The Belial Ring (The Belial Series 3) (21 page)

“
I’ll get right on that,” Laney said dryly.

Patrick gave a small laugh.
“I suppose you won’t be curling up with a good book any time soon.”

“
Probably not,” Laney agreed. “But what about the ring? Where is that mentioned?”

“
Actually, it’s not. Not in the whole Bible. The only references to the ring of Solomon come from the Testament of Solomon, which people aren’t even sure is accurate. The Testament is usually dated to sometime between the first and fifth century AD, although it’s alleged to have been written by Solomon himself.”

“
But that was a thousand years after Solomon’s death.”

“
Exactly.”

Laney knew it wasn
’t unusual for works to be copied multiple times, and for one of those copies to later on be considered the original. Or for them to be handed down orally before being put to paper. So it’s possible that the original was long lost to history, and only the copy dating to the first century still existed. “What does it say about the power of the ring?”

“It claims t
he wearer can control demons, as well as animals and the weather. But in the Testament, the demons are often grotesque animal-human hybrids.”

Laney felt her jaw drop.
“You’re kidding, right?”

Patrick shook his head.

Laney closed her eyes and let out a breath. “Great. And we’re taking all of this on Victoria’s word?” She opened her eyes, glancing at Patrick. “How exactly does she know all these things? And why do we all believe her?”

“
Well, she’s been studying all of it much longer than we have. We’ve only known about the Fallen for a year. She is convincing, though, isn’t she?”

Laney nodded.

He glanced over at her. “In your dream about Menelik, were you seeing the dream through his eyes?”

“
No. The dream wasn’t from Menelik’s point of view. It was from Makeda’s.”

Patrick looked at Laney sharply, his eyes narrowing.
“Your dreams—are they always from a woman’s point of view?”

Laney thought back and realized with surprise they were.
“Yes.”

Patrick stroked his chin, his expression troubled.

“
What is it? You look worried.”

“
I’m probably wrong,” he began, and Laney felt a chill. The last time he said that, he’d been talking about his interpretation of Drew’s paper on Atlantis. And he’d been right on the money.

Laney tried to keep her tone light.
“Okay. You might be wrong. But tell me anyway.”

Patrick hesitated.
“These dreams you’re having. I wonder if they’re not dreams at all.”

“
Not dreams? Then what are they?”

“
Memories.”

CHAPTER 42

“M
emories? Are you kidding?” Laney struggled not to groan. Seriously, she was at her tipping point for revelations.

Patrick put up his hands.
“Just hear me out. All of this started because of Edgar Cayce’s life readings on Atlantis, right?”

Laney nodded.
A year ago, her friend Drew Masters had written a preliminary paper involving Cayce to pave the way for an archaeological dig he was working on. Drew’s involvement in the dig resulted in his death by a Fallen. That loss still cut deep.

Laney shoved those feeling
s aside, focusing instead on what they had learned about the twentieth-century psychic Edgar Cayce.

According
to Cayce, most people had lived multiple past lives. Over the course of his own life, Cayce performed numerous past life readings for people; and many of those past life readings involved the lives people lived in Atlantis.

Through his work, Cayce realized that humans had evolved on this planet as thought forms before taking bodies.
These early humans had lived in complete peace, without violence or strife. Eventually, though, people had evolved into two groups: the Children of the Law of One, and the Sons of Belial. The good and the bad.

And although not mentioned in Cayce
’s work, Laney realized from reading the Book of Enoch that it was the fallen angels who were responsible for that division. They brought with them envy, strife, violence, and war. The Sons of Belial were eventually responsible for the destruction of Atlantis.

In his readings, Cayce said the Children, knowing the Sons would be their destruction
, had sent three sets of emissaries to three separate locations across the globe, to hide the knowledge of Atlantis, save it from annihilation. One of those locations was the site Drew worked on. Laney found the other in Ecuador last year. And the third was still lost—although it was rumored to be located under the left paw of the Sphinx.

“
Yes, Cayce’s work is where all of this sprang from,” Laney said. “But I don’t think Cayce meant that you came back each lifetime as the exact same person, with the same goals, hobbies, and desires.”

“
I don’t know about that. There have been readings that suggest that people come back very similar in each lifetime, right down to their career. Henry Ford, for example, was alleged to have been an inventor in Atlantis.”

“
So you think the subjects of my dreams are actually—what? My ancestors? Predecessors? Former selves? What am I supposed to call them?”

Patrick
took her hand. “I think they might be you, in a past life.”

Laney knew her jaw was hanging open
, but she couldn’t seem to close it. “You’re saying I was Helen of Troy, the Queen of Sheba, and Joan of Arc?”

“
Is that really any crazier than being the daughter of a powerful angel?”

Laney snapped her mouth shut.
She knew reincarnation was part of numerous belief systems across the world. The scientific research on reincarnation had also provided some incredible findings. She had read the case studies of children who seemed to be able to recount verifiable facts from their past lives. It was pretty convincing stuff.

In one set of studies, Dr. Ian Stevenson
, of the University of Virginia, matched birthmarks with wounds received in a past life. All the cases had been medically documented.

