Right now, in order to prepare you for this epic final confrontation against the Strange Man and his demonic hordes, here's a little refresher course on the series thus far. The following can be found as a preface in my recent enovella release Lengthening Shadows, which takes place after Enemies of the Cross, but before Dark Hour.
It goes without saying (and yet here I am saying it) that the below is filled with spoilers, and only skims the surface of events from the previous two books. Both The Strange Man and Enemies of the Cross are available online and in stores, so go out and buy your copy today to experience the excitement firsthand!
Now, on with the guide:
For over a hundred years, the small town of Greensboro has told
stories of a Bogeyman lurking in the spooky North Woods. As an unusual storm
blows through modern day Greensboro,
slacker Dras Weldon discovers that the legends are terrifyingly real. A demonic
“strange man” has returned to visit his wrath on the town that expunged him so
long ago. However, the monster’s plans are temporarily put on hold when he
spots Dras’ best friend, Rosalyn Myers. The Strange Man becomes fixated on the young
woman, preying on her bitterness, desiring to have her for himself. Desperate
to save his friend, Dras matures overnight, setting aside his selfish attitudes
in order to combat the Strange Man. He first seeks the help of his older
brother, Jeff, a pastor at the Good
Church of the Faithful,
but after a lifetime of being disappointed by Dras’ irresponsible living, Jeff
refuses to believe his brother’s story. Alone, and armed only with a faith he
once discarded, Dras faces down the Strange Man in the dance hall known as The Rave
Scene. However, the Strange Man has orchestrated events to frame Dras for the
murders the demon has committed while in town. Deputies led by Ryan Stevenson
storm The Rave Scene and arrest Dras, beating him nearly to death. Dras is only
spared by the intervention of Sheriff Hank Berkley.
Branded “The Greensboro Ripper”, Dras is sentenced to
imprisonment in Wexler State Penitentiary. With Dras removed, the Strange Man
steps up his pursuit of Rosalyn in earnest, repeatedly visiting her and
tormenting her—but also wooing her to his side. Alone and vulnerable, Rosalyn
begins to confuse right and wrong and suspects that, though she loathes the
Strange Man for what he’s done to Dras, the demon might also be her only
salvation from a town and people who have outcast her. Dras’ brother, Jeff,
struggles with guilt and regret for not coming to his brother’s aid, even as he
discovers a conspiracy amongst the Greensboro leaders to conceal the Strange
Man’s actions. As Jeff learns, the conspirators—calling themselves “The
Committee”—have been secretly aiding the monster in order to return prosperity
to their dying town. Only now, Leonard Fergus, one of the conspirators, is
having misgivings about their deal with the devil and reveals the terrible
truth to Jeff. As Jeff gets closer to tearing down the conspiracy, the
Committee responds in kind, using the young pastor’s newfound obsession as ammunition
to have him dismissed from the pulpit. Jeff’s marriage to Isabella is on rocky
ground as Jeff pushes everyone away, desperate to get revenge against the
Strange Man and the men who collaborated with the creature. Jeff’s only friend
is Danny Carpenter, a young drug pusher who, in the midst of his own
rehabilitation, comes to trust the ex-preacher.
Together the duo unravel the mystery at the heart of their
town and learn the truth: The Strange Man is orchestrating events to bring
about something he calls the “Dark Hour” that will see the return of his Master
to the Earth and the presumable annihilation of mankind. But the deeper Jeff
descends into the Strange Man’s dark secrets, the more he loses himself, nearly
succumbing to a supernaturally-charged viscous black goo that has the ability
to bond to men and turn them into shambling monsters. Jeff’s only way to save
himself is to renounce his cause and to do the nigh impossible—trust God to
have a plan.
Conquering his inner demons, Jeff encourages Danny to back
away from the fight, as Jeff reunites with his wife. Sheriff Hank Berkley and
teenager Annie Myers, Rosalyn’s sister, have come to learn the truth, as well,
and join the three in biding their time, waiting for the Strange Man’s next
move, ready to act whenever God calls them to action. It’s a painful decision
as the town is moving closer and closer to the Dark Hour. The knife is twisted
even deeper into the backs of the faithful when Rosalyn finally gives in to the
Strange Man’s will, consuming the black goo, lost to darkness…
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