The Belial Origins (19 page)

CHAPTER 58

Las Vegas, Nevada

L
aney stared at Drake. He wouldn’t tell them where the tree of life was located. “What? Why not?”

Drake resumed his seat. “I can’t just hand over that information willy-nilly. There’s a reason we protect the tree.”

Ralph stepped forward. “It’s in danger. If the Fallen reach it, they’ll use it to become immortal.”

Drake shrugged. “Not seeing how that’s my problem.”

“Think of the destruction they’ll rain down,” Laney said. “They’ll enslave everyone!”

“Not me,” Drake said. “Besides, I never really understood why their punishment was so harsh. So they wanted to diddle a couple of humans. Who doesn’t? An eternity of damnation seems a bit harsh.”

“But it wasn’t just that they wanted to sleep with women. It was the evil they brought into the world. The violence, the death,” Laney said.

Drake raised an eyebrow. “Oh, they brought death into the world, did they?”

Laney paused and looked at Ralph, whose jaw was tight. “Why do I think I’m missing something?”

“Because you are, my dear. Because you are.” Drake stood up. “Well, I’m famished. How about we go get a bite to eat?”

Laney stared at him, incredulous. The Fallen were after immortality, and Drake wanted to grab a burger? She stepped forward.

Ralph grabbed her arm and shook his head. “I could stand a bite to eat as well.”

Laney threw up her hands. “Great. Let’s eat.”

Laney and Ralph rode with Drake in his Maybach. Laney had tried to take the back seat, but Drake had insisted she ride up front with him. Laney was pretty sure it was so he could check out her legs—which only made her more aware of them. She struggled not to move them.

Which she was pretty sure Drake was also aware of.

Outside the Illustra, the Strip was lit up like a Christmas tree. They drove slowly by Harrods, Paris, little kiosks, vendors selling half-price shows, and a never-slowing tide of tourists.

Laney expected Drake to pull into one of the high-end hotels; she figured he’d be the type to go top drawer. But in a few minutes they had left the Strip behind and were heading into the Las Vegas that not many tourists ever bothered visiting.

“Where are we going?” Laney asked.

“My favorite place,” Drake answered.

Ralph sighed loudly from the back.

Buildings appeared farther and farther apart as they drove, eventually giving way to open desert. They drove along in silence for another few minutes before lights appeared on the horizon. A couple of loud Harleys came up on them from behind, then sped past toward the first building Laney had seen for miles.

Laney closed her eyes as dread filled her.
Please tell me he’s kidding.

Drake pulled to a stop about twenty feet from the building. It wasn’t really a parking lot so much as dirt that people parked on.

Laney stared at the ramshackle building with its long porch, faded cedar shingles, and, most notably, over three dozen motorcycles parked around it. At least a dozen bikers of various shapes, sizes, and ages stood along the porch. They all turned when Drake parked.

Laney turned to Drake. “
This
is your favorite place?”

Drake grinned. “Sure is. Of course, I’ve been banned for fifteen years. But hopefully they’ve forgotten by now.”

Laney shook her head and closed her eyes.
Oh, crap.

Drake got out of the car, and Laney did the same, taking a moment to pull down her dress, which had crept up in the car. Ralph stood protectively behind her.

Without a word, Laney and Ralph followed Drake.

Laney would have liked to have said that Drake walked up the stairs, but the truth was that it was a more of a sashay, his hips swinging from side to side. It was made even worse by his leather pants and his unbuttoned black shirt.

Laney rolled her eyes. “Is he trying to get us killed?” she muttered to Ralph.

“Probably,” Ralph said with a frown.

The bikers on the porch stared daggers at Drake. Drake gave them all a jaunty wave and pulled open the door. He held it open, bowing low. “Ladies first.”

Laney grimaced and stepped through the door. The moment she did, she felt every eye in the place on her. It was so abrupt she wouldn’t have been surprised if the music had screeched to a halt like in some bad movie.

