The Belial Plan

by R. D. Brady

  “Well, I didn’t mean you can’t help me out if I need it,” she grumbled. “It has been a while since I fought.”

  “Not really. In your mind, you were just fighting in Troy. Your body remembers.”

  Laney looked over at him, and for a moment the air was charged. It wasn’t Laney and Drake in the front seat of the SUV. It was Helen and Achilles.

  Laney wasn’t sure what to do. What to say. She curled her hands into fists to prevent her from giving in to an urge to touch his face. Focus, Laney. Focus.

  Drake pulled over just as Laney felt the smallest tingle coming from ahead. “They’re here.”

  CHAPTER 79

  The Chandler Group was just two minutes outside the national park when the updated satellite images finally came in. Jake watched them unfold, his stomach clenching. “Three vans entered the park. That has to be them.”

  “Any sign of the kids?” Jen asked.

  “No. But I’m guessing they’re in the van.”

  “Are they heading for Mummy Cave Ruin?”

  “Looks like.” He glanced back at Noriko. “Looks like you were right.”

  She swallowed. “I guess so.”

  “We’re dropping you well away from there. You’ll be fine.” He looked at Cleo. “Right, Cleo?”

  Cleo placed her head on Noriko’s lap. “She said she’ll keep me safe,” Noriko said.

  Jake had picked a location far from the Mummy Cave Ruin to drop them off. He had a few other spots picked out as well, in case they weren’t heading there.

  “Where are they?” Jen asked.

  “About a mile from the Mummy Cave Ruin.” He paused. “You need to go faster.”

  Without a word, Jen pressed down on the accelerator, and the SUV shot forward.

  Jake frowned as he looked at the image.

  “What?” Jen asked, watching him from the corner of her eye.

  “There’s another car. It’s trailing them.”

  “Do you think it’s one of them?”

  “I don’t think so. It wasn’t at the airport, and it’s staying well back.”

  “So who do you think it is?”

  “I don’t know. But they’re closer to the kids than we are.”

  Jen gripped the steering wheel tighter. “Then let’s pray they’re here to help.”

  CHAPTER 80

  Laney and Drake trailed well behind the SUV caravan, and Laney used binoculars to keep an eye on them. Even at a distance, Laney could tell there were at least six Fallen inside and three nephilim. She frowned. That seemed like a lot of power to handle some toddlers. Unless there’s something else they have planned.

  “They’re stopping,” Laney said, and Drake pulled over behind some rocks.

  Laney got out of the car and crept forward. “So, how exactly are we going to get the kids?”

  “They can’t sense either of us, but it’s open ground—they’ll see us well before we arrive.”

  Laney stilled and turned her head to the right. “Somebody else is here.”

  “Your friends?”

  Laney nodded. “I’m guessing.”

  “And if we can sense them…” Drake said quietly.

  There was a flurry of movement at the vans.

  Laney nodded. “Then so can the Fallen.”

  CHAPTER 81

  Gerard stopped the first van in the middle of the valley, with Hakeem’s van stopping just behind him. From this spot they had a perfect view of the Mummy Cave Ruins. The ruins had been created by the Puebloan Indians and consisted of about seventy rooms three hundred feet up the red cliff face. The site had been occupied until around 1300 CE, when it was abruptly abandoned.

  On either side of the ruins were deep alcoves that gave the appearance of eyes. And right now, it felt as if the eyes were watching them—which Gerard had no doubt was Elisabeta’s goal. The woman did have a flair for the dramatic.

  Gerard glanced at the “cargo” in the back of his van: two nannies and ten kids. A Fallen sat in the passenger seat. Gerard scanned the surrounding landscape. Where the hell is the cavalry?

  He turned to the nanny closest behind him and spoke in Spanish. “Keep the children in the van. And keep their heads down.”

  “Why?” She looked at him with big eyes, and her voice trembled. All the nannies had been terrified ever since they’d left Vermont.

  “These men will hurt you.”

  The woman nodded quickly.

  Gerard stepped out of the van, and his co-pilot came around to join him. “Hey, what did you say to her?”

