The Forest of Forever (The Soren Chase Series, Book One)

by Rob Blackwell

  Chastain stopped talking. In his mind, Soren saw all the mirrors from when he looked at the gem. He hadn’t understood, because he didn’t want to comprehend. He remembered the word that the image of Soren had been mouthing to him: “murderer.”

  He just stood there, staring down at his own face.

  “Even those ridiculous glasses on your face are a sign of what you are,” Chastain said. “Pretenders don’t have many vulnerabilities, but they do have a sensitivity toward light. I want you to understand something. I know how to kill pretenders. I could slay you right now. But there’s more than one way to hurt someone, and this feels far more fitting a punishment.”

  Chastain turned and left him standing there too stunned to respond. The gaunts followed in Chastain’s wake.

  The fire was closer now, but Soren didn’t move.

  He saw the mirrors in his mind. All those people. There had been thousands of them—and he had killed them all. Worse than just murdering them, he had taken their place and slaughtered their friends and family. He had murdered Mikey and Edward. He had murdered John.

  He looked into the mirror in his hand and realized that he wasn’t even looking at Soren Chase. He was looking at the thing that had killed him.

  Epilogue

  It took firefighters from several surrounding counties many hours to put out the flames.

  By the time they did, the damage to Reapoke Forest and the Chickahominy Wildlife Management Area was incalculable. Thousands of acres of pristine forest had burnt to the ground. The only building nearby, the Association’s mysterious warehouse, was destroyed. It would take decades for the woods to recover.

  While the forest was still smoldering, Glen evaded the line of police cars and fire trucks surrounding the area and searched what remained of Reapoke.

  He found Soren Chase on the ground, still staring at a small mirror. When he attempted to talk to him, there was no response. Soren was lost in the prison of his own mind, unable to get free. Glen pulled out his cell phone and made the call.

  “I got him,” he said when it connected.

  “Excellent,” Terry Jacobsen replied. “What kind of condition is he in?”

  “Physically, he’s fine,” Glen said. “Looks like he suffered minor burns, but I have no idea how it wasn’t more serious. The ground underneath him is blackened.”

  “He’s not human,” Terry responded.

  “Mentally, he’s not here at all,” Glen said. “I think he’s broken, Uncle.”

  “You need to get him out of there,” Terry said. “If the police find him, they may never let him go.”

  “Easy for you to say,” Glen said. “He’s heavy.”

  “Pretenders don’t have the same density as humans. You may find it easier than you anticipate.”

  “Nice of you to tell me he’s a pretender now, by the way,” Glen said. “I worked with him for months. He could have taken me at any time.”

  There was a small chuckle at the other end of the phone.

  “Not this one,” Terry said. “He had the capacity to do it, but he never would. He’s unique in a way you can’t fathom. That’s why I’ve been watching him for years. And the reason you need to get him out of there.”

  “Why is he so important exactly?” Glen asked. “Why go through all of this for an evil creature?”

  “Because war is coming,” Terry replied. “And we need him on our side.”

  The creature who had called himself Randolph Chastain was furious and terrified at the same time.

  He walked forward, dreading the conversation he was about to have. It was possible they would kill him. He’d faced such threats before, of course, but he had always prided himself on being able to survive.

  He approached the dais, the seat of the Council’s power. Only one of the twelve was in its chair—and he supposed that was a blessing. He would have hated for them all to witness his failure.

  He approached the center of the room and knelt. He focused on being blunt and direct. Anything else would get him destroyed.

  “Councillor,” he said. “My mission was unsuccessful. The gaunts are wiped out and the gem is lost to us.”

  He heard the councillor lean forward, knew its face had likely emerged from the shadows. Rippon did not want to look up.

  “That’s it?” the councillor said. “No excuses?”

  Rippon forced himself to raise his head and look into those eyes. He was shaking as he did so.

  “None,” he replied. “The failure is entirely my responsibility.”

  Rippon waited for death. It would be painful and slow. But there was no avoiding his fate. There was nowhere the Council—or the Association, as it was sometimes known—could not find him.

  The councillor did something far worse than kill him, however. It smiled in a way that was awful to behold.

  “No,” the councillor said. “I do not think it was. What of Falk?”

  “He’s alive,” Rippon replied. “But only because I was ordered to leave him that way.”

  “So you were, and you have followed our instructions to the letter,” the councillor said. “You are a good and loyal servant, Rippon. Or do you prefer Randolph Chastain, as the humans call you?”

  Rippon shook his head.

  “You showed Falk what he was?” the councillor asked.

  “Yes,” he replied.

  “Excellent,” the councillor said. “Then the more important part of your mission has succeeded.”

  Rippon was confused but not unhappy. It seemed the Council had kept vital information from him—but that was hardly a surprise.

  “I don’t understand,” Rippon said.

  “Of course you don’t,” the councillor replied. “But unfortunately there are others that do. Much rests on what Falk does next. He is the key to everything.”

