“Are you sure about this?” Adam asked Levi. “I mean, maybe we should get a couple shotguns or something. Maybe some chainsaws. They worked okay when me and my friends did this.”
“They’ll do us no good this time.”
“Okay.” Adam shrugged. “It’s your funeral.”
“No,” Levi whispered, “it isn’t.”
The four of them stepped onto the trail and plunged into the forest. Ken stopped before he’d taken a dozen steps. The others halted behind him.
“Jesus,” he wheezed. “Look how dark it is in there. I can’t see shit. The flashlight doesn’t even penetrate.”
“That’s because it isn’t a normal darkness,” Levi said, hunkering down on his haunches and staring at the path.
“It’s so quiet,” Maria whispered. “What do you think is happening, Levi?”
He didn’t respond. Instead, he examined the ground closely, running his hands across it. “What are these white lines?”
Frowning, Ken glanced back at him. “It’s lime. We use it to line the trail, so people don’t wander off. It’s supposed to glow in the dark, but for some reason, it’s not doing a very good job tonight.”
Levi fell backward, landing on his ass. He began to laugh. The sudden outburst surprised the others.
“Are you okay?” Maria asked, concerned.
“What’s so funny?” Ken demanded.
“Lime! Oh, this is perfect. Better than I could have ever hoped for. This, my friends, is a testimony to the power of prayer.”
Ken glanced at Maria. “What’s he going on about?”
She shook her head.
Levi gazed upward. “Thank you, Lord! Thank you for this boon.”
“LeHorn used lime,” Adam said. “I remember, from his journal. He used lime in one of the banishing spells, when he tried to cleanse the hollow.”
“That is correct.” Levi stood up and brushed the dirt from his pants. “He did indeed. Although lime is not as powerful as salt, it can be used as a substitute. All you have to do is charge it properly.”
While Levi examined the lime, Ken turned back to the trail and took another tentative step forward. He thought he sensed movement in the darkness, but he couldn’t see anything. He stared harder, trying to peer beyond the black curtain. There it was again—movement, a slight tremor. But from what?
Then his eyes widened.
It was the darkness itself.
As he watched, it crept toward them, slowly, excruciatingly, as if it were a rubber band stretched to its limit.
Noticing his reaction, Maria and Adam followed Ken’s gaze. Maria gasped and Adam screamed, dropping the bag of salt. It split open, spilling onto the ground.
“That’s it!” Adam shrieked. “He Who Shall Not Be Named! It waits at the heart of the Labyrinth like a big tumor, infecting the universe. And now it’s here!”
Maria grabbed Ken’s shoulder and tried to pull him backward, but he remained rooted to the spot, staring as the darkness crept closer.
“Ken,” she urged, “come on!”
“It’s moving slowly,” Levi said.
“Not slow enough for me,” Maria replied.
Adam ran to the edge of the forest.
“It’s sluggish,” Levi insisted. “Which means that it’s extended to its limits. It won’t be able to go much farther until the barriers are down. We still have time. Maria, Mr. Ripple—get behind me. Adam, come here. I need your help.”
“No thanks,” Adam called. “I’m fine right here. You go ahead. Work your voodoo.”
“Adam,” Levi insisted, “you promised that you’d help me. You agreed that you owed it to your loved ones. Now I need you to honor that promise—and to honor their memories.”
“I can’t. I’m…
“We’re all afraid, Adam. But this is what we’ve been called to do. Now please, come here. You have to trust me.”
“Trust you?”
“Yes. I’ve helped you so far, haven’t I?”
Adam slowly approached him, while Maria tried to drag Ken away. Ken shrugged free of her and pointed at the darkness.
“Look!”
