Darkening Chaos: Book Three of The Destroyer Trilogy

by DelSheree Gladden

  “It must have something to do with why she cancelled our plans last night. She said she was getting close to something,” Alex says. He gives me an apologetic shrug. “She said she’d meet you at the gateway and for the rest of us to go home and get back to work.”

  The girls give a few cursory grumbles, but say goodbye and are off. Alex is about to follow, but pauses. “Do you need help getting to the gateway?”

  “No,” I say, grimacing at how familiar he is with my limitations here. “I’ve gotten a lot better at speed travelling over the past couple months, thanks to Celia. I’ll be fine.”

  “Okay, then. I’ve got to get back and finish rehearsing. Celia says my grand fouettés still need work.”

  I have no idea what he’s talking about. “Good luck with that. See you tomorrow.”

  He dissolves into the mist and I focus my mind and energy on travelling. Concentrating on my destination, I push my power away from me. The jolt of movement is encouraging. My eyes stay closed as I move. No need to distract myself. I don’t need to see where I’m going, anyway. I only need to sense where I am. That was really what was keeping me from picking this up earlier. I couldn’t imprint the different feel of each area onto my mind. Spending so much time here with no distractions has finally let me do that. I jerk to a painful stop and open my eyes. Rubbing my neck, I remind myself to work on perfecting my takeoffs and landings.

  I’m the first one here, so I sit down next to the gateway. Usually, I would open it up, but I’m not sure what Celia has in mind for today. If I’m going to need to concentrate I’d rather not have a bunch of ghost milling around. Instead, I sit and practice training techniques to pass the time.

  It isn’t a sound that alerts me, but a feeling. A feeling I haven’t felt in ages. Pure, exhilarating excitement yanks me up from the ground. I spin around and gasp at the sight of Braden. Every inch of my spirit body flushes with energy. I’m running toward him before I can even think to make my legs move. I don’t need thought when it comes to Braden. My love takes control and flings me toward him.

  “Braden!” I screech as I crash into him. My elation knocks him over, taking me with him. The mists bury us immediately. Good thing, because I’m kissing Braden with no hope of coming up for air. He isn’t holding back, either. I’m pressed as tight to his body as he can possibly get me. Fire races through me from lips to toes. If there was actually any air here to ignite, I’m sure miniature fireworks would be going off all around me.

  The moment comes to an end way too quickly when Braden pushes me back gently and sits up with me in his lap. His eyes sweep over me, bringing on a frown. “Libby, you’re hurt.”

  I frantically wave him off. “It’s nothing. Forget it.”

  Braden turns to glare at Celia, who I didn’t even realize was there. She looks down guiltily. “You didn’t say she was getting beaten again,” Braden accuses.

  “I didn’t want you to worry,” I say in Celia’s defense. I’d asked her to keep Lance away from Braden during Milo’s visits in order to keep Braden from knowing what was happening.

  “How long has this been going on?”

  “It’s really only been bad the last couple weeks,” I say, “but after today, I’m hoping it won’t happen anymore. I gave Milo something to think about. He should be a little distracted trying to figure out whether Howe is really planning on killing him as soon as I’m out of the way.”

  Celia’s whimper dulls Braden’s sudden flash of vengeance. I glance over at her apologetically. We’ve already discussed the likelihood of Milo’s fate. He betrayed everyone who ever loved him. Me, Celia, his parents, every one of the Ciphers. He chose his path, and whatever fate that leads to is out of our hands. I know it is still heartbreaking to think of her brother dying. Despite what he’s done to me, I don’t like the idea of him being killed, either. She struggles to control her emotions. I can feel her tapping her Naturalism to accomplish a small measure of composure.

  Braden’s fingers drift over my split lip and bruised cheekbone. Frustration and anger boil around him. Taking his face in my hands, I kiss his frowning lips gently. “I’m okay, Braden. Just don’t think about it.” His body tenses at the suggestion. I hurry on, saying, “Don’t waste our time together being angry about this. I don’t want you to be unhappy while we’re together.”

