The Belial Stone (The Belial Series) (16 page)

Jake leaned down to whisper in Laney's ear.  "Shouldn't he be wearing a little tinfoil hat while he explains all this?"

Laney pushed him away, trying to hold back her smile.

Dom closed the refrigerator door.  Shaking his head, he walked back to the island, a can of soda in his hand.  “But you guys haven’t even asked the most important question yet.”

Laney looked around the table at the confused look on everyone’s face, except for Danny’s.  “Danny?”

“We haven’t asked where the stones came from.  If these stones exist on earth, then there should be another cache somewhere.  But being they haven’t been found, the question is where did they go?  Or, more likely, where did they come from?”

“Right as usual, my boy.”  Dom beamed at Danny.  He turned to Patrick.  “So Father Patrick, care to tell the group where the stones come from?”

CHAPTER 32

L
aney looked from her uncle to Dom.  Surprise was written across her uncle’s face.  He stared at Dom.  “Me? I don't know.”

“You are a Catholic priest, right?  And an archaeologist?  You just need to think about it.  I'll give you a hint: ‘They elevated me aloft to heaven.  I proceeded until I arrived at a wall built with stones of crystal.’”

Laney noticed Patrick pale, and knew he’d recognized the words.  But she also noticed Henry start, although much more subtly.  Henry recognized the words as well. 

She fixed her uncle with a look.  “I think it’s time to share what you know.”

Patrick looked across the table at her and sighed.  “The words are from the Book of Enoch.”

Laney struggled to see the connection.  “The Book of Enoch?  Drew uses that as a reference in his paper.”

Patrick nodded, explaining to the rest of the group.  “It was a popular work in the early Catholic church.  It’s one of the largest repositories of knowledge on two areas: heaven and angels.”

“Angels?  We’re adding in angels now?” Jake mumbled. 

Laney shook her head.  “I still don’t see the connection.”

Although Laney had been looking at her uncle, Henry was the one who answered.  “The Book of Enoch isn’t just about angels.  It’s about fallen angels, and it speaks of the stones of great power they brought with them when they fell.”

Laney stared at Henry.  It couldn’t be, could it?  “Fallen angels?  As in beings with superhuman abilities?  Such as incredible speed, power, and healing abilities?”

Dom nodded.  “Oh, sure.”

Laney sat back, stunned.  She knew whatever explanation they came up with for the superhumans would have been incredible.  But she still expected it to be more, well, normal.  A pharmaceutical experiment gone awry, exposure to some sort of radioactive contaminant, a military experiment.  A mutation in the essence of humanity, a la the X-Men.  But fallen angels? 

Dom bounced out of his chair again.  He started to pace around the island.  Laney was starting to get dizzy watching him. She finally closed her eyes and just listened to him speak. 

“According to Enoch, a group of angels become envious of humans, of their freedom, of their women.  Two hundred of them made a pact, and together they fell.  They brought with them the knowledge of heaven.  Their leader was named Samyaza and Azazyel was his second-in-command.  Each of the fallen brought with them some skill that they shared with humanity.  Tamiel taught them astronomy.  Amazarack and Armers taught them sorcery, and so on.” 

Dom paused and looked around the group, his eyes bright.  “But it was Azazyel who has done the most to corrupt mankind.  Azazyel, as the leader of the guard, taught mankind to fashion weapons, and how to wield them.  And most critically, he taught them the use of the stones.  Azazyel has had the most influence on mankind’s split into the Sons of Belial and the Children of the Law of One.  He tapped into human’s basest desires – lust, power, greed – and manipulated them towards his own goals.  And more importantly, he provided the Sons of Belial with the means to defeat the Children of the Law of One.” 

The room descended into silence when Dom finished speaking.  Laney stared at each of them in turn.  Were they really considering this?  Henry and Patrick looked thoughtful.  Danny’s face was a mask of concentration.  He was undeniably running a myriad of permutations with the information that none of them would ever understand.  Her eyes fell on Jake.  Disbelief was stamped across his face. 

She thought back to all that they had been through, all they had seen.  How else to explain Paul’s abilities?  And the medical examiner’s results?  Was this explanation really so crazy compared with any other possibility?  The only other options were super-soldier or alien.  They knew he was not a normal human.  But still . . .

