The Belial Origins (7 page)

CHAPTER 16

Beverly Hills, California

G
erard cringed but tried to not move as a vase went sailing past his head.

“What do you mean you can’t find her?” Elisabeta demanded. Hands on her hips, she stood behind her highly polished mahogany desk.

“We’re running down all of Jorgen’s known holdings. So far we have found nothing. But it’s only a matter of time.”

Elisabeta’s chest heaved. Her dark eyes looked even darker, her complexion paler than it should be—except for her flushed cheeks.

And once again, Gerard was confused. Who was Jorgen? Why did he evoke this reaction in Elisabeta? Until Jorgen had appeared, Gerard had never seen Elisabeta lose her cool. But now, she was incensed.

Gerard spoke quietly. “Perhaps if you told me who Jorgen really is, it would help us locate him.”

Elisabeta’s head whipped around, and her eyes narrowed. “I have told you all you need to know to find him.”

“Then perhaps you could tell me why Victoria Chandler is so important?”

Elisabeta looked at him for a moment and then away.

Gerard took a step forward. “Elisabeta, I can help you better if I know what the end goal is.”

Elisabeta said nothing.

Gerard bit his tongue. Perhaps he had overstepped.

Her shoulders dropping, Elisabeta turned and resumed her seat. She gestured for Gerard to take a seat as well. Gerard held in his surprise as he sat down across from her.

Elisabeta stayed silent for a moment before she spoke. “What is our greatest power?”

Gerard thought for a moment. “Our ability to heal.”

Elisabeta nodded. “Yes. We are difficult to kill. Now, imagine what you could do if you
couldn’t
be killed.”

Gerard reared back, then spoke slowly. “That’s not possible.”

“Oh, it’s possible. Your memory is stunted. You’ve forgotten far more of your previous lives than you remember. But I remember more than any of you. I remember when we first arrived.”

Gerard leaned forward. If Elisabeta had asked, he would have said that the second greatest drawback of their existence was their inability to remember from one life to the next. Every once in a while he would get snippets of memories from his past lives, but the whole picture was always out of reach. “You… remember?”

She nodded. “When the triads arise, the memories return.”

Gerard wanted to ask about the other members of the triad, but he didn’t. It wasn’t often that Elisabeta took someone into her confidence, and he didn’t want to ruin the spell.

“When we first arrived, it was glorious. We were gods among men. We still are. But it was even more so at first. Because at first, we were immortal.”

“Immortal?”

Elisabeta’s voice took on a wistful quality. “The earth was truly an Eden. Everything was available for the taking. The humans were fools. They had no concept of ownership or power. They shared and gave away all they had. It was like a candy store guarded by ants.” She smiled.

Gerard had heard the rumors, but he had never truly believed them. “What happened?”

Elisabeta’s face clouded. “That bitch. She took it all from us.”

“She?” Gerard frowned.

Elisabeta spit out the words. “Victoria Chandler.”

Gerard sat back, stunned. He had never felt any recognition around the woman. “How? She’s a human.”

Elisabeta’s eyes narrowed, and venom dripped from her words. “A
favored
human.”

“So we’re looking for her in order to get revenge?”

Elisabeta shook her head. The smile that formed on her face chilled Gerard. “No. We’re looking for her in order to get our immortality back.”

CHAPTER 17

Little Rock, Arkansas

V
ictoria woke up slowly. Her head ached, but that wasn’t what bothered her. It was the fog in her brain. She knew that feeling—she’d been drugged.

Open your eyes. Open them
, she ordered herself. With a few false starts and more than a little effort, she managed it.

She was in a bedroom. It was Spartan: just a bed, window, and one chair. There were two doors. The one across from the window was likely the door to a hallway. The one next to the window hopefully led to a bathroom. Victoria sat up, and the room swayed for a moment.

An image of Ralph flashed through her mind. Grief rocked her, and she held on to the bedpost. She closed her eyes, willing away the waves of sorrow that crashed over her.
I’m so sorry, Ralph.

