The Belial Stone(46)

Dom stared back at Jake. “Are you kidding? Ancient tales are littered with stories of powerful crystals. Krishna and Zeus are just two examples of tales of gods with powerful weapons that utilized crystals.”

Jake shook his head. “Yeah, but those are stories. There's no proof.”

“How about the evidence of a nuclear explosion in Rajasthan, India eight thousand years ago? Or vitrified stones found all over the world that date back through antiquity?”

Patrick's tone was thoughtful. “In my homeland of Scotland, there is a tale involving the God of War, Belatucadros. He was said to have used a staff with a crystal at the end that emitted an intense burst of energy. And ancient stone forts in Northern Scotland have vitrified stones that could only be created by an intense, focused heat of temperatures greater than 1000 degrees Celsius.”

Dom smiled at Patrick with a nod and jumped up from his chair. He opened the fridge, his voice now muffled by the door. “And, in modern times, we’re beginning to explore crystals as a potential power source for an array of weapons. Over the last fifteen years, researchers around the globe have been experimenting with diamonds as a source for laser weapons. They’ve been found to transmit heat and light incredibly effectively. And they’ve been successful.”

Jake leaned down to whisper in Laney's ear. "Shouldn't he be wearing a little tinfoil hat while he explains all this?"

Laney pushed him away, trying to hold back her smile.

Dom closed the refrigerator door. Shaking his head, he walked back to the island, a can of soda in his hand. “But you guys haven’t even asked the most important question yet.”

Laney looked around the table at the confused look on everyone’s face, except for Danny’s. “Danny?”

“We haven’t asked where the stones came from. If these stones exist on earth, then there should be another cache somewhere. But being they haven’t been found, the question is where did they go? Or, more likely, where did they come from?”

“Right as usual, my boy.” Dom beamed at Danny. He turned to Patrick. “So Father Patrick, care to tell the group where the stones come from?”





CHAPTER 32



Laney looked from her uncle to Dom. Surprise was written across her uncle’s face. He stared at Dom. “Me? I don't know.”

“You are a Catholic priest, right? And an archaeologist? You just need to think about it. I'll give you a hint: ‘They elevated me aloft to heaven. I proceeded until I arrived at a wall built with stones of crystal.’”

Laney noticed Patrick pale, and knew he’d recognized the words. But she also noticed Henry start, although much more subtly. Henry recognized the words as well.

She fixed her uncle with a look. “I think it’s time to share what you know.”

Patrick looked across the table at her and sighed. “The words are from the Book of Enoch.”

Laney struggled to see the connection. “The Book of Enoch? Drew uses that as a reference in his paper.”

Patrick nodded, explaining to the rest of the group. “It was a popular work in the early Catholic church. It’s one of the largest repositories of knowledge on two areas: heaven and angels.”

“Angels? We’re adding in angels now?” Jake mumbled.

Laney shook her head. “I still don’t see the connection.”

Although Laney had been looking at her uncle, Henry was the one who answered. “The Book of Enoch isn’t just about angels. It’s about fallen angels, and it speaks of the stones of great power they brought with them when they fell.”

Laney stared at Henry. It couldn’t be, could it? “Fallen angels? As in beings with superhuman abilities? Such as incredible speed, power, and healing abilities?”

Dom nodded. “Oh, sure.”

Laney sat back, stunned. She knew whatever explanation they came up with for the superhumans would have been incredible. But she still expected it to be more, well, normal. A pharmaceutical experiment gone awry, exposure to some sort of radioactive contaminant, a military experiment. A mutation in the essence of humanity, a la the X-Men. But fallen angels?

Dom bounced out of his chair again. He started to pace around the island. Laney was starting to get dizzy watching him. She finally closed her eyes and just listened to him speak.

“According to Enoch, a group of angels become envious of humans, of their freedom, of their women. Two hundred of them made a pact, and together they fell. They brought with them the knowledge of heaven. Their leader was named Samyaza and Azazyel was his second-in-command. Each of the fallen brought with them some skill that they shared with humanity. Tamiel taught them astronomy. Amazarack and Armers taught them sorcery, and so on.”