The Belial Origins (11 page)

CHAPTER 29

L
aney sprinted along Sharecropper Lane behind Jake and Cleo, then burst out into the small field that led to the fence. Ahead of her, Cleo loped along easily next to Jake. Obviously the panther was just teasing him; she could outrun him any time she wanted.

And a dozen feet shy of the fence, she did just that. Cleo darted forward, stopped short of the fence, and then, just before Jake reached it, tapped it with her paw.

Laney laughed.

Jake grumbled good-naturedly. “No fair. You’re running on four legs.”

Cleo rubbed her head against his chest with a purr.

Jake scratched behind her ears. “Fine, fine. You win.” He glanced up as Laney reached them. “Hey, did you stop for coffee?”

Laney whacked him on the shoulder. “You’re a sore winner.”

Jake draped his arm around her, and they headed back to Sharecropper Lane. “Well, you might be the ring bearer, but it’s nice to know I can still beat you in a foot race.”

Next to Laney, Cleo suddenly went still. Then she stepped behind Laney and began to push her forward, her fur standing on end.

Laney glanced back at her. “Cleo?”

Danger
.

Laney grabbed Jake’s hand. “Run!”

The three of them sprinted toward Sharecropper Lane. They were two hundred yards from the fence when it exploded.

CHAPTER 30

L
aney and Jake hit the ground and rolled. Laney lay still for a moment, taking stock to make sure everything was where it was supposed to be. Then with a groan, she sat up to a sitting position, her ears ringing.

Cleo walked over to Laney and nudged her back.

Laney patted her paw.
I’m okay.

Jake stumbled to his knees and pulled out his phone.

Laney stared back at the fence. A twenty-foot-wide hole gaped right in the middle of it, and heavily armed men were now pouring through.

Pinpricks of electricity danced over her.
Fallen.
They must have held back so as not to warn her.

Laney reached for her waist and cursed. She glanced at Jake. He was unarmed as well.
Damn it.

Bits of brick and metal bars from the fence were strewn around them, the result of the massive explosion.
Those will do.

Cleo attempted to run for the intruders. “No! You stay with me!” Laney commanded, not willing to let Cleo get shot.

She called on the wind. Using its power, she lifted metal bars like javelins and tossed them at the men. The first three men to come through the hole in the fence were impaled. The rest quickly ducked back behind the fence. Laney rained chunks of brick and shards of metal on them from above.

From the corner of her eye she saw the first of the security details arrive. They took cover behind their Jeeps and opened fire on the intruders.

Laney continued her onslaught. But the men were no longer trying to enter the estate. They seemed content to just return gunfire. She narrowed her eyes. The Fallen could easily get through. What were they waiting for?

Laney went still; the rocks she had just pulled into the air slammed back into the ground.

Jake turned to head for the security Jeeps, but she grabbed his arm. “Wait.”

“What?” He stared down at her.

“There are Fallen with them. But they’re not coming into the estate. Why aren’t they coming into the estate?”

Jake watched the exchange of gunfire with a frown. “That’s not right.”

“Why blow up the fence? Why not ram the front gate? Or better yet, just leap over it?”

“You’re right. This is… too obvious,” Jake said.

Flashes from the Book of Enoch rattled through Laney’s mind. Samyaza, the leader of men, had gotten two hundred of his brethren to fall with him. He was the master of deceit and obfuscation.
So why this bold an attack?

Jake grabbed his radio from his belt. “Jake for Kevin.”

“Kevin here.”

“Have there been any other breaches or inconsistencies in security in the last few days?”

Kevin didn’t even question the odd request or the timing of it. “Just one—a section of the southeast corner kept giving out false readings. We actually shut it down. A repair crew is supposed to be out there in another half hour.”

Laney met Jake’s eyes.
The opposite side of the estate from the blast
. Laney didn’t wait for Jake. She ran for one of the security Jeeps that was just pulling up.

An officer stepped out. “Laney?”

