Darkening Chaos: Book Three of The Destroyer Trilogy (4 page)

It’s
time to get to work.

With
Braden I was tentative, worried about hurting him. That’s really not a concern
for me tonight. I thin my Perception to a dangerous point and start jabbing at
the first bubble. My anger and determination punch through it quickly, but I
turn it aside when I realize it’s only a simple promise to a friend not to
reveal that he is secretly learning to crochet. The stupid things people waste
an unbreakable promise on. I dive at the next one and pull back out just as
quickly. Then another, this time pausing just a minute to soak up the rumor
this guy was told about another uprising against President Howe that didn’t
work out any better than missing Vice President Lazaro’s rebellion did. Sounds
like Braden was right about how precarious the president’s reign is. The fourth
bubble I burrow into finally has what I’m looking for.

The
same room I saw in Braden’s memory, a utilitarian room with a single desk and
chair in it, pops up before me. The Seeker, who is apparently named Samuel,
sits down at the desk. The pang of frustration that I already had the chance to
gain this information when I was in Braden’s memory and ignored it as unimportant,
digs under my skin and pulses. Unlike last time, I studiously store away every
bit of the protocols and procedures Guardians are expected to memorize. Only
when he gets to the last page, the prophecy I already have, do I realize my
mistake. This was his Guardian orientation, but Guardians don’t handle truly
dangerous prisoners, Seekers do. That was the whole reason we sat crouched in
the forest’s undergrowth for over an hour. I need his Seeker manual.

I
yank my awareness out of that bubble and spear the next one in a single stroke.
I drop into a room more luxurious than the gardens surrounding the Canadian
compound. Rich colors, silky fabrics, scents and tastes seductive enough to
make me stumble, suck me into the scene with grasping claws. I’m so stunned by
the effect the room has on me that it takes a few moments for me to realize I’m
not alone. The young not-yet-Seeker, Samuel, sits in a chair to my left with a
very charismatic man sitting directly across from him. Samuel’s eyes are wide
as he’s told for the first time of the secret society within the ranks of his
brothers. Even more shocking for him is when the man, Henley, offers him a
place in their brotherhood. He accepts eagerly, without seeing the man behind
him who is holding a gleaming Guardian blade on the off chance that Samuel
refuses.

Henley
explains how Samuel will remain a part of the regular Guardians, a secret
ambassador in their ranks, protecting them with his ability to see the future.
The young man is drunk on the idea and barely bats an eye when Henley goes on
to explain about the Ciphers and the other prisoners he will be expected to
oversee. My heart begins to race as I listen. I want to scream at Henley to
spit it out, tell me what I want to know, but all that would do is keep me from
hearing what he’s saying. Both men standing up terrifies me, making me fear I
will go away from this night empty handed. There has to be more!

They
shake hands, Samuel grinning wildly, and my wish is finally answered. Henley
gestures to the man who had very nearly ended Samuel’s life mere minutes ago,
and asks him to show Samuel the prisoner level and show him where he will be
stationed when it is his turn to take watch. The picture of hospitality, this
other man leads Samuel out of the plush room and down the hall. I catalogue
every turn, every door, every step of the journey deep into the compound’s
belly. Two levels down, he introduces Samuel to the sleeping Ciphers who will
soon be rescued, unbeknownst to them. Another level down brings them to the
general holding cells, a place for criminals, run of the mill miscreants. What
I am so desperate to find lies deep on the fourth sublevel.

Samuel
is shown the two foot thick solid steel walls to keep even the highest levels
of Strength from breaking through them, the constant stream of noise to disrupt
any Perceptive’s focusing ability, multi-colored walls that are not only horrid
to look at but also make Concealment a dozen times more difficult. A defense
for every talent manifests itself here. It is a place meant to keep powerful
people at bay. People like me. Going after them in a place like this will
negate my talents’ power. I’ll be strictly on my own. I’ve only been completely
powerless once before, and it didn’t turn out so well. That was the night my
dad died.

