Braden doesn’t say anything as he starts walking. I’m studiously looking at my feet as we move forward, but I feel it the instant we get to the barrier. I’ve never even managed to get this close on my own before. We were both here earlier tonight when I attempted to break my block, but this time I don’t know what to expect. I feel like a child again, hovering on the edge of the unknown, and knowing that taking the first step might very well be a terrible mistake. I sigh, and tell myself that at least I can’t break any more bones here.
No, the worst that can happen to me in this place is dying. But then again, there’s always a pretty good chance of that happening in the physical world, too.
Squeezing my hand lightly, Braden asks, “Are you ready?”
I nod, and then falter. “What do I do?”
“Same thing as earlier, just make the choice to enter and step forward. The barrier is real, but it’s more a boundary than a wall. Nothing is keeping you out, but you, Libby.”
“Okay then, let’s go,” I say, sounding much more confident than I feel. Braden smiles and we step forward together.
The light bends around us, wrapping us in its unearthly power, filling me until it feels as if I will burst. I can feel it running through my body. It cleanses and purifies me. I feel whole for the first time, though I never knew I was missing this piece of my life in the first place. Giddiness bubbles in my chest and I can’t believe I have been without this for so long. I could have been here years ago if I had only tried. Braden smiles as though greeting an old friend. I am too shocked to do much of anything besides stand there with my mouth open.
“Come on,” he says softly, “Daniel should know I’m here by now. He’ll meet us on the other side of the boundary.”
“Who’s Daniel?” I ask as I follow him forward.
“He’s a friend of mine. We’ve known each other for years. He won’t try to hurt either of us, and he might be able to help us find the Ciphers you’re looking for.”
Another few steps, and the comfort of the boundary falls away. Softly glowing light erupts from everywhere at once. Formless and strange, it is the most beautiful place I have ever seen. It takes me a moment to even realize that there is someone standing in front of us. An elderly man with a pleasant smile steps forward and hugs Braden warmly.
“Braden, it’s been a while. I was beginning to think you’d forgotten about me,” Daniel says.
“Of course not. I’ve just been unusually busy lately.”
Daniel glances over at me and his smile widens. “Yes, I can see that. Who is this lovely young lady?”
“Daniel, this is Libby Sparks.”
“Libby … Sparks,” Daniel says slowly. “There are quite a few people here who are waiting to speak to you, my dear.”
“Yes, I know, sir. That’s why I’ve come,” I say.
Whatever Daniel is thinking at the moment, he doesn’t share it with me. His pensive eyes turn back to Braden. “I never expected you to be the one to bring the Destroyer here, son.”
“Neither did I, but things don’t always work out the way you planned, do they?”
“No, I suppose not.” Daniel watches Braden carefully for a moment longer before letting himself smile again. He claps his younger friend on the shoulder and laughs. “Maybe this will help redeem you with some of the others.”
Braden scoffs. “I doubt it.”
His friend just shrugs. “Well, I guess we’ll see. Libby, my dear, I’ll take you to Saia if you’d like. She’s the one who keeps everybody in order around here. She’s been hoping to speak with you for quite some time.” He holds his hand out to me. I frown and question my need to hold onto him. Daniel laughs at my hesitation. “You are quite new here, Libby. This world looks simple and uncomplicated, but it is very easy to get lost. We’ll make it to Saia faster if you let me lead you.”
Braden doesn’t seem to object, so I say, “Um, okay.”
I pull my hand out of Braden’s, missing his touch in spite of myself, and stop. My statuesque pose draws Braden’s and Daniel’s attention. I stare, completely mesmerized at the thin filament of spiritual energy connecting me to Braden. I pull my hand further away, but the strand remains intact. Slowly, I turn my hand in a circle just to see what will happen. The filament twirls around my fingers as I twist, then simply straightens back out when I stop. I don’t even realize that the same phenomenon is being repeated between our other hands until Braden presses his palms to mine and pulls them away slowly. His boyish amusement makes me laugh.
