McClary told Bobby he would be riding a desk for weeks and it would probably take at least that long for him to complete all the paperwork. In return, Bobby filled him in on everything that had happened at Hawthorne’s and left it to McClary to deal with the bodies and filter the information for his official report.
Sumiko adopted Lucky, who seemed happy enough to swap the feral lifestyle for steady meals, a warm bed and human companionship. The Lion Truth blogger dealt with her grief over Ryan Bramble’s death, in part, by removing all posts related to the oni’s swath of destruction. She also decided that wherever she attended college and whatever major she chose, she would take plenty of electives on mythology and folklore. The information might come in handy some day.
Bobby decided to stay at the cabin for a few days, long enough for Roy’s out-of-state family to make funeral arrangements for his old friend. Roy would be buried in a plot next to his wife and son.
Bobby walked out of the cabin with Sam and Dean to say goodbye before they headed to Maine to investigate a series of flayed human corpses.
“If we hadn’t showed up on his doorstep,” Dean said, “Roy would still be alive.”
“Hunters don’t retire, not knowing what we know,” Bobby said. “Roy was … on an extended sabbatical. If not the oni, something else would’ve brought him back.”
“He tried to get Dalton to see things from his grandmother’s point of view,” Dean said. “That set the kid off.”
“He was too far gone,” Sam said. “Maybe even doomed from the start.”
“Not a day went by, Roy didn’t think about the family he’d lost,” Bobby said. “Family held power for him—the presence of it, and its loss. But family is what you make of it. When it works, you hold onto it, because you never know when your ride’ll be over.”
After their goodbyes, Sam and Dean climbed into the Monte Carlo, Dean behind the wheel and Sam kicking back in the passenger seat. As Dean backed out of the gravel driveway, Sam glanced over at him.
“How are you dealing with … everything?”
“The life?” Dean asked and shrugged. “Hundreds died, but stopping the oni, I figure we saved thousands. So, yeah, it’s a grind and it never ends, but that has to count for something.”
“I almost forgot,” Sam said and removed something from his jacket pocket. Ripping off the cellophane wrapper, he hung a cardboard pine tree air freshener from the rearview mirror.
“It won’t help,” Dean said. “I’m ditching this car first chance we get.”
Sam smiled, enjoying the moment.
Though Dean wearied of the unending series of battles and the futility of trying to achieve a lasting victory, Sam was determined to enjoy his life on the road for what it was. He wouldn’t let the daily struggle to maintain a vise-like grip on his sanity define him. A short life wasn’t the only possible bad outcome to the hunter life. Some things were worse than death.
Dean switched on the car’s radio. As if echoing Sam’s thoughts, the classic rock station was playing “Don’t Fear the Reaper.”
Acknowledgments
In the UK, thanks to my editor, Jo Boylett, and Cath Trechman at Titan Books for bringing me back to write another Supernatural novel. Thanks to my US editor, Christopher Cerasi, at Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. for the vote of confidence and for wrangling this project between continents. Thanks to Nicholas Knight for summarizing the Supernatural monster list during a time crunch. And thanks to Rebecca Dessertine for her early feedback and support. The guidance all of you provided is much appreciated.
Thanks to Greg Schauer, owner of Between Books in Claymont, Delaware, for years of support and encouragement. Thanks to everyone who entered the “use my name for a character” contest. Your enthusiasm for Supernatural is inspiring. Special thanks to my Twitter followers who helped me focus and re-focus during (seemingly) endless nights of writing. And continued thanks to the Logan Township New Jersey police department.
Finally, I wouldn’t have the pleasure of writing Supernatural novels if not for show creator Eric Kripke and the entire cast and crew for bringing his vision to life.
About the Author
John Passarella won the Horror Writers Association’s prestigious Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a First Novel for the co-authored Wither. Columbia Pictures purchased the feature film rights to Wither in a prepublication, pre-emptive bid.
John’s other novels include Wither’s Rain, Wither’s Legacy, Kindred Spirit, Shimmer and the original media tie-in novels Supernatural: Night Terror, Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Ghoul Trouble, Angel: Avatar, and Angel: Monolith. Supernatural: Rite of Passage is his tenth novel. In January 2012, he released his first fiction collection, Exit Strategy & Others.
