Darkening Chaos: Book Three of The Destroyer Trilogy (46 page)

Finally,
he drops my arm. The podium he has been standing at is on a stage about ten
feet long and eight feet wide. The podium was placed to one side so the rest of
the stage would remain clear, giving the cameras and spectators a full view of
what is going to happen. Howe walks away from the podium to the center of the
open stage. Milo pushes me along behind him.

The
cameras can only see Milo. One lone Guardian standing at my side. I’m sure it’s
meant to show the world’s population that Howe isn’t scared of me. Maybe they
fall for it, but I can see the hundreds, no thousands, of Guardians standing
around me just outside the camera’s scope.

Howe
faces me squarely and asks. “Libitina Sparks, before your true destiny as the
Destroyer is unlocked, I will ask you one more time to turn aside and let the
people of this world live without fear.”

I’m
about to tell him to bite me when he holds up a finger to cut me off. My teeth
grind together, sparking the faint flicker of a smile to grace his lips. I hate
him so much.

“Before
you make your decision, I must show you just what your choice will cost you.”
Howe waves a hand and the Albuquerque Ciphers start pouring into view.

My
body trembles at the sight of them even though I know what to expect. I search
their faces, naming each one off in my head and recognizing the glazed look of
drugs. No doubt they have been kept incapacitated like this for the past year.
Tears build in my eyes at the thought of them losing an entire year of their
lives because I thought they were dead and did nothing to rescue them. My grief
and guilt only gain a tenuous purchase on my soul, though. Too much of me is
simply ecstatic to see their faces again. I can’t believe they’re still alive.
They shuffle to a stop in front of the stage.

“These
are the Ciphers Libby accused me of killing,” Howe sneers, “yet here they are.
Safe and alive. It will be up to Libby to decide whether or not they stay that
way. But first …”

He
gestures again and I whip my head to the left just as a bruised and rumpled
Braden is shoved forward. Being face to face with him, the link between us
explodes, weakening my body to the point that I fall to one knee. I have to
bite the inside of my cheek hard enough to draw blood to keep from crying out
in joy, but I let my tears flow freely. Triumph spreads across Howe’s features.

“Even
if Libby were to pledge that she will give up her bloody bid for power, how
could we ever believe her?” Howe asks. “Her words alone could never convince me
of anything. So it must be an action. She wants to play God and decide the fate
of this world, well I will give her a small taste of what that kind of power
costs.”

Howe
turns to me, and I have to force myself to look away from Braden and face his
challenge. Milo is still gripping my arm. Fear seeps out of every pore of his
body. He’s afraid of what I’ll choose. He was there when I realized Braden had
been taken by the Guardians the first time. I nearly broke bones trying to get
away from him so I could rescue Braden. There wasn’t another thought in my mind
aside from saving the man I loved. He and Lance tied me to a chair in order to
stop me from running off like a crazed maniac. He’s afraid I’ll choose Braden
over eighty-one Ciphers. It hurts to know he thinks that.

I
watch Howe as his eyes travel down to the watch on his wrist. He glances back
up and meets my gaze. “Libitina Sparks, you have five minutes to decide.
Continue your campaign and condemn your lover and the Ciphers, or choose for yourself
which one you will save. Give me your promise to cease the devastation you have
started by giving up either Braden or the Ciphers.”

My
eyes pass from Braden to the Ciphers. “Why?” I ask through the tears I can no
longer control. “What will that prove?”

“It
will prove that you understand the cost of destruction. Instead of watching
blood be spilled all over the world because of your desire to conquer, you can
pay for all the lives you have already ruined by giving up something dear and
precious to you. Absolution for the crimes you have already committed. Choose,
Libby. Vengeance or repentance.”

At
Howe’s last word, Guardians spill onto the grass. Three surrounding Braden, and
a full fifty for the doped up Ciphers. No messing around with pride and talents
this time. Like at the ballroom, they are all carrying fully automatic weapons.
And they are trained on the heads of the captives. The Ciphers are too out of
it to really notice, but Braden flinches at the sound of rounds being
chambered.

“Stop!”
I cry out in pure panic.

“Two
minutes left, Libby. Make your choice,” Howe commands.

“You’ll
kill them all regardless of what I choose.”

His
bold face lie is plain in his vicious expression. “No, I won’t. You and whoever
is left will be free to leave. You, under close supervision, of course.”

“I’m
not trying to hurt anyone,” I argue to both Howe and everyone watching. “I’m
just trying to fix things. This world is so screwed up because of what the
Guardians have done. I just want to set things right!”

Howe’s
hand casually moves to obscure the microphone clipped to his tie, and he says
so only I can hear, “There is no right and wrong, Libby. There’s only power,
and right now, I have it.” His hand moves again and he looks over at the
cameras. “Thirty seconds to choose, Libby. Do it now, because after one-fifteen
the choice will have been made for you, and every one of these people will die.
Choose. Now.”

Eyes
on his watch, Howe starts to signal the gunmen to claim their prize.

“Wait!”
I scream. Tears pour down my face. I make my choice out of desperation. “I’ll
do it! I’ll choose. Just let me do it myself. Let me be the one to do it. I
won’t watch another person I love be killed by a Guardian.”

Now
it’s Howe’s turn to pause. He clearly wasn’t expecting me to ask that. His
shoulders bunch, his hands twitch, and I’m sure he’s about to give the order to
kill them all.

Lurching
forward, I seize his shirt. He notices right away that one of my hands has
grabbed the microphone and is holding it out so it will catch my voice.

“Please,
Howe,” I beg. “I can’t let all those Ciphers die. I’ll choose Braden to die,
but I don’t want to live without him. I’ll let you kill me. I won’t put up a
fight. If Braden dies, there won’t be anything left for me.”

