Ghost Walk

“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.”

Still standing on the path, Adam whirled around. “It wasn’t my fault.”

“Then whose fault was it?”

“It was God’s fault!”

“No!” Levi shouted. “It was your fault! How dare you blame Him? He gave you everything. Your wife. Your dog. Your friends and family. And how did you repay that kindness? By leading them to their deaths and then blaming Him. You disgust me.”

“Shut up, Levi. You just shut the hell up, right now!”

“God didn’t do this to you, Adam Senft. You did this to yourself. And now you’re damned.”

Adam snarled, clenching his fists. “You motherfucking son of a bitch! I’ll fucking kill you!”

He charged, running at Levi with his head down and fists raised. His lips were pulled back, revealing gritted teeth. Levi remained sitting, not moving from his spot on the other side of the entrance. When Adam’s foot came in contact with the line of salt, he screamed, flying backward through the air and crashing to the trail with a thud.

“Oh, no,” Levi whispered. “Not this time. You already broke one circle. You don’t get to break another one.”

Groaning, Adam sat up. “Let me out of here. You hear me, motherfucker? I said let me out of here.”

Levi shook his head. “I’m sorry, Adam, but I’m afraid that’s impossible. It’s too late. Look at the darkness.”

Stumbling to his feet, Adam turned and stared down the trail. The entity was moving again. It swirled like mist, coalescing into different shapes.

“You’re not a man,” Levi goaded, trying to stoke Adam’s fears higher. “You’re nothing. You failed as a writer, as a husband, as a father, and as a friend. You’re not a protector. You’re a joke. You couldn’t save your wife or your children. And now, you can’t even save yourself.

“Look at it, Adam! Everyone that you damned. Tara. Big Steve. Merle Laughman. Dale Haubner. Cliff Swanson. Cory Peters. Paul and Shannon Legerski. Shelly Carpenter. Leslie Vandercamp and her boyfriend, Michael Gitleson. Officer Al Uylik. All dead because of your arrogance. Because of your incompetence. Their families grieve while you shirk the blame. Look upon your works, magus. Go on! Look into the darkness and stare upon your ghosts.”

Adam’s screams echoed across the forest and field. He shrank away, pressing against the invisible barrier behind him. The darkness rushed forward, flowing along the trail.

Levi’s voice rose in pitch and drowned out Adam’s wails.

“Eloim shammanta. Barra, Gigum xul. Barra, Maskim xul. Ia idimmu, descente Shtar. Destrato Nud. Destrato Verminus. Destrato Nuada.”

“Get back!” Adam screamed. “Levi, help me! Let me out!”

“Destrato Lud. Destrato Shub-Niggurath. Destrato Pahad. Destrato Lilitu. Destrato Lamashtu. Destrato Othel. Sator opera verminni. Sator opera fhatagn.”

Levi paused, watching. Attracted by the magnitude of Adam’s fears and guilt, Nodens was focusing on the distraught man, attracted by his boiling emotional energies. As it narrowed the distance between them, stretching to the very limits of its current boundaries, the entity condensed its mass, shrinking down and thickening. Without taking his eyes off it, Levi reached down and grabbed a candle with each hand. Then he touched the flames to the lime. Immediately, the darkness solidified inside the lines, occupying the Ghost Walk and withdrawing from the surrounding woods. The portion of Nodens that was left in the gateway retreated inside the portal.

“Got you.” There was no glee in Levi’s voice.

Levi had effectively split the entity in two. The earthbound portion was trapped inside the Ghost Walk. The rest, he knew, was cowering on the other side of the doorway, weakened and—for the first time in eons, he hoped— afraid.

“Levi,” Adam begged, “please don’t do this. Don’t do this to me.”

“For what it’s worth, Mr. Senft. I am sorry.”

The darkness spoke.

Adam…

“Tara,” Adam whispered. “Baby, I’m so sorry…”

“Maria!” Levi yelled. “Ken! Do it now!”

He turned back to Adam and watched him writhe as the darkness slithered over him. Adam’s cries died in his throat.

The darkness hovered in front of him, savoring his emotions. Then, overcome with hunger, Nodens began to feed. Levi turned away.

“God forgive me,” he wept. “God, please forgive me…”

“It sounds like they’re fighting,” Ken said. “Maybe we should go back over there.”