Darkening Chaos: Book Three of The Destroyer Trilogy

by DelSheree Gladden

  I smile as she walks away, thrilled the first stage of this plan worked so well. It took me a while to convince everyone else. We have been arguing for two weeks about whether or not the Ciphers should be allowed to contact anyone on the outside. I wanted to let them tell their stories. No one else agreed. They all thought it was too risky. When I brought up using the hearing as a way to test out the idea, they started to give in. Most of the Ciphers already had friends on the outside. Word is going to get out about what I told the panel today. Now when the Ciphers start getting in contact with friends and family, explaining where they are and what has really been happening to them, it won’t be such big news. Maybe people will begin to realize that I’m not trying to destroy the entire world, just the part that’s poisoning it. I want to make things better for people. It’s a long shot, one that’s going to seriously drive up cell phone bills, but it’s definitely worth a try.

  I turn around feeling vaguely optimistic and run right into Blackwood, with my ex-best friend, Jen, hovering a safe distance away, ready to jot everything down for her blog. I didn’t even notice she was here. A few unresolved issues I have with her involving some pictures she took boil to the front of my mind, and the desire to strangle her becomes almost too intense to resist. Luckily for her, Blackwood moves closer to me and steals my attention.

  “So, they decided to let you back in,” Blackwood says, “despite my specific recommendation that you be kept away from others at all costs.”

  I snort at his supposed self-importance. “I know what you were trying to do, Blackwood. Isolate me from others, make me feel like I’m completely alone, make me desperate. Sound familiar?”

  His already tight jaw grinds together even more. He doesn’t bother refuting it.

  “Well, I guess I can understand that approach,” I tell him. “It wasn’t going to work, though. I wouldn’t expect someone like you, cold and arrogant, to understand that, but good try. All you really did was give me a much needed rest and time to start training Ciphers. Really, Blackwood, you’ve been a big help. Thanks.”

  Antagonizing him is a stupid, possibly even suicidal thing to do, but the anger in his eyes at being called out for his own stupidity is too rewarding to miss. His emotions buzz against my skin, crazed and volatile. I was wrong before. Punching him wouldn’t have been nearly as satisfying. Watching him try to contain his hatred for me is great fun. I don’t know why he even tries. He should know perfectly well that I can feel everything he’s feeling. I notice the last few stragglers in the room staring at the pair of us. Ah, he’s not keeping his reactions under control for me. It’s for them, the ones that still believe he represents justice and safety. Fools.

  I move to step around Blackwood, but he grabs my arm and holds me back. Jen is scribbling like a maniac. His oily voice slithers into my head as he speaks. “The one good thing about those incompetents letting you back into school is that the next time I need you for an evaluation, I’ll know exactly where you are.”

  “What?” I ask as I snap around to face him. Jen perks up as well.

  “Oh, did you forget?” he says with mock politeness. “Braden’s evaluations of you weren’t complete. I fully intend on continuing them. Personally.”

  No, no, no, he can’t be serious! I don’t let him see my panic, though. Instead, I say, “You taking the job for the same reason Braden did? Getting beat up by a girl carries some pretty heavy punishments, doesn’t it?”

  “I’m taking the job because I don’t trust anyone else to do it,” he snaps.

  “Not because you lost your command and are being punished?” I ask sweetly.

  He ignores me. “You may have seduced Braden into betraying us, but you won’t have the same luck with me, Libby.”

  Eew, I wouldn’t even want to try. Besides, Braden totally seduced me, not the other way around. I tried to stay away from him, but that boy is persistent … and handsome, and charming, and a really good kisser. Guilt for thoughts like that forces my attention back to Blackwood. Another witty remark eludes me. I just grimace at the very idea of even pretending to like him, as if I just tasted old gym socks.

  For some reason, I think that annoys him. His narrow eyes thin even more. “I’ll find out what you’re still hiding, Libby. You can count on that.”

  “I won’t go with you.” I’ll add to his collection of bruises before I get into a car with him.

