Virginia creeper by Mallary Mitchell
Blurb:
.. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood ~ cf. Ephesians 6:12
Faith Gentry knows something dark and foreboding lurks in the forest of Damascus, North Carolina. She can feel it creeping like a weed up each street, curling its vines into the very heart of the town.
Archaeologist Larkin Gentry believes he unwittingly released an entity in Weyden Woods. A supernatural entity now determined to kill everyone Larkin loves. The proof? His mother is murdered less than a week after Larkin disturbs the woods. Fearing his wife will be the next victim and hoping his absence will keep her safe, Larkin leaves Damascus.
Seven years later, Larkin finds out he was wrong. Faith wasn't next, and the victims are unrelated. His mother' s death was just the first of many. He returns to Damascus to secure the entity in its rightful place before more lives are lost.
But now he' s back home, Faith is being stalked by something unnatural, and Larkin must piece together a dangerous supernatural puzzle and secure the entity in its rightful place in time to save her.
Excerpt:
He took the stone and gave it a hard jerk, dislodging the artifact from its resting place. He held it in both hands and rubbed over the indentations with a flattened palm. “I’ve never seen any markings like this. I think it was a cornerstone for something. Look at the way it’s squared off like a brick.” He looked back to the fireflies, they were leaving, even the ones that weren’t clumped with the group…no, it was just his imagination. “But it’s just laying here. It’s almost like it was dropped. It’s not in any particular orientation...” He puzzled over his find.
Faith peered at the stone, but she wasn’t excited. She was worried. She cocked her head to one side and fidgeted with her flashlight. “You know, maybe you ought to put it back.”
“Yeah? Not happening.” He ran his hand over the etchings again. Why was the night suddenly so silent? “There were several arrowheads right around this area.” The creek still gurgled… But the other sounds seemed to have stopped. Nah. The creek was just drowning them. The hairs on his neck prickled. Faith’s unease was spreading to him.
“Really? Maybe it’s a target.” She fidgeted. “Let’s go.” She jerked her head towards the town.
Larkin had spent the better part of the afternoon hunting and searching. Despite the warnings, no boogeyman had appeared. This area was home to so much undocumented history. He knew there had to be something here awaiting discovery. Something everyone else was simply too scared to find.
And here it was.
He quelled rising apprehension. He’d roamed this forbidden forest as a teen and had always been fascinated. He’d even found a long forgotten trail. It led to the abandoned village. He knew it. But he needed to find it again.
His past two summers spent volunteering at a nearby excavation of a burial mound made him suspect the large hill in Weyden Woods wasn’t a natural upwelling after all, but rather a separate mound erected so long ago that it lay forgotten.
In December, he’d finished his master’s and already had a spot in a doctoral program. When he’d established himself as an archaeologist, he would return and excavate this area, no matter how many years it took, not matter how much the citizens protested—taboo or not. Then, maybe both his uncle and Faith’s dad would respect him a little more. It was no secret that both men felt Larkin’s degree in history, specifically Native American archaeology, wasn’t a great career choice—as if mayor and mortician in a one-stoplight town were top career choices Still, Larkin loved Faith, and while he didn’t need her father’s approval, he did want an amicable relationship with the man who would be his father-in-law for the rest of his life.
“You know this place is really creepy.” Faith moved closer to him. “It reminds me of the Devil’s Tramping Ground. Look at that. There is nothing growing in the area where that rock lay.”
“Yeah, noticed that, too. I want Dr. Hinson to look at this thing. I bet he could tell me what this is and what is written here.”
“So, take a photo with your phone. I want to get out of here.”
He studied the rock. “You didn’t have to come out here.”
A twig broke in the distance.
“Yeah, I did.” The tone of her voice made him turn to her. The words weren’t those of the shy girl he’d first met when he arrived seven years ago.
The rock seemed to grow heavier in his hand.
Another pop…this one closer.
Larkin looked towards the center of the forest where the sound originated. He knitted his brows together and, with a finger to his lips, signaled Faith to keep quiet.
A sound echoed through the forest, the only noise other than the rushing water of the creek. There it was again. Faith heard it, too. Uncertain eyes looked to him for an answer. She clutched his shoulder, her nails biting into his flesh. A distinct crackle of the leaves let him know they weren’t alone. Obviously, someone else wasn’t worried about breaking tradition.
“Larkin?” She whispered into his ear.
“Give me your light,” Larkin whispered. He tucked the rock he’d found under his arm as he searched the dimness trying to locate the source of the steady steps.
“Hello?” His call went unanswered. The only reply was the snapping twigs. “Somebody’s trying to scare us,” he whispered.
“It’s working really well.” She clutched onto his waist, and hid behind him.
The steps had stopped. In the moonlight, a shadowy figure was now visible. The tall stranger stood motionless from the neck down, but the head was turning at odd bird-like angles.
Faith’s hand covered her mouth. “Is it a bear?” she asked through her fingers. “What is that thing? That isn’t…” Faith’s body trembled so violently, she was making Larkin shake.
“It’s someone pulling a prank, that’s all.” At least he hoped that was all.
The figure stood there a moment. Larkin turned the flashlight on it and narrowed his gaze trying to discern what stared so intently at them. He heard Faith gasp. He fumbled for her hand and, in doing so, dropped the flashlight on the ground. He was bending to retrieve it when the thing broke into a sprint and began closing the gap between them.
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A Prayer of Protection
Heavenly Father, we come to you today knowing
that we live in a world where the devil is roaming like
a lion. We ask that you send the most glorious prince
of the heavenly armies, Saint Michael the Archangel,
to defend us in ‚our battle against principalities and
powers, against the rulers of this world of darkness,
against the spirits of wickedness in the high places‛
(Ephes., VI, 12). Let him come to the assistance of men
whom You created in Your likeness and whom You
have redeemed at a great price from the tyranny of the
devil. As You have deemed, may Your holy angels do
battle for us and help to protect us against the wiles of
the devil. We pray that satan is crushed completely so
that he may no longer do injury to Your servants and
the church.
We offer our prayers to You, that without delay
your servants may draw your mercy down upon us.
Father in heaven protect us against the wiles of the
dragon, that old serpent, which is the devil and satan
and his angels who were cast from Your presence with
him. As we walk through the shadow of death
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