Darkening Chaos: Book Three of The Destroyer Trilogy (15 page)

The
wood of the chair groans in relief as I release it. I have to force myself to
push the chair in calmly, pick up my purse, and pick up the stack of papers I’d
been given at the beginning of this thing. That’s about as far as I get.
Turning around and walking out past him is going to get me, I’m sure. I won’t
get within ten feet of him and be able to stop myself from punching him right
in the face.

The
older woman who asked about her friend saves me from having to face Blackwood quite
yet.

She looks leery of
actually approaching me, but I smile and close the last few feet between us
myself. As calmly as she can manage, she introduces herself and asks if I could
really put her in touch with her friend, Elisa. I’m pretty sure she’ll faint if
I touch her. Moving slowly so I don’t startle her, I take a pen and scrap of
paper out of my purse and copy down the number for the handler in England. I
explain about not being able to give her too many specifics, but that the
handler will get her in contact with her friend. She looks a little less afraid
once she has the number in hand.

I
smile as she walks away, thrilled the first stage of this plan worked so well. It
took me a while to convince everyone else. We have been arguing for two weeks
about whether or not the Ciphers should be allowed to contact anyone on the
outside. I wanted to let them tell their stories. No one else agreed. They all
thought it was too risky. When I brought up using the hearing as a way to test
out the idea, they started to give in. Most of the Ciphers already had friends
on the outside. Word is going to get out about what I told the panel today. Now
when the Ciphers start getting in contact with friends and family, explaining
where they are and what has really been happening to them, it won’t be such big
news. Maybe people will begin to realize that I’m not trying to destroy the
entire world, just the part that’s poisoning it. I want to make things better
for people. It’s a long shot, one that’s going to seriously drive up cell phone
bills, but it’s definitely worth a try.

 I
turn around feeling vaguely optimistic and run right into Blackwood, with my
ex-best friend, Jen, hovering a safe distance away, ready to jot everything
down for her blog. I didn’t even notice she was here. A few unresolved issues I
have with her involving some pictures she took boil to the front of my mind,
and the desire to strangle her becomes almost too intense to resist. Luckily
for her, Blackwood moves closer to me and steals my attention.

“So,
they decided to let you back in,” Blackwood says, “despite my specific
recommendation that you be kept away from others at all costs.”

I
snort at his supposed self-importance. “I know what you were trying to do,
Blackwood. Isolate me from others, make me feel like I’m completely alone, make
me desperate. Sound familiar?”

His
already tight jaw grinds together even more. He doesn’t bother refuting it.

“Well,
I guess I can understand that approach,” I tell him. “It wasn’t going to work,
though. I wouldn’t expect someone like you, cold and arrogant, to understand
that, but good try. All you really did was give me a much needed rest and time
to start training Ciphers. Really, Blackwood, you’ve been a big help. Thanks.”

Antagonizing
him is a stupid, possibly even suicidal thing to do, but the anger in his eyes
at being called out for his own stupidity is too rewarding to miss. His
emotions buzz against my skin, crazed and volatile. I was wrong before. Punching
him wouldn’t have been nearly as satisfying. Watching him try to contain his
hatred for me is great fun. I don’t know why he even tries. He should know
perfectly well that I can feel everything he’s feeling. I notice the last few
stragglers in the room staring at the pair of us. Ah, he’s not keeping his
reactions under control for me. It’s for them, the ones that still believe he
represents justice and safety. Fools.

I
move to step around Blackwood, but he grabs my arm and holds me back. Jen is
scribbling like a maniac. His oily voice slithers into my head as he speaks.
“The one good thing about those incompetents letting you back into school is
that the next time I need you for an evaluation, I’ll know exactly where you
are.”

 “What?”
I ask as I snap around to face him. Jen perks up as well.

“Oh,
did you forget?” he says with mock politeness. “Braden’s evaluations of you
weren’t complete. I fully intend on continuing them. Personally.”

No,
no, no, he can’t be serious! I don’t let him see my panic, though. Instead, I say,
“You taking the job for the same reason Braden did? Getting beat up by a girl
carries some pretty heavy punishments, doesn’t it?”

“I’m
taking the job because I don’t trust anyone else to do it,” he snaps.

“Not
because you lost your command and are being punished?” I ask sweetly.

He
ignores me. “You may have seduced Braden into betraying us, but you won’t have
the same luck with me, Libby.”

Eew,
I wouldn’t even want to try. Besides, Braden totally seduced me, not the other
way around. I tried to stay away from him, but that boy is persistent … and
handsome, and charming, and a really good kisser. Guilt for thoughts like that
forces my attention back to Blackwood. Another witty remark eludes me. I just
grimace at the very idea of even pretending to like him, as if I just tasted
old gym socks.

For
some reason, I think that annoys him. His narrow eyes thin even more. “I’ll
find out what you’re still hiding, Libby. You can count on that.”

“I
won’t go with you.” I’ll add to his collection of bruises before I get into a
car with him.

He
sneers and gestures at the desk where the disciplinary panel was seated
earlier. “If you don’t, they’ll kick you back out. Regardless of what you say,
you wouldn’t be here today if being expelled didn’t bother you. I’m not as
stupid as
you
think I am. You’ll come with me or I’ll be forced to start
investigating your accomplices for their part in your most recent activities.”

He
can’t. The Guardians are keeping the whole thing a secret. They won’t admit to
anything I just told the panel. He can’t give any justified reason to Principal
Andrews to pull anyone out. Can he? His snake-like smile makes me doubt myself.

“I
think I’ll start with Milo,” Blackwood says. He taps his chin thoughtfully. “Or
maybe Lance. I wonder which one can withstand more pain. I’d go with Lance.
He’s had his talents longer.”

