The Belial Library (The Belial Series) (3 page)

Elena stopped talking, but Laney knew all about Manuel.  Manuel Centros was the tribe’s lawyer.  Although the Shuar were a small indigenous group, the modern world was very interested in them.  In particular, the oil companies.  The tribe had been embattled in legal disputes with one oil company after the next since the 1960s.   The land they’d called home for thousands of years was apparently resource-rich.    

Laney gave the little girl a hug.  "We'll talk to Nana tonight and see if we can help." 

Elena's smile returned.  She switched from Laney's lap to Jen's.  “What did you find today?”

Jen pushed Elena’s bangs back from her forehead.  “A picture of a dinosaur.  Would you like to see it?”

Elena bounced in place.  “Yes, yes, yes!”

Laney smiled at Elena’s exuberant response.  She’d had pretty much the same reaction when she’d found the gold sheet earlier.  Logically, she and Jen knew dinosaurs existed well before the age of man.  Yet the sheet depicted what could only be described as an Apatosaurus, a large long necked, herbivore.  How on earth had this lost civilization known what they looked like?

Jen glanced at Laney.  “You coming?”

She shook her head.  “’Fraid not.  I have a Skype date with my uncle.”

“Tell him I say hi.” Jen stood with an easy grace and picked up Elena, twirling her around.  Their laughter trailed behind them as they disappeared into one of the vaults. 

Laney grabbed her backpack, headed down the hall, and up the stairs.  Hector buzzed her out at the top with a smile.  Laney noted he didn't get up from his chair and was leaning heavily on his desk.  He really needed to exercise more.

Walking through the bank, she waved at the two female tellers.  She pushed open the heavy door, and the warmth of Ecuador enveloped her. 

When Jen had first mentioned the expedition, Laney had pictured the Amazon rainforest - a hot, steamy jungle.  She'd been happy to find that while the rainforest was part of the Ecuadorian ecosystem, it was farther east than Cuenca.  Cuenca, located in the shadows of the Andes Mountains, was temperate year-round.  The summers never went much hotter than eighty degrees Fahrenheit and the nights were cool.  It definitely beat upstate New York’s summer heat.

And with its beautiful homes with red brick roofs, it was incredibly picturesque.  After her last year, she could definitely use picturesque.

She headed for the stucco fountain across from the bank.  The motto of the city was engraved in its base: Primero Díos, Después Vos. First God, Then You.  A fitting place to chat with her uncle.

Setting up her laptop in a shaded spot, she hit the power button.  Waiting, she looked over at the snow-topped Andes in the distance.  A chill came over her as she remembered the last time she’d been near a mountain range.  She’d barely escaped with her life, her uncle as well.  If not for Jake, . . .

She closed her eyes, shutting down that train of thought.  For the last three months, he’d been working his way into almost every thought, and each time was a little more painful than the last. 

Her computer beeped, letting her know the connection had gone through.  She shook her head, trying to push the emotions away.  Her feelings hadn’t changed, and neither had his.  Only their geography had. 

“Impossible to deny and impossible to maintain,” she murmured.

A man with red hair, striking blue eyes, and the white collar of a Roman Catholic priest flashed onto the screen.  Father Patrick Delaney smiled, the few wrinkles he had showing at the corners of his eyes.  “Hi, sweetheart.”  His Scottish brogue sounded more pronounced through the computer.

Laney smiled, in spite of the pang of homesickness his image elicited.  “I’m good.  But I miss you.  And Kati and Max.” 
And Jake
, a voice whispered in the back of her mind. 

“I just spoke with Kati a few minutes ago."  Kati Simmons was Laney’s best friend.  She shared a home with her and her son Max.  It was hard to be away from them.   After a rough childhood, Laney appreciated how important it was to have people you cared about in your life. 

"They’re doing great, but Max keeps asking when you’re coming home.” 

Laney smiled at the mention of her housemate’s son and her heart ached just a little bit more.  He was four, and growing up so fast.  She hated missing any of that time. 

