The Belial Origins

by R. D. Brady

  Now it was Claire and Bruce’s turn. China was the third stop on their trip. They’d already been to Japan and Australia.

  Claire’s eyes closed as she felt the early morning sun on her face. She sighed, feeling her spirit lift just being here. A rock crashed somewhere to her left, but she ignored it, focusing on the peace of the moment.

  More rocks crashed. Annoyed, Claire opened her eyes. “What is that?”.

  Bruce stared open-mouthed as a group of people emerged from a hole in the side of the mountain. Blood was splattered on their tattered clothes.

  Claire gasped. “Oh my God. There must have been a cave-in.”

  Her husband stood up. “I’ll go see if I can help.”

  But before he could take a step, two police officers took note of the ruckus. They ran over, blowing their whistles, and waved everyone back, shouting something in Mandarin.

  One of the tattered people, a dark-haired man, started to walk right past one of the officers. The officer grabbed his arm. The man turned, and even from a short distance, Claire could see the anger on his face.

  The man wrapped his hands around the officer’s head and twisted. The officer went still and then dropped. The other officer pulled his weapon, but a woman appeared behind him and punched right through his chest.

  Screaming tourists scattered. Bruce turned around and grabbed Claire, yanking her off the steps and behind a tree.

  Claire’s heart pounded. She peered out and saw the angry man and the punching woman making their way down the steps, the rest of their party following behind.

  Claire couldn’t make out much of what they were saying, but what she did hear didn’t make any sense.

  “We’re done hiding. It’s time for the world to know what we can do.”

  EPILOGUE

  Nine months later

  Perth, Australia

  Iain Somerfield strode through the hospital doors. Iain worked for the Holocene Impact Working Group—a group that examined evidence that giant meteorites had crashed on the Earth within the last ten thousand years. Their main focus was a 4,800-year-old crater in the Indian Ocean that was believed to have created tsunamis thirteen times the size of the one that had devastated Indonesia in 2004.

  He’d been with the group for the last year. He’d spent the five years before that in the military, but when his wife Fiona had become pregnant, he’d immediately resigned from the Special Operations Engineer Regiment of the Australian Defense Force and signed up with the Impact project. He hadn’t wanted to miss a minute with his new family.

  This morning, he’d been speaking with a group of investors in the conference room. He ground his teeth. And he’d left his cell phone in his office. He hadn’t even wanted to go to work this morning, but Fiona had insisted. She’d said the baby was nowhere near ready to arrive. He’d believed her.

  He hurried to the reception desk.

  A woman with gray hair and kind eyes spoke before he had a chance to. “Maternity ward?”

  “How—?”

  She gestured toward the teddy bear clutched in his hand and the balloons that floated above his head with a smile. “Just a guess. ID?”

  Iain handed her the teddy bear while he fished out his license. He drummed his fingers on the counter while she quickly typed his information into the computer and handed him an ID sticker.

  “Take the gold elevator to the fourth floor. It’ll be on your right.”

  He nodded and started to head down the hall.

  “Mr. Somerfield?” He turned back, and she waved the teddy bear at him.

  “Oh, right.” He walked back and took the bear. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome. And congratulations, Daddy.”

  He smiled as he turned for the elevators. Daddy. I’m a daddy. He picked up his pace. The gold elevator bank was on the left and he pushed the button for the elevators and tapped his foot impatiently.

  Finally the doors popped open. A quick trip up and he was stepping out onto the fourth floor. “Maternity Ward” was emblazoned above the double doors ahead of him, and a menagerie of cartoon animals lined the walls.

  Excitement coursed through him. He pushed through the doors and looked for the room numbers. 118, 130, 122. Who organized these?

  A nurse stopped him. “Can I help you?”

  “Um, Fiona Somerfield?”

  The nurse pointed to the last room on the right. “Just down there.”

  “Thanks,” he said over his shoulder as he hustled down the hallway. He reached the doorway the nurse had pointed to and stopped.

  Fiona lay inside with her eyes closed. Her red hair looked even brighter against the stark white hospital sheets. Red hair was the one thing they both agreed their daughter would have. After all, with two redheaded parents, what other choice would she have?

  Iain smiled as he looked at his lovely wife. The love he felt for this incredible woman was all but bursting out of his chest. How did I get so lucky?

  She opened her eyes. “Hey, you.”

  “Hey.” He walked to the side of the bed and attached the balloons to one of the rails. He leaned over and kissed his wife gently on the lips. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t here.”

  Fiona smiled, her blue eyes shining up at him. “It’s okay. Your daughter was very impatient to be born. We barely made it to the hospital.”

  Iain looked at the bassinet on the other side of the bed. “Is she all right?”

  “Go look for yourself.”

  Iain clutched the teddy bear and walked slowly around Fiona’s bed. He was so nervous. He stopped beside the bassinet. The baby lay there with her eyes closed, wrapped tightly in a blanket, a pink cap on her head.

  Iain felt like he’d been punched in the gut. The love and protectiveness he felt for this little girl rushed through him. And he pledged then and there to do everything in his power to keep her safe and make her happy.

  “You can pick her up,” Fiona said.

  “I don’t want to wake her.”

  Fiona gave a soft laugh. “I think she’ll be okay with being woken by her daddy. Go ahead. You won’t break her.”

  Iain wasn’t so sure about that. She looked so fragile. He placed the teddy on the end of the bed and stared down at his daughter, nervousness flitting through him. He reached down. His hands looked like giant mitts as they gently picked her up and snuggled her into his chest.

  “She’s so tiny,” he whispered.

  “So says the person who didn’t have to push her out,” Fiona grumbled.

  He laughed. “True.”

  His laugh jostled Isabel. A frown crossed her face. Iain held his breath.

  Her eyes opened.

  Iain stared into his daughter’s eyes—and he knew everything that he had ever done had all been leading up to this exact moment in time. “Hello, Isabel. I’m your daddy.”

  Father and daughter stared at one another. Iain would have been happy to stay there for hours. He turned toward the window, and sunlight fell across Isabel’s face.

  He gasped.

  “What is it?” Fiona asked, concern in her voice.

  He looked back at his wife in wonder. “Her eyes. They’re the most amazing color.”

  “What color?”

  He looked down again to make sure it wasn’t a trick of the light. No. It was no trick. He turned back at Fiona.

  “They’re purple.”

  A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR

  I have known who Victoria would be since book one in the series. And it broke my heart to write the scene between her and Laney at the tree. That poor woman has been through so much—which is why, of course, I had to write the epilogue in the hospital.

  This is not the end of the story for Laney, Henry, and Jake. There are still a few more adventures for them to go on. The next book in the Belial series is entitled The Belial Search, and it will be out in November 2015.

  There are currently a number of books outside the series that I am also working on. Two of those will be published before th
e next Belial installment. They are Runs Deep in June and Hominid in August. If you’d like to join my mailing list to be notified about upcoming books, please click here. If you’re interested in what I’m reading, check out my website here.

  And as always, thank you for joining me on my journey and thank you to all the readers who were kind enough to get in touch. It makes my day to hear from you!

  Thank you again and I hope to see you next time. And whatever you read next, I hope you get lost in it! :)

  Until next time,

  R.D.

  FACT OR FICTION?

  Whenever I start one of the Belial books, I have the basic plot in mind. For this one, I knew it was going to be all about Victoria. But because of who Victoria is, the story needed to be bigger than just some ancient artifact. It had to be one of THE ancient artifacts. And there were really only a few that fit the bill. Once I decided on this story being a quest for the tree of life, I needed to fill in the details. Some facts below I knew before I began, but quite a few I learned as I went along. In fact, I’m always amazed how I seem to uncover a fact just as I need it.

  Interestingly, at least for me, the research for this book, and for The Belial Children, has lent itself to a story idea for another book outside this series, which I’ve tentatively titled Hominid. But more on that once I get that book in better shape. For now, I have included a list of some of the references found for The Belial Origins. As always, they are in no particular order.

  Immortality. Danny’s discussion about immortality is taken from real life. Scientists do believe that telomeres may be the key to extending human life dramatically. And yes, there is an immortal jellyfish called the Turritopsis dohrnii. As explained in the text, once the jellyfish reaches its oldest age it reverts back to its polyp form. Scientists are not sure how long this pattern continues, but some suggest it could be indefinite.

  Ponce De Leon—who I, and millions of other school children, learned was searching for the Fountain of Youth—may not have actually been searching for any such thing. According to a Smithsonian article, de Leon was not associated with the quest until years after his death, in an effort to discredit him. In reality, he was ousted from his position in Puerto Rico and given an expedition to the island of Bimini as a consolation prize, but it is unlikely he ever went searching for the Fountain of Youth.

  Unlike de Leon, the Chinese emperors were indeed focused on finding the key to immortality. And in their searches they did unintentionally create gunpowder.

  Karasu Tengu. There is an old Japanese legend about a being known as Karasu Tengu. He lived high in the mountains and, as depicted in this book, would appear at times to help a lost individual, occasionally driving a deserving individual mad. Most of the time he is depicted as half-bird, half-man.

  Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple. The Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple is real. All depictions in The Belial Origins are taken from photos and from descriptions by individuals who have been inside.

  The origin story of the temple is, as depicted here, cloaked in mystery, although the story of the sage chasing off the trouble-making child who was later revealed to be Krishna is the explanation usually provided for why the temple was created. The date for the temple’s creation is equally unclear—according to scholars it was built either in 500 BCE or closer to 3000 BCE.

  More importantly, at least for this story, there really was a treasure valued at $22 billion found in vaults underneath the temple. And one vault, with two entwined cobras carved into the door, has yet to be opened. Why? Because they can’t figure out how to open it. And some say they shouldn’t.

  Archangels. Archangels are said to be the highest order of angels. In the Bible, only three archangels are mentioned. In the Book of Enoch, there were many more discussed.

  Lilith. Ah, who is Lilith? The Midrashic literature does discuss Lilith as the first wife of Adam, and the tale was created to address inconsistencies in the book of Genesis—specifically, the two creation stories. Quotes from each creation story are found at the beginning of The Belial Origins. In the first creation story, man and woman were created equal. It is in the second story where Eve was created from Adam’s rib.

  In the Bible, the only specific mention of Lilith is as an unclean animal. But there is a wealth of legends and tales surrounding her existence. In most she is depicted as an evil creature of the night, but within other circles, she is viewed as a wronged woman, the example of a male-interpreted history. Personally, I’ve been fascinated by her ever since hearing the idea that she was the first woman, pushed aside by history in favor of Eve.

  Was she real? Well, Edgar Cayce thought so.

  And yes, Lilith is often portrayed as a snake, particularly the snake in the Garden of Eden.

  Edgar Cayce. As always, Edgar Cayce starts everything off. In Edgar Cayce’s description of the creation of man, men and woman were created equal. In Cayce’s telling, the woman was named Lilith and the man was Amilius. Honestly, the more I read his writings, the more fascinating it all becomes. If you are interested in learning more about Edgar Cayce, check out his foundation: Edgar Cayce’s A.R.E. (Association for Research and Enlightenment).

  Heaven’s Gate. The Heaven’s Gate Mountain is a real location in the Hunan Province of China. When you see the mountain, it does look as if someone has punched through it. And, as mentioned in The Belial Origins, the hole was created by a cave collapse in the third century AD. There are ninety-nine heart-attack-inducing turns on the road to the mountain, as well as nine hundred ninety-nine steps. To my knowledge, there is no secret cave containing a new Garden of Eden or the Tree of Life within the mountain.

  Garden of Eden. There have been many archaeological endeavors undertaken to find the original location of the Garden of Eden. In the Bible, and as depicted in The Belial Origins, the Garden of Eden is said to fall between four rivers: the Tigris, Euphrates, Cush, and Pishon. While the Tigris and Euphrates exist, the exact location of the other two rivers has been lost to the sands of time. And as mentioned, the locations of the Tigris and Euphrates have changed over time. But if the Garden of Eden did originally exist near those four rivers, scholars believe it is now most likely under the sea.

  Is there an archangel guarding the Garden? According to the Bible, when humans were expelled from the Garden, an archangel was placed at its entrance to protect it.

  Trees in the Garden of Eden. There were numerous trees in the Garden, but the two most famous are the tree of life and the tree of knowledge. Originally humans were allowed to eat freely from the tree of life; it was only the tree of knowledge they were forbidden from eating from. The tree of knowledge was supposed to open people’s eyes to the truth of their existence. Interestingly, there are rumors of the existence of fruit that accomplishes that same goal.

  Drake Diablo. Drake is of course a fictional creation. But I was in Las Vegas not too long ago, and Drake was inspired by some of the shows there and the posters that lined the sides of many of the hotels.

  Gilgamesh. In the tale of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh did indeed have a great friend known as Enkidu. And when Enkidu died, Gilgamesh went in search of immortality. He allegedly was instructed by Utnapishtim to retrieve a plant from the bottom of the sea that would allow him to live forever. According to the tale, Gilgamesh did retrieve the plant, and it was taken from him by a snake.

  The Mark of Cain. According to the Bible, Cain was given a mark that would make everyone pause before thinking of harming him. I struggled to figure out what that mark would be, because it is not described anywhere. I thought completely black eyes would be suitable. As I explain in the novel, other marks run the risk of being culturally misinterpreted. But even your most hardened soldier would pause at the sight of black eyes. At least, I think they would.

  Cain. I thought I knew the story of Cain when I began my research for The Belial Origins. But I did not realize that there were so many cultural differences in the story of Cain. Everyone does agree that Cain kills Abel, making him the first mu
rderer. However, there is disagreement as to the motivation underlying the act. According to the Bible, it was jealousy over God’s preference for Abel. Cain is depicted as a jealous, spiteful individual from an early age. In other legends of the doomed brothers, however, the reason for Abel’s death was attributed to anger over Adam and Eve’s decision to give Abel Cain’s twin as a wife and to give Cain Abel’s twin as a wife. Cain felt his twin was more beautiful, and therefore he should be the one that married her.

  According to the Bible, Cain was banished from God’s sight and continues to walk the earth. In fact, some argue that Cain’s descendants became the inhabitants of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and/or Canaan.

  Mount Hermon tablet. In 1869, a tablet was discovered in a temple at Mount Hermon by Sir Charles Warren. Warren broke the tablet in two and took one half home with him to the British Museum. The inscription used in The Belial Origins is the actual Greek inscription found on the tablets: “According to the command of the greatest and holy God, those who take an oath, proceed from here.” It is not known who inscribed the tablets. The second half of the tablet was left on the mount and to my knowledge has not been recovered. Therefore, the second half of the tablet and the inscription upon it are works of fiction.

  Junk DNA. The research into junk DNA that is presented by Danny is accurate: researchers now know that junk DNA is not in fact “junk.” Junk DNA is non-coding DNA, or DNA that currently does not have a purpose but theoretically could. It is just waiting for someone to turn it on.

  Chinese Super Psychics. Allegedly China has indeed been nurturing a group of children with psychic abilities. Of course, due to the closed nature of China’s society, verifying these children is a bit tricky. But there is a book out that discusses the program, and there are a number of videos discussing the children. The choice is yours whether to believe it or not.