Chapter 26

CHAPTER 26

L io paced Farren's office. What was taking so long? He should be out there, searching for Bel, not stuck here in this underground facility. Did no one trust him enough to let him help?

His cell phone rang. A glance at the screen showed Bel's name. Yes! Finally! He answered, "Bel! Are you okay?" Please let him be okay. Nothing. "Bel? Bel, talk to me!" Why wasn't he talking? Images came to mind of a bloody Bel lying on a road somewhere, so close to help but so far away.

After a few moments, a woman's voice answered, "He is at the moment, but it will depend entirely on you if he continues that way."

A sensation of cold water flowed through Lio's veins. "Where is he? Who are you?" He'd tear anyone apart who dared harm Bel.

The woman laughed. "In due time, my little Perditor."

Lio slumped down in a chair, suddenly unable to breathe. That name! No! Perditor . Only Udeall and the monks in Domus used that name. "My… my name is Lio."

The woman gave a throaty laugh. "It doesn't matter what you call yourself. You are still the destroyer."

No! No! No! It took all Lio's self-control not to scream into the phone. "I escaped you. I won't play out your little games." Was this the priest or a monk?

"No, you silly creature. There's not been a time since your arrival that I didn't know exactly where you were."

The monastery all over again. Panic choked Lio's breath. Here. Still tormenting him. "If it's me you want, then let Bel go."

"Which is precisely why I called. I have something you want, and you have something I want. Once you're here, we'll release him. But you will do my bidding. That much I can promise you." Definitely the arrogant Udeall.

Never! Lio would figure out what to do once he got there, but first, he needed to see Bel safe. No matter what Udeall said, Lio escaped the cult's grasp before, and he would do so again. He checked the hallway to ensure Morrisey and Farren weren't around. "Where do you want me to meet you?"

"Terra has some lovely technology. As my host would say, ‘I'll text you the address.' And Perditor? Come alone. If I see any signs of other travelers, you'll never see your precious Bel Am'I again." Udeall's host must have spent a lot of time watching crime dramas to perfect the cackling laugh.

Lio wouldn't cave to this corrupt being. "I don't need them."

"Then I'll see you when you get here. You should know that I have tracking on your phone. Yes, I have my followers even among FAET. I will know if you contact anyone or don't leave immediately."

Udeall disconnected the call. A moment later, a chime sounded on Lio's phone, announcing a text.

What to do? If he didn't leave now, he might not get to Bel in time. He strode down the hallway to the elevator, pausing just long enough to check Morrisey and Farren's offices. They were empty. Arianna wasn't at her desk. Should Lio leave a note?

No, what if Arianna was in on Greg's schemes? And Morrisey and Farren obviously didn't trust Lio, or they'd have let him help find Bel.

If he wanted to save Bel, Lio would have to go alone. He'd seen Farren come this way if he needed a department car. Lio reached into Arianna's desk drawer and extracted a set of keys. He just needed to find out which vehicle they belonged to. He rode the elevator to the ground-level lobby. A few people nodded in greeting, but most didn't pay him any attention at all.

Trying hard to control his breathing and not give himself away, Lio threw up a hand for the guard and attempted a smile. His heart hammered nearly painfully.

The guard merely nodded while buzzing him out of the building. One hurdle passed.

Lio delved deep into Emilio's residual memories. He'd known how to drive a car, right? Only three facility cars filled the designated spaces. The fob unlocked the first one Lio tried. Programming the GPS took a few moments, but he finally figured out how. Thank all the deities ever worshipped—except for Set—that host bodies retained some information, or travelers would be totally lost.

Two tries started the car, and trial and error allowed Lio to back out of the parking space. The guard at the gatehouse waved him through. Apparently, getting out wasn't a problem. He'd figure out how to regain access once he returned.

And he would return—with Bel.

His anticipation built the farther he drove from the complex. Was he doing the right thing? Should he have told someone? No, telling someone could get Bel killed. Not that Lio believed Udeall would let him go, but at least this way, maybe they stood a chance.

They had to stand a chance; otherwise, Lio couldn't keep going.

Each turn he took carried him farther away from well-traveled roads until he saw no cars at all. Metal buildings lined the streets

Lio closed his eyes and focused, finally getting a weak input from Bel. Fear. Despair. Pain. He appeared to be on the move, but he remained in the same general area, so he likely wasn't in a car. And he'd been hurt. Lio would destroy whoever did that.

