Devil's Veil: The Devereaux Chronicles, #4

By Debbie Boek

Evil has pierced the veil between the living and the dead once again in this next installment of the Devereaux Chronicles.
 

Shelly Draper and her friends have no inkling of the danger that they are exposing themselves to when they foolishly hold a séance in the hall of mirrors of an abandoned amusement park, but they find out soon enough when those spirits follow them home.
 

Scott and Tim Devereaux will have to identify the type of entities that came through before they can send them back to hell and they begin their investigation by looking into the grisly deaths that closed down the park decades before.
 

However, someone wants to keep those secrets buried and is willing to do whatever they have to in order to prevent the Devereaux brothers from exposing the truth.
 

Other dangers are lurking even closer to home when a long-forgotten acquaintance returns and is looking for revenge. Scott and Tim's new nemesis has only one objective, which is to make their lives a hell on earth and finds the best way to accomplish that is by terrorizing Scott's new wife, Emma.
 

Torn between the mindless evil that has crossed over into their world and the vile intentions of their fellow human beings, will Scott and Tim manage to be in the right place at the right time in order to protect their family and friends?
 

Or will someone have to be sacrificed so that the others can be saved?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Wolf Rider Publishing
• Release date: Jul 14, 2020
• ISBN: 9781734248227

Debbie Boek

Debbie Boek is an independent author who lives in upstate New York. She has published three books in the Devereaux Chronicles series, Devil’s Bait, Devil’s Retribution and Devil’s Gathering. They are supernatural thrillers with different spirits or cryptids in each story, ghosts, demons, witches, and even Bigfoot come to visit. She has also published three historical romance novels, Sommers’ Folly, If Not For The Knight and When The Knight Falls. Although her original passion was for historical romances, horror in general, and ghost stories more specifically, are her favorite, which is how the Devereaux Chronicles series came to be. Even though she has a great deal of fun writing the Devereaux Chronicles, she does periodically have to return to her roots to research and write another historical romance novel.

Book preview

Prologue July 1999

The two girls were giggling as they approached the funhouse, grabbing each other’s arm and checking out of the corner of their eyes to see if any of the teenage boys in the vicinity were watching them.

Both Christina Thompson and Shannon Reeve had been best friends for the past nine years. Their bond had formed the same day that Shannon’s family had moved in next door to Christina’s and all of their fellow students knew that it was unlikely to ever see one of them without the other.

Christina was just a few months older than Shannon, whose Sweet Sixteen party would take place in less than two weeks. Her parents had gone all out for it and rented the VFW Hall and they’d even sprung for a DJ.

The two girls had spent hours planning the playlist and most evenings they were in one bedroom or the other practicing their dance moves to their favorites, Livin’ La Vida Loca and, of course, What a Girl Wants. They watched her video so many times that they had Christina Aguilera’s moves down perfectly, or so they thought.

Both girls were slim and athletic, with long brown hair worn in a similar style. Shannon’s was just a little lighter and thicker, but it was her blue eyes that really set her apart.

Christina’s were hazel and she wore glasses that tended to hide the glint in her eye that gave away her penchant for mischief.

What do you think, Christina? It looks kind of spooky. The two girls were standing in front of the blood-red demon head that rose two stories into the air in front of them. The entranceway to the funhouse was a dark hallway in through its mouth.

Christina couldn’t tear her eyes away from the scary countenance of the demon and shivered as goosebumps rose on her arms.

Maybe we shouldn’t go in there, after all, she said, and Shannon looked at her in surprise. Christina was the braver of the two and never hesitated to try anything different or challenging.

Don’t tell me that you’re scared. I thought you were going to laugh at me because I think it’s creepy.

I just have this weird feeling. Something feels funny and I can’t explain it.

She pulled a long strand of hair around her face and into her mouth as she contemplated the monstrosity in front of them. Then she wrapped the damp piece of hair around her ear and turned to look at the mid-way.

