The Belial Origins (32 page)

CHAPTER 100

Tianmen Mountain, China

“L
aney, Laney.” A voice called to her in the darkness. Laney shied away from the voice, happy where she was. It was warm. It was safe.

But the voice was insistent. “Laney, wake up. I need you to wake up.”

I know that voice.

“Wake up.”

Victoria
. Laney’s memories rushed back, and her eyes flew open with a gasp. She sat upright, and the world swam for a moment.

“Easy.” Ralph crouched next to her, helping to keep her steady. Laney blinked and tried to focus. Her mother knelt in front of her, her hands wrapped around Laney’s.

An image of the cave flashed through Laney’s mind. “The woman, the child. Are they all right?”

A smile lit Victoria’s face. “They’re fine.”

Laney felt the disappointment crash down on her. “Don’t smile. I failed. I couldn’t finish the test.”

Victoria ran her hand along Laney’s hair. “No, my love. You passed.”

Laney stared, not understanding. “But I didn’t. I got off the path. I stopped. There was a mother and child in danger. I stopped to help them and I fell. I fell, I—”

Laney looked down at herself. There were no rips in her clothes from the bats, no bruises. She stretched her legs and arms. She had no injuries.
How…?
She stared at Victoria. “None of that actually happened, did it?”

Both Ralph and Victoria shook their heads.

Laney wiped at her eyes, wishing she could do the same to her mind, which seemed to be working slower than usual. “The fog—it was a hallucinogen.”

“Yes.” Victoria stood, and Ralph took Laney by the shoulders and helped her to her feet.

“But I still failed,” Laney said. “I left the path.”

“Which is why you passed,” Ralph said. “You didn’t stick to your mission because you stopped to save a life. Lives. You did the right thing. That was the test. Not how well you could use your abilities. You wouldn’t be here if that’s all it was.”

Victoria smiled. “It was a test of your character, Laney. And you passed with flying colors.”

Laney looked between the two of them. Understanding dawned, along with happiness. “I passed?”

Victoria nodded. “Now we just need to get to the tree.”

Ralph beckoned them forward. Laney followed him on wobbly legs, but she couldn’t contain her joy. She had passed. It was going to be all right.

But as Laney looked at Ralph and Victoria, her joy began to wane. They didn’t look happy. The darkness at the edge of her mind returned.
The time of sacrifice or death will be at hand.
The truth hit her with the force of a train.

It’s not over. The sacrifice is still to come.

Torches came to life along the path as if on cue.

“He knows we’re here,” Ralph murmured.

“That’s a good thing, right?” Laney asked.

Ralph didn’t answer. He just moved forward toward an opening in the rock. As Laney stepped in behind him, she saw rock steps winding upward. She remembered a nightmare she’d once had—she’d been chased down a set of stairs just like this one. She hoped she wasn’t going to experience the same fate on this set of stairs.

Ralph climbed the stairs first, and Laney followed. He had pocketed the flashlight and pulled one of the torches from the wall to light the way. Shadows danced as they went.

Laney glanced back at Victoria. “Are you all right?”

Victoria waved her on. “Don’t worry about me.”

But Laney
was
worried. Victoria was hiding something. She knew that.

When they reached the top of the stairs, Ralph stopped. Laney stepped up next to him. “Where to now?”

Ralph pointed. “There.”

It was dark up ahead, and Laney squinted to see. Then suddenly torches flamed to life, illuminating an ancient rock bridge sitting over a deep chasm. She and could just make out the ledge on the other side. It ran along the edge of the chasm before disappearing into the darkness beyond.

“I guess we’re going over that?” Laney asked, hoping they would say she was mistaken.

“He’s lighting the way,” Victoria said.

“I can’t feel him.”

“You will soon,” Ralph replied.

Laney looked ahead. “You never answered me before: the archangel knowing we’re coming is a good thing, right?”

Again, neither Ralph nor Victoria answered. They just started forward.

Laney swallowed.
Right. Across the creepy bridge in the creepy cave to meet the all-powerful archangel. It must be Tuesday
.