“Okay,” Laney said, drawing out the word.  “So, let’s say for arguments sake, fallen angels did exist.  Weren’t they all banished?” 

Patrick shook his head.  “Not exactly.  According to scripture, the fallen angels were a plague on humanity.  They introduced greed, vice, and encouraged all sorts of base desires.  The world became a cruel and vicious place as a result of their intervention.  Humanity cried out to God for help and he sent his archangels to punish the fallen angels.  They were exiled to a pit in the desert for seventy generations, which is when God said the world would end.”

Jake grunted.  “Right, so all the bad angels got locked up.  Can we now move back to reality?” 

Henry shook his head.  “That may not be entirely true.  There was a loophole. According to Enoch, God banished the fallen for seventy generations and until the end of the world.  And, according to the Bible, God did attempt to destroy the world by a flood, to rid it of the corruption created by the fallen angels and their offspring.”

“But the world didn’t end.”  Laney said.

Patrick nodded. “But the world didn’t end.  And God vowed to never try and destroy the world again.  Because of that compassion, Azazyel and some of the other angels were allegedly able to escape after the seventy generations passed.”

Dom bounced out of his chair and fetched a bag of cookies from the cabinet behind him.  He plopped back in his chair, offering cookies to those around the table.   “As a result, Azazyel and the others have lived and died thousands of times.  And they have the knowledge of all those incarnations to bring with them.  As well as the fighting skills they’ve honed over the millennia.”

“Well, I suppose that could explain the abilities we saw,” Laney said. 

“Oh, sure.” Dom took a bite of his cookie.  He looked at Laney.  “And as you well know, when they're here, they’re, for all intents and purposes, mortal.  They can be killed.”

No one seemed to know what to say, so they just stared at Dom in silence.  Dom seemed not to notice as he rummaged in the bag for another cookie.  Finally finding an acceptable one, he looked back at the group and smiled.  “Hey, I’ve got some pictures of the angels in their present incarnations if you want to see them.”

Laney was about to ask to do just that, when Jake stormed away from the table.

CHAPTER 33

A
lthough getting into Dom's lab required Henry’s presence and security codes, getting out just required some muscle to pull open the blast doors.  With the anger dogging Jake’s steps, he had more than enough to accomplish the task.

“Angels, Atlantis, psychics, and ancient hippies,” he growled as he stalked up the tunnel. 

He’d reached the second blast door before he realized he wasn’t alone.  He held it open for Laney to slip through before he followed her out. 

She reached the front door and pushed it open.  “You okay?”

Jake noted the concern in her eyes and his anger ebbed a bit.  “I don't know, Laney.  What exactly am I supposed to make of all that?”

Laney didn’t say anything, just followed behind him as he began to push through the overgrown path.  When the path was clear, she stepped up next to him.  “Jake, I know you’re frustrated and you want to do something.  But I think this actually does help.”

Jake stopped short and glared down at her.   “Help?  How the hell does any of this crazy help?”

She flinched at his tone, but held her ground.  “It helps more than you getting angry and storming off.”

“Look, I’m not angry.  I’m just…” He ran his hands through his hair.  “Hell, I don’t know what I am.  This just all seems too crazy.  I know what I saw in Afghanistan.  I know what happened yesterday.  I know what the M.E. says.  But fallen angels?”

“I know it seems unreal, but we have to look at the facts.  These men are unreal.  Their fighting skills, their healing abilities.  None of them are normal.”

Jake looked past Laney.  He let out a breath.  She was right.  They weren’t normal.  Which meant there wasn’t going to be a nice, easy explanation.  “I know.  It's just… When I heard Tom had gone missing, I thought it would take me a couple of days to track him down.  I figured he’d run off.  I’d talk him down, help him get settled.  But this?  I don't want him in the middle of this.”

She reached out and squeezed his hand.  “I know.  But we don’t always get what we want.”

He looked at her upturned face and saw the sadness there.  “I don’t want you in the middle of this, either.”

She smiled, the sadness still there.  “Like I said, we don’t always get what we want.”

