The Belial Stone (The Belial Series)

by Brady, R. D.

  Laney pulled out her Beretta, seeing Jake and Yoni do the same. She dropped to a knee, trying to steady her arms. She didn’t have a shot. After hanging onto the ground, her arms couldn't seem to stay still. Jake and Yoni didn't seem to be in any better a position.

  Gideon sprinted for the stone. But, with her heart in her throat, Laney watched her uncle beat him to it. She hadn’t noticed him run into the clearing. Patrick picked up the stone and held it over the crevice.

  Oh God no, Laney thought, jumping to her feet. She sprinted along the edge of the crevice, pushing her still wobbly legs to move faster, her eyes never leaving her uncle.

  Gideon stopped short. “Do you realize what you hold in your hand, Priest? It could answer all your questions. It could justify all your sacrifices. With it, you wouldn’t have to worship God, you could be one.”

  Patrick looked at the stone. Laney couldn’t read his face. Fear stabbed through her. She knew Gideon was right. The power in the stone was the power of the gods. The power of God. Her uncle wouldn’t covet that, would he?

  A smile was on the Fallen’s face, a smile of understanding.

  Gideon’s smile wavered as Patrick looked back at him, shaking his head. “You think all men are like you. We’re not. This power is not meant for us. This was supposed to be a gift to mankind, but it’s been perverted. And you’re the one who perverted it. Mankind cannot handle this power, and you don’t get to wield it.” Keeping eye contact with Gideon, he dropped the stone into the fissure.

  “No,” Gideon screeched, lunging for the edge.

  Patrick backed away. Even from her distance, the fury in Gideon was palpable. She cried out as her uncle stumbled over an upturned piece of ground. Righting himself, he turned to run.

  Gideon yanked him back, wrapping his fist tightly around the front of Patrick’s shirt. “So self-righteous. So moral. Let’s see your morality save you now.”

  Gideon pitched him over the edge.

  CHAPTER 87

  “No!” Laney ran for her uncle on legs of Jell-O, terror almost dropping her to her knees. She barely registered Gideon as he sprinted away.

  Henry reached the edge just as she did. Patrick had managed to grab onto a cliff edge only six feet down. He was barely hanging on.

  “Grab my legs,” Henry yelled as he lowered himself head first over the edge.

  Jake and Yoni threw themselves on Henry’s legs as he stretched out desperately to reach Patrick.

  Laney felt like she was coming apart inside. This couldn’t be happening.

  Patrick stretched up his hand. Henry was still too far away.

  Trusting Yoni and Jake to keep him from plunging to his death, Henry stretched himself completely over the ledge, with only the tips of his boots touching the ground.

  Laney held her breath, not daring to breath. This time, Henry reached Patrick’s fingers. Slowly, fingers crawled along fingers, until he grasped Patrick’s wrist.

  “Pull us up!” Henry kept a death grip on Patrick.

  Together, Yoni and Jake pulled on Henry, and Tom jumped in as well, adding the extra muscle needed to pull the two men up.

  As Patrick got close to the edge, Laney leaned over to grab Patrick’s shirt and helped pull him back onto solid ground. He yelped as she grabbed onto his arm. She quickly adjusted her position and grabbed him by the shirt, yanking him over the side. She wrapped her arms tightly around him.

  “You’re okay. You’re okay,” she repeated over and over, not sure who she was trying to reassure.

  Yoni sat up first and looked around. “Where’d Gideon go?” he asked.

  “There.” Tom pointed to the main entrance.

  Yoni started to rise to go after him, but Henry stayed him with an arm.

  “Gideon’s mine.” Henry’s voice left no room for discussion and he took off after him.

  Laney kissed her uncle on the cheek. “I have to help him.” She turned to Yoni and Tom. “Take care of him."

  Jake pulled her up. “I’m coming with you.”

  “I never doubted it.” She sprinted towards the exit, Jake at her side. It was time to end this.

  CHAPTER 88

  Laney and Jake reached the exit seconds after Henry crossed though it. Gunfire rang out and she leaped back.

