Sacrifice (29 page)

This novel is a travelogue of sorts, which allowed me to revisit some of my favorite places with one of my oldest fictional friends. While I’ve tried to ensure geographical accuracy (as well as travel times), I’ve taken some liberties in the name of fiction and foggy memory. The rest I blame on MapQuest.

Behind every novel, there are a thousand conversations that mold and shape the author to write what he does. It would be impossible to track or thank everyone for their influence but I must note a few:

Special thanks to Shane Ryan Staley and Bill Breedlove for believing, when my faith was gone. To Don D’Auria, for giving this book new life. To Robert Cichowlas and Mateusz Bandurski for bringing it to Poland. And to my Street Team, for spreading the word.

For friendship, encouragement and support: Dave Barnett, Bill Gagliani, Dave Benton, Paul Gifford, Martin Mundt, Loren Rhoads, Maria Alexander, Brian Yount, Jade Paris, Edward Lee, Brian Keene and everyone at Shocklines, The Horror Mall and Twilight Tales.

For my loyal readers and
Covenant
fans, especially Kathy Kubik, Peg Phillips, Sheila and Joan, Lauren and Brenda, Missy, Whitney, Martel, Giovanna, Deanna, Raymond Brown, Rhonda Wilson, Louise Bohmer, Chris Hanson, Tim Feely, Jess Kaan, Audrey Shaffer, Jen Vickers, Nerine Dorman, Eric Morgan, TigerLady, Terri Beirness, Sheila Halterman and John Palisano. I hope you’ll find the wait was worth it!

“
Covenant
—now available as a mass-market paperback—won Everson a Bram Stoker Award back in 2004, and after reading it, you’ll agree that this tight, gripping story was definitely worthy of the distinction.”

—
Rue Morgue

“I’ve waited four long years to read
Covenant
and it was well worth it. Everson has taken a classic genre plot and given it his own spin. This is how horror is done RIGHT.”

—
The Horror Fiction Review

“You might even begin to wonder with writing this good, if Everson agreed to his own covenant in order to create this devilishly dark and terrifying tale.”

—Pagan Pulse Magazine

“Truly entertaining no-frills horror, which is a damned good thing.”

—Horror World

“Equal parts dark mystery and supernatural horror,
Covenant
is a white-knuckle reading experience that will keep you guessing and gasping.”

—Creature Feature

“Everson allows the storylines to unfurl, carefully layering each of the individual character’s arcs as he crosses genres ending up with a nice blend of mystery and horror.”

—
Dark Scribe Magazine

“John Everson has written a powerful tale as readers wonder whether it is a coincidence, the supernatural, or a serial killer behind the suicides.”

—
Midwest Book Review

“Everson sets up his story well, fleshes out Joe Kieran as a character readers can root for, and truly sets him against a pitiless, horrible evil.”

—Shroud

COVENANT

A LEISURE BOOK
^®

May 2009

Published by

Dorchester Publishing Co., Inc.
200 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10016

Copyright © 2007 by John Everson

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have beengranted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.

All persons in this book are fictitious, and any resemblance that may seem to exist to actual persons living or dead is purely coincidental. This is a work of fiction.

E-ISBN: 978-1-4285-0669-5

The name “Leisure Books” and the stylized “L” with design are trademarks of Dorchester Publishing Co., Inc.

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