The Belial Stone (The Belial Series)

by Brady, R. D.

  Laney had only a passing familiarity with the book. She knew it was popular at one point within the early Christian church. She certainly didn’t remember any mention of an incredible weapon. She was most familiar with the last part of the book, which depicted Enoch’s visit to heaven. Toward the book’s beginning, he spoke about Watchers or, as they are better known, fallen angels. But try as she might, she couldn’t recall anything about a particular weapon that fit Drew’s description.

  She looked up at the windows that made up one side of Henry’s office. Henry and her uncle were manning the phones, calling in every marker, favor, possible source, to see if they could track down any information about the sister site. Danny was scouring the internet for information as well. Jake was getting in touch with his military contacts.

  She felt useless. A criminologist could tell you why people did horrible things, not where they were doing them. And she wasn’t really making any headway with Drew’s paper. All she had were more questions.

  If she had spoken with him before, maybe… Grief welled up inside her. She blinked back the tears. How could he be gone?

  Looking to distract herself, she focused on the family of deer again. Four of them stood eating grass, occasionally glancing around before returning to their meal. A rabbit skittered across the ground not far from them and birds called to each other from the trees. She smiled at the innocence of the scene.

  All that was missing was for the woodland creatures to join hands in a sing-along, and then the movie scene moment would be complete. I’ll have to get Max out here. He’ll love it.

  Her smile faded. The baseball-sized hole that had taken up residence in her chest reminded her that wouldn't be happening. She couldn't go near Max, or Kati, right now without endangering them.

  Dropping her head into her hands, she thought of Drew, his smile and excitement whenever he spoke of his work. Unbidden, the image from her dream returned, followed by what she imagined Tom was probably going through. It was all just so evil.

  Unburdened, the family of deer continued to munch away. What a simple life. No gun battles, kidnappings, murders. Just meandering through green fields all day.

  “Can I join you?”

  She glanced up, surprised to see Jake behind her. “I didn’t hear you come up.”

  “It’s my military training. It teaches us how to sneak up on pretty girls.”

  She grinned. “What an incredibly useful expenditure of taxpayer money.” Although her tone was light, his words gave her a thrill.

  She pointed at the family of deer in the distance. “I was just thinking about how idyllic their life must be.”

  Sitting in the chair next to her, he said, “Maybe for those guys. But most deer spend their time avoiding hunters, desperately foraging for food, and trying to keep from freezing in the winter.”

  She looked at him for a long moment. When she spoke, her tone was dry. “You know, you’re really ruining my Disney moment here.”

  He let out a chuckle. “Sorry. I’m sure Bambi and his friends are living the high life.”

  She smiled. They sat in companionable silence for a few moments, enjoying the peace.

  “Any luck upstairs?” she asked.

  Jake sighed. “No. If there’s a dig site, no one seems to have heard anything. The other three are still looking for some leads, but I’m not hopeful.”

  “I’m sure we’ll find something soon.”

  “Maybe.” The sound of Laney’s cell phone interrupted her reply. She glanced down at the caller ID before answering. “Hey, Rocky. How are you? How’s Mike?”

  “I’m good,” Rocky answered. “Just a couple stitches and a few pints of blood. Mike’s in the ICU, but they’re talking about moving him to a regular room soon. He’ll have to take it easy for a while, but they expect him to make a complete recovery.”

  “Thank God. At least that’s one piece of good news.”

  “Well, I also have some news from Dr. Nichols. Although, I’m not sure it fits in the ‘good’ category.”

  “Hold on a sec. Jake’s here with me. I’m going to put you on speakerphone.” She punched the speaker phone button and placed it on the table. “Okay. Go ahead. You said the M.E. came back with some results. Let me guess, Paul’s not human.”

  Rocky was silent.

  Laney glanced at Jake. “Rocky? I was kidding about that not-human thing.”

  “Well, you might not be that far off. The Doc explained it to me and, to be honest, I don't understand all of the science behind it. Hold on. I wrote this down.”

