“Why don’t you just go home, Milo?”
“Because I have a very good reason to be here tonight, and it doesn’t have anything to do with this party,” he says. Cryptic enough? I’m already tired of this game.
“I don’t care what your reason is for being here. You’re upsetting people. Leave,” I demand.
His face twists into smile that makes my stomach turn. “Will you come with me?”
“Why would I do that?”
“Because,” he says, “if you don’t, everyone in this room is going to die.”
A startled gasp goes up around the room. I glance over at Lance. He looks wary, but unconvinced. I’m feeling much more concerned. Braden and Hope are both radiating the desire to break Milo’s body into little pieces. This is going to get ugly real fast if I don’t do something.
“Nobody here is going to die.”
“They won’t if you come with me. It’s your choice. You already have the blood of more than eighty Ciphers on your hands. Do you really want more?”
“It’s not my fault those Ciphers died.”
He smirks at me. “I think that might be up for debate.”
“By who?” I demand.
“By their families. By the Seekers and Guardians. If you had given yourself up right away, those people wouldn’t have died.”
“That’s a lie, Milo, and you know it. The Seekers killed them the second after I got the ultimatum. Even if I had gone in right away, it would have already been too late,” I say. “And you were against me turning myself in from the beginning. Who are you to say I should have done something different?”
“Forgive me if I wasn’t as enlightened, then, as I am now. See, back then I actually thought you had a chance at defeating the Guardians. Now I know better,” he growls.
“This is about the Socius.”
Milo’s face twists in a hateful glare. “Obviously. Didn’t you think that was an important bit of information to share with the rest of the group? You’ve told these people for the last year and a half that you were going to defeat the Guardians and save them from their tyranny. You’re still telling them that, even though you know it’s a lie. You can’t defeat them.”
“You don’t know that, Milo,” I argue. “I didn’t mention it because I don’t even know if it’s true. It was a story so old it had been forgotten. And even if it is true, I’m going to find a way to give Braden his talents back. I just need a little more time to figure it out!”
Milo crosses the floor between us and plants himself right in front of me. “Well, I’m sorry to have to be the one to tell you this, Libby, but your time is up.”
The angry clatter of combat boots fills the room, and black-clad Guardians stream in from the hallway. If Howe was unsure about what really happened to Drake before, now he knows. Milo told him. Reprisal for breaking the truce has finally come.
Frightened guests dart out of their way as every Cipher in the room drops into a battle crouch. I stare at the Guardians in amazement. Not only are they actually wearing body armor, every single one of them is carrying a machine gun. They aren’t taking any chances this time around. With those guns, they could take down this entire room full of people in a matter of seconds. Even Hope looks a little scared now. Slowly, I turn back to face Milo.
“Why are you doing this, Milo? You hate the Guardians.”
“Aren’t you the one who told me not all Guardians are bad?” he sneers. “That was your justification for bringing in that piece of dirt behind you into our group.”
“That’s different, Milo. Braden came to us, wanting to help free the Ciphers. What you’re doing, you’re going against everything we’ve been fighting for since we met!”
“Actually, it’s quite the opposite. What I wanted in the beginning was to kill the Guardians who attacked Celia. The Ciphers came later.” Milo notices his sister standing behind Hope, then, and steps toward her. She steps back in fear, making him scowl at her and whirl back to face me. “Yes, I wanted to destroy the Guardians, but there’s more than one way to do that. Your way just isn’t going to work anymore. I’ve found a new way, a much better way.”
“What are you talking about?” I snap.
Holding his wrist up, he makes sure everyone can see his blackened diktats. “The most powerful Guardian rules all the others. And with these, that’s definitely going to be me.”
I just stare at him. He can’t be serious. He’s going to join the Guardians?
“Did they tell you that?” I ask him. “Did the Guardians promise you they’d put you in charge? You’ve got to know they’re lying, Milo. They aren’t going to honor any deal they’ve made with you. You know they won’t! Why are you doing this?”