  Jake grabbed her around the waist, pulling her into the wall, out of danger. “You hit?”

  “No.” She peered past him. Henry was pinned down in the body ditch, climbing along the edge. Her breath caught as Gideon stepped to the edge, his boots on either side of Henry’s hands.

  Henry looked up. “Azazyel.”

  “So you know who I am. But do you know who you are, Henry Chandler? That is the true question.” Gideon stepped on Henry’s fingers. “How’s your mother doing? She’s going by Victoria these days, is she not?”

  Henry gritted his teeth, but didn't answer.

  Gideon stomped down harder. “What, no response? I’ve never understood how your mother could generate such loyalty in her children, when she’s doomed you all.”

  “You know nothing about her.”

  “Oh, my friend. Your mother and I go way back. And I do mean way back. But now’s really not the time for that. After all, what’s the point in chatting with a dead man?” Gideon aimed his gun at Henry’s head. “Good-bye, Mr. Chandler.”

  Laney and Jake leaned out and set off a barrage of shots. Gideon dove for the ground. Bullets followed him as he crawled towards his car.

  “Henry, we’ve got you covered! Get out of there!” Jake yelled.

  Henry needed no further encouragement. Placing both hands on the edge, he vaulted out of the pit. He turned in the direction that Gideon had disappeared. Gideon’s car was peeling away.

  Laney spied a truck. She sprinted for it and leaped in the driver’s seat. She flipped open the visor and the keys dropped into her lap. “Thank you, God.”

  She turned the key as Henry and Jake jumped in the passenger door. “Hold on boys.” She slammed down the accelerator and peeled after Gideon.

  CHAPTER 89

  Tom let Yoni help Patrick to the exit. He wanted to check one more time and make sure no men had been left behind in the enclosure. He looked around with disgust. No one should be here longer than they needed to be.

  There was only one ditch left to check. He headed down the ramp when a hand reached from under the ramp and yanked on his leg. He barely managed to get his hands up in front of him to avoid slamming his face into the ground.

  As he hit the ground, he rolled to his side. Dazed, he made it to his knees when a dark shadow lumbered at him from underneath the ramp.

  The man sprinted across the ground towards him, a shovel raised above his head. Rolling out of the way, Tom just missed being pummeled.

  The man came at Tom relentlessly. Tom crab-walked backwards, trying to stay out of the way. The man swung at him again and again and again, an inhuman scream accompanying each swing.

  Tom rolled under a table and the man slammed the shovel into it. He pulled it back up but it was caught in the frame. With a curse, he yanked at it in a frenzy.

  Tom scrambled to his feet and took his first look at his attacker.

  Commander Gregory. Somehow, he had survived the initial attack, although he seemed to have lost his weapon. And he was bleeding profusely from a wound in his left shoulder.

  With a cry of impotent rage, Gregory finally wrenched the shovel free and wheeled with it over his head.

  “Stop,” Tom said quietly, training his gun on the raging man.

  Gregory paused, the shovel still in the air above his head. He sneered. “A gun? What are you going to do? Shoot me? You don’t have it in you. You’re not that kind of man.”

  “You don’t know me.”

  “I know you,” Gregory said. “You’re weak. You’re not a man. You practically cried every time you saw blood.”

  “And you’re a man? You held all the power and you wielded it like a weapon. You killed people for sport. You have no conscience. You
’re no man. You’re the weak one.”

  Bellowing, Gregory launched himself at Tom. Tom took a step back and fired, catching him in the right shoulder.

  Gregory flew back with the force of the bullet, his shovel flying uselessly behind him. He fell, spread-eagle on the ground.

  Tom walked over slowly, keeping his gun trained.

  Blood seeped from the now matching wounds in Gregory’s shoulders, but didn’t stop the venom that spewed from his mouth. “Couldn’t even kill me, could you?” he taunted. “Why don’t you finish the job, you coward.”

  Tom lowered his gun. He shook his head and looked Gregory square in the face. “I don’t need to. You’re going to go to jail and spend all your time with people who will happily punish you every day for the rest of your existence for your acts here.”

