Stopping a murder that happened forty years earlier may be the only way to heal a tortured mind ...<br><br>Six months after Jesse Madding is brutally tortured by Marcus Brooker, he is still experiencing flashbacks, panic attacks, and jumping at his own shadow. His lovers, Gideon Keel and Emma Coolidge, would do anything to help him, but Jesse refuses to be hospitalized for treatment, or even visit a therapist. Desperate for a change, Gideon and Emma suggest a radical solution.<br><br> Jesse wants to fix his life. More than anything, he wants to be normal again. He doesn't want to live in fear. He doesn't want to be ashamed of his scarred and mutilated body. He doesn't want to shy away from Gideon's touch. Certain that the holding pattern will kill him, he agrees to Gideon and Emma's proposed solution: travel to an alternative dimension and save Marcus Brooker from witnessing Mary's grisly murder ... in order to save Brooker's soul.

Chaos and Communion

“I want to know if coming here has made a difference. We saved Mary and Gideon. But…what about you?”


Marcus smiled. “Saving people is supposed to be my line of work.”


“And I generally don’t worry about people’s souls. But I don’t want yours to be lost.”


For long seconds, Marcus toyed with the handle of his cup, his eyes growing more somber with each passing moment. “Before Gideon spoke with me, I would never have considered my soul in jeopardy,” he said quietly. “All I’ve done since then is think about it. Think about what I would do, where my faith truly lies. And I’m ashamed to admit that perhaps there is truth to the possibility. That I let Mary and…my feelings for her cloud my judgment.”


“I know you love her. I can’t say I wouldn’t…lose my mind a bit if anything happened to Gideon.” Or Emma.“But Mary isn’t going to live forever.”


Chapter 83