The Belial Stone (The Belial Series #1)(68)

But she’d also expected Henry to be a dominating personality, maybe even aggressive or arrogant. Yet, while Henry might be in charge of a room, he was never domineering about it. He respected his employees and trusted them to do what needed to be done. He led them when they needed it and rolled up his sleeves when work needed to be done.

And taking Danny in revealed a heart as compassionate as his size. And now, this compassionate man was calmly loading ammunition into an array of weaponry as cool as any Special Forces soldier.

There was something else about Henry that kept gnawing at her. She had a feeling that much of what they were uncovering was not a surprise to him. When they were discussing Gobekli Tepe and the technology of ancient civilizations, Henry hadn’t asked a single question. It almost seemed as if he was waiting for everyone else to simply catch up to him. But if he knew so much about the topic, why hadn’t he just told them? Why keep it a secret?

She shook her head and headed to the kitchen for another cup of coffee. She needed to focus on the task at hand. There was enough intrigue with the nature of Gideon to keep her mind occupied. She grabbed the coffee pot and then changed her mind. Grabbing a handgun, she tucked it into the holster Jake had given her. She headed for the door.

“Laney?” Her uncle called, his expression concerned.

She forced a smile to her face. “Just need to stretch my legs. Be back in ten.” He nodded, but she could tell he was worried. But she needed a little space. She headed out the back door and up the hill.

Since everything had started, she had barely had time to think, only to react. Now felt like the calm before the storm and she couldn’t keep the thoughts from running through her mind. If everything they’d pieced together was true, the implications were staggering.

While she believed in angels in theory, it was another thing altogether to be confronted by them in reality. After all, you weren’t raised by a Catholic priest without a healthy dose of both the academic and religious arguments for the existence of angels. The big three monotheistic religions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, all believed in angels and their roles as God’s messengers and soldiers. But despite this belief, the role of angels in religion was not clear cut.

In fact, one of the books that provided the greatest detail about angels, the Book of Enoch, had been banned by both Judaism and Christianity. Despite its huge popularity among early Christians, it was pronounced heretical by the Council of Nicea. Similarly, within Judaism, Rabbi Simeon bai Jochan cursed all those who read it in the second century AD.

And there simply wasn’t much that was considered academically credible that addressed the role of angels in modern times. Within religion, the belief that angels had visited mankind in antiquity was well-supported and accepted. Yet somehow, the idea of an angel being around today was received with great skepticism. Most reports of angel sightings or interactions in modern times were met with disbelief or derision.

She headed down a trail that led away from the house to the northwest, her body moving on automatic pilot while her mind churned. The fact was, there was no reason to think that if angels existed at the beginning of time, they would then simply disappear. Today, however, belief in angel visitations was relegated to the New Age loonies. And in this science-driven world, if it couldn’t be scientifically proven, it couldn’t be true. With the M.E.’s report, though, didn’t they have proof?

Laney ran her hands through her hair. Everything in religion supported the existence of angels and everything in her faith accepted the idea. Early religious works from various sources spoke of how fallen angels were doomed to walk the earth until its end, suggesting they were still here. From that standpoint, Gideon as an angel was credible. And if he was, what did that mean going up against him?

She couldn’t help but still struggle with the idea, in spite of everything she’d seen and experienced. She had a million questions she wanted to ask. Did angels retain their special abilities? Could they have children, and did these children have abilities? Would God truly allow the fallen angels back into heaven after destroying billions of people? Were all two hundred fallen angels still on Earth, and were they reborn together? Were all the fallen angels evil or were some good?

There had been no time to research all of the questions save one: the powers of angels. It still wasn’t clear how many powers Gideon brought to the table. In literature, the powers of angels remained a mystery. She knew that within the Bible, angels were never described as winged creatures. That was a bit of creative license taken by artists.

In the biblical text, they were often described as giants. Compared to Henry, however, Gideon was no giant. Some scholars argued that the term “giant” was misinterpreted and that it did not refer simply to physical size, but to gigantic abilities such as strength or fighting skills.

With five of them fighting two, they had almost lost. And it had taken quite a toll. Would this upcoming battle be any less dangerous? Could it be any less dangerous. A branch snapped behind her and she whirled around, her heart in her throat.

Jake walked towards her. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.”

Laney’s heart pounded as he approached, only in part because of the scare he’d given her. How could she have fallen for him so quickly? Was it only the situation? Or was there more here?

Jake stopped when he was only a foot away. “You okay? You look lost in thought.”

“I was. I’m trying to make sense of everything that’s happened so far.”