He heard Bel's calming voice in his head. "Lio. I know you're angry, but you have to reel it in. Don't play into their hands. They want you to lose control, and harming someone you care about is a good way to accomplish their goal."

Someone you care about. The priests and monks of Lio's childhood had never shown him kindness or affection. Bel was the first person to see Lio as more than a means to an end. Bel had been sent to find Lio and "balance" him.

No. He'd been sent to lure Lio in, gain his trust, and make him care. Lio's anger rose again.

Bel's voice sounded in Lio's head once more. " Lio, whatever you're thinking, get it under control. Keep focused."

Bel's mission had been to make Lio love him and then use him as a weapon. Had Bel willingly betrayed him? No one else cared about Lio. Why should Bel?

"Has it occurred to you that you couldn't bond with someone who meant you harm? Bonds don't work that way. Two compatible souls gravitate to each other. Do you realize how many of our people took mates they could never truly bond with? A true bond is a rare and precious thing. I could never betray you."

Lio relaxed. What was he thinking? No way could Bel have hidden such a level of duplicity. The tension returned when Bel screamed in Lio's head. Abruptly, the scream ended, leaving only a blankness behind. Was Bel unconscious, or had he slammed the door on their connection?

Now wasn't the time to panic. As soon as this was over and he and Bel were safe, Lio would freak out to his heart's content. Now, though, he needed a clear head. He breathed slowly in and out, centering himself. He'd be no good to anyone panicked.

Lio reached the address and jumped out of the car the moment he parked. Bel was somewhere up ahead, in pain and needing Lio.

Even if someone harmed Bel's host body, he could still find another, right? But if Udeall banished him, he wouldn't be able to find another host.

If only Lio had brought a gun, even though neither he nor Emilio had ever used one.

Straight ahead. Not far. Every ounce of Lio's being urged him to charge in and destroy those who dared harm his Bel. But no. He couldn't be the destroyer he'd been named for—a name Bel had never used.

Lio pressed his back to the side of a building and slowly worked his way toward Bel's last scream.

"Come out, Perditor," a woman's voice purred. "We're all waiting."

Terror surged within Lio. The voice might be different, but it still belonged to Udeall.

Bang!

Was that a shot? Had they shot Bel? With the bond clamped down tightly, Lio couldn't tell. If they had, he'd kill them all.

Think, Lio, think! Killing the bodies would set the travelers free to claim other humans. The only permanent solution was to banish them. Too bad Morrisey hadn't explained how or even mentioned if Lio could do such a thing.

He stepped out from between two buildings onto cracked asphalt, more of an industrial access road than a street. There was no need to hide when whoever waited knew he was there. A forklift sat beside a loading dock, pieces missing, and broken pallets littered the ground near another. The whole complex seemed eerily deserted.

Eleven people stood in a semi-circle, with another crumpled on the ground. Bel! Lio ran for his lover and dropped to his knees. No one stopped him, they merely watched. The assholes! He took Bel's head into his lap and glowered at a woman holding a gun—a face over a face, a familiar aura.

Udeall. The priest. Set's disciple. Lio's worst tormentor. He wound a ball of energy like he'd been shown back in his imprisonment. He could launch it at the woman and watch her crumple. One by one, he recognized the monks surrounding her, except for Greg. They'd all robbed young, attractive humans of their bodies, for they'd all been old in Domus.

Lio's tormentors. All here. They should have died with Domus.

Udeall smiled, recalling the sinister expression of her true form, now more occisor than Princeps. "Go on. I know you want to. Tap into the hidden power only you can wield. Do what you were always meant to."

Those words brought Lio up short. All his life, he'd done as told, but his obedience got him nowhere. Or rather, not until now. Instead of sending the energy flying, he focused on sending healing into Bel's body. Bel gasped and gripped Lio's forearms with bloody hands.

A gunshot wound. Lio breathed deeply, letting the anger out on an exhale and sending more energy into Bel. Calm settled over him. He wouldn't play their games.

Yet they were playing with him even now, standing by, watching, waiting for him to make a move.

Lio rose to his feet, using his body and his power to form a wall between the fanatics and Bel, staring at the ground and slowly building to avoid notice.

Udeall inclined her head. "We meet again, Darkness."

"Not because I wanted to," Lio growled.

