Chapter 25

CHAPTER 25

" U deall?" Part of Bel wanted to rejoice that Udeall survived, but another part of him recalled Lio's words about Udeall being the cult priest. Bel stuffed down the knowledge and pretended to be happy to see his mentor. "What are you doing here? I thought you were going to die with Domus."

Udeall sat in a chair at the head of the table, or rather, the body Udeall possessed. The host had long blonde hair loose around her shoulders, a perfectly made-up face, and a black skirt suit. Kevin's memories noted that somewhere, a company was missing an executive.

Udeall smiled, still playing the role of benevolent mentor. "I had to make sure you fulfilled your duty."

How would Bel have acted if he hadn't learned of Udeall's treatment of Lio? He could pretend ignorance if he had to. "Well, you didn't have to go through all this. All you had to do was call. I'd have met you somewhere."

Udeall's smile turned predatory. "Unfortunately, you have found yourself in a nest of vipers. I want nothing to do with the human-loving FAET."

Human-loving? "I found the Tenebris." But Udeall had to know that through Greg. This meant he probably knew other things too—things Bel would rather he didn't, like how he'd give up his life for Lio's.

"Greg says you've bonded?" Udeall raised a perfectly groomed eyebrow over a bright blue eye.

Bel wanted to keep the news to himself, especially as the bond wasn't yet complete. He wouldn't tell Udeall about that part. "Yes."

"Good." Udeall raised a gun.

Disbelief held Bel motionless. "Wait! What are you doing?" Memories flooded Bel's mind of evil men shooting Lio and of Greg carrying a gun earlier. Could Bel use his mind to take the gun, or was this room shielded, too?

"Your true purpose was to balance the Tenebris, which you have accomplished. Bravo, though it took you five years.

"You see, we made a huge mistake in our handling of Perditor." Udeall spoke calmly, as they… no, she had during council meetings. "We raised him to be a weapon, but we never taught him to love or care about anyone. Too late, we discovered that in order to provoke a Tenebris into destruction, we have to threaten what they care about. Since most were killed young, we didn't know much about them.

"So we sent you with your soft heart. After your family vanished, you were alone and ripe for giving your love blindly." Udeall's smile held only malice.

"You arranged for me to be in the citadel when my home sector disappeared?" He'd hurried to his parents' house and found nothing but gray mist. Udeall had known? Rage burned through Bel—rage he'd have to control if he wanted to come out of this encounter unscathed.

Udeall splayed her be-ringed hands. "I always had a gift for planning."

Bel glanced from one serene face to the next among Udeall's followers, but he found no help there. They only had eyes for their psychotic leader. "Are these puppets as fanatical as you? What's your god's name? Set?"

Udeall grinned, but it wasn't a heartwarming sight. "I see our Perditor regained his memories. Good. It will save me from having to explain. I knew you'd be willing to sacrifice yourself for the greater good, and now you'll have your chance."

"What do you mean?" Stall. Bel must stall. Eventually Morrisey and Farren would notice him missing. They'd come looking for him, right?

"Only by triggering strong emotion will Perditor lash out and command the immense power he's capable of." Strong emotion. Love? Rage? Hate?

"But couldn't that cause him to destroy this world?" Fuck. That had been Lio's sole purpose, according to this being. "You plan to make him angry enough to lose control."

"That's the goal. Many from the lower tiers fled here, abandoning our world. Cowards who don't deserve to live. Set demanded all of Domus be sacrificed. This includes travelers to this realm from ours."

Until now, Bel couldn't believe Udeall could conceive of something so diabolical, even with what Lio said. He should've trusted Lio more. "You'd destroy an entire world?"

Apparently so.

Udeall donned the same businesslike manner that Bel remembered seeing during council meetings, which seemed so foreign when shown on the face of this woman. "No, your Tenebris will."

"But what about all the innocent humans? What about everyone here?"

Udeall snorted. "Humans aren't so innocent. Generations ago, some of our people came here, wanting to befriend these pitiful creatures. The humans called them monsters and demons and killed them. They don't deserve pity. And Set's faithful will receive their rewards."

Bel wracked his brain. He'd learned to do some minor telekinesis here, but could he take the gun? If only he could contact Lio through their forming bond. What if Lio could feel Bel's panic? Would he come running and walk right into Udeall's trap?

No, nothing big like the gun. Nothing Udeall might expect. If the room was shielded, it likely only prevented him from contacting someone outside or using abilities that might directly affect the outcome of this encounter.

Somehow, some way, Bel needed to escape this building. He studied the room out of the corner of his eye. Greg and another man appeared bored. They likely trusted Udeall to have control, and they didn't need to be on their guard. Bel shifted in his chair as stealthily as possible, leg muscles bunched. He focused energy in his mind, forming it into a round ball and packing it tighter and tighter.

He'd likely only get one shot—he'd have to aim true. He probably couldn't hurt Udeall, and Udeall wouldn't bat an eyelash at losing a follower. Think, Bel, think!

He hurled the ball with all his might at the overhead light. The fixture exploded into sparks with a loud crack. Bel scrambled over the table, dodged grasping hands, and fled back the way he'd come. Footsteps pounded behind him. His head start was mere seconds.

The door to the outside was locked, and the bay door would take too long to open. Bel fired another energy ball at the lock and stepped back. The door slammed open, and he ran, not looking behind him.

What looked like miles of warehouses loomed ahead. There must be somewhere to hide behind all those doors.

Bang!

White-hot pain flared in Bel's side. He tumbled to the ground, clutching his side. Blood oozed between his fingers. No! No! No! He couldn't stop now. Couldn't give in. What would happen to Lio if he didn't fight?

Bel gritted his teeth, rising to his feet and breathing through the agony. Gotta keep going. Can't stop. "Lio! Help me!"

Excruciating pain slowed Bel's pace, but he couldn't falter. If Udeall succeeded, Terra and all who lived here would die. Given the time, he might be able to heal himself, but he couldn't stop now, nor could he stop what had already happened to Domus. He'd do his best to keep the past from repeating here.

He tore down an alleyway between two buildings and found a fence at the end. Thank goodness the rising sun gave him enough light to see by. Security lights were few and far between.

He grabbed the top of the chain-link fence with both hands and hauled himself up and over, fighting screams with every movement. He staggered as he landed, gritting his teeth and clinging to the chain link to keep from falling. Holy fuck, holy fuck, holy fuck, that hurt!

No way to hide, not while leaving a blood trail. The best he could do was get away and keep Lio from becoming Udeall's tool. Bel navigated through a rather deserted part of town that appeared to be mostly old warehouses with locks on the doors. He tried the first three he came to. Locked, and he lacked the focus to try to break them.

His physical body might be better suited to running than any of his pursuers', for he seemed to have lost them for the moment. He huddled in a doorway, gasping for breath, glancing right and left before taking time to examine his side. Blood soaked his T-shirt, and he felt lightheaded.

Bel's injury throbbed, but it didn't appear life-threatening. He concentrated healing energy on the wound. The bleeding slowed but didn't stop. He'd need more time, more energy.

"He went this way!" came from a few buildings down.

Bel ran the other way. If he could get to the highway, maybe he could flag down a cop. Atlanta P.D. knew Morrisey. Maybe they'd help.

He'd gone past about six buildings when a man holding a gun stepped out in front of him. Bel whirled. Two more men approached from behind.

He barely registered movement to the left when every nerve ending caught fire, sending him to the ground in a collapsed pile of spasming muscles.

Fucking taser!