The Belial Ring (The Belial Series 3) by R.D. Brady Read Free Book Online

the effect they were having. Why was she having these dreams? Was it some form of PTSD from Ecuador?
    She sighed. Maybe she should go talk to someone. After everything she’d been through in the last year, she probably should be having regular weekly visits with a shrink. Maybe even daily.
    She stood up and strode over to her suitcase to figure out what to wear. Whatever her subconscious was working through would have to wait. Today, she had a chocolate tour to take. Laney pulled out a navy blouse and her dark-wash jeans.
    In the back of her mind, though, she had a feeling that she should pay attention to these dreams. They seemed to be trying to tell her something.
    She just wasn ’t sure she wanted to hear it.

    CHAPTER 7
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Johnson City, Tennessee
     
    A mar walked down the long drive to the barn. His estate sat on one hundred and twenty-three acres in the middle of nowhere. It had been an acquisition resulting from a particularly productive string of investments.
    The former owners had not been as fortunate with their own investments, and had been desperate to get rid of the place. Amar got it for a steal.
    He smiled. A steal. What a great phrase .
    It had previously been a horse farm. The barn had housed over three dozen champion-level horses. When Amar took over, the first thing he did was have the barn converted for his pet project.
    The barn itself was a work of art. The six -thousand-square-foot building had a grey rock face that matched some of the main house’s exterior. Ahead, two barn doors loomed, each over twenty-five feet tall and almost as wide.
    The screams of his cats wafted through the thick doors. He smiled. Ah, my friends know I’m coming.
    Two guards saw him approach and quickly opened the white barn doors. Each guard was a hulking man, fearsome looking, but only human.
    Amar liked to have the humans around. Being reminded of their fragility did wonders for his ego.
    He'd hired these two months ago. He knew they were spies for the Council. But he pretended he didn’t. He liked controlling what information the Council received.
    The Council. Humans scraping at my boot heels for whatever scraps I drop . His gaze flicked back to the guard. But they do have their uses.
    The screech of the cats roared at him as he entered. He noticed one of the guards shiver at the sound. The guard had met his pets.
    Amar smiled. How horrible it must be to be human.
    Stepping into the giant space, he glanced around, nodding his approval. It was pristine. His humans might be weak, but they followed orders. He had about twenty Fallen and nephilim on the property as well, but he would never ask them to do something as menial as taking care of the barn. That’s what humans were for.
    All of the stalls in the barn had been removed , and in their place were eight giant steel cages, four lined up on each side. Amar smiled as he walked down the long corridor between them.
    Only two of the cages were currently occupied. The beasts inside them were beautiful. Sleek, black, the Javan leopards prowled along the edges of their confines. Their skin rippled like water. At first glance, their coats appeared pure black. But each was actually spotted with marks of an even deeper black.
    Amar was just shy of six feet tall, yet the leopards , when standing on all fours, were almost his height. The growth hormone they’d been given as cubs had turned them into nightmare beasts.
    Amar stopped next to the cage with the larger of the two beasts. A giant paw, larger than Amar’s head, swiped through the bars. With lightning speed, Amar ducked out of the way, chuckling.
    Titus roared his displeasure at having missed.
    “Don’t worry, my friend. You’ll have your chance.”
    Amar had decided they ’d have a hunt soon. He’d been so preoccupied with the book that he hadn’t had a chance to work with his pets. His bloodlust was building. He knew he needed to release it soon or . . .
    He pictured the last time he