He cleared his throat.  “So tell me, Dr. McPhearson, what do we do now?”

“We find the site.  That’s where Tom will be.”

“Besides believing it’s in the U.S., we have no idea where to look.”

“Actually, I do have an idea about that.  While you guys have been tracking down all your sources for any information, I’ve been thinking about the weak link in this chain.  It’s Priddle.  He’s the one who brought Drew on, and then Drew sent me the paper.  Priddle left his university, quickly.  I’m betting there are some clues there.” 

Jake nodded.  She was right.  He should have thought of that.  “Not bad for a professor.”

She grinned.  “Well, I have my moments.”

“I’ll leave first thing in the morning.”

“And I’ll go with you.”

He shook his head.  “No chance.  It’s too dangerous.” 

Laney’s expression was fierce.  “Drew was killed because of all of this.  Mike and Rocky were hurt and four other officers were killed. I won’t sit here twiddling my thumbs while you take all the risks.  The sooner we find out where the site is, the sooner all this ends.  Besides, I’m guessing you’re not well-v
ersed in academic-speak.  I am.

Jake wanted to argue with her.  He didn’t want her going.  She’d be safer here.  He knew, though, that she was right.  She’d already lost Drew to this madness.  If it were him, he’d go crazy without something to do.  And she was more familiar with talking to academics than he was.  His form of interrogation generally involved fists and sharp instruments.  Neither would be too helpful in this case. 

She smiled and his breath caught.  But nothing was going to happen to her, he vowed.  He wouldn’t let it.

CHAPTER 34

Saint Paul, MN

T
he flight to Minnesota that morning had been happily uneventful.  Laney spent most it reviewing the information she’d gathered on angels.  It was fascinating stuff.  According to theologians, mankind had been sharing the earth with angels since the beginning of time.  Although, generally speaking, the angels had just made short visits rather than taking up residence.

When talking about the power of angels, however, the research mainly addressed nephilim, the offspring of angels.  They were reported to be giants with incredible strength, speed, and cruelty.  And if that’s what half-angel beings were capable of, she didn’t want to imagine what full-blooded angels were capable of.

In the abstract, it might be fascinating, but in terms of potential opponents, it was terrifying.

Now as Jake pulled into one of the parking garages at the University of Saint Paul, Laney felt a mixture of familiarity and sadness.  A wave of grief had blindsided her on the way over.   Their route had taken them past Drew’s neighborhood.  She hadn’t mentioned it to Jake.  It hurt too much to talk about. 

The ache in her chest grew at the sight of the familiar campus.  Brick academic buildings, many with ivy covering their walls and columns announcing their entryways, lined the intersecting pathways that broke up the University of Saint Paul’s 100-acre campus.  Set on the outskirts of Saint Paul, the campus was boarded by Mississippi River on the eastern end of the campus. 

She kept expecting to see Drew bound across the green grass and wrap her in a bear hug, like the last time she’d visited.  It didn’t seem real that he was gone.  Pushing those feelings aside, she led Jake across campus to the building that housed the archaeology program. 
             

The office of Dr. Sean Childress, chair of the Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, offered an incredible view of the river.  That was, however, all they had gotten out of their visit.  In regard to information on Dr. Priddle, the man simply wasn’t any help.  All he would say was that the department greatly admired Dr. Priddle’s work, and they were sad to see him go. 

“And if Dr. Priddle re-emerges, will he be offered a tenure-track position?”  Laney asked.

Dr. Childress pushed his glasses up his nose and looked at a spot behind Laney.  “Due to budget constraints and differing visions for his role in the department, that is unlikely.” 

Laney knew that was academic double-speak for ‘we couldn’t stand him,’ but neither she nor Jake could get any additional information out of the tightlipped chair. 

“And you have no idea where he went?”  Jake asked.

“No.  He left us in quite a bind.  I’ve asked the whole department, but I’m afraid Dr. Priddle wasn’t very social.”  Academic translation: He was an ass.

After thirty more minutes of getting nowhere, Laney stood.  “Well, thank you for your time, Dr. Childress.” 

