Secret of Betrayal: Book Two of The Destroyer Trilogy (40 page)

Tapping my Naturalism to calm my body down is
the only thing that keeps me from jumping out of my desk. My phone vibrating
under my hand does startle me quite a bit, though. I open the message from
Casey and feel a small measure of relief. She’s in the nurse’s office faking a
migraine. A second later, Braden knocks on the classroom door. My teachers are
familiar enough with this exchange by now that my English teacher simply
motions for me to leave without even pausing in her monologue.

I gather my bag quickly and rush out behind
Braden. We barely say more than two words to each other as we walk out of the
school. A million conflicting emotions fill the car when we get in. My emotions
are bottled up tight, but I know Braden’s are as much of a mess as mine.
Halfway home, my hands start shaking and I’m the one to reach for him. He takes
my hand without comment and lends me some of his strength. We pull up to my
house to find that Milo and Lance have already beaten us there. Braden’s
disappointment is poignant.

“They just had to be early,” he complains.

“They’re as nervous as we are.” Lance
especially. It really grates on him that he can’t go into the spirit world with
me. He doesn’t like not knowing what’s going on. They both look over at me
expectantly, but Braden’s sudden turning to face me blocks them from my view.

“If anything goes wrong …” he starts.

I shake my head immediately. “I’m not going to
promise, Braden. Don’t even ask.” His whole body tightens. I know he wants to
ask again, beg me until I relent. I won’t do it. Nothing he could ever say
would make me change my mind. “Everything’s going to be fine. We’ll get the
Ciphers out.”

“Please, be careful.”

How many times have I heard that through my
life? A small smile settles on my lips. I’m about to tell him that I will when
my vision blurs and I suddenly can’t move. Recognizing right away the sensation
as the beginning of a vision, I clear my mind completely. I’ve been trying to
get a glimpse of today for weeks to no avail, as usually happens with Vision.
The quick flash of Braden lying unconscious on the floor shocks me. That’s all
I get, but I memorize the details in an instant. My vision clears, and I am
once again staring at a very conscious, very concerned, Braden.

“Libby?” he asks.

My eyes flash across his clothes. Dark blue
shirt, black slacks, they aren’t the same. He was wearing the brown shirt I
really like in the vision. “Are you going to change your clothes when you get
home?” I demand. I won’t know what he’s wearing once we get to the spirit world
since clothing is completely subjective there. What I wear while I’m there has
nothing to do with what I actually have on.

Braden shrugs, more confused
than ever.
“Uh, I wasn’t planning on it. I’m supposed to be at the
compound this afternoon to report on pulling you out of class. Why?”

It wasn’t a vision of today, then. Maybe
tomorrow, maybe the next day when the Guardians figure out he helped me, but it
won’t happen today. I sigh in relief.
“Never mind.
Forget I asked. Just … you be careful, too, all right?”

“I will,” he assures me, still not convinced
that nothing is wrong.

My hand tightens around his as I try to reassure
him silently. The outline of his Guardian blade under his shirt sleeve makes me
falter. I could ask him. He would give me his Oath without a second thought.
The words form on my lips.

Milo taps on the window, making me yank my hand
away from Braden’s. He motions for me to hurry up. When I hold my finger up to
tell him I’ll be another minute, he frowns, but backs away to say something to
Lance.

“I’ll see you as soon as this is over, okay?”
Braden says. I can only nod wordlessly. His first two fingers press against the
inside of my left wrist, renewing his promise before pulling away. It’s harder
than I expected to force myself out of his car. Watching him drive away fills
me with a sense of dread I can’t fully explain. I’m seconds away from calling
him and telling him to come back when Milo comes up behind me.

“Let’s get inside and get you two settled,” he
says. I don’t resist when he tows me along behind him.

Once we’re in the house, I manage to shake off
my worry and focus on what we’re about to do. I don’t have to turn the room
into a freezer again as I did that first time, but this won’t be fast and I
don’t want to take any risks. Lance and Milo help me pull two portable standing
air conditioners into the living room. Milo suggests having some ice packs
nearby in case Lance thinks I’m beginning to struggle at all. We go to the
kitchen in search of ice and run into Lance. For some reason, one of his hands
is behind his back. Milo doesn’t notice, but I quirk an eyebrow up in question.