The sun was getting lower in the sky and, although the rides were all still running and the carousel music filled the air, the park would be closing shortly and the crowds were already thinning.

Christina could still smell the hot dogs and popcorn, but the employees in the snack shacks were turning off their appliances and starting to clean up their serving areas.

The girls lived in a different part of Pennsylvania, a little over an hour away, and Christina had to beg her older sister, Candy, to bring them here for the day. Even then, she hadn’t been able to get her agreement to do so until she’d forked over three weeks’ worth of babysitting money for gas, which was totally unfair because Candy brought some of her own friends and they didn’t have to pay a dime.

This is our only chance and it’s the one thing we haven’t tried today. Your sister will be after us to leave soon. What do you think?

The two girls studied each other, trying to muster their courage and enter the demon’s mouth.

After exhaling a deep breath, Christina said, Okay, let’s go.

They gave their tickets to Missy, who had spent her entire summer standing in that same spot, mindlessly taking tickets from children for the funhouse and dropping them into a box. It was beyond boring, but at least she was getting paid for it.

Missy snapped her gum impatiently as she watched the two girls take their time stepping onto the devil’s tongue and into the darkness of the funhouse.

Her boyfriend had shown up early and she could see him pacing restlessly over near the carousel so Missy checked her watch once more.

After peering into the darkness of the funhouse, she confirmed that the girls had made their way through the first section.

No one else had gone through the funhouse for over a half an hour and it was so close to closing time that Missy decided that it wouldn’t hurt anything if she shut down a few minutes early.

She grabbed the velvet rope and secured the gold clasps to the stanchions on either side of the Demon’s mouth, blocking off the entrance.  

The funhouse was now officially closed and she was off duty. Bobby was still inside operating the Devil’s Wheel, he would make sure those last two girls made their way through with no problems.

Missy hurried over to her boyfriend and leapt up into his arms, wrapping her legs around him as he covered her face and neck with kisses.

What Missy had no way of knowing was that Bobby had snuck out back for a cigarette and wasn’t aware that anyone else had entered the funhouse.

This was Bobby’s first summer holding down a real job and every day about this time, things slowed down considerably, and he would start to get very bored. He stubbed out his cigarette and wandered around to the front so he could shoot the shit with Missy until closing time.  

Bobby never wore a watch and was pleasantly surprised when he saw that the funhouse was now closed, and Missy was nowhere to be found. He shouted hallelujah and headed for the parking lot.

The fact that the other rides were still going didn’t register with him. The maintenance guy always checked each building and ride at the end of the day and would shut the power off and close everything up, so Bobby just enjoyed the fact that it was Friday and, therefore, time to head out for some fun.

Meanwhile, Christina and Shannon were still slowly meandering through the funhouse. They held onto each other’s arms, giggling nervously as they made their way through the optical illusions, letting go of each other only to grab hold of the rope railing on the swinging walkway, so that they wouldn’t lose their balance completely.

They laughed at each other as they made their way through the different obstacles and screamed excitedly when skeletons, clowns or even just hearty puffs of air would explode out of the walls and scare them silly.

What’s this? Shannon asked.

The sign says, Devil’s Wheel. It was a large, round platform encircled by padding. Do you think we should try it?

I don’t know, what do you think?

No guts, no glory. Christina jumped up onto it and tried to maintain her balance as the circle moved up and down, it got even more difficult when Shannon joined her. Since there was no funhouse employee to activate the Wheel for the girls, they jumped on opposite sides of it, using it almost like a trampoline to cause the other to lose their balance.

The fun ended abruptly when Christina fell hard onto the wooden platform and banged her funny bone.

Ow, that hurt. Stop it already, I’m done.

Gee, I’m sorry, Christina, let me help you down.

The only room left was the Hall of Mirrors and they started giggling again as they wandered through the maze of tall mirrors.

Both of them were caught up in posing before the different mirrors to watch how distorted their reflections were and didn’t realize they’d wandered down separate parts of the maze.