  Sara approached the house in the dark. She was exhausted and anxious to return to Alex. She knew he was okay and was thankful she had left him with a friend she trusted before she had been kidnapped. Still, it had felt wonderful to hear his voice when she called him this evening. She had only been gone for one day in the real world, but it felt like far longer.

  But before she could go to him, she had to finish her mission. The boy clutched her hand as she knocked on the door. He moved to stand behind her.

  It took a few minutes before it was answered. Wallace Leggett stood before her, a shotgun in his hand.

  “Oh,” he said. “I thought it was Soren.”

  Sara stood in the dim light of the entranceway.

  “I’m Sara—” she started.

  “I know who you are,” Wallace said gruffly. “If you’ve come on his behalf, you can forget about it. Annika told me—”

  “Annika wasn’t real,” Sara said. “Her real name was Meredith Townes. The Association helped her to infiltrate your group. She told me all about it when she kidnapped me.”

  Wallace barely reacted but put the shotgun down, leaning it against the door.

  “If you expect me to believe that—” he started.

  “That’s not why I’m here,” she said.

  Sara stood to the side, revealing the boy behind her. For a moment Wallace remained motionless, his face impassive. And then he was moving, running out the door and scooping the twelve-year-old into his arms.

  “My boy!” he said, and tears ran down his face. “My boy! My boy!”

  Wallace Leggett buried his face into Owen’s neck and cried for the first time in almost three decades. His son was crying, too.

  Sara gave them time. She had a mission to finish but it could wait.

  The two clutched each other as if they were the only things left in the world. After several minutes, she watched as Wallace looked his son up and down, touching his Boy Scout uniform.

  “It’s really you,” he said.

  Wallace hugged him again and then looked at Sara.

  “Tell Soren I’m sorry,” he said. “You can have anything you want. All you have to do is ask.”


  “I’m glad to hear you say that, Mr. Leggett,” Sara replied. “Because the first thing I need is to take Meredith’s place. I want a job. I need to research something, and I think your Institute can help.”

  Still holding his son to his chest, Wallace nodded.

  “Can I ask what that is?” he said.

  “A pretender killed the father of my child and his best friend,” she said. “I need to know how to kill it.”

  THE END

  Did you enjoy this novel? Please leave a review! Every review makes a difference.

  The Forest of Forever is the start of a new series, but it is not the beginning of Soren’s story. For more on his past cases (and clues to Soren’s future), check out:

  Closed at Dark

  Soren races against time to save Sara’s son from the clutches of a mysterious creature that kidnaps children. Join Rob’s newsletter by clicking here to receive this novella for free, or buy it now on Amazon!

  Carnival of Stone (Coming in 2015)

  Soren and Glen investigate rumors of a legendary monster lurking near an old Virginia mining town. But nothing can prepare them for what they find. Coming soon for Kindle. Sign up here to be alerted when it is released!

  And don’t miss the sequel to The Forest of Forever:

  The Pretender (Coming in 2015)

  Soren Chase has hunted pretenders—vicious creatures who can take the form of any human being—for eight years. But what happens when he finally catches one? As Soren grapples with revelations about his past, he finds he doesn’t know nearly as much as he thought he did about his longtime enemies. If he doesn’t learn quickly, everyone he loves could be in jeopardy. Read the next thrilling addition to The Soren Chase series! Join Rob’s newsletter now to be notified when it is released.

  And for another great series (which shares connections with this one), check out The Sanheim Chronicles, Rob’s highly rated bestselling dark fantasy novels for Kindle. Also available on audiobook.

  Books by Rob Blackwell

  The Sanheim Chronicles:

  A Soul to Steal (Book One)

  Band of Demons (Book Two)

  Give the Devil His Due (Book Three)

  The Soren Chase Series

  Closed at Dark (A Soren Chase novella)

  The Forest of Forever (A Soren Chase novel)

  Carnival of Stone (A Soren Chase novella—coming soon!)

  The Last Blog (A Soren Chase blog post—coming soon!)

  The Pretender (A Soren Chase novel—coming in 2015!)

  Audiobooks

  A Soul to Steal

  Band of Demons

  Give the Devil His Due (coming soon)

  Acknowledgments

  This novel represents about twenty years of different stories bouncing around in my brain. The earliest beginnings can be traced back to a trip I took as a Boy Scout to Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico.

  A camp counselor told me wild tales of Urraca Mesa, a place where unwary travelers vanished. The counselor said he was once chased by his own doppelgänger while traveling across the mesa at night. I didn’t believe a word of what he said, but I loved the idea of it.

  Around fifteen years later, my wife and I took a trip to Connecticut to see friends, where one told me the story of Dudleytown. Sometimes melodramatically called “The Village of the Damned,” Dudleytown is an abandoned eighteenth-century settlement that is rumored to be cursed for any who enter it. Although I think most of the stories concerning it are made up, it is fiercely guarded by an organization called (really) the Dark Entry Forest Association, which directly inspired the similarly named antagonists of The Forest of Forever.