Udeall's eyebrows lifted in a gesture of surprise. "Aren't you grateful to me for sending you through the portal and saving your life so you could meet Bel Am'I?"

"If you hadn't kept me prisoner, I might have met him on my own. Escaped on my own." He added, "Udeall."

Udeall sneered, all pretense of civility gone. "If you'd done your duty, this meeting wouldn't be necessary."

"It wouldn't be possible, you mean." Lio balled his hands into fists. "We'd all be dead."

"As our Lord Set commanded." Udeall folded her hands together in a prayerful pose—as much as the gun allowed—and bowed slightly at the waist. Fanatically calm.

Lio clenched his teeth. "You do know no one's worshipped Set in centuries, right?" He'd spent time on the internet. If Set had ever been a living entity, he was merely a legend now. "I think he was an ancient Egyptian god or something like that. He's been gone a long time. Have you ever seen him?"

Udeall lifted her chin. "I don't need to see him to know he exists. He came to Domus and established our order. We have planned the best way to bring about the destruction of our world ever since."

"Who destroys a world because someone comes along one day and tells them to?" Didn't anyone ask questions? "Why did Set say he wanted this?"

"The destruction of our world increased his power, but to make the transfer complete, our remaining people must share the same fate."

Could Udeall be affected if the host had been a heavy drug user? Her arguments made no sense. "Are you even listening to yourself? I've heard some fanatics in my day, but you, lady, are a few beers short of a sixpack," he said, using an insult he'd learned from TV. Keep her talking. The longer she talked, the longer Lio had to find a way out of this mess, and the longer his shield had to solidify and protect Bel.

Wrinkles formed on Udeall's brow. "A few what of what?"

While Udeall spoke, her sycophants stood idly by. Why? He gazed from one to the other. A barely discernable thread connected them, the line ending with Udeall. Was she draining her followers?

Lio poured healing energy into Bel. Some of the superficial wounds healed, like scrapes and bruises, but the gunshot remained. Again and again, Lio tried, finally hanging his head in defeat.

"It's all right, Lio," Bel murmured, his face scrunched in pain. "Don't worry about me. Beat Udeall, but whatever you do, don't let her manipulate you."

Lio took in everyone in the circle. Morrisey told him draining humans was illegal, but these weren't exactly humans, and they had blood on their hands. What if he took just enough power to heal Bel? He opened up the part of him in tune with his true self and stretched out his senses to Udeall and her followers. Stealing energy from Udeall might tip her off to his goals, and she might be too powerful. But what of the sycophants? Lio selected one at random and focused on drawing power slowly so as not to be detected.

Power slammed into him. The sycophant collapsed. Turn it off! Lio tried to break the connection, but still, the man writhed on the ground, the sickly blue/black of his aura fading. The man stilled, eyes closed. His spirit wouldn't get far.

The greedy part of Lio wouldn't turn off and attacked the next person in line. She, too, crumbled.

Power, oh sweet power, filled Lio's mind and body. For most of his life, he'd felt helpless, both in Domus and as a human. Now? Now, he could take on the world and win.

Udeall grinned. "That's it, Perditor. Fulfill your purpose."

Udeall's other followers screamed, whirling and fleeing in different directions, finally understanding that they weren't participants in Udeall's schemes—they were sacrifices.

They didn't get far. Distance didn't matter. Lio fed from the slowest three, but he needed more! Ah, there. Two men tended some kind of contraption in a warehouse… They were human and didn't have enough power to help him. He let them be. Lio imagined creating a portal, throwing himself in it, and dragging Udeall with him.

"Lio, no!" Bel cried out.

The words barely penetrated the haze in Lio's mind. He must end this, even if it meant sacrificing himself. Bel would be safe. Bel opened the bond, pouring love through the connection. Lio snapped it closed again. If he doomed himself, he wouldn't take Bel with him.

"Lio! Don't do it!" Bel wrapped his arms around himself on the ground.

Some primitive part of Lio's psyche rose to the forefront of his mind. Bel—his mate, his light in the darkness—couldn't be allowed to suffer. Lio kneeled and placed his hands on Bel's, willing his newfound energy to heal the wounds. Slowly, slowly, Bel's erratic heartbeat took on a steadier rhythm.

All the while, Udeall stood by, her face serene —no, not serene—gleeful. She was enjoying the carnage and didn't try to stop Lio, so that must mean she thought his efforts would be in vain.

He'd show her vain.