What did you say? Shannon asked, when she heard an odd noise coming from the other side of the mirror she was staring at. You should see this one, I look like a complete goof.

When she didn’t receive a response, Shannon began to feel uneasy. Her breath caught in her chest and her stomach started quivering nervously. The silence in the funhouse was now deafening and the only sound that registered with her was the faint music coming from the carousel.

Christina, she called out, walking slowly down the aisle of mirrors, ignoring the grotesque images that reflected out of them as she passed. What’s wrong, why aren’t you answering me?

As she turned the corner, she saw her friend lying completely still, face down on the floor and then someone grabbed her from behind, covering her mouth with their gloved hand before she even had a chance to scream.

CHAPTER 1

Damn, Scott exclaimed, as he slammed on the brakes and the Camaro slid to a halt. I really hope that wasn’t a person that I just hit.

You didn’t see what it was either? Tim asked, straining his eyes to try and detect any type of movement in front of their car. What was left of the headlights weren’t giving off much light and neither was the sliver of a moon above them.

No, it ran out in front of us so fast that I only got a quick glimpse of it before we made contact. This is the area that it’s been hunting in so let’s hope it was the creature. Get your gun out and let’s go see.

Whoa, Tim yelled suddenly, there it is. And it is not a person. At least, I don’t think so.

They stared through the windshield and watched in disbelief as it moved into their line of sight. At first, only its head was visible as it stared at them over the hood of the vehicle, it’s eyes glowing yellow from the reflection of the one unbroken headlight. Its head was wolf-like and covered in dark fur.

Tim blinked rapidly and rubbed his eyes, trying to come to terms with what he was seeing, as he watched the creature slowly rise up onto its two muscular back legs and stand up straight.

Definitely, a dogman. This one has got to be at least six, seven feet tall, don’t you think? Scott asked quietly.

Yeah, looks about right. What now?

As Scott opened his mouth to respond, the creature took off across the road. It was still able to move quicker than any human could, even though its heavy limp confirmed that the impact with the car had caused it considerable damage.

He’s heading into the cemetery, Scott said, putting the vehicle back into gear and parking it on the side of the road. It’s hurt so maybe we can catch up to it, come on, let’s go.

The two brothers stuffed their pistols into the waistbands of their jeans and grabbed rifles from the trunk of the car before hurrying across the road. They slowly made their way among the gravestones, watching for any type of movement.

Scott caught something out of the corner of his eye and his head snapped in that direction.

Over there, he yelled, pointing towards the taller, more expensive headstones. The two of them sprinted in that direction but slowed down when they got close.

They wandered around cautiously, rifles raised, but the creature had lost itself in the darkness and it was several minutes before they found any other sign of it.

Scott halted when he heard Tim’s low whistle and turned to see that he was holding up his hand with blood on his fingers, apparently left by the creature on one of the gravestones as it passed by.

Scott hadn’t quite reached him yet when the creature dove at Tim from his left side and knocked him ass over teakettle. It attacked silently until it got Tim on the ground, then began to growl and snarl viciously, its jaws snapping within inches of Tim’s face.

Tim struggled to keep hold of either side of its huge, hairy head, trying to keep it back as far as possible, but it was now close enough that the stink of its breath was overpowering.

The creature was not only in pain but was scared and angry. Therefore, it was also deadly and, as strong as Tim was, his grip was slipping and the huge canine teeth were getting closer and closer to his face.

With a deafening crack of Scott’s pistol, the dogman threw back its head and let loose a horrific howl. It turned its massive head towards Scott, its eyes glowing hatefully, looking as if it meant to attack, but its body gave out before it could. The creature fell silent and slumped forward onto Tim.

Spitting the rancid hair out of his mouth and forcefully shoving the carcass off of him, Tim was finally able to get out from underneath it and stand up.

Took you long enough. Did you use silver bullets? Tim asked, brushing the hair off his shirt and jeans, but unable to do anything about the blood splatter just now.

