Secret of Betrayal: Book Two of The Destroyer Trilogy (24 page)

We reach an area away from everyone else, and
Saia stops. There are no buildings or rooms in the spirit world, only soft
ambient light and a mist that somehow either turns into something concrete
enough to walk on or simply covers a more stable material. I have no idea how
the Ciphers tell one place from another, but somehow they all seem to know
exactly where they’re going.

Saia sits down and the lingering mist seems to
drift away from her so the air is clear between us. I join her and am welcomed
by another warm smile. I’m about to ask her a question when I notice a strange
depression in the ground to the right of us. “What’s that?” I ask.

Saia looks at the depression and turns thoughtful.
“None of us know. It has always been here since the first Cipher, but it seems
to have no purpose other than serving as a marker. This is where we gather
together. We call this area the Central Expanse.”

Huh. I stare at the depression a moment longer,
wondering about it. The mist that envelops this place seems to be coming from
it, but it’s hard to say for sure. It’s an oddity, but I don’t really have time
to contemplate it so I turn back to Saia.

“So, Libby, how are you doing? You’ve recovered
from the effects of your first trip here?”

Her concern for me makes me smile. I know she’s
dying to hear about the escape plan details. “I’m not completely recovered yet,
but I’m good enough to come here tonight, although I had a much harder time
getting here than I expected.”

“What do you mean?” Saia asks.

“Well, when I came here the first time I was
able to push away from my body easily, and when I reached the barrier again
after breaking my block, all I had to do was walk forward. It was easy, no struggling
at all,” I say. “This time, just getting away from my body took all my
concentration, and I almost didn’t make it through the barrier. I felt as if I
were swimming through quicksand to get here. No matter how hard I pushed
forward, something kept pulling me back.”

The kind but amused smile that plays on Saia’s
lips makes me wonder if I’ve just shown her how inexperienced I really am at
all this. But there’s no judgment in her eyes, just the same look my dad would
get when he thought I had said something cute.

“What?” I ask.

“Libby, I won’t claim to know anything about
actually using a talent, since I’ve never had the privilege using one, but we
Ciphers do spend a lot of our time talking with the Spiritualists that come
here. We try to get as much information about talents as we can in hopes that
we’ll one day get to use them.”

I nod, hoping their knowledge of talents will
give them a boost in our escape plan. But I’m not sure what talents have to do
with what I told her. She sees my confusion and continues.

“You came here the first time with Braden,
right?” Saia asks.

“Yeah, and he stayed with me the whole time.”

“We also love to learn about Companion links.”

“Oh.” I have the sudden desire to cover my ears,
but I don’t.

Saia smiles.
“Being with
your Companion doesn’t only magnify your
talents,
it
enhances them by sharing knowledge of using the talents as well. It was easy
for you to get here with Braden because of his experience gained over years of
practice. When you came tonight, you were only functioning on your own
knowledge and experience.”

I hadn’t expected an explanation like that. A
frustrated frown settles on my lips. This thing with Braden just keeps getting
more and more complicated.

“How would that work with other talents, say Perception?”
I ask.

Saia frowns along with me now. “I’m not sure.
Most of the visitors we get are mainly Spiritualists. Even the ones with other
talents often don’t bother developing them. But from what I understand about
Perception, I would guess that not only would obvious emotions and thought
patterns be amplified, the deepest, most genuine of those would be shared as
well.”

My shoulders slump in defeat. Doesn’t that just
figure? I wanted so badly to be able to pass my attraction to Braden off as
flighty teenage lust made ten times worse by the link. What if what Saia’s
saying is right? What if my desire to be around him may come from something
deeper than hormones? Pain starts building behind my eyes, and I reach up to
try and rub it away.

“Libby?” Saia asks, reminding me that she’s
still here, “are you all right? Do you need to leave already?”

I look back up and shake my head. “No, I’m
fine.”

“Something I said upset you,” she says sadly.