She pictured his brown eyes, his calming presence. He had been her one true friend, the one person who’d stood by her through everything—in this lifetime and the others. A tear tracked its way down her cheek and a sob shuddered through her.

She shook her head and took some calming breaths. She couldn’t give in to grief. Not now.

But Ralph’s death on the heels of Vicki’s was almost more than she could stand. The two of them had been her constants. And now they were both gone. She closed her eyes, gave herself one more moment, and then banished her sadness, locking it away for another time.

Opening her eyes, she got to her feet, holding onto the bedpost. On shaky legs, she crossed the room and opened the door by the window—a bathroom. She nearly wept with relief. She took care of her business quickly and took time to splash some water on her face.

The towel she used was fluffy and bright white—expensive. She placed it on the sink and headed back into the room. She stopped at the window, which overlooked a back yard in what appeared to be in a residential neighborhood. A man turned his head and looked up at her from the ground.

She met his glare without flinching. Finally, he turned away. Victoria stepped back from the window.
Okay, so someone is keeping an eye on me.

The lock on the door rattled. Victoria turned, her hands behind her back. Jorgen Fuld walked in.

“Ah, you’re awake. I was getting worried,” he said with a smile.

“I doubt that,” Victoria replied.

Jorgen took a seat on the only chair in the room, one leg crossed over at the knee. “Always so antagonistic. Why is that?”

Victoria crossed her arms. “Why am I here?”

“Maybe I missed you.”

Victoria said nothing. She just waited.

Jorgen pulled his glasses off and wiped them with the edge of his jacket. He looked back at her. His eyes were pure black. He paused, then smiled. “You’ve never been taken aback by my eyes. Not even when you first saw them.”

Victoria raised her chin a notch. “That’s because I’ve seen your evil before.”

He stared at her, and she could feel his annoyance. “You’ve never liked me. Not even when I was a child.”

She stared into his black eyes without flinching. That wasn’t entirely true. When he had first been born, she had marveled at what a beautiful child he was. His parents had doted on him.

But they had given him too much leniency. His cruelty went unchecked. At first, they were the cruelties all children engage in. But soon, they became more. His brother and sisters suffered under his hands. His parents were good people, but they were unable to remove the streak of unkindness in him, no matter how much they loved him.

Fuld tilted his head to the side. “You’ve never been afraid of me, have you?”

“No.”

He sighed. “Well, that’s a problem. Because you see, I need some of that knowledge in your head. And I don’t suppose you’d be willing to help me—out of the goodness of your heart?”

Victoria said nothing.

He sighed again. “I didn’t think so. Well, no matter. I still have a little time to convince you. There is one other piece of the puzzle I need before you are of use to me.”

Victoria stiffened. No, he hadn’t found him. He couldn’t have.

Jorgen smiled. “You’re wondering if I’ve found him, aren’t you?”

She struggled to keep her face expressionless.

Jorgen laughed with genuine joy. “Do you realize that I know every expression on your face? I know you better than anyone else on the planet. After all, you are my mother.”

Victoria lashed out. “I am
not
your mother.”

He stood and brushed his hands on his pants. “You are my mother as surely as if you had birthed me from your own loins. You created me. You are responsible for who I am.”

“
You
are responsible for the man you have become. Not me.”

“Ah—that same old tune. I’m afraid we’ll have to agree to disagree on that one.” He walked over to her and raised an eyebrow. “But admit it, you
are
happy to see me. After all, we are the only people we can truly be ourselves with, aren’t we?”

Victoria looked away, not wanting him to see the truth in her eyes.

He leaned down and kissed her cheek. “It
is
actually good to see you, Mother.”

Victoria cringed but held her tongue.
It’s good to see you too.
The thought appeared unbidden in her mind. But she couldn’t argue the truth of it.

Jorgen turned and walked out of the room, locking the door behind him. Victoria sagged against the wall. She glanced out the window again, thinking of Henry and Laney and imagining them in a battle with Jorgen.

