Secret of Betrayal: Book Two of The Destroyer Trilogy (8 page)

“And let’s face it, most of the world doesn’t
believe in you. The idea of you scares them, sure, but do they really expect a
girl to destroy the entire world? No. Howe knows that. If he kills you now, he
looks like a coward. If he lets you keep causing problems and killing people,
maybe the world will start to believe they need him to protect them from you.
Then, when everyone else is sure you’re about to end everything, he’ll step in
and save them. Killing you will cement his reign until his death. No one would
dare challenge him if he can kill the Destroyer when she’s at full power. Not
even Lazaro, if he’s still alive.”

I stare at Braden, waiting, hoping he knows
more.

“I’m sure there are more reasons than that,” he
says, “but those are the ones I’ve heard so far.
As for me?
One on one against you, I know I haven’t got a chance. No one does.”

The cool steel of his blade presses against my
neck. “I could try to kill you right now, but before I could even form the
thought to draw this blade across your neck, I’d be dead. I don’t have a death
wish, Libby.”

“That’s the only reason?” I ask, sensing he’s
holding something back.

“No, that’s just the most logical one.”

“What are the illogical ones?” I ask. I want to
know. It should be enough that he has no intention of trying to end my life,
but a deeper part of me needs to know why. Braden’s lips turn down slightly,
press together, and start to open.

“Is there a problem here?” Principal Andrews
demands, her voice echoing through the empty hallway.

Braden flicks his blade back into his sheath
with the barest movement and turns confidently to face her.
“Not
at all.”

“What is she doing out of class?” Principal
Andrews asks shrilly.

“Just on my way to the bathroom,” I say. I
attempt to slip away from Braden and make a beeline for the haven of the girl’s
restroom. Principal Andrews’ voice halts me before I really get going.

“Why did you have your knife out, Guardian?”

I watch as a mischievous glint sparkles in
Braden’s eyes. My stomach drops and I
recontemplate
running. “There was an incident in the hall a few weeks ago that Miss Sparks
witnessed. I have been trying to question her about it since then without luck,
and thought she needed a little more incentive to explain her involvement. She
was just about to tell me what really happened to Casey Harper.”

Glaring at him fiercely, I fold my arms across
my chest. “No, I wasn’t.”

“Why not?”
Principle
Andrews demands.

“Because it’s none of his
business.”

“He’s the school Guardian,” she says drily.
“Everything that happens here is his business.”

Braden’s expression turns expectant. Mine goes
from irritated to downright hostile. “Not this. It was personal.”

“Young lady, if the school Guardian has asked
you a question, you are expected to answer it.
Now.”

When my fiery gaze snaps over to Principal
Andrews, she stumbles back a step. “Who’s going to make me?” I demand.

Her eyes flick over to Braden and his blade, but
he only stares back at her impassively. He’s already admitted he won’t come
after me one on one. Principal Andrews has even less of a chance against me.
I’d snap her twiggy arms like dry pasta. Realizing she’s overmatched, her face
turns scarlet. “Fine,” she snaps, “if you won’t answer the Guardian’s
questions, you will join the rest of the delinquents in detention this
afternoon. Mr. Bond will be expecting you.”

After that she turns on her heel and stamps
away, quickly.

“Thanks a lot,” I say, punching Braden’s arm
hard enough to make him wince.

“You’re the one who wouldn’t answer a simple question.”

I stomp away from him, back toward my classroom.
The torture that is Spiritualism is almost over, but I’m willing to suffer for
a few minutes in order to get away from him right now. Before pulling the door
open, I look back at him over my shoulder and say, “I can’t believe you got me
detention. I’m not going to forget this.”

His smile shows teeth in a feline smirk.
“Neither will
I
.”

Chapter 7

Reason

My body relaxes as Milo slows down and makes the
turn into the parking lot of the motel I am currently living in. It’s a small,
unattractive place to live, but I like it. I could afford a better place thanks
to the trust fund left to me by my dad, but this is where I feel safest. I let
out a held breath when the car finally stops.