  Tom smiled. “You were in charge here, but that’s over. Everything before now doesn’t matter. Because this is the last battle. In the end, I win.”

  CHAPTER 90

  Laney sped across the field, trailing behind Gideon and losing ground fast. She pushed the accelerator to the floor, trying to coax out a little more speed, but there was nothing. Stupid farm truck. I should have looked for something faster.

  “We’re not going to catch him in this,” Jake said. “We need to figure out a way to slow him down. Don’t suppose we actually got that back-up plan up and running?”

  Reaching into his pocket, Henry pulled out his cell phone. He hit two numbers and then barked into the phone. “We’re about three clicks northwest of the enclosure following a black Mercedes.”

  “Understood,” the caller said and disconnected the call.

  Laney glanced over at Henry, but he didn’t offer any explanation.

  A few seconds later, she heard the unmistakable sound of a helicopter and checked the sky. A white chopper was heading straight for them. As it approached, the door to the chopper opened, revealing a man with a surface to air missile.

  “Please tell me they’re on our side,” Laney groaned.

  Henry just smiled.

  The helicopter flew past them and released the missile. It struck just behind the Mercedes, somersaulting it across the field. Shards of metal littered the ground behind it, like a trail of breadcrumbs.

  Jake looked over at Henry. “Guess you did get that little surprise up and running.”

  Henry gave him a brief smile. Ahead, the Mercedes crashed onto its back and stopped moving. Laney slammed to a stop a few feet away.

  Henry and Jake jumped out of the truck with their guns extended. Laney slid out the other side, taking the same precautions.

  They advanced in unison on Gideon’s vehicle. It was a mass of twisted metal, the roof caved in, a trail of metal shards and broken glass leading to it.

  The driver’s door flew open and Gideon fell from the car. Laney stared, amazed that even Gideon could survive that wreck. She moved to the left, Henry and Jake spanning to the right to keep him completely covered.

  “Aim for the heart,” she murmured to herself, gripping the Beretta tightly and lining up the sights.

  Gideon struggled to stand. He glanced at Laney and Jake, disregarding them. His focus was on Henry. “A missile? Really, Henry?”

  “Well, Azazyel, you seemed to be getting away,” Henry replied.

  “I prefer Gideon these days,” he replied heatedly.

  “I don’t really care what you prefer these days,” Henry replied coldly, raising his gun.

  “What, you’re just going to shoot me in cold blood? What about you?” Gideon turned to her. “How can you condone this?”

  Laney’s gaze didn’t flinch. “I can live with it. I’ll ask my uncle to absolve him of sin afterwards.”

  Gideon wiped the blood from his eyes and laughed as he saw it on his hand. He glanced back at Henry. “Besides Henry, don’t you want a shot at the title? Haven’t you always wanted to know?”

  Laney looked from Henry to Gideon and back, knowing there was an undercurrent here that she wasn’t privy to. She glanced at Jake and noted the confusion there. He didn’t know what was going on, either.

  “Henry?” Jake asked.

  Henry looked at Gideon for a long moment. “Laney, Jake, do you have him?”

  Laney steadied her arm. “Yes.”

  Jake did the same. “I’ve got him.”

  Henry turned and walked towards Jake, careful not to block his view of Gideon. He tucked his gun into Jake’s belt. “I think I do want a shot at the title.”

  CHAPTER 91

  Laney watched as Gideon and Henry squared off. What the hell was going on? Why was Henry fighting him? He couldn’t possibly think he’d win.

  Gideon and Henry circled each other, muscles tense, both looking for an opening. Henry rushed in and Gideon leaped to the side. He aimed at jab at Henry’s head, but Henry twirled away.

  Laney felt her jaw drop. Henry was skilled. And incredibly fast. She swallowed. Almost inhumanly fast. Seconds passed, with one moving in and the other countering. Jabs and kicks hit nothing but air.

  Then Gideon moved to the left and zipped back to the right, rushing in at Henry. Henry sidestepped and caught Gideon in the nose with a palm heel. Blood gushed from his nose. Henry grabbed the back of Gideon’s head and flung him to the ground behind him.