Milo leans in closer to me. “The only thing the Guardians promised me was the life of the man who tried to kill Celia. The rest, well that’s going to happen whether they want it or not.”
“This is insane, Milo.”
“No!” he yells. “It would be insane to follow you into a battle you have no hope of winning! You screwed up, Libby! How many times do you have to fail before you finally realize you can’t win this? Every choice you’ve made has led us to failure!”
His words pierce me deeply. That isn’t true. He can’t really believe that is true.
“You made the decision to trust Braden. You let yourself fall in love with him, making him the perfect tool for the Guardians to use against you. If you hadn’t let him into our lives, he would never have been sent to kill you. You wouldn’t have had to choose between killing him and stealing his talents. He would still be useful! If you had just left him out of this like I wanted you to, we could have found a way to use him at the end whether he wanted to help us or not. We could have beaten the Guardians if you hadn’t let your heart rip apart our plans,” Milo snarls. “You did this, Libby. You left me with no other choice.”
“I … I can still beat them. You just have to trust me a little longer. I can get rid of the Guardians,” I say, my voice weak in the face of his outrage.
“Trust you?” he laughs. “That’s funny, Libby. You’re a bigger liar than the Guardians are.”
My hand plows across his face, the sharp slap echoing around the room. Shock flashes in his eyes. Fury follows right on its heels. His hand snaps out and grabs my chin. He yanks me away from Braden too quickly for anyone to respond. I glare at him, refusing to be cowed.
“Get out of here, now,” I say.
“I’m not leaving without you.”
“What? Am I your ticket into the Guardians? They won’t let you come over to play unless you pay your dues? That’s showing some real leadership skills, Milo. Good luck with the hostile takeover you’re planning. I’m sure it’ll be interesting,” I snap.
“This is your last chance to come with me before people start dying. I’d rather lock you up than kill you, Libby.” Milo clearly means what he’s saying. I think he’s forgotten something, though.
“You can’t kill me, Milo. You gave me your Oath, remember?”
“But I can,” says a voice from behind Milo. Turning with me still in his grip, Milo nods at the man.
I have no idea who this man is, but he carries the same frightening Vision-tapping halo and oily evil that Drake did. The guy he’s dragging along behind him is someone I’ve never seen before, either, but Milo’s eyes gleam when he sees him. The Seeker drops the man he was dragging on the floor at Milo’s feet.
“As promised,” he says to Milo.
Milo shoves me over to the Seeker and grabs the dazed man’s head, wrenching it up so he can see his face. He nods approvingly. Milo doesn’t say anything as he removes his Guardian blade from its sheath. For a moment, he fingers it, running his fingertip along the knife’s edge. It is almost a caress when he grabs the man’s hair again and lifts his head to expose his neck. I can’t take my eyes off of him. Bile swirls in my stomach, threatening to spill out, but I can’t look away. Milo’s blade presses against the man’s throat. I can hear myself whispering “No,
no, no” over and over again. He can’t do it. Please don’t do it. The blade starts to move across the man’s flesh and a voice calls out.
“Milo, don’t!” Celia begs. “Please don’t do this.” Tears cascade down her cheeks as she stares at her big brother in horror.
“I’m doing this for you, Celia.”
“No, you’re not. I would never ask for something like this. I don’t want someone to die because of me.”
“He tried to kill you!”
“I know, but he was just following orders, Milo. Maybe he could change. If you kill him, he’ll never have that chance. Look at Drake! Drake was horrible, but he changed in the end. Don’t do this, please,” she begs.
Milo shakes his head as if he can’t believe what she’s saying. He looks down at the man whose life rests in his hands and says, “It’s too late for him.”
Celia screams as the knife flashes across the man’s skin, spilling steaming crimson blood all over the ballroom floor. Milo drops the man and points his murder-stained knife at me. “Come with me now, or so help me, I will give the order to kill every person in this room. It’s your choice, Libby. For once in your life, make the right one.”