CHAPTER 101

L
aney helped Victoria across the bridge. It wasn’t shaky, like the Shuar bridges down in Ecuador, but it was awfully narrow and had no walls or railings at the sides. Laney glanced down only once—and that once had been more than enough. The light only pierced through the darkness a short way, but Laney had the feeling it went awfully far down.

And she couldn’t shake the memory of her falling through a space like that after rescuing the woman and child. It may have been only a hallucination, but it had been a very realistic one.

When they reached the other side of the bridge and stepped onto solid ground again, Laney felt thankful.

Victoria gave her a wobbly smile. “Well, that was exciting.”

Laney let out a nervous laugh. “Let’s not do that again any time soon.”

Ralph called out to them from ahead. “We’re almost there.”

Taking Victoria’s arm, Laney followed but kept one hand along the rock wall to her left. Ralph waited at the end of the narrow path.

Laney felt a piercing jolt of electricity shoot through her. She gasped and dropped to her knees.

“Laney!” Victoria knelt down next to her. “What is it?”

Laney took a moment to get her breath back. She patted Victoria’s hand. “I’m okay. But we’re getting close.”

Laney got to her feet, her legs a little shaky yet again. Whoever this archangel was, he was more powerful than either Ralph or Drake. Even more powerful than Gabriel had been.

This time it was Victoria who helped Laney along.

Soon Laney felt fine again, but a fine tingle of electricity continued to dance over her skin. She knew the archangel was not far ahead.

When she and Victoria joined Ralph, Laney realized the path did not end, it curved around the wall of rock. She stepped out. A long shelf stood out from the rock wall, at least a hundred yards long and maybe thirty wide, bordered on the other side by the chasm the bridge had been built over. The chasm ran beside the ledge like a river, twisting and turning. And fifty yards ahead of them stood a powerfully built man with olive skin, his arms crossed over his chest, gold bands wrapped around his biceps. Another towering rock wall loomed above him.

Laney could feel even from a distance how dangerous the man was. And that was before he pulled a sword from the scabbard at his waist. A sword that glowed with fire.

His words echoed through the cavern, sounding as if they had been rolled in gravel. “You have made a mistake coming here, ring bearer.”

CHAPTER 102

L
aney stared in disbelief at the vision of violence that stalked toward them. They had come all this way and were now about to be dispatched by the very angel they sought?
Seriously?

Victoria stepped up next to Laney. “Halt.” The command in her voice rang out through the cave.

The archangel stopped, pausing for only a second to re-sheath his sword before dropping to one knee. “Mother Earth, I did not realize you were here.”

Victoria moved forward. “Rise, Remiel. The tree is in danger. It must be moved.”

He stood and eyed her. “You know the sacrifice required to make that happen?”

Victoria nodded. “I do. And I am willing.”

“Wait, “Laney interrupted. “What sacrifice?” She looked at Victoria, but it was Remiel who answered. “The only way to move the tree is through the lifeblood of the mother.”

“You mean a couple of drops, right?” Laney asked, keeping her eyes on her mother.

Victoria pursed her lips and gave a small shake of her head.

“How much blood?” Laney demanded, although she dreaded the answer.

“Someone’s coming!” Remiel shouted, pulling his sword once more.

Laney stared at Victoria for a moment longer before turning to face the new threat.
My mother’s blood.
Laney’s mind reviled the thought.

But she didn’t have time to focus on that, as her early warning system was letting her know that Fallen were nearby.

And there were a lot of them.

Laney nodded at the flaming sword in Remiel’s hand. “I don’t suppose you have an extra one of those?”

Remiel grasped his sword with two hands and ripped it apart. He now held two flaming swords, one in each hand. He tossed one to Laney and she caught it at the hilt.

Fire danced across the blade—orange along the base, turning blue as it spread out. The sword itself was surprisingly light, and she couldn’t feel any heat coming off of it. But she didn’t doubt that it would do damage. After all, what was the likelihood an archangel would arm himself with a useless weapon?

Laney twirled it a few times, getting a feel for it.
Yeah, this will work.

“You are not welcome here.” Remiel’s voice rang through the cave.

Laney’s head whipped back toward the path.

Elisabeta stepped into view. She was accompanied by a group of twenty Fallen, another dozen nephilim, and another twenty or so humans.

Laney swallowed.
I don’t like these odds
. “Victoria, get behind Remiel and Ralph.”

