The Belial Ring (The Belial Series 3) (43 page)

CHAPTER 100

T
hey left for the Chandler estate an hour later, when Jake woke. But first, Laney sat with him in the bedroom. Patrick said he hadn’t told Jake anything about what had happened during the time he was in a coma. So Laney was the one to break the news to him.

Jake
’s eyes were large. “Dead? I was
dead
? I mean, I heard you say that when you first got here, but I just thought you, I don’t know, misspoke.”

“
I didn’t misspeak. You don’t remember anything?”

“
Last thing I remember was stepping out of the path in Saqqara. Then I was waking up on a plane with Patrick. Was I really dead?”

Laney nodded.
“Yes. It’s been three days.” If Jake were religious, she’d point out the similarities to another fellow who came back to life after three days, but she was pretty sure that comparison wouldn’t be received too well.

“
I—” Jake paused. “I don’t even know what to say about that.”

The door pushed open.
Cleo walked in, her tail swishing behind her. She rubbed against Laney and then Jake before curling up on the bed behind them.

Jake watched the leopard, his eyebrows raised.
“Um, have we adopted a cat?”

“
I think she’s adopted us.”

Jake
’s eyebrows seemed to get even higher.

Laney put up her hands.
“I’ll figure something out. But she won’t hurt you, or anyone. Not without permission.”

“
You’re sure?”

Laney
’s hand went to the ring around her neck. “Positive.”

Jake nodded at it.
“How come you’re wearing that on a chain and not your finger?”

Laney paused, trying to figure out how to explain her decision. “The power of this thing
 . . . it’s seductive. It would be easy to abuse. I’ve decided I’m only going to wear it when I need it. But I’ll keep it nearby.”

Jake leaned down and kissed her forehead.
“I think whoever decided you were the ring bearer made a very wise choice.” He stood up, pulling Laney with him. “Come on. Let’s head for home. Apparently, we have a lot of people to tell I’m not dead.”

Laney shook her head as she walked with him out of the room.
Every time she thought her life couldn’t get stranger . . .

It
took only two hours to get back to Baltimore. Laney held onto Jake the whole ride. They shared the chopper with Yoni, Patrick, and Henry. Mike, Jen, and Jordan had agreed to drive Cleo back—on the condition that she be sedated first.

It was hard, but Laney knew it was for the best.
She had faith in her control, but she didn’t want to test it while in the air. Or have the Witts test it while they were driving.

By the time the chopper reached Baltimore, it looked like a hundred people were milling around the helipad.

Laney glanced down
, knowing they were there to see Jake. She squeezed his hand. “And you thought you didn’t have a family. Look down there. That’s your family.”

Jake squeezed her hand back.

The crowd was quiet when the chopper landed
—until Jake opened his door. Then applause broke out. People surged forward to hug Jake, slap him on the back.

Laney kept back, not wanting to get in the way.
Her heart wanted to burst with happiness that he was back, but the shadow of Rocky’s death kept it from being a perfect moment.

And how exactly
did Victoria bring him back?

Jake looked back at her and Laney smiled
, banishing the words from her mind. The questions could wait. He reached out his hand.

She walked through the crowd to take it. Right now, there were more important things.

An impromptu party had been set up on the back lawn of the Chandler estate. Everybody from Chandler was there, as well as a bunch of Jake’s military buddies. It was a little “Glad you’re back—how the hell are you still alive?” party. Everyone was thrilled Jake was here, but Laney caught more than one confused look.

Kati had even come by with Max.
But Laney could tell that being out in the open was a little rough for her. She was still suffering aftereffects from the attacks, and her gaze kept straying to Max, who was engaged in some sort of potato-chip-eating contest with Danny. Moxy stood next to them, gobbling up all the misses.

And Maddox was as good as his word.
He stayed with them, a tall, scowling bodyguard looming nearby.

Laney pulled Kati aside.
She nodded toward Maddox. “You sure you’re okay with him?”

Kati nodded
, her eyes still on Max. “Yeah. Actually, having him around makes me feel a little better. And Max likes him.”

“
I’m so sorry for all of this, Kati.”

Kati
’s head whipped back. “Don’t you ever say that to me. You are the reason my son and I are alive. You didn’t cause any of this, Laney. That’s not on you. And as far as I can see, you’re doing everything you can to make it right.”

Rocky
’s image floated into her mind. “Yeah, but it doesn’t feel like it’s enough.”

Kati hugged her
. “That’s because you’re not delegating. Other people can take some of the load. It’s not all on you.”

Laney pulled back.
“I know, I know.”

“
And Rocky wasn’t your fault either. She’s as independent as you. Her decisions are hers.” Kati took a shuddering breath. “And she loved you, just like we loved her.”

Laney nodded, but couldn
’t speak, grief clogging her throat.

Kati squeezed her hand.
“Now, if you don’t mind, I think I’m going to take Max back to Dom’s. He’s doing all right, but I’m still not so crazy about crowds.”

“
Maddox going with you?”

“
Absolutely.” Kati disappeared into the crowd, before reappearing next to Max and Maddox.

Maddox reached down and picked up Max
, then tossed him into the air. Max laughed as Maddox caught him. Apparently, Maddox was good with kids.

