by R. D. Brady
The sketch was a little blurry, but Cain had no trouble identifying the subject: Victoria as a mature woman.
Patrick slowly studied a half dozen pages, then he looked up at Cain, his eyes wide. “I think this might be the Tome of the Great Mother. Look, there are images of Victoria all over these pages.” Patrick flipped to another page and gave a sharp intake of breath.
Cain peered down. It was a sketch of a little girl, an exact replica of the little girl in the room down the hall. “It’s Nyssa.”
“Someone does have a copy of the Tome. I wonder if it’s someone within Elisabeta’s organization.”
“I doubt it. But is it possible there’s more than one copy out there?”
“Well, we know that the followers split off to go into hiding. One group came to the United States and hid the book in Salem. Elisabeta has that copy. But it stands to reason there would be another group that would hide it somewhere else.” Patrick leaned back. “Imagine it, a group hiding one of the greatest treasure troves of knowledge known to man.”
“Or woman.”
Patrick smiled. “Or woman. I wonder . . .”
“Wonder what?”
“Do you think it’s possible the Followers still exist? That they’ve been in hiding all this time?”
Cain raised his eyebrows. “I’ve never heard any inklings of them, not for centuries.”
“But you didn’t know of the group in Salem, either.”
“True. Well, how about once all this is over, we go take Nyssa and Laney for a little trip to Rome?”
“I think that would be great.” The smile dropped from Patrick’s face. “Assuming we’re all still here.”
“We’ll be here, Patrick. Laney will be here.”
“I hope so.” He flipped back to the first few pages. “I don’t recognize this language.” He handed the first few sheets to Cain.
Cain glanced at them and felt his heart still. It can’t be.
“Cain?”
“It’s . . . it’s the first language.”
“The what?”
“When the world was young, there was one language that united the world. I didn’t think any of it still existed.”
“First language? How long ago are we talking? Thousands of years?”
“Tens of thousands. This is the language of Mu, Atlantis.” He paused, the grief surprising him. “This is the language of the Garden of Eden.”
“Before the Tower of Babel?”
Cain nodded slowly. “Yes.”
“Are you sure?”
“It has been some time, but yes, I’m sure.”
“Do you think you could translate it?”
“It might take a little time, but I think I could. But I don’t understand who sent this to you. Or why.”
“I don’t know, either. But I know Laney is worried about what Elisabeta is up to. What her plan is. And I wonder if maybe this might have something to do with it. Let me see that.”
Cain handed him the envelope. Patrick pulled the bed table over him, placing the envelope flat, next to his tablet, which he quickly brought to life. He typed in the address. He frowned. “That’s odd.”
“What?”
“The address. It’s an orphanage.”
“An orphanage?”
“The School of the Holy Mother. It’s run by the Church.”
“Is your friend Sean affiliated with it?”
“I don’t think he’s ever mentioned it, although I suppose he could be.” He brought up the website for the school. Pictures of children of various ages, nuns in white habits with them, dominated the edges of the screen. “It’s a school and home for the children. They are taught by nuns from the Holy Order of Maternal Love.”
“Two mother references,” Cain said slowly.
Patrick nodded. “That can’t be coincidence.”
“No, it can’t.”
Patrick nodded to the sheets in Cain’s hands. “I think you need to translate that as fast as you can.”
Cain stared at the papers in his hands, recognizing one word that all but leapt off the pages at him: immortal.
“Yes,” he said slowly, “I think you might be right.”
Chapter 48
Washington, D.C.
Laney stepped into the room. It looked like something out of a movie set. Two dozen screens lined the wall on one side of the cavernous room. The screens depicted different scenes of conflict from around the world. A large conference table that looked like it could seat about two dozen stood about twenty feet from the wall of monitors. Beyond the table, dominating the other side of the room, was row after row of tiered desks and monitors, with uniformed and non-uniformed personnel at each spot. None of the analysts at the desks glanced up as Laney stepped into the room, but the crowd of ten men surrounding the table all stopped their conversation and looked her over.
Laney struggled not to squirm under their gaze, suddenly feeling self-conscious about her jeans, boots, and the sweatshirt with “Pennsylvania” emblazoned across it that Drake had picked up for her in the hospital gift shop. She was pretty sure they were all wondering who let the college kid in.
But you’re not a college kid. You’re the ring bearer, a voice reminded her from the recesses of her mind. Laney straightened her shoulders, meeting each of the men’s probing gazes with one of her own.
“This way, Dr. McPhearson.” Fielding headed toward the conference table.
Laney kept her gaze straight as she followed him.
A tall man in a gray suit separated himself from the group, meeting them halfway.
“Captain Fielding.” He turned to Delaney. “I am Kurt Reyes, Department of Defense.”
Laney shook his hand. “Kurt, I’m Delaney McPhearson.”
“I’m afraid we don’t have time for introductions. Some new intel has just come in, and we need to move on it.”
Laney frowned, not sure what to make of that statement. “All right.”