A shot rang out. And another. Lio's shield shattered. Bel screamed. Greg shifted his aim toward Lio, a blank expression on his face. The being in this man's body blindly followed orders, and it either had been born an occisor, or it had darkened its soul to become one on its own. This wasn't the Greg that Morrisey and Farren knew. No occisor could've gotten past FAET security, could it?

"Finish the Lux," Udeall ordered.

Greg swung the muzzle of his gun back toward Bel.

Like hell, he would. Lio shrieked and launched himself at Greg, landing a solid hit to Greg's jaw and bringing him to the ground. He grabbed Greg's wrists, beating Greg's gun hand on the asphalt.

Greg's face now better matched the feral creature that most occisors had been in Domus, only his master's influence making him appear human. He clung tightly to the gun.

"Let go, you motherfucker," Lio growled from between clenched teeth.

Greg flipped them over and stared down at Lio with malice in his eyes. He ripped his wrist free of Lio's grasp and slugged him with the gun.

Lio's head snapped back onto the asphalt. For a moment, he lay stunned. Bel screamed again. Lio launched himself to his feet, bringing Greg down again.

Summoning every ounce of power possible, Lio shifted energy, opening a rift. Where it led, he couldn't know—hopefully to the great beyond, where there'd be no escaping. The portal was small, only about a foot across—maybe large enough.

With everything in his being, he pulled , tearing Greg's occisor soul from the human body and tossing it into the portal. The portal snapped shut. Lio wriggled out from under the dead weight covering him and turned his attention to Bel, who lay in a pool of blood, clutching his stomach, blood trickling from his lips.

"I love you," Bel said, a haunting reminder of Emilio watching Dave die.

Enough! Lio stood, threw his head back, and flung his arms wide. If Udeall wanted a destroyer, she'd get one, but not in the way she imagined. Lio was no one's tool to be used.

Udeall's gleeful cackle died on her lips. "Perditor, what are you doing?"

"What I should have long ago." Though Lio had no training in banishing, instinct took over. He'd just built one portal. Maybe he could build another. Another hazy nothingness formed, three times the size of the one Lio created before. He dropped to his knees. Too much energy. He'd put in too much…

He caught a glimpse of Udeall's followers hiding around the perimeter, awaiting their leader's orders, and there were more of them now. Why would anyone follow this deranged psychopath? The moment she gave the order, they'd descend, killing Bel without remorse and either not caring or not willing to admit that they'd be next.

Lio read their hearts and pulled. Once again, he freed the traveler from the nearest body and flung it into the void. He could steal energy and save Bel, but what good would it do if these assholes got their way? He must eliminate the threat first.

Udeall's soul formed a black halo around her, an oily, sickly, writhing mass. The very idea of touching the misshapen aura repulsed Lio, but he must. He wrapped his power around the mass, pulling like he had with the others.

Like the slick oiliness it appeared to be, Udeall's soul slipped free. No! Lio tried again, wrapping his power more tightly around the offending aura.

Udeall laughed, a maniacal sound. The aura spun and twisted, probing the weaknesses of Lio's hold.

The thing threw him off. Lio stood panting. Threads led from the followers to Udeall, where she still stole energy. He'd not defeat her until he cut off the power supply. If Lio couldn't rid the world of her, he'd rid the world of her supporters.

A woman charged into the open. Lio took enough time to register traveler and tainted aura before he pulled. The woman screamed as the entity left her human body. The body crumpled, and the corrupted spirit disappeared into the portal.

"Stop him!" Udeall screamed.

Two men came running from different directions, guns drawn. Lio didn't need a visual now to determine the vileness of the two. A putrid scent filled his nose, and his skin crawled. They'd killed innocents and would again. Without a conscious decision of which to grab first, he grabbed both tainted auras and threw them into the portal together.

Though their souls disappeared, some residual energy remained. Cut off from Udeall, the energy sought a home—and found one in Lio.

Two. He'd managed two at a time. Not the mass banishment Morrisey performed, but good enough for now. Two more came, and two more. Did they not realize they were actually helping Lio with their approach?

No doubt, Udeall sacrificed her followers to save herself. Morrisey had mentioned a number of occisors coming through the portal from Domus before it fell. Perhaps Udeall had begun amassing her army even then.

Enough of this! Bel needed help. Lio dared not take too much corrupt power from the minions and risk darkening his already dark soul even more. He threw a mental net over the vicinity, weighing the evil in each traveler captured. None of these were innocent. They'd all killed humans for sport or because Udeall told them to, and before that, many slaughtered Domusians for their power.