She
tried not to frown as she watched them leave, along with Danny and Moxy. She hated that Kati was scared. She’d have to figure out a way to make Kati feel safe enough to rejoin her life. It wasn’t going to be easy.

Jake walked over and grabbed her hand.
“Come dance with me.”

Laney smiled.
Well, she’d figure all that out later. Right now, she was going to let herself enjoy her time with Jake.

An hour later, Laney, Jake, and Henry found a quiet
part of the veranda. Laney and Jake sat next to each other on a lounge. Henry sat across from them.

Laney held Jake
’s hand, yet again. “Are you sure you feel all right?”

Jake laughed.
“Laney, I feel great. To be honest, I feel better than I have in years. All my old aches seem to have disappeared.”

Henry shook his head.
“And you still don’t remember anything?”

“
No, nothing between leaving the entrance of the tunnel in Egypt and waking up on the plane.” Jake’s brow furrowed. “I don’t get how Victoria was able to do that. I’ve never heard of anything like that.”

Jake had spoken with Patrick
, who’d related Victoria’s actions to him. But Jake hadn’t been able to shed any more information on what exactly had happened.

Henry gave a little laugh.
“Well, hopefully Yoni will get tired of the zombie jokes. Eventually.”

Jake groaned.
“He keeps telling me that if I get a hankering for brains, to start with the PhDs. Says their brains are tastier.” He nudged Laney. “Hey, Earth to Laney.”

Laney turned to smile at him.
“Sorry. Mind wandering.”

“
Care to tell us where it’s wandering to?” Jake asked.

“
Nowhere special. Just thinking about everything.” Laney noticed a tall slim black man step out from the house, an attractive woman with pale green eyes next to him. The man cast a bewildered gaze around before spying Laney.

She waved and nudged Jake.
“Hey, there’s Tom.”

Jake glanced over with a smile before standing.
“I’ll go say hi. You guys can join me after you discuss whatever it is you don’t want to discuss in front of me.” He gave Laney a kiss on the forehead before he walked off.

“
Perceptive bugger, isn’t he?” Laney said with a smile.

Henry nodded.
“So, what are you thinking?”

“
Well, I’m pretty sure Yoni’s zombie theory is wrong, but I
have
been thinking about other cases of people coming back from the dead. The only ones I can think of are from the Bible.”

“
Jesus and Lazarus,” Henry said.

Laney nodded.
“Yup. But that doesn’t seem to apply here. It’s as if something in Victoria’s blood healed Jake. I think that’s why she had Patrick keep his blood pumping. His heart needed to be beating if it was going to work.”

“
I was thinking the same thing. I mean, I have blood that heals me, but I’ve never heard of it healing anyone else. And I’ve run a ton of tests on it. Besides, Mom’s not a Fallen or a nephilim.”

Laney paused, remembering Amar
’s words. “But they all seem to know who she is, don’t they? Gideon asked you about her. And Amar mentioned her as well. And how does she know all that she knows?”

They both fell quiet.
Laney’s mind traveled over every mystery involving Victoria, and she was pretty sure Henry had even more questions than she did. Whenever Victoria spoke about the past, it was always as if she had been an eyewitness. And what had Amar meant when he said Victoria played a part in humanity’s mortality?

“
Do you know who she is?” Laney asked.

Henry shook his head with a sigh.
“No. I’ve wondered, but I’m no closer than you to an answer. The only thing I know is that she’s not some mere human, no matter what she says.”

“
No, she’s definitely not.” Laney looked over at Henry. “We need some answers.”

Henry shook his head.
“We can try Mom, but Laney, it would be easier getting blood from a stone.”

“
There has to be a way.” Laney spied her uncle in the crowd. “What about the books?”

“
From Ecuador? It’s going to take a while to translate them. But I’m going to start working on the one Amar stole first thing.”

“
No, not those books. The Council books. Flourent had a set, right?”             

Henry nodded
, his expression thoughtful. “Actually, some of them survived. The bookcase they were stored in was bolted to the wall, which was actually built into the rock face. When the house collapsed, the bookcase was still there. And about half of the books.”

“
Great.”

“
I bet they’ll have some answers.” He glanced sideways at Laney. “But I’ll ask Patrick and maybe Jen to go through them.”

“
Why not me?”

Henry took Laney
’s hand. “Because I think you need to spend some time with Jake, and maybe focus on figuring out that ring. Let some other people shoulder the burden.”

“
Delegate.” She smiled. “You’re the second person to tell me that.”

“
Mom’s not the only thing bothering you, is she?”

Laney sighed, looking over everyone on the veranda, her eyes coming to rest on Jake and Tom.
“I want this to be over. I really do. But I don’t think it is.”

“
Why not?”

Her eyes met Henry
’s. “You, me, and Jake. We’re the triad, the three sides of the triangle. Right?”

Henry nodded.

Laney pulled the chain from around her neck, showing Henry the ring face. “What do you see?”

“
The Seal of Solomon.”

Laney nodded.
“Which is
two
triangles. So if we’re one triangle, who’s in the other?”

“
The devil’s finest trick is to persuade you that he does not exist.”

―
Charles Baudelaire
,
Paris Spleen

EPILOGUE