I had to wait for a good angle, so that I didn’t shoot you, too. And, yes, of course, my bullets are silver, aren’t yours?

No, that’s never been proven so I didn’t bother, he said, using the toe of his boot to check that there was no further life left in the creature. All the lore that I’ve read indicates that a dogman can be killed just like any other animal.

And you were willing to take that chance?

Yes, I was.

Then I’m glad it jumped you, not me. 

And I think the issue is still up for debate.

You’re such a dick, why would you take a chance like that with both of our lives? And just a few days before my wedding. Emma would kill you if you’d let me die at the hands, or paws, of that stupid dogman.

Tim started laughing as he turned towards his brother, he couldn’t help himself. The two of them had been hunting all manner of supernatural entities and paranormal cryptids since they were young. They relied on each other to have their back, to keep each other safe, because these creatures were deadly and the unforeseeable was their normal.

They’d safely managed to survive into their forties but neither had ever found the right woman to share their strange lives with. Until now. Scott met Emma Draper on a job several years before and fell in love with her.

His life was taking a major turn and, although Tim was happy for him, he couldn’t help but notice the toll it was taking on Scott mentally.

What is so freakin’ funny?

Calm down, Scott. I would never take a chance like that. Of course, I’m using silver bullets. It’s way too easy to yank your chain lately with all this wedding business approaching. 

It’s kind of a big deal, you know. I am glad this is our last case for a little bit though, I really am getting distracted lately.

Yeah, I’ve noticed. What’s the problem?

Scott ran his fingers roughly through his hair. In all honesty, I’m not sure that I’m up for this.

What do you mean? Tim asked, shining his powerful flashlight up and down the creature’s body, trying to get a better handle on exactly what it was. They’d never hunted a dogman before and his curiosity was peaked.

I’m kind of set in my ways, in case you hadn’t noticed. I know I can make it work with Emma but, having a kid, I don’t know about that. What kind of father am I going to be? I have no frame of reference, it’s not like we were raised like normal kids. I’m worried, Tim, really worried.

Tim turned and clasped him on the shoulder. Knock it off, Scott, you just have the wedding jitters. It’s a big step you’re taking, but Emma’s been through all of this before and she won’t hesitate to let you know when you’re screwing up. She’ll keep you in line.

Yeah, I guess you’ve got a point there, Scott acknowledged with a smile, forcing the doubts from his mind, but knowing they’d return, as they always did.

Come on, let’s get back to work. I’m glad we got this one out of the way. It’s funny, Tim said, his thoughts sobering as he stared down at furry beast at their feet, dogmen don’t usually attack humans. I wonder what happened with this one to give it a taste for people?

Guess, we’ll never know, but once it started, it wasn’t going to stop on its own. We had no choice. I’ll grab a shovel from the car and we can bury it along the outer edge of the cemetery, guess that’s as good a place as any.   

––––––––

I can’t believe that I let you guys talk me into this, Shelly Draper said softly, wiping the sweat off her forehead as she tried to avoid stepping in the deep cracks along the pavement.

It was a bright, summer day and the sun was high in the sky. The rest of their group was moving ahead of them, but Shelly took her time, not wanting to break her ankle out here in the middle of nowhere.

Where is your spirit of adventure? Madison asked, grabbing her elbow and pulling her along.

Stop it, I’m going to kill myself with these stupid sandals on. Would have been nice to know we were going to end up at this creepy, old place, so I could have dressed properly.

I thought I told you.

Well, you didn’t. It’s bad enough that you talked me into doing a séance, of all things, but here, in this hideous, abandoned old amusement park, that’s really pushing it.

It’s perfect, haven’t you heard about all the horrible things that happened here?

No, like what? Shelly’s dark blue eyes were clouded with worry. She’d had her own experience with the supernatural in the past and was not anxious to go through any of that again.

Shelly deeply regretted telling Madison about her house being haunted back when she was in high school, because that was what had inspired her to arrange for this little outing so they could do their own summoning. 

