Heather Graham - Dark Rites

The witches, they are real...

A series of bizarre assaults is mystifying Boston police: an unknown attacker is viciously beating random strangers and leaving a note quoting an old warning about witchcraft. History professor Alex Maple was one of the victims, and now he’s gone missing. Vickie Preston is certain that someone has taken her friend for malicious purposes. She’s having blood-drenched visions that seem to be staining her waking life, and the escalating attacks suggest that a dangerous cult is at work behind the scenes—a cult so powerful that its members would rather die than be apprehended.

Vickie is grateful to have Special Agent Griffin Pryce and the FBI’s elite Krewe of Hunters on her side. She and Griffin are finding their way in an increasingly passionate relationship, and Griffin is desperately trying to keep her safe and the two of them sane amid the disturbing investigation. The search for Alex will take them deep into the wilderness of Massachusetts on the trail of a serial killer, and it will take everything they have to survive the ancient evil that awakens and threatens not just the man they’re striving to save but their very souls.

Praise for New York Times bestselling author

Heather Graham

“Intricate, fast-paced, and intense, this riveting thriller blends romance and suspense in perfect combination and keeps readers guessing and the tension taut until the very end.”

—Library Journal on Flawless

“Graham is a master at world building and her latest is a thrilling, dark, and deadly tale of romantic suspense.”

—Booklist, starred review, on Haunted Destiny

“A riveting mystery...interesting history, [and a] sweet romance with a second chance at love.”

—Fresh Fiction on Darkest Journey

“Graham is the queen of romantic suspense, and her latest is proof that she deserves the title. What makes this story more fun than most is the relationship between Kieran Finnegan, who wants nothing more than family harmony and a functioning restaurant, and FBI agent Craig Fraiser, who wants justice. Sparks fly, and it’s electric.”

—RT Book Reviews on Flawless

“The Krewe is back! Graham excels at weaving history, finding the proper balance between past and present and keeping a story fresh and authentic, with Haunted Destiny being no exception. The chaos and camaraderie of the characters are captured with vivid detail, and the identity of the killer will keep you guessing until the very end.”

—RT Book Reviews on Haunted Destiny

“Graham stands at the top of the romantic suspense category.”

—Publishers Weekly

“An incredible storyteller.”

—Los Angeles Daily News

Dark Rites

Heather Graham

In memory of two men from Massachusetts.

My uncle George Law.

An amazing in-law I would have been proud to have

as a blood relative, as close and giving and supportive

as any family could be. Kind, generous, wonderful.

A true hero in his strength and kindness.

And my dear friend Dennis Cummins.

Musician, bandmate, Lizzie Borden house protector,

Biography Channel Andrew to my Abby and Chynna Skye’s

Lizzie, amazing friend who quietly made every occasion

together one that made me smile.

I loved them both, and it is true—

the world is a poorer place now that they are gone.

CAST OF CHARACTERS

Victoria (Vickie) Preston—historian and author

Griffin Pryce—special agent with the FBI’s Krewe of Hunters

Jackson Crow—field director, Krewe of Hunters

Craig “Rocky” Rockwell—special agent with

the FBI’s Krewe of Hunters

Devin Lyle—children’s author and Krewe agent

Dylan Ballantine—ghost of a seventeen-year-old boy

who haunts Vickie

Darlene Dutton—ghost of a nineteen-year-old girl

Roxanne Greeley—Vickie’s best friend

Alex Maple—history professor and Vickie’s friend

Milton Hanson—professor

Ron and Cathy Dearborn—local musicians

Isaac Sherman—man whose wife went missing

Law Enforcement

David Barnes—detective with Boston PD

Jim Tracy—sketch artist

Wendell Harper—Massachusetts State Police

Robert Merton—detective from Bristol, Rhode Island

Cole Magruder—detective from Fall River, Massachusetts

Charlie Oakley—retired detective in

Fall River, Massachusetts

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Praise

Title Page

Dedication

CAST OF CHARACTERS

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Acknowledgments

Extract

Copyright

Prologue

Alex Maple wasn’t sure, as he first became aware of himself, if he was alive or dead.

He was miserable; he knew that.

Alive—he had to be alive to hurt in so many places.

He hadn’t opened his eyes. Slowly, he tried to do so. At first, he thought about the Undertakers—the duo of kidnapping killers who had recently terrorized Boston. He was probably buried—deep in the earth, in a hole, in a Dumpster, in newly poured roadwork...

No. When he opened his eyes, there was light.

Too much light, maybe. Looking around, he realized that he wasn’t buried. The harsh light of a naked bulb filled the room where he lay.

He tried to move; he sat up. He saw that he was on a gurney. The walls had once been painted that awful sickly green color that graced most of the country’s hospitals. Paint was peeling; dust and dirt covered the floors; spiderwebs were visible around the hanging lightbulb. There were several other gurneys in the large room—four or five of them. Scattered throughout and by the gurneys were tables, some made out of wood, some that appeared to be newer, made of stainless steel.

There were tools on those tables. Knives, clamps, more—instruments that resembled those used by doctors years and years ago, some not so different now. He narrowed his eyes to study the one set.

From the 1800s, so it seemed: bullet extractor, amputation knife, saw, cervical dilator, lithotome, scarficator and trephine, among others he couldn’t quite see.

Surgical instruments—the trephine for creating gouges in the skull.

And the strange shadowy color on some of the tables...

Dried blood.

He quickly turned to look at another table. Instruments for lobotomy, he thought—the controversial procedure invented by a Portuguese neurologist in the 1940s, known to create as many side effects as the initial mental problem, almost stripping the soul from a man.

He tried to rise from the gurney.

It was only then that he realized that he was shackled to it. One huge chain on his left ankle. Another on his right arm.

His heart raced; he couldn’t breathe. It seemed that his vision blurred before him and the world started to go black.

What the hell? What in God’s name had happened to him? Kidnapped, taken, was he going to be killed? Worse—tortured and killed.

The fear was nearly overwhelming!

He fought the sensation. Hard! He didn’t have any kind of training for this type of thing; he hadn’t even been a Boy Scout. But he was bright, and he wanted to survive.

He was—not all that useful in such a situation!—a historian. He had to make do.