Drake stepped up next to her. She gritted her teeth and looked over at him. “I hate you.”

He grasped her arm, leading her forward. “That is unfortunate, because you’re really beginning to grow on me.”

He led them over to a vacant table with two chairs, squeezed between four other tables packed with very large occupants. Drake wiped off a chair and held it out for Laney. “My lady.”

Laney shook her head and took the seat. Ralph took the other one. Laney leaned over to him. “Why didn’t he just cartwheel in and then jump on the tables? It would have been less obvious.”

“Oh, it’ll get worse,” Ralph warned. “Just be ready.”

Drake made his way across the room. “May I borrow this chair?” he asked a man at another table.

A biker with a leather vest and black hair in two long braids glared at him.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” Drake picked up the chair and carried it above his head across the space. With a flourish, he dropped it in place and took a seat. “So, what’s everyone hungry for?”

Laney noted the sticky floor, the scarred tables, and the bartender with the long gray beard and bandana. “Um, somehow I don’t seem to have much of an appetite.”

The bartender stared at the three of them for a moment, then stiffened and reached under the bar. He pulled out a baseball bat, then walked around the bar and headed for their table.

“Um, Drake, I think we should go,” Laney said.

Drake waved her off. “Nonsense. We just got here.”

A group of six guys fell in line behind the bartender as he made his way over. Laney quietly slipped her heels off under the table. “Drake, I think the bartender remembers you.”

Drake looked over and then stood, a giant grin on his face. “Mouse. It’s great to see you. How’s your sister?”

Mouse swung the bat at Drake’s head.

CHAPTER 59

G
erard stared down the hill at his son and daughter; the memories of that long-ago life crashed into him. He gulped in air, feeling weak.

He jerked his head up as a woman called out to the children.

He stared at her—her long brown hair, her tanned complexion. And even though he could not see them from here, he could picture her pale blue eyes.

Kyra.

The image disappeared, and the swirling gray reappeared. A longing coursed through him, so deep it felt like it incorporated the depth of the world.
How could I have forgotten them?

But then the gray that had enveloped him quickly disappeared. It was night, in the same village. But now the village was ablaze. People screamed in terror. Gerard got to his feet on trembling legs even though he knew that no one could see him and he would be unable to help.

He flew down the hill toward the river. Bodies burned in their tents; others were strewn across the pathways. He dodged them, feeling sick. He had known these people. He had cared about these people. He ran to the river’s edge.

A group of six warriors stood there; in front of them a man was on his knees, cradling two small, unmoving bodies to his chest. Gerard’s heart constricted at the sight of Peter and Arya. He glanced at his own face and felt the pain course through him again.

“Why?” Batraal yelled at the warrior towering over him.

Samyaza shook his head with disgust. “They made you weak. They made you vulnerable. Now you have no weakness.”

“You had no right! They were mine! They were…” His voice broke off.

“We did not come here for this.” Samyaza nodded to two of his men, who moved toward Batraal.

Batraal laid the bodies of his dead children on the ground, seized his staff from beside him, and leapt up, his anger barely leashed. “You will not
touch them!
”

In a blur of movement he had impaled both men through the heart.

Samyaza watched impassively. “This is how it is? You would turn on your own brothers?”

“You killed my family!”

Samyaza scoffed. “We did not come here to play house. We came here to be
gods
. God commanded humans to be fruitful, to replenish the earth, to subdue it, and to have dominion over every living thing.”

Batraal’s voice rang with anger and disgust. “That was never his command. That was yours. Animals, humans… they lived in peace before we arrived. We destroyed them. We destroyed this world.”

Samyaza narrowed his eyes. “You would deny the Father’s command?”

“We
all
denied his command! And no, I do not deny his commands now. I deny yours!”

Samyaza narrowed his eyes. “You dare to speak this way to me?”

“I dare it and more.” Rage coursed through Batraal. “We came here for exactly this! You have forgotten why we fell. We came to have families, to live our lives as we chose. I chose
them
.”