  He spun around. Gideon lay sprawled on the ground in an undignified heap. “That’s all you’ve got, Azazyel?”

  Issuing a guttural growl, Gideon jumped to his feet and tackled Henry with impossible speed. Henry crashed with such force, Laney expected to see a crater. She knew the fight was over. No human could take that kind of hit.

  She tightened his grip, preparing to take Gideon out. She saw Jake start forward. But then Henry rolled back onto his feet. He held up a hand, waving Jake back.

  Laney gaped again. How was he standing?

  Henry rushed at Gideon too quickly for Laney to even see. He was a blur of motion. The two combatants clashed in a series of punches and kicks so fast, she couldn’t tell who was getting hit and who was getting hurt.

  Henry took a vicious right hook to the face followed by an uppercut that landed him on his back. Gideon leapt towards him. Henry rolled out of the way at the last second, sweeping Gideon’s legs and landing a heel kick to his chest.

  In spite of the beatings, both men managed to get back to their feet. Gideon grabbed Henry by the front of his shirt, charging him backwards across the field.

  Henry dropped onto his back, brought his feet up, and kicked Gideon over him, causing him to slam headfirst into the wrecked Mercedes. Gideon landed upside down, the wreckage capturing his legs, pinning him there.

  Henry walked towards him, wiping blood from the side of his mouth. “You’re done.”

  The blood in Gideon’s mouth choked off his attempt to laugh. “I’m not done. I’m never done.”

  Henry reached down for a large shard of twisted metal that had been flung from the car in the crash. He squatted next to Gideon.

  “You’re done for this lifetime.” He plunged the metal into Gideon’s heart and twisted.

  CHAPTER 92

  Laney and Jake headed back to the enclosure in the truck. Henry had stayed behind with Gideon’s body. Just in case, as he'd explained.

  “Jake, what was that?”

  He shook his head. “I don’t know, Laney. I really don’t.”

  Laney pulled up in front of the enclosure in a daze. That fight had been incredible. But what did it mean? Who, or more accurately what, was Henry

  “Where do they think they’re going?” Jake asked.

  Laney followed Jake's gaze. Kensington and Priddle sprinted from behind a piece of rubble, heading for a giant SUV. They must have been hiding out and only now tried to escape.

  She leaped out of the car, rage fueling her. “Oh no, you don’t.”

  Kensington was only a short distance from his car. She put on a burst of speed. Ahead of her, Kensington fumbled for his keys, dropping them to the ground in his haste. Laney reach
ed him just as he retrieved them.

  She spun, aiming a back-kick at the base of his spine. Kensington screamed as his chin connected with the roof of the car and his broken arm crashed into the door.

  Anger rolled off her in waves as she stalked towards him. Grabbing him by the back of the head, she slammed his face into the car, breaking his nose. She spun him around and let him drop to the ground.

  He sniveled, clutching his nose and moaning. She looked at him with disgust. This was the man who had killed hundreds of men in the name of power, who was responsible for Drew's death, and who had endangered the people she cared about. And when confronted, he collapsed without a fight.

  She thought she should say something to let him know that he had lost. As she looked at the sniveling mess of a man on the ground, though, she realized he wasn’t even worth the energy to speak the words.

  “You good?” Jake asked from behind her.

  She looked over her shoulder at him. She smiled. “Yeah, I’m good.” She started to turn, when she heard the retort of a gun. Confused, she looked around, trying to determine where it had come from.

  Jake closed the distance between them in seconds and grabbed her around the waist. Priddle stood peering over the hood of the car, his gun aimed at them. Somehow, he had crawled around the side, unseen, to take his shot.

  Jake pulled Laney close as he shot over her shoulder. Jake’s shot found its mark, right in the middle of Priddle’s face, now all but gone. The force of the shot blast forced him backwards, into the cage where he’d enslaved men to further his own career.

  “Laney? Are you all right?” Jake asked, his face a mask of concern.

  “Yeah, I'm fine,” she said, as her legs buckled. She stared at the darkening pool on the ground below her with confusion.

  Where’s all that blood coming from? she thought, right before her world went black.