“Now that is truly interesting,” Daniel says, “but Saia is waiting. Take my hand, please, Libby.”
It’s a difficult thing to take my eyes off the connection, and even harder to pull my hand away from Braden’s. But I know I must. I take Daniel’s aged hand and the world around us blurs into insubstantial mist. I concentrate as hard as I can, but I catch very little of our trip. Only when the mists swirl and come to rest at my feet can I see clearly again. A crowd of faces blink at me from the circle. The mixture of stormy emotions in their expressions brings my earlier experience back to my mind and I take a reflexive step back. Braden’s hand on my back calms me instantly.
This isn’t my nightmare. This is my only hope.
I scan the faces in front of me and stop when I find someone I recognize. The tall, beautiful woman I met while trying to break my block smiles at me with such hope and happiness that I momentarily feel as if I am a cloud myself. Right away, I know who she must be by the way the others step graciously out of her way.
“Saia?” I ask.
She beams at me. “Cassia, Libby, we have waited so long for you to find us. You have no idea how much hope seeing you here brings to us. I must apologize for what happened to Casey. Casey has been a friend to us for a long time. None of us wanted to see her hurt, but there are a group of Ciphers who have grown very impatient waiting for you to arrive. You need not worry about them, though. The Spiritualists guarding us have already punished them.”
“That’s good, I guess,” I say. Given that it’s really my fault the whole incident happened in the first place, I don’t like the idea of the Spiritualists harming any of the Ciphers, but they really can’t go around attacking people whenever they want.
“Saia, I have a million questions for you, but you all wanted me here for a specific reason. Casey said something bad was happening, that Ciphers are disappearing. What more can you tell me about that?”
Frowning deeply, Saia says, “For the past several months, we have been losing people. Only five so far, but we’re a close-knit group. Every one of them is missed greatly. We didn’t know what was happening at first, but the last Cipher that disappeared was seen just before it happened. Their spirit wavered and then disappeared completely, just as it does when a Cipher’s body is about to die. But these five were all young and healthy. The only time we witness a Cipher die is when their bodies wear out. I don’t know what happens after that. They must turn into Sihirs, but we assume the Guardians have some way of countering the chnage.”
“They must know when a Cipher is getting close to death so they can prepare for it,” I say. I felt as if I had discovered some expertly hidden truth when I thought of the Guardians finding sacrifices for each Cipher, but they had to have been killing them all along. There’s no way for the Spiritualists to take a Cipher back out of the spirit world once they’re here. They would have had to figure out a way to keep the Sihirs in check centuries ago. Being locked in the spirit world certainly doesn’t make a person immortal.
Braden looks over at me with a doubtful expression. I shake my head and mentally promise to explain the reality of Sihirs to him later. “So do you have any idea what happened to the missing Ciphers?”
“Yes, Libby. They’re dead. This place has a special connection with death since death is the only thing that can separate a body and spirit completely. Those of us that have been here for a long time can feel it when a Cipher dies. We felt each of their deaths.” She hangs her head
with grief, as does everyone else in the crowd. “We need you to stop this from happening again, Libby. We can’t do anything ourselves. We are completely helpless here.”
“I’m trying to find a way to help you, Saia, to help everyone here. We’re having a hard time figuring out how to get around the Guardians and Spiritualists.” Every plan we’ve come up with so far has fizzled out to everyone getting killed. Not very hopeful.
The bell-like sound of Saia’s laughter surprises me. “I wouldn’t suggest going up against the Guardians if that can be avoided, but what do you mean you don’t know how to get around the Spiritualists? You’re here, aren’t you?”
“Well, yeah, but how does that help?”
“It helps because they can’t see anything you do here. They have no idea you’re in the spirit world at all.”
“How can that be? Casey told me about shielding herself when she’s here, but I don’t know how to do that yet.”
Saia smiles at my confusion. “Shielding only blurs what the Spiritualists can see. It doesn’t prevent them from knowing you’re here.”