  Gerard looked at the man and smiled. “That you’re all bastards.”

  “What?”

  Gerard ignored him and scanned the area again—but he didn’t see or sense anyone else.

  His co-pilot gripped his shoulder and turned him around. “Hey. I asked you a question. What did you just say?”

  “I said I was going to kill you.” Gerard snapped the man’s neck. Pulling his knife from his sheath, he plunged it into the Fallen’s heart, catching the man as he fell and lowering him quietly.

  “Hey, what’s going on?” another Fallen called from the second van, no doubt feeling the signal from his comrade wink out.

  Well, I guess it’s just me. Gerard palmed his knife and sprinted forward. He was on the next Fallen in less than a second and sliced him deep across the waist. The man let out a scream. Gerard didn’t have time to finish him before he was tackled to the ground.

  Hakeem leaned into his face. “She knew you’d betray her. She told me I could kill you if you did.”

  “Good luck with that.” Gerard bucked him up with his hips and managed to get a knee in between them. He kicked Hakeem up and over. The big man crashed into the side of the van and slid down, unconscious. The nannies let out a scream from inside, and the kids began to cry.

  Gerard rolled to his feet, but before he could move, another Fallen stepped forward. “Traitor,” he growled.

  Gerard stared at the man, weighing his moves. But there was one factor that made anything he did inherently risky: the Fallen held a girl in his arms, and had one hand wrapped around her throat.

  “Look at you.” The Fallen sneered. “Samyaza’s great soldier. Scared to move in case I twitch and snap this little human’s neck.”

  “Let the girl go. She’s just a child.”

  “She’s unimportant. Nothing matters except—” The man choked, and blood seeped from his mouth.

  Drake stepped out from behind him, a knife in his hand, and grabbed the girl as the man fell forward.

  “Took you long enough,” Gerard said.

  “Well, traffic was bad.”

  Gerard shook his head. “Did you even bring help?”

  A lightning bolt tore from the sky and lit up a Fallen.

  Drake grinned. “A little.”

  CHAPTER 82

  Jen gunned the accelerator. The SUVs behind her fanned out, tearing across the dry ground. There was no cover in the park, and stealth was not an option, so they opted for speed.

  Jake had his binoculars out. What the hell? He could see the vans, but it looked like a fight had broken out. Who the hell was fighting?

  He spoke into his radio. “All team leaders—the children are the priority. Do not hesitate in protecting them. First teams, go, go!”

  In a blur, the Fallen and nephilim were out of the SUVs and blurring past. Jake stared ahead, his heart pounding. It would only take the Fallen a second to snap a neck. Those children could all be dead by the time they reached them.

  Another Fallen blurred toward the vans, coming from the opposite direction. He’d reach them before any of the Chandler group did.

  “Who the hell is that?” Jake asked aloud.

  A disturbance dragged his attention back to the vans, where another fight seemed to have broken out already. “What the hell is going on?”

  Clouds rolled overhead, and a lightning blast took out one of the Fallen after another.

  Jen slammed on the brakes and grinned.
“Laney’s here.”

  CHAPTER 83

  Laney moved from her hiding spot. Without Drake’s speed, she would never get there in time to help—but there was something she could do. She rained lightning bolts down on the Fallen she was able to see, making careful to keep the bolts away from the vans where the children were.

  It didn’t take long for the Fallen to start retreating. Laney smiled as they started to sprint from view. She sent a gale force wind to intercept them; it blew them into the air. She watched with satisfaction as they crashed to the ground.

  A few blurred out of her reach, but that was okay. Drake and his friend took off after some of the blurs.

  With a start, she recognized Henry standing among the vans. She had just taken a step toward them when a vision slipped into her mind: Noriko, sitting on a rock.

  Cleo.

  Laney whirled around. They had dropped Noriko off to keep her out of harm’s way, to keep her safe. And she had been safe—until Laney had scattered some of the Fallen.

  No. She began to run.