Samyaza adjusted his grip on his sword. “You chose wrong.”

Batraal stepped over his children’s bodies, and for once Samyaza did not intimidate him. All he felt was pure undiluted rage.

He lunged, his fist ramming through Samyaza’s chest. “No. You did.”

CHAPTER 60

Las Vegas, Nevada

D
rake ducked out of way of the bat and Laney shoved her chair back as well to avoid getting hit. Unfortunately, she knocked into the man at the table behind her, who was just taking a drink from his beer. It sloshed all over him and one of the other occupants at the table.

“Hey!” he yelled, getting to his feet.

“Uh, sorry,” Laney said. But her words were lost as the men behind Mouse rushed Drake and Ralph.

“Ralph!” Laney yelled. She kicked the back of the legs of the first man she could reach, then yanked him back by the hair. He slammed to the ground, crashing on top of another man. The second man threw him off, but not without first punching him in the face.

And that was it. The whole place erupted.

A man grabbed Laney’s left arm. She reached over with her right hand and twisted the man’s hand at a ninety-degree angle. Then she shoved the man face-first into another table.

She caught a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror and saw a man preparing to throw a hook at the back of her head. She dodged out of the way, twirled under his arm, and landed a punch to his stomach and an open palm to his face. Then she dodged back under his arm, pushed his head away from her, and slammed the heel of her foot into the side of his knee. She slammed her palm underneath his chin, forcing his head back, and he crumpled to the ground.

Another man rushed her, and she unleashed a sidekick that sent him sprawling. Turning, she barely managed to avoid a fist aimed at her face. She stumbled over a bottle on the floor and landed on her butt. A man reached down for her, so she fell onto her back and kicked him in the face with both feet. He flew backward.

Laney rolled to her stomach and got to her feet. Someone grabbed her by the hair, yanking her up. She stepped to the side and slammed her closed fist into his groin. He let out a grunt and loosened his grip. She elbowed him in the stomach. Then she turned and threw another elbow into his jaw.

He released her with a yell and her front kick sent him flying.

Another man ran at her. Laney brought up her fists.

Then a shotgun blast cut through the bar, and everyone went still.

CHAPTER 61

E
veryone went still.

A woman with long gray hair stood on top of the bar. She bore a close enough resemblance to Mouse that Laney was pretty sure it she was his sister.

“Enough.” Mouse’s sister swept the barrel of the gun across the crowd. She stared out at the room. Her eyes came to rest on Laney. She grinned. “Nice.”

Laney nodded, accepting the compliment.

Mouse’s sister’s smile dropped as she stared daggers at the rest of the room. “Now, you are all done fighting. If not, me and the General here”—the woman nodded to her gun—“are going to join you. Any questions?”

No one said anything.

“Good. Now clean up.” The woman turned her back on the group and climbed down from the bar.

Laney looked around tensely in case anyone wasn’t quite done yet. But everyone seemed to be over it. A few men laughed and slapped each other on the back. The man who’d tried to tackle Laney from behind walked over to her. “Hey, sorry about that—heat of the moment.”

Laney nodded. “No harm, no foul.”

He grinned, and a gold tooth blinked back at her. “You have some pretty good moves for a little thing. Where’d you learn to fight like that?”

“I was raised by a Marine.” The man grinned and pointed to a tattoo on his left bicep—the American flag with “Semper Fi” underneath it. “Me too. How about I buy you a drink?”

Laney looked over to where Ralph and Drake were speaking with some of the other bikers. Neither looked too bad, although their clothes were a little ripped and stained. Laney was pretty sure her dress wasn’t faring any better.

She turned back to the man in front of her and shrugged. “Sure. Why not?”

For the next two hours, Laney chatted with her new friend and another six that joined them. By the end of that time, they were each trying to outdo one another with their stories.

“No, I’m serious,” said Chief, the man who’d bought Laney her first beer. “There were five of ’em. I barely made it out.”

