The Belial Stone (The Belial Series) by R.D.Brady
PROLOGUE
Two Years Ago
Havre, Montana
Kenny Coleman's dirt drive was doing a number on the Mercedes. It dipped and dived with the bumps. Watching, Kenny's stomach felt like it was doing the same. The last time he'd been this nervous, it was proposing to his Mary.
“It's just a professor. No big deal,” he muttered to himself. The butterflies in his stomach, however, ignored him, continuing their maniacal flying.
The Mercedes finally rolled to a stop in a cloud of dust in front of his porch. His old Australian shepherd came to attention, and emitted a low growl.
Surprised, Kenny reached down from his rocking chair, patting him on the head. “Hush now, Blue.”
The dog quieted. But as the car door opened, he growled again. Kenny could feel the dog’s body tense. He grabbed hold of his collar. When the driver stepped into view, Blue emitted a feral snarl and lunged for the steps, nearly yanking Kenny’s arm off.
He struggled to hold him back. “No, Blue, no!”
While Kenny might be pushing sixty-five, his life as a cattleman had given him muscle. He wrapped his beefy arms around the dog's torso, carrying him back to the house, ignoring the sting as claws raked his forearms.
Kicking open the front door, he half-shoved, half-threw the dog across the threshold, slamming the door shut behind him.
Kenny stepped back, gaping at the door as Blue slammed his body into it, again and again.
He shook his head, unable to believe what he was seeing. Angry red welts crisscrossed his forearms. This was an animal who’d let his grandkids flop on him while they watched cartoons. In the twelve years he’d had him, he’d barely heard him growl.
With a deep breath, he pushed his concerns for his dog's uncharacteristic behavior to the back of his mind. He felt the professor’s eyes on his back and felt the flush creep up his neck. Damn. This was not the first impression he’d wanted to make.
Rolling down his green flannel sleeves, he walked down the stairs and across the expanse in front of his farmhouse.
“I’m sorry, Professor Gideon,” he stammered out. “He’s never like that. I don’t know what got into him.”
“No harm done, Mr. Coleman. I appreciate you taking the time to show me your find.” A polite smile graced the blond professor’s angular face, but that politeness didn’t quite reach his cool blue eyes.
Back in the day, Kenny knew he was considered a handsome man. Strong and tall with thick, dark hair, which the girls had loved the run their hands through. And in spite of his full head of now-white hair, he was vain enough to think he still was.
But he knew this professor was what currently stood for handsome. Slim, with pale blue eyes perched above a patrician nose and sharp cheekbones. Dressed in expensive slacks, a brown suede jacket, and shiny loafers, he was one of those “metrosexuals” his daughter talked about.
Can’t say he ever really understood the appeal of a man who was pretty, but hell, he never did understand much about what was cool.
Extending his calloused hand, he spoke a little louder than usual, trying to block out Blue's unending barks. “I’d really like to know what I’ve found. I just can’t figure what something like that is doing on my ranch.”
The professor's hand was soft, the shake just shy of limp. “Well, let’s take a look. How did you come across it?”
“It was the strangest thing. I was looking for a stray calf one day, and I literally stumbled over the tip of it.”
“How much was showing at first?”
Kenny shrugged. “Not much. Maybe four, five inches. It was just such a strange-looking rock, all black with those brown and green veins running through it. I’d never seen one like that anywhere around these parts. So, I marked the spot and went back later to dig it out. I couldn’t believe it when I saw it. I took some pictures and posted them online to see if anyone could tell me anything about it. Less than an hour later, I got a call from you.”
“Have you spoken with anyone else about it?”
“No. I wasn’t sure it was anything important.” He avoided the professor's eyes. And I didn’t want to look like some old fool grasping at straws.
“And no one else has called?” Gideon’s gaze was intent.
“No, no. You’re the only one. I thought for sure I’d get a couple more people interested. But my pictures disappeared from the site I posted them on and I couldn't re-post them.” He shook his head. “I'm not real good with the computer. It really is an amazing sight, though.”