  CHAPTER 84

  Noriko sat on a rock with Cleo standing in front of her. Jake and Jen had practically tossed her from the car. They’d seen the vans heading in with the kids, and Jen had barely even slowed to let her and Cleo out. Even with the urgency, Cleo had had to tug her outside.

  I am not cut out for a life of adventure, Noriko thought as she glanced at the pack Jen had insisted she take. It contained water, a radio, a sat phone, and a gun. She had tried to get them to keep the weapon, but they had refused to allow her anywhere near the canyon without it. And she knew she was supposed to be here. She just wasn’t entirely sure why.

  Cleo looked at her over her shoulder. It’s started.

  Noriko couldn’t hear anything, but she didn’t doubt Cleo’s words. She ran a hand through the cat’s pelt.

  Protect you.

  I know you will. Thanks, Cleo.

  They sat together for what felt like forever, but Noriko knew it had only been a few minutes. Then Noriko heard a sound. She leapt to her feet and looked around. What was that?

  Cleo growled low in her throat, the hair on the back of her neck standing straight up. Noriko’s heart began to thump.

  A man ran into view—and he was not someone from the Chandler Group.

  Run! Cleo commanded.

  Noriko stumbled back, fell. The man blurred toward them, and Cleo intercepted him with a roar. Noriko scrambled behind the rock she’d just been sitting on. Cleo? Cleo, are you okay?

  A roar answered her, followed by a man’s scream. Noriko peeked her head out. Cleo stood over the man, blood dripping from her mouth. The man had a gaping wound in his neck.

  Then two more figures blurred into view. One slammed into Cleo, and they tumbled together, over and over. The other looked at Noriko and smiled.

  Scrambling to her feet, Noriko ran.

  CHAPTER 85

  Noriko ran as fast as she could manage, but her legs were shaking so hard, and she knew she wasn’t as fast as she needed to be. Even without the fear coursing through her, she would never be able to outrun a Fallen.

  She scrambled up the path, her palms stinging from falling to the ground. I never should have come. I never should have come.

  She felt the wind first—and then the man was in front of her, his hand wrapped in the front of her jacket.

  “Hello. And who might you be?”

  She yelped and tried to pull from his grasp. “No one. I’m no one.”

  Another man blurred into view next to her, and her heart broke. Cleo. Where is Cleo? Cleo!

  But she received no answer.

  No. Cleo, no.

  “What are we doing with her?” the first man asked.

  “Bring her. Samyaza will want to know how they found us, and this little bird will tell us. Won’t you?”

  Noriko could only stare back at him in terror.

  Then both men spun and looked behind them. A blur appeared, and one of the men tore off after it. But no sooner had he moved than, with a sickening thud, he suddenly fell to the ground, his neck broken.

  Noriko stared, her heart pounding and her vision dimming.

  The other man yelled, “You traitor! You filthy, stinking—”

  A blur appeared and tackled him. Noriko screamed as she was thrown back, but a body cushioned her fall. She scrambled back quickly, and then went still. She knew those blue eyes.

  He was just as shocked as he stared at her. “You.”

  The crack of a rifle broke up the staring match. Gerard grabbed her and rolled her so fast her head spun. He grunted as he pulled her behind a tall rock formation, hit the ground hard, and let her go.

  She squirmed back from him, then noticed the blood pooling along the back of his shirt. “You’ve been shot.”

  “I’m aware.” He grimaced. “I’ll heal.”

  “But not soon enough,” a man said as he stepped around the rock.

  Noriko’s eyes went wide as the man came into view.

  Gerard sighed. “Hakeem, you really need some better lines. That was right out of a bad eighties movie.”

  Hakeem’s mouth dropped. “That was a really good line. It totally fit.”

  “No, it was cheesy.” Gerard looked at Noriko. “Wasn’t it cheesy?”

  Noriko looked between the two of them, amazed that Hakeem seemed to be waiting for her response. “Um, it—”

  “Put the gun down slowly and stay where you are,” a female voice called out.

  A look of disbelief crossed Hakeem’s face. He lowered his hand, dropped the gun to the ground, and stood still.