Guns inch up into firing position all around the room. Sobs and curses scatter through the crowd. This really wasn’t what most of these guests signed up for when they showed up here tonight. The Ciphers and the rest of my team look grim, but more than ready for a fight. A fight they will lose. There are too many civilians in the room with no clue of how to defend themselves. Even half the Ciphers here are like Celia, trained for healing or hiding, not for combat. The other Ciphers dying, that wasn’t my fault. This will be, though. Milo’s hand starts to move, and I panic.
“I’ll go!” I cry. “Just don’t hurt anyone else, Milo, please.”
His mouth twists into a smile. The others aren’t about to let me go that easily. Lance and Braden dart forward at the same time. “Don’t touch her!” and, “You’re not leaving,” they scream over the top of each other.
I step forward hurriedly. My foot squishes into the spilled blood, making me shiver, but I have to stop them. Milo grabs my arm before I can reach them and holds me back. That only angers Lance and Braden more. “Stay back,” I beg them both.
“I’m not letting him take you,” Braden snarls. Lance’s stance echoes that sentiment.
“He’s not taking me. I’m going with him by choice,” I say. Milo doesn’t seem to appreciate that distinction, but I really don’t care what he thinks right now. “Please just let me go, both of you. I’ll be okay.”
Braden stares at me like I’m crazy. “How are you going to be okay?”
“They’re not going to hurt me, Braden. President Howe wants me alive, at least until my next birthday. I’ll be fine.”
“You can’t trust any of those scumbags,” Lance says, eyeing Milo directly. He never did like Milo. Somehow he knew this was where Milo would end up, psychotic and dangerous. Lance is on the verge of going straight for his throat. Desperate, I beg Hope silently to intervene. Battle hungry as she is, Lance means more to her than killing Guardians. She slips her hand into his and holds him back.
“Enough,” Milo snaps, “we’re leaving. Celia, get over here, now. You’re coming, too.”
“I most certainly am not!” she says.
“Get! Over! Here! Now!”
His yelling only makes her more defiant. She stalks up to him, right to the edge of the blood I’m standing in and stops. “Kill me if you have to, like you did that poor man, but I am not going anywhere with you, Milo.”
Frustration spills out of him in monumental proportions. He turns away from her and yanks me backward toward the Seeker.
“Wait,” I beg.
“What now!” Milo yells.
“Just let me say goodbye. Please, Milo. I just want to say goodbye.” I don’t have to fake the tears running down my cheeks. Despite what I said, I have no guarantee that I won’t be dead the second that Seeker gets his hands on me. My voice quavers when I say, “I won’t try anything. I promise. Let me say goodbye, and I’ll go with you without a fight.”
His hand clenches painfully around my arm as he considers. It’s a risk, but I tap my Spiritualism very slightly and send it toward him. He never has been able to master the subtler arts of any of his talents. Sinking my power into his mind takes the minimum of effort. Finding the emotional center guiding this decision, I nudge it very, very lightly in the right direction.
“Fine,” he says suddenly, “but make it quick.”
I withdraw my Spiritualism quickly and stumble over to Lance. He looks surprised that I came to him first, but I throw my arms around him in a crushing hug, and whisper, “I know you’ll be able to find me, but don’t come for me until my birthday.”
I release him and he regards me curiously.
“Promise me, now,” I hiss.
If there is one person on this planet who has learned to trust me unconditionally, it’s Lance. His fingers press against his emblem and he hurriedly repeats the words. I nod and move on to Hope. For her, it’s just a hug. I know she’ll follow whatever Lance does. Celia comes next. She’s sobbing again as I wrap my arms around her slight frame. I don’t say anything to her. I can’t. There isn’t anything I can think of to say that will make watching her brother murder someone okay. For a few seconds, we simply share each other’s grief. I start to pull back, but she holds me just a moment longer, whispering, “I was wrong about the spirit world.”
Then she pushes me away and turns so she can’t see Milo anymore. I don’t know what her comment means, but I file it away for later. Only Braden is left. He grabs me before I can even turn around. “Don’t do this,” he begs me.
