Excuse me?” Adam blinked.
“Do you remember where you hid the book?”
“Sure.”
“I need those pages, Mr. Senft.”
“Call me Adam. And that’s it? That’s all you need—the papers? That’s all I need to do to help?”
“Yes, Adam,” Levi said. “Just that, and one other thing.”
“What’s that?”
If Levi heard him, he gave no indication. Instead, he began leading them out of the underbrush and into the field. Maria heard him muttering to himself.
“A necessary evil…”
“Levi,” she called. “Wait up.”
They followed the magus into the field, stepping out into the night.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
It was almost midnight when the last of the Ghost Walk’s volunteers drove away. Ken, Terry, and Tom McNally stood in the center of the field, watching the taillights fade as the departing workers pulled out onto the road. The wide-open area now seemed very empty. The sudden silence was unsettling. In the darkness, it was easier to understand why the forest spooked some people.
“There’s still no sign of Cecil,” Tom said. “Unless he was here and I didn’t see him?”
Terry and Ken looked at each other and then shook their heads.
“I didn’t see him,” Terry said. “How about you?”
“Me either,” Ken agreed. “Although, with the spotlights and everything, it was kind of hard for me to pick people out of the crowd. You’re sure he didn’t tell you where he was going, Tom?”
“Nope. And his truck is still here. Don’t know how else he would have gotten home. Guess he could have caught a ride with someone else. But it seems like he would have at least told me first.”
All three of them glanced toward the parking area. Sure enough, Cecil’s old pickup truck was still sitting in the same spot, alongside Tom’s Dodge Charger, Terry’s Jeep, Ken’s truck, and Russ and Tina’s SUV. The thin moonlight reflected off the vehicles.