“Well, let’s have a look, shall we?” Gideon gestured for him to lead the way.
Kenny hesitated, unsure. He glanced back at the house, where Blue’s growls had turned to desperate howls. Blue just didn't act like this. Maybe this was a bad idea.
But he knew the medical bills for his grandson were piling up. This strange rock might be his only chance of making some extra money. He sighed. There really was no choice. He nodded and led the professor towards the northwest.
They followed a trail created by wild horses and buffalo generations ago. Kenny tried making conversation. He talked about the Sioux and the Crow that used to summer in the area and pointed out where he had hunted for arrowheads as a kid. The professor only grunted in response.
Small talk about the weather and questions about the professor’s research resulted in equally unenthusiastic responses. Soon, Kenny just lapsed into silence.
For the first time Kenny could recall, he felt the isolation of his ranch press down on him. He knew there was no one around for miles. Montana was the size of New England, with only the population of Rhode Island. Generally, the isolation of his ranch was the reason he loved it. But walking next to the professor, he couldn’t help but feel uneasy.
It wasn’t just Blue’s reaction, which, to be honest, scared the hell out of him. It was like the dog had seen the devil himself. It was also that this man looked nothing like a professor. He was too young, too good-looking, and too well dressed.
And there was something about him that just felt off. The man had barely spared a glance at the snow-topped mountains that were a backdrop to Kenny's property. He'd never had anyone come to the ranch that hadn't commented on that incredible view.
Walking next to him, Kenny was reminded of the time when, as a kid, he’d been stalked by a mountain lion. He'd had a vague sense of uneasiness that day. But until the cat screeched as it leapt at him, he hadn’t realized the true danger he was in. That day, his dad had cut the lion in half with a shotgun. Kenny gave the professor another surreptitious glance and couldn’t help wishing he’d brought his shotgun along today.
“Are we getting close?” Gideon asked.
Startled, Kenny stumbled. Shaking his head at his clumsiness, he pointed to an arrangement of three small boulders twenty yards away that stood out in the flat, almost treeless ground. “Just beyond those boulders is where I started digging. I still haven’t been able to get to the bottom of the rock.”
Gideon nodded and picked up his pace. As he passed the boulders, he came to an abrupt stop and stared at the small excavation.
The monolith stood five feet tall, although it was obvious there was still more buried beneath the earth. At first glance, the obelisk appeared smooth. Kenny's first thought had been that it looked like one of those fancy granite counter tops. On closer inspection, though, the niches carefully carved into the black stone depicting figures and what resembled Egyptian hieroglyphs became clear.
Seconds stretched into minutes as the professor simply stared at the rock in silence. Kenny’s nervousness increased. “Uh, Professor Gideon, are you all right?”
Gideon eyes snapped to Kenny. Kenny took a step back from the man.
But when Gideon spoke, his voice was calm. “It’s an amazing sight, isn’t it? Would it be all right if I went closer?”
The professor’s words reduced Kenny’s fears, making him feel foolish. What the hell was wrong with him today? The man was just a professor interested in his find.
“Sure, sure. After all, you’re the expert.”
Kenny watched the professor gracefully leap into the hole. He reverently touched the stone, tracing some of the carvings with his index finger. “Finally,” he murmured.
After a few moments of internal debate, Kenny’s curiosity won out over his uneasiness. He clambered down to stand next to the man. “So, any idea where it came from? It kind of looks like something you’d expect to find in Egypt or down in Central America or some other ancient place.”
Gideon looked over at Kenny. “Actually, this site predates those other sites by quite a significant margin.”
“Really?” Kenny asked, astonished. “Even older than the pyramids?”
“Yes. Even older than that.” He pointed to a spot on the artifact about three quarters of the way up. “Do you see this mark here?”
Kenny squinted at the etching. “That little circle?”
