The Belial Library (The Belial Series) (40 page)

He shook his head, crossing the street.  She’d just found out about herself.  That was enough of a burden.  She didn’t need any more on her shoulders.

Henry walked quickly, his long legs eating up the distance.  He felt cast adrift, alone.  Laney and Jake were there for him, but they weren’t who he needed right now.  He knew who he needed.  Sometimes only one person would do. 

He turned a corner, walking over to the fountain in front of a new condominium complex.  It rose thirty feet in the air.  Two winged angels about to take off into the air.  He stopped next to it, feeling the spray in his face.

The son of an angel.  And not just any angel, one of the favored angels.  Was that really who he was? 

His shoulders slumped.  This walk wasn’t helping.  Walking wasn’t going to ease the ache.  Images from the last few days flashed through his mind.  He pictured Hugo’s knife plunging into his side, over and over again.  He pictured the book they’d brought him.  His father was the author.  And he’d died to keep the Sons from using the stone as a weapon.  His father seemed to have a habit of laying down his life for others.

Unsteady, he sat on the edge of the fountain.  He’d always wanted answers to why he had abilities.  But now that he had the answers, he wasn’t sure he wanted them.  His father was one of the most powerful angels.  How did someone live up to that?

Pushing off of the fountain, he turned back to the hotel.  He should be there if Danny woke.  Re-tracing his steps, he walked back to the hotel, feeling weighed down.  He was just so damn tired. 

Henry reached the elevator bank and the doors popped open before he even hit the button.  This time, he was alone.  He hit the button for his floor and closed his eyes as it rose, letting out a breath. 
Back to real life
.

The elevator dinged and he opened his eyes, stepping out of the doors.  They slid closed behind him.  Lost in his thoughts, it took him a moment to realize he was in the wrong place.  He wasn’t in the hallway leading to his suite.  He was in the foyer of one of the penthouse apartments.

He shouldn’t have been able to get in here without a key.

His heart gave a little leap.  He walked quickly into the main living room, hope crashing through him. 

She stood at the windows and turned at his entrance.  The lights from the Strip reflected off her the white in her hair.  She opened up her arms and he rushed over to her.  He towered over her by almost two full feet, but it made no matter.  He held her tight and her arms wrapped around his waist. 

She rubbed his back.  “It’s all right, Henry.  You’re safe.”

He let go of the fear, the terror, and let himself feel like a kid.  “Mom.”

Two Days Later

Laney stood outside the warehouse in Vegas.  The front windows had been boarded back up.  The feds had left the day before.  They’d been surprisingly understanding.

She supposed it was the goodwill they had created for the United States on the world stage.  The recovery of an Ecuadorian national treasure was a political coup for the United States and the Chandler group had allowed the U.S. government to take credit for its recovery. 

But the U.S. government was not being given control of the treasure.  That honor belonged to someone else. 

Laney stared down the road.  “Where are they?”

Jake took her hand, leaning down to kiss the bridge of her nose.  “They’ll be here any
minute.  Just relax.”

She leaned into him with a sigh.  “I know.  I’m just not good at waiting.”

“So I’ve noticed,” he mumbled.

She pulled away, playfully whacking his arm.  “Are you suggesting I have flaws?”

He smiled down at her.  “Would you like a list?”

She laughed. 

Jake gestured down the road.  “Here they come.”

A black Hummer barreled down the road, raising a small sandstorm behind it.  The driver slammed on the brakes, swinging the SUV to a stop only a few feet from them. 

Laney waved her hand in front of her face to dispel the dust.  “Whose idea was it to let Yoni drive?”

Jake moved forward to open the back door.  “I’m pretty sure it was his.”  Before he reached it, the door swung open and a little pixie in brown pigtails and a bright pink dress burst out. 

Laney opened her arms. Elena flew into them.  “Laney!”

Laney hugged her tight, pulling her off the ground.  “Oh, I have missed you.”

Jen walked out of the warehouse behind the two of them.  “Hey, any of those hugs for me?”

Elena squealed again and ran for Jen.

Laney’s Uncle Patrick stepped out of the Hummer, his face pale. 

Laney took his arm.  “You okay?”

Patrick glared at Yoni as he leaped from the driver’s seat.  “I am never getting a car with that man again.”

Laney tried not to smile.  “Of course, Uncle.”

Her uncle gave her a look, meaning she hadn’t fooled him a bit with her words.  He offered his hand to Nana, who stepped out of the SUV with the grace of a queen. 

“It was like being on a roller coaster.  Or at least, what I imagine a roller coaster would be like.”  She hugged Laney.  “I knew you would find it.” 

Laney smiled.  “I had a little help. I’m glad you’re here.”

Nana took Laney’s hand.  “We have some important decisions to make.” 

Washington, D.C.

A week later, Laney was in a conference room, a floor down from the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History’s Baird Auditorium. The violence in Ecuador had become worldwide news.  Speculation and rumors were running rampant about what had been hidden in Ecuador.  The Ecuadorian government had moved troops in to keep treasure seekers from running unchecked across Shuar land.

After much debate and back and forth, Nana had decided on a course of action with some help from Laney and the gang.  The Chandler Group would build a repository for the Crespi Collection in the original location of the treasure.  The Ecuadorian government would help with security, but the final call on all access would rest with the Shuar tribe. 

Until the building was complete, though, the collection was to be housed at the Smithsonian, under constant guard.  No one was admitted without permission from Nana.  So far, no one had been granted permission, but Nana was beginning to consider allowing some scholars in to examine the finds.

Today, they were making the official announcement to the world press about the discovery.  Nana would be there, but she didn’t want to make the official announcement. 