  The sound of shuffling papers could be heard through the phone. “Okay, let’s see. She said something about healing involving a rush of platelets that create something called a fibrin clot. That happens within minutes. Followed by um, angiogenesis, collagen deposition, granulation tissue formation, epithelialization, and wound contraction.”

  Jake glanced at her, one eyebrow raised.

  She shrugged. “Uh, Rocky? Any chance you could dumb all this down for us?”

  Rocky chuckled. “Yeah. I had the M.E. do that for me, too. Long story short, the entire wound healing process works exponentially faster in our boy. His platelet count is off the charts, which means he creates a fibrin clot almost instantaneously. He heals at lightning-fast speeds. In fact, the M.E. said that some of the shots to his heart already showed evidence of healing.”

  “Then how did he die?” Jake asked.

  Laney could hear the smile in Rocky's voice. “Well, apparently someone shot him point-blank in the heart multiple times. It was shredded. There was simply no way for him to recover from that fast enough.”

  Jake leaned forward. “Has the M.E. ever heard of any other cases like his?”

  “She could only find one case, about twenty years ago in San Diego. Guy was seventy-five. He'd been shot and still fought off his attacker. The two took a fall off a second story balcony. Guy was impaled through the heart by an iron fence. Same thing – heart was completely destroyed.”

  “Ouch.” Laney shuddered.

  “But that’s all she could find. She’s doing a wider search because I think now she’s just curious.”

  “So he heals almost instantly?” Laney thought of Paul’s face after the shotgun blast. What an incredible ability. “That’s got to come in handy. Was there anything else?”

  “Yup,” Rocky said, “Apparently Paul, whoever he is, was also rather physically gifted. He had higher than normal levels of type I muscle fibers. In fact, his body consisted of only this type. Which means, he utilized oxygen more efficiently, which should have made him incredibly powerful.”

  “I think we can all attest to the truth of that statement,” Jake said.

  “No kidding,” Rocky said. “Dr. Nichols said professional athletes, through hard training, can increase their type 1 muscle fibers by sixty percent. That’s only a fraction of what Paul had.”

  “So he is a superhuman?” Laney asked.

  “I guess that’s about as good a term as any,” Rocky replied.

  Laney struggled to assimilate the information with what they knew about the men’s abilities. “But where did he come from? And how did he find another superhuman? I mean, one guy was Asian and one was Caucasian. They can’t be genetically related.”

  “I don't know. But I do have officers scouring the area around the church to see if any cameras picked up a shot of his friend. Maybe we can ID him.”

  “Any luck ID-ing Paul?” Jake asked.

  Rocky’s frustration came through loud and clear. “No. But I’ll let you guys know as soon as we have something.”

  Laney nodded. “Okay. Thanks, Rocky. Take care, okay?”

  “You, too.”

  Laney looked at Jake after Rocky had hung up. “Superhumans? Is that even possible?”

  “Well, before my experience in Afghanistan and yours yesterday, I would have said no. But now?” He shrugged.

  Laney blew out her breath. “Okay, so we know these guys are physically gifted
. We think they’re grabbing men to work at a dig site and we think the site may be in the U.S. This all seems to be related to Drew’s paper. We need to get more information.”

  “Any suggestion as to where we get that information?” Jake asked.

  Laney looked away, focusing again on the family of deer. She had a feeling that as incredible as it might be, all of this hinged on Edgar Cayce and the Book of Enoch. Drew had used both as references in his paper.

  She struggled to remember more about Enoch, but there was just nothing there. All she could remember was that Enoch was Noah’s great-grandfather, and the book was about his trip to heaven. The individual details, though, were fuzzy at best. How on earth could that be related to any of this

  And then there was Edgar Cayce and his past-life readings on Atlantis. Somehow, Drew and Priddle had linked them together. But that link wasn’t clear in Drew’s paper. If she’d had the chance to talk to him about the paper, she would have advised him to make the link clearer. But she’d never have the chance now.