  That softens his anger considerably. His hand drifts to the back of my neck and pulls me closer. His mouth drinks me in, trying desperately to make up for five months of being apart. It isn’t enough. His hand presses against my back, sliding under the edge of my shirt. A delicious shiver runs through me. I want to slide my hands under his t-shirt, peel it off slowly and explore, but thoughts of Celia sitting right next to us finally sinks into my brain. I start to pull back. Braden has forgotten about Celia entirely. He picks up his right hand, which has been lying idle this whole time, and attempts to pull me back in. For some reason, Celia pitches sideways and crashes into us. Finally, Braden gets a grip of his hormones.

  “Sorry,” he mumbles to Celia, who is pushing herself back to a sitting position.

  I think I’m missing something. “Uh, guys? What was that?”

  Celia lifts her hand, and shockingly, Braden’s comes up as well, held firmly in hers. Jealous, shocked confusion tries to bubble up. Angry words freeze on my lips. I know these two. Celia goes dopey at the mere mention of Alex. Braden dang near started undressing me in his excitement, totally not caring who was watching. There isn’t anything going on between them. I swallow any rash reactions.

  “Um, care to explain that?” I ask as I slide of Braden’s lap.

  “Sorry,” Celia says, “I meant to tell you right away, but you, uh, didn’t really give me a chance. It was the only way I could get Braden here. He can’t let go of my hand or he’ll go back. Kind of ruins the moment, I know, but at least he’s here.”

  I look over at Braden and smile. “I can’t believe you’re here. I wasn’t sure I’d ever see you again.” In my excitement, I barely even considered how he got here. The fact the he was here overpowered everything else.

  “Celia and I have been working hard to figure this out,” Braden says.

  Celia grins. “Braden more than anyone. He’s the one that finally came up with it.”

  “Completely by accident,” he grimaces. His emotions turn guilty, making me curious.

  “What happened?” I ask.

  A disapproving shake of Celia’s head is thrown in Braden’s direction. He rolls his eyes, and says, “Lance and I were giving a Capoeira demonstration …”

  “You were showing off,” Celia corrects.

  He shushes her and continues. “It may have gotten a little rough. Lance has some freakishly sharp toenails and he cut my finger when I swatted away one of his kicks. I got him on the cheek with a kick. That pretty much ended the fight. When he got up, I tried to check his cut, and I guess I touched him with my injured finger.”

  “Their blood mixed, and suddenly they were both unconscious on the floor,” Celia finishes in an excited rush. “That’s how you combine power. Through blood. It’s so simple!”

  My gaze goes to their interlocked hands. “You both had to cut yourself? You had to hurt yourselves to get Braden here?” I suddenly feel very selfish having asked them to do something that harmed them.

  Braden cups my face in his free hand. “It was worth it, Libby. I missed you so badly.”

  His longing melts me from the inside out. He wasn't the only one hurt, though. I look over at Celia. She smiles and nods her agreement. “It really didn’t take very much, just a small scratch on our palms. Don’t worry about it, Libby.”

  My guilt doesn’t erode, but it does lessen some. “Thank you,” I say to both of them.

  “Not only did this help us get Braden to the spirit world, it also answered another one of our questions, Libby. This is how the Guardians made the Dorotabos,” Celia says. “They shared their blood and amped their power up by six.”

  “Wait,” I say,
shaking my head, “but the Guardians I saw weren’t holding hands. They were all standing apart from each other.”

  Celia and Braden both grimace. Braden is the first to speak. “Open wounds aren’t the only way to share blood.”

  “What do you mean?” I ask slowly.

  “You can also drink it,” Celia says.

  My stomach flips. “Please tell me you didn’t.”

  “Braden remembered you said the Guardians weren’t touching during the ritual. Unless there were two secret ways of sharing power, we figured there had to be another way blood could combine talents,” Celia says. She shivers. “We only used a few drops. The combining didn’t last very long. We’re guessing it depends on the amount of blood you drink as to how long the connection lasts. Once the blood is digested, the link dissolves. Those Guardians must have guzzled a lot of blood.”

