Secret of Betrayal: Book Two of The Destroyer Trilogy (41 page)

I really hope he’s right. “Okay then, go get in
position.”

We start to separate, Braden moving to follow me
toward the center of the circle. Milo frowns at his direction and pauses. My
muscles tense. Did he see our connection? We can’t do this right now. No matter
how much it will hurt him, I can’t take the time to explain things.

“Is Braden going with you?” he asks. Suspicion
seeps through his blocks.

Oh, great. If I’m feeling it, his emotions must
be pretty strong. Braden is always so careful around Milo that he hasn’t given
him a single reason to suspect. I fear the last few days have changed that.
Braden being with me while he was gone instead of Lance My disappearances and
excuses the last few days to spend time at Braden’s so we can play up the
charade of his all too real seduction.
The fact that I can’t
act normal in front of Milo when Braden is around.
Added up, it may have
tipped the scales. Not to mention this morning getting out of Braden’s car. I
don’t think Milo saw me touching Braden, but he may have. My lingering could
definitely have aroused suspicion. Not now, I beg.

My voice is small when I’m finally able to
answer him. “Yeah, he is. I need someone close to me to give me messages if
anything goes wrong.”

“Oh … okay,” Milo says slowly, not even close to
shaking off his suspicion.

Milo turns and jogs back to his position. It was
a close call, but one I know in my gut will be repeated. I won’t be able to
hide for much longer. I
sigh,
knowing now isn’t the
time to worry about it. I want to get this rescue over with as soon as
possible. Lance wasn’t being dramatic when he said we’re going to have a lot to
do after the Ciphers are freed. We make it to the middle of the circle of
Ciphers and all of my other concerns fall away. Today is all about them.

We’ve practiced this moment so many times. They
all know what to do. Two Ciphers, Daniel and a woman named Hannah, step into
the middle of the circle with me. They will be my anchors, my links to the rest
of the Ciphers. I take one of each of their hands, and they in turn reach back
to the circle and take someone else’s hand. All through the circle the Ciphers
link together. Almost every one of the two thousand Ciphers is connected to me
in a matter of seconds, all but the Ciphers circling Milo and Dean.

Braden steps up behind me and says, “We’re
ready.”

I smile, thankful for his help. Another simple
task I have yet to master in the spirit world is communicating without
speaking. Everything in this place is spirit. It’s all connected. Words are
completely unnecessary once you learn how to speak through your spirit. It
irritates me to death that I can’t manage something so simple, but it did give me
a good reason to give to Milo for having Braden by my side. The real reason
he’s here brings him to place his hands lightly on my shoulders. Right away I
feel my talents hum with the desire to be released.

My own Spiritualism is powerful despite my inability
to use it
mcuh
of the time. Not only does Braden’s
touch enhance my power, it lends me his experience. With his help, I can now
feel every Cipher gathered around me. Everyone is ready.

Closing my eyes, I prepare myself to begin. All
of my talents, with the exception of Perception, fall away. I fill myself to
bursting with it. Linked with Braden I am able to draw in more than I ever have
before. The effect of having so much talent brewing under my skin is dizzying.
It begs to be released.

“Tell Milo and Dean to start,” I say to Braden.
Neither of them have any problem with that kind of communication. A silent
squeeze from Braden gives me the go ahead.

My pent up Perception flows out of me in a rush.
It sweeps through the first thousand Ciphers effortlessly. After that, I have
to go to work, directing my talent and pushing it along. Another five hundred
down. There are two rows of Ciphers left when I begin to struggle.
Two hundred more.
I have to get them. There won’t be any
second chances. The Spiritualists are going to recognize what’s happening as
soon as the Ciphers start disappearing. Each addition to my collection is a
fight. My hands start to shake after only another forty. The trembling begins
in my legs at seventy-five. My whole body is shaking by the time I make it
through the first hundred.

I feel a moment of hope knowing there’s only one
more row to go. I start to push again when Braden’s voice breaks through my
focus. “Dean and Milo can’t do it. Their Ciphers are rejoining the main group.”