“Yes. That little circle is something I have been trying to find for an incredibly long time.”
Kenny's eyes shifted to the professor. The man couldn’t be any older than twenty-nine. This younger generation seemed to have a different view of time than his generation.
“Hmm,” he murmured. “What is it?”
“Why, it’s the end of the world,” Gideon said with a slow smile.
“What?” He glanced over at Gideon, thinking he must have misunderstood him.
Gideon turned to face him. His smile looked almost lethal and what Kenny had thought were pale blue eyes seemed to have darkened. “You have been very helpful, Mr. Coleman.”
The words were polite, but the tone sent the fears Kenny had been shoving down right back to the surface. The professor pulled a gun from under his suit jacket. Kenny didn’t hesitate. He shoved the professor and scrambled out of the hole.
Kenny looked back over his shoulder, expecting to feel a bullet between his shoulder blades at any minute. Instead, he saw Gideon still in the hole, smiling at him. He was even nodding. Kenny didn’t understand the man’s reaction and he had no interest in figuring it out.
Kenny panted as he sprinted for the house. He didn’t hear the professor behind him. He hoped it stayed that way until he reached one of his guns. He had a shot if he could just get to his truck or the barn. He kept rifles in both of them. That hope kept pushing him forward as his legs turned to jelly, and his breathing to sharp, painful gasps.
His farmhouse came into view and the sound of Blue, still barking, urged him on.
Footfalls echoed through the empty space behind him and panic charged through him. He knew he should keep running, looking behind would only slow him down, but he couldn't help himself. Only a hundred yards away, the professor sprinted towards him, his legs moving like train pistons. He didn’t even look winded. How had he caught up with him so fast?
Kenny dug down deep for a last reserve of energy, but his body wouldn’t comply. He was slowing. Dark spots were beginning to form around the edges of his vision, causing him to stumble and weave.
The professor had no such affliction. Kenny could feel his attention focused on him, the pounding of his feet maintaining their steady cadence. He kept coming, like a missile locked on its target, covering the distance to him in seconds. As he caught up with him, he didn’t pull him to stop. To Kenny’s astonishment, the professor started to run next to him. He glanced over at the man in terror. Gideon just smiled in response.
Then in a blur of motion, the man sprinted a few feet ahead. He came to came to a dead stop and whirled to face Kenny.
Kenny tried to dodge around him, but he was too exhausted and too slow. Gideon’s hand snaked out and easily grabbed him by the shoulder. Gideon turned him around and pulled him close.
Kenny struggled and managed to throw a feeble right hook at Gideon’s ribs.
Gideon smoothly blocked the punch and trapped both of Kenny’s arms with one of his own. He leaned down into Kenny’s terrified face and smiled, pressing the gun to his chest.
“Good for you, Mr. Coleman. Everyone should have such a sense of self-preservation. You’d be amazed at how few people actually do. And you've given a good effort, especially for a man of your age. You should be proud of yourself.”
Kenny wanted to rail at the man. He wanted to scream at him for doing this to him and plead with him to spare his life, if only for the sake of his daughter and grandchildren. But all he managed to rasp out was a single question.
“Why?”
Gideon's voice was almost a caress when he answered. His eyes looked strangely bright, as if covered in a sheen of tears. “It’s the only way for my misery to end. You have brought my search to its conclusion, Mr. Coleman. I will always appreciate that.” And with a beatific smile, he pulled the trigger three times.
Pain slashed through Kenny, and then, blessed numbness. He felt himself being lifted as the echoes of the gunshots retreated. He thought of his daughter and his heart already beating unsteadily, felt even heavier. I'm sorry, sweetheart.
Blue’s frantic barking changed to mournful howls as they approached the farmhouse. Run, Blue, run, Kenny shouted in his mind. But the only words that were heard weren't his.
“Don’t worry, Blue,” Gideon murmured. “I haven’t forgotten about you.”