Book Description
A Demon Hunter with a gift that becomes a curse. A Demon that hunts the hunter. A thrilling tale of darkness and vengeance for fans of the TV series 'Supernatural'.
"James (Lambs Among Wolves) makes a familiar trope fresh in this gripping horror novel ... a thrilling game of supernatural cat and mouse." - Publishers Weekly
Drew Price has a gift, or perhaps a curse.
When a demon possesses a person, Drew can see the horrific-looking demon that dwells within. This ability has made him a demon hunter, armed with the one weapon that can send these fiends back to Hell; the demon dagger.
A demon named Nicobar sets its sights on punishing this hunter. It starts by taking the soul of Drew’s son, condemning the boy to life as a psychopath.
This fast-paced, chilling novel follows Drew’s attempt to save his son’s soul and then use the blade to end Nicobar’s time on Earth.
Book Extract
Drew,” the doctor said, “you need to know that I believe you. I don’t believe that you think you saw monsters, but I believe that you did see monsters. I’m going to have someone talk to you who has specific expertise in this kind of matter.”
The doctor got up and went to the side door. He opened it and on the other side was a similar office with the same furniture layout. The shades were drawn, the lights on low.
“C’mon in,” a voice said from the other room.
Drew walked through the door to see a man standing beside the couch.
Despite the dusky light, Drew could see that this man was no psychiatrist. At least he sure didn’t look like one. Six feet tall with dark black skin, he wore a tight red T-shirt that stretched over muscles honed by hours of training. His black jeans tapered down to cover a pair of worn cowboy boots. High cheekbones and a trim goatee accentuated his narrow face. His shaved head glistened.
Drew crossed the room and eased himself down into one of the chairs. The man sat down in the chair opposite him. Drew sat up straighter.
“Hey, Drew,” he said. He smiled and his teeth practically glowed within his silky black goatee. “My name’s Lincoln.”
“You’re no psychiatrist.”
“Not even close. But you don’t need one. You haven’t seen these monsters as you call them until recently, right?”
“For a few months. I waited a long time to tell anyone because, well, look what happens when you tell people you see invisible creatures out of a horror movie.”
Lincoln pulled out his phone and called up a picture. He showed it to Drew. “Your monsters look like this?”
The picture was of a painting of a monster just like the one’s he’d seen. Horrific as the picture was, Drew couldn’t help but smile.
“Yes! Exactly like that! Someone else has seen them?”
“Hundreds of people over thousands of years,” Lincoln said. He put his phone in his lap. “It’s an awful gift to join their ranks.”
“No kidding.”
“You don’t know the half of it.” Lincoln leaned forward. “You aren’t seeing monsters, Drew. You’re seeing people possessed by demons.”
“Like angels-and-demons demons?”
“If you want to believe that story. The tale is that the archangel Lucifer led a rebellion in Heaven. No one wins a battle with God. Lucifer and his rebel angels were cast out into a place God specifically created for them, Hell.”
“I saw a movie like that once.”
“And that story might just be someone’s way of explaining the inexplicable. What I know is true is that these demons live in another plane of existence. Sometimes they escape to here and possess people. And here is way nicer. Hell is basically in a roiling sea of burning oil and tar.”
“Which is why the demon’s skin is black and charred?”
“Exactly. And these demons you see aren’t invisible to everyone else. The rest of us see the person the demon possessed.”
“I’m the only one seeing the real deal?”
“You and others with your gift. In fact, if you’re close enough to one, you’ve noticed that you can smell it. Some nasty combination of sulphur and burned meat. If you hear one scream in pain or anger, it might not sound human at all.”
“And what do they want?”
“They are stealing the essence of what makes humans different from other animals, what a lot of people call a soul. The energy of the soul keeps the demon alive on Earth. After the soul is digested, the demon has to take another soul. Otherwise, it slips back into Hell.”
All of this explanation was making Drew’s head hurt. “I don’t understand all this.”
“And you aren’t going to. Not for a while. There’s a lot to learn. What you need to know is this isn’t your imagination. The demons you’re seeing are real. And they are dangerous. Whatever you do, don’t acknowledge that you can see them as they really are. For now, we’ll keep that to ourselves until you can learn more about protecting yourself.”
“How will I do that?”
“First, you’re going to leave this office and as far as your mother knows, you’re cured. You don’t ever mention seeing demons again. The doctor is going to call your mother in first, explain that his hypnosis therapy cured you.”
“She’ll like that.”
“Then he’ll recommend redirected rehabilitation, basically learning some technical skills to get your mind working in new directions. He’s going to recommend me, a man with a good track record in the Big Brothers program. You and I are going to start meeting each week between the end of school and your mother getting home from work.”
Drew’s friends list was pretty short, and after school sports wasn’t a thing for him, so he was going to have no problem working Lincoln into his schedule.
“We’ll start tomorrow,” Lincoln said. “Don’t be late. You’ve got a lot to learn.”
Author Bio
Russell James grew up on Long Island, New York and spent too much time watching late night horror.
After flying helicopters with the U.S. Army and a career as a technical writer, he now spins twisted tales best read in daylight, including horror thrillers Dark Inspiration, Q Island, and The Playing Card Killer.
He authored the Grant Coleman Adventures series starting with Cavern of the Damned and the Ranger Kathy West series starting with Claws.
He resides in sunny Florida. His wife reads his work, rolls her eyes, and says "There is something seriously wrong with you."
Follow him at:
Twitter: https://www.facebook.com/RRJames14/
Wesbite: http://www.russellrjames.com/
Purchase Link
Amazon: https://geni.us/p2lB9
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