Laney had been shocked when Henry offered to do it. Henry had never been photographed, never let himself be seen by the press.  But he knew his gravitas would add weight to the importance of the issue as well as highlight how secure the treasure was going to be.  The Chandler Group’s reputation would keep many would-be treasure thieves at bay. 

But Laney knew Henry’s offer was about more than that.  What he’d been through at the hands of Flourent and Hugo had fundamentally changed him.  Or maybe it was finding out who he really was that changed him.  Probably both. 

She watched him pour himself a cup of coffee across the room.  There was an ease to him that had been missing before.  Not having to hide who he was, having people around him who cared for him, and making it through that torture – somehow, combined, they seemed to have given him a new strength.

She glanced up as Jake walked in.  Damn, he looked good.  Charcoal grey suit, tailored to accentuate his broad shoulders with a pale blue shirt and navy tie, he made the banker look sexy.  A brown leather messenger bag was slung over his shoulder. 

Catching sight of her, Jake made his way over to her.  He stopped in front of her, looking her over, from her alligator pumps to her fitted navy blue dress.  He leaned forward to whisper in her ear.  "Doc, you’re going to make it impossible for anyone to focus on Henry's speech."

She smiled, looking up into his eyes.  "You look good, too."

Patrick walked over to them.  "Good to see you, Jake."

Laney took a step away, but Jake put his arm around her, pulling her into his side.  He extended his hand to Patrick.  "You, too, Patrick.  Where are the Nuninks?"

"They should be here in a few minutes.  Jen's with them.  A few academics wanted their impressions of some of the exhibits. "

Jake nodded, giving Laney a squeeze before releasing her.  "There's something I need everyone to see before they arrive." 

He pulled a tablet out of his bag, setting it on the table. Henry walked over to join them.  A video was already queued up.  Jake hit play.

The screen showed the warehouse where the artifacts were stored.  “When’s this from?” Henry asked. 

“Twenty minutes ago.”  Jake’s tone was somber.

A feeling of dread settled in Laney’s stomach.  The door at the end of the warehouse flew open.  A security guard sailed through it, crashing into a crate and lying still.  There was a blur of motion and then a man was standing at the far side of the screen. 

Laney couldn’t tell much about him except that he had dark hair, mocha-colored skin, and he was in good shape.  The man rifled through the open crates, before beginning to tear through the unopened ones. 

His movements were incredibly fast.  Her heart clenched.  He was a Fallen.  She glanced at Henry.  Or maybe a nephilim.

Another blur entered the screen.

Startled, she looked at Jake.  “There were two of them?” 

Jake nodded.  “They took out half the security force without raising an alarm.  The other half of the force didn’t realize anything was wrong until the intruders were gone.”

“Are the men all right?” Henry asked.

“Yeah,” Jake said.  “They were all unconscious, a couple of broken ribs, bones.  But all alive.”

Thank God
, Laney thought, her eyes still glued to the screen.

A dozen crates in, one of the thieves found what he was looking for.  He pulled out a single folio.  Tucking it into his side, he called to the other man and they sprinted from view.

Laney sat back, stunned.  “They only took one.  Why?”

Patrick leaned forward.  “Jake, can you zoom in on the book?”

Jake shook his head.  “No.  I tried already.  Picture’s too blurred to make anything out.  Nothing comes up.  I sent it to Danny to see if he could clean up the image.”

“Do we have any idea which book it was?”  Henry asked.

Patrick frowned.  “We can check the inventory, but I don’t think it was complete.  But if Danny cleans up the picture enough, maybe we can match it to one of the photographs taken at the site.”

“There’s something else.”  Jake rewound the recording, freezing it on the second intruder. 

Laney stared at the face of the Fallen.  The picture was blurred, but clear enough that she could make out the strong cheekbones, the prominent chin.  “He looks familiar.”

“He should,” Jake said.  “That’s Gerard Thompson, Sebastian Flourent’s personal assistant.”

Laney felt her jaw drop.  She knew Gerard had worked for Flourent for years.  His picture had been in the file they’d developed on Flourent.  He’d bided his time, waiting until the library was uncovered.  Just like Azazyel had done with Senator Kensington.  And also like Azazyel, he was working in tandem with another superhuman.

While everyone was digesting that, Jake laid another shock before them.  “And there’s something else.  The bodies of Sebastian Flourent and Hugo Barton were discovered in an airport parking lot in Copenhagen an hour ago.”

“Any leads?” Henry asked.

“No.  But they both died from broken necks.  And all signs point to them being snapped by human hands.”

Laney’s eyes flew to Jake.  “A broken neck?”  She pictured Hugo’s neck.  It had been huge and incredibly muscular.  “No human could snap Hugo’s neck.”

“No,” Henry said quietly.  “But a Fallen could.”

Laney looked at the time stamp on the screen.  “There’s no way these two guys did that.  There’s a third Fallen.”

“Which means we need to prepare,” Jake said.

“Prepare?”  Patrick asked.  “For what?”

"We have a new enemy,” Jake said. 

Laney stared back at the screen.  A chill swept through her.  “More like three.” 

Laney walked next to Henry down the long hall leading to the Baird Auditorium.  They were at the back of the procession.  Nana was first, with Jen and Patrick following behind.  Jake and Elena were already seated in the auditorium. 

The excited murmur of the reporters drifted down the hall towards them.

Laney placed her hand on Henry’s arm.   “Are you sure you want to do this?”

He looked down at her with a smile.  “I’ve been hiding long enough, Laney.  It’s time to step out into the light.”

“I’m proud to stand next to you.”

He patted her hand.  “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Together, they stepped through the curtain and walked up the three short steps to the stage.  A stirring went through the crowd as they caught sight of Henry.