  He sneers and gestures at the desk where the disciplinary panel was seated earlier. “If you don’t, they’ll kick you back out. Regardless of what you say, you wouldn’t be here today if being expelled didn’t bother you. I’m not as stupid as you think I am. You’ll come with me or I’ll be forced to start investigating your accomplices for their part in your most recent activities.”

  He can’t. The Guardians are keeping the whole thing a secret. They won’t admit to anything I just told the panel. He can’t give any justified reason to Principal Andrews to pull anyone out. Can he? His snake-like smile makes me doubt myself.

  “I think I’ll start with Milo,” Blackwood says. He taps his chin thoughtfully. “Or maybe Lance. I wonder which one can withstand more pain. I’d go with Lance. He’s had his talents longer.”

  “You touch either of them and I’ll—”

  “Excuse me?” Blackwood interrupts, glancing back at Jen. “You’ll what? Would you like to tell everyone? I can call the disciplinary panel back in. I’m sure they’d love to hear what you’re going to do to me, a respected officer of the law. Should I go get them?”

  Respected? That’s a laugh.

  “Just give me one reason to lock you up, Libby, and I will.”

  “You could try,” I say.

  He doesn’t appreciate that and crushes my arm under his grip. “Not even you know what Guardians are capable of. Assault me in public where I have eager witnesses to tell the world of your depravity and you’ll get to see firsthand just what I can do to you.”

  “You think you could hold me? I’m the most powerful person on the planet. You can’t keep me. You can’t even deal with me now. If you really had any secret way of tracking or holding me you would know by now that I have more power than you ever will. Oh, and you have no idea how much I already know about you and your brothers.” I yank his hand off my arm and take a sharp step back. “One thing I do know, Blackwood, is what you’re afraid of. How’s your buddy Drake doing, lately? Did he leave you with a few dozen new scars like you did to Braden? You both lost to me. I don’t think it’s fair if you didn’t get punished like he did.”

  At the mention of Drake’s name, whoever he is, Blackwood blanches, the color draining even from his ears and lips. He doesn’t know that a picture and a name—I don’t even know if it’s a first or last name—is all I really know about Drake. Apparently, it’s enough that I know even that to make him want to crawl into a hole and hide. Good. Let him chew on that for a while. Maybe it will make him a little less eager to tangle with me. Maybe it will keep him away from Braden for a while.

  Or maybe he’ll make the connection about how I found out about Drake and pressure or hurt Braden even more. Crap. Leaving Blackwood to choke on his own panic, I stalk out of the room quickly. I really have to do something about Braden before one of us ends up getting him killed.

  Chapter 13

  Inhumanity

  I have the urge to go bang on Braden’s door and demand he let me protect him right after I run away from Blackwood, but my mid-morning meeting with the disciplinary panel drug on for nearly five hours, thanks to the school district’s very, very prepared lawyer. School is out by the time I get away, which means should mean Lance is waiting for me outside the building. I stutter to a stop when I see Milo instead. Despite our discussion last week, Milo has been slow to accept me back into his life.

  I knew it would be incredibly difficult for him, so I’ve been patient. He said he didn’t want to lose me, but that hardly meant he wanted to be around me constantly while he was still so hurt. I’ve done my best to be th
ere if he wants me, but stay away when he doesn’t. Today is the first time he’s made an effort to seek me out. I start walking toward him, approaching slowly.

  “Hey. Is everything okay?” I ask.

  “It’s fine.” He watches me, but doesn’t make an attempt to get any closer. He says, “Hope asked Lance to help her with something after school. He asked if I would meet you and see how the hearing went.”

  “Oh,” I say with a smile, “thanks.”

  Milo shifts, but doesn’t move. “So how did it go? How did everyone react when you told them the truth about everything?”

  “Well,” I say, “they overturned my expulsion after I told them about the Ciphers and Blackwood and the deals I’ve made with Howe. It went pretty good, actually. Better than I was expecting.”

  “They actually believed you?”