Dr. Childress rose from behind his desk, placing a hand across his rotund mid-section.  He pushed his glasses back up his nose with his index finger again and extended his hand towards Laney and then Jake.  “We’re always happy to help the Chandler Group.  And I’m sorry again for your loss.  Drew was truly a gifted academic.”

Laney nodded, swallowing the lump in her throat.  She gestured towards the student at the back of the office working on the computer.  “I wonder if we might borrow your student aide for just a short while.  This campus is so large.  I was hoping she could direct us back to our car.”

“Of course, of course,” Dr. Childress said magnanimously.  He turned to the petite blonde.   “Tara, could you please show Dr. McPhearson and Mr. Rogan to where they need to go?”             

Tara grabbed her backpack with a little skip that set her blonde ponytail bouncing.  “Sure, Dr. Childress.  No problem.”
             

As they followed Tara out, Jake leaned over and whispered.  “You know, Laney, I’ve made it through the Yucatan Peninsula, the deserts of Afghanistan, and a couple of other less desirable backwaters across the globe.  I don’t think finding the parking garage will be a stretch.” 

She gave a soft laugh.  “Just follow my lead, okay?”

“Okay, Doc.” 

As Tara walked out into the bright sunlight, Laney introduced herself and Jake to the girl.  “So, you must have been excited to work with someone of Dr. Priddle’s caliber.”

Tara made a face. “Yeah, sure.”

“You didn’t like Dr. Priddle?” Laney asked. 

Tara shrugged. 

“You know, I really hated some of my professors,” Jake said.  “They were always so full of themselves.”

Tara nodded vigorously.  “Oh, I know what you mean.”

“In fact, a few students have told us that Dr. Priddle was one of the worst,” he said.

“They did?”

“Oh, yeah.  Did he give you any problems?” Laney asked.

“He really wasn’t very nice,” Tara began and stopped.  At Jake’s encouraging nod, though, the dam that held back Tara’s words burst.  “He was actually a real jerk.  Not like Dr. Masters.  He was real nice.  I can’t believe he’s gone.”

“Me either,” Laney said.

Tara nodded.  “But Dr. Priddle was never, ever, nice.  He never remembered my name and always wanted his stuff done right away, even when I had other professors’ work to do first.  And he never said thank you – not ever.  And, God, he was so gross.  It was like he dipped himself in oil.  I hated going into his office.  I always felt like I needed a shower afterwards.”

Laney bit back a smile.  “Did you see him before he left?”

“Oh, sure.”

“Anything stick out?”

Tara shrugged.  “I don’t know.  I mean, I guess he was kind of weird.  He said something about showing everyone who he really was.”  She rolled her eyes.  “What a jerk.”

“Do you know where he went?” Jake asked.

Tara’s phone beeped.  She rummaged through her backpack looking for it, reading the text while answering.  “I guess Montana.”

“Montana?” Jake asked.

Tara put the phone back in her bag after sending a quick text.  “Yeah.  He needed me to get some topographic maps of Montana around some place called Haven or Haver or something like that a few weeks ago.”

“But how do you know that’s where he was heading?”

Tara shifted her bag on her shoulder.  “Because the day he left, he came to his office.  He was in a big rush.  I was setting up the bulletin board outside his door.  Anyway, he called somebody.  I don't know who.  He was usually real private when he got phone calls.  He even closed his door, so no one could hear.” 

Tara rolled her eyes again.  “Like anyone would want to.  Anyway, I guess he was too distracted this time.  He asked whoever was on the phone about the money and if his equipment had arrived.  And then he asked how long the plane ride would be from Saint Paul to Haven or Haver or whatever.  I finished the bulletin board and left.  I don’t think he even realized I was there.

By now, they’d reached the parking garage and Laney thanked Tara for her help.  With a last lingering look at Jake, she headed off to her next class. 

Jake turned to Laney with a raised eyebrow.  “Good call on the student.  What made you think she’d know something?”

“Well, professors don’t like to talk about other professors, even when they can’t stand them.  Students, however, love to bitch about their professors. And being she was quietly hanging out in the background, I had got the feeling she probably saw and heard a lot.  So, it seemed like a good possibility.”

“Good hunch.  And now thanks to Tara, we now know where we’re heading next.”

“Montana.”

“Yup.  Montana.” Jake agreed.