Chapter 18

Trevor resisted the urge to fight the two soldiers that stood on either side of him holding his arms as they led him down the corridor. The only thing that kept him from trying to bash both men’s skulls in was the fact that Brooks walked in front of them, his hand gripping Chloe’s right arm tightly, and the barrel of his gun was pressed against her temple.

Brooks had informed him very clearly that if he made one move that even appeared as if it were an attempt at escape, he’d shoot Chloe without hesitation. Trevor didn’t doubt the man’s word for a second.

Their little entourage stopped before a door and Brooks waited while General Maitland went through the entire security protocol needed to get through the door. It slid open and he stepped aside. “Get this done Brooks and get it done quickly.”

“Yes sir.” Brooks hauled Chloe through the door.

Trevor was dragged through by the two soldiers. He wondered for a moment where Durn was, but to ask would put the man in Brooks’ line of fire. The door slid shut behind them and Trevor was turned to face the center of the room.

When he saw the little pyramid sitting on the pedestal in the center of the room he sucked in a breath. He’d seen that menacing little gold pyramid before.

“I see that you’re not going to play games anymore Madison. Now touch the pyramid or I shoot your girlfriend here.” Brooks shoved Chloe in front of him but kept the gun tight against her temple.

“This is a bad idea. That thing is dangerous. I’m telling you that touching it, bringing it to life, is a really bad idea.” His gaze met Chloe’s and he prayed she got the message.

“I don’t care for your opinion, Mr. Madison. Touch the damn thing or I shoot her, it’s your choice.”

Chloe whimpered pathetically. “I don’t want to die, Tre.”

“Shut up you stupid b***h,” Brooks snarled at her, giving her a shake.

“I am not stupid!” Chloe stomped down on Brooks’ instep and lunged forward when he released her. She knocked into the pedestal, tipping it over and sending the little pyramid flying through the air. It hit the floor and slid into a corner. She scrambled across the slick tile and slithered into the corner, grasping the pyramid.

She wrapped her fingers around it, praying that her gifted killed whatever was inside the thing. As she sat there, grasping the thing in her hands, she felt whatever was inside rear up with great force and she yelped, nearly dropping the artifact.

The tiny pyramid grew warm and then hot in her hands and tears filled her eyes. Something was wrong. Instead of silencing the thing, her curse seemed to be doing the opposite. She screamed and fell back, releasing the object and watching as it clattered to the floor, rolled once, and surprisingly, landed upright.

She scrambled back on her butt as the sides of the little pyramid split open and a bright white light spilled from inside. The sides folded back fully, leaving the thing open with the light pouring from it. Chloe couldn’t seem to look away from the light, even as blindingly bright as it was.

From a distance, she thought she heard Trevor screaming at her, though what he said she wasn’t sure. There were other sounds, maybe other voices, but she was wholly focused on the artifact, so she ignored anything else.

The light darkened at the center and something seemed to be taking shape out of the light. It grew larger in shape and size, seeming to materialize up out of the light and darkness. Becoming a large giant shape, hovering over her as it seemed to spring from inside the pyramid.

Her eyes wide, she scooted back farther in an attempt to flee the giant staring down at her. It leaned in, eyes burning a bright, blood red. Arms bulging with muscle; it stepped from the tiny pyramid that seemed much too small to have contained so massive a creature. The man, if indeed it was a man�"perhaps he was a God�"Chloe honestly didn’t know, was both beautiful and darkly evil at the same time. Though he appeared in the form of a man, he was over seven feet tall and he emanated an aura of evil so overpowering it held her spellbound in place.

“I have waited long to be unleashed once again on the mortal world. I thank you for my freedom, Destroyer.” The creature bowed low to her and then vanished from the room in a flash of light that collapsed into a cloud of darkness.

Sound rushed in, deafening her, as Trevor pulled her into his arms and crushed her against his chest. “Chloe honey, are you all right?”

She trembled and clung to him. They’d made a fatal error. A terrible, humungous error. It wasn’t her power that could turn the thing off, it was Trevor’s, she had unleashed the thing on the world, and now they were all doomed.

***

“What in the hell was that thing?” Brooks asked furiously as he paced back and forth across the living room of the apartment.

