A Gathering of Crows (34 page)

“You. You’re stopping them.”

“How?”

Levi pulled out his copy of
The Long Lost Friend
and handed it to him. “All you have to do is stand firm. They can’t hurt you as long as you have this. If they go for you first—and understand, that is unlikely—then you’ll only need to stall them long enough for me to get their attention. But I don’t think that will happen. I think they’ll come in the front door, see me and let their anger and hatred consume them. In fact, I’m counting on it.”

“But without the book, they’ll rip you to pieces.”

Levi smiled. “They didn’t get me back at Axel’s house, and I’m confident that they won’t get me here. I still have a few other tricks up my sleeve. And again, that’s where you come in. I need you to hide on the stairwell. When they come in, wait until all five have gone past you. Then, I need you to sneak down the stairs behind them and salt both the front door and the bottom of the stairwell. Do the door first. Then the stairs.”

“And they won’t be able to get upstairs.”

“Exactly. Nor will they be able to leave.”

Donny shook his head. “I don’t know, Levi. This sounds like suicide to me.”

“I need to have them all in one spot. This is the only way to do that.”

“What happens after you’ve got them in here? What are you going to do? A big magic battle?”

“Hardly. Nothing so cinematic. That only happens in Harry Potter. The truth is, I still don’t know how to fight them.”

Donny’s heart sank. He gaped at Levi, speechless. After a moment, he ran a hand across his head, feeling his scalp tingle beneath his buzz cut.

“So . . . all of this is what? A bluff? A lie? Something just to make the others feel safe? Are we gonna die?”

“No.” Levi’s paused, and then softened his tone. “No, not if I can help it. I don’t know how to defeat them for good, but I do know how to make them someone else’s problem. If my plan goes accordingly, they won’t trouble our world again. They’re revenants, but of a type previously unknown to me. When we’re done, I can search for their physical forms— probably buried in a grave somewhere near the original Roanoke Colony. Usually, if you destroy a revenant’s physical remains, you destroy its spiritual form, as well. I’m hoping that rule will apply to our adversaries.”

“It damn well better.”

Levi leaned against the wall. His shoulders sagged. He seemed tired. When he looked at Donny again, he seemed ten years older.

“Go upstairs,” Levi said. “Join the others. But be ready. After you’ve completed your task, do not cross the lines of salt—for any reason—until you hear from me again. Now, I must pray for God’s guidance and strength. When I’m done, I’ll let them know where we are.”

Donny nodded. He started to leave and then hesitated. Turning, he thrust out his hand. Levi shook it.

“Good luck,” Donny whispered.

“May the Lord protect us all,” Levi answered.

Then Donny went upstairs and waited for Levi to ring the dinner bell.

***

After Donny was gone, Levi quickly went to the pantry door. He placed his forehead and palms against it, closed his eyes and murmured a prayer in a language not spoken on Earth. Slowly, the light returned and began to creep out from beneath the door again. Then the light changed color, first turning red and then pale blue, before settling on a sickly grayish hue. When Levi straightened up again and pulled his hands away from the door, they were shaking. His forehead was bathed in sweat. He placed his hand on the doorknob. It was warm and wet. He turned it, opening the door just an inch. More light leaked through.

He pulled out his cigarette lighter and, one by one, lit the bowls of sage. The thick, pleasant aroma quickly filled the house. Levi breathed deep, drawing strength from it. His aches and pains vanished. His mind was soothed. He patted his vest pockets and discovered that at some point during the night’s battles, he’d lost his knife. With no time to mourn the loss, he selected a steak knife from one of Esther’s kitchen drawers and stood beneath the front door. Gritting his teeth, he turned his right-hand palm upward and sliced it open with the knife, moaning slightly from the pain and hoping the others wouldn’t hear him. Then he made another cut, forming an X pattern in his flesh. Blood flowed over his hand and splattered onto the floor. It streamed down his wrist and crept beneath his shirtsleeve. Grimacing, Levi held up his red right hand and smeared blood over the words written above the door. He did this three times, moving from left to right, as if he were painting. Then, he stood back and surveyed his handiwork. Satisfied that the words were obscured, Levi opened the front door.

“Get ready,” he called to Donny as he hurried back to the kitchen. “They’ll be coming now.”

As if in confirmation, the creatures’ cries echoed across the town. Levi sat cross-legged in front of the pantry door, lit by the glow coming from the other side, and squeezed his wrist, hoping to stanch the flow of blood.

He did not have to wait long. His foes arrived within minutes. They made no attempt to mask their approach. Their cries and threats preceded their arrival. Even so, he felt their presence long before they reached the house. The sensation filled him with loathing . . .

. . . and terror. A terror he hadn’t felt in quite some time. He focused on his breathing and tried not to panic. He needed to keep his thoughts clear and his will strong. Was it his imagination, or was the scent of the sage fading?

“Your will be done, Lord.”

Shadows moved in the open doorway. There was a sibilant hiss, and then all five entities appeared. They paused, standing at the threshold. One of them sniffed the air.

“Sage, and salt. And blood. We know these ingredients. What paltry trick do you cling to now, Levi, son of Amos?”

