Darkening Chaos: Book Three of The Destroyer Trilogy (37 page)

He’s
trying to bait me into an argument, but I don’t accept. Milo threw his fit
about the party days ago. That fight is over and done with. Braden tenses
behind me. I can feel his confusion slowly giving way to suspicion. I keep a
careful grip on Braden’s hand and scowl at Milo.

“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.”