Chloe shook her head. “I have no idea. Whatever it is, I don’t think it’s a good thing for the world.”

“What did it say to you?” Brooks snapped.

“You couldn’t hear?” Chloe asked, looking around the room at everyone.

Trevor shook his head. “No, we couldn’t. It was as if you were engulfed in some sort of vacuum. All we heard was sort of a giant rushing of wind.”

“He said that he’d waited a long time to be unleashed on the mortal world again or something like that and thanked me for releasing him. Oh and he called me Destroyer.”

Brooks scowled at her. “Destroyer? Fabulous, what exactly are you planning on destroying then?”

Chloe shot Trevor a look and he shook his head. Brooks narrowed his eyes at them both.

Durn, who had only seen the security footage from what had happened, stood now and surveyed them all. “Look, if we’re going to get anywhere and defeat whatever this thing is then we’re going to have to work together.”

“We wouldn’t be in this mess if Agent Brooks had listened to me in the first place and chucked that thing into a deep a*s hole and reburied it like I’d told him to do,” Trevor said glumly.

“Let’s get past that and concentrate on stopping whatever that thing is,” Durn said turning to Chloe, he gestured to Brooks. “Tell him.”

She glared at Durn but stood and went to Brooks. “Give me your phone.”

“Why on Earth should I do that?”

“Just give it to her Brooks,” Durn told him with an aggravated sigh.

Brooks handed over the phone, Chloe held it for a few seconds and handed it back with a grin. “That is what I can do Agent Brooks and that is why our new friend called me Destroyer.”

Brooks sent her a confused look. Durn encouraged him to turn on his phone and actually laughed when he couldn’t, Brooks shot him a glare. “You destroyed my phone! I have notes and things in here!”

Trevor held out his hand for the phone. “Give me the thing you whiner.” Brooks handed him the phone, Trevor fixed it and tossed it back to him. “There, now quit complaining.”

Brooks probably would have liked to reprimand him for his less than stellar attitude, but he remained silent.

Durn was pinching the bridge of his nose and looking frustrated. “Can you two not kill each other until after this is over?”

Trevor eyed Brooks and then shrugged. “As long as secret agent man agrees to let us go and leave us the hell alone when this is over and done with, I’m cool.”

“Hey now, your father and I had a deal! I paid him good damn money for you!”

“And if I’m not mistaken the buying and selling of humans was outlawed a hell of a long time ago!” Trevor yelled as he leaped up from the couch.

Durn got between them before punches were thrown. “He has a point Brooks and if he wants to push it, I’ll back him. Now back off.”

Brooks shot him a glare full of promised retribution. “Fine, whatever.”

Trevor looked as if he didn’t believe a word Brooks said, but he took his seat back on the couch beside Chloe, wrapping an arm over her shoulders and pulling her close.

Durn knew this entire situation was a powder keg waiting to blow the hell up in his face. Some creature thing was out to wreak havoc on the world, Trevor and Brooks were circling each other like two lions looking to take over a pride. Yeah, this was going to be hella fun.

Ignoring the looks Trevor and Brooks were sending one another he looked at Chloe. “Is there anything your parents can do for us? Any information they might have about you and your … gift?”

She shook her head. “No. My mom was a homemaker, what she’s doing now I have no idea. And my dad worked at an appliance store. Who knows what he’s doing now. There’s nothing special about either one of them.”

Durn sighed and gave a quick nod. “Well I was hoping for something, but I wasn’t sure what. Are you certain neither one of them would know anything about this whole Destroyer thing?”

She started to shake her head and then stopped and frowned. “My dad was a major history buff. I mean he was always reading stuff and watching things on the History Channel. I don’t ever remember him talking about anyone called the Destroyer though.”

“Call him, see if he knows anything.” Durn held out his phone to her.

She shrank back away from the proffered phone. “I can’t! I haven’t spoken to my parents since I ran away when I was twelve!”

Durn lowered his arm and frowned. “You ran away from home?”

Her lips twisted into a parody of a smile. “I spent a lot of time being teased and taunted because of this so called power I carry, Agent Durn. Even my own mother hated me. I got sick of it so I left.”

“Right. But you and your dad got along?” he asked hopefully.