“No,” I say, “well, yes, I mean, but it’s not
your fault. I just don’t know what to do about Braden.”

She looks at me, curious. “I didn’t realize
there was anything you had to
do
about him. Is there a problem between
the two of you? He hasn’t mentioned anything to me. All he ever has to say
about you are very nice things.” She squeezes my hand gently, her smile hopeful
that this will make me feel better.

“That’s kind of the problem.”

“What do you mean?” She stops and I can see the
understanding build in her eyes. “Oh, he has feelings for you, but you’re with
Milo. I apologize for forgetting about Milo. Some here are very unkind to
Braden, but I have never held his career choices against him. I care only that
he is a good, kind person. It pleased me so much
to
finally see him happy that I forgot about your situation.”

Why couldn’t she have said Braden was a prick,
someone she only tolerated because his grandfather was such a good friend to
the Ciphers? Telling me he’s wonderful certainly doesn’t help. Saia notices my
deepening melancholy, but before she can start apologizing again I interrupt.
“Saia, please.
It’s not your fault. Don’t be sorry. This is
my mess, not yours.”

“I definitely see why Braden's affection would
be a problem for you. Would you mind if I asked how you felt about Braden?”

I really don’t know Saia that well, but I
desperately need someone to talk to, and I know I can trust her. “I hated
Braden when we first met, but the more I’m around him … the more I want to be
around him.”

Saia laughs. “I think that’s how a lot of people
feel about Braden, especially here.”

Her comparison makes me smile. I forgot who I
was talking to for a moment. “It’s more than that, though. Braden says he’s in
love with me. Every time I’m around him, I can feel everything he’s feeling. I
don’t know if that’s influencing me, making me want him more just because he
wants me so much. Regardless, I’m with Milo and I would never want to hurt
him.”

“Of course you won’t.” She looks at me with
conviction that what she just said is true. Not many people in this world can
manage that. “Libby, just because Braden is your Companion doesn’t mean you
have to fall in love with him. Plenty of spiritual Companions don’t become
romantically involved. In many cases they develop a very deep and rewarding
friendship. I can understand how your situation is made worse by the Companion
link, but I think you would still be faced with this decision even without it.
The only advice I can offer you is the same as I would give to anyone. Give
yourself some time to figure out how you really feel about both young men, and
then let your heart decide.”

“What do you mean
both young men
? I
already know how I feel about Milo,” I argue.

Saia smiles.
“Do you?”

Gently her hand takes mine. I have imagined my mom
making such a gesture many times, but have never actually experienced it. I
feel an unexpected closeness to Saia I wasn’t prepared for. Suddenly, I feel
the prick of tears behind my eyes and fight to keep them away.

“Libby, I am in no way trying to sway you in
either direction, but I have heard a great deal about the beginnings of yours
and Milo’s relationship.”

“From who?”

“From Milo, mainly.
There were many questions asked about how he found you on his last visit.”

He didn’t tell me any of that.

“My point is, when you met Milo you were
isolated from everyone. He befriended you when you had no one else, forging a
strong connection with you. There may be times when that connection is
perceived to be stronger than it is, or it may also be the kind of connection
that cannot be broken by anything. I can only suggest you be sure of which it
is for you. Trust your heart.”

I can’t exactly explain why, but my old doubts
struggle to break to the surface at Saia’s words.

“I know this may sound strange since you are the
Destroyer, but there is no destiny or fate,” Saia says. “There is purpose, of
course, but each of us has to choose to either fulfill that purpose or abandon
it. That is true even for you, when it comes to being the Destroyer and being
in love.”

Nothing has been resolved. Things have actually
managed to turn bleaker on the Braden front, but somehow I still feel better. I
want to hug Saia and pretend for a few seconds that I had
grew
up with a mother like her. Instead, I smile gratefully and say, “Thanks, Saia.”

Taking a deep breath, I shake off thoughts of
Braden. “I’m
sorry,
I know you’re waiting to hear more
about the plan to get you all out of here. Braden told me he explained our
basic idea, but I know you had some questions still, just like the rest of us.”