“Then why don’t they know I’m here?”
“Have you ever known another person beside yourself who has both Spiritualism and Concealment?” Saia asks.
“Well, aside from Milo, no, I guess I haven’t. That’s why they can’t tell I’m here? My Concealment is canceling out my Spiritual presence? I didn’t think that would work. Actually, I didn’t even think about it. I just figured the Spiritualists would find me no matter what I did since they’re so strong.” I can’t believe something so simple hadn’t crossed my mind before now. I have never even noticed that those two talents are never paired together. How is that even possible? Talents can follow bloodlines, of course, but otherwise they are supposed to be random.
“Milo,” Saia says, “who is Milo?”
Her question brings me out of my thoughts. “He’s my boyfriend.” I throw that in for Braden’s benefit. “He used to be a Cipher, but after I did a second Inquest on him he had six talents. The only one he’s missing is Vision.”
Saia gasps. “A Cipher? And he was never taken?”
“No, his parents convinced the Inquisitor to forge his Inquest and they went into hiding. He’s not the first, I’ve learned from the Cipher families I’ve met, but most are caught and killed pretty quickly,” I say. Another question occurs to me and I don’t hesitate to ask. “Why don’t you know about Milo? You seem to know about everyone else.”
“We can’t see our own kind. They have no talents, so we are blind to them. This place allows us to see power and its effects, not people.”
“Huh,” Braden says, “I wonder if that applies to Seekers, too.”
So do I. But that is a conversation for another day. “Saia, I came here tonight not only because of the Ciphers that are disappearing but because I need to know how to get all of you out of here. We’ve been trying to figure it out, but we’re just not getting very far.”
“I have already given you part of the answer, and I think you have just given yourself the other half of the answer,” she says.
“I have?”
She nods eagerly. “Yes. The Spiritualists can’t track you here. They won’t be able to stop you from doing for us what you did for Milo. None of us can escape this place on our own because we can’t get out of the spirit world without talents. If you unlock our talents here, we’ll be able to escape.”
“You want me to perform Inquests on everyone here? Is that even possible? Don’t I need to be in contact with your physical body for that to work?” I ask.
Braden chuckles behind me, and I have the intense desire to smack him until I realize most of the crowd is doing the same thing. Leaning close to my ear, Braden says, “Libby, even here, the body and spirit aren’t actually separated. You touch someone’s spirit and you are in contact with their body, too.”
Then, in an attempt to mollify my embarrassment, Braden turns to Saia. “I don’t want you to think Libby has no idea what she’s doing, because she does, but you’ll have to excuse her for not knowing certain things. She has been unable to reach the spirit world for more than five years. That’s why she didn’t come to you sooner. She only broke through her block earlier tonight.”
“Oh dear,” Saia says. “You have had quite the evening, haven’t you?”
I just sigh and try not to groan. I’ve had quite the … well, life.
“Look, Saia,” I say, “I want to start freeing you right now, but I don’t think that would be the best idea. Once I start, the Guardians are going to notice their prisoners waking up and wandering around, even if the Spiritualists don’t. This is going to have to be a one shot deal. It’s going to take a lot of planning,” I say.
“But what about the disappearances?” Someone asks from the crowd. “How are you going to stop those? We can’t lose any more Ciphers.”
“I don’t know. If we knew who was going to be taken next maybe I could do something, but I don’t know how we could know that.” Maybe if I could get more information about each of the five taken we could figure out a pattern. Are they all Ciphers from the compound nearest me, or are they from all over the world?
Braden leaving my side startles me. I turn to look at him. He looks genuinely nervous facing this crowd. I hadn’t even noticed until now that he had any real fear of being here. In fact, I think he might have been hiding behind me up this whole time. But not anymore. He opens himself up to the people he may very well have helped put here.
“I may be able to help with that. I’m not in the best of positions to get information anymore, but I still have a few contacts who might be willing to help me. I might be able to find out who they’re going to take next,” Braden says.
