by R. D. Brady
“I think she’s adopted us.”
Jake’s eyebrows seemed to get even higher.
Laney put up her hands. “I’ll figure something out. But she won’t hurt you, or anyone. Not without permission.”
“You’re sure?”
Laney’s hand went to the ring around her neck. “Positive.”
Jake nodded at it. “How come you’re wearing that on a chain and not your finger?”
Laney paused, trying to figure out how to explain her decision. “The power of this thing . . . it’s seductive. It would be easy to abuse. I’ve decided I’m only going to wear it when I need it. But I’ll keep it nearby.”
Jake leaned down and kissed her forehead. “I think whoever decided you were the ring bearer made a very wise choice.” He stood up, pulling Laney with him. “Come on. Let’s head for home. Apparently, we have a lot of people to tell I’m not dead.”
Laney shook her head as she walked with him out of the room. Every time she thought her life couldn’t get stranger . . .
It took only two hours to get back to Baltimore. Laney held onto Jake the whole ride. They shared the chopper with Yoni, Patrick, and Henry. Mike, Jen, and Jordan had agreed to drive Cleo back—on the condition that she be sedated first.
It was hard, but Laney knew it was for the best. She had faith in her control, but she didn’t want to test it while in the air. Or have the Witts test it while they were driving.
By the time the chopper reached Baltimore, it looked like a hundred people were milling around the helipad.
Laney glanced down, knowing they were there to see Jake. She squeezed his hand. “And you thought you didn’t have a family. Look down there. That’s your family.”
Jake squeezed her hand back.
The crowd was quiet when the chopper landed—until Jake opened his door. Then applause broke out. People surged forward to hug Jake, slap him on the back.
Laney kept back, not wanting to get in the way. Her heart wanted to burst with happiness that he was back, but the shadow of Rocky’s death kept it from being a perfect moment.
And how exactly did Victoria bring him back?
Jake looked back at her and Laney smiled, banishing the words from her mind. The questions could wait. He reached out his hand.
She walked through the crowd to take it. Right now, there were more important things.
An impromptu party had been set up on the back lawn of the Chandler estate. Everybody from Chandler was there, as well as a bunch of Jake’s military buddies. It was a little “Glad you’re back—how the hell are you still alive?” party. Everyone was thrilled Jake was here, but Laney caught more than one confused look.
Kati had even come by with Max. But Laney could tell that being out in the open was a little rough for her. She was still suffering aftereffects from the attacks, and her gaze kept straying to Max, who was engaged in some sort of potato-chip-eating contest with Danny. Moxy stood next to them, gobbling up all the misses.
And Maddox was as good as his word. He stayed with them, a tall, scowling bodyguard looming nearby.
Laney pulled Kati aside. She nodded toward Maddox. “You sure you’re okay with him?”
Kati nodded, her eyes still on Max. “Yeah. Actually, having him around makes me feel a little better. And Max likes him.”
“I’m so sorry for all of this, Kati.”
Kati’s head whipped back. “Don’t you ever say that to me. You are the reason my son and I are alive. You didn’t cause any of this, Laney. That’s not on you. And as far as I can see, you’re doing everything you can to make it right.”
Rocky’s image floated into her mind. “Yeah, but it doesn’t feel like it’s enough.”
Kati hugged her. “That’s because you’re not delegating. Other people can take some of the load. It’s not all on you.”
Laney pulled back. “I know, I know.”
“And Rocky wasn’t your fault either. She’s as independent as you. Her decisions are hers.” Kati took a shuddering breath. “And she loved you, just like we loved her.”
Laney nodded, but couldn’t speak, grief clogging her throat.
Kati squeezed her hand. “Now, if you don’t mind, I think I’m going to take Max back to Dom’s. He’s doing all right, but I’m still not so crazy about crowds.”
“Maddox going with you?”
“Absolutely.” Kati disappeared into the crowd, before reappearing next to Max and Maddox.
Maddox reached down and picked up Max, then tossed him into the air. Max laughed as Maddox caught him. Apparently, Maddox was good with kids.
She tried not to frown as she watched them leave, along with Danny and Moxy. She hated that Kati was scared. She’d have to figure out a way to make Kati feel safe enough to rejoin her life. It wasn’t going to be easy.
Jake walked over and grabbed her hand. “Come dance with me.”
Laney smiled. Well, she’d figure all that out later. Right now, she was going to let herself enjoy her time with Jake.
An hour later, Laney, Jake, and Henry found a quiet part of the veranda. Laney and Jake sat next to each other on a lounge. Henry sat across from them.
Laney held Jake’s hand, yet again. “Are you sure you feel all right?”
Jake laughed. “Laney, I feel great. To be honest, I feel better than I have in years. All my old aches seem to have disappeared.”
Henry shook his head. “And you still don’t remember anything?”
“No, nothing between leaving the entrance of the tunnel in Egypt and waking up on the plane.” Jake’s brow furrowed. “I don’t get how Victoria was able to do that. I’ve never heard of anything like that.”
Jake had spoken with Patrick, who’d related Victoria’s actions to him. But Jake hadn’t been able to shed any more information on what exactly had happened.
Henry gave a little laugh. “Well, hopefully Yoni will get tired of the zombie jokes. Eventually.”
Jake groaned. “He keeps telling me that if I get a hankering for brains, to start with the PhDs. Says their brains are tastier.” He nudged Laney. “Hey, Earth to Laney.”
Laney turned to smile at him. “Sorry. Mind wandering.”
“Care to tell us where it’s wandering to?” Jake asked.
“Nowhere special. Just thinking about everything.” Laney noticed a tall slim black man step out from the house, an attractive woman with pale green eyes next to him. The man cast a bewildered gaze around before spying Laney.
She waved and nudged Jake. “Hey, there’s Tom.”
Jake glanced over with a smile before standing. “I’ll go say hi. You guys can join me after you discuss whatever it is you don’t want to discuss in front of me.” He gave Laney a kiss on the forehead before he walked off.
“Perceptive bugger, isn’t he?” Laney said with a smile.
Henry nodded. “So, what are you thinking?”
“Well, I’m pretty sure Yoni’s zombie theory is wrong, but I have been thinking about other cases of people coming back from the dead. The only ones I can think of are from the Bible.”
“Jesus and Lazarus,” Henry said.
Laney nodded. “Yup. But that doesn’t seem to apply here. It’s as if something in Victoria’s blood healed Jake. I think that’s why she had Patrick keep his blood pumping. His heart needed to be beating if it was going to work.”
“I was thinking the same thing. I mean, I have blood that heals me, but I’ve never heard of it healing anyone else. And I’ve run a ton of tests on it. Besides, Mom’s not a Fallen or a nephilim.”
Laney paused, remembering Amar’s words. “But they all seem to know who she is, don’t they? Gideon asked you about her. And Amar mentioned her as well. And how does she know all that she knows?”
They both fell quiet. Laney’s mind traveled over every mystery involving Victoria, and she was pretty sure Henry had even more questions than she did. Whenever Victoria spoke about the past, it was always as if she had been an eyewitness. And what had Amar meant
when he said Victoria played a part in humanity’s mortality?
“Do you know who she is?” Laney asked.
Henry shook his head with a sigh. “No. I’ve wondered, but I’m no closer than you to an answer. The only thing I know is that she’s not some mere human, no matter what she says.”
“No, she’s definitely not.” Laney looked over at Henry. “We need some answers.”
Henry shook his head. “We can try Mom, but Laney, it would be easier getting blood from a stone.”
“There has to be a way.” Laney spied her uncle in the crowd. “What about the books?”
“From Ecuador? It’s going to take a while to translate them. But I’m going to start working on the one Amar stole first thing.”
“No, not those books. The Council books. Flourent had a set, right?”
Henry nodded, his expression thoughtful. “Actually, some of them survived. The bookcase they were stored in was bolted to the wall, which was actually built into the rock face. When the house collapsed, the bookcase was still there. And about half of the books.”
“Great.”
“I bet they’ll have some answers.” He glanced sideways at Laney. “But I’ll ask Patrick and maybe Jen to go through them.”
“Why not me?”
Henry took Laney’s hand. “Because I think you need to spend some time with Jake, and maybe focus on figuring out that ring. Let some other people shoulder the burden.”
“Delegate.” She smiled. “You’re the second person to tell me that.”
“Mom’s not the only thing bothering you, is she?”
Laney sighed, looking over everyone on the veranda, her eyes coming to rest on Jake and Tom. “I want this to be over. I really do. But I don’t think it is.”
“Why not?”
Her eyes met Henry’s. “You, me, and Jake. We’re the triad, the three sides of the triangle. Right?”
Henry nodded.
Laney pulled the chain from around her neck, showing Henry the ring face. “What do you see?”
“The Seal of Solomon.”
Laney nodded. “Which is two triangles. So if we’re one triangle, who’s in the other?”
“The devil’s finest trick is to persuade you that he does not exist.”
― Charles Baudelaire, Paris Spleen
EPILOGUE
Venice, Italy
Gerard walked down the long, white marble hallway. In fact, the whole home was white Carrara marble from floor to ceiling.
Cold and impersonal. Just like its owner, Gerard thought as his footsteps echoed around him.
He was not looking forward to this meeting. He wanted to take a moment to catch his breath. But his presence was already known. Any hesitation would be taken as a sign of weakness.
And that could not happen. Not ever. He knocked.
“Enter.”
He stopped in the doorway, waiting for the woman behind the desk to acknowledge him. Elisabeta Roccorio was in her fifties, but she had the shape of a much younger woman. She had dark eyes and dark brown hair, pulled back in a chignon. Her white suit accentuated her ample chest as well as her olive skin tone, a product of her Greek heritage.
A small pair of reading glasses perched on the end of her nose. After a few moments, she removed the glasses and sat back.
Gerard was once again struck by her looks. She was not conventionally attractive. Her nose was too large for her face, her eyes too small and close together. But power radiated from her—and that was attractive.
He stepped forward. “I have news from Tennessee.”
She gestured for him to stand in front of her desk. “And?”
“You were right. She’s stronger than Amar thought.”
“I warned him. The ring bearers, they are always stronger than they are given credit for. You knock them down and they get back up, stronger by tenfold. I warned Amar that killing Jake Rogan was a mistake.” She eyed him. “You should have stopped him.”
Gerard nodded, although he felt anger at the censure. Still, he was smart enough not to let it show beyond the angry flush he could feel climbing his neck. “We’ve lost our numbers. We’ll have to rebuild.”
She waved away the words. “Not all of them. Amar and his group were a tiny fiefdom. I still hold the kingdom. And the book? What of it?”
“I’m afraid it was at Amar’s home at the time of the attack.”
“McPhearson and her people have it?”
Gerard nodded, tensing.
She stared at him.
Gerard felt a bead of sweat roll down his back.
“I’m not happy, Gerard.”
“I know. But there is some good news.”
Elisabeta’s eyes sliced through him. “He finished the translation.”
Gerard nodded. “Yes. And you were right. The fifth root race is the key.”
Elisabeta smiled, leaning back. “And now you have made me happy again. Even without the book, we are ahead. They won’t be able to catch up with us. Not in time at least.”
Gerard struggled not to slouch with relief.
Elisabeta looked out the window, her eyes on the canal. A gondola drifted by, its oarsmen looking for a fare. “And to think, all of this rests on the knowledge of a child.”
Gerard barely made out the words. But he knew they were not really for him.
She turned back to him, her eyes focused. “Now the real fight begins. Nicely done, Gerard. You are dismissed.”
