The Belial War Read online

  The Belial War

  A Belial Series Novel

  R.D. Brady

  Scottish Seoul Publishing, LLC

  Contents

  Books by R.D. Brady

  Untitled

  Untitled

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  Chapter 49

  Chapter 50

  Chapter 51

  Chapter 52

  Chapter 53

  Chapter 54

  Chapter 55

  Chapter 56

  Chapter 57

  Chapter 58

  Chapter 59

  Chapter 60

  Chapter 61

  Chapter 62

  Chapter 63

  Chapter 64

  Chapter 65

  Chapter 66

  Chapter 67

  Chapter 68

  Chapter 69

  Chapter 70

  Chapter 71

  Chapter 72

  Chapter 73

  Chapter 74

  Chapter 75

  Chapter 76

  Chapter 77

  Chapter 78

  Chapter 79

  Chapter 80

  Chapter 81

  Chapter 82

  Chapter 83

  Chapter 84

  Chapter 85

  Chapter 86

  Chapter 87

  Chapter 88

  Chapter 89

  Chapter 90

  Chapter 91

  Chapter 92

  Chapter 93

  Chapter 94

  Chapter 95

  Chapter 96

  Chapter 97

  Chapter 98

  Chapter 99

  Chapter 100

  Chapter 101

  Chapter 102

  Chapter 103

  Chapter 104

  Chapter 105

  Chapter 106

  Chapter 107

  Chapter 108

  Chapter 109

  Epilogue

  FACT OR FICTION?

  About the Author

  Acknowledgments

  The Characters of The Belial War*

  Books By R.D. Brady

  Books by R.D. Brady

  The Belial Series (in order)

  The Belial Stone

  The Belial Library

  The Belial Ring

  Recruit: A Belial Series Novella

  The Belial Children

  The Belial Origins

  The Belial Search

  The Belial Guard

  The Belial Warrior

  The Belial Plan

  The Belial Witches

  Stand-Alone Books

  Runs Deep

  Hominid

  The A.L.I.V.E. Series

  B.E.G.I.N.

  A.L.I.V.E.

  D.E.A.D.

  Be sure to sign up for R.D.'s mailing list to be the first to hear when she has a new release and receive a free short story!

  ** A list of characters can be found at the end of The Belial War.**

  “The greatest test of courage on earth is to bear defeat without losing heart.”

  Robert Green Ingersoll

  “When the will defies fear, when duty throws the gauntlet down to fate,

  when honor scorns to compromise with death - that is heroism.”

  Robert Green Ingersoll

  Prologue

  9,789 BCE

  Dwarka, India

  The torchlights flickered, throwing moving shadows along the Hall of Knowledge. Tall, thick pillars lined the middle of the room, holding up the forty-foot-tall ceiling. During the day, Yamini loved this room, but in the darkness of night, the shadows seemed to reach for her as she rushed past, her pale student’s shift rustling loudly in the quiet of the room.

  He comes. Yamini tried not to let the terror overwhelm her. The vision had been the most frightening one she’d ever had. But she needed to keep her wits about her.

  “Young Yamini, where are you off to in such a hurry?”

  With a cry, Yamini stumbled to a stop, taking a step back as Jagrav stepped from behind a column. The high priest was a member of the Council of the Children, but Yamini did not trust him. She did not like how he looked at the young pages that were being initiated. He said all the right words, but he did not feel them.

  She inclined her head. “Learned Jagrav, I did not see you there.”

  His dark eyes pierced into hers. “Perhaps because you were in such a rush. Is something the matter?”

  She forced herself to not look away. “No, Brother. It is just the shadows. I do not like being in here at night.”

  He paused a beat before responding. “Come now, child, you know there is nothing to hurt you in the Temple of the Children. Unless you have seen something that has caused you worry?”

  Lying was never Yamini’s way. She did not believe when people said that at times there was a reason to lie. That was a reasoning the Sons of Belial used. But right now she could not tell him the truth. “Are you never afraid in the dark?”

  He puffed out his chest. “Not since I was a child.”

  “Perhaps one day I, too, will outgrow these fears.” She stepped to the side. “Good evening, Brother.”

  “Good evening to you as well, Yamini,” he said as she passed.