Moving so Milo can’t see
him,
Lance flicks his hand from behind his back. The blue and green toothbrush he’s
holding makes my eyes widen. Braden must have left it by the sink this morning.
With a quick look, I thank him silently for grabbing it. Because of our link,
as well as my promise not to lie to him about anything, Lance doesn’t need to
ask what the toothbrush means. He knows everything about Braden’s being caught
with me and his fear for my safety. He also knows that Braden has been staying
here at night to keep an eye on me, and nothing more. That last part he would
definitely have felt if anything more was going on between me and Braden. A
brief thought makes me wonder if there’s any way to get around that, just for
future reference.

Maybe my expression lets slip what my emotional
blocks are hiding, but Lance looks at me more closely than I would wish. Does
he know I’m falling for Braden? His fingers move to his Guardian blade in a
silent question. He wants to know whether I’ve gotten Braden’s Oath yet. My
concern from a few minutes ago redoubles. I bite the side of my lip, afraid
that I should have a different answer than I do. It almost makes me tear up to
have to shake my head no.

Our silent exchange ends when Lance moves in
closer to me, and whispers, “He can still give you his Oath in the spirit
world. I looked it up.”

Relief ripples through my mind. I may not need
it, but I tuck that bit of information into the back of my mind just in case I
do.

We finish up our preparations a few minutes
later. Milo is reluctant to leave. The tight control he keeps on his emotions
is much thinner than usual today. It doesn’t take any Perception, though, to
know he’s worried about me, and about our grand plan failing. “Everything’s
going to be fine,” I tell both him and myself.

“I know,” he says. He doesn’t look as if he has
any intention of leaving until Dean calls to as where he is. Even still, Milo
is slow to pull away. “I’ll see you in a few minutes, okay?”

I nod and hug him goodbye. At least I’ll see
them both again in the spirit world.

Lance flopping on the couch calls my attention
to him. I scowl at him for rough treatment of the furniture. This isn’t my house.
He ignores me, big surprise, and says, “You realize, of course, that Milo and
Braden are both going to be in the spirit world today.
At the
same time.
Within view of each other.”

“Yeah …”

“Remember why that has never happened before,
with the exception of the one time you jumped away in the middle of Saia’s
memorial?” he asks, holding up his palms and wiggling his fingers at me.

I think I’m going to pass out. My strength
slithers out of me and puddles on the floor. How did I not think about this earlier?
From the beginning of this plan, I knew they both had to be there. Somehow I
managed to bury the implications of that deep in the recesses of my mind. I’m
such an idiot.

“How much does Milo know about Spiritual
Companions?” I ask quietly.

“I explained it in pretty good detail,” Lance
admits.

I slump down to the floor and close my eyes.
“He’s going to figure it out.”

“Thank goodness.”

I turn to scowl at him.

“What? I told you, I don’t like keeping
secrets.”

“You’re so helpful,” I drone.

He just shrugs. “Whatever. How about we get this
rescue started? We’ve still got a full day of rounding up Ciphers and finding
places to put them.”

Right.
Milo may find
out about Braden, and it’s really going to suck if he does, but I have bigger
problems at the moment. “Okay, I’m going,” I say.

Lance sits up attentively, ready for anything.
Among all the many mistakes I may have already made this morning, choosing
Lance to keep watch over me isn’t one of them. I’m glad he’s here. Crossing my
legs so I’m comfortable, I close my eyes and center myself. Anxious energy I
can’t seem to dissipate quivers under my skin as I take a deep breath.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Chapter 3
1

Not Over Yet

The moment I step into the spirit world, chaos surrounds
me. I stumble back in the face of such overwhelming activity. For a moment, I’m
convinced something has gone wrong. Only when I realize they’re all grinning
and laughing do I understand they’re simply too excited to contain it. I can’t
imagine how they must feel. Some of the Ciphers in the spirit world have been
here for more than fifty years. Regardless of how long each of them has been
trapped, they all left people behind they can’t wait to see again. Friends and
family are waiting on the other side of the barrier the Ciphers have never
before been able to cross. I imagine the families waiting for them are just as
keyed up, right now.

