James B Christensen

The Vessel James B Christensen

In eighteenth century Spanish Louisiana, Anthony of Languedoc stops a cult from opening a spectral doorway to the Second Heaven, where the Watcher-a fallen angel-is imprisoned. The cult is defeated, and the Watcher remains shut away. Until now. Antonia "Toni" Gershom is the sheriff of Five Oaks County, Nebraska, the site of Anthony's ancient battle. As a soldier and a cop, she has seen the worst of a fallen world. As a widower and mother struggling with her teenage daughters, she has borne the heaviest burdens of the human heart. When a local girl commits suicide, her farewell letter promises she will return with her Dark Prince-the Watcher who will rule over a new order of suffering and evil. Toni consults the local parish priest, and together they piece together a frightening conspiracy of fallen angels and otherworldly invasions long thought to have been only a legend. Strange sightings, elusive cultists, and impossible events roil the small community until Toni knows she must battle the ultimate evil, a futile task unless she can find the ultimate good within herself.