“He keeps asking me if you’ve found your gold yet.  He thinks you’ve become a pirate.”

She chuckled.  She’d told Max she was looking for buried treasure.  And in a way, she supposed she was. Cataloguing Crespi’s artifacts was the official explanation she and Jen had put on their grant application, but they were really looking for the source of the artifacts. 

“Well, we did find some incredible artifacts hidden in the back of the vault today.  One depicted a dinosaur.”

Her uncle’s brow furrowed.  “A dinosaur?  How’s that possible?”  Her uncle was an archaeologist for the Church.  She knew his brain was already trying to sort out any practical explanation for the unusual find.

“Maybe its finally proof for the Texas footprints,” she joked.

While research by alternate archaeologists had convinced Laney that the date for the origins of civilization had been underestimated, she was only willing to move that date back thousands of years, not millions.  Early in the twentieth century, rumors began to speculate about the existence of the fossilized footprints of man and dinosaur together along the Paluxy River in Texas. In 1968, researchers began the first of a series of investigations into the authenticity of the tracks. 

By 1982, the argument that the fossils were proof that man and dinosaur had co-existed was debunked.   But a few groups, mainly conservative religious groups, continued to argue that man and dinosaur roamed the earth together at some point.

“Or maybe its proof that some dinosaurs actually survived beyond the 65 million mark,” Patrick mused.

Now, that argument she wasn’t completely against.  Some native groups even reported seeing dinosaur-like creatures in remote areas.  “Are you trying to justify Nessie again?”

“Well, I did race with her when I was younger.  Of course, I let her win.  She’s an awfully sore loser.”

Her uncle had raised Laney since she was eight.  One of his favorite stories was about how he’d befriended the Loch Ness monster as a child.  She’d believed the stories until she was a teenager.

Laney smiled. “I swear, Uncle Patrick, each day has been one amazing discovery after the next.”

“Any luck finding the source?”

“No, not yet.  We know the Shuar people are the ones with the most connection to it, but they haven’t shared that information with us.  But we’ve been honest about the fact that we’re looking for it.”

“Was that wise?”

“If you met them, you’d understand.  They’re good people.  I have a feeling this source is their most guarded secret.  The only way they’ll trust us is if we’re honest with them.  And I wouldn’t feel right getting the information any other way.”

He smiled.  “You’re honest to a fault.  It’s undeniably one of your best qualities.”

“Okay, you’re making me sound like a saint.”

“Well, you're also stubborn, single-minded, forgetful–”

“Gee, that’s much better.”

“Just makes you human.”

His turn of phrase gave her pause.   “Speaking of human, any signs of our new friends?”

Her uncle was overseeing a dig in Montana.   Last year, they'd help uncover the site that pre-dated the Fertile Crescent by thousands of years.  It held startling information about a group of superhumans, with incredible abilities.  The two they’d run into had been hell bent on destroying the world, and one had almost succeeded.

He shook his head.  “Happily, no.  Although the site does have some intriguing information to provide.  It looks like when they’re born, the Fallen aren’t necessarily aware of who they are.  Awareness only dawns later.”

“Huh,” Laney said, digesting the new information.  “That’s interesting.”

Patrick crooked an eyebrow.  “I know that look.  What are you thinking?”

“Well, it opens the door to the possibility that they’re not all evil.  It’s the nature versus nurture debate.  Hypothetically, one of them could have been born to a good family, raised with morals, a conscience.  If that’s the case, they might potentially not be like Gideon or Paul.  They could be good.” 

She shook her head.  “But that’s only a theory.  Who knows?  Maybe they’re all born psychopaths.” 

Gideon and Paul had been truly without conscience, and more powerful than anyone had a right to be.  She shuddered at the memory.  Time for a change in the conversation.  “So, tell me about how your research is going.  Last time we talked you were preparing to announce some of your findings.”