A battle they couldn’t possibly win.

Please don’t come looking for me
.

CHAPTER 18

Baltimore, Maryland

L
aney was going over the books from Sebastian Flourent’s home in the Red Canyon. She closed the journal in front of her and looked around Dom’s office. It was modern, with all the technological touches.
Almost makes you forget that you’re locked in a bomb shelter a hundred feet beneath the surface.

They had decided to keep the books down here as a security precaution. There was simply no safer place on the estate. She’d been slowly making her way through them since yesterday.

It had been a full day since Victoria had gone missing, and they still had nothing. They knew that there were fourteen men who had infiltrated Victoria’s home, but they had no IDs, no affiliations. Based on some of their tattoos, Jake thought some of them might be international mercenaries. But so far, Interpol hadn’t had any luck identifying them.

“Hi, Laney.”

Laney looked up; Max stood uncertainly in the doorway. She opened her arms, and he grinned and ran across the room.

Laney closed her arms around him. “This is what I needed.” She pulled Max up into her lap, keeping her arms around him. “So tell me, what have you been up to?”

“I was practicing my writing with Mom. I can do all my letters now.” He grinned broadly.

Laney squeezed him tight. “I’m so proud of you.”

Max glanced at the journals on the desk. “Are you reading those again?”

Laney nodded. “Yup. But these are different ones from the ones I was reading last time you were in here. They all look alike.”

“Have you found what you’re looking for?”

Laney glanced at the old books, her mind traveling over what she had found. She and her uncle had discussed what the references meant, but she wanted to go over them one more time before they shared that information with anyone else. To be honest, she was looking for an alternate explanation, because the one they had come up with seemed so impossible.

“I’m not sure. I think so.”

Max nodded. “You’ll figure it out.”

“I hope so.”

Max sat straight and looked at her, his expression serious. “You will. You’re the ring bearer. You have to.”

Laney searched his face for a moment. “Max,” she began slowly, “what do you know about the ring bearer?”

“You’re important, Laney. More important than anything.” His face clouded for a moment. “Or anyone.”

Laney narrowed her eyes. “What do you mean—”

“There you are,” Kati Simmons said as she stepped through the doorway. Kati had the same brown hair as Max, the same small stature and high cheekbones. They were practically doubles of each other. The only difference was their eyes: Max’s were a bright blue while Kati’s were brown.

Max hopped off Laney’s lap. “Hi, Mom.”

“Lunch is ready.” Kati looked at Laney. “There’s extra if you want some. Meatloaf.”

“Sounds good.” Laney glanced back at the desk. “I’ll be out in a little bit. I just need to finish up a little more.”

“Okay.” Kati held out her hand and Max clasped it. The two of them disappeared through the doorway.

Laney turned back to her desk with a sigh. She picked up the journal she’d been reading.
Okay. I finish this one and—

The patter of little feet had her turning to the door. Max burst through the doorway and threw himself at Laney. He wrapped his arms around her and buried his head in her chest.

“Max, honey, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” But he didn’t let go.

“Max?”

He looked up at her. “I love you, Laney.”

Touched, she pulled him tight. “I love you too.”

“Hey,” Maddox said from the doorway. He glanced at Laney and raised his eyebrows. She shook her head, shrugging back at him.

“Max?” Maddox said, stepping in.

Max glanced up at Laney. She stared into his little face, remembering when she’d first met him—the day he was born. His little fingers had reached out and grabbed one of hers and that had been it. She was in love. And that love had only grown over the years.

“You need to remember you’re important,” Max said.

Laney stared at him, surprised by his intensity. “I will, Max. I promise.”

He nodded, releasing her. “Goodbye, Laney.”

Laney felt her heart clutch. “You mean see you later.”

Max looked at her over his shoulder and then took Maddox’s hand.

Laney stared at the empty space. Max hadn’t corrected her. But his look had spoken volumes. And what it had said loudest of all was that she didn’t understand.

Laney had a sinking feeling he was right.