Bonds That Break (The Havoc Chronicles Book 3) (38 page)

What was the rush anyway? Why couldn’t we just take a couple of days to enjoy the view and decompress from the stress of everything that we had been through over the last few months? I certainly needed – and to be honest deserved – a nice long vacation. The weight of the world can be pretty draining to hold on your shoulders.

I was about to tell this to Rhys and make the suggestion that we take a day off when I felt something – a dark feeling. A presence that felt wrong and made me nauseated.

A Havoc was nearby.

And
that
was the reason we couldn’t just take a day off. The Havocs were still out there, and I didn’t know what they were going to do. I had thought they would keep as far away from me as possible out of fear I might rebind them, but this feeling told me otherwise.

I looked at Rhys expectantly to see if he felt it too, but he just looked back at me, his brow furrowing in concern.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

And then I remembered. He had no powers anymore. His special bond to the Havocs was gone. He could no longer feel their presence as he once could. As I still could.

“There’s a Havoc nearby,” I said.

“Where?”

“I can’t tell yet,” I said. “I’m just starting to feel him.”

Rhys looked around, as if expecting to see Osadyn or one of the other Havocs leap out of woods and attack us. His hands tightened on the steering wheel, and his lips compressed into a thin line. His beautiful blue eyes had turned cold and hard, scanning for danger. Rhys was prepared to battle with everything he had.

But it would not be enough. He was unmatched as a swordsman. I had seen that time and time again. But without his powers, he was just a normal human being. Yes, he was unbelievably skilled, but without his Berserker strength and speed he was no match for a Havoc. I wasn’t even sure if he was still bound to his varé or not, and at the moment I didn’t dare ask.

“I don’t think he’s close enough to attack yet,” I said.

“Do you think he’s going to try and stop us?”

“I don’t know. Maybe. I just don’t know enough about what they want to predict what they’re going to do.”

Rhys took in a deep breath, and relaxed his grip on the steering wheel. “From what you’ve told me, they’ve had plenty of opportunity to kill you.”

“Yes.”

“But each time they let you go.”

I watched the scenery flow by as we continued driving toward the mountain that bound Verenix. “Yes. And sometimes, they even protected me.” I thought about the attack on the Manor house when the Thuanar had stopped Tez from killing me.

“I can’t imagine that any of the Havocs suddenly changed their mind,” Rhys said. “So, if they aren’t here to kill you, what are they here for?”

That was an excellent question and one I did not have the answer to. “I don’t know,” I said. “But a Havoc being here can’t just be a coincidence. I’m guessing we are going to find out why soon enough.”

We continued our drive toward the mountain and the feeling of heat and nausea continued to grow stronger. At one point Rhys had to pull the car over because I thought I was going to throw up. Miraculously, I managed to keep my breakfast down and we continued driving.

 By the time we reached the parking lot at the trailhead closest to the mountain, the feeling was so strong that I was sure there were multiple Havocs nearby. Based on how strong this feeling was, it could be all of them.

Then a thought hit me. “What if it isn’t the Havocs I’m feeling?” I asked. “What if the feeling is so strong because I’m feeling Verenix’s presence, and not a Havoc’s?”

Rhys considered that idea for a moment. “It’s possible,” he conceded. “We don’t have any information about what it’s like to be in the presence of Verenix apart from your own visions. If the Havocs have that kind of feeling associated with them, it’s possible Verenix has a much stronger one.”

We parked the car and put on some coats and sturdy hiking boots. It would take several miles of hiking just to reach the base of the mountain. And who knew how much exploring we would need to do once we got there?

When we were both ready to go, we stared awkwardly at each other.

“So, uh, how do we want to do this?” I asked. I wasn’t sure how to proceed. We could both hike together, but it would be hours before we reached the mountain going at normal human hiking pace. But would it be too emasculating to Rhys to have me carry him and run? I knew my Dad had a hard time with that idea and always had one of the other Berserkers carry him when needed.

Rhys rolled his eyes. “Let’s not talk around the issue,” he said. “We both know you can travel much faster if you carry me.”

I nodded uncertainly.

