The Belial War

by R. D. Brady

  “Laney, what’s—” But he cut himself off as he saw the image on the iPad. The picture was broken up into four quadrants, all shots of empty sky. “Is that around the plane?”

  Laney nodded. “Elisabeta’s never going to let us get to Calevitnia. I figure she’ll do something when we are over the water.”

  “What’s that?” Drake pointed to the bottom-left screen.

  Laney sucked in a breath, enlarging the image. “Hold this.” Laney shoved the tablet into his chest.

  Drake grasped it. “What are doing?”

  “Praying I don’t miscalculate,” Laney said.

  Mustafa looked between Drake and Laney. “I don’t get it. How did you survive?”

  “I managed to turn the plane enough that the missile hit the fuselage as far from the wing we were in as I could manage, and just as it hit, I released the wing.”

  “Released it?” Noriko asked.

  “It was designed to come off and act as a dump for any contraband,” Gerard said.

  Noriko frowned. “But the plane would crash, wouldn’t it?”

  “Yeah, well, it was only meant for extreme situations,” Gerard said.

  “Which this definitely qualified as,” Laney said.

  “Once we hit the water, I swam us out of there as fast as I could manage,” Drake said.

  “And I picked them up,” said Gerard.

  “That’s the part I don’t get. How is Gerard part of this? How did he find you?” Mustafa asked.

  “A tracer. He gave it to me before you guys left,” Laney said.

  “I had to head a little farther north so we would come into the coast well away from the crash site,” Gerard said.

  Laney took another sip of coffee, keeping her hands around the mug as she spoke. “Gerard came to the cabin in Pennsylvania. He told me about your vision. We agreed to keep it to ourselves until we figured out what to do. Once it became clear that Elisabeta was not going to allow me to interfere with her plans, we decided I needed to die.”

  “Did anyone else know?” Mustafa asked.

  “Just Gerard.”

  Drake grunted.

  Laney took his hand. “I wasn’t sure it would work. I didn’t want to get anyone’s hopes up. And it was safer for everyone to think I died. There was no guarantee it would work.”

  Noriko looked at Drake. “You got on that plane thinking you were going to die.”

  Drake shrugged. “Temporary insanity.”

  Laney looked over at him. “No, you were running to my rescue.”

  He picked up her hand and kissed it. “And I always will.”

  Noriko sighed across from them.

  When Laney had been walking across that runway, she had been terrified. She knew Elisabeta would try to take her out en route. She had her escape plan, but it relied on perfect timing. And she’d also have to convince the pilot to go along with her.

  So many things could have gone wrong. But then Drake had appeared, first yelling at her that she was playing right into Elisabeta’s hands, then promising to stand with her until the end.

  Her heart filled again thinking of his words. If you are resolved to do this, then I guess I am as well. Because without you, it is not a life I wish to live.

  Noriko looked at Gerard. “So you didn’t betray us?”

  “No,” he said softly, and Noriko smiled.

  Drake cleared his throat. “Well, touching as this little moment is, perhaps we should focus on the issue at hand.” Laney elbowed him in the ribs.

  “What was that for?”

  “For being thick. Ignore him, but maybe you guys could catch me up.”

  Mustafa’s mouth fell open. “You knew we were looking for the Omni?”

  “She sent me to get it,” Gerard said.

  “So all of this, it was a sham?” Mustafa asked.

  Laney nodded. “I wasn’t sure how it could help us at first. I thought giving me the powers of the Fallen would give me an edge in a face-to-face battle with Elisabeta. But now I think it might do even more.”

  “Elisabeta set things up to work in her favor,” said Laney. “Threatening all the governments, inciting them to act. She knew it would tie my hands, which it did. I need to be able to get to her without going through a committee and without it being on every news station. The only way for that to happen was to take me out of the picture. And I knew Elisabeta would not risk a face-to-face. She couldn’t chance that I might win. She would take the first opportunity to take me out and to demonstrate to the world her power. And she did exactly that.”

