The Belial Stone(32)

Drew’s paper, nestled in the big pocket of her sweatshirt, rustled as she stood. Was this all because of a simple paper Drew had written? She glanced around. Was that really the reason for all this violence?

A chill ran through her as she surveyed the damage. Mike and Rocky shot. Paul dead. And that didn’t include the four officers attacked today, and Drew. And maybe Jake’s brother and God knew how many other people.

She glanced over at her uncle, standing next to Rocky, who’d been laid out on a stretcher. He was holding her hand, offering her comfort. Somehow, she had brought this horror to those she loved.

She watched Jake, his face set in stone. Jake had enough going on with trying to find Tom. None of this craziness could be related to that. It would be better for him if he just left them behind.

She shook her head. But she couldn’t let him do that. She had to keep her uncle safe. And Jake and the Chandler Group were her only shot at accomplishing that.





CHAPTER 24



Havre, Montana



Tom lined up with his tent mates and they quietly filed through the cage door. Grabbing a stale roll and cup of water, they ate on their way to the enclosure. Once there, they dropped their cups in a bucket, picked up shovels, and made their way to their dig spot.

Tom noticed that during the night a number of large objects, about six feet by four, had been unearthed. Each was still covered in a thick layer of dirt. He and Seeley were given smaller shovels and a brush. They were told to carefully remove the dirt from the side of one of the objects. Other two-man teams were set up with the other objects.

Two hours later, Tom’s back and neck were screaming at him. But he knew better than to complain. One of the guys who’d been here a while warned him, that if he got hurt, not to let them see it. There was no med tent. If he couldn’t work, his usefulness would be at an end, as well as his life. So he continued working, ignoring the pain, unveiling the side of the monolith in front of him.

Almost put in a trance by the mind-numbing task, he was surprised when he saw rock peaking through. He’d reached the edge. And there seemed to be something carved into it.

Intrigued, in spite of his pain, Tom worked faster and shortly uncovered a full carving about twelve inches long. It was some sort of figure – a man-eagle hybrid.

Tom sat back, dumbfounded. It looked like some sort of Egyptian hieroglyph. He’d seen them once in a book he’d borrowed from the prison library.

Confused, Tom looked around the enclosure at all the other dig sites. He could make out a bunch of other rock towers sticking out of them as well. There were dozens of the things.

Although Tom hadn’t traveled much in his life, he knew that this sure as hell wasn’t Egypt. He supposed they could be in Canada. But he didn’t think so. For some reason, he thought they were still in the States. All the guards were American, all the cars.

Tom took a quick glance at a monolith directly behind him. It depicted humans farming and some flying in some sort of hot air balloon.

These things had been buried here for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. A chill ran through him. But what were they doing here and who had buried them? And why the hell were a bunch of ex-cons digging them out?





CHAPTER 25



Baltimore, Maryland



Her hands in front of her, Laney backed away. “No. You can’t be here. You’re dead. I saw you. You’re dead.”

The light from the bright morning sun acted as a spotlight, highlighting Paul as he moved across the floor towards her. A trail of blood followed him, his chest wounds oozing.

He let out a laugh that sent shivers of fear racing through her system. “Dead? I told you. You can't kill me.”

She sprinted from the room and up the stairs. Rounding the banister, she ran to the only door on the floor, Drew’s door. She threw herself at it. It swung open and she managed to catch herself before she hit the floor.

Stumbling, she vaulted forward and got caught in a pair of legs. With a scream, she leapt away from the dangling form.

“Drew,” she cried.

His eyes stared down at her, pinning her in place. His arms reached out for her. She turned and ran. But now the door was shut. Fumbling with the handle, the desperate urge to escape clawed at her.

Two cold, grey arms pulled her into an embrace from behind.

Tears streamed down her cheeks. “No, no.”

She looked at the being that held her. Its grey skin had already begun to sag and its eyes had turned a milky white. A horrific caricature of the man she knew.

It leaned down. From its dry, cracked lips, rasped two single words. “Avenge me.”

Laney jolted awake, her breath coming in gasps, her heart trying to pound its way out her chest. She clutched the blankets to her chest and looked wildly around the room. Her terror increased. Where the hell was she?