Chloe groaned and buried her face in her hands. “Yeah, we did. He was the only one who accepted me and my power.”

Durn walked over and crouched before her. “Listen, I’m not asking you to run home for a reunion, but we need to find out if he knows anything. He may have run across a legend or something and suspected who and what you were at some point. Maybe he knows something that can help us. All right?”

Chloe lifted her head and stared into his amber colored eyes. She gave a tiny little nod and reached for the phone, Trevor’s hand covered hers and she turned to smile at him. With a shaking hand, she dialed the number that even now she remembered from her childhood, and waited while it rang.

Tears sprang to her eyes when she heard the gruff, familiar voice answer the phone, and for a moment, she couldn’t speak. Clearing her throat, she forced out the words through the cloying tears that threatened to break free. “Daddy?”

“Chloe, sweetie is that you?”

She heard the sound of movement and then a door closing. “Yeah Daddy it is. I need to talk to you about something.”

“Honey what’s happened? How is it that you’re able to call me?”

She smiled at Trevor beside her. “It’s a really long story Daddy, but I’ve found someone, a very special someone that’s helping me to make this call. Listen Daddy, I don’t have much time and I need to know if you’ve ever heard of a legend about someone called the Destroyer.”

Silence greeted her words. Though she knew, her father was still on the line because she could hear his rapid breathing. “Daddy?”

He made a small noise to acknowledge that he was still there. “Baby, you don’t want to get mixed up with the Destroyer legend. It’s dark and it’s evil. Let it lie.”

“Too late Daddy. Tell me what you know.”

He groaned and she could almost picture the look on his face. How he would scrunch his eyes closed and put a hand over them when he was frustrated or upset. “The legends I found were short and to the point and sadly lacking in details. There was a creature the Pharos controlled, one of immense power, which they would unleash on their enemies. The thing decimated them. We are talking complete and utter destruction. Leveling of cities and the death of every citizen. In order to unleash the beast they needed someone they called the Destroyer and to rein the thing in they used someone called the Redeemer.”

Chloe shot Trevor a look and smiled brightly. “So, to bring the thing back to its resting place they would use someone called the Redeemer?”

“Yes, but Chloe you must be careful the creature is tricky and it wants only one thing�"”

She spoke over her father. “One thing?”

“To be free. It will do anything to remain free, to continue to create havoc and devastation. It is it’s one and only purpose.” Chloe looked up at Durn in a panic. “The pyramid! Go get the pyramid. NOW!”

He leaped up and ran from the room, Brooks dashed after him.

“Chloe? What’s happened?” her father asked her.

“I’m the Destroyer, Daddy. The creature has been unleashed.”

Her father groaned. “Chloe, I’m so sorry I should have told you, should have warned you.”

“I was twelve Dad what would you have told me?”

“I don’t know something, anything!”

She smiled at Trevor. “Don’t worry Daddy, because I’m pretty sure I’ve already found the Redeemer.”

“You have?”

“Yes Daddy, he’s the reason I’m on the phone with you right now. As long as he holds the phone with me, it works.”

Her father chuckled. “I see. Be safe, Chloe, be safe. I’ve got to go; I can hear your mother yelling for me. I love you baby.”

“I love you too Daddy.” She hung up and Trevor held her while she cried silent tears.

Durn came rushing back into the room, eyes wide in horror. “It’s gone. Vanished. We can’t find the damn thing anywhere in the building!”

Chloe lifted her head, brushing at the remaining tears on her cheeks. “My dad said that the creature would do everything it could to remain free so it could continue to destroy. Looks like it has already done the first thing, taken away the trap needed to hold it.”

Brooks growled. “Fine then, let’s get it back, and lock the b*****d down.”

Chloe nodded slowly. “It’s not gonna be that easy, however we have the means necessary to lock him down, as Agent Brooks so eloquently put it.” She gestured toward Trevor.

“Madison?” Brooks questioned.

“My dad said the Egyptians used someone called the Redeemer to rein in the beast. If I’m the Destroyer, who better to be the Redeemer?”

Trevor smirked at Brooks. “Looks like you made one hell of a calculation error there Brooks when you brought me in to bring your little artifact to life.”