  “So what is the plan now?” Mustafa asked.

  Laney held out her hand. With a nod, Gerard crossed the room to his pack and pulled out the box with the Omni. He handed it to Laney.

  The box felt heavy in Laney’s hands as she stood. “Have you looked inside?”

  “Only to verify that the box was in there,” Gerard said.

  Mustafa brought over a lamp. Turning it on, he placed it on the table. Laney nodded her thanks. Her heart rate ticked up. She took a breath, trying to calm her breathing, but it was difficult. The moment she had seen the bag, the moment she’d known the box was in there, she had these flickers of memory rolling through her mind, flickers from her life as Helen.

  The people she had known came through like a tidal wave, especially her siblings Castor, Pollux, and Clytemnestra.

  Clytemnestra, her sister. That memory was the most difficult, because as soon as Clytemnestra appeared in her mind, she knew her relationship with Clytemnestra wasn’t relegated to only the past. It had made it through to today with Max’s mom, Kati. And the grief from that loss hit her incredibly hard. Kati-Clytemnestra had never been gifted or cursed with abilities, but she had been part of Laney’s life both now and in the past. Laney took a deep breath, pushing past the grief, promising herself that if Kati had been in her life before, she would be there again. Laney would see her again. In her soul, she knew that was true.

  But Kati wasn’t the only old soul that Laney recognized. All the pieces fell into place: Castor-Henry, Pollux-Dom, Menelaus-Jake. They all had a bond that transcended breakups and heartaches and even death. Proteus, her mother Leda’s faithful guardian, was also her mother Victorians’ faithful guardian, Ralph. And Barnabus, who once again stood across from her, helping her on her quest like he had all those eons ago.

  Clytemnestra’s daughter was here too—Noriko. That recognition had been a painful blow as she relived Iphigenia’s death all over again. Even Mustafa—Achilles’s second-in-command, Dugal.

  “Laney?”

  She looked up into Drake’s concerned eyes. And my Achilles. Images from their former life flashed through her mind—the love, the passion, the friendship. The connection neither of them had been able to sever. She reached out her hand, and he clasped it.

  She looked around at the people with her now—all of them had been with her before, the last time the ring bearer had been called. Each of them wore a different face, but the soul . . . the soul remained the same. It was overwhelming and terrifying and somehow comforting at the same time. She had never been alone. These souls had journeyed with her across lifetimes. And here they stood, ready to face danger with her again.

  “Are you all right?”

  “Yes.” There was no hesitation in her answer. Because these people, these souls, had traveled with her across lifetimes. And it was not so that Elisabeta could win. No, Elisabeta, no matter her abilities, her resources—she was the weak one. She was alone.

  Laney took a breath, pulling her hand from Drake’s to open the bag. “Okay. Let’s see what we’ve got.” She opened it slowly, staring at the box inside.

  With a tremble in her hands, Laney gently pulled the box from its covering. Even though it had been buried for thousands of years, hidden in a forgotten grave, it had surprisingly little damage.

  It was an ivory box about eighteen inches long and ten inches wide. The lid had two intertwined triangles carved into its center, with ornate drawi
ngs rimming its outer edge: someone falling from the sky, a group standing on a mountaintop, other signs of nature—wind, rain, animals. All aspects the ring bearer could control.

  “It’s beautiful,” Noriko said softly.

  “That it is,” Laney said.

  “Who crafted it?” Mustafa asked.

  Laney paused. “Actually, I don’t know.” She looked at Drake, who shook his head. “I don’t know, either.”

  Laney opened it.

  Mustafa frowned. “It’s empty.”

  “No. Its contents are just hidden.” She ran a hand over the inside lid, and words appeared.

  Noriko gasped. “It’s in English.”

  Laney had been worried about that herself. She wasn’t sure what language the instructions for the Omni would appear in. But apparently it appeared in the language of the ring bearer. She supposed she shouldn’t be surprised. Saving the world probably shouldn’t be held up by translation issues.