Holding onto the door handle when Milo drives
hurts his feelings, so I try not to, but cruising down the freeway at just over
one hundred miles per hour makes me nervous. That may be putting it lightly. I
know Milo’s unlocked Speed and Strength give him the capability to drive that
fast without putting us in any real danger of wrecking, but it still freaks me
out. I start breathing again as he pulls into the parking space right in front
of my room.

When he cuts the engine, Milo reaches for my
hand. “Are you sure you don’t want me to stay? I’m in no hurry to get back.”

My lips curl up in a smile. I would love for him
to stay. “As nice as that sounds, I’m exhausted. Working with your mom tonight
was…” How do I wrap up my lessons with her tonight nicely? “It was very
frustrating, to say the least.”

“I know dealing with my mom can be
excruciatingly painful sometimes.”

His hand tightens around mine. The argument Milo
and his mom got into tonight when she tried to work with Milo on his own
Spiritualism makes me cringe when I think about it. Neither one of them can say
more than two words to each other lately without it starting a fight. They are
so different from each other in personality and tactics that it’s a miracle
they’ve managed to live in the same house this long.

Mrs. Hanover expects everything to go so
perfectly every time she sits down to work with him. Milo’s Spiritualism is as
strong as hers, but it takes finesse to use it. The fact that Milo leans more
toward brute force in using his talents sets her teeth on edge and she ends up
snapping at him constantly. Milo can’t stand the way she tries to guide him
like a two-year-old and gets angry at her for treating him as if he isn’t
capable of doing anything on his own. Finding a new Spiritualism teacher would
help Milo as much as it would me.

“It wasn’t all bad,” Milo says. “You did make
some progress tonight. You should be happy about that, at least.”

“Sure, I finally managed to reach my own spirit
tonight, but that’s as far as I got. It’s nothing compared to where I need to
be.” My head falls back against the headrest in frustration. “The second I
started pushing my spirit out of my body toward the Ciphers, it’s as if it
turns into a too-small rubber band that refuses to stretch as far as I need it
to go. It just keeps snapping back at me.”

“A rubber band, huh? Mine feels like a runaway
train.”

I attempt a smile at his humor, but it doesn’t
go very far. “It totally fits with my track record that the one place I want to
send my spirit is the exact place it seems determined to stay away from.”

“You found my spirit, too. That was huge, and
pretty cool.”

After pushing so hard at the spirit world, my
spirit actually seemed willing to go somewhere else. I did touch Milo’s spirit,
but only after I had found Lance’s. I think contacting Lance’s spirit was made
much easier by the Guardian Oath connection between us. Milo was picking up
Celia from dance at the time, but I didn’t mention that part to him when he got
back. I had tried touching Milo’s spirit before and wasn’t successful. I didn’t
want to hurt his feelings that I found Lance’s so easily.

I sigh. There seems to be a lot of things I
don’t tell Milo lately.

“You’re going to figure this out,” Milo says. “A
little more time and practice, and everything
is
going
to fall into place. I’m sure of it.”

This time I smile for real. “Thanks.”

“Are you sure you don’t want me to come in for a
while?” Milo asks again.

I do, but I have another reason besides
exhaustion for not giving in. “Milo, please don’t take this the wrong way, but
I know it upsets your parents when you don’t come home. Things are already so
tense between you guys …”

“Don’t bring my parents into this,” he says
brusquely.

“It’s just that I don’t want them to hate me
because they feel as if I’m the reason you fight with them so much.”

Shaking his head, Milo pulls me closer. “You’re
the only reason I speak to them at all. I know things aren’t great between me
and my parents, but they practically worship you.”

“It still makes me sad to see you guys fight so
much. I don’t have any family anymore. Your parents aren’t perfect, but at
least you still have them. I know you argue, but you’d be devastated if you
lost them.” I lean my head against his shoulder. “I just want you to think
about it, okay? It would mean a lot to me.”

Kissing the top of my head, Milo sighs.
“Alright.
I’ll try, but I’m not making any promises.”