This
talent-sucking place is where the Ciphers will be kept. Possibly even Helen and
her family will be here, if they aren’t on the floor above. No mention is made
of traitorous Guardians being kept here. Perhaps to preserve young Samuel’s
delusion in the righteousness of his work, or because there is another place
for people like Braden, I am left wondering where he might be. Hope that I
might find out only lasts a few more seconds until the guide leads Samuel back
up the stairs and elicits his unbreakable promise never to reveal any of what
he has seen or heard to anyone outside of the Seekers. Samuel agrees without
reservation, and the memory ends.

I
check the last bubble just to make sure there is nothing there I can use and
pull back slowly. Nothing. I came to the Guardian compound tonight with three
goals. Find out where the prisoners are being held. Learn the rest of the
prophecy. Discover what the Guardians are making that will break this fragile
world to pieces. I worried as soon as I realized just how young my captured
Seeker was that the prophecy and secret creations would be beyond his years and
experience. Still, I had hoped. It isn’t an easy thing to console myself with
meeting only one of those goals, and not even fully since I still don’t know
where Braden is.

I
pull my Perception out of Samuel and hear his gasping breath of relief before I
can force my eyes to open. Not even the painful way his face is contorted can
get a reaction out of me. Telling myself that tonight could have been much
worse doesn’t cheer me up, either, because knowing I’ve failed means knowing tonight
will be repeated. Try, try, again. Not only do I have to kidnap another Seeker,
I’m going to have to find someone like Henley, someone who knows the deepest
secrets of their corruption, someone powerful and evil.

Someone
who will take my head off if I make even the smallest mistake.

Did
I mention how long my list of mistakes is?

Chapter
4

Human

Getting away from the
Guardian compound without being noticed requires adding to Samuel’s minimal
collection of Guardian promises. He doesn’t seem very inclined to give it until
I tell him the alternative is me killing him. Having already suffered at my
hands more than once, with the bruises and mental scars to prove it, he gives
in and makes the promise. Daniel still feels the need to blindfold him, but we
drop him back off near where we found him without any other trouble.

Trouble
catches back up to us as soon as we pull up to the Cipher safe house, in the
form of Lance and a cell phone.

I
stare at him through the windshield. His grimace, and the way he’s holding his
phone away from his ear makes it pretty clear that whoever is on the phone
isn’t being very nice. Lance waves me over eagerly. I shrink against my seat. I
must be the reason behind the angry call. That can only mean Milo is on the
phone. Pressure builds behind my eyes, giving me an instant headache. Daniel
looks over at me in question, but I wave it off and tell him to go inside and
say goodbye to everyone if he wants to come with us back to Albuquerque. He
jumps out of the car much faster than a man his age should be able to.

My
exit is quite a bit slower. I shut the door in no hurry and take my time
turning away from it. Lance glares at me and starts closing the distance
himself. Why did I ever tell him to call Milo and tell him what I was doing
tonight? I sigh. Because I was too scared to do it myself. Milo is so angry
with me right now that I can’t bear the sound of his voice so filled with venom.
I am determined to prove to him that I am not the lying, deceptive, horrible
person he thinks I am. I wanted him to know what I planned, just not soon
enough to try and stop me. I’m sure that’s the part he’s mad about.

Lance
reaches me, and I hear him say, “You need to hear this from her, Milo.”

I
hear the angry reply, even though I can’t understand the words. I wince at the
heat spilling out over the phone line. Lance was wrong, he does hate me.

“Milo!”
Lance yells. “Just let her explain, okay?”

Another
unfriendly reply.

“Because
I can’t, man. I can’t explain it like she can. Would you please just listen to
her?”

I
can’t hear whatever Milo says next, which means he’s stopped yelling, but when
Lance finally holds the phone out to me, I flinch away from it. Lance growls at
me and mashes it into my hand. Then he simply folds his arms across his chest
and waits. I put the phone to my ear and take a deep breath.