  She felt his eyes on her, and she had to restrain herself from sprinting down the hall. She pushed through the tall wrought-iron doors at the end of the room, pausing to glance back. Jagrav stood in the same spot. She gave him a nod before slipping through the doors. Then she sprinted to the stairwell, taking the stone steps two at a time. She flew around the corner. Sister Maya’s door was open, a light glowing from inside.

  She’s still up. Yamini had worried she would have to wake her mentor. This news could not wait. She hurried into the room, and her mentor and friend looked up. In the candlelight, some of the wear and tear of her fifty years was washed away. The wrinkles around her eyes and mouth were less pronounced, and her dark hair streaked with gray looked almost brown.

  A smile crossed Maya’s face, the lines around her eyes and chin reappearing as she caught sight of Yamini. “My dear, it is late. Why are you still here?”

  “Oh, Sister, I have had a vision.”

  Maya hurried around the desk, ushering Yamini into a chair. “It will be all right. Whatever you have seen—”

  Yamini gripped her hand. “No. They are coming.”

  The council met as dawn broke. The thirteen elders sat along the long polished stone table at the front of the room. As the group’s leader,
Maya had the place of honor in the middle.

  Yamini had been to meetings before, all of the Children had. But she’d never been to a closed-door meeting. Today it was only the council and their aides, who sat behind the council members, ready for their orders. The only one sitting in front of them was Yamini. Maya stood, addressing the council.

  “Yamini has had a vision. Samyaza comes for us.” She nodded at Yamini, who stood and recounted the arrival of Samyaza and his followers as well as the destruction that would follow.

  “Are you saying Dwarka will not survive?” Ellghad asked.

  Images flew through her mind—the bodies of the people she knew and loved floating in water, their faces frozen in horror. Her voice broke. “No, Brother. It will not.”

  She retook her seat as the council began to debate. Yamini only half listened, her mind replaying what she had seen. Samyaza striding down the Hall of Knowledge, his minions flaring out behind him, cutting down everyone in their path even though they offered no resistance, the giant wall of water washing over Dwarka and pulling it to the bottom of the ocean. Her hands trembled. She clasped them together tightly in her lap.

  “But the knowledge must be saved,” Jagrav said. “It cannot die with us.”

  “We should have destroyed the instructions long ago. No one who wants the power it yields should ever have it,” one of the other sisters added.

  Yamini started. She knew there was knowledge forbidden from all but the council. She had heard rumors of what it might be, but no one knew for sure. But, of course, that would be why Samyaza was headed their way.

  One of the other brothers shook his head. “We don’t know that. Perhaps there will be a time when—”

  Maya raised an eyebrow but not her voice. “When humans are no longer human? When we do not want more than what fate has provided us? To allow people to awaken the power of a god within others? No good can come of that. The knowledge must be destroyed before Samyaza and his forces arrive.”

  Jagrav’s mouth narrowed to a slit. “And what of Samyaza? How will we protect against him?”

  Maya looked at him, shaking her head. “We cannot. If Yamini’s vision is correct—and they always are—Samyaza will destroy us all.”

  “And we will just sit back and allow that?”

  “We chose these paths before we ever breathed a single breath. You know that. We are put on this plane of existence to learn, to love, to embrace the beauty of humanity. If this is our destiny, then so be it.”

  Yamini understood their teachings. She believed them. But when faced with imminent death, it was hard not to wish for some other action.

  “We will make sure we evacuate our children and their caretakers. But the rest of us must stay so as to not let Samyaza know they have gone. Not until it is too late.”

  Maya nodded to her aide, Keshini. Keshini reached down, pulling a box from underneath her stool. Yamini knew the box. It had always been in Maya’s room, but she had never seen inside it. Keshini placed the box in front of Maya. With a nod of thanks, Maya stood and opened it, a faint white glow highlighting her hands.

  Maya reached in and pulled out a glowing sphere. At first glance it appeared perfectly round, but then the angles on its face became clear. A murmur rose amongst the table. Yamini couldn’t even seem to think for a moment. It’s a belial stone. Maya has had a belial stone all this time.

  The stone was the ancient power source of their brothers and sisters in Atlantis—and also the method of their destruction.

  “When Samyaza arrives, we will unleash the power of the stone,” said Maya. “We cannot allow him or his followers access to our knowledge. When they are in the center of the city, we will bury them.”