“I need your Jeep.”

He held open the door. “Yes ma’am. Keys are in it.”

As Laney hopped in, she thought there was something to be said for hiring all former military. They didn’t waste time on useless questions.

Jake hopped into the passenger seat, still on the phone. “Kevin, send whatever security details you can scrounge up to the east fence.
Now
.”

“Damn it.” Laney slammed down on the accelerator. The back of the Jeep fishtailed as she left the paved road and hit the grass. Cleo loped along behind them.

Come on. Come on.
Laney didn’t have any idea what she would find on the other side of the estate. But she knew she needed to get there.

They burst out of the trees just in time to see a single figure leap over the fence. A tingle ran through Laney. “Fallen,” she said through gritted teeth.

A smaller figure, on the near side of the fence, was walking across the field toward the Fallen.

Laney craned to see who it was.

“It can’t be,” Jake mumbled.

“Max?” Laney whispered.

Max glanced over his shoulder and saw the security car barreling toward him. He started to run toward the Fallen.

Laney couldn’t believe what she was seeing. She slammed on the brakes and vaulted from the car. “Max!” She sprinted after him.

Max ran for the Fallen. The Fallen sprinted toward him in a blur, pausing only long enough to pick him up. But that pause was long enough for Laney to get a good look at the Fallen.
Gerard
.

And he was wearing headphones—noise-canceling, no doubt.

“Stop!” Laney yelled.

Gerard just smiled at her and then sprinted back for the fence. In less than two seconds, he was gone.

And so was Max.

Laney fell to her knees.

“What just happened?”

CHAPTER 31

L
aney knelt in the grass, staring at the spot where Gerard had disappeared with Max. Vaguely she heard Jake calling for Kevin to pull up the cameras in the area and send patrols out after them. But Laney knew they wouldn’t catch Gerard. This section of the fence was as far from the entrance as you could get.

Cleo walked up to Laney and sat down beside her.

Laney pictured Max running across the field—running away from her. She turned to Cleo. “Why did he do that?”

Cleo didn’t have an answer for her.

Laney got to her feet and made her way back to Jake. Jake closed his phone and walked with her to the Jeep.

“He went with him willingly,” Laney said. “You saw that, right?”

Jake opened the car door. “Yeah. I saw it.”

Kevin’s voice came over the radio. “Jake?”

“Go ahead.”

“The intruders just took off. No one got in.”

That’s because the infiltration was much more subtle
, Laney thought, tuning out the rest of the conversation. Gerard had taken Max. Which meant Samyaza had Max.

But why? Why did they want a five-year-old? And why had Max gone with them willingly? Maddox never would have—

Laney’s back straightened.
Oh my God.
She sprinted around the car to the passenger door. “Jake, we need to get to Kati’s. Maddox never would have let Max out on his own.”

Jake jumped behind the wheel and hit the gas as soon as Laney had closed her door. Cleo bounded along behind them.

Laney held on to the dash, envisioning the worst. Ever since Max had been abducted two months ago, Maddox had been even more vigilant. He would never have let Max out alone, even on the estate. So how had Max gotten out?

Jake screeched to a halt in front of Kati’s cottage. Laney was out the door before the car came to a complete stop. She vaulted up the steps and barreled through the front door. “Kati? Maddox?” she yelled.

No answer.

She ran into the den off the kitchen at the back of the house and slammed to a stop. Maddox and Kati sat together on the couch. Their heads were tilted back.

They weren’t moving.

“Oh my God.” On wobbly legs, Laney made her way over to them. She put her hands to Kati’s neck. But her hands were shaking so hard she couldn’t get a pulse.

Jake came up behind her, pulled her hand away, and put his own fingers on Kati’s neck. “She’s breathing.”

Laney let out her own breath and sat down heavily on the coffee table as Cleo padded into the room and next to her.

Jake checked Maddox’s pulse next. “He’s breathing too.”

The relief that flowed through Laney was so powerful, it made her almost dizzy.