“You
touch either of them and I’ll—”

“Excuse
me?” Blackwood interrupts, glancing back at Jen. “You’ll what? Would you like
to tell everyone? I can call the disciplinary panel back in. I’m sure they’d
love to hear what you’re going to do to me, a respected officer of the law.
Should I go get them?”

Respected?
That’s a laugh.

“Just
give me one reason to lock you up, Libby, and I will.”

“You
could try,” I say.

He
doesn’t appreciate that and crushes my arm under his grip. “Not even you know
what Guardians are capable of. Assault me in public where I have eager witnesses
to tell the world of your depravity and you’ll get to see firsthand just what I
can do to you.”

“You
think you could hold me? I’m the most powerful person on the planet. You can’t
keep me. You can’t even deal with me now. If you really had any secret way of
tracking or holding me you would know by now that I have more power than you
ever will. Oh, and you have no idea how much I already know about you and your
brothers
.”
I yank his hand off my arm and take a sharp step back. “One thing I do know,
Blackwood, is what you’re afraid of. How’s your buddy Drake doing, lately? Did
he leave you with a few dozen new scars like you did to Braden? You both lost
to me. I don’t think it’s fair if you didn’t get punished like he did.”

At
the mention of Drake’s name, whoever he is, Blackwood blanches, the color
draining even from his ears and lips. He doesn’t know that a picture and a name—I
don’t even know if it’s a first or last name—is all I really know about Drake.
Apparently, it’s enough that I know even that to make him want to crawl into a
hole and hide. Good. Let him chew on that for a while. Maybe it will make him a
little less eager to tangle with me. Maybe it will keep him away from Braden
for a while.

Or
maybe he’ll make the connection about how I found out about Drake and pressure
or hurt Braden even more. Crap. Leaving Blackwood to choke on his own panic, I
stalk out of the room quickly. I really have to do something about Braden
before one of us ends up getting him killed.

Chapter
13

Inhumanity

I have the urge to go bang
on Braden’s door and demand he let me protect him right after I run away from Blackwood,
but my mid-morning meeting with the disciplinary panel drug on for nearly five
hours, thanks to the school district’s very, very prepared lawyer. School is
out by the time I get away, which means should mean Lance is waiting for me
outside the building. I stutter to a stop when I see Milo instead. Despite our
discussion last week, Milo has been slow to accept me back into his life.

I
knew it would be incredibly difficult for him, so I’ve been patient. He said he
didn’t want to lose me, but that hardly meant he wanted to be around me
constantly while he was still so hurt. I’ve done my best to be there if he
wants me, but stay away when he doesn’t. Today is the first time he’s made an
effort to seek me out. I start walking toward him, approaching slowly.

“Hey.
Is everything okay?” I ask.

“It’s
fine.” He watches me, but doesn’t make an attempt to get any closer. He says,
“Hope asked Lance to help her with something after school. He asked if I would
meet you and see how the hearing went.”

“Oh,”
I say with a smile, “thanks.”

Milo
shifts, but doesn’t move. “So how did it go? How did everyone react when you
told them the truth about everything?”

“Well,”
I say, “they overturned my expulsion after I told them about the Ciphers and
Blackwood and the deals I’ve made with Howe. It went pretty good, actually.
Better than I was expecting.”

“They
actually believed you?”

I
shrug. “I don’t know about that, but they were willing to give me the benefit
of doubt. One of the board members was a Spiritualist. She asked about a
friend, Elisa. I think she believed me, at least a little.”

“Huh,”
Milo says.

He
was against me taking this route. He thought it was too risky because we
couldn’t guarantee people’s reaction. Surprisingly, he has also been the
biggest opponent to letting the Ciphers start making contact with people they
knew. He’s afraid someone will reveal too much and we’ll be compromised. I
trust my army enough that I don’t think it will be a problem. If anyone can
appreciate keeping a secret and staying hidden, it’s the Ciphers.

“There
were some other interesting developments,” I say, and proceed to tell him about
Blackwood and Jen both being there. We’re discussing what, if anything needs to
be done about Jen when my cell phone starts ringing. Tension builds around me
as I listen.

“Inquisitor
Moore just found another Cipher,” I say as I slip my phone back into my pocket.

Milo’s
eyes light up. “Let’s go.”

At
least it’s here in town and not clear across the country this time. We race
over to his house to find a frightened and crying young woman named Hannah. It
takes a lot longer to explain everything to her and her mom than it did with
Dean because they’re both so hysterical. When we finally get them calmed down,
I’m able to perform the Inquest on Hannah. Even though I told her what would
happen, the sight of the black diktats cropping up on her left wrist instead of
the traditional right sets off another round of tears.

Milo
is no help at all. He used to be good with crying girls, but he keeps his
distance this time. Eventually, Hannah and her mother run out of tears and
sober up enough to listen to me. I start explaining about the training house
and the other Ciphers, and Hannah begins to perk up. When I unlocked her
talents, I also named her to the Creator class. Unlike most people, Ciphers rarely
get very strong hints of their talents before their Inquests, though most still
had a leaning toward what they hoped they would have. Hannah has apparently had
an affinity for Naturalism since childhood.

When
I tell her about Milo’s dad teaching about healing, and everything I’ve learned
to do with Naturalism, she actually starts to get excited, mostly about the
healing. She’s wanted to be a doctor since she was little, she tells me. Happy
to have finally found something to keep her from crying all over me, I tell her
about our training schedule and invite her to join us. Milo finally joins the
discussion at that point and fills her in on a few more details I missed. He
also brings up the issue of protection against the Guardians, which almost sets
them to crying again until Hannah’s mother thinks to mention that her brother
and nephew live nearby and both are perfectly capable of protecting Hannah with
her brother being a boxer and her nephew being an amateur race car driver. Both
have Speed and Strength and neither one has anything to do with the Guardians.