Book excerpt: Loneliness can drive a man to madness, but Pavel Trusnik is not a normal man. After committing a crime that leaves him shunned and isolated, he has only the fading memories of his tragically flawed life, and his one great love. When a violent sociopath sets his murderous desires upon the elderly shut-in, only an ancient order that knows Pavel's secrets can come to his aid. But for Pavel, the vicious intruder is the only company he has had in decades…