Ghost Walk

“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.