“Yes, it feels a bit embarrassing after all these years to have to have someone else carry me. Especially the girl I love. But I’m not going to let my pride get in the way of saving the world.” He smiled at me and reached out his arms. “Let’s do this.”

I turned around and caught Rhys as he jumped on for a piggyback ride. I had a sudden flashback to the time I first met the Berserkers and Eric had done this for me. I had been so scared I had ‘zerked and almost squeezed off Eric’s head.

There was no one around, so I ‘zerked and took off at a run. I zipped through the trees and leaped over rocks as I made my way toward the mountain. I stayed off the trail as much as possible to avoid being seen. I was able to rely on my hearing to know when we were coming up on hikers and make a wide circle around them.

After a while I noticed that Rhys had his eyes closed and had pressed his face into my shoulder. I slowed down to check on him.

“Everything ok?” I asked.

Rhys lifted his head a bit. “It’s fine,” he said. “Running through the woods is a very different experience when you are not invulnerable or in control.”

I kept running, but at a somewhat slower pace than before.

When we reached the base of the mountains, I set Rhys down and let him stretch his legs. Being held for an extended piggyback ride couldn’t be comfortable.

“So what now?” asked Rhys once he had rubbed the circulation back into his legs.

“I’m not sure,” I said and proceeded to throw up. Now that I had stopped running, the heat and nausea hit me hard. I had never in my life felt it this strongly before. My head felt like it was getting pummeled by sledgehammers wielded by angry gorillas and my strength seemed to be draining out of me. My legs gave out, and I dropped to the ground. Fortunately I fell backwards and not into my own puke. Thank goodness for small miracles. No one wants their boyfriend to see them laying in vomit.

Rhys ran over and pulled me to a sitting position. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Havocs,” I said, my throat still burning from stomach acid and my voice a hoarse whisper. “Too many.”

All around us the Havocs began to appear. First came Osadyn, his long neck thrashing about on his elephant sized body. Next to appear was Thuanar with his long, sinuous body and six legs clawing at the ground. After Thuanar came Pravicus, the living tank. He towered over the others and swung his head from side to side, his massive horns whipping through the air in deadly arcs. Next was Margil, his feline features fierce and angry. His spiked shell looked even more formidable than when I had bound him in Hong Kong. And finally, Navitan, the weirdest looking of all the Havocs with his giant squid body and six insect legs. He was the one Havoc I hadn’t seen in real life. Here, under the sun, he looked even more disturbing and out of place.

Rhys pulled out his varé and stood between me and the Havocs, ready to fight. I smiled at his gallant desire to protect me, but I couldn’t let him fight the Havocs for me. One against five were impossible odds even with Berserker powers. Take those powers away and his life-expectancy would be measured in seconds.

Slowly, I rose to my feet. The pain and nausea were still there, but now that I had a chance to get used to it, I could function again. Really, what choice did I have?

I pulled out my varé and stood by Rhys. If we were going to die here, we would do it together and go down fighting.

But the Havocs made no move to attack. They simply stood there, watching and waiting.

“What’s going on?” Rhys asked me.

“I have no idea,” I said.

“Well, I do,” said another voice. Rhys and I spun around to face the speaker. He was tall with dark spiky hair and bright green eyes.

My informant.

He stood before the entrance to a cave. One that I was sure had not been there seconds before. If what I had seen in my vision was accurate, that entrance led to the pillar where Verenix was bound.

How was this possible? I had only ever seen him in dreams and visions. And I knew I was not dreaming. I had never considered the idea that he could be a real, physical being.

“Can you see him?” I asked Rhys.

He nodded, but held his varé at the ready position and didn’t take his eyes off the man. “Who is he?”

“The man from my dreams,” I said. “The one who’s been telling me about the seals breaking.”

Rhys relaxed slightly. He dropped his attack stance and moved back to stand by me, but the look of deadly focus didn’t leave his eyes.

“Very good,” said the man. “You found this place quickly. I was not expecting you this soon.” He gave Rhys an appraising look. “Nor did I expect you to come with a... guest.”

“Well, we’re kind of a package deal,” I said. “You know, buy one Berserker get one free.”