Their excitement catches hold of me quickly. I
find myself smiling as I push my way through them. I still need help fast
traveling in the spirit world, so Daniel takes my hand without my having to
ask. The happiness on his weathered face almost makes me cry.

“Everyone is gathering in the Central Expanse,”
Daniel says.

“Who else is here?” I know I can’t be the first.

“Milo and Dean arrived a few moments ago. Casey
has been here for a while. She’s already monitoring the Spiritualists and doing
her best to shield what’s going on. I haven’t seen Braden yet, but I’m sure
he’ll be here in a few moments.”

Worry creases my face to hear Braden hasn’t
arrived yet. He left me at my house a while ago. I expected him to beat Milo
and Dean here. I consider jumping back out of the spirit world to call and
check on him. I’m about to tell Daniel to wait for me when I feel Braden’s
presence surge around me. My hand drops out of Daniel’s as I turn to greet him.

“What took you so long?” I ask.

“Am I the last one here?” he asks.

I nod.

“Sorry, I was waiting for Mr. Walters to show
up. He said he had an issue with his substitute that he had to deal with, and
then he ended up being late.”

I frown and hope it wasn’t anything too serious.
We can’t have the school calling him to come handle some kind of catastrophe in
the middle of this. “Is everything taken care of now?” I ask.

“He said it was. Are we ready here?” We both
turn to look at Daniel.

“We’re ready,” he says. “Libby, do you mind if I
jump ahead? I want to make sure the Ciphers in Milo’s and Dean’s circles are in
position.”

My logic balks. Daniel’s anxiety and Braden’s
presence overrides it. “Go ahead,” I say.

Daniel jumps away, knowing I don’t need him to
fast travel with Braden here. Is that the only reason he wanted to get away and
turn me over to Braden? I reach for his hand. Braden looks at me questioningly,
knowing that if Milo sees us more than one of our secrets will be revealed. My
hand is trembling as I reach for his. “You’re just helping me get to the
Central Expanse,” I say firmly.

Braden wisely chooses not to comment. He offers
me his hand. The sight of the filament of spirit stretching between our hands
almost changes my mind. I could try on my own. With how crazy things are right
now, I can’t imagine Milo will even get a chance to notice. I’m going to be in
the center of two thousand Ciphers, anyway. Milo will be positioned on the edge
of that gathering as he attempts to help me with the Inquests. Once we’re both
in position, we won’t be in sight of each other at all. My hand slips into
Braden’s and we rush forward to meet everyone else. As soon as we land, I drop
Braden’s hand and scour the area for Milo. A dozen yards away talking to Dean,
he hasn’t even noticed me yet.

Daniel is already in the Central Expanse,
directing people to their positions. I’m pleased to see everything is laid out
just as it should be. Every Cipher in the spirit world is standing in layered,
concentric circles. Small groups of about twenty have broken off the main
group, one for Milo and one for Dean. It isn’t much considering there are just
over two thousand Ciphers in total, but any amount of the load taken off me
will be helpful. Plus, if it turns out Milo and Dean can’t unlock the Ciphers’
talents as I’m hoping they can, the groups are small enough that they can
rejoin the main circle right away.

The excited buzz of my arrival catches Milo’s
attention. When he starts toward me, I move away from Braden—his puff of
annoyance lets me know just how he feels about that—and I put my hands behind
my back. Braden catches on and stuffs his own hands in his pockets, staying
directly behind me. The link drifts behind me, our bodies partially hiding it
from view.

“Everything looks like
it’s
ready,” Milo says.

“I know,” I say excitedly. “We’re really going
to do this, aren’t we?”

He grins back. It’s a fierce and primal thing.
“Yeah, we are.”

“You know what to do if you can’t do the Inquest
right?”

“If it doesn’t work, I’ll have them back in your
circle a second later.” I start to remind him of something else, but he stops
me and says, “I won’t waste any time trying again. One try, that’s it. We’ve
gone over this a thousand times. Don’t worry. Everything’s going to be fine.”