As Laney took the seat that Fielding indicated, she surreptitiously read the tag of the soldier across from her—Maldonado. She’d felt the telltale signal as she stepped into the room. She didn’t meet Laney’s gaze, but Laney felt the eyes of another on her, the man in front of Maldonado. If she’d seen him on the street, her gaze would have slipped right over him. He was balding with a rim of hair around his scalp, no chin to speak of and perfectly round glasses. He looked like the guy you would cast if you were looking for a mousy accountant. But Laney knew who he actually was: Bruce Heller, Deputy Director of the CIA.
Interesting.
Reyes stood at the front of the table, nodding as everyone sat down. “We just received a recording involving Elisabeta Roccorio.”
“Where?” someone down the table demanded.
“Tokar, Sudan.” The screens behind Reyes coalesced into one.
Laney tensed, knowing whatever she was about to see would no doubt be brutal. She studied the men around the table, wondering just how much they knew about who Elisabeta truly was. And whether what they were about to see would confirm for them their fears or increase them.
As the screen flickered to life, Laney felt a collective tension spread across the table.
Okay, Elisabeta. Let’s see what new horror you’ve created.
The Sudan video had been taken from a security camera inside General NaNomi Mansur’s home. It had been brutal. And that had led to a long, drawn-out conversation on what Elisabeta was capable of. Sad to say, most still didn’t believe what their eyes were showing them. Laney was more than glad when a thirty-minute recess was called. She headed down the hall to Drake, and a few minutes later they were stepping outside, along with their military escort.
Laney and Drake stepped away from the escort, who stayed by the entrance to the building.
“So how’s it going in there?” Drake asked.
“It’s painful. None of them want to believe what is right in front of their faces.” She paused, thinking of the CIA deputy director. “Actually, I thin
k one of them already understands very well what the Fallen are capable of.”
Laney’s phone rang. She pulled it out of her pocket. She really didn’t want to speak with anyone. But she saw Cain was trying to Facetime her and quickly answered it. “Cain? Is my uncle all right?”
“Yes, yes, he’s fine.” Cain looked pale, his eyes almost haunted.
“What’s going on? Are you all right?”
“I think I know what Elisabeta is up to.”
“Hold on.” Laney walked briskly away from the building. Drake stayed where he was to keep anyone from listening in. “What is it?”
Cain quickly explained about the package from the unknown sender.
“Wait, it’s written in the first language?”
“Yes, but I can read it. I translated the first few pages.” He took a breath, and Laney had the impression he was trying to steel himself. “It talks about your mother’s early time on Earth, a time when she went by the name Gaia.”
Gaia, the first Greek goddess from which all life was supposed to have sprung. The name was known within the academic world, but it was attached more to myth than history. Most people these days, if they were familiar with the name at all, knew it for its connection to a series of yoga videos.
According to legend, though, Gaia healed, nurtured, and supported all life on the planet, and all life and health ultimately depended on her. There were even some myths about her rebelling against the leader of the heavenly gods. Her children were the Titans, who were later imprisoned by Zeus. Some even maintained that it was Gaia who was behind the Oracle of Delphi, and in ancient Greece, oaths sworn in her name were considered the most binding of all. There was even one myth that she made a minor Greek god named Aristaeus immortal.
“I didn’t realize that was her.”
“It was. Before she became known as Lilith, she was the Earth Mother.”
“What does this have to do with Elisabeta?”
“One of the topics touched upon in the pages is immortality.”
“Victoria and I spoke about how early humans were essentially immortal. That she took that immortality from them.”
“Yes. The pages go into that in quite a bit of detail. But that’s not the immortality I’m talking about.” He paused, and Laney braced herself, fearing she knew where he was going with this. “It also mentions how to reattain immortality.”
“Reattain? You mean through Nyssa’s blood?” Nyssa’s blood, if ingested, could make someone immortal, but it required a full adult body’s worth.
“No. There is another way. The writers call it mortus.”
“Mortus?”
“Roughly translated, it means victory over death.”
Laney closed her eyes. Damn it. “How?”
“An individual would need two things: the Omni and some of Nyssa’s blood.”
An image of the skulls from Göbekli Type flashed through her mind. The skulls had come from Dwarka. What if the priests had actually written down the instructions for how to make the Omni? That would explain why Elisabeta had attacked the site.
Cain’s voice cut through her thoughts. “Laney? Is that why they attacked the cabin? Were they trying to get Nyssa’s blood?”
“Maybe. How much blood do they need?”
“Not much. A few milliliters.”
“Elisabeta may already have that.”
“I thought you and Drake destroyed all the blood?”
“What we found in the lab, we did. But if Elisabeta knew about the blood link, she would have made sure to secure enough for that as a backup plan.”
“But she didn’t have the Omni.”
“No, she didn’t. But she is someone who plans. She would have made sure she had the blood available should her attempt at bleeding Nyssa have failed.”
Cain winced. “To do that to a child . . .”
“I know. How is Nyssa?”
“She’s all right. She seems quite taken with Dov.”
Laney smiled, picturing the two little ones. “Well, if he’s anything like his father, Nyssa will love him. Any ill effects from the attack?”