Victoria hesitated, but did as she was told. Laney positioned herself between the two archangels. Victoria was behind them, standing against the wall.

Elisabeta stepped forward. Her eyes were narrowed, her tone confident and condescending. “You are outnumbered. Step out of the way.”

“It is you who will meet your death, traitor,” Remiel growled. “This is your last chance to leave.”

“We’re not going anywhere except through you,” Elisabeta said.

“As you wish.” Remiel leapt forward. Three Fallen blurred toward him. Remiel cut them down with two swipes of his sword.

“Take them!” Elisabeta yelled.

Ralph moved forward, taking on a group of nephilim and dispatching them quickly. Laney held back, not wanting to leave Victoria unguarded. Elisabeta glared at her from across the cavern. She sent a group of humans for her.

Laney narrowed her eyes.
My turn.

A man ran at her, trying to tackle her. She sidestepped and brought her sword down on his arm. At the first touch of the blade, his whole body was engulfed in flames—and within seconds, he had turned to ash. Momentarily stunned, Laney stepped back, staring at the sword in her hand. Apparently Fallen were injured by it, but humans were reduced to ash.
Well, all right then.

Two more men started for her but Laney was ready. She cut one across the stomach and twirled out of the way, cutting the other at an angle starting at the shoulder. Both men burst into flame and turned to ash. Laney became a swirl of movement. She didn’t so much lunge as dance from human to human, her sword never stopping its arcs.

In only a few seconds, she had defeated all the humans. But the Fallen were coming closer—like a tide heaving toward shore. Ralph and Remiel were fighting them off, but they were grossly outnumbered. And now more humans and Fallen poured in from behind Elisabeta. There were too many. They would be overrun.

We can’t fight them one by one. We need another way.
Laney stared at the stalactites above, focusing all her energy on them. With a burst of wind, she tore them from their perch and hurled them at the advancing Fallen. One group of Fallen was knocked off the ledge and into the abyss. Their screams echoed through the cave as they fell.

Laney caught one of the stalactites with another gust of wind and flung it at Elisabeta. Elisabeta barely dove out of way in time. The next few stalactites bottlenecked the path, keeping any new reinforcements from entering the arena.

Behind Laney, Victoria screamed. Laney whirled around. A Fallen had grabbed Victoria by the arm. Laney pulled her arm back and let her sword fly. It impaled itself into the chest of the Fallen. Laney caught a blur in the corner of her eye as a Fallen ran for her.

“Throw yourself from the cliff,” Laney ordered.

The Fallen sprinted for the edge and leapt.

Laney scrambled over the bodies of Fallen already littering the ground to get to Victoria and pull her to her feet. A cut ran along the side of Victoria’s chest.

“Oh my God,” Laney said.

Victoria shook her head. “It’s nothing. We need to worry about
them
.” She gestured back to entranceway. The Fallen had pushed the stalactites out of the way and were clambering through yet again.

The numbers were overwhelming.
We can never defeat this many.

Remiel sliced through a group of men and pitched them over the side. “Uriel, take them to the tree. I will cover you.”

Ralph dispatched two nephilim running for him, then sprinted to Laney and Victoria. “Laney—watch my back.”

Two humans ran for Laney and Victoria. The first aimed a front kick at Laney’s chest. She sidestepped, caught the leg, and pushed down on the man’s hip while forcing his leg up. The man slammed onto his back. Laney kicked her foot into his groin.

The second man aimed a punch at Laney’s head. She dropped the first man’s leg and leapt out of the way. He punched again. She let the punch pass in front of her, slid her hand down his arm, and pulled it at the elbow. Then she latched both hands onto his wrist and swung him over her. She felt his shoulder pop out of place. He screamed as he landed, hard.

Another two Fallen ran for her. “Jump over the cliff,” she ordered.

They grinned and kept coming.

Laney grimaced.
Stupid earplugs.

Laney yanked her sword out of the chest of the Fallen she’d flung it at. It circled above her head. She took out one Fallen with an elegant swipe and whirled around, slicing the other across the stomach. The second Fallen grabbed onto the sword as it fell back, stumbling into the chasm. Laney had to release the sword to avoid being pulled in as well.

