Threads That Bind (Havoc Chronicles Series Book 1) (27 page)

I found her in the living room reading a book. As I sat down next to her, she smiled at me and put her book down.

“I’ve got to go now, Mom,” I said. I leaned over and put my head on her shoulder. “I love you.”

She reached a hand up and placed it against my cheek. “I love you too,” she said. “Where are you going? Anywhere fun?”

Not by a long shot, I thought. In fact, where I was going was about as far away from fun as you could get - unless you liked putting yourself in mortal danger.

“Up north,” I said. “It’s a Berserker thing.”

At the mention of Berserkers Mom’s eyes glazed over and the haze kicked in, keeping her from understanding what I was telling her.

“It’s kind of dangerous,” I said, pulling Mom into a hug. “And to tell you the truth, I’m really scared.”

Mom squeezed me back and then said something that surprised me. “I trust you Madison,” she said. “I know you will do the right thing.” She gave me a kiss on the cheek, and picked up her book.

***

I rode shotgun with Rhys driving the Range Rover and Aata in the back. Dad and Shing took the truck.

We drove in silence, the reality of what we were attempting to do weighing heavily on us. The scenery flew by too quickly and the miles seemed to melt away before us.

My cell phone rang, startling me out of my drive-induced trance. It was Amy.

Grateful for the distraction, I answered the phone. At first I thought we had already left cell phone range because all I heard was incoherent noises.

“Amy?” I said. “Are you there?”

The noise died down and I heard several sniffs. It suddenly all clicked into place - she was crying.

“Madison?”

“I’m here, Amy. What’s wrong?”

The crying intensified. “Cory and I broke up,” she said, only partially understandable through the crying.

“Why?” I asked. “What happened?”

“We got into a fight,” Amy said. “He had been so angry lately, and I told him he needed to treat me better or I was going to find someone who would.”

I closed my eyes, the beginnings of a headache suddenly appearing. “Then what happened?” I asked.

“Then he started shouting at me,” Amy said. She gulped in a few breaths before continuing. “I got so angry that I started hitting his chest and shouting back at him. Then he shoved me down onto the sidewalk.” The sobbing intensified. “I scraped my hands when I landed, and I hurt my wrist.”

“Where are you now?” I asked. 

“Home.” She let out a few more sobs. “I need you, Madison,” she said. “I just need to be with someone right now. Can you come over? It’s been so long since we’ve done anything together. I miss you. Please?”

My heart ached to hear Amy so upset. My every instinct was to help her. She was my best friend; I couldn’t just leave her like this. I opened my mouth to tell Rhys to turn around, but then I stopped.

What about Osadyn? What about the deaths he had caused? Yes, my friendship to Amy was important, but she would still be there when I got back – if I got back. This was a once in a lifetime chance to finally bind Osadyn. Could I really throw that away?

I remembered Rhys’ story about leaving his fiancé and faking his own death in the name of duty. My own father had given up family and friends to become a Berserker. How could I do any less? Besides, the effects of Osadyn’s continued presence was more than likely the cause of her and Cory’s relationship trouble. The best way to help her was to do what I had planned and stop Osadyn.

“Listen, Amy, I can’t,” I said. “I’m heading out of town right now. Amy?” But there was no response. I looked at my phone and saw that the call had been dropped. We had moved out of range of the cell tower, and I had no signal.

“Is everything all right?” asked Rhys.

I put my phone back in my purse and took a deep, calming breath. There was nothing I could do right now. “It was Amy,” I said. “She just wanted to talk, but I lost the connection.”

And possibly lost a friend too.

***

After we arrived, everyone stayed long enough to help me set up camp on the top of the hill and go over the lines of defense one more time. It wasn’t a real camp with a tent and sleeping bags because there was absolutely no chance of any sleep happening tonight, plus we didn’t want anything large on the hill blocking my visibility. But we did build a big fire with lots of extra wood, and put out a camp chair for me to sit in while I played my role as bait.

Dad gave me a hug. In the light of the fading sun his eyes seemed overly bright. “I am so proud of you,” he said. I held the embrace, knowing it would likely be the last comforting thing I would feel for the rest of the night – or possibly forever.

“I love you, Dad,” I said.

“I love you, too,” he said, and gave me a gentle squeeze. “Remember the plan, and keep yourself safe.”

I blinked back tears. “I will.”

Shing and Aata wished me luck, and then it was time to say goodbye to Rhys. I stood there looking awkwardly at my feet, unsure what to say.

“Good luck,” Rhys said.

I looked up into his eyes and saw the concern there. “Thanks.”

For an awkward second neither of us moved, but then Rhys reached out and we hugged. Only, to call it a hug didn’t come close to adequately describing the reality of it. It would be like calling a majestic eagle a bird, or the ocean simply salt water.

Maybe it was the imminent danger, or something else about our circumstances, but as we embraced it was both thrilling and comforting at the same time. New, yet somehow familiar. It was as though we were meant to be together, two separated halves coming together for the first time - inevitable, wonderful, perfect.

