Darkening Chaos: Book Three of The Destroyer Trilogy (30 page)

Break
the laws of Power and transform this world into one she can never save.

This
is our mission,

Our
legacy,

Our
lives.

Kill
the Destroyer, the anathema to our perfection.

I
pull out of the memory, breathless and frightened. There is so much more, so
much hidden from every Guardian who thinks they’re fighting on the right side.
My body is trembling, and I can sense Braden’s concern growing thicker by the
moment. He’ll pull me away if he thinks he needs to. I can’t let him take me
yet. There’s still more. One line of the prophecy has lodged itself into my
mind.
We must do the same
. I have already taken their brothers, stolen
their talents, and even turned one to my side. Idris told them they had to do
the same. Mr. Walters warned me. He said they could make worse things out of
Ciphers than Sihirs. What are they doing to them?

Speeding
through another batch of promises, I search until my Perception is quavering
just as much as my physical body. Desperate, I lunge for the next memory and
sink into it. Anguish envelops me completely. I stagger under the blow. My mind
and body reel as the scene wavers around me. I can’t get up. Forcing myself to
focus, I watch everything from the floor.

The
tiny room is crowded. They all clamor around a table, around
something
on the table. I can’t see past them from where I sit. Only when a hand falls
limply from the edge of the table do I understand what they’re looking at. The
hand is the person’s right one, the weathered skin showing his age, but the
smooth flesh of the wrist naming him a Cipher. Some reserve of strength I
didn’t know I had hauls me up from the floor. I stumble over to the table and
peer through an empty spot at the beleaguered Cipher lying there. His eyes are
glazed, but terrified. Hands press in on him and he screams. Incredible power
slams into the room. I can’t tell what’s happening to him. Memories don’t let
my talents work like they do in real life. I’m limited to whatever the person
holding the memory experienced. Drake is merely observing the torture of this
poor man.

All
I know is that these are all Guardians, but every talent aside from Vision is
being used. They’re doing something to him, tearing out or putting in. His body
writhes on the table, and at some point he stops screaming—not because it
doesn’t hurt anymore, but because his throat can’t produce the sounds. I watch
helplessly as more and more power is poured into him. Drake stands to the side
with a pleased look on his smug, perfect face. He’s not part of the ritual, so
he keeps his own talents tightly hidden so they don’t interfere with whatever
travesty he’s instigating.

When
the man’s face goes completely slack and his eyes lose all glimmer of humanity,
I feel a rush of thankfulness, believing his suffering is finally over. I
couldn’t be more wrong. One final flare of power, and the Guardians move back.
They wait, their eyes never leaving the still form on the table. Their
anticipation gleams hungrily in their eyes. One finger twitches, his foot, his
arm. In a great lurching effort, the man sits up, but he’s not a man anymore.
His dead eyes stare right through me, chilling me while the Guardians
congratulate themselves.

Drake
silences them at once. They aren’t finished yet. He wants proof that they were successful.
One of the Guardians who destroyed the man nods eagerly and starts giving their
creation commands. I watch in horror as the once-Cipher demonstrates his
ability to use all six of the talents Ciphers are capable of using. Terror
squeezes me so tightly I can’t breathe. This can’t be true. I can’t believe
they did this. It isn’t possible.

Such
pain and agony, such tremendous power, all to destroy a life and create a
monster to defeat me. Idris told them what to do, and they did it. They found a
way to turn my own people against me. They never could have done it by coercion,
so they did it by sheer force. Bile rises in my throat, but the memory
evaporates before I lose it. I slip back into the field of promises, desperate to
get out. I start pulling my Perception back, but a singular bubble stops me.

Not
every promise is the same. The dedication to keeping it a secret makes it
either strong or weak. The prophecy and whatever I just witnessed were dozens
of times more difficult to puncture than the ones offhandedly made to friends.
This promise makes those look like real bubbles that might burst with one
touch. The sheer impenetrability of this promise draws me to it. I’m almost
spent. Braden is on the verge of yanking me back whether I want to go or not,
but I can’t leave this promise alone. I might never get another chance. I can
already feel Drake’s conscious spirit barreling its way back to me.

