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Josh Spiller is a long-distance truck driver. Although his girlfriend is pregnant, he's got no major personal problems--until the day he rolls into a small town called Furnace, where a middle-aged woman pushes a baby carriage straight into his wheels and then vanishes. The dead baby's teenage mother and other passers-by swear the wind caused the carriage to roll, and the police take Josh for a troublemaker when he insists on writing a statement to the contrary. Shaken, Josh hits the road again, only to find that it's not so easy to get away from Furnace; something inhuman is hot on his heels. A pretty hitchhiker recognizes a mysterious scrap of writing in his truck as ancient runes spelling out--on human skin--a horrific curse. From then on, all roads lead back to Furnace as Josh races to unscramble a weird puzzle involving a wealthy town councilor, the Philosopher's Stone, and a demon who will destroy Josh in three days unless he returns the runes to their rightful place.
The rotating point of view can be confusing, and the language (Gray is Scottish) occasionally doesn't ring true to an American ear. Nevertheless, this is a grand, terrifying tale.
--This text refers to an alternate
Hardcover
edition.
Product Description
Alchemy: the summoning and controlling of demons. Those who cross the alchemist are often disposed of. The easiest way to do this? Cast the runes: strips of flesh from the dried skin of a child sacrifice, inscribed with the time the victim has yet to live....When trucker Josh Spiller pulls into the small town of Furnace, Virginia, all he wants is a decent meal before getting back on the road. Instead he witnesses a baby's violent death, and he can't convince the sheriff that the well-dressed woman he saw at the scene is responsible. Shaken by the experience, Josh flees Furnace. But the horror continues as he begins to feel burning eyes watching his every move. As Josh's grip on what's real and what's imagined starts to falter, he makes a bizarre discovery -- someone has slipped him a strip of what appears to be parchment, inscribed with a disturbing message:
five days alive permitted.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
