Supernatural: Nevermore (Supernatural Series, 1)

Supernatural: Nevermore (Supernatural Series, 1)

Twenty-two years ago, Sam and Dean Winchester lost their mother to a mysterious and demonic supernatural force. In the years after, their father, John, taught them about the paranormal evil that lives in the dark corners and on the back roads of America...and he taught them how to kill it. Sam and Dean have hit New York City to check out a local rocker's haunted house. But before they can figure out why a lovesick banshee in an '80s heavy-metal T-shirt is wailing in the bedroom, a far more macabre crime catches their attention. Not far from the house, two university students were beaten to death by a strange assailant. A murder that's bizarre even by New York City standards, it's the latest in a line of killings that the brothers soon suspect are based on the creepy stories of legendary writer Edgar Allan Poe. Their investigation leads them to the center of one of Poe's horror classics, face-to-face with their most terrifying foe yet. And if Sam and Dean don't rewrite the ending of this chilling tale, a grisly serial killer will end their lives forevermore. Twenty-two years ago, Sam and Dean Winchester lost their mother to a mysterious and demonic supernatural force. In the years after, their father, John, taught them about the paranormal evil that lives in the dark corners and on the back roads of America...and he taught them how to kill it. Sam and Dean have hit New York City to check out a local rocker's haunted house. But before they can figure out why a lovesick banshee in an '80s heavy-metal T-shirt is wailing in the bedroom, a far more macabre crime catches their attention. Not far from the house, two university students were beaten to death by a strange assailant. A murder that's bizarre even by New York City standards, it's the latest in a line of killings that the brothers soon suspect are based on the creepy stories of legendary writer Edgar Allan Poe. Their investigation leads them to the center of one of Poe's horror classics, face-to-face with their most terrifying foe yet. And if Sam and Dean don't rewrite the ending of this chilling tale, a grisly serial killer will end their lives forevermore. Supernatural: Nevermore By Keith Candido HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. Copyright © 2007 Keith Candido All right reserved. ISBN: 9780061370908 Chapter One Fordham University The Bronx, New York Sunday 12 November 2006 A chill November breeze blew John Soeder's hair into his face, Mother Nature's reminder to get a haircut in the absence of his actual mother being around to nag him about it. She was back in Ohio where it was safe, and also ten degrees colder than it was here in the Bronx. If Emily Soeder could see her son's shaggy mop of brown hair, she'd make that clicking noise she always made and offer to call to make the haircutting appointment herself. John loved attending Fordham University for about a thousand reasons, but its considerable distance from his mother numbered high on that list. He and his roommate, Kevin Bayer, were heading back to their off-campus apartment after a long day in the print shop in the basement of the McKinley Center. They were the coeditors of Fordham's alternative paper and had spent most of the day putting the latest biweekly issue to bed. The files had been e-mailed to the printer, and they would have the issues by Tuesday morning. That was critical, as they had to get it out before The Ram , Fordham's stodgy official student newspaper, especially because of the exclusive they got from the dean. They were walking quickly through the campus, heading toward the exit at Belmont Avenue by Faculty Memorial Hall. From there it was only a few blocks to their battered, cluttered, tiny—but blissfully cheap—apartment on Cambreleng Avenue. Once they hit the exit, John brushed his hair out of his face and said, "C'mon, let's motor. I wanna get home and change for the party." "What party?" " Amy's party, remember?" Kevin winced. "I got an eight-thirty class tomorrow morning, dude, I can't."Shrugging, John said, "Blow it off." "No way. Dr. Mendez'll have my ass. Seriously, she takes attendance . I already missed three classes 'cause' a production weekends, I can't miss another one." They had come to the corner of Belmont Avenue and Fordham Road, and had to wait for the light—the traffic was sufficiently heavy, even this late on a Sunday, so they couldn't cross against the light. Prior to senior year, John had lived in the on-campus dorms, which were part of the lush greenery that characterized Fordham's campus, an oasis of academe in the midst of the largest city in the world. Well, not the midst —the Bronx was the northernmost part of New York City, just above Manhattan and Queens, and the only part of the city attached to the mainland. Before visiting Fordham during his senior year of high school, John had always assumed New York to be Manhattan. He had no idea of the outer boroughs, and was thrilled to find himself in a neighborhood that by i