A shudder of dread runs through me.
Another forty.
I’m not sure I can get them all. Braden’s
arms tighten around my body, his love fueling me just as much as his power. My
shaking lessens considerably. I let myself sink against him as I try to suck up
every ounce of help I can. Slowly I start pushing again. They come more easily
than before, but it’s still a challenge to gather those remaining. It’s agony
to push my Perception into the last few Ciphers. I nearly collapse when I
finally infiltrate the very last one. Braden is the only thing keeping me
upright.

I feel as if I have exhausted every last speck
of my strength, but there’s more work to do. Connected to so many at once, it’s
incredibly difficult to find anything in them at first. Searching for their
talents feels like swimming in molasses. I can’t see anything. My head pounds
painfully as I try to sort through the maddening collage. It feels like forever
before I finally start to make sense of anything. Mentally stacking everyone on
top of each other finally lets me examine them without feeling as if I’m on one
of those spinning carnival rides. Once I figure that out, I begin recognizing
the signs of talents.

Every talent but Vision.
And not just in some of them. Every single Cipher is exactly like Milo and
Dean. The instant I mentally admit their presence, the air around me shifts
from joyous to one of discomfort. Their spirit forms are blocked from their
bodies by the Spiritualists, but they can obviously still feel the same pain.
All over the world, diktats are rising to the surface of every Cipher’s left
wrist and slowly turning jet black.
The mark of the
Destroyer.
I sincerely hope no one is seeing it. As their diktats form,
I hurry to finish up the rest of the Inquests by searching out over two thousand
names and classes.

Names imprint on my mind and theirs like
wildfire. Sarah, Grady, Sharon, Eliza, Maxwell,
Latika
,
Ming, Selma, Javier, names from all over the world fill my mind. Followed
closely behind are the classes. I’m genuinely surprised when every Class is
represented. They aren’t all Guardians. That would have been nice, given how
much I need warriors, but a rounded group will help me so much more. I’ll have
everything I need to win this fight now with healers, tacticians, inventors, and
so much more. Weak and deliriously happy at the same time, I conclude the
Inquest and drop away.

I catch Braden off guard with my sudden exit and
nearly slip through his arms before he can grab me. It takes some serious
concentration to pull my feet back under me. I really only accomplish it with
Braden’s help. The promise of spending a few minutes in his arms is so alluring
right now. Even more so when he discretely presses his lips against my cheek,
and whispers, “You did it, Libby. You did it.”

I manage to resist returning the kiss and turn
to glance around me, though Braden doesn’t actually let me go. The Ciphers are
huddling in haphazard groups, staring in amazement at the diktats now reflected
on their spirits.

“What are they still doing here?” I demand.
“Braden, tell them to get going. The Spiritualists are going to figure out
what’s happening any minute!”

“They’re getting ready, Libby. Don’t worry.
Casey’s keeping a careful watch on the Spiritualists. They couldn’t feel
anything you did just now. All they’re aware of is that something has changed,
but they can’t figure out what yet. There’s time. Give them a moment to get
over the shock. You’ve just given them what they’ve been waiting a lifetime
for.”

I know. I know they’re stunned, but they have to
start moving. Daniel is standing only a few feet away from me. I step away from
Braden, intent on asking him to get the Ciphers going, but I stumble over the
first step and Braden has to catch me again. The strength I have left is going
to go into smacking him. The first words of a demand to make him let go of me
are the only thing that leave my mouth before I hear both Daniel and Hannah
taking charge of the situation. I watch anxiously as the Ciphers bunch into
groups depending on where their bodies are being held. Each group has a squad
leader who will be in charge of getting them out of the compound to the safety
of the handlers waiting for them. Not until the last group disappears do I
finally let myself relax a little.

Milo comes rushing through the spirit mist and
pulls me away from Braden without commenting on his holding onto me. Maybe it’s
because he has to take over keeping me on my feet when he grabs me. “You did
it!” he exclaims. “They’re all going to be free, Libby! I can’t believe you really
did it. I was so sure something was going to go wrong.”

So much for his constant “Everything’s going to
be fine,” huh? His excitement still draws a tired smile from me.