I ached as we pulled apart, knowing it was necessary, but not wanting to let go. Letting go meant that he would leave. That I would be left alone in the dark to await a monster.

Not wanting my dad or the other Berserkers to see my reluctance – Dad would call the whole thing off if he thought I’d changed my mind – I stepped away from Rhys and turned away, walking back to the top of the hill and sitting in the chair. From there I waved to them as they drove off, leaving me alone. I felt a bit like Andromeda from Greek mythology chained to the rock, awaiting the Kraken.

Only this Andromeda wasn’t chained, and she carried a wicked bone varé.     

For the next several hours I waited as the sun set and the moon rose. Supposedly, since it was Winter Solstice, the ‘zerking would be more powerful and the full moon would make the Binding stronger. I hadn’t ‘zerked yet today because Dad and Rhys said that by ‘zerking I somehow made myself more visible to Osadyn.

But now that the time was right, visibility was exactly what we wanted. I stood up and concentrated, reaching inward toward my emotions. Given the impending battle, it was not difficult to ‘zerk.

I felt the glow envelop me – a rushing tidal wave of emotion, almost overwhelming. Like the time I had used the EpiPen, the emotions were stronger, more violent, but I refused to let them master me. I pushed them down, keeping my control, but taking in the power.

Alive. There was no other way to describe it. I wanted to run, jump, and play – or destroy something. Anything to work off the extra energy.

But I knew that I needed to concentrate right now. I had to be vigilant, searching my feelings for the approach of the Bringers, to be ready for Osadyn when he came – if he came.

So I waited patiently, examining the remote detonator that would set off the bone bombs, going over the practice forms with my varé, and thinking about Rhys.

Had he felt the same sort of sense of loss that I had as we parted? Did he even feel the same way about me? I knew that Kara seemed to think so, but Rhys was always so polite and formal, that I couldn’t tell what his level of interest was.

Especially with Eric around.

I liked Eric. He was funny, devious, and he had an emotionally vulnerable side that he didn’t show very often, but he always demanded to be center stage, to have all eyes and attention on him. Rhys was so much less assuming I had no chance of gauging his feelings unless we were alone together.

And so the hours passed. The sky grew blacker, the stars grew brighter, and the moon hung low overhead, a great yellowish ball casting bright shadows in the dark night.

I sensed them before I heard them. The tiny niggling feeling of something unnatural – evil. I stiffened, the ‘zerk intensifying. They were here. Bringers – hundreds of them by the feel of it.

I paced the top of the hill, varé extended, anxious to begin but afraid of the potential outcome. How long would I need to hold out on my own? How long would it take for Osadyn to appear and for the Berserkers to come to my aid?

Three Bringers rushed out of the woods, clearly ahead of the pack. They topped the earthen wall, and raced over the covered trench.

They weaved through the ring of stakes and onto the bomb-filled slope. I considered detonating one, but it seemed a waste to use it on only three Bringers, so instead I waited and watched.

The trio approached me cautiously, the slimy mouths in their elongated heads gaping with all sorts of nasty juices that I had no desire to know the nature of. The last time I had faced them, I had my dad’s old varé. It hadn’t been pretty, but I had defeated them.

The outcome this time was much different. I killed all three of the Bringers with only two strokes. The movements were natural, effortless. Partly it was because I was bonded to this weapon and had been trained in its use. But I could also feel the effects of the Winter Solstice. It not only magnified my speed and strength, but also enhanced my innate sense of how to attack the Bringers, turning me into a lethal killing machine.

The first three were just a drop in the ocean of what was to come. Even as they dissolved into black goo, I saw more Bringers burst from of the forest.

The next wave consisted of twenty Bringers. Again I considered using the bone bombs, but I didn’t for two reasons: First, I could sense more Bringers nearby and wanted to save my ammo. Second, I needed to
do
something, and killing the Bringers with my varé felt really good right now.

While I had in no way reached Rhys’ level of mastery with the varé, I had learned very quickly. My varé flashed as the enemy approached, slicing through multiple Bringers at a time. I slashed, I spun, I danced a gruesome waltz of death. The varé was my partner, and together we sliced through the crowds – quickly, effortlessly.

I stood in the midst of the carnage, my varé out, ready for attack, only to discover that I had no opponent. I blinked in surprise. I wasn’t quite sure how I had killed them all. In some ways my mind had been on autopilot while my body followed the training that had been drilled into it.

And then I felt it. Not Osadyn – it was too early for that – but a massive sense of darkness. This time it wouldn’t be a few Bringers, or even a couple of dozen. It would be hundreds, maybe thousands.

Black shapes exploded out of the forest and rushed against the earthen walls, pouring over them like the tide washing onto the shore. I held my breath as they rushed over the wall and onto the boards covering the snare, praying the boards would hold.

They did, and the wave of Bringers advanced up the hill. The uphill climb and the wooden stakes slowed them down. Pressed by those that followed, several Bringers were impaled on the stakes, thrashing furiously before melting off into goo.

I grabbed the detonator box and waited for the Bringers to get closer. One hundred feet. Fifty feet. Twenty. Finally they were close enough that I detonated the first bone bomb.