  “That’s disgusting,” I mutter. They both nod their agreement. “But at least we know how they did it, now. If we need to, we can use it against them. Have you figured out how they’re staying connected to the Dorotabos? Was I right about the Spiritualism?”

  Braden nods. “Yes. We tried every talent, and only Spiritualism is capable of maintaining a solid link. Naturalism was close, but it took way too much effort.”

  “So we’ll have to target the Spiritualists first. They should be easy enough to identify.”

  All we’ll have to do is tap our own Spiritualism and look for the trails of spiritual energy drifting away from the Guardians. It’s one of the simplest talents to identify, so even our newest Ciphers and Spiritualists should be able to do it easily. Our plans are finally starting to take shape. The only thing left to figure out is how to give Braden back his talents so we can work together as Companions to bring down the Guardians and save the world from their creations.

  Thinking about being Companions, and what my dad told me, I make myself let go of Braden’s hand. He looks over at me in panic.

  “It’s not time to go already, is it?” Braden asks.

  “No,” I say, “but look.”

  I take his hand and hold it about six inches away from mine. The thin slivery filament drifting between our palms lights up his entire face. “He was right,” Braden says.

  “Yes, he was.” My joy at seeing the filament doubles as I grab Braden’s hand and pull him up to standing. Celia follows out of need and curiosity. When I drag Braden up to the edge of the gateway, he looks at me questioningly. I grin at him and say, “You’ve gotten out of a very important step in our relationship for too long, Braden.”

  “What are you talking about?” Braden asks warily.

  I kiss him lightly. “It’s time for you to meet my dad.”

  Chapter 33

  Trust

  It’s been over a week since I’ve seen Braden. Ever since the first day Celia brought him to the spirit world, it has been torture not being able to see him every day. But no matter how much I want to see him, I can’t ask him to keep cutting himself just so we can be together. It’s been just over three months since then. If he had to slice his hand open every day, there wouldn’t be anywhere left to cut after a while. We settled for once a week that first day. Braden’s weekly visits have been the only thing that’s kept me sane over the last few months. I twist the white cord braided into a bracelet around my wrist, which is oddly enough the only clothing or accessory I’ve ever seen consistently show up in the spirit world, as I wait for Braden impatiently.

  Flexing my wrist carefully, I try to ward off the stiffness I know is going to set in when I get back to my body. When Thomas kicked at me today, aiming for my ribs, I made the mistake of trying to protect my bruised body and caught his foot right on my wrist. He actually broke it in two places, but I didn’t let on how much pain I was in. Lying about the severity of my injuries lets me heal myself at least a little once Milo and his enforcer leave. My Strength can withstand a lot, but it has its limits.

  After baiting Milo with taunts that Howe is going to kill him—which I think are totally true—he laid off for a while. I supposed he was trying to find out whether or not I was right. Well, whatever answer he came up with only made him angrier. He still can’t hurt me himself, but Thomas has been let off his leash despite the pain it causes Milo. I’ve had to heal cracked ribs, deep muscle bruises, concussions, and now broken bones. Thank goodness this will all end tomorrow. One way or another.

  I pace around the rim of the gateway as I wait for Celia and Braden. Alex said it would take a little while, but I’m still impatient. The team is busy setting up for tomorrow. It takes a lot of preparation to assassinate an evil president. I was moved to Washington, D.C., two days ago, but my army has been here for a week. It wasn’t any secret that I’d be taken to the capital to face Howe on my birthday, so Lance didn’t even have to track me. They are working to get everyone into position tonight and set with weapons and supplies. Thankfully, we have some very talented scouts and tacticians on our side that helped choose the best locations to start the attack. The only thing my army is still wondering about is how I’m going to use Braden to kill the Guardians.

  Knowing that it might still be a little while before Celia can collect Braden from wherever he’s working and find a safe spot to come see me, I lie down in the mists and clear my mind of plans and death. I want to think about something happy. Happy means Braden, and the happiest memory of him lately was the first time Braden met my dad. Tapping my Concealment, I delve into my own memories and bring that day into vivid reality.