It went against Lio's Nutrix nature to kill. His kind existed to heal, but there were no Magestras in sight and he must stop this evil.

For your crimes, I sentence you to the great beyond.

With a massive pull, Lio yanked free the Domus entities from each body. One after another ripped free. For a moment, they held suspended in the air, a black, swirling mass similar to Udeall's soul. Lio directed the mass toward the portal and sent them all through the shimmering nothingness hanging in the air. He couldn't save their human bodies, which fell where they stood.

It was too late. They'd lost their lives when the demons possessed them, and never had the term ‘demon' more suited a Domusian. Lio would have to save mourning and recriminations for later.

His energy flagged, but he'd eliminated as many as he could and weakened Udeall's power base, even if he couldn't take care of Udeall.

Yet.

He felt more than heard Udeall's approach from behind. "It took me a long time to get all my followers through the portal without the more by-the-book council members noticing. In mere minutes, you undid work that took me years!"

Lio summoned what energy he could and spun. Udeall charged, catching Lio around the middle and driving them both to the ground. Lio thrashed, trying to throw Udeall off. Though Udeall inhabited a rather delicate-looking body, it was strong. She took Lio's head between her palms.

Pain shot into Lio's brain. He'd read accounts of this, a traveler removing an entity from a body to occupy it themselves. It hurt! The agony took Lio's focus, leaving him unable to fight.

"No!" Bel cried, ripping Lio from Udeall's mental grasp.

Lio rolled, taking Udeall with him. Anger amplified her strength, but Lio's own rage grew by the moment. How dare this asshole keep him confined his whole life, only to send him here where his first experience was torture?

And how dare she lure Bel in, pretending to be a mentor when, in fact, she was training him to fulfill some twisted mission?

Lio pulled back his fist and let fly like he'd seen a hero cop do on TV. His punch landed with a satisfying smack on Udeall's jaw, loosening her grip on his head. He recalled another move from TV and cracked his forehead against Udeall's.

That should hurt, but there wasn't time now to stop and think.

Udeall released Lio. He bounced to his feet and began circling, waiting for his opportunity. He couldn't defeat her with power, but his stay in Terra had taught him that there was more than one way to be powerful. He might not have Bel's muscle mass, but he was little and quick, and he could delve into Emilio's experience as a young gay man avoiding the brutes who'd lived in his neighborhood.

Udeall rose, hair disheveled, wiping away blood from the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand. "You will pay for that!" She rushed forward with a scream toward Lio, teeth bared. He braced for impact, catching her with a punch to the chest and using her momentum to send her backward to the ground.

He followed her down and punched again. "That's for Bel." And again. "That's for me." And again. "And that's for all the innocent people you've killed." Lio poured all his flagging energy into one glorious punch. "And that's for Domus."

Udeall's head cracked backward against the pavement. She lay still, blood pooled beneath her head. Lio pressed his fingers to her neck. Her host body still functioned, but there were no others for her to jump to but his own—which wasn't happening—and Bel's was too damaged to fight with.

Lio tried once more to banish her. Nothing. His power was still no match for hers. Besides, he had other uses for his power. He'd deal with her later. All the power he could ever need hung in the air from the banished followers. All he had to do was open himself to the atmosphere and take.

No. Never! He wouldn't taint himself with their evil.

He crawled back to Bel and collapsed, reaching out his hand like Emilio had wanted to reach out as Dave lay dying. Lio might die here today, and he wouldn't seek another body. He might be too exhausted to inhabit another body anyway.

Tears burned his eyes and the back of his throat as he gazed at Bel's ashen face. "I'm sorry, love. I don't have the energy to heal you. It's all gone."

"Is… is Udeall dead?"

Lio shook his head. "No. I don't have the strength to banish her. She's too powerful."

"Take mine," Bel said. "We're only two. If given a choice, save Terra. Save billions of lives."

"I don't know if I can."

Bel smiled with bloody teeth. "You did good so far. Shall we see where the great beyond takes us?" He reached out, twining bloody fingers with Lio's.

Lio gently squeezed Bel's hand. "Yes. Let's."

A crackle like static trailed up Lio's arms, raising his hairs. What now? More minions arriving? Lio glanced to a spot a few yards away where Farren, Morrisey, Jessa, and Arianna stood.