  Noriko whirled around as a woman walked toward them, a gun in her hand.

  The woman looked at Noriko and smiled. “Hey, Noriko.”

  CHAPTER 86

  Laney’s heart pounded, but she focused on keeping her voice calm and her face even. Noriko was terrified, not that Laney could blame her. The whole way here, Laney had been terrified as well—terrified that she wouldn’t get to Noriko in time.

  “Noriko, come stand behind me please.”

  “But there’s a—”

  The rifle blast cut through the air again.

  “Laney!” Noriko screamed.

  Arms wrapped around Laney, lifted her off her feet, and thrust her behind a tall rock spire across the path from Noriko. Her back pressed against the rock, she looked up into Drake’s face, only inches from hers.

  “Careful, ring bearer. I nearly didn’t make it in time.”

  “But you did.”

  Laney heard a roar in the distance, and her heart lifted. Cleo. “You can let go now. Cleo took care of the shooter.”

  Drake nodded but didn’t step back.

  “Laney?” Noriko said, her voice trembling.

  Laney pushed past Drake, ignoring the tremble in her own legs. Not the time, Laney. Not the time. “I’m here. Are you all right?”

  “Yes. Thanks to him.” Noriko indicated Gerard.

  The Fallen, the man who had been Elisabeta’s right-hand man, tilted his head at her. “Ring bearer.”

  As he spoke, as a vision of a dark-skinned man with a hearty laugh and an easy smile drifted through Laney’s mind. Barnabus.

  Drake walked past her and offered his hand to Gerard. “Really, Gerard? Lying around? Don’t you know we’re in the middle of a battle?”

  Gerard grimaced as he took Drake’s hand and was pulled to his feet. “I did just save someone’s life.”

  Drake sighed. “Yes, yes, haven’t we all?”

  Laney shook her head at the two of them. They were always like this. Achilles and Barnabus never seemed to—

  She went still, her gaze meeting Gerard’s. I wonder if he knows.

  “Some of my memories started to return a few months ago,” he said, as if reading the question on her mind. “At least, from one of my previous lifetimes.” He tilted his head again and gave her a small smile. “It’s good to see you again, old friend.”

  She felt the emotion we
ll up in her throat and fought to keep her voice even. “You too, old friend.”

  Then she turned to Noriko and opened her arms. Noriko ran into them, and they held each other tight. “It’s all right,” Laney said. “You’re safe now.” She looked past her to Gerard. “Thank you for what you did. Because of you, those kids are safe.”

  Gerard shook his head. “Not all of them.”

  Laney’s breath stopped. “She’s found Victoria?”

  “She’s narrowed it down to two. She moved both of them.”

  “Where?”

  “She didn’t tell me. She’s playing that close to the vest.”

  Laney’s elation at saving the kids was dashed. Her gaze met Drake’s.

  “We’ll find them,” he said.

  Yeah, but how? And what the hell had Henry and Jake been thinking letting Noriko any where near this craziness?

  Laney hugged Noriko tighter. “It’s okay, you’re safe. But what are you doing here?”

  Noriko wiped her eyes and stepped back, shooting a glance at Gerard. “I’m supposed to be here.”

  Laney frowned. “Supposed to?”

  “Yes—it’s something I needed to do.”

  Drake put an arm around Laney’s shoulders. “No sense questioning the psychic. Just accept it.”

  Laney opened her mouth to reply, then shut it when she felt a familiar presence wafting through her mind. She stepped away from Drake.

  He frowned. “What are you doing?”

  She grinned. “Keeping you out of the line of fire.”

  A black shadow raced up the path toward Laney. Laney braced her legs, but Cleo knocked her down anyway. Drake let out a yell and managed to get underneath her as she fell, and Cleo stood over both of them, bathing Laney in kisses.

  Laney laughed, trying to turn her head so she could at least speak. “Cleo, stop, stop. Let me up.”

  Cleo gave Laney one last lick and stepped back.

  Laney rolled off Drake and got to her knees. Cleo buried her head in Laney’s chest, and Laney wrapped her arms around her. I missed you.