He’s
close. I should pull back. But I need to know. Still, I hesitate for just a moment,
long enough for Drake’s conscious mind to catch back up with his body. He
flings himself toward me, desperate to stop me. That makes my decision much
easier. Gathering up all my anger, disgust, and fury at what Drake has done, I
ram my Perception into the memory with such force it implodes in on itself, the
backlash shattering every promise he ever made like they were tissue paper, and
sucking us both in with the rest of the wreckage.

Chapter
24

Redemption

“Here are your orders,” a
man says, handing a folder to a much younger Drake.

Drake
scans the file’s contents and flips it closed. “Only an address? No name?
Where’s the rest of the information?”

“That’s
it,” the man says. “Go get the Cipher, kill the one hiding him, and report back
to me when you’re done. Same routine as always. What does it matter whether you
have a name for the traitor? Name or no name, they’re going to be dead by the
end of the day.”

Suspicion
rings in Drake’s thoughts, but he doesn’t voice it. I get the feeling he never
does. I watch as he salutes his superior and strides away purposefully. That
hint of deception bothers him all the way to the ground level of the compound.
The rest of his team is waiting for him in the garage. It’s a small group, only
three other men and one woman, but the fierce edge to their movements makes it
obvious they don’t need anyone else. Few words are exchanged before they all
pile into the SUV. The rest of the team gets even less information than Drake
did.

The
car is quiet as they fly down the road at a maniacal speed. I ride along with
them, wondering where the older Drake has gone. I’ve never been sucked into a
memory with another person. Does he see everything through his younger self’s
eyes, or is he hiding somewhere, refusing to watch? If he’s trying to hide, I
really don’t think that’s going to work. I hope he’s stuck inside the Drake
driving the car, for my sake. Thoughts of Drake’s whereabouts vanish as the car
rolls to a stop. I look around me at the towering pines and aspens. The ground
crunches as the team steps out onto the dried pine needles littering the forest
floor.

“The
cabin is half a mile down the trail,” Drake says. “Sam and Ellen, you head west
then split up when you get close to the cabin and cover the rear exit and side
of the house. Phil and I will move in from the east. Nobody approaches the
cabin until we’re all in place. If you spot any civilians in the open, do not
engage them unless you think they are going to raise an alarm. I’d rather not
have this turn into a hostage situation. Questions?”

The
other three members remain silent. Drake signals the beginning of the operation
and everyone moves out. I follow Drake through the trees, watching as intently
as he does for a glimpse of the cabin they’re about to attack. The red paneled
roof is the first thing we see. It grows quickly as their pace hastens, the
scent of smoke becoming stronger as well. When we cross into the cleared area
around the cabin, Drake’s warning about engaging anyone becomes unneeded. The
yard is empty. Sounds from inside the cabin make it clear that it is not. Drake
is alone now, and moves across the ground in a crouch with his blade ready. He
pauses to signal to the other two members of his team. They all move in on the
house with practiced coordination.

My
heart rate starts jumping. This was years before I was born, but knowing that the
Cipher in there is about to be taken has me itching to jump in and intervene.
All I can do is watch. The door goes flying in under Drake’s boot. Screams from
inside pull me in after them. I rush in expecting to see Drake strangling
someone or tackling a Cipher to the ground. Him standing slack-jawed in the
middle of the room with his blade hanging loosely in his hands catches me off
guard.

“Audrey?”
he says.

I
immediately recognize the name from the other memories I attacked today. This
is the girl he fell in love with, the one he made a dozen different promises
to. Every time I touched on one of the memories of Audrey, Drake had reacted
viciously. I have the feeling this one memory is the reason why. My gaze jumps
over to Drake’s lost love.

“Drake?”
she asks. “What are you doing here?”