I expect his offer to be met with enthusiasm, but I am very wrong. A disturbance in the crowd brings a group of young men forward until they push into the circle. The first one shoves an accusing finger at Braden. “Why are you even here? He’ll go to his contacts all right, but not to get information. He’ll tell them everything. He’ll sell us out like he always does!”
“No, he won’t,” I say desperately. I have no doubt in my mind that this is the leader of the renegade Ciphers. He is the one who grabbed Casey. I recognize his spiritual energy from the attack.
“We can’t trust him!” the young man shouts.
Braden brings his hands up in a peaceful gesture. “Lucas, please, I’m not going to betray anyone. I want to help you get home.”
“I was home before you grabbed me!” Lucas screams at him. “I was safe and happy before I met you. You stole my life! I can’t trust you after that. I’ll kill you before I put my life in your hands again.”
Spirit or not, he can do it. So when he lunges at Braden, I know I have to stop him. My Speed carries me into his path, and the blow that was meant for Braden catches me on the shoulder. I don’t hesitate to throw my elbow back as I spin away from a second hit. We connect, but instead of the sickening sound of breaking bone, there is no sound at all. The impact is muffled by the world we are standing in, but it doesn’t take away any of the force. Lucas cries out in pain. I reverse my spin in a split second and catch his throat in the palm of my hand. The power behind my blow carries both of us to the ground, me landing on my knees with him pinned beneath me.
“Listen to me right now, Lucas. I don’t care who put you here. I wouldn’t care if it was me who put you here. Braden has given me his Guardian promise that he will not reveal any of this to his superiors. Whether you are stupid enough to think he can get around a promise like that or not, you will not touch him. He is here under my protection, and so help me, if anyone even thinks about hurting him I will leave you here to rot after everyone else is freed. I am Cassia the Destroyer. Every single Cipher in this world belongs to me. You are mine to command. And you will do exactly as I say. Do you understand me?”
His bulging eyes blink once before a strangled, “Yes,” escapes his lips. I have to peel my fingers away from his
neck. I stay towering above him for a moment longer before standing back up. Lucas takes even longer to gather himself. As he scrambles back to his feet I watch every movement for hints that he is going to attempt another attack. The cautious hunch of his body reassures me. He backs away to the protection of a group of similarly-minded friends. Their glares have turned somewhat wary, but it is obvious none of them are very happy. But as I look at each one, memorizing their faces, their eyes drop in obedient shame. I scan the entire group, finding that everyone is staring at me. I can’t tell whether their eyes are drawn out of fear or awe, but I hope it’s the second one. I’m not a Guardian.
Satisfied that no one else is going to do something crazy, I turn back to Saia. She looks surprisingly appreciative of how I handled Lucas. Some of the others near her look taken aback by my outburst. It couldn’t be helped. The world around me swirls for a moment before returning to normal. Braden grabs my elbow to steady me.
“You’re too tired. You’re not going to be able to stay here much longer,” he whispers.
“Saia,” I say, wanting to wrap this up as soon as possible, “I’m going to have to work out a plan with the rest of my team. Braden will try to find out who might be taken next, but I want you to prepare a detailed report about everyone that has gone missing so far. I need to know where they were being held in the physical world, any personal information that might be helpful, everything. I’ll be back as soon as I can and we’ll go from there, okay?”
“Yes, thank you, Libby. We will be ready for you when you return. And please, as soon as possible, would you bring Milo with you? I know we are all anxious to meet this young man.”
I smile at her more widely than necessary. “Of course, Saia, I’ll bring him as soon as I can. He’s only had his talents for a few weeks, but he’s working very hard at developing them.”
“Wonderful. Now you should go back and get some rest. I will see you tomorrow night.”
“Wait, I needed to ask you something else. Have there been any new Ciphers lately?”
Secret of Betrayal: Book Two of The Destroyer Trilogy Page 13