“I have to. I can’t let them kill all these people.” I’m crying as I say it, though. His own tears mingle with mine as he pulls me against his body. “Help Lance. Get everyone ready. This isn’t over yet.”
Braden presses his forehead against mine and quietly asks, “What do you mean?”
“I’ll see you again. On my birthday. Make sure everyone is ready by then, okay?”
The anguish in his heart seems to lessen some and I pray he believes that I know what I’m talking about. It’s my best guess that President Howe is going to hold me until my birthday when he can kill me publicly and come off the glorious conqueror rather than the spineless coward he would be for killing me now. Braden lays his hand against my cheek and kisses me softly.
“I love you, Libby.”
“I love you, too.”
Anything else I wanted to say gets cut off by Milo yanking me out of Braden’s arms. He starts dragging me up the stairs, my blood-drenched shoes leaving a trail of scarlet in their wake. I scramble to get my feet back under me. I don’t get the chance until Braden speaks, stopping Milo cold.
“This isn’t over, Milo. I don’t care how many talents you have, or how many I don’t, but I promise you one thing. My blade is going to be the one that ends your life.”
The fear that sweeps through Milo is surprising. His response isn’t. “I look forward to seeing you try.”
Chapter 29
Time Flies
My cell door clangs shut behind Milo. Lifting my head is beyond me. Whatever drugs they’re giving me are vicious. The most I can do is force my eyes open. His image wavers in front of me, too blurry to pick out any details. Not that I really want to see him, anyway. I try to shy away from him when he moves toward me. All I manage is to twitch helplessly. The drugs make me nauseous enough, but Milo sliding his hands tenderly under my head as if he were helping me rather than holding me captive doubles my urge to vomit. A glass of water being pressed up against my lips clears away that desire immediately. I drink thirstily and wait for the haze to disappear.
Like every other time Milo has come to see me, the water is laced with something to counter the drugs I was already on. Coherent thoughts return to me. Strength seeps back into my body. I still feel weak as I push myself up to a sitt
ing position, but it feels good to be able to move again. I can’t remember how many times we’ve been through this same routine. Has it been weeks or months?
“Here’s your dinner,” Milo says, holding a plate out to me.
I tried refusing at first, but all that got me was painful hunger cramps and more abuse. Not from Milo. Physically, Milo can hit me all he wants, but he’ll feel the pain of his actions doubled back on him. A few times, he’s been so angry I thought he might risk it. Logic, or maybe pride, won out. He’s yet to physically assault me, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t felt pain since my capture. Each time I didn’t eat he called in some Neanderthal named Thomas and let him kick me around until he got tired. I’m sure that hurt Milo plenty, though not as much as beating me himself would, but he suffered through it like a trooper.
Then they would both leave after drugging me again. I got tired of that real quick. I still held out for a week before finally taking a bite of food just so Milo wouldn’t think I was that easy to break, and also so I could see him jerk in pain every time Thomas hit me, too. I could have held on for longer, but Milo’s pain reminded me that he wasn’t the only one feeling my injuries. Lance was taking every beating along with me, likely being tortured by his promise not to come rescue me. I quit resisting after that.
I’m sure some POWs get to the point where they’d rather die than have to endure captivity another minute. I have too many reasons not to die to let myself go that direction. I promised Braden I would see him again. Milo still believes I broke my promise to him about destroying the Guardians. That’s fine. He can think whatever he wants. I refuse to make myself into a liar when it comes to my promise to Braden. I take the plate of food from Milo and pick up a piece of the chicken with my fingers. He doesn’t trust me enough to let me use a fork.
Like I need a fork to kill him.
What I really need is to figure out how to counteract the drugs on my own. I studied healing with Milo’s dad quite a bit. I was getting pretty good at healing minor injuries, but we hadn’t quite made it to the reversing the effects of toxins and poisons lessons before Milo flipped on me. I’ve been trying to isolate it every time Milo drugs me, but the stuff works so freaking fast that I never have enough time to get it right. I have to find a way to fix that.
Darkening Chaos: Book Three of The Destroyer Trilogy Page 27