Bonds That Break (The Havoc Chronicles Book 3)

by Brant Williams

Both Nakai and Sunee stood up when I entered. They smiled at me and embraced me like I was a favorite granddaughter visiting after a long absence.

  "Madison," said Nakai. "It is so good to see you again." She motioned to one of the chairs. "Won't you please join us?"

  We all sat down and Sunee poured us each a glass of a yellowish liquid that appeared to be some sort of juice I was unfamiliar with.

  Nakai took a sip and then nestled back in her chair. I took a sip from my glass and was surprised how much I enjoyed the sweet unfamiliar taste.

  "Passion fruit," she said, answering my unasked question. "I find it quite refreshing."

  I nodded and set my glass down as well. I was anxious for them to get to the point of bringing me here. I looked at Nakai expectantly.

  She took the hint. "There are some odd things happening," she said, slowly. "The magic that has been the foundation of all that we do for thousands of years has become unstable. Havocs are breaking free without Berserker blood, destroying entire cities."

  "I've seen that as well," I said cautiously. "That's why I'm here." Where were they going with this?

  "Exactly!" said Nakai. "Because the fact is, that all this started with you, didn't it?"

  I felt my blood turn cold. My heart began pumping and I started to pre-zerk. How much did they know and what were they accusing me of?

  "We've known about the prophecy for years," said Sunee. "For generations the leaders of the Binder Council have passed this knowledge on, knowing that this time would eventually come."

  "What time?" I asked.

  "The consolidation," said Nakai. "The time when all the powers would find their way to a single individual. A dangerous time, don't you think?"

  I couldn't think of anything to say. What could I say that would make any difference?

  "We've known you were the one for quite some time," said Nakai.

  "Ever since we saw what the Sarolt stone did in your presence," said Sunee. She pulled out a small box and opened it up. Inside was a familiar oblong shaped stone. It was cut from rough angles and sharp edