The Belial Origins (The Belial Series Book 6)

by R. D. Brady

  She looked at each of them and then at Cleo, who stared back at her. I’m sorry, Laney thought to her friend, before looking back at Victoria and Ralph. “It’s only going to be the three of us.”

  CHAPTER 90

  Jen leaned back against the Range Rover. “You have got to be kidding me.”

  Laney sighed. She had just explained to Jen her plan to go after the tree of life with only Ralph and Victoria. And Jen wasn’t exactly taking it well.

  “Jen, this is the only way.”

  “No, actually, it’s not. The other way would be to take the rest of us with you. Better yet, let Clark prove his worth and get a nice big military force to accompany you.”

  Laney closed her eyes. She should have known Jen would react this way. “Jen, this is how it has to happen. If we’re lucky, we’ll get in, destroy the tree, and get out without anyone being the wiser.”

  “And when the hell have we been lucky?” Jen stood up straight, towering over Laney. “We are perpetually unlucky. And you know Elisabeta is going to throw everything she can at getting that tree. You need more help.”

  Laney looked back at the house. She pictured Henry and Jake. She would like to have them with her—the intact trio. The three of them had done incredible things. But she was already down two members of the triad in this little adventure. She wasn’t willing to chance anyone else.

  “No. This is how it’s going to happen. I need you to stay here and keep Henry and Jake safe. Because if I don’t succeed, they’re going to have to figure out a way to defeat Elisabeta when she has the tree.”

  “All the more reason to throw everything we have at her now! We take her out and then no problem.”

  “Like you said, it’s never that simple. This is Samyaza, the strategist. The one who started all of it. We can’t just run up at her with brute force. We need to hold something in reserve. If I don’t succeed, I need to know there’s someone who can at least give her a run for her money.”

  “But—”

  “Jen, do you really think Samyaza has left us alone? She knows Henry and Jake are both my strength and my weakness. She’s going to come after them—probably right when I’m in the middle of things. Because she knows if something happens to them, I’ll be devastated. And I will fail.”

  Laney took a deep breath. “I need them safe. And I know you, your brothers, Cleo, the Chandler operatives, the SIA agents—you are my guarantee that they will be safe. You’re the reason I’ll be able to focus on what needs to be done.”

  Jen looked away, her fists clenched. “I hate this. First Kati, Maddox, and Max, and now you going off on your own. It’s like everything is splitting apart.”

  Laney swallowed hard. She wrapped an arm around Jen. “I hate it just as much. But we’re at the time of hard choices. And this is what needs to be done. I need to know they’re safe. And I know whatever Samyaza throws at you, you’ll be able to keep them that way.”

  Jen looked down at Laney. “I will keep them safe. Now promise me that you’ll keep yourself safe.”

  Laney sighed and looked out over at the hills, but she didn’t say anything. Because that was one promise she wasn’t sure she was going to be able to keep.

  CHAPTER 91

  Laney took a steeling breath. Just one more conversation. And she had a feeling this one was going to be the hardest.

  She walked down the road to the little house next door. She’d left Cleo with Jake and Henry. She would need a little privacy for this conversation.

  As she opened the door, she could hear her uncle arranging for Jake’s and Henry’s medical treatment back home. Laney leaned against the wall to wait, and a few seconds later Patrick disconnected the call. He turned around, surprise flashing across his face.

  “I didn’t hear you come in.”

  “Yeah, you were on the phone.” She hesitated. “Listen, I have to go away for a little while.”

  “What? Where?”

  She let out a breath. “I’m going after the tree.”

  He looked at her for long moment, then sighed and nodded. “Who’s going with you?”

  “Ralph and Victoria.”

  His eyes narrowed. “And who else?”

  “That’s it.”

  Patrick stared at her, his mouth agape, before he shut it. “You can’t be serious. Take Jen, the Witts, all of Clark’s men.”

  Laney moved closer to him. “Uncle Patrick, it can’t be that way, and you know it.”

  “No, I don’t know that.” He stared at her. Laney just watched him, not saying a word.

  “This is because of that stupid book, isn’t it?”

  She tried to put a little levity in her tone. “Stupid book? That’s sacrilege coming from you.”

  “Don’t joke, Laney.”

  She sighed. “I’m not. And it’s not just because of the book. Henry and Jake are out of this fight for now. And I need them safe.”

  “They can be safe without you putting yourself at risk.”

  “I need to do this without them—without all of you.”

  Patrick looked into her eyes, and Laney could see the anger overtake him. “Don’t you dare put our safety ahead of yours,” he said. “You know Henry and Jake would never let you do this if they were awake.”

  “But they’re not awake,” Laney said quietly. “I’m the last one standing, and it’s my call. And if Samyaza is smart, which she is, she’ll come after you to keep me away. I can’t take that chance. I need to get to the tree, but I need to know you’re safe. This is the only way.”

  “It’s not. The tree will wait. We’ll—”

  Laney covered her uncle’s hand with her own. “It can’t wait. You know that.”

  Patrick stared into her eyes, and she saw all the love and fear he had for her. “You don’t have to do this alone.”

  “I’m not alone. I take all of you with me.” And right then, Laney understood how Victoria had continued on. She was right. She was never alone. All the people she loved walked with her.

  “I can’t talk you out of this, can I?”

  Laney shook her head.

  Patrick’s voice shook when he spoke. “You bring yourself back, you hear me? No matter what you have to do, you bring yourself back. I don’t give a damn about what any book says.”

  Laney leaned forward and hugged him, giving him a kiss on the cheek. But she stayed silent.

  She turned to walked away, knowing if she stayed a second longer she wouldn’t be able to leave.

  His voice stopped her at the door. “I love you, Delaney. You are my daughter in every way that counts.”

  “I know. And I love you too.” Laney stepped out of the room and straightened her shoulders, wiping at the tears on her cheeks. And she didn’t look back.

  CHAPTER 92

  Laney and Jen stood next to the Range Rovers; Jordan and Mike, as well as the rest of the Chandler operatives and SIA agents, had created a perimeter around the SUVs. Laney did not feel reassured. She felt exposed.

  “Are you ready?” Mustafa asked as he walked up.

  Laney gave him an abrupt nod. “You’re sure this is the best way?”

  “It’s safer if we all leave together—safer for them, safer for you.”

  Laney watched Matt and Ralph carry the stretcher with Henry over to the van. Jake’s stretcher had already been loaded up. Victoria stood perched in the doorway behind, Patrick at her side.

  “You know they’ll be watching us as we head to the airport,” Laney said. “It’s our most vulnerable time.”

  “We know. We have prepared for that.”

  “Mustafa?” she said.

  He looked over at her.

  “These people are the most important people in the world to me. Promise me you will keep them safe.”

  Mustafa’s face was solemn. “On my life, I will let nothing happen to them.”

  She nodded and looked away.

  Cleo slunk from around the back of the house and made her way over to Laney. “You ready, girl?�
�

  Cleo licked the side of her face.

  Laney laughed. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

  Jen nudged Laney’s shoulder. “We need to get going.”

  Laney let out a breath. The fate of the world hinged on them being able to get out of the country without getting killed. And that all hinged on this one car ride.

  “Okay. Let’s head out.”

  CHAPTER 93

  Elisabeta drummed her hands on the table in the plane cabin. She had taken them in the wrong direction when they’d left India. It had been a miscalculation, but they would make up the time on the way back.

  Her spies had told her about the gunfight with Cain before Laney’s group had reached the safe house. She knew that Henry and Jake were out of this fight for now. She smiled. Thank you, dear Jorgen, for your assistance.

  The smile dimmed a little when she thought about the reports of the seer going missing. But no matter—she no longer needed him. And if she ever did need him at some point in the future, why, she’d just run him to ground.

  Now I just have the little ring bearer to deal with. And Laney was probably so traumatized by her losses that she was immobile.

  Elisabeta rubbed her hands as she watched the live feed from the airport. She had debated whether or not to finish the ring bearer as she and her friends left their little safe enclosure. But she had decided against it. She wanted to wait until they reached the airport. She wanted them to feel that taste of hope that they had made it—and then snatch it away.

  She smiled. So stupid. So trusting. It was like fighting with babies.

  They should be at the airfield any minute now. Elisabeta had left behind Kendrick—one of her nephilim—and a few mercenaries she had hired for just this occasion. It wasn’t a large group, but it didn’t need to be. They had only one goal: take out McPhearson.

  Elisabeta picked up her phone and dialed. She spoke quickly. “No one moves in until the target has been located. Do you understand me?”

  “Yes, ma’am. I’ve made sure the men are aware,” Kendrick said.

  Elisabeta put the phone on speaker, then settled back in her seat, a glass of wine in her hand, ready for the show. They were a hundred miles outside of India, but she wasn’t worried. Once the ring bearer and her group were taken care of, they could take their time tracking down the tree. And Samyaza planned on enjoying herself. This was going to be a momentous occasion. She wanted to savor it.

  “The caravan has entered the airport,” Kendrick reported.

  Elisabeta leaned forward, staring at the screen. Any minute now.

  Four Range Rovers pulled up near the Chandler plane. Some SIA agents hopped out and took up positions around the plane. Elisabeta’s smile grew larger. Oh, God, this is fun.

  “Do you have eyes on the target?” she asked.

  “Not yet.”

  Two stretchers were offloaded from the SUVs. A giant panther slunk from the back of one, stopped, and looked straight at the camera. Elisabeta stared back at the animal. What an unusual beast. Maybe I should have my people catch her.

  Disregarding the animal, she focused on the people exiting the cars. Where is she?

  Kendrick’s voice came over the phone. “Samyaza. She’s not here.”

  Wine sloshed over the edge of Elisabeta’s glass as she lowered it to the table. “What?”

  “There are four missing from the Range Rovers. When they started the trip, there were twenty-two passengers. Now there are only eighteen.”

  “How is that possible? Did they stop somewhere?”

  “No, ma’am. They came directly here. We were behind them the whole time.”

  Elisabeta glared at the screen. How did they elude us?

  “Ma’am? The rest of the group is entering the plane. Do you want us to—”

  Kendrick’s voice cut out.

  “Kendrick? Report, Kendrick.” There was no reply. Elisabeta checked her phone. The call was still connected. So why—

  “Hello, Samyaza,” a voice called pleasantly over the phone.

  “Who is this?” Elisabeta demanded.

  “Agent Matthew Clark of the SIA. We’ve taken out a few of your men. I know there are still more out there. The next move is up to you.”

  Elisabeta stared at the screen in disbelief. She’d been outmaneuvered. With a yell, she punched through the screen.

  That bitch had outsmarted her. Elisabeta paced the short length of the cabin; her followers studiously avoided making eye contact. She took a deep breath, then another, and with each one, she imagined another way she could kill the ring bearer.

  Finally Elisabeta smiled. When she caught up with McPhearson, she was going to extend her death. In fact, she was first going to make the ring bearer watch while she killed everyone she knew. And then…

  She pictured the ring bearer’s tortured face as she squeezed the breath out of her.

  CHAPTER 94

  I can’t believe that worked, Laney thought, staring out the window at the clouds. Originally, she had wanted Victoria, Ralph, and herself to slip off by themselves, but Clark had suggested they slip away in transit.

  So Laney had created a dust storm a few minutes into the ride. Clark had wrapped Laney in his arms and rolled from the car, then regained his feet quickly and sprinted away from the caravan. Ralph had done the same for Victoria.

  And no one had been the wiser.

  Laney, Ralph, and Victoria had taken the car that was waiting for them and driven to a private plane, which they took to the Bodhgaya Airport where Victoria’s private jet was waiting. Clark had been met by an SIA helicopter and flown to the airfield. There he and his team had located Samyaza’s men and kept them under observation until they moved in.