She
looks just as shocked as he does. Seconds drag out to eternity as they stare at
each other. Drake’s blade falters, and I think he’s going to drop it. That’s
before he sees the other man in the room, the one he came to collect. The
Cipher is cowering in the corner by the fireplace.

Drake’s
eyes narrow and snap back to Audrey. “You? You’re the one hiding the Cipher?”

She
doesn’t answer. She just looks over at the man she has been helping. Their eyes
meet, but there’s really nothing she can say or do that will convince him
everything is going to be all right. That doesn’t stop her from trying, though.
“Drake, please. You don’t have to take him.”

“What?”
Drake demands. “I don’t have to take him? Wow, Audrey, thank you for telling me
that. I had no idea it was my choice. How about I just hand over my blade and
sit down to tea with you and your pet?”

Terrified
as she is, Drake’s sarcastic tone instantly sets her face into a scowl. “Don’t
talk to me like that, Drake. You do have a choice. You know this isn’t right. Alan
doesn’t deserve this!”

“Alan?
Alan? Is that his name? Just how concerned are you about Alan, Audrey? Is there
more than one reason you two are alone out here in the forest?” His jealousy
and bitterness literally drip from every word.

“No,”
she snaps, “but even if it were, it wouldn’t be any of your business. You made
your choice, remember? You left me for your brothers. They were more important
to you than I was.”

He
stomps over to her and gets right in her face. “My choice? That’s a laugh,
Audrey. You gave me an ultimatum, give up my career, my life’s work, or you
would walk away. You didn’t care about what I wanted or what I believed. You
thought I was wrong, and the price for your love was me turning my back on my
beliefs. How was that fair, Audrey!”

“I
didn’t ask you to change what you believed in, Drake. I asked you to make the
right choice. You know taking Ciphers is wrong. They don’t deserve to be locked
up like cattle. You know that,” Audrey begs.

She
steps closer to Drake and attempts to reach out for him. Almost, he gives in.
His hand twitches, moves the slightest bit toward her. His longing for her
touch pushes him to take back his choice, to grab her and run away from
everything and everyone. The pull to follow orders is too strong. He pulls his
hand back and shakes his head.

“Drake,
please,” she asks again, reaching for his hand. Her fingers close around his so
quickly. She’s as fast as any Guardian. Her grip is strong as well. She has the
talents to be a Guardian, but she obviously chose another path. That reminder
seems to register with Drake. He tries to pull his hand away, but can’t. Her
eyes beg him to stop fighting her. He wants to. He wants to take her in his
arms and kiss her so badly. “Please, Drake. Please help me.”

“I
… I can’t, Audrey. You know I can’t.”

“You
can! It’s still your choice. You don’t have to be a part of this.” Her other
hand comes up to his face. Her whole body pleads with him to listen to her.

He
shudders under her touch, but he still shakes his head. “Audrey, you don’t
understand. I can’t leave the Guardians. They won’t let me go. Even if I wanted
to leave, I couldn’t.”

“I
can hide you, Drake. We could do it together. We could be together again. Don’t
you want that?” she asks. “I do. I miss you so much. It hurts every time I
think about you being alone, or about you carrying out these terrible missions.
I want you to be with me.”

“It’s
not that simple. I can’t just abandon my brothers. They need me, Audrey, and I
need them.”

“More
than you need me?” she asks with tears in her eyes.

Drake
shakes his head angrily. “This isn’t about you. It’s about protecting people.
You know that!”

“No,
it’s not!” Audrey yanks herself out of his grasp and glares at him. “It’s about
your pride, your ambition. You want so badly to prove to them that you have
what it takes to be this great leader. You’ll do anything you can to get there.
I don’t get it, Drake! Why do you want to rule a group as corrupt as the
Guardians? You know they’re doing terrible things. You know it! Don’t pretend
this is about brotherhood. This is about you, only you! That’s why I left. I
can’t be with someone who cares more about their rank in life than helping
other people.”