The Cryptid Files: Mexican Devil
Vanessa found herself looking straight into a large, salivating mouth with razor-sharp fangs. Above it, two glowing red eyes pulsed to the sound of her heart…’
Vanessa’s summer holiday on a ranch in Mexico is turned upside down as she enters a shadowy world of mysterious animal death, magical curses and dark family secrets. As she tumbles headlong into the mystery of El Chupacabra she starts to understand why some call it the Mexican Devil.
In this, the second book of the Cryptid Files series, Jean Flitcroft once again takes us by the hand and leads us deep into her world of myth, magic and monsters.
PRAISE FOR THE CRYPTID FILES: MEXICAN DEVIL
'Vanessa is back with a thrilling adventure in Mexico, where her courage and intelligence are tested to the limit by the terrifying presence of el Chupacabra: a creature that feasts on the blood of animals. Jean Flitcroft has written another wonderful book, one that immerses you in the heat and scents of Mexico.It is so suspenseful you’ll find yourself missing your bus stop because you can’t bring yourself to put the book away!' - Conor Kostick, bestselling author
'Flitcroft's teenage protagonist has a gift for recognising crytids, animals that may exist in nature but are not accepted by modern science. Vanessa learns that mysterious creature, known as the Chupacabra, is killing the farm animals. Her investigations lead to the exposure of murder, blackmarketeering and bloodsucking witches in this fast-moving tale. ' - Mary Shine Thompson, The Irish Times
'Wonderfully atmospheric writing ... gives that prickly-back-of-the-neck-feeling ... Another gripping yarn that pulls the reader in to a mythical, exotic world. It is an assured piece of storytelling' - Books Ireland
Prologue
The air was thick, the heat intense and Vanessa felt beads of sweat rise like blisters on her skin. She stumbled on into the night, her hands outstretched as she blindly fingered the air. As she moved cactus spines scratched her leg and a stone jabbed painfully into the sole of her bare foot. Maybe she should go back, she thought.
Something snuffled and grunted nearby and insects clacked and ticked all around her. In the dark Vanessa struggled to make sense of the sounds and then, through it all, she heard a terrible, high-pitched squeal. She stopped suddenly, her legs like lead weights. She probably wouldn’t be able to run away even if she tried.
There was something behind her now. The cracking of a small twig sounded like a gunshot in Vanessa’s ears. She turned slowly, forcing herself to look. At first she thought she saw a human face, a face that she knew. But the harder she stared, the further the face retreated into darkness and another one took its place.
Vanessa found herself looking straight into a large, salivating mouth with razor-sharp fangs. Above it two glowing red eyes pulsed to the sound of her heart, which pounded in her chest.
Too shocked to scream, Vanessa took off. She didn’t feel the cactus tearing her skin this time or the cuts on her knees when she fell. She got up and kept running. Another high-pitched squeal just in front of her finally made her stop. The anguish in the cry echoed her own pain and her legs gave way. She fell heavily on something. It felt warm and furry and the feel of it repelled her. What was it? An animal? The Chupacabra itself? She squirmed away until she could feel the hard ground beneath her again and then lay still. Total exhaustion overcame her. Instead of leaping to her feet she lay waiting for the Chupacabra to strike; she could smell him in the air. Vanessa began to shiver uncontrollably.