The Havoc Chronicles (Book II): Unbound

I awoke in a bed that wasn’t mine, rays of sunlight filtering through large windows framed by thin, lacy curtains. For a moment I simply lay there, not sure where I was, or how I had gotten there.

Then I heard shouting and the previous night’s events came flooding back: The endless torrent of Bringers. Osadyn and Aata. Kara releasing the snare. Although I didn’t recognize the room, I figured I was in one of the many bedrooms in the Berserker house.

With more effort than should have been necessary, I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and onto the floor.

The world spun, a dull ache pulsing at the back of my head. Nausea rose in my stomach, so I put my head in my hands, concentrating very hard on not projectile vomiting all over.

After a moment the worst of it appeared to be over, and I felt strong enough to stand. As I got up, I realized I was wearing a long nightgown that was definitely not mine. I had no recollection of how I got into it, but I sure hoped it was Mallika or Kara who put it on me.

I followed the sounds of arguing downstairs and into the large living room with the massive stone fireplace and overstuffed leather furniture.

Aata and Kara were locked in a massive shouting match, and from their appearance had only recently gotten out of bed themselves.

I took a step back, not wanting to intrude on their conversation, but there wasn’t a place I could go in the house where I wouldn’t overhear them screaming at each other. Unsure of what to do I simply stood there, out of sight, just around the corner.

“I was trying to save your life!” Kara shouted.

From my brief glance into the room, Aata had looked positively furious. I wouldn’t have been surprised if any second he ‘zerked.

“You had no right!” he shouted back.

Back and forth they yelled, Aata furious that Kara had released the snare and freed Osadyn, and Kara upset that Aata was angry at her for loving him enough to save him.

“It wasn’t your choice to make!” Aata said. “I put my life on the line when I joined the Berserkers. We all did when we took the oaths. Some things are worth dying for.”

“I couldn’t just let you die,” said Kara. “I love you!”

A crash and the sound of splintering wood reverberated through the house. “And that’s why Berserkers and Binders should not get involved with each other!” shouted Aata. “I told you from the beginning that this would lead to trouble. Now you’ve ruined our one chance to capture Osadyn. All his future deaths are on your head!”

Heavy stomping footsteps crossed the floor. The front door was yanked open and slammed shut, shaking the house.

With Aata gone, the decibel level dramatically dropped. But the sound of Kara’s muffled sobs pierced the silence, bringing tears to my own eyes.

I rushed into the living room and found her collapsed on the couch, sobbing uncontrollably. I sat down next to her and pulled her head onto my shoulder. I didn’t say anything; I just held her and stroked her hair, brushing the stray strands out of her face.

Eventually Kara’s sobs began to subside. She looked at me with tear-filled eyes and a sense of hopelessness. “He... he hates me, Madison,” said Kara, and the sobs began again.

There was nothing for me to say, so I simply continued stroking her hair and making gentle hushing noises. Looking around the room, I saw a splintered hole in the floor and a broken chair. The frame had been split, the leather torn, and the stuffing was half out. I guessed it hadn’t been Kara who had done that.

To be honest, I wasn’t too happy with what Kara had done myself. I understood it – what if it had been someone I loved there – and in her position I probably would have done the same thing. But this morning, in the harsh light of day, just the thought of Osadyn getting away made me feel queasy about Kara’s choice. Who knew how many people were going to die because we hadn’t stopped him when we had the chance?

I was rescued from my comforting duties by Rhys, Shing, Mallika, and Eric arriving home with food for breakfast.

When Mallika saw us on the floor, her face changed from its normal stoic expression to one of pity. She reached down and pulled Kara to her feet. She and Eric guided Kara up the stairs to her bedroom, the crying growing fainter as they closed the door behind her.

The rest of the day was rather subdued. Aata didn’t return and no one knew where he might have gone off to. Dad showed up around lunch time and gave me a big hug. He tried to cheer me up by telling me how brave I had been, but all I wanted to do was forget that last night had ever happened.