A member of the Authors Guild, Horror Writers Association, Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, International Thriller Writers, International Association of Media Tie-In Writers, and the Garden State Horror Writers, John resides in southern New Jersey with his wife, three children, a dog and a cat. He is also a web designer and webmaster for a few New York Times bestselling authors.
John maintains his official author website at www.passarella.com, where he encourages readers to email him at [email protected], and to subscribe to his free author newsletter for the latest information on his books and stories.
COMING SOON FROM TITAN BOOKS
SUPERNATURAL
FRESH MEAT
BY ALICE HENDERSON
A rash of strange deaths in the Tahoe National Forest bring Sam, Dean and Bobby to the Sierra Nevada mountains to hunt a monster with a taste for human flesh. Walking corpses, bodies with missing organs, and attacks by a mysterious flying creature lead the trio to a cunning and deadly foe which can assume a human form and will do anything to survive. When a blizzard strikes the area, separated and not knowing who they can trust, they must battle not only the monster but also the elements to survive.
A Supernatural novel that reveals a previously unseen adventure for the Winchester brothers, from The CW’s hit series!
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CARVED IN FLESH
BY TIM WAGGONER
Reported sightings of a hellish hound and the discovery of newly dead desiccated corpses bring Sam and Dean Winchester to Brennan, Ohio. But when they catch the monster canine it turns out to be “Frankenmutt,” a reanimated patchwork of parts from separate dogs. Soon the brothers are on a trail that leads from mad scientists and biotechnology to a centuries-old alchemist, reanimated multi-limbed corpses, and an ancient and malevolent power.
A Supernatural novel that reveals a previously unseen adventure for the Winchester brothers, from The CW’s hit series!
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HEART OF THE DRAGON
BY KEITH R.A. DECANDIDO
When renegade angel Castiel alerts Sam and Dean to a series of particularly brutal killings in San Francisco’s Chinatown, they realize the Heart of the Dragon is back. Can they succeed where their parents and grandparents failed?
SUPERNATURAL
THE UNHOLY CAUSE
BY JOE SCHREIBER
1862: Confederate forces charge across a Georgia battleground. Fast-forward to 2009 and Sam and Dean head down south to investigate a civil war re-enactment that has become terrifyingly real.
SUPERNATURAL
WAR OF THE SONS
BY REBECCA DESSERTINE & DAVID REED
On the hunt for Lucifer, the boys find themselves in a small town in South Dakota where they meet Don, an angel with a proposition, who sends them a very long way from home.
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ONE YEAR GONE
BY REBECCA DESSERTINE
Dean believes that Sam is in Hell so he is trying to live a normal live with Lisa and Ben. But when he finds
a spell that might raise Lucifer and therefore Sam, he has to investigate.
SUPERNATURAL
COYOTE’S KISS
BY CHRISTA FAUST
A truck full of illegal Mexican immigrants, slaughtered with supernatural force, is found by the side of a road. When Sam and Dean investigate, they are plunged into a whole new world of monsters.
SUPERNATURAL
NIGHT TERROR
BY JOHN PASSARELLA
A speeding car with no driver, a homeless man pursued by a massive Gila monster—it all sounds like the stuff of nightmares. The boys realize that sometimes the nightmares don’t go away, even when you’re awake.
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Comprehensive season guides to The CW’s hit series Supernatural, packed full of exclusive interview material with all the stars, photos, behind-the-scenes secrets, a complete episode guide, as well as a stunning 16-page color photo section.
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THE OFFICIAL COMPANION
SEASON ONE
SEASON TWO
SEASON THREE
SEASON FOUR
SEASON FIVE
SEASON SIX
BY NICHOLAS KNIGHT
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Table of Contents
Cover
Also Available from Titan Books
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Historian's Note
Contents
Prologue
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Nineteen
Twenty
Twenty-One
Twenty-Two
Twenty-Three
Twenty-Four
Twenty-Five
Twenty-Six
Twenty-Seven
Twenty-Eight
Twenty-Nine
Thirty
Thirty-One
Thirty-Two
Thirty-Three
Thirty-Four
Thirty-Five
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Coming Soon from Titan Books
Also Available from Titan Books
Supernatural 10 - Rite of Passage Page 29