“Milo?”
I ask, my voice small and shaky.

“Are
you okay?” he demands.

I
have to move the phone away from my ear a little because of how loud he’s
talking, but a small wave or relief runs through me. I expected his first words
to be accusing, not anxious.

“Yeah,
I’m fine. Everything went perfectly.”

“Good,”
he says. “What the hell were you thinking? Capturing a Seeker with only Daniel
to help you? Are you freaking kidding me, Libby?”

“Daniel
was the easiest to convince. I didn’t have time to fight with anyone about it.
All I needed was for him to distract the Seeker, not protect me.”

“You
still should have taken Hammond.”

I
don’t say anything to his argument. Milo moves on without my response.

“And
what is this about you turning yourself in to the Guardians tomorrow? You can’t
possibly be serious! There’s no way that’s going to happen!”

“Yes,”
I interrupt, “it is, Milo.”

The
steel in my voice stops his tantrum. “Excuse me?” he asks through his teeth.

“I’m
doing it, Milo. It’s the best chance to get inside and find them. Any other
time, we’ll have to sneak in. It will be twice as dangerous. They’ll let me
right in if I go tomorrow.”

“Yeah,
because they want to kill you! Of course they’ll let you in.”

I
can almost see him throwing up his hands in frustration like he always does.

“What
other choice do we have? I won’t let the Ciphers die. We have to get them out
tomorrow. We won’t get a second chance. Me turning myself in is our best shot
and you know it,” I say, “so stop arguing with me. You haven’t even given me a
chance to tell you what I found out tonight.”

The
line goes quiet. In my mind, I can see him drop the phone to his side, stare up
at the ceiling, and mutter something under his breath. I wait for him to push
aside his very real anger at me for this and for everything else. When I hear
his defeated sigh, I know he’s back. He may hate me right now, but it just
isn’t Milo to stand by and let someone get hurt. He might be wishing he could
do or say a few things to me after what I’ve put him through, but he’ll hold
back, for now. He won’t let anything bad happen just because he’s mad. Even more
important is that Milo is smart, smarter than he lets on most of the time. This
is the best plan, and he knows it. Finally, he is ready to admit that.

“You
got the information then?”

“Well,
some of it, the most pressing anyway. I know where the Ciphers are being kept,
and maybe even Helen, but …” I choke on my next words, not wanting to bring up
Braden with him right now. That part I explicitly told Lance not to mention to
him. “But, it’s going to be a little more of a challenge than I thought to get
them out. The holding cells are designed to disrupt talents. We’ll have to get
them out strictly on our own merit once were down there.”

Milo
laughs. I feel like I haven’t heard him laugh in years. I almost start crying
right there in the driveway, it sounds so wonderful. “Why are you laughing?” I
ask, nearly laughing myself.

“Libby,
us Ciphers are pretty used to having to do things without talents. I think
we’ll manage. If the cells are built to subdue talents, there’s a good chance
there are weaknesses the Guardians missed that people like Ciphers can exploit.
We’ll figure it out.”

Yes,
we
will. I know I’m still miles away from him not being angry with me,
and I’m pretty sure Everest stands in his way when it comes to forgiving or
trusting me again, but at least he isn’t yelling anymore. At least he is
willing to work with me on this. Not wanting to lose his amiable mood, I
quickly power forward and give him all the details I was able to glean from
Samuel’s memory. When I finally finish, and mention the need to find another
Seeker who can answer the rest of our questions, his anger returns, though not
as strongly as before.

“I’m
coming with you next time.” It isn’t a request by any means.

I
can tell from the tone of his voice that he’s ready to argue this one into the
ground. He doesn’t realize that isn’t necessary. “Of course, Milo. If you had been
here this time, I would have taken you with me, but I couldn’t wait. I knew it
was a good opportunity and I took it.”