  “And what of us?” Jagrav demanded.

  For the first time that Yamini could remember, Maya sounded tired. “We will be buried with them as well.”

  No one moved for a moment, but then one by one the priests at the table nodded their agreement. All save Jagrav.

  “This is madness,” he said. “We should take the knowledge and go before they arrive.”

  “They will run us down. Now that Samyaza knows where the Omni is, he will stop at nothing. No, this is the only way to protect the world from his power.”

  “But all our knowledge will be lost.”

  “Is that truly a bad thing?” Maya asked. “We have the knowledge that would allow someone to gain godlike powers, to become immortal. Tell me, which of the Fallen have demonstrated any kindness or morality with their power? Which of them is a beacon we can point to and tell our children to emulate? This knowledge is not meant for our world. The Belial are not meant for our world. Better we take this knowledge with us than allow it to fall into the wrong hands.”

  Jagrav’s words lashed out. “You condemn all of us to die.”

  “I condemn all of us to protect this world. That is our mission; it has been from the start. You do still believe that, do you not, Jagrav?”

  Jagrav seemed to finally notice the looks the other members of the council were giving him. The anger slipped from his face, hidden behind a mask of neutrality. But Yamini could still see it lurking behind his eyes. “Yes, of course. I was merely surprised by all this news.”

  “It is not easy for anyone to face their mortality. Let us all take some time to meditate on what we have discussed here.” Maya stood, signaling the end of the meeting. Yamini dropped her quill. Reaching down to pick it up, she saw a pair of sandals stop next to her chair.

  She straightened. Jagrav glared down at her. “Afraid of the dark, were you?”

  “I . . . I . . .”

  “Yamini, I need you,” Maya called.

  Jagrav whisked past her. Yamini got to her feet, hurrying to Maya’s side, a new fear rising in her chest.

  The next evening, Yamini stood on the bridge of the ship along with the other refugees as Dwarka disappeared from view. Four ships had set out, loaded with four hundred people. Four hundred of five thousand. She took a trembling breath, picturing Maya the last time she had seen her. She would never see her again.

  No, I will. Just not in this lifetime.

  One by one, everyone else drifted away from the railing, but Yamini stayed. She stayed long after the island was out of view. Finally, as darkness fell and a cool wind began to blow, she turned to go inside. Lights shone along the cabins, and hushed voices and the occasional laugh could be heard as she made her way to her room. She would share it with three other initiates. Yamini picked up her pace, suddenly wanting their company. She did not want to be alone.

  She climbed down to the second level. Her cabin was halfway down the hall. She pushed the door open, the light spilling out into the hall.

  “Did any of you—” A hand slid over her mouth and a strong arm wrapped around her waist, yanking her inside. She struggled for only a minute before she went still. A small cry erupted from her as she took in the sight of her friends, lying on the ground, staring at nothing, long red jagged cuts across their throats. Men she knew stood near them, pulling sheets over them.

  “Finish up,” Jagrav ordered from behind her. The other men finished rolling her friends up in the sheets, removing them from Yamini’s view.

  Jagrav leaned down, his lips touching her ear and making her shiver. His voice was a hiss. “If you yell, if you make a sound that draws any attention to this cabin, I will kill you and whoever comes to help you. Nod if you understand.”

  Yamini nodded.

  Slowly, Jagrav released his hand then his arm. Yamini whirled around. “Why?”

  “Why? How can you ask that? Your mentor dooms us to death while you escape? I don’t think so. Besides, we are on a greater mission.”

  “Wh-what mission?”

  “To protect the knowledge of Dwarka.”

  “But we have brought the books with us already.” She paused as the truth hit her. “But that’s not the knowledge you want to save. We can’t, Jagrav. It’s too dangerous.”

  “What do you know? You are
a child.”

  “But the Great Mother, she chose mortality to save us.”

  “Perhaps she wasn’t as wise as we were taught to believe.”

  Yamini stared at him in the dim light. His hair was unkempt, sweat dotting his forehead and blood-splashed tunic even though the cabin was cool. His gaze kept darting around the cabin, his lips moving but no words coming out. That’s when she noticed the serrated blade in his hand, blood dripping from it in a pool at his side. “What are you planning?”