Gerard bowed, careful to back away and not give her his back. She wouldn’t like that. “Yes, Samyaza.”
FACT OR FICTION?
All of the books in the Belial series come from facts I’ve picked up over the years—facts I string together in a way that, I hope, makes for a good story. So here are some of the areas that might be of interest to you. Some are big components of the story and some just passing details. Facts are placed here in no particular order.
Hypatia. Hypatia was an actual woman associated with the Library of Alexandria. She is considered the mother of mathematics and was herself a teacher of mathematics, astronomy, and philosophy. She was killed by a mob sometime around AD 415 or 416. As such, she died before the fire that destroyed the library, so I took a little creative liberty there. She is, however, revered as a progressive thinker, if not the last great thinker of Alexandria.
I used a number of sources when researching her and learned quite a bit about her over the years. She’s a fascinating woman, one who was very ahead of her time. Here's a link for anyone interested in a little more information.
The Library of Alexandria. The library of Alexandria is well known, but the details of its demise are not. While multiple sources agree that fire destroyed the famed complex, most differ on who lit the match, and there is some debate as to precisely when it was finally destroyed. I decided to go with the 647 date. The details about its beginning are, however, clear: it was established under Ptolemy’s rule in the third century BC. And there is no debate whatsoever as to it being an incredible center of learning in ancient times.
Helen of Troy. There are still questions as to whether Helen was a figment of Homer’s imagination or an actual flesh-and-blood woman. What we do know is that the name Helen was known throughout the world, well before Homer wrote of her. There were cults to Helen throughout the Bronze Age and later. And many of those most vocal about her affair with Paris were writing hundreds of years after her life. And seeing as how the city of Troy was once believed to be merely a work of fiction—until, in 1870, the city itself was discovered by Heinrich Schliemann—well, it seems fair that I choose to believe that Helen, too, was real.
All of the information in The Belial Ring is accurate when it comes to the historical details of Helen of Troy. Or, should I say, Helen of Sparta. For if Helen was indeed a real person, then she was the heir to the Spartan throne. In the Bronze Age, Spartan rule went through the daughters, not the sons.
Helen did have two brothers named Castor and Pollux. Some say they were twins;
others not. Helen was said by some to have been born from an egg. It’s been alleged that when she was younger, she was kidnapped by Theseus and then rescued by her brothers.
Was Helen in Egypt during the Trojan War? As explained in The Belial Ring, Helen and Paris did stop in Egypt on their way to Troy. And according to the historian Herodotus, a ghost-like doppelganger replaced Helen at this point, and the real Helen never made it to Troy. Instead, she spent the entire war in Egypt.
I used many sources to pull together the information on Helen, but the most helpful was the book Helen of Troy: Goddess, Princess, Whore by Bettany Hughes. It is a fascinating account of what Helen’s life would have been like, drawing on the historical and archaeological evidence from the Bronze Age. If you’re looking for more information on her, I strongly recommend the book.
Übermensch. The Übermensch were an actual part of Hitler’s Lebensborn program. In 1932, Hitler began his attempts to create the master race through this program. People with perfect genetic histories were encouraged, or, more accurately, required, to reproduce. The result? Forty-two thousand children. Years after the program’s initiation, Hitler instituted a six-foot height requirement. Even taller members—those with a height above six foot six—were considered Übermensch. They received a special medal of honor and were automatically promoted to S.S. officer.
The Serapeum in Saqqara. A serapeum is a religious center dedicated to the god Serapis. There are actually a number of serapeums that have been uncovered. In this book, I focus on the Serapeum in Saqqara.
All the information portrayed in The Belial Ring about this location is accurate to the best of my ability. The giant sarcophagi are real; they do weigh seventy tons; only three of them have been inscribed; and bones were found in only three of them.
The narrow passages are also real, and it’s true that archaeologists can’t figure out how exactly the giant tombs were carried into their underground niches.