Blood Touching

Colonel Ethan Pendleton is the commander of Fort Davis, a United States Cavalry outpost on the far reaches of the West Texas frontier. He's a man haunted by the memory of a murdered wife, the ghosts of massacred and mutilated men, and the spirits of brutalized enemies. For fifteen years these specters visit his dreams.Post physician, Elijah Andersen is the colonel's friend. To ease the colonel's mind, the doctor prescribes an old fashion remedy: forgiveness. But Colonel Pendleton believes he's too far gone for that. He has surrendered sword and soul to violence and vengeance. By the summer of 1880 his humanity is nearly eaten through. He feels like a jack-o-lantern, its substance removed and tossed aside. His nighttime companions judge him for his inhumanity, but he's compelled to continue in the devil's business-punishing those who took the life of his wife and the scalps of his men.The Apache chief Victorio and his Chihennes were not responsible for Isabella Pendleton's death, but they have killed Buffalo Soldiers and taken scalps-and that's all Colonel Pendleton need know. He's determined to bring Victorio to heel. But catching the ghost-like Apache proves to be as difficult as driving away his tortured memories and the last thing Pendleton needs is to be saddled with a rank-hungry Lieutenant who has no frontier experience. And yet, Lieutenant Caleb Dancy might prove to be the man who can bring peace to the colonel's troubled spirit.Blood Touching Blood probes the mystery of how violence begets violence, how the lust for vengeance hollows out the human soul, and whether one who gives himself over to such dark designs can find redemption.