“No trickery,” he called. “The way is open to you. Enter freely and of your own will. I give you my word that I will not harm you in this place.”

The creatures hesitated for another moment. Levi worried that they might not take the bait. Then, one by one, they entered the home.

The tallest pointed. “The remainders are clustered upstairs. See to them, that our work here might be done.”

Levi’s pulse increased. “Why? Are you afraid to face me instead?”

“Do not try our patience, bearded one.”

“I seek not to offend, but I must admit that I’m perplexed. The others cannot harm you, and yet you focus on them first. I would think that instead, you would wish to deal with me first. After all, I’m the real threat.”

The five shadowed figures crept closer, nearing the stairs. Levi held his breath, hoping they wouldn’t divert, and hoping Donny could hold his ground if they did.

“Your arrogance will be your undoing, little magus.”

“And your self-assuredness will be yours. It always is for your kind. Greater is He that is in me, than he that is in the world.”

“
He
has forsaken you. He has forsaken all of you.”

“He has done no such thing.”

That’s it,
Levi thought.
Keep coming. Just a few more steps . . .

The creatures halted at the stairs. Two of them glanced up, sniffing the air. One licked his lips.

“My God is stronger than yours,” Levi taunted. “You know this to be true. I serve the one true God.”

“Your God has no power over us, and neither do you.”

“If that’s true, then face me, cowards.”

That did it.
Levi grinned.

Snarling, the revenants forgot about the humans upstairs and stalked toward him. Their eyes and teeth flashed in the darkness. The air grew colder and the gloom seemed to deepen. Levi shivered. Beyond them, he saw a figure sneak down the stairs, moving silently, and dart toward the front door.

Thank you, Lord. Just a moment longer.

The dark men entered the kitchen. Levi remained still, projecting calm. His legs were still crossed. He held out his hands, palms up.

“Now,” he said, smiling up at them. “I guess you’re wondering why I’ve called you here.”

One of the figures raked its talons along the wall. “Enough of this. You’ve stalled long enough. Now you die.”

“Go ahead, Levi,” Donny shouted.

The revenants turned at the sound of his voice, just as Donny fled up the stairs. Two of them raced over to the stairwell, but halted when they reached the salt.

“What is this?”

“It’s salt.” Levi stood up again. He was still grinning.

“You’ll note that it now covers all entrances and exits from this place. I know it’s not really a sphere, but according to the Law, it still counts as a circle.”

The figure closest to Levi smiled. “Very good, little magus. This was unexpected.”

“Thank you. I like to think on my feet.”

“Of course, it is a futile gesture. There is one thing you didn’t consider, Levi, son of Amos. There is one crucial flaw in this pitiful attempt to defeat us.”

“Oh? And what’s that?”

“You are trapped in the circle with us.”

“No.” Levi’s smile vanished. “It’s you who are trapped in here with
me
.”

Levi sprang to his feet as they charged toward him. Everything now came down to timing and placement. He had to be exact, had to make it look natural, or all of his efforts would be for naught. He would die here, in this broken circle, and Meeble’s minions would win.

He darted to the left and ran toward the slightly open door, seemingly attempting to evade his attackers and get behind them. The ruse worked. They slammed into him in front of the pantry. Their talons and teeth slashed at him, ripping and tearing. Levi howled in pain as his blood began to flow. The creatures howled with him, shouting angry curses in a language not their own. Levi let his knees go weak, allowing their combined weight and the force of their attack to drive him backward. He prayed they’d come with him, and his prayer was answered. They clung tightly, their claws sinking deeper into his flesh. Half-blind from pain, Levi crashed into the pantry door and tumbled through to the other side. The revenants fell with him. They toppled to the ground together, but his opponents were too enraged to notice that their surroundings had changed. Biting his lip to stifle his screams, Levi lashed out with his foot and kicked the door shut.

Esther’s pantry vanished, taking the rest of the world with it.

Slowly, their attack ceased. One by one, they withdrew from him and stood, staring speechless at their new surroundings. Levi did the same. The overcast sky was filled with grayish-yellow clouds of mist so impressive in size that they almost appeared to be floating landmasses. The soft ground was spongy and slick. White, fibrous strands of what looked like peach fuzz sprouted from the surface. Moisture seeped through Levi’s clothing and when he pulled his hands away, his palms were wet. His skin felt slimy, as if he’d been grasping earthworms or slugs. The landscape was featureless, save for a variety of sickly gray and white toadstools, mushrooms and other fungi. Some were miniscule. Others were as tall as redwood trees. The air was thick with the smell of mildew. Far off in the distance, a black river of what looked like tar wound its way through the fungus. It was spanned by a cyclopean bridge made entirely of mold. Beyond that, on the horizon, great gray mountains towered into the poison sky. They were dreary looking and somehow obscene, and the sight of their peaks filled Levi with dread. A city composed of windowless black towers stood in their shadow. Atop the tallest mountain sat a giant geometric sculpture, a shining trapezoid that spilled light onto the valley below. Despite his immediate danger, Levi was awestruck by its size. He’d read of the monolith before, but to see it like this, to actually view the shining trapezoid . . . No written account did it justice.

The shadows stirred.