From the corner of her eye, Laney saw Ralph placing his hands on the wall behind Victoria. The wall shimmered for a moment and then disappeared, leaving a seven-foot doorway.

“They’ve opened the door!” Elisabeta yelled.

Ralph grabbed Victoria and pushed her through the doorway. “Laney, bring down the roof!”

“But Remiel—”

“Do it!” Ralph yelled.

Laney hesitated for only a second. Ralph stepped in front of her, fighting off the Fallen who tried to charge. Remiel joined him, holding them at bay.

Laney stared at the ceiling. She pulled all the power she could manage from the ring, all her emotion coursing through her and to the ceiling. A thunderous crack sounded; then another. Huge, boulder-sized chunks of rock broke off from the ceiling and came crashing down onto the Fallen. Soon some of them were running back for the path, trying to reach the bridge before the ceiling collapsed.

“Go, Uriel! Get them out of here!” Remiel yelled.

Ralph grabbed Laney around the waist and dove through the doorway he’d made in the rock wall. As they tumbled to the ground, a massive shard of rock crashed down behind them, sealing off the doorway. Thunderous thumps and screams came from the other side of the rock.

Laney scrambled to her feet. “But Remiel—”

“Has already gone from this place,” Ralph said quietly.

Laney stared up at him, her shoulders slumping, sadness washing over her.

“Are you all right?” Victoria asked, rushing over to her.

Laney hugged her tight. “I’m okay. Are you?”

“Yes.” She took Laney’s hand and led her through a narrow tunnel. There were no torches here, but somewhere up ahead, light glistened. As they moved closer to it, Laney heard chirping.
Birds?

She stepped out of the tunnel with Victoria and stopped in awe. They stood in the largest cavern Laney had ever seen. The ceiling was hundreds—a thousand?—feet above them, and in the center of it was a hole through which sunlight shone. But what grabbed Laney’s attention was the giant tree, at least three hundred feet tall, standing right in the center of the cavern. Birds flew between its limbs with their draped leaves
.

It looks like the willow tree in front of Victoria’s house.

“It’s beautiful,” Laney said.

Victoria smiled. “Yes, it is.”

Laney stared up at the hole in the ceiling allowing the sunlight in and frowned. It wasn’t even dawn yet. “How is there sun in here?” she asked. “And couldn’t we just have rappelled in rather than walking through the creepy cave?”

“This is not a normal cave,” Ralph replied simply.

Laney wanted to ask more questions, but honestly, it didn’t really matter right now.
Magical cave, magical tree. Got it.

Behind the tree she could make out the entrance and another tunnel. Her heart lifted.
A way out
.

Victoria walked up to the tree and pulled on a branch that hung nearly to the ground. Laney noticed for the first time the fruit that grew all across the tree. It was shaped like a very small pineapple but was deep purple in color.

Victoria plucked one of the fruits and handed it to Laney. “You need to see that this gets to Drake.”

Laney stared down at the fruit in her hand. “I don’t understand. We just need to plant the fruit and a new tree sprouts up? It’s that simple?”

Victoria nodded. “That’s all there is to it.”

“And immortality… does it come from eating the fruit?”

“Yes. The fruit sustains a human’s life indefinitely.”

Laney wondered if the fruit lengthened or stabilized the telomeres Danny had spoken of. But she supposed at the same time that it didn’t really matter. Humanity had a lot to figure out before they were ready for that.

“Drake will get it to the next archangel,” Ralph said.

Laney looked up at the tree. “Okay, then. Let’s just torch this thing, and we’ll be good.”

Ralph and Victoria exchanged a look.

Laney felt cold, remembering Remiel’s words about Victoria’s sacrifice. “What?”

Victoria turned to Ralph. “Could you give us a minute?”

Ralph nodded, his face expressionless, his jaw tight. A sense of dread built up in Laney’s chest as she watched the look that passed between Ralph and Victoria.
When the triads intersect, the time of judgment is at hand. The choice of sacrifice or death will be made.

Laney spoke slowly. “Victoria, in
The
Army of the Belial
, it says that at the time of judgment there will be a choice of sacrifice or death. What is the sacrifice?”

Victoria’s purple eyes met Laney’s directly. “It’s me.”