She nods. “Yes, I’m most concerned about the
Inquests you’ll be performing. Won’t the Spiritualists realize what’s happening
as soon as you start? I’m not sure you’ll be able to get through everyone
before they alert the Guardians. The Spiritualists aren’t allowed to enter the
spirit world themselves because the Guardians are afraid of them growing
attached to one of us, but they are so powerful I’m sure they can find a way to
stop you from finishing.”

“I know. I’m worried about that, too. Casey is
trying to teach us how to shield you all. The Spiritualists won’t know what
Milo and I are doing because of our talents, but they’ll feel the Ciphers
changing. We’re hoping a large shield will be able to help hide what’s going
on. Mr. Walters is looking into whether or not I can perform more than one
Inquest at a time, too. If I can, then it shouldn’t be a problem, but if not,
I’m trying to teach Milo how to perform an Inquest so he can help me,
hopefully. That may cut the time in half if he can.”

“I wish I could help you, but I don’t know very
much about Inquests,” she says.

“Well, that’s going to start changing. We’re
going to start teaching everyone here about the talents. Braden and Lance are
working on an escape route out of the Guardian compound, but I don’t want you
all left defenseless if something goes wrong. We’re going to train you as much
as we can before the escape.”

Saia brightens at the prospect. She’s already
been told that part of the plan, but I can only imagine how much she and the
other Ciphers must be ready to start learning about talents. Hopefully, soon
enough, they will actually get to use them, too. At least that’s the theory.
I’m terrified that we’ll try our hardest to teach them everything we can
beforehand and they won’t be able to use a bit of it. So much of talent
training simply takes lots of practice. Theory doesn’t always help. I’m also
still concerned about what talents they’ll actually get. Milo has six, but I
know that’s not a guarantee every other Cipher will be the same. What if the
rest of them all end up with one talent, something offensively neutral?

They’re going to need so much more than that. At
the least, they really need Spiritualism to get them out of the spirit world
and Concealment to get them out of the compound. If they’re only going to get a
few talents, I’m going to hope it’s those ones. Although, given my luck, I
should hope for the most useless talents and maybe they’ll get Concealment to
spite me. That’s how things usually work for me.

“How long do you think it will take to set
everything up?” Saia asks. Her excitement is barely hidden under a layer of
politeness.

“I’m not sure, Saia. It’s mainly going to depend
on figuring out an escape route, but we’ve also got to find safe houses for each
area, people to get you to the safe house, gather supplies for you for when you
get there, and a dozen other things. We’re doing our best to get things done
quickly, but you and the rest of the Ciphers are going to have to be patient.
Those renegades who grabbed Casey, things like that can’t happen again. If the
Spiritualists get any hint of what we’re planning, everything will be ruined.”

“Nothing like that will happen again, Libby. I
can guarantee that. Those young men are being watched very closely right now,”
Saia promises.

I’ll have to trust in her to keep them in line.
I don’t like relying on someone else to monitor them, because I don’t know
what’s going on here most of the time, but it will have to work.

“Did you get the information I asked for about
the missing Ciphers?” I ask. Missing, they aren’t missing, really. We both know
that they’re all dead. I can’t make myself say it, though.

“Yes,” Saia says. “We don’t have anything to
write on here, so you’ll just have to let me report everything.”

I tell her that will be fine and she starts
relating everything she was able to learn. I’m impressed that she can remember
so much, and so easily, but the rest of
me
only grows
more frustrated. The five missing Ciphers have nothing in common. They were all
being held in different compounds, had different backgrounds, physical
characteristics, nationalities, everything. It seems as if they were chosen
completely at random. I struggle for a long time to find some hidden link in
the information, even after I leave the spirit world and crawl into my bed
exhausted. There isn’t any. I think the likeliest thing is that compounds were
ordered to start killing Ciphers, and these are the compounds that were
successful.