The Belial Origins (12 page)

CHAPTER 32

L
aney walked along the perimeter of the fence with Cleo by her side. They’d already inspected the area where the explosion had occurred. Henry had brought a team in to repair it, and they would work all through the night. Now Laney was inspecting the area where the
real
assault had originated. Where Gerard had made off with Max.

Laney peered out through the fence. The afternoon sun had started its arc toward the horizon, although night was still a few hours off. She sighed, knowing it was stupid to think maybe she’d see something. They’d scanned all the cameras in the surrounding area for a hit on Gerard. Unsurprisingly, they’d come up with nothing. He was gone.

And so was Max.

Her heart clenched.
Damn it. Didn’t we just go through this? Why is everyone so focused on a five-year-old boy?
It couldn’t be just because he was important to Laney. He had to be important in his own right. But why?

Laney wanted to growl in frustration. She ran her hands through her hair. Kati was losing it, and Maddox was like a caged tiger. Laney had needed to get out of there. She’d needed to think.

Victoria and Max going missing at the same time wasn’t a coincidence. She was sure of it. The Fallen had Victoria, and now they had Max as well. But why?

Victoria was born over and over again. They knew that. What precisely her role was they still didn’t know, but there was no question that she was special.

But what was so special about Max? Was it because he talked to spirits? Because he could dream of the future? Did Gerard or Samyaza want to know something? Was that what was going on? But why would they think that Max would be able to help them? How would they even know about him?

Cleo picked up her head and sprinted across the grass. Danny and Moxy stepped out of the trees ahead of her. Moxy ran for Cleo, her tail wagging. She jumped around the giant cat, nipping playfully at her heels. Cleo turned around and around and then began to chase Moxy.

Laney watched them with a smile. Danny stopped next to her. “Hey.”

Laney linked her arm in his. “Anything?”

Danny shook his head. “I have programs running through all the security footage. Now it’s just a matter of waiting.”

“And you needed to walk.”

Danny nodded. Laney sighed. She knew how helpless he felt—because she felt the same way. Strange as it might sound, there was a comfort in knowing they were both sharing the same concerns. The two walked quietly together, just content to let their shared fear speak for them.

But Laney’s mind couldn’t help but play over everything she knew about Victoria and Cain.

Finally, she spoke. “Danny, is it possible for humans to be immortal?”

“Sure.”

Laney waited for him to continue, then realized that this was his sum total of comment on the subject. “Care to explain for those of us without a genius IQ? I mean, because biologically speaking, the body breaks down. Most of the time when people speak about immortality, they’re really talking about extending life a little bit or transferring consciousness to some type of technology. But is it possible to be biologically immortal?”

“Well,” Danny said, “there are two promising lines of research. The first involves stretches of DNA known as telomeres. As we age, the telomeres shorten. When they disappear, the cell dies. Researchers theorize that if they’re able to lengthen or stabilize the telomeres, immortality could be the result. Or, at a minimum, it would result in a significant increase in lifespan. The other line of research is, of course, the turritopsis dohrnii.”

Again Laney waited for him to continue. He didn’t.

Laney tried not to sigh. “And what exactly is a Turrito dorny?”

Danny smiled. “A turritopsis dohrnii—it’s a jellyfish. It never dies.”

“How is
that
possible?”

Danny opened his mouth and then closed it. Laney had the distinct impression he was trying to figure out a way to dumb down what he wanted to tell her. And she was happy he was doing so.

“You know the film,
Benjamin Button
?” Danny asked.

Laney nodded.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
told the story of a man who ages backward, so that at the very end of his life he’s a baby.

“It’s kind of like that,” Danny said, “except the jellyfish ages normally—until it reverts back to a polyp and starts the process all over again.”

“How long does that go on?” Laney asked.

Danny shrugged. “They’re not sure. But they theorize it could be indefinite.”

“An immortal jellyfish?”

Danny smiled. “Theoretically. Besides, immortality must be possible.”

Laney paused, not sure what Danny was getting at. But then she understood. “Because Cain exists.”

Danny nodded. “He
was
human once—and I suppose he maybe still is. So if he can become immortal, there’s no reason someone else can’t also. They just need to figure out how.”

Laney knew her mouth was hanging open. Immortality was possible. She let out a breath.
Okay. Shove that on the back burner for now.

“I don’t suppose you have any ideas about why Max would go with them?” she asked.

“No. I can’t imagine it. I mean, he knows who they are. He knows what they’ve done. I just can’t figure out why he’d go, unless somehow they convinced him they were the good guys. But how would they even reach him to convince him of that?”

“I’m coming up with blanks as well.” She paused. “Maddox said Max has been having the same dream for a few weeks. Did you know about it?”

Danny nodded. His eyes looked bleak. “Yeah. He fell asleep when we were watching a movie once. He woke up screaming.”

Laney closed her eyes, feeling Max’s pain.
Damn it. No kid should have to deal with this.

Danny’s next words came out hesitantly, as if he was testing the waters. “I don’t think it was just a dream.”

Laney had been expecting that. “You think it was a premonition.”

Danny nodded.

Laney sighed. “I think you’re probably right. Maddox said that in the dream, both he and I die when the Fallen attack the estate.”

“Like the attack yesterday.”

Laney nodded. “But by running to Gerard, Max managed to prevent the rest of us from getting into a fight. He thought he was saving my life, and Maddox’s. Maybe he was. Maybe he did.”

They walked in silence for a bit, then Danny cleared his throat. “There’s something else. I didn’t say anything before because I wasn’t sure what to make of it. It was just too weird.”

Laney stopped and faced Danny. “
What
was too weird?”