“I don’t think so. She’s snuggled up with Patrick for a few naps, and Cleo has been staying by her side, which I think makes her feel safe.”
Laney knew that feeling well. She missed having Cleo by her side. But right now, she preferred having Cleo with Nyssa.
“What are you going to do about Elisabeta?” Cain asked, returning to the topic at hand.
Laney blew out a breath. “I don’t know. This committee seems more interested in listening to themselves speak than listening to what anyone else has to say. And no one seems to believe what Elisabeta is capable of. But if this is true, I need to speak with them. And hope they believe me.”
“You think they won’t?”
“Yes, I think they won’t. They have enough trouble accepting what I can do, even with everything that happened in Jerusalem, so getting them to accept that we need to stop Elisabeta before she becomes immortal? Not sure they are going to be able to get behind that.”
“So what do we do?”
“Pray.”
“There’s one other thing.” Cain’s voice was hesitant.
Dread spooled through Laney. “What?”
“There’s also something in here about the Omni and the ring bearer.” Cain paused.
Her dread increased. “What does it say?”
“It says that if the ring bearer ingests the Omni, she will receive the greatest gift and the greatest punishment known to mankind.”
Laney immediately knew what he was referring to. “I’d be immortal.”
“That’s how your uncle and I interpret it as well.”
Laney blew out a breath. “Why would that—” She went quiet. “It’s because I already have Nyssa’s blood running through my veins.”
“That’s what we believe as well.”
“Does it say if it is reversible?”
“No.”
“So there’s a chance if I take it, I won’t be able to undo its effects.”
“Yes. Or if you take it a second time, it might remove all your abilities.”
“Oh.” She had not considered that possibility.
“We don’t know for sure. I may have interpreted this wrong. It’s been so long—”
“Cain, it’s all right.”
“We thought you should know. But, Laney, I . . . I don’t want you to have this burden. I hope you never have to make this choice.”
“Me, too. But at least if I have to, I won’t be alone.”
“No, you will never be alone. I promise you that.”
Laney nodded, but that was exactly how she felt—alone. She hung up with Cain and stared into space, trying to figure out how to convince the people downstairs that Elisabeta was now an even greater threat than they thought she was a few minutes ago. She knew there was no chance of that.
She pulled out her phone and dialed Mike. He answered on the first ring. “Laney? Everything all right?”
“Not exactly. I need you to put me in touch with the secretary of state.”
Chapter 49
The meeting had been pushed back another half hour due to some situation that had developed that Laney was not privy to. Which was fine with Laney, because it gave her time to call the secretary of state from the conference room down the hall.
But the conversation with Nancy did not go well. Laney explained what she believed Elisabeta was up to. But as supportive as Nancy had been, Laney could hear the skepticism in the woman’s voice.
And she couldn’t blame her, because Laney could not tell her the whole story. She couldn’t tell her about the Omni. Nothing good would come of letting the government know that there was a compound out there that could turn people into Fallen. Laney also couldn’t tell her about Nyssa and what her blood could do. Which left her with vague explanations and a lot of conjecture. Laney hung up the phone, frustration rolling through her.
Drake sat down next to her,
patting her knee. “So that went poorly.”
“Yes, it did.” She ran her fingers through her hair. “Why the hell can’t they just take my word for it?”
Drake grinned. “You mean that Elisabeta is the reincarnation of the leader of the Fallen angels, hell-bent on world domination, and that she is now attempting to make herself immortal? Hm, yes, I see why you would be annoyed. It’s such a rational argument.”
Laney narrowed her eyes. “Are you trying to help?”
“Not at the moment, no.”
“Well, then you’re doing a great job.” She started to stand.
Drake pulled her back down. “Hey, no storming off.”
“I’m not storming. I was going to walk with purpose out of the room.”
“My mistake. Now listen, the governments of the world will never believe you.”
Laney narrowed her eyes. “Your pep talks need work.”
“Will you let me finish?”
Laney crossed her arms over her chest. “Fine.”
“Thank you. Now, as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, the governments of the world will not believe you. It is too fantastical, no matter how true it is. But that doesn’t matter. It’s never been about them. It’s about you and her. It always has been.”
“Great. No pressure.”
He smiled. “Well, I happen to have faith in you. You always find a way. This time will be no different.”
“Drake, she’s trying to make herself immortal. There’s no room for error. The amount of deaths that will result if she achieves that goal . . .”
“Lives will always be lost, Laney. You cannot prevent every death. But you can keep those numbers down.”
“I’m not sure that’s enough.”
“I’m afraid it will have to be.”
Laney leaned in to him with a sigh, knowing he was right. People were going to die. She wouldn’t be able to stop that. But without her government at least loosening up the reins, she wasn’t sure she was even going to be able to keep the final death toll down.
And Elisabeta/Samyaza had been playing this kind of game for much longer than Laney.
Laney knew she was outclassed. The government is keeping me at arm’s reach. Elisabeta has already targeted my people, leaving us weakened. How am I going to protect anyone else against her?