The man stared at me blankly for a moment. “Yes,” he finally said. “A package deal.” He spoke the words slowly, as if they were unfamiliar to him. “And yet, if I am not mistaken, he is no longer a Berserker.”

“He gave me his powers,” I confirmed.

“Then he is of little consequence here,” the man said and held out his arms indicating the Havocs that surrounded us. “We are dealing with beings of unimaginable power. This is not the province of weak mortals. It is why you needed to have all the powers combined in you before this could begin.”

I stiffened at his cruel words. I was about to make a nasty reply and tell the man where he could stick the unimaginable power, when Rhys grabbed my arm and pulled me in close.

“He’s right,” Rhys said. “This is about you now. I don’t have any powers. I’m just here for back up and support because I love you and don’t want you to go through this alone. As much as I hate to say it, there isn’t much I can actually do here.”

“But you are here,” I said. “And that makes all the difference in the world to me.” I stood on my tiptoes and kissed Rhys’ cheek.

I turned back to face the man. “So what do we do now?”

The man smiled and his green eyes were wide with anticipation. “Now we do what should have been done at the beginning of time. We execute these criminals and send this beast under the mountain back to the world tree where it belongs.”

I stiffened. “I thought it was my choice what we did with them?”

The man smiled at me and bowed his head in submission. “Of course it is ultimately your choice, Madison. I am not taking that away from you. But these are monsters that have killed untold thousands of innocents. Should they not pay for their crimes?”

I didn’t really know what to say to that. I had seen firsthand the murder and destruction they had caused. I had seen what they chose to do when left unbound. How many Berserkers and Binders had they killed over the years? How many humans had died because of them? If I had the chance to stop them from ever harming another person again, shouldn’t I take it? Weren’t they essentially super powered serial killers? 

“I don’t know,” I said. “I haven’t decided yet.”

The man looked at me with deep disappointment in his face. “Oh, Madison,” he said. “I thought you more of a pragmatist than this. I didn’t realize you had such a soft side when it came to murderers.”

“Leave her alone,” said Rhys. He looked positively livid. “She has the power. She’ll make the choice what to do with it. You don’t get to manipulate her into doing what you want.”

The man looked at Rhys and then back at me. His demeanor suddenly changed. “Very well,” he said. “You obviously know my preference. Which is based on experiences and knowledge you can’t even begin to grasp, I might add. But I will respect your decision, regardless of how naïve or reckless I think it is.”

Not exactly a vote of confidence, but I had the feeling that was the closest to a concession I was going to get. As old and powerful as I guessed he was, I doubted letting a teenage girl have her way was something he did very often.

“So what’s next?” I asked. “I have the power, but I don’t know how to break Verenix’s binding or send him back to – what did you call it, the world tree?”

An odd expression crossed Rhys’ face. He quickly glanced over at my informant and stared at him with renewed interest.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

Rhys turned away from the man to face me. “Probably nothing,” he said and turned back to look at the man. “What did you say your name was?” he asked.

“I didn’t.” The man’s voice was pleasant, but I thought I saw a brief flash of something – anger or maybe fear – flash across his face for a moment before disappearing.

“So what should we call you?” Rhys asked.

The man thought for a minute. “My name doesn’t really translate very well into any earth languages. You may call me Jottenson.”

Rhys said nothing at first. I wasn’t sure why he was so fixed on my informant’s name, but it seemed to be really important to him. “All right,” he said. “Jottenson it is.”

Jottenson put his hands on his hips and surveyed the Havocs that had surrounded us. They formed a semicircle, essentially pinning us to the mountain and leaving the entrance to the cave as the only possible avenue of escape.

“Excellent,” Jottenson said. “I believe everything is exactly as it should be.” He grinned broadly and rubbed his hands together in anticipation. It was a very odd gesture, like something you would expect from a villain in a melodrama. Only he had no handlebar mustache to twirl afterwards.

“The first thing we need to do is for you pull out the stones that are at the heart of each of their bindings.”

I remembered the vision I had seen when I last touched Osadyn. I had seen each of the five people eat a stone and then transform into the Havocs. Jottenson had told me they were tricking me, that what they had shown me was a lie. It sounded like what I had seen with the stones was true.