  I shrug. “I don’t know about that, but they were willing to give me the benefit of doubt. One of the board members was a Spiritualist. She asked about a friend, Elisa. I think she believed me, at least a little.”

  “Huh,” Milo says.

  He was against me taking this route. He thought it was too risky because we couldn’t guarantee people’s reaction. Surprisingly, he has also been the biggest opponent to letting the Ciphers start making contact with people they knew. He’s afraid someone will reveal too much and we’ll be compromised. I trust my army enough that I don’t think it will be a problem. If anyone can appreciate keeping a secret and staying hidden, it’s the Ciphers.

  “There were some other interesting developments,” I say, and proceed to tell him about Blackwood and Jen both being there. We’re discussing what, if anything needs to be done about Jen when my cell phone starts ringing. Tension builds around me as I listen.

  “Inquisitor Moore just found another Cipher,” I say as I slip my phone back into my pocket.

  Milo’s eyes light up. “Let’s go.”

  At least it’s here in town and not clear across the country this time. We race over to his house to find a frightened and crying young woman named Hannah. It takes a lot longer to explain everything to her and her mom than it did with Dean because they’re both so hysterical. When we finally get them calmed down, I’m able to perform the Inquest on Hannah. Even though I told her what would happen, the sight of the black diktats cropping up on her left wrist instead of the traditional right sets off another round of tears.

  Milo is no help at all. He used to be good with crying girls, but he keeps his distance this time. Eventually, Hannah and her mother run out of tears and sober up enough to listen to me. I start explaining about the training house and the other Ciphers, and Hannah begins to perk up. When I unlocked her talents, I also named her to the Creator class. Unlike most people, Ciphers rarely get very strong hints of their talents before their Inquests, though most still had a leaning toward what they hoped they would have. Hannah has apparently had an affinity for Naturalism since childhood.

  When I tell her about Milo’s dad teaching about healing, and everything I’ve learned to do with Naturalism, she actually starts to get excited, mostly about the healing. She’s wanted to be a doctor since she was little, she tells me. Happy to have finally found something to keep her from crying all over me, I tell her about our training schedule and invite her to join us. Milo finally joins the discussion at that point and fills her in on a few more details I missed. He also brings up the issue of protection against the Guardians, which almost sets them to crying again until Hannah’s mother thinks to mention that her brother and nephew live nearby and both are perfectly capable of protecting Hannah with her brother being a boxer and her nephew being an amateur race car driver. Both have Speed and Strength and neither one has anything to do with the Guardians.

  Needless to say, when we finally finish up with Hannah and her mom, it’s past dinner time and I’m exhausted. My day isn’t over yet, though. Lance and I are both on reconnaissance duty tonight. I almost expect Milo to say he’s stepped in for Lance on this as well, but apparently not.

  Before we leave Inquisitor Moore’s house, Milo reveals what is possibly the real reason he met me today. “The picture you gave us of Drake, you know we ran it through every facial recognition software we could get our hands on with no results, but it did turn up something else today when we tried a new program. An address.”

  I have a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach that is making a rapid descent to my toes. “An address?”

  “The program spit out possible locations of where the picture was taken. One of them happened to be on Braden’s street.” The air around us starts to condense, gaining weight and pressing in on me. “What were you doing there?” Milo demands.

  “I was just watching his house. I haven’t talked to him. He didn’t even know I was there.”

  Milo’s knuckles groan under the force of his clenched fists. His jaw isn’t experiencing any less pressure. For once, I don’t shrink away from Milo’s anger. I defend myself.

  “Milo, I told you I wouldn’t let him get murdered by the Guardians. I asked you to do this for me so I wouldn’t have to, but you said couldn’t.”

  “I shouldn’t have to!”

  I agree. It’s a cruel thing that I asked of him, but I had to. I have to keep doing it. “I can’t let him die,” I say quietly. “I understand if you can’t do this for me. I’m not angry. I don’t blame you. But I that means I have to do it myself. I’m sorry, Milo, but I can’t walk away like that.”