Cleo leaned over to Kati and sniffed at her face. Jake shook Maddox. “Maddox. Wake up.”

Maddox didn’t show any sign of hearing him.

Laney shook Kati. “Kati, wake up.”

No response either.

Without warning, Cleo let out a massive roar. Laney nearly hit the roof, but neither Kati nor Maddox moved.

Laney rubbed the ring on her finger and leaned down to Maddox. “Wake up, Maddox.
Wake up
,” she ordered.

Maddox’s head moved. A frown appeared on his lips.

“Come on, Maddox. Wake up,” Laney said again.

Maddox’s eyelids popped open, then closed. He opened them again and looked at Jake, then Laney.

“What’s going on?” His words were slurred.

Jake looked around. Two mugs sat on the end tables next to the couch. “They’ve been drugged,” he said.

Laney nodded. This was unreal.

“I’m going to look around,” Jake said.

“Drugged?” Maddox blinked a few times. He turned to Kati, his eyes going wide. “Kati.”

“She’s been drugged too. But she’s breathing,” Laney said, struggling to think of how this could have happened.

Maddox grabbed Kati and held her close. A tremor ran through him, and his eyes were wild.

Laney took Maddox’s hands in hers and looked into his eyes. “Maddox, I need you to focus. Has anyone besides you, Kati, and Max been in the house today?”

Maddox shook his head. His eyes were clearing, but his arms stayed wrapped protectively around Kati. “No. Why?” He looked around. “Where’s Max?”

Laney swallowed. “He’s gone. Gerard took him.”

“What? How’d he get in?”

“He didn’t. Max went to him.”

Maddox’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”

Laney shrugged, her confusion and fear returning as she remembered Max reaching for Gerard. “I don’t know how to explain it. Max left here deliberately to meet Gerard. He went with him willingly.”

Jake returned, holding up a pill bottle. “This is why you guys didn’t know.”

“Those are Kati’s sleeping pills,” Maddox said.

Laney knew that Kati had been having trouble sleeping for the last few months—ever since the attack in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

Maddox picked the bottle up and shook it. It was empty. He paled. “She had this filled yesterday.”

“Who had access to your drinks?” Jake asked.

“No one. Just me, Kati, and Max. Although I guess anyone could have laced them sometime when we were out.”

Laney looked around the room. She knew Maddox kept the cottage locked up tight. “I suppose—but they couldn’t know you were going to have tea at the right time.”

Maddox went still. He spoke slowly. “The tea was Max’s idea. He wanted us to have a tea party.”

Shock pulled at Laney. None of this made any sense. Why would Max drug them and then go with Gerard?

Cleo nudged her. Laney wrapped her arm around the panther, happy for the cat’s warmth, because all of a sudden she felt very cold.

“Has anything been different with Max?” Jake asked. “Anything off?”

Maddox still looked dazed, but he pulled himself together. “Not really. I mean, he sees things—you guys know that.”

Laney nodded. “Anything else?”

Maddox paused, glancing between Jake and Laney before his gaze came to rest on Laney. “He’s had the same nightmare for a few weeks now.”

“What is it?” Laney asked.

“Someone attacks the estate. You and I die, along with a lot of other people. And then Max said he was taken anyway. Everyone dies, and it doesn’t matter, because he gets taken anyway.” Maddox shook his head. “But it was just a dream.”

Laney leaned back. She was thinking about the explosion. “Are you sure about that?”

“I…” Maddox shook his head. “I don’t know. But we need to find him.”

“We will.” Laney nodded to Kati. “Can you take her upstairs? I’ll send the doc over to make sure she’s all right.”

Maddox nodded before gently lifting Kati into his arms.

Laney watched them go. Had Max foreseen the attack today? Had he given himself up in order to keep people from dying?

Jake walked over and put his arms around Laney.

She leaned back into him. “Victoria’s gone, and now Max, too. What is going on, Jake?”