“Yeah, five midgets maybe,” one of the other men muttered with a grin.

Chief whacked him on the back of the head. “They were all normal sized.”

“Sorry to break this up.” Drake stood behind Laney; she hadn’t heard him approach. “But I’m afraid it’s past Laney’s bedtime.”

“Aw, come on, one more round,” someone said.

Drake placed his hands on Laney’s shoulders. “Sorry. It’s a school night.”

Laney stood up. “Thank you for a wonderful evening. And some much-needed exercise.”

Chief stood up and gave her a hug. “Stop in the next time you’re in Vegas.”

“Will do,” Laney said. She waved at the rest of the group. “Take care.”

Drake offered Laney his arm, and she accepted.

“Admit it,” he said. “You had fun.”

She tried to not smile, but the truth was, it
had
been fun—even the bar fight. It hadn’t been life and death, after all—just bruises and bones at risk—which was a refreshing change from her usual fights.

Then the smile dropped from her face and she groaned. “Oh, God, I’m now the type of woman who views a bar fight as good, wholesome fun.”

Drake reached over and squeezed her hand. “It just means you’re living a little. Nothing wrong with having a little fun now and then.”

Laney glanced back at the group of men she’d been chatting with. “They’re a good group of guys.” She turned back to Drake and raised an eyebrow. “How about you? I saw you speaking with Mouse’s sister.”

Drake grinned. “Just remembering old times.”

They stepped outside, and a few men nodded at them as they made their way to the car. Ralph was already there, waiting for them. He opened Laney’s door with one eyebrow raised. “You all right?”

Laney glanced back at the bar and waved at Chief, who’d come outside to see them off. He waved back with a grin. Laney sank into the passenger seat with a sigh. “Actually, it was fun.”

Ralph closed the door after her and got in the back. Drake started the car and headed back to Vegas.

Laney looked over at Drake. “So, what was that all about?”

Drake gave her an innocent expression. “What do you mean?”

Laney gestured back to the bar. “That whole thing. You knew what was going to happen.”

Drake grinned. “Let’s say I just wanted to see the ring bearer in action.”

“So we’ve never met before?” Laney asked.

Drake stared at her in surprise. “That’s right. Of course, you don’t remember from lifetime to lifetime. But no, we’ve never met.”

“So? Thoughts?” she prodded.

“You live up to your reputation.”

“Is that a good thing or a bad one?”

“Oh, it’s good. But I needed to be sure. I needed to know you’d be able to handle the fight to come. Otherwise you could easily get Remiel or Ralph hurt.”

“Remiel?”

“The current guardian,” Ralph said.

Laney looked back at Ralph, who was staring out the window. “You’re protecting them.”

Drake looked surprised. “Of course I am. They’re my brothers.” Apparently Drake wasn’t as cold-hearted or frivolous as he appeared.

“So does this mean you’ll tell us where the tree is?”

Drake stayed silent. The miles passed, and Laney assumed he wasn’t going to answer. She closed her eyes, feeling the weariness settle over her.

“What will you sacrifice to keep it safe?” Drake asked softly.

Laney’s eyes opened. For the first time, Drake looked like an archangel. There was no flippancy in his tone or face. He was deadly serious.

Laney opened her mouth to answer, then shut it. What was she willing to do? If the Fallen were made immortal, the world would change. And none of those changes would be good for mankind. She remembered what Victoria had said about humanity and its cruelty and apathy. She pictured the children she had helped save only a month ago. She pictured Max. What kind of world was that for a child to grow up in?

Visions of people with absolute power floated through her mind. Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot. And they had been mere humans. The destruction a Fallen could wreak with an unrestrained lifeline would surpass the wreckage of all history’s monsters combined. And then she remembered the phrase from
The Army of the Belial
:
When the triads intersect, the time of judgment is at hand. The choice of sacrifice or death will be made.

What was she willing to sacrifice? Her life? The lives of those she cared about? What if it came to a choice between Max and the tree? Would she be able to give him up?