“It’s not over yet, Milo,” Braden reminds him.
“We need to get back. The Spiritualists are already sensing the Ciphers’
absence. They’re starting to panic. The Guardians are going to be coming down
on them any second. We need to go. Everybody regroup at Libby’s.”

Back to business.
I
step away from Milo, feeling a little more stable now, and search for Dean and
Casey. I want to know everyone is all right before I leave. I see Casey running
toward me with Dean and raise my hand to wave them over. I get halfway through
the motion when someone grabs my arm. My stomach falls as I look down to see
Milo’s fingers gripping my arm tight enough to make me wince. I’m shaking again
by the time I force myself to look at him.

He isn’t looking at me, though. His eyes are
glued to the thread of spiritual energy drifting away from my palm. Tears of …
I don’t even know, dread, relief, fear, burn my eyes as his gaze follows the
thread all the way back to Braden. “What the …”

“Libby!” Braden suddenly screams.

My eyes snap away from Milo instantly to see
Braden’s spirit wavering. Milo tries to stop me from running to him, but I’m
still stronger than he’ll ever be. I rip my arm from his grip, and call out,
“Braden, your Oath! Give it to me, now!”

He crumbles to the floor as his fingers try to touch
his emblem. I drop down next to him and tap my weary Spiritualism in a
desperate attempt to keep him here. His fingers reach the emblem and move to
touch his forehead. His fingers barely reach his skin when his whole body
arches in horrible pain.

And then he disappears completely.

Chapter 3
2

Hardened Steel

Someone is screaming at me. I don’t care.
My spirit races out of the spirit world and slams into my body.
Lance jumps up from the couch. I don’t even stop to tell him to put his blade
up. Panic gives me enough adrenaline to scramble to my feet and propel me
toward the garage door. My bare feet slap against the concrete, their frantic
rhythm matching my heartbeat. I don’t even remember grabbing my keys. That
thought skitters out of my mind as I fumble to open the door. Lance pulling it
open for me finally lets me jump into the Bronco and jam the keys into the
ignition. Lance hits the garage door opener and forces me to stop a split
second before I hit the accelerator.

Waiting for the garage door to roll itself up
nearly makes me scream.

“Libby, what happened?” Lance finally manages to
ask me.

A sob chokes me.
“Braden.”

It’s all I can say.

Lance curses under his breath. The door finally
opens far enough, and I speed out of the driveway. A car trying to drive down
the street barely stops in time to avoid getting crushed. The blaring horn
carries on as I race away. It isn’t the only one. Angry drivers swerve to avoid
me all the way to Braden’s house. I barely even hear them. I can’t think of
anything but Braden screaming in agony. Lance’s knuckles are white as I cut
across three lanes of traffic to turn into Braden’s neighborhood. I fling both
me and Lance forward as I come to an abrupt stop in front of his house.

The sight of his front door standing open draws
a strangled cry from me. Both Lance and I bolt from the Bronco and run for the
house. Some rational part of my brain counts every step it takes to reach the
front door.
Twelve.
Twelve steps to
find myself staring at an empty room and a puddle of blood.

“No,” I sob. My exhausted body finally gives out
and I crumble to the ground. “No, no, they took him. They took him.”

I can’t get up, but I have to find him. My
trembling hands paw at the table next to me, trying to pull me up. I only get
to my knees before I collapse again.
“Braden!”
I call
out. He has to be here somewhere! I can’t let myself believe he’s gone.
“Braden!”

Lance is suddenly at my side helping me stand
back up. “No one’s here, Libby. The house is empty.”

“The Guardians took him, Lance. This is my
fault.” I break down and sob into Lance’s chest. I did this.

“Libby, Mr. Walters is gone, too,” Lance says.

I don’t care. Braden is the only person I can
think about. I know that is his blood growing cold on the carpet. The blue
shirt he was wearing earlier is draped over a chair, still wet from something
being spilled on it. I don’t have to look in his closet to know he put on the
brown one I saw in the vision. Why didn’t I warn him? I’m so stupid! This is my
fault. He never should have helped me. I can’t fix anything. I can’t make
anything better. All I can do is ruin things, destroy lives. Why did I ever
think I could do anything good? I keep repeating over and over again that this
is my fault.