The Belial Warrior (The Belial Series Book 9)
Page 33
Timing. As mentioned, Homer's tale was written at least five hundred years after the war allegedly was fought. That being the case, I think if it did happen, like in a game of telephone, some things were exaggerated such as the length of the war. According to Homer, the war lasted ten long years. Yet, during the Bronze Age the average lifespan was only about thirty years. Which meant, the Trojan War would have lasted a full third of someone's life. For this reason, I shortened the duration of the war considerably.
Helen of Troy. Helen has received a great deal of attention through time. She has become the consummate example of a feckless woman acting without thinking of the consequences of her behavior or worse as a woman who took joy in the destruction her actions brought to others. Yet, at the same time, Helen was revered for hundreds of years throughout Greece. There were cults dedicated to Helen.
The problem of course is that the men tended to be the ones who wrote about Helen—men who never met her and were writing in a time when independent women were viewed with the same appreciation as a rabid wolf. So the quotes on Helen at the beginning of the book, are not reflections of Helen so much as reflections of the writers view of women.
But those types of commentary have of course helped shape the view until all she has become known as is the face that launched a thousand ships. No mention is made of her being the Queen of Sparta, a kingdom known for the strength of its fighters and the women who ruled it. No mention is made of the cults of warrior women dedicated to her throughout Greece. No, according to the modern take, Helen is merely a flighty woman who took up with a man who was not her husband and sent the world to war.
Whatever Helen's true story is, I do not think it is what Homer has suggested. I think there was much more to the queen of Sparta.
So now, the question is where do we go from here? Or perhaps, better yet, what has everyone else been up to while Laney relived her life as Helen. The Belial Plan, out this Winter, will tell the tale of Henry, Jake, Patrick, and Jen while Laney slept. But have no fear, Laney and Drake will be part of the story as well.
If you are interested in reading a sneak peek of The Belial Plan, keep reading.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
R.D. Brady has been writing full-time since 2013. Prior to that, she was a criminologist specializing in international terrorism studies and early child predictors of delinquency. The Belial Warrior is the ninth book in the popular Belial Series and the twelfth novel published by R.D.
If you would like to be notified about her upcoming publications, you can sign up for her mailing list on her website. You will only be notified when a book is being released. People who sign up for her mailing list will receive a free copy of B.E.G.I.N, the short story prequel to the A.L.I.V.E. series. If you'd also like to know what R.D. is up to, you can check out her website, desperateforagoodbook.com.
Books By R.D. Brady
THE BELIAL SERIES (IN ORDER)
The Belial Stone
The Belial Library
The Belial Ring
Recruit: A Belial Series Novella
The Belial Children
The Belial Origins
The Belial Search
The Belial Guard
The Belial Warrior
The Belial Plan (February 2017)
STAND ALONE NOVELS:
Runs Deep
Hominid
The A.L.I.V.E. Series Prequels
B.E.G.I.N.
The A.L.I.V.E. Series
A.L.I.V.E.
D.E.A.D. (Winter 2017)
Excerpt from ‘The Belial Plan’ (Coming February 2017)
Noriko marveled at how different the woods were here compared to the plant life she had on Malama Island in Hawaii. She was used to palm trees and exotic flowers. Here, there were oaks and flowers lasted only a season or two before fall caused them to crumple away and winter buried them under white.
Baltimore was as different as could possibly be from her upbringing and she loved it. The cold took a little getting used to, but the crispness in the air, that was incredible. And there was another huge perk about living in Maryland.
Noriko went still squinting at a bush in front of her before a rustle behind her caused her to whirl around. A Javan leopard, yellow with black spots charged toward her with a roar. Noriko braced herself as the cat barreled into her.
"Ugh," She slammed onto her back with a grunt. The cat stared into her eyes with its unusual green eyes, its paws on her shoulders.
Noriko stared back. The cat let out a ferocious growl and then leaned down and licked Noriko's cheeks. Noriko laughed, turning her head to try and avoid some of the cat's affection. "Tiger, you are not a humble winner."
Tiger stepped off her and Noriko put a hand on his back, using him to help pull herself up. As soon as she was standing, Tiger leaned into her, rubbing his head on her thigh. With a laugh, she leaned down and scratched his side. "Yes, I still love you."
A girl a year younger than Noriko with curly dark hair and bright blue eyes stepped into view, a pure white panther with blue eyes at her side. "He won again, huh?" Lou Thomas asked.
Noriko grinned. "Yup."
Lou and Noriko had met when Laney had brought Noriko back from Malama Island. The two had become fast friends. When Laney had gone missing, Henry had asked Noriko if she would mind staying for a little while to help the cats get settled. She'd expected it to be only a few months, but it was close to eight months since she'd last been home to Malama.
But she couldn't head home quite yet. "Did you find her?" Noriko asked.
Lou nodded. "Yeah come on."
Most of the cats were doing all right. They revered Laney but it was actually Lou, Rolly and Danny they viewed as members of their pack. The three of them had been made members because they had helped save the cats from the lab that had created them.