  “So, now that we have this, what do we do?” Mustafa asked.

  “Now we craft the Omni.”

  Drake raised an eyebrow. “Um, not to rain on your parade, but this looks a little complicated. Do you have a hidden talent for chemistry that I don’t know about?”

  Laney shuddered. “God, no. I once nearly set myself on fire during a high school chem lab. But luckily I know someone who knows his way around a lab.”

  She copied down the instructions, then looked at Mustafa, Gerard, and Noriko. “I need you three to head to the estate. Get these instructions to Dom. Gerard will bring the Omni back when it’s ready.”

  Mustafa took the paper. “What about you?”

  “I have to stay here. For now, I remain dead.”

  “We can’t tell any of them?” Noriko asked.

  “No. We know Elisabeta has spies somewhere on the estate. We can’t take the chance of her finding out. Okay?”

  They nodded, and a few minutes later, they took their leave. Laney stood looking out the window as their boat’s lights disappeared from view.

  It would take at least two hours, depending on how long it took Dom to create the Omni. And even then she wasn’t sure how useful her having the powers of the Fallen would be now that Elisabeta had achieved immortality.

  She turned away from the window, stretching her back. God, she was tense.

  Drake’s hand slid up her back, coming to rest at the base of her neck, kneading the muscles there.

  She groaned. That felt good.

  Drake stepped closer, his chest almost touching her back. She could feel the heat of him through her shirt. “I know some better ways to make you groan.”

  She turned slowly to face him. All that he had done for her raced through her mind. And in that moment, she knew it was useless to fight this feeling between them. More importantly, she didn’t want to fight it. She wanted to revel in it. She grabbed the front of his shirt, pulling him closer. “Prove it.”

  He gave her that slow, sexy smile of his that made her toes curl. “Your wish is my command.”

  Chapter 85

  Laney lay on the bed, her hand drawing lazy circles on Drake’s chest. The man didn’t have an ounce of fat on him. He was like Michelangelo’s David brought to life.

  Drake trailed his fingers down her back. “I know I may be opening a can of worms here, but what exactly are you thinking?”

  She leaned her chin on his chest with a smile. “Nothing, actually. I’m just enjoying.” And she realized she was. Even with everything stirring around them, for this moment in time, she wasn’t worrying about the future or the past. She was firmly living only in this moment.

  “Gerard should be back soon.”

  She dropped her head. “Way to kill the mood.”

  He laughed, his stomach muscles moving under her cheek. “I just thought you might want to put on some clothes. I know in this lifetime, you are not quite as into nudity.”

  “I was before?”

  “Not as much as I would have liked, but it was a freer time than this modern era.”

  She ran a hand along his side. She couldn’t seem to stop touching him. “Was I very different then?”

  “Yes and no. You looked different, of course.” He kissed her on the forehead. “But the heart of who you are, it remains the same.”

  She leaned up to look at him. From time to time, he’d drop little facts about her from her Helen incarnation. She never failed to be fascinated by them. She snuggled closer to him, amazed that she was here. But she felt at home with Drake in a way she had never felt before. He knew her in a way no one else did. He could make her smile when she wanted to cry. He had given her this moment of peace in a time of hell. How could she not love him?

  She jolted at the thought but recognized the truth of it. She’d known ever since she’d woken up with him next to her bed in Alaska. And she had fought it from almost that same moment. But how could she deny what was truly in front of her? The man would go through hell for her. And he had. And she would do the same for him.

  Drake ran a lazy hand along her spine, sending delicious tingles through her. “So, when Gerard returns, you will take the Omni, right?”

  She looked up at him with a frown. “Of course. It’s the only way for us to have a shot at defeating Elisabeta.”

  “And you will take it again after all this is done?”

  If Cain and her uncle were right, the Omni would give her immortality, but taking a second dose would remove that same immortality or even all her powers. But to walk around with that much ability, it wasn’t right. No one should have that. Not even her.