Once I had gone back home, I tried to call Amy and repair the damage I had done to our relationship by not being there when she desperately needed me. Unfortunately, she had already left to visit her Grandparents' farm in a tiny town in Kansas that we knew from past experience did not have cell phone reception. There was no way to contact her and make it right so it would have to wait until I saw her again at school.

If we needed proof that Osadyn was gone, the weather was all the evidence we needed. The temperature dropped down to a much more normal fifty degrees. Then, as if making up for being so warm, on New Year’s Day, we got a couple of inches of rare snow that managed to last the entire afternoon before melting.

In addition to the temperature drop, the local news – which for the past few months had been full of assaults and murders – now seemed to be nothing but a non-stop holiday love-fest. Unlike the snow, that was a welcome change.

With Osadyn gone, there wasn’t much reason for everyone to stay put. Yes it was possible – even probable – he would come back and attack, but the Berserker council wanted at least some of the Berserkers to once again go on the hunt for him.

There were many days of arguing and debate while the Berserkers tried to decide who should go and who should stay. They finally decided that Shing, Aata, and Eric would leave to actively search out Osadyn. There wasn’t much they could do without Rhys’ blood and Mallika’s binding power, but it was to be purely a reconnaissance trip for the time being. Kara would stay because it was best for Kara and Aata to be apart for a while, and Rhys and Mallika would stay here because Osadyn might begin targeting me again.

With the logistics decided, Shing, Aata, and Eric left just before school started again, leaving the Berserker house feeling much emptier than before. While I was sad to see them leave, in some ways it was a relief. Aata’s departure removed a source of tension and meant that Kara would now leave her room.

And, if I was honest with myself, I was eager to spend more time alone with Rhys now that Eric could not monopolize my attention.

The first day at school, I immediately sought out Amy to beg her forgiveness. I found her at her locker, her usual vivacious smile gone, replaced by a night-of-the-living-dead zombie-ish blank expression.

“Amy, I’m so sorry!” I blurted before she even had time to speak. “We were driving out of town when you called and we just left cell phone range. I tried to call when I got back but you were already in Kansas, and I couldn’t get a hold of you. But I did leave several messages.”

Knowing Amy for as long as I have, I knew she couldn’t hold a grudge for very long, but I thought for sure she would pout and make me do a bit of pleading for forgiveness before thawing out. To my surprise, she gave me a smile and a big hug.

“I know,” she said, and squeezed me tight.

“You do?” I pulled back to get a better look at her. This wasn’t like Amy. Something was going on here.

“Yeah,” she said. “The night I called, Rhys came by a couple of hours later to tell me he had dropped you off at an Aunt’s house, and he told me how upset you were that we hadn’t been able to talk. He stayed and listened to me babble on about what a jerk Cory was for almost an hour.” She gave a sigh and leaned back against her locker. “It’s too bad the boy is so clearly smitten with you, or else I would go after him myself.”

Rhys had gone to see Amy while I was in the forest? Why hadn’t he told me? It would have saved me a lot of worry if I had known.

Amy must have seen some of the concern on my face. “Oh, don’t worry about him, that boy is crazy about you. I mean what kind of uber-perfect boyfriend would think to do something that sweet?” Her eyes tightened. “Not Cory, that’s for sure.”

Boyfriend? The word bounced around my head like a hummingbird with ADD, never staying still long enough for me to analyze it. Did he really tell Amy he was my boyfriend or was that Amy making one of her usual – shockingly accurate – assumptions?

While Amy turned back to her locker and continued getting her books, I took in a few deep breaths. The last thing I needed now was to trigger a ‘zerk in the middle of school. “Did, he, uh actually say that word?” I asked.

“What word?” Amy asked, not looking up from her preparations.

“Boyfriend.” It came out rather higher-pitched squeakier than I had intended. I knew the minute the word came out of my mouth that I had said too much.

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