Because these were not regular Javan leopards. No, at the behest of a particularly sadistic Fallen, the DNA of Javan leopards had been mixed with the DNA of a Fallen. The result was a whole new species—one that was larger than leopards, most standing at four feet at the shoulders, although the vets thought Tiger might actually grow a little larger than that. But more critically than their immense size was their intelligence. They were almost on par with a normal human being.
In Laney's absence, Noriko had taken over their care. Although Henry took care of their basic needs—food and shelter, Noriko was in charge of their emotional needs. Because Noriko was a member of Honu Keiki, the descendants of the people of Mu. And the descendants brought more than ancient stories with them through the generations. They brought abilities. The abilities had often been diluted throughout time, but a little less than half of the members of Honu Keiki had some form of psychic ability.
Noriko was unique in that she had two—the ability of prophesy and an ability to communicate with animals. Now as she and Lou walked through the preserve that Henry had created for the cats, Noriko sent out feelers trying to gauge the feelings of the cats nearby.
"How are they doing?" Lou asked.
"All right. Although the walls make them unhappy." Since Laney, walls had been erected around the cat's estate to keep the world's prying eyes from seeing the cats. But the long arm of the media had still managed to get shots. A few helicopters had flown over and they'd even used satellite feeds. But while most commented on the cats' size, they did not know how what else made the cats so unusual.
"Yeah, well, they're not the only ones. We all have walls around us these days."
Noriko held out a hand. "Hold up."
Lou stopped. "What?"
Noriko nodded down the path. "Wait for it."
Two black Javan leopards sprinted into view. They stopped short and looked at the young women for a moment, grins on their faces before sprinting away. But that small pause was long enough to see the small dachshund with a patch over one eye sitting in a saddle on one of the cat's backs.
Rolly Escabi and Zach Grayston blurred into view a second later.
/> Noriko grinned. "Princess looks happy."
Rolly smiled. "Yup. Thanks for suggesting it."
"Which way did they go?" Zach asked.
Lou pointed down the path. "That way." The boys took off again.
Lou looked at Noriko. "Princess really was okay?"
"Oh yeah," Noriko said. "Ever since she lost her leg and eye, she's felt so slow. So unhappy. Seeing the cats and their speed, she was jealous. So yeah, riding on Kingston's back, Princess is very happy."
"Well, that's one patient handled. This way to the other one." Lou led Noriko off the path. Noriko followed Lou through the brush and up a small incline. Noriko knew where they were heading. There was a ledge on the other side of the hill that provided a pretty good view of the enclosure. As they approached she could hear, Danny Wartowski, age seventeen, one of the head analysts of the Chandler Group and all around nice guy. "So I figured out if you use gold as a shield, it would protect the transmitter long enough for me to duplicate the signal."
Lou shook her head. "Well I'm pretty sure that topic conversation would put me into a depression," she muttered.
But Noriko didn't say anything as they came around the hill. Danny looked up, his relief clear. "Hey there."
"Hey," Noriko said, her gaze quickly shifting from Danny to the cat next to him. "Hey Cleo."
Cleo lifted her head but then dropped it back down with a sigh. Danny and Lou exchanged a worried glance.
"I've got this," Noriko said. "Why don't you guys give us a little time?"
"Sure, sure." Danny got to his feet. He nodded to the insulated bag on the ground. "I brought some bacon but she wouldn't take any."
"I'll see what I can do," Noriko said.
"Okay, we'll, uh, meet you guys back at the house." Lou tugged on Danny's sleeve and he followed her. Snow walked over and licked Cleo's cheek before following them as well.
Tiger walked over and curled up next to Cleo, laying his head gently on her back.
Noriko walked over and sat on Cleo's other side. She ran a hand along her side. Hi Cleo. How are you doing today?
Cleo just sighed again in response.
I know you miss Laney. But you know she loves you. She would never leave you unless she had to. There are people after her. She was trying to keep everyone safe. And you would know if something happened to her, right?
Yes.
So she's still all right? Noriko asked the question hesitatingly hoping the answer remained the same.
Still sleeping.
Still sleeping—Cleo had had that response for the last five or six months. Noriko had tried to understand what she meant but the communication was not perfect. And Cleo seemed frustrated when Noriko pointed out that she did not understand. So Noriko just accepted the words.
Well that's good. If she's sleeping, she's not hurt.
Cleo opened one eye to look at Noriko. And somehow, using only one eye, she managed to convey annoyance. But Noriko was happy for the response. Anything was better than apathy.
Importance and arrogance crept into Noriko's mind. I've protected her.
I know. But just like you've protected Laney in the past, she's trying to protect you now. This time, you can't protect her. You just have to trust her.
And just like that, the arrogance and importance disappeared. It hurts.
Noriko's heart clenched. She leaned her head into Cleo's head, gently rubbing behind her ears. I know Cleo. I know.
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