Distaste
oozes through his features at the thought of giving me this one small favor,
but he knows victory is almost at hand and he can’t resist. His curt nod is
seen all over the world.

My
hands fall from his shirt and shy away from the blade he is drawing from his
forearm sheath. Howe won’t disdain himself to step off the stage, so he motions
for one of the Guardians standing by Braden to come to him. He hands him his
blade and motions to me. It takes a whispered reminder about me being drugged
to make the Guardian move toward me. My arms are yanked behind my back, shoving
me forward with such zeal that I almost stumble off the stage. It’s only a
momentary imbalance, though, because as soon as my feet are under me I have to
force myself not to break free and fling my arms around Braden’s neck.

The
fifteen feet I have to cross to get to Braden seems to take an eternity, but
finally, I am jerked to a stop right in front of him. It takes a focused effort
for the Guardian to force himself to let go of me. He looks positively nauseous
at the thought of handing me the simple Guardian blade.

“Don’t
try anything,” he snarls as he holds the weapon out to me, blade first.

My
hand trembles as I reach for it. You’re never supposed to hand a knife to
someone blade first because they could cut themselves. But this Guardian is too
scared of me grabbing the handle and shoving it into his flesh to risk it. My
fingers close around the blade, the edges biting into my fingers. The Guardian
holds the blade’s handle a moment longer, clearly terrified of me, before
dropping his hand away. He doesn’t, however, take a step back. He watches as I
pull the blade out of my fist slowly, simultaneously digging deeper and wiping
my blood from the cold steel. My fist stays closed to keep the blood from
streaming out.

I
feel the Guardians’ eyes on me. I feel the entire world’s eyes on me like I
have for the past two years, but so much more focused than ever before. One of
the Guardians twitches, his hand fingering his own blade. The reality of what I
am about to do draws tears from my eyes. The whole world watches as I face the
consequences of my decision.

Curling
my fingers, I grip the blade tightly. My hand trembles as I move the blade
toward Braden’s neck.

Braden
trusts me with his life. Literally. But he flinches when the chilled steel
touches his skin. My injured hand rests on his neck right next to the blade.

“I
love you,” he says.

There
is no doubt in his eyes, or in his heart. I can feel his soul-deep belief in
me. I can’t even express how much I love him for that. My tears double,
streaming uncontrolled down my face.

All
I can say is, “I love you, too.”

And
then I draw the blade across his flesh and watch the blood slither down his
neck.

Chapter
36

One More Secret

Braden lays completely
motionless as I am drug away from him, weak and trembling. Their rough handling
is meant to show their power, but I can’t fight them. Drained, I can barely
stand up on my own after what I just did. Tears roll down my cheeks unhindered.
Exhaustion and hatred simmer in my veins. The blood still coating my hands sets
my body to shaking.

I
am hauled back up onto the stage to the waiting Howe. Sneering at my tortured
body and spirit, Howe practically glows with imminent victory. I try to lift my
gaze enough to face him, but I catch sight of Milo instead. It absolutely
shocks me to see tears on his face. His eyes are riveted to the blood smeared
all over my hands and body. He felt the agony I just went through. I know he doesn’t
understand it, but it ransacked him all the same. In his eyes, I can finally
see understanding of the pure wrongness of the choices he has made. Howe pays Milo
no mind when he slumps to the ground. That is the last I see of him, because
the Guardian holding me yanks me up to standing and holds me until I find my
footing and my Strength.

Slowly,
I look up at Howe and meet his revolting smile.

“The
price for letting you end the life of your lover was to give up yours in
return,” Howe says, still smiling. He glances down at his watch. Every TV
station in the world has an identical countdown playing on their screens. Howe
turns his wrist so I can see the second-hand ticking down the time I have left.

Ten.
Nine.

“As
soon as your diktats flare, I will claim your life …” He pauses to accept his
blade from the Guardian. It has been wiped clean of Braden’s blood, just in
time to spill mine.

Six.
Five.

“…
and claim the honor of having destroyed the prophesied, all powerful
Destroyer.” His smile widens.

Two.
One.

Time
runs out …

…

…

…
and nothing happens.

Howe
blinks in surprise. He waits, I’m sure wondering if his clock somehow got
ahead.

It
didn’t.

I
think I might have mentioned that I had one more secret left.

My
mother had to have the best. In everything. That included doctors. She couldn’t
see anyone in Albuquerque. None of them were good enough for her. No, she had
to have some world renowned doctor from Italy. The day I was born was supposed
to be a schedule caesarian section. My dear mother wasn’t about to go through a
long labor for me. Dr. Vecchi was giving a lecture at Johns Hopkins University the
week before and planned to fly in to Albuquerque in time for the delivery.

Luckily
for me, he wanted to have time to eat lunch before bringing me in this world.
So when my mom’s water broke hours before the surgery was scheduled to start,
he happened to be right there. What he forgot to do was reset his watch when he
arrived in New Mexico. According to my dad, Dr. Vecchi’s watch was two hours
ahead and he wrote down one-fifteen p.m. instead of eleven-fifteen a.m. One of
the nurses tried to correct him, but he spit out a string of Italian curses at
her for arguing with him and nobody bothered to change it. My mom was too out
of it to pay any attention to the argument.

Two
hours ago when I was lying on the floor of my cell feeling like I was about to
die, I was in fact embracing my true identity.

Now,
it’s my turn to smile.

My
lips turn up as I stare Howe down. I can see his eyes widen, sense his heart
rate spike, feel the terror inside of him. My grin grows even wider. He
actually flinches and takes a step back. “You’re too late,” I say simply.

I
step closer to him and grab the front of his shirt so he can’t run. The other Guardians
are all either too stunned or too confused to act. “Now it’s my turn to give
you a choice. Get out of my way, or die.”