  “You promised me,” he says.

  My heart breaks. I will do anything else for him. He has to understand that! I will submit to any other demand he makes of me in penance for what I did to him. I only ask him to understand this one thing. I pour every ounce of sincerity into my voice as I try to make him see my point of view.

  “I’m trying my best to keep it. I am. I’ll stay as far away from him as possible, but I will not let them kill him.” I reach for him, desperate for him to understand. Milo stands firm, refusing to bend. I hug my arms around myself and pray I can get through to him.

  “This doesn’t mean I’m not committed to you, Milo. You know I love you. I’ve done everything I can in the last two weeks to show you how much I love you. Protecting him doesn’t mean I won’t do whatever else you ask of me if it will help me prove I would give anything to keep you. All this means is that I can’t let an innocent person die when I could stop it.”

  I can’t let Braden die. I can’t turn my back on him forever and not know if he ever forgave me or found someone else. I can’t … my chin drops to my chest in defeat. I can’t walk away from Braden.

  I expect some kind of response from Milo. When I don’t get one, I look up. I wait for him to react. Anger, yelling, demands, something. Milo breaks off his gaze with me and turns away. “Milo, please,” I beg. I take a step after him. He whirls around to face me.

  “All I asked was for you to forget him, completely. Gone. Out of our lives forever.”

  “You asked the one thing I can’t do.”

  “Can’t, or won’t?” he demands.

  My answer stalls. I don’t know.

  “That’s what I thought,” he snaps, taking my silence in the worst way.

  “Milo, wait!” I grab at him, but he bats me away, leaving a welt on my forearm and trail of bitterness as he turns away.

  He’s in his car and driving away a few seconds later. I stand alone next to my Bronco, numb despite the warmth of the late summer sun. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know the answer to Milo’s question, either.

  I slowly get into my car, wondering if I am wrong. Should I leave Braden to his fate? Do I have any right to have let him into my life, used him, broke him, and then simply throw him away? I drive back toward my house to meet Lance, asking the question over and over again.

  Lance is already waiting when I get home. I stuff my confusion and hurt away and head out into the desert with him to do a little spying and hopefully clear my head.

  Picking out a spot to watch th
e comings and goings of the Guardians that we haven’t already used takes only a few minutes. We’re situated on a low ridge that gives a good view of the road leading up to the compound as well as the entrance to the building before the sun has fully set. Lance hands me a pair of night vision binoculars, but I set them aside for now. It’s still too light out. He notices my solemn demeanor and makes an attempt at drawing me out.

  “So, you have anything planned for tomorrow?” Lance asks.

  “Uh, no. Why?” I ask, trying to think of why he would ask. All we ever do anymore is train and plan, nothing too unusual about that.

  “Nothing? Come on, Libby. There has to be something you want to do. You can’t just ignore what day it is,” Lance complains.

  Okay, I think I’m missing something. “Tomorrow’s Wednesday, big deal. I get to go back to school, I guess. That’ll be nice. I’ve been getting kind of tired of hanging out alone so much.”

  Lance just stares at me. “Libby, tomorrow is your birthday.”

  “What?” I have to count the days off in my head. A laugh bubbles out of me when I realize he’s right. I can’t believe I forgot. My dark mood lightens just a little.

  “You really forgot?” Lance asks.

  “Sorry, my mind’s been a little preoccupied lately.”

  Lance nods. We’ve all been too busy to think of much besides the Guardians and Seekers, and I've had the added worry of Milo and Braden. He nudges me with his elbow after a while, and says, “So? What do you want to do tomorrow?”

  Now it’s my turn to stare at him. “Nothing,” I say again.

  “Libby …”

  “No, I’m serious, Lance. I don’t want to do anything tomorrow. It’s my birthday, so what? All it means is that I’m getting that much closer to my deadline. I’m running out of time to destroy the Guardians and save the world, and they’re running out of time to kill me. I really don’t feel like celebrating that, okay? Just forget it.”