Unholy Shepherd by Robert Christian (rooftoppers txt) 📕

settled himself back in his seat. This trip would be trying on the patience, but he had made a vow. He had killed a man and, as evil as that man was and even in the defense of another, the taking of that life would not sit quietly on his conscience. The debt had to be paid, and he was now even further in the red than he had been. He would see this journey through to the end, wherever that might lead him. He flipped his blinker on and took the next exit off the highway.

The black sedan followed.

AUTHOR NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The core concept of Unholy Shepherd—what I call The Demon Sight—is, in its presentation in this book, a creation of my own mind. However, it does draw from its share of real-world phenomena and documented research. Government projects, such as Stargate in the 1970s (which will be touched on in later books), tested multiple purported “psychics” and reportedly documented their share of evidence supporting the idea as true (or, at least, plausible), especially in cases of remote viewing. Additionally, fringe theories also exist—occasionally promoted on certain entertainment shows—regarding the idea of prophetic dreaming potentially being genetic. Little true scientific evidence exists to support this theory—more a loose collection of anecdotes—but it’s fun to think about nonetheless.

I would tend to call myself a “skeptical believer.” I am willing to believe in almost anything as long as good evidence can be presented. As it pertains to the idea of true psychics, I would say that the overwhelming majority of those who hold themselves out as such are simply selling something and can be easily debunked by vigilant observers who can see through the various cold reading and other techniques that they use. As a man who was raised in the Christian faith and—while no longer affiliated with any hard religion—still considers himself a spiritual person, I do believe there is a higher power and energy that binds all of existence and directs our lives. It is this force that I believe a few select people can tap into, for reasons beyond human understanding, and it is that which gives Maureen her ability. The assertion that The Demon Sight is an Irish superstition is nothing more than an inside nod to my honeymoon in Ireland, from which my wife and I had recently returned when I began to write this novel.

While the people and places in the novel are fictional, I did want the world of The Demon Sight to be able to fit itself snugly into our world. Sycamore Hills is not a real town, but it was modeled on a real-world town in Madison County, Missouri which research told me mirrored everything I wanted in the novel’s setting. The reform school Maureen is sent to in her formative years, Saint Dymphna’s—named for the patron saint of mental illness and anxiety—was based largely on the Élan School, a therapeutic boarding school in Maine that employed a controversial behavior modification and attack therapy program. The school closed its doors in 2011 amid multiple investigations into allegations of abuses ranging from sleep deprivation to physical restraint to the policy of having students fight one another in a boxing ring, allegedly leading to the death of a student in 1982.

Additionally, I would be remiss if I did not thank those who allowed me to pick their brains regarding the scientific side of things, namely my good friends Dr. Carrie Gray and Dr. Abby Rothstein, who gave me invaluable insight into the world of pharmaceuticals, surgery, and human anatomy. I hope I got the details right. And finally, I need to thank the team at Ten16 Press for taking a chance on this quirky concept and, most of all, my talented editor, Leslie Stradinger. Thank you for helping me make this book what it is and helping me refine my writing technique. I look forward to our continued partnership. Maureen’s story is far from over, and she has several adventures and a lot of growing to do before the end.