“Thank you,” I say before kissing him. “Now, I
really am exhausted, so I’ll say goodnight. See you in the morning.”

Milo kisses me again, and I get out of the car.
As usual, he waits for me to get to my door and unlock it before heading out. I
turn the doorknob slowly and push into the room. The cloying darkness prickles
against my skin. I neglect to turn the lights on because I have every intention
of simply collapsing onto my bed and not getting up until morning. I don’t
reconsider turning them on until I knock my leg against the bed. It’s been a
long day. I sigh and rub my shin as I debate whether I should turn on the
lights and actually get ready for bed or just flop down and sleep in my
clothes.

“No wonder you’ve broken so many bones, walking
around in the dark like that.”

“Braden!”
I
gasp,
his voice instantly recognizable.

Without another thought, I bolt for the door.
Swinging it open, I scan the parking lot for Milo, but he’s already gone. My
cell phone gets whipped out next. I’m halfway through bringing up Milo’s number
when a hand clamps down on my phone and snatches it from my grip. The prickly
feeling I experienced when I walked in explodes over my skin.

A flash of understanding hits me as I realize
the
goosebumps
I felt before weren’t from the
darkness, they were because of him. My Concealment usually lets me know when
people I’m close to are near me without my having to see them, but I don’t
understand this reaction to Braden. We are
not
close. But even now, I
can tell exactly where he is in the room. The connection makes me shiver.

“Give me back my phone,” I demand.

“Not yet. We have some unfinished business to
deal with, and I don’t need anyone walking in and cutting me off this time.”

“What are you doing in my room?” I can’t believe
he broke in! “How do you even know where I live?”

Braden slips my phone into his pocket and steps
closer to me. The prickling feeling grows stronger. “I’ve known where you live
since that night at the theater.”

“The Guardians know where I live?” I figured
they would probably find out eventually, but the fact that they haven’t
attacked me here yet made me hopeful that all my twisty routes home were enough
to keep me safe.

Braden moving closer makes my skin hum. “Of
course the Guardians know where you live. They have since the night of your
Inquest. Did you really think they didn’t?”

I don’t’ answer him. I feel stupid enough for my
naïve hope without emphasizing it.

“Right now there are at least three Guardians
watching this motel—just as there has been since that night.”

“Howe’s or Lazaro’s?”

“I’m sure it’s both. Howe is making sure Lazaro
doesn’t try anything, and Lazaro is waiting for Howe’s men to slip up. Is that
really so surprising?”

I don’t answer that one either. I tell myself I
can stand here all night refusing to speak to him at all, but my curiosity gets
the better of me. “I can understand Howe and Lazaro keeping tabs on me. It
would be stupid of them not to, but do they really hand out my home address to
anyone interested? Seems like that would only invite crazy, rogue Guardians
interested in advancing their careers to come and take a swing at me.”

“For one thing, no one is getting past the
Guardians watching you. I’m only here because my captain gave me permission to
break in and make sure you aren’t hiding anything here. And I didn’t need
anyone to give me your address. All I had to do was follow you home that night
after the theater.”

“Why would you do that?”

“Because it was a chance to find out where the
most despised person in the whole world was hiding herself,” Braden says.

It shouldn’t, but his answer disappoints me.
He’s not done yet. His voice softens, warming my skin like an embrace.

“And, because you were hurt and alone, and I was
worried about you.”

My pleasure that he wasn’t just scouting for
work is as invigorating and disturbing as the familiarity I seem to have with
his presence. Has he been keeping an eye on me ever since the theater? The idea
of Guardians patrolling my home right now is terrifying. Braden should only add
to that feeling, but for some reason I feel safer knowing he’s stalking me.

“What are you really doing here, Braden?”

“I told you I wouldn’t forget about the incident
with Casey, and since you won’t speak to me at school, I thought I’d stop by
and try talking to you here,” he says. “Snooping was just the excuse I gave my
captain. Nothing in your room has been disturbed.”