Madison was an only child and had a strong personality which could be overpowering at times. She tended to get whatever she wanted so, although Shelly had serious reservations about it, she didn’t want to let her friend down and had finally agreed to participate.

I’ll tell you when we’re all together, Madison replied mysteriously.

The bright sun hit the red highlights in her auburn hair and, although she was wearing sunglasses, Shelly knew from experience that Madison’s hazel eyes would be positively sparkling with mischief right now.

When they caught up to the others, Shelly pulled her arm out of Madison’s grasp and turned to stare at the old buildings and rides.

How awesome is this? Noah asked, turning in a circle and trying to get it all on video, his dark blue polo shirt and khaki shorts emphasizing his athletic physique.

Noah was Madison’s boyfriend and had taken charge of their little outing as soon as Madison suggested it. He was on the college baseball team and, although the fall term wouldn’t start for over a month, the team always came back early to start their practices.

Noah, Logan and Hunter all played on the team, which was why they’d gotten a late start today. It had annoyed Madison to no end that they had to wait until practice was done, but there was no other option.

She seemed now to be over that particular snit and her face was lit up with excitement as they prowled through the park. Shelly, however, continued to have reservations.

Won’t we get in trouble if we get caught? she asked.

Who would catch us? This old amusement park has been closed down for years, no one watches over it, anymore.

Why did they have a chain link fence around it and No Trespassing signs then?

You saw how rusted the fence was where we came through, Hunter replied. We could have used scissors on it if we had to. That’s how old and rotted it is.

The humidity was doing strange things to Hunter’s curly red hair and Shelly couldn’t help but think of Medusa every time that she looked at him, making it a little difficult to take him seriously.

Damn, check out at the rollercoaster, Logan said, his eyes rising into the sky, following the outline of the massive ride.

All the others turned in that direction, as well, their eyes following the tracks rising up like a backdrop to the ramshackle buildings along the midway.

It looked formidable in the distance but, if it was in the same condition as everything else that they’d run across since breaking in, it would be completely dilapidated and ready to fall down at the slightest touch.

Shelly turned in a slow circle, the wooden shacks and concession stands along the midway still stood, but the paint had peeled off most of them and the wooden overhangs were sagging or broken, all of the windows had either blown out or broken years ago.

Even the warm afternoon sunshine could not burn away the underlying sadness of the skeletal remains of this old amusement park.

Small trees were struggling up through the cracks in the pavement and, along with the weeds and grass, they had almost over-taken any visible asphalt.

Come on, let’s get a closer look at the rides, Logan said.

Joshua, another of Noah’s friends, had also joined them. He wasn’t a college student but worked at a local body shop. He’d gotten to know Noah at the end of last semester when he had to work on Noah’s SUV a couple of times, and they’d struck up a friendship. 

The four men headed out into the field towards the broken-down rides.

Shall we join them? Shelly asked, looking first at Madison and then at Liz.

All three of them were also students at the same university and shared an apartment year-round, which allowed them to keep their freedom, even in the summer months.

Why not? Madison replied. Her eyes lingered on Noah as he led his merry band of men off towards the Ferris Wheel.

Once they reached the huge structure, the group stood with their necks craned to stare up at what was left of the rickety old ride. Some of the seats had broken and were dangling sideways. There was a tree that had grown almost half-way up the side of it and many others that hadn’t quite reached that height yet.

I don’t like this, Madison said, running her hand along her calf, brushing away the weeds that were grabbing at her skin.

She had a knockout figure and always dressed to emphasize each aspect of it. Today she was wearing denim shorts that were so short that they barely covered any portion of her thighs, leaving her long, thin legs exposed to the high weeds and brush covering the ground.

Some of the weeds even grew high enough to irritate the skin exposed by her cropped camisole, which emphasized her large breasts and tiny waist.

Why did you wear those stupid sandals, then? You knew we were coming here.

It