  Laney glanced down at her phone and the text Jen had sent.

  We’re all good. In the air.

  She smiled. Jen had sent the text over an hour ago, but Laney liked to glance at it—to reassure herself. And also because it was the last message she would receive from them until this was all over. Laney had gotten Jen to promise not to call even if there was a problem. There was nothing Laney could do to help them now, and she needed to get to the tree. That came first.

  Laney stared out the plane window, but there was nothing to see. It was still dark. It would take them at least eight hours to reach the Changsha Huanghua International Airport, and then another few hours from there to Heaven’s Gate.

  Laney knew she should sleep, but it eluded her. She had picked up her phone half a dozen times, but there was no one to call. She needed everyone focused on their own jobs. And those jobs were to protect Jake and Henry.

  She glanced at her watch. The others should be well on their way back to the States by now.

  “Not tired?” Victoria asked softly from next to her.

  Laney looked over with a start. She had thought Victoria had fallen asleep. She gave her a small smile. “Oh, I’m tired. I just can’t seem to sleep.”

  Victoria took her hand. “Do you want to talk about it?”

  Laney gave a rueful laugh. “I don’t know where to start. There’s so much going on.”

  “Well, is there anything you’d like to ask me?”

  Laney examined her mother. She was Lilith—the first woman. She had been around since the very beginning of time. She had sacrificed her chance at eternity to give the rest of humanity that chance. Laney was bowled over by that act of compassion. And by the fact that Victoria now had to suffer through each life and be born again with all that knowledge.

  Ignorance really was bliss.

  “How do you do it?” Laney asked quietly.

  “Do what?”

  “Start over. Start again.”

  Victoria smiled softly. “It’s not a choice. It has to be done.”

  “But don’t you ever despair? Don’t you ever just want to check out, find an island, live your days in peace?”

  Victoria smiled. “Well, not every lifetime is as exciting as this one. And there are moments of peace. But
I suppose in many ways my life is no different than anyone else’s: there’s joy, sadness, laughter, love, grief.”

  Laney looked at Victoria’s face, and what she saw there was peace and acceptance. “You’re really not angry, are you?”

  “Oh, I have been angry—many times. I have wanted to rail against the injustice of it all. But eventually those feelings pass. And I know what I’m doing is what needs to be done.”

  “But the loss…” Laney bit her lip as images of Kati, Max, Maddox, Henry, and Jake swam through her mind.

  “The loss is always hard. But no one ever truly goes away. We see them again and again. In this life or the next.”

  “But what if you don’t recognize them?”

  Victoria’s voice held no uncertainty. “You will.”

  Laney wanted to believe that was true. That the people she cared about would never be truly gone from her life. That she would see them again. That Drew, Rocky, her parents—they would all still be part of her existence in some way.

  “Haven’t you ever met someone and felt like you knew them even though you had just met?” Victoria asked.

  Laney nodded. “Yes.”

  “That’s because you have known them before, in a different life. They come into your life when you need them, and you come into theirs when they need you.”

  Laney thought of how she’d come into Kati and Max’s life. How Henry and Jake had shown up in hers. It was true that the people she needed and the people who needed her had arrived when they were needed—even Mustafa and Matt.

  “Take your Uncle Patrick,” Victoria said.

  Laney looked at her in surprise. “Uncle Patrick?”

  “He is always in your life. And in much the same role.”

  A memory of the vision she’d had when she’d found the ring in Saqqara. “In ancient Egypt, when the former ring bearer—I mean I—hid the ring. I was accompanied by a man named Gaius. Was he…?”

  “Yes. That was your uncle as well.”

  Laney was quiet for a moment, her mind drifting through all the twists and turns her life had taken lately, all the revelations that seemed to rock her world. And she realized that this one didn’t shock her nearly as much as most. In fact, it comforted her.