  For many years I thought about a story concerning a supernatural investigator tormented by his own past who is hired to look into a haunted forest similar to Dudleytown and Urraca Mesa. But the pieces had to sit for a while before they came together in such a way that wouldn’t result in a typical haunted-forest story.

  I also wanted to integrate some history of the Virginia Native American tribes, including the Chickahominy, which I’ve tried to retell as faithfully as I could. That includes a mention of Virginia’s disgraceful treatment of them, particularly at the hands of bureaucrats in the early twentieth century, who sought to eliminate them from the official record. The Chickahominy and the rest of Virginia’s Native American tribes deserve federal recognition.

  I’m a journalist and pride myself on my ability to tell all sides of a story, but there is no compelling argument—nor indeed any substantive argument—to deny them recognition. Granting them federal recognition would hardly atone for the many mistakes in our past, but it would at least be a start.

  As for where I’m going next, I’m excited to share what’s ahead.

  Although this is the first full-length novel about Soren, I’ve written two novellas that explore some of his past—as well as give hints to his future. The first, Closed at Dark, is available now on Amazon, but you can get it for free by signing up for my newsletter here. The second novella, Carnival of Stone (which is more of a novel at this stage), is expected to be released soon.

  The Pretender, the sequel to The Forest of Forever, is scheduled for release later in 2015. Sign up here so you’ll be notified as soon as Carnival of Stone and The Pretender come out.

  Finally, I have a number of people I want to thank.

  As usual, I want to thank my wife, Maia, who was the novel’s first reader and made a number of suggestions that improved it, notably the ending. She also tolerates me writing furiously every free moment we have. People often ask me how I have time to write novels and keep a full-time job. The true answer is that I have Maia by my side, who picks up the slack in so many big and little ways, they are too numerous to count. This would be impossible without her.

  I also want to thank my editor, Evelyn Duffy. I contacted Evelyn this spring with a daunting offer, asking her to edit three books at the same time (one novel and two novellas). She has been a vital partner and extremely helpful contributor on all three. She made several recommendations on various drafts of this novel, covering virtually every part of it and improving it in a multitude of ways. This novel would not be nearly as good without her. She also copyedited the final version of the book, fixing a number of both significant and tiny flaws. And she put up with me e-mailing her at all hours of the night—and while on vacation—asking questions about this or that.

  In addition to her work with journalist Bob Woodward, Evelyn runs her own freelance editing service, Open Boat Editing. To put it simply: I cannot recommend working with her strongly enough. Evelyn is amazing.

  I also want to thank my beta readers: Erik Brandt, Dan Gasink, and Daniel Wolfe. All three made incredibly valuable suggestions about what worked and what didn’t. Erik helped smooth the ending further; Dan focused on ways to make sure Soren’s secret stayed hidden until near the end (although I know many of you will have figured it out before Soren—that was on purpose); and Daniel wrote detailed notes outlining ways I could improve the novel, all of which I adopted. I’m extremely grateful to all three.

  I’m also grateful to the ongoing support of Brian Gill, whose enthusiasm and feedback are both greatly appreciated. In addition, Brian is a great audiobook narrator. You can check out his terrific audio versions of The Sanheim Chronicles by clicking here.

  Additionally, I’d like to thank Travis Pennington, who once again did an amazing job on the book cover. He is a very talented cover designer, and I’m constantly impressed by his work.

  I’m also tremendously grateful to all of you who nominated The Forest of Forever for the Kindle Scout program, which allows readers to vote for books they want to read. I’d like to give a special shout-out to some fellow authors who promoted The Forest of Forever, including Rob Kroese, J. D. Horn, Melissa F. Olson, and Rysa Walker. If you love great books, click on their names and check them out. I’m thankful, too, to everyone else who voted, tweeted about it, posted on Facebook, or otherwise encouraged their friends to vote
. It is an amazing and humbling experience to have so many of you support this book. Any success it enjoys is due to your efforts. I hope you enjoyed the final product.

  Finally, I’d like to thank the terrific people at Kindle Press. From the gracious Caroline Carr, who was very responsive to my questions about how this new venture was going to work, to the team of copyeditors, proofreaders, and editors who gave The Forest of Forever one final scrub. It has been a true pleasure to work with you.

  As for me, I’m already back to doing what I love most: writing. Thank you so much for helping to support this book and allowing me to pursue my dream.

  About the Author

  Rob is an award-winning journalist with 15 years’ experience and the author of The Sanheim Chronicles and The Soren Chase novels, two series that combine urban fantasy, mystery and suspense.

  His first novel, A Soul to Steal, was featured on USA Today and praised by book bloggers and readers alike for its great plot and a "fantastic ending." Many of this other books have been Kindle bestsellers in the Dark Fantasy category.

  As a journalist, Rob has won several Virginia Press Association awards and was co-winner of the Jesse H. Neal Award for Business Journalism. He has appeared several times on other media outlets, including NPR, BBC, CNBC and C-Span.

  You can find out more about him on his Facebook page, at www.facebook.comasoultosteal or on Twitter at @abwashbureau.

  Rob lives in Virginia with his wife and two children.