The Belial Stone (The Belial Series #1)(76)

Gideon grabbed her arm and pulled her towards the entrance. She stumbled as her feet were slow to react to Gideon’s urging, but he didn’t pause.

She caught herself and yanked her arm from his grasp. He turned to grab her again.

She glared at him. “I can walk.”

Gideon bowed his head. He mockingly gestured for her to walk in front of him. “But of course, Professor.”

Disgusted, Laney walked through the giant opening and into the enclosure. Still caught by the inhumanity, she was slow to pick up on the history that surrounded her. She walked forward and stopped only when she noticed a plank leading into the earth below.

Following the plank with her eyes, she gaped at the sight. A set of twelve fifteen-foot monoliths standing in a circle had been excavated from the earth. Each must have weighed over a hundred tons, and from what she could tell, each seemed to be a single piece of granite.

Carved into each structure were symbols, humanoid figures, and animals, many of which Laney couldn’t identify. She glanced around the enclosure. There were over thirty additional dig sites. For those closest to her, she could see similar megalithic structures extending out of the earth.

Despite the horror of the site, she couldn’t help but be awed by the history in front of her. She walked down the ramp on trembling legs and stopped at the first megalith. She raised her fingers to a carving of a man walking in a field with a lion. The carving was pristine. She couldn’t make out any tool marks, just the precision of the artist.

“My God,” she whispered in awe.

“Perhaps now you can appreciate the necessity of my plan,” the Senator intoned from above.

Laney snatched her hand from the megalith as if it burned. Kensington’s words brought her crashing back to the present. The Senator looked down at her with smug satisfaction, in spite of the sling that now housed his left arm and the bruises that darkened his face beneath his eyes.

“Appreciating the beauty of this site is not the same as supporting your plan. In fact, this site has just the opposite effect. It reinforces my belief that this site belongs to the world. No one owns it. It’s a gift to humanity.”

He glared down at her before turning to the large man behind him. “Gregory, put her in with one of the work details. You’re in charge of her.”

At Gregory’s smirk, Kensington grabbed the man with his good arm. “Let me rephrase that. You are in charge of her safety. If any harm comes to her, and I mean any, it will be your head. She is to work here, but she is too valuable to be harmed. Do you understand me?”

Glowering at the censure, Gregory didn’t speak. He gave the Senator a curt nod.

“Very well.” The Senator turned on his heel and walked back to the car.

Laney glanced up and saw Gideon give her a little wave before following the Senator. With trepidation, she turned her attention to Gregory. The man was huge. His chest seemed to strain against the fabric of his shirt, and while he wasn’t as tall as Henry, he was easily six-foot-five.

“You come with me,” Gregory growled.

She stood rooted in place for a few seconds before she could will her legs to work. She walked back up the ramp towards him. Her legs trembled yet again, although this time for an entirely different reason.





CHAPTER 66



Gregory marched Laney to a dig site about a hundred yards from the entrance. She tried to stay an arm’s length away from him, but he wouldn’t let her. She cringed every time her arm touched his.

“You address all guards as ‘sir’. You never make eye contact with a guard. There is no talking between inmates. Basically, anything we tell you to do, you do. If you don’t, it will not be pleasant for you.”

At that statement, Gregory glanced down at Laney. His voice was quiet, his tone deadly. “The Senator said we can’t harm you, but there are ways that don’t leave marks. Keep that in mind.”

When they reached their destination, Gregory handed her off to another guard. “Put her to work. But don’t let her get hurt. There’s some special plan in place for her.”

The guard glanced down at her. “Oh yeah, I’ll be real nice to her.”

Gregory snorted. “No marks. Just put her to work.”

“Yeah. Yeah. Got it.” The guard grabbed her roughly by the arm and pushed her towards a ramp leading down into the trench.

About ten structures had been partially uncovered. Two-man teams were carefully shoveling and brushing dirt away from each of the towering megaliths. Another two men circled the site with a wheelbarrow, filling it with displaced dirt. Laney had seen a few men sifting the dirt at various locations up above before other men took the sifted dirt to a giant pile outside the enclosure.

She was led over to one of the two-man teams. The men, kneeling down to brush the bottom of the structure, focused their gazes down as she and the guard approached.

The guard kicked one of the men in the back, causing him to fall onto his hands. “You. Explain to her what needs to be done.”

The man pushed himself back up and reached for his brush again.

“Hey. I gave you an order.”

“I’ll do it, sir,” the man beside him said in a rush. “He’s gone a little deaf. He can’t hear you.”

“Whatever,” the guard mumbled. “Make sure she knows what to do.”