He smiled.  “We’re already getting pushback from the established groups.  History will have to be re-written.  I’m looking forward to the coming debates.”  He paused.  “I hear Jake’s getting back from the Middle East today.”

“Subtle, Uncle, real subtle.”

“What?  You’re both good people, stubborn, but good.”

She sighed.  “Uncle Patrick, Jake and I are fine.  We’re just having some communication difficulties.” 

She kept her tone light.  She didn’t want to talk to her uncle about Jake.  She and Jake were fine, sort of.  They just hadn’t spoken since before she’d come down here.  Before she left, he’d been out of the country.  Two different continents, different time zones, both enmeshed in work.  Trying to cram a relationship into that kind of schedule just didn’t work. 

The last time they’d spoken, they’d agreed to keep their relationship light.  Laney had even suggested they take a small break.  She had hoped he would say he didn’t want one.  But instead, he agreed it was a good idea.  God, that had stung. 

“I don’t think so, Laney.  I saw you two together.  You don’t throw that kind of thing away.  It was just bad timing –”

Laney cut him off.  “And now I’m in South America.  So even if I was interested, the timing isn't any better.”

Patrick sighed.  “Fine.  I’ll drop it, but I still think you’re being stubborn.” 

“Noted,” Laney replied, irritation slipping into her voice.

Patrick raised his hands.  “Okay, okay.  Let’s switch topics before you disown me.  Tell me more about the Crespi collection.  Is it everything you thought it would be?”

Laney took a breath, trying to tamp down her annoyance.  She rarely got to speak with her uncle these days and she didn’t want to ruin it.  Besides, she knew he was just looking out for her. 

With a deep breath, she expelled her resentment.  “It’s even more than I thought.  Descriptions and pictures simply don’t do it justice.  It’s impossible to look at these artifacts and not wonder at the skill of the artists.  Even without the source, there’s enough work with what Crespi has collected to keep us busy for a while.”

Her uncle's face dropped.  “A while?  Are you going to extend your trip?”

“No, but I’ll be coming back here sooner than I planned.  I thought I might see if Kati and Max want to come.  Maybe I can even talk Henry and Danny into coming down.  Although we’d have to make sure there was a committed internet connection.  Danny would never survive without his computer.”

Henry Chandler was the CEO of the Chandler Group, an international think tank. Danny was his colleague, although considering Danny was an emancipated thirteen-year-old genius, “unofficial son” might be a better characterization. 

Patrick smiled.  “Maybe I could join you guys.  The dig here’s going well and I think I could spare the time.”

The idea of her family sharing in this research would make it all perfect.  “I would love it.   I’ll be home in two weeks.  I was hoping to return here within two months.  Do you think you could make that work?”

“I’ll juggle a few things.  It doesn’t feel right for us all to be so far apart.” 

Laney knew what he meant.  Although she’d been away before, being on a different continent made the gulf seem even wider. 

“I’m going check in with Henry when we get back from the mountain camp,” Laney said.  “I’ll ask him about the trip then.”

“The mountain camp?”  The worry lines Laney knew so well appeared above her uncle’s eyes.  “I really don’t like you staying out there.” 

"It’ll be fine.  And heck, Jen’s spent so much time in these woods, she’s practically a native.  Besides, we’re having dinner with Nana.  I think she may be ready to take us into her confidence.”

“Just be careful.  The mountains are no place for a girl like you.”

Laney snorted.  “Right.  You raised me to be such a delicate flower.” 

Patrick’s parenting skills had included the normal focuses: kindness, independence, working hard.  That upbringing, however, had also included martial arts and weapons training.  Which might be surprising for a priest, but not for a priest who was also a retired Marine. 

And after Montana and being shot, Laney had doubled her training efforts, even here in Ecuador.  Learning there were beings sharing the world who were stronger, faster, and damn near indestructible had been an incredible motivator.  Strength training, endurance runs, and even more martial arts were now a core part of her everyday life.