  “Yes.”

  He nodded, looking away from her probing gaze. “Are you really going to do that? Become immortal and then mortal again?”

  She shifted to get a better view of his face. “Yes.”

  He pushed her hair behind her ear. “Why? Would that really be so bad? After all, I’m immortal. You could stay immortal.”

  Laney met his gaze. “Immortality is not a gift. It’s a curse. Cain has shown us that. History has shown us that. Victoria was right—the threat of things ending is what makes us appreciate them. So no, when this is over, I will take the Omni again and become mortal.”

  “Even if it means losing your other abilities?”

  She hesitated. When she’d first learned of her destiny, she’d been terrified. But now the idea of not having her abilities terrified her.

  As if sensing her waffling, Drake pressed his case. “It doesn’t have to be like that. You and I, we could be together. See the world like no one else has.”

  She watched him, knowing how much he wanted her to agree with him but also knowing she couldn’t. “I can’t do that. I can’t watch everyone I love die and just continue on.”

  “They’re dying anyway, Laney.”

  Laney flinched.

  Drake’s mouth dropped open as he reached for her. “I didn’t mean—”

  She pulled away. “Gerard will be back soon.”

  Drake nodded but made no move to get up. He just kept his gaze on her.

  She was the one who broke the contact, reaching for her shirt on the floor next to the bed. “We need to go.”

  “Of course, ring bearer.” Drake’s voice was stiff.

  Laney cringed, sensing a wall appear between them. She reached out a hand for him. “Drake.”

  But he rolled away from her, pulling on his pants. “I think I need some air.”

  Laney watched him stride across the room and close the door behind him with a slam. She closed her eyes. Damn it.

  She knew what the right thing to do was. With a shock, she realized the two of them were in the same place they were eons ago. He wanted her to turn her back on what she knew to be right.

  And when I didn’t, I lost him. The pain of that possibility reoccurring had her sinking onto the bed. You survived losing him once. You can do it again.

  And she had. But life with him, it had more color. She wanted that color.

  She pulled on her
clothes and headed after him. She hadn’t gone after him last time, but she wasn’t letting him walk away this time without a fight.

  Chapter 86

  Drake stormed from the cabin, but he only made it to the edge of the water. He stood, his hands in his pockets, staring at the water. He’d known. Deep down he’d known that she would choose mortality. But he had hoped that finally, she would choose him. A fool’s hope.

  The hair on the back of his neck rose as he heard her footsteps approach. “Are you all right?”

  He sighed. “I don’t know. I’m feeling a little . . . rejected.”

  She reached out a hand and touched his shoulder. He closed his eyes, feeling her warmth through his shirt. “I’m not rejecting you.”

  “Aren’t you? We could have what everyone wants—unlimited time together. I would never have to worry about you getting sick, hurt, or killed. We would have forever.”

  She moved to stand next to him. “Yes. We could have forever. But would we appreciate forever? Would we look at each day with excitement or apathy as the years, centuries, dragged on? And as all the other people in my life disappeared, would I add new people to my life or be content to stay apart, so as to never get hurt? And then who would we be? These people with unlimited power? How long would we be content to just exist? When would we start to crave more? When would we demand our due from this world we helped, that we are so much better than?”

  “That wouldn’t happen.”

  “Are you sure? From my understanding, that’s exactly what happened with the Fallen.”

  Drake stared up at the sky. “It could be different. You don’t know for sure.”

  Laney smiled, but there was no happiness in it. “True, but I am human, and so are you, at least in your nature. Are you going to tell me you never take advantage of the power you wield?”

  Drake looked away.

  “And I can’t say I wouldn’t, either. The people I love keep me grounded, even now with the power I have at my fingertips. But what about when they are gone? When the people that know me best are no longer with me, will I still keep those restraints on my behavior? I honestly can’t say I will. What if the government decides to track me down again? Who’s to say I won’t turn into an avenging god? I won’t chance that.”