"We got it from here," Morrisey shouted.

"Oh, fuck!" Jessa kicked off her heels and ran toward Lio with Arianna right behind her. They dropped to their knees. "We can only heal ourselves, but you're Nutrix. You can heal others."

"I have no more power." Darkness formed on the edges of Lio's vision. If only he could. The others had come. He and Bel were safe now. Farren and Morrisey would handle Udeall.

Jessa grabbed Lio's free hand. "Then take from me."

"Me too!" Arianna placed her hand next to Jessa's on Lio's wrist.

What were they offering? To sacrifice themselves for Lio and Bel? "No! I won't hurt you."

"You won't. Farren taught us how to control power exchanges. We won't let you take too much." Arianna shook Lio's arm. "Hurry."

Lio concentrated on the women's skin against his, their heartbeats, their breathing, and drew in their life essence. Please don't let me harm them. Slowly, his fatigue faded. It's working! Trusting the women to not let him take too much, he channeled healing energy into Bel.

Bel winced as he coughed, clutching Lio's hand in a painful grip.

Still, Lio used his own body as a conduit, taking what the women offered and funneling the power into Bel. He lost track of everything around him.

He thought he heard voices, but he didn't dare break his concentration lest Bel succumb to his injuries. A sudden burst of power came from Jessa, followed by energy from Arianna. Again and again, jolts of energy flowed through Lio into Bel. More power than he ever imagined. Where was it coming from?

Finally, Bel rolled to his side, still clutching Lio's hand. "You can stop! I'll live."

Never had words sounded so wonderful. Lio shook the women off and looked up, still expecting to see torn flesh and bleeding wounds. While Bel appeared pale, he gave a tired smile.

Lio grasped Bel by the shoulders, careful to avoid injuries. "Are you okay?"

Bel rubbed his hands over his body, wincing occasionally. "Sore, but the blood's staying in my body now. That's a good thing."

Lio shifted his gaze behind him to Morrisey, Farren, Jessa, and Arianna huddled on the ground. They all appeared to have had a hard night of partying, hands linked and sending Lio power. "Y'all okay?" So that's where the sudden jolt at the end came from.

"Yeah," Farren answered. He stood and helped Morrisey up. They both assisted Jessa and Arianna. Finally, Lio rose to his feet.

"You stay down," Farren told Bel. "We're taking you back to the compound infirmary, getting you checked out."

"But I'm fi?—"

Oh, no. Lio didn't intend to lose Bel to stubbornness now. "Please? For me?" Now probably wasn't the time to employ puppy-dog eyes, but Lio would work with what he had.

Bel sighed and relaxed on the ground again. That couldn't be comfortable. Could Lio conjure a bed? "Fine. But they'd better hurry."

Lio turned in a circle, assessing the carnage. He recognized several members of FAET working containment. In all, Lio had sent fifteen travelers through the portal. "Wait a minute! Where's Udeall? I couldn't send her through. And there might be a stray disembodied traveler or two roaming around."

Morrisey rested his hand on Lio's shoulder, causing a residual zap of power. He staggered, but Morrisey's sudden grip kept him from falling. "She's in custody and on her way back to the compound. We need to find out if there's anything else she's got planned. And our containment team is more than equipped to handle whatever they find." He stared at the ground. "I am sorry about Greg. He'd made some kind of deal, and when he got here, it looks like an occisor took possession. I had to banish what was left of the real Greg. Trust me, we will be looking into how he infiltrated FAET."

In that moment, Lio saw a different side of Morrisey, powerful, self-assured, a role he normally let Farren play. Morrisey James was a force to be reckoned with in his own right. Being underestimated likely worked in his favor often.

Lio glanced around at all the new arrivals. "How did you get here?"

"Oh, that." Farren grinned. "Morrisey homed in on your energy signature and teleported me, Arianna, and Jessa here. He doesn't do it often and almost never with other people involved, but this was different."

"Is that something I can do too?" That would've been convenient to get to Bel faster.

"Maybe one day. It takes a lot of energy, though. Morrisey tries not to use that skill unless absolutely necessary. Now, go. See to your man while the rest of us handle cleanup."

Lio would definitely explore the possibilities—later. Right now? He collapsed onto the ground, took Bel into his arms, and simply enjoyed being alive with the man he loved.

He also added a bit of extra healing while Bel was distracted.