And the list of highly intelligent individuals who supported
the notion was quite astounding: Henry Ford, Mahatma Gandhi, Socrates, Napoleon, even Friedrich Nietzsche.

But recognizing the abstract possibility of reincarnation was one thing.
Accepting that you yourself were the reincarnation of previous individuals, particularly historically important ones, was a little harder to accept.

“
I mean, I guess it’s not any more unbelievable than anything else I’ve heard or seen this last year,” Laney said. “But these women we’re talking about, they were incredibly powerful. I mean, Helen and Joan were warriors, the leaders of armies. They changed the world.”

“
You have that same strength, Laney. It’s built in you. It’s like that genetic research you told me about. You have this programmed into you. It just needs the right environment to bring it out.”

“
And you think I’m going to find myself in that environment?”

Patrick
squeezed her hand, standing up. “I think you already have. Look what you’ve done already. You saved Kati and Max, you uncovered that site in Montana, and then everything you did with the Shuar. And you’ve faced how many Fallen and nephilim at this point? And yet you’re still here. There’s something about you, Laney. Something special. We all see it. All of us but you.” He kissed her on the forehead before heading back down the path.

Laney watched him walk away.
Was it possible she actually was this ring bearer? Her mind whirled with everything she had learned, with everything people believed her to be.

Before she knew it, it had grown late.
Looking up, she was startled to see the sun had begun to dip below the horizon.

She stood up and stretched, an ache
forming in her lower back from sitting on the iron bench for so long. She hurried up the hill, her stomach growling. She hoped she hadn’t missed Ralph’s dinner. She rounded the top of the hill and came to a stop.

Victoria was in the garden, a basket beside her, down on her hands and knees, weeding.
It was such a domestic sight that Laney was startled. Victoria always seemed so powerful, so all-knowing. Seeing her do something so normal was actually jarring.

Victoria must have felt eyes on her.
She sat back on her heels, her eyes finding Laney’s. She offered a tentative smile.

Laney gave a little wave and walked
toward her, not knowing what to say. She had so many questions. She wasn’t sure which one should come first. What was her father like? Did Victoria regret giving her away?

But those questions were too personal
, and Laney wasn’t sure she wanted the answers. Not yet, at least.

In fact, she really didn
’t want to know anything more about her own past or her future. For now, she had more than enough to occupy her mind.

By the time Laney reached her, Victoria was standing next to a beautiful rose bush in full
, pale pink bloom.

“
It’s beautiful,” Laney said, and meant it. The flowers were huge, with over a hundred petals on each one.

“
It’s a Scepter’d Isle. The name comes from—”

“
Shakespeare, William the Second.”

Victoria
’s eyes went wide. “How’d you know that?”

“
There was a priest at the rectory who kept a rose garden. I used to garden with him sometimes. His roses were beautiful. They’re one of my favorite flowers.”

“
I’ve always loved them, too.”

Silence descended between the two of them.
And it was awkward. But Laney’s mind was a complete blank.

Victoria took a step
toward her. “How about we take a little walk? I’m guessing you have some questions for me.”

Laney nodded, falling in step next to Victoria.
But instead of waiting for Laney to ask anything, Victoria started rattling off information about her garden. Laney was relieved. She still wasn’t sure what to say to her.

Victoria
’s love for the garden came through with each word, and Laney was glad to have the focus be on something other than her. By the time they had walked for fifteen minutes, Laney was actually at ease. They came to stop at the land’s edge. Atop a tall cliff, the Atlantic Ocean spread out in front of them.

“
It’s beautiful,” Laney said, and meant it. She breathed in deep, pulling in the peace of the scene.

“
It’s why I bought this property. When all the world goes crazy, I come here and I can feel at peace.”

Laney nodded, understanding. She met Victoria
’s eyes, and this time the smile came easily. “Thank you for showing it to me.”

A flash of emotion crossed Victoria
’s face before she covered it. “You’re very welcome.” Victoria looked away. “We should probably get back. Ralph should have dinner about ready.”

Laney nodded, turning to walk back to the house.
Her arm grazed Victoria’s, but Laney didn’t pull away.

They walked for a few moments in silence.
Then Laney realized she did have a question for Victoria. Not something about herself or Victoria, but something that had been bothering her since she’d learned of the Fallen.

“
Victoria, when Edgar Cayce talks of humanity’s beginnings, he says that at first we were all one group, no division. Then we split into two: the Children of the Law of One and the Sons of Belial. The good and the bad.”

“
Yes. Cayce got that right.”

“
Well, Cayce doesn’t mention the Fallen, but I figured they were the reason humanity split.”

Victoria nodded.

“Here’s what I don’t understand: why didn’t we split before then? We were human, and humans come with desires. Not all of them good. So why didn’t we act on those negative desires earlier?”

“Because t
here was no reason to.”

“
But why not? People must have coveted, envied, had all those motivations to do bad.”

Victoria glanced at her, pausing before speaking.
“How old was Enoch when he went to heaven?”

Laney wondered at the change in conversation.
“Umm, three hundred fifty-six, I think.”

Victoria nodded.
“Do you remember any other ages mentioned in the Bible?”

“
I remember something about humanity only living for one hundred and twenty years.”