A year ago, she would have said no. But now? She wasn’t sure. All she did know was that she was willing to die trying to protect both Max and the tree.

“I’ll do whatever is necessary,” she said at last.

Drake nodded and settled back into his seat. “That’s what I wanted to hear.”

They settled into a comfortable silence, and before Laney knew it, they were crossing the Las Vegas Strip and pulling up to Drake’s private entrance at the Illustra.

Laney reached for her door handle, but Ralph was already outside her door, pulling it open. His eyes studied her from head to toe. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

She nodded. “I’m fine. Really.”

Drake handed the valet the keys and then joined Laney and Ralph on the sidewalk. The three of them watched the car drive out of view.

Drake turned and kissed Laney on the cheek. “Thank you for the wonderful evening. I haven’t had such fun in a while.”

Ralph studied the two of them. “So, did you come to any resolution?”

Laney looked at Drake. “Did we?”

Drake paused before he nodded. “We did. And when the time is right, I will tell you where the tree is.”

Laney started. “Wait a minute. The Fallen are going for it now.”

“Yes, they are. But they haven’t found it yet. They aren’t even close.”

“And when will they be close?”

“When they find the book.”

Laney looked between Ralph and Drake. “Book?”

Ralph shook his head and shrugged.

“Don’t look at Ralph. He doesn’t know about it,” Drake said. “Only the archangels charged with guarding the tree are aware of the book. It’s a written record of the archangels and their assignments. But for obvious reasons, its location is protected. And until they find the book, there’s no reason for you to worry—and no reason for me to reveal the tree’s location. Now, if you’ll excuse me, it’s been lovely meeting you. Once you have this all wrapped up, stop back and we’ll have some real fun.” Drake placed another kiss on Laney’s cheek and headed for the hotel entrance.

Laney pictured Max. “The Fallen—they have the seer,” she called out.

Drake froze, his shoulders tensing. He turned, and his gaze pinned Laney in place. “What did you say?”

“The seer—his name is Max. He’s only a boy. They have him.”

“And Victoria too,” Ralph said quietly.

Drake let out a breath and closed his eyes. “Well damn.” He walked back over to Laney and Ralph. “I still won’t tell you where the tree is. But the book is in India.”

“India?” Laney wasn’t familiar with the ins and outs of the country. What she did know was that it had over a billion people and covered over a million square miles. “Could you be a little more specific?”

“You’ll find it in Thiruvananthapuram.”

Laney raised her eyebrows.

“On the western coast of India in the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple.” Drake took Laney’s hand, his face serious. “You need to get the book before they do.”

“Will you help us?”

Drake shook his head. “No. This is not my fight.”

Laney stared at him. “But we’re talking about the Fallen being made immortal.”

“I have done my time. I’ve spent a thousand years protecting humanity. You’ve spent, what, two years? Call me in another nine hundred ninety-eight.”

“How—”

Ralph’s hand on her arm stopped her. “Laney, don’t.”

She looked up at him. She wanted to push Drake more to help them. Two archangels on their side would be a huge boon. But one look at Ralph’s face and she changed her mind. She turned back to Drake. “Why is there even a book? It seems like a pretty huge security risk.”

Drake smiled. “Well, every bureaucracy has its redundancies. Even ours.”

Laney pictured a group of powerful archangels sitting in cubicles, answering phones.

Drake tapped her shoulder. “Now, you run along and keep the book from getting into their grubby little paws. Do that, and you won’t have any problems.”

“But can’t the seer just tell us or them where the tree is?” Laney asked.

“That knowledge is kept even from him,” Drake said.

Exasperation ran through her. “Why? If he can see where the book is, why can’t he see where the tree is?”

It was Ralph who answered. “To give humanity a chance to stop what’s about to come.”

Drake shook his head. “No. Not humanity.” He took Laney’s hand. “You.
You
must stop what’s about to come. Now get to work.”