Something worth dying for
“My wife's dying, Jubal,” Coleman said. Tears filled his eyes. The only woman I've ever loved in this world is dying and I can't do a thing to stop it."
Thaddeus Coleman was Jubal Stone's mentor and guide. He trained Jubal and shielded him in the beginning, and they became friends as well as partners. Over time their relationship became adversarial as Jubal's star continued to rise. Thad had to be twice as good as everyone else to overcome prejudice and be recognized as the best field agent for the "Office of Asset Recovery," a deliberately obscure name for a black-budget unit that performs some very nasty, off-the-books missions, including assassinations, or what the intelligence community refers to as 'wet work.' Thad had trained Jubal so well that he surpassed his mentor, which led to a strained relationship and the eventual dissolution of their partnership.
After
young Thad's mother died, his father became a priest. He instilled
in his son a devout belief in Christianity and always admonished him to
think about what Jesus would do whenever he had to make a difficult
decision. After he grew up, Thad still believed in Jesus and God, but in his line of work
there was no way he could 'turn the other cheek' to an enemy, so he
rationalized and justified his own version of his religion, as most people do. He worked for a nation that worshiped Jesus and God,
so whatever he had to do to support that nation must be right.
His
boss, Archie Lewis, knows about Thad's beliefs, which is one reason
he kept him out of anything to do with the special project responsible
for dealing with Hell. A dimensional gateway to Hell was
accidentally discovered through a university project which was
quickly pounced upon and taken control of by the U.S. State
Department. Due to the sensitive nature of this discovery, the
project was confined to a small number of personnel considered the best and most "politically reliable" by Lewis. Thad Coleman
and Jubal Stone were not on the list.
After
twelve of his best agents are assassinated by a rogue CIA operator,
Archie Lewis has no choice but to bring Thad Coleman and Jubal Stone
into the loop. They are assigned to take custody of a fallen
angel who has crashed to earth imprisoned inside a meteorite. Told
the angel will be cooperative, they are to deliver him
to a top-secret facility where he will be transported into Hell.
That is supposed to be the extent of their mission, but it is of vital importance to their ally, Lucifer, who might declare war if their treaty of cooperation is violated.
Now
that the angel has escaped and has gone on a killing spree, Thad and
Jubal's mission has taken on greater urgency. They still have to bring him to the transport station, but now he has become actively hostile. How do you capture a fallen angel?
They have been joined by a mysterious woman
who is reputed to be an expert on fallen angels. Thad doesn't trust her and is suspicious of her loyalty. He knows she was
born in Hell, where a community of indigenous human
beings survive as the lowest form of life in Hell's food chain. Thad believes she has a hidden agenda on behalf of Satan and his demons.
With all this going on, where is God and why hasn't He intervened? And why does Lucifer want this fallen angel badly enough to threaten war?
In
the midst of his crisis of faith, Thad is also dealing with the
deterioration and coming death of his wife, the only woman he has
ever loved, from advanced Alzheimer's Disease. The rogue CIA
operator has hinted that a cure is in the offing, but that vital
ingredients to that cure can only be harvested from the body of an
angel. He wants Thad to betray Jubal and help the CIA recover the angel
before the State Department gets him.
Thad
would do anything for the woman he loves and the God he believes in,
but his faith has never been tested like this. If she dies, his life might as well be over. Does he put his trust in his training or his faith, or should he just quit the game and wait for the end to come?
Jubal Stone recently lost his wife and his will to live until this mission rekindled his feeling of responsibility to his unit, his nation and the entire human race. What motivates him?
With everything he believed in having turned to dust, Thad Coleman has lost all hope and is ready to give up when Jubal's words remind him of what his father said regarding what Jesus would do in any given situation.
Thad Coleman admits he has lost his way, but Jubal has the answer.
"When you don't have anything left worth living for . . ."
"You need something worth dying for."
To
find out how Thad Coleman resolves his dilemma, read the novel
Kirkus Reviews calls “A powerhouse first volume in a supernatural
thriller series, point your browser to:
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