  ***

  The mists sweep away from the gateway as soon as my energy touches it. A few seconds later, spirits start pouring out. Most are disappointed it’s only me again, but my dad sweeps me into his arms as soon as he sees me. He doesn’t even notice Braden at first. Not until I pull away from him and gesture for Braden to join me do his eyes narrow and focus in on him.

  His arms fold across his chest severely, and he asks, “Is this him?”

  “Dad, this is Braden. Please be nice.”

  You would think his first question would be about why Braden was holding Celia’s hand, or how we got him here in the first place. They aren’t. His first question makes me groan. “Braden, what on earth do you think you’re doing dating a seventeen year old?”

  Braden’s eyes sparkle as he returns my dad’s glare. I just want to melt into the mists, but Braden instinctively knows exactly what my Dad is really asking. “Mr. Sparks, your daughter and I aren’t sleeping together, but I do love her very much. More than I ever thought I would be able to love someone.”

  My dad’s eyes flash over to me in question. I roll my eyes at him. “He’s telling the truth, Dad.” No matter how much I wish he wasn’t, I add to myself.

  “Fine,” my dad says, “but I’m still not sure I approve of this. You’re six years older than she is.”

  “Sir, I can tell you in complete honesty that I never planned on trying to date your daughter or any other sixteen year old before we met. Libby completely caught me off guard,” Braden says.

  Finally, my dad smiles. “She does have a habit of doing that.”

  “Once I met her …” Braden smiles at me guiltily, which my dad catches, making both of them frown. “After meeting Libby, there just wasn’t anything that was going to keep me away from her. I know some of that was the Companion link, but it wasn’t all of it.”

  Braden drags Celia along with him as he steps over and puts his arm around my waist. Brave move in front of my dad. He pushes the limit even more by kissing me on the cheek. My dad watches the display without commenting.

  “I’d read everything in Libby’s file,” Braden says. “I thought I was prepared to meet her, but I was wrong. Nothing could have prepared me for her fire and fearlessness. She jumped up on stage with only one shoe on and a broken ankle. She was determined to save Milo no matter what the cost was. Not only did I realize right away that there was no way she was the evil creature she’d been painted as, but I also realized that she was the most amaz
ing person I had ever met before. Destroyer or not, she was going to do something incredible.”

  My body grows warm in the face of Braden’s reasons for hounding me so relentlessly those first few months. He drove me crazy at first, but now I’m so incredibly thankful he didn’t give up.

  “That was something I knew the moment I saw her as well,” my dad says. “Libby was special from the moment she was born.”

  I barely even hear what my dad says. Caught up in Braden’s adoration, I look up at him coyly, and ask, “Those weren’t the only reasons you hung around were they?”

  Braden grins and strokes my cheek gently. “Oh yeah, did I forget to say that I also thought you were the most gorgeous woman I’d ever met?”

  “Yes, I think you did.”

  “How silly of me,” Braden says, dropping a kiss on my upturned lips.

  “Ahem,” my dad says.

  Surprisingly, Braden doesn’t blush like he usually does when he feels like he’s been caught doing something he shouldn’t with me. He just pulls back and faces my dad squarely. I stay wrapped in Braden’s arm and wait for my dad to say something. I’m not sure what to expect at this point.

  “So, Braden, I understand that when the Guardians found out you were helping Libby you lost your job. I know you’re helping Libby with the resistance right now, but once she destroys them and their demon Ciphers,” he says, buoying my confidence with his optimism, “what do you plan on doing?”

  In other words … are you going to get a job after all this is over and support my daughter like she deserves. Typical Dad. Who cares that I have plenty of money, he still expects the guy professing his love for his daughter to be well employed and respectable. Again, I roll my eyes at him. Braden takes a more mature approach.

  “Actually, once Libby takes over the Guardians she’s going to need people to help coordinate and run the new world security force. No one expects her to do it alone. Many of the Ciphers are looking forward to getting their lives back after this, but some of us, me and Lance included, we plan on staying around to help. Lance wants to handle the intelligence side, and I plan on covering the security end. We’ll both help with training, though.” Braden glances down at me, and says, “As long as that sounds okay to Libby.”