Danny’s gaze strayed over to where Cleo and Moxy were chasing each other. “The other day, Max fell asleep in my office. Under his pillow was a book on chaos theory. When Max woke up, he knew the contents of the book.”

Laney felt a tingling of recognition. “Chaos theory?” Laney wasn’t sure
she
really understood chaos theory, and she’d read a few books on it. “Are you sure?”

Danny nodded. “I tested him.”

“
Tested
him?”

Danny put up his hands. “I didn’t hook him up to a lie detector or anything. I just asked him a bunch of questions related to the book over the next couple days.”

“And?”

“And he passed. He knew all the answers. But I don’t understand how. No one can learn that way. It’s not possible.”

Laney closed her eyes. “Oh, it’s possible.”

“What? You know someone who can do that?”

Laney felt numb. “Only one.”

“Who?”

She pictured the man whose readings had begun all of this. Fear coated her nerves. “Edgar Cayce.”

CHAPTER 33

L
aney felt like she’d stepped into an alternate world—one where everything was upside down and inside out.

“Edgar Cayce could learn an entire book by
sleeping
on it?” Danny asked, his eyes huge.

“Allegedly. When Edgar Cayce was a child, he struggled in school. The story goes that one night his father made him stay at the table until he learned all of his spelling words. But he couldn’t do it. He stayed there so long he fell asleep. Annoyed, his father woke him up and demanded he spell each and every word. And he did. And from then on, whenever he slept on a book, he learned his contents.”

“How?”

Laney shrugged and gestured to a bench nearby. They walked over and sat. She turned to Danny. “According to Cayce, he was able to access something called the ‘Akashic record’—the written record of everything that had ever happened in this world or ever would. It’s what allowed him to diagnose people’s medical problems as well as foretell future events.”

“Was he accurate?”

Laney looked away, knowing that Cayce was without a doubt one of the most successful psychics of all time. “He predicted the stock market crash of 1929, World War II, the beginning of the finding of Atlantis with the Bimini Road. He described the Essenes even before the Dead Sea Scrolls had been found. He predicted that blood would be used as a diagnostic tool in the future. He even somehow understood the link between changes in deep ocean currents and weather changes. There’s no doubt that he knew things the rest of the world didn’t.”

Danny went silent, and Laney watched him, knowing the supernatural world was not his ballpark by any stretch of the imagination.

Danny looked up at Laney. “It’s possible.”

“What?” Laney couldn’t have been more surprised if Danny had said he was going to clown college to fulfill his dream of joining a traveling circus. “You think Cayce was able to predict the future?”

Danny gave her a small grin. “I don’t know if Cayce could, but theoretically, psychic abilities are possible.”

Laney’s mouth fell open. She shut it. “Do tell, professor.”

Danny was quiet for a moment, and Laney let him have his thoughts. Danny was a facts and figures guy. Psychic ability was not something he would accept easily.

“Have you heard about the Chinese ‘Super Psychics’?”

Laney nodded, her surprise growing. “I’m amazed you have.”

Danny shrugged. “When I realized what Max could do, I did a little research.”

“What do you think?” Laney was curious what someone with a brain like Danny’s would make of the Super Psychics.

Danny bit his lower lip for a moment before speaking. “At first I wasn’t sure. But then I started thinking about genetics. Most of our DNA is called ‘junk DNA.’ But the name is misleading. It’s not useless. It’s merely not being used. Research has learned that the junk DNA is the noncoding DNA.”

“Right—DNA that has no stated function.”

Danny nodded. “The ENCODE group found that junk DNA actually regulates genes and the evolution of genes. It’s theorized that this junk DNA could actually create incredible abilities. Some have even suggested that within the junk DNA we contain the blueprints for different paranormal abilities.”

“So it just needs to be turned on.”

“And maybe in some of these kids, like Max, those abilities
have
been turned on.”

Laney thought over what she’d read of Cayce. “You know, there were rumors that Atlanteans were incredibly powerful individuals, with psychic skills.”

“I know.”

“And Cayce, along with lots of other people, argued that humanity has gone through different stages of development.”

“The root races,” Danny said.

“Yes. According to Cayce, there have been four root races. But Cayce also had something extraordinary to say about the fifth root race. He said it would evolve with the children born after 1998. And that those children would be born with the skills of the long-ago Atlanteans.”

“So you think—what? Atlantis is coming back?”

Laney looked away. “It just may be.” She watched the trees blow in the wind, but her mind was sifting through the possibilities. Finally she shook her head and stood. “We should get going.”

They headed back to the main house. Cleo and Moxy romped along the path in front of them, disappearing into the trees and then reappearing with giant grins on their faces.

“So what’s the game plan?” Danny asked.

“You’re running every camera and form of transport in the area, right?”

“Yep.”

“I don’t suppose you Lojacked Max again?”

Danny shook his head. “No. Sorry.”

“We really should put a Lojack on each of us,” Laney said, only half joking. “We all seem to be in need of help on a rather regular basis.”

Danny raised an eyebrow. “You want me to do that?”

Laney opened her mouth to tell him she’d been joking, then closed it. She
had
been joking, but that didn’t mean it was a horrible idea. “Maybe we should. Could you look into some piece of jewelry or something that someone could carry on them? Nothing too intrusive, just something—”

Laney’s cell phone interrupted her. She glanced down at it. Jake.

She clicked it open, putting it on speaker for Danny to hear. “Did you find anything on Max?”

There was tension in Jake’s voice. “No. It’s something else. There’s someone at the front gate who says he needs to speak with the triad.”

Laney went still. “Who is it?”

“Ralph.”