  Her uncle could probably fill in the blanks on the Book of Enoch, but she only had a passing knowledge of Cayce. They needed someone with a more detailed knowledge of the man.

  She looked at Jake. “I don’t suppose you guys have anyone on staff that specializes in the work of twentieth-century psychics?"

  Jake's expression was thoughtful. “Actually, I think we might.”

  CHAPTER 29

  Havre, MT

  Gideon stood at the wall of glass at the back of his home. When he’d realized Kensington’s role in the acquisition of the stone, he’d purchased the twenty-acre spread in Havre. Construction had begun immediately, although he had never bothered to tell Kensington where he lived.

  Encased almost entirely in glass, the home was a tribute to the clean lines of modern architecture and the style of Frank Lloyd Wright. It was an homage to the conspicuous consumption of the modern age.

  No expense had been spared. As far as Gideon was concerned, if he was going to have to muddle through in this life, he was going to do it in comfort.

  He stared at the sun as it slipped past the mountain peaks. The sky glowed orange, with strains of pink streaking through. There can be beauty here, he thought. As the last lights disappeared, though, so too did his wonder.

  He couldn’t believe Paul was gone. They’d met two decades ago. They’d come across one another in an airport, the international terminal at JFK. That sense of connection was instantaneous. Until that moment, he hadn’t realized how much he had missed that link

  It had been harder and harder to find his brothers as time passed. The world got larger and chance meetings became increasingly difficult. Before Paul, it had been three long lifetimes since he’d found a brother. And now, he was alone again.

  Turning from the darkness, he strode back into the living room. He looked around, his mind barely registering the stone-faced fireplace or sleek contemporary furnishings. Instead, he pictured Paul’s body as that red-headed bitch shot him. He curled his fists, wanting to lash out. He should have finished her when he had the chance. She needed to pay…painfully.

  But you didn’t make her pay, did you?

  He crushed the voice down. Her eyes seemed to follow him day and night. They mocked him. They knew the truth. He pictured her sitting in that car, full of courage and determination, her eyes locked on him. And he had felt it… Fear.

  For the first time in generations, she had made him afraid. And he had run.

  It had taken him thirty minutes to fully heal. He cringed as he thought of himself, curled up, cowering like a wounded animal. She had made him afraid. By the time he’d returned, she was gone. It had taken some time, but thanks to the Senator’s contacts, he found out she’d gone to Chandler Headquarters in Baltimore.

  “Chandler,” he whispered. Another wrinkle. Chandler’s involvement upped the risk. He wondered how much Henry knew. Had his mother ever told him the truth?

  He needed to move faster. He couldn't let fear hold him back. But he also couldn’t let his need to defy that fear push him to make an unwise decision. Caution. He needed to move with caution. He reached over and pulled his phone off the ottoman.

  He dialed. A voice answered, the Russian accent pronounced. “Yes?”

  “Old friend, I am in need of your services, and that of some of your friends.”

  CHAPTER 30

  Baltimore, MD

  The golf cart glided silently through the winding, flower-lined path that led to Sharecroppers Lane. Laney once again sat in the back, with Jake behind the wheel, while her uncle rode shotgun.

  She and Jake had explained the M.E.’s findings to her uncle, Danny, and Henry before they’d headed off on their trip. Her uncle had been quiet and distracted ever since. She’d tried to get him to talk about his ideas on Paul and his companion, but his stubbornness had once again reared its ugly head.

  Her mind was full of Drew, Tom, ancient civilizations, and superhumans. She felt like she was trying to force together the pieces of four very different puzzles.

  Looking for a distraction, she watched Danny and Henry in the golf cart behind them. Henry let Danny drive and patiently corrected him whenever he veered off course or braked too sharply. No matter how jolting the stop, Henry never lost his cool. She smiled. Danny might have had a rough time early in his life, but it looked like Henry was doing everything in his power to make the rest better. Who would have thought a world-famous intellectual’s most admirable quality would be his kindness?

  Her attention was pulled back to her uncle and Jake. Her uncle had shaken himself from his silent thoughts. She half-listened to him interrogate Jake on his military experience. Occasionally, she glanced over her shoulder and, catching Jake’s eyes in the rearview mirror, gained a good-natured smile.

  Jake seemed to be taking everything in stride, but she had a feeling there were a lot of emotions bubbling right under his surface. She wished she could do more to help him. She was at loss, though, as to what she could do. At least, until she realized what her uncle had just asked him.

  “Okay, Uncle Patrick,” Laney interrupted. “I think Jake’s already proven he’s more than qualified for his current job. Why don’t you give him a break?”

  “What?” Patrick’s eyes were full of innocence. “I’m just making small talk.”

  “Uncle Patrick, you just asked the man to list the weapons he’d want if ambushed by a small rebel force in a third-world country. I think you’ve officially moved beyond ’small talk.’”

  He had the good sense to look abashed. “Just checking on the man we’ve entrusted with our safety.”

  “We’re at the end of the line, anyway.” Jake pulled into a parking spot at the end of Sharecroppers Lane.

  Laney shook her head over her uncle’s tactics and caught Jake looking at her. He gave her a wink before leading them over to the sidewalk.

  Laney stopped next to her uncle and Jake as they waited for Henry and Danny to join them.

  “Does Dr. Radcliffe work in one of these cottages?” Patrick asked, looking around.

  Jake smiled. “Nope. We need to walk a little to get to his lab.

  “Actually, Dominic’s lab also houses his living quarters,” Henry said as he joined them with Danny. He started leading them down a path that curved away from the cottages. “He wanted everything in one spot. Just one of his little eccentricities."

  Danny kicked at a rock in the pathway. “People just don’t understand him.”

  Patrick walked next to the young man. “Sometimes, people can be cruel when they don't understand someone.”

  Danny glanced over at him and nodded.

  Laney watched the interchange from behind with a smile. Her uncle had just taken Danny under his wing. Life might be completely off-kilter right now, but there was one thing that remained unerringly consistent: her uncle’s empathy.

  The grounds became less landscaped as they made their way farther down the path. At one point, they started
pushing branches out of their way. If it weren’t for Henry’s sure-footed stride, Laney would have thought they were lost.

  Finally, they broke through into a little clearing. In front of them stood a small, squat brick building that looked like a utility shed for a power plant.

  Laney stopped next to Jake. “This is Dr. Radcliffe's lab?”

  “Yup. I was inside only once, before Radcliffe moved in. I'm curious to see what he's done with the place.”

  Laney looked back at the ugly building. “Yeah. I'm sure he's made it real homey.’

  Jake chuckled.

  Henry walked up to the door and flipped open the key pad to its left, inputting a series of numbers. He placed his eye up to the plate.

  Laney glanced at Jake.

  “A retinal scanner,” he replied to her unasked question.

  After a loud click, Henry pulled the door open and beckoned everyone in. Laney and Patrick shared a look before starting forward.

  “Guess we’re not in Kansas anymore, Dorothy,” Patrick whispered as he followed her into the dark building.

  CHAPTER 31

  The room remained dark until the door slammed shut behind Patrick. Bright incandescent lights flickered on, bathing the room in a greenish tint.

  “Well, this isn't creepy at all,” Laney muttered.

  There was nothing there. It was just a concrete-lined room with one door behind them and what looked like a vault door on the other side.

  Henry walked to a panel next to the giant steel door and placed his hand on the plate. A green glow traced the outline of his hand. With a blast of air, the door popped open a few inches. Henry grabbed onto the long handle and pulled the door wide. Fluorescent lighting hung over a circular hallway which angled sharply down into the ground.

  “Huh,” Jake grunted, nodding his head.

  “Huh, what?” Laney asked. “What is this place?”

  Henry answered as he ducked his head to walk through the tunnel. “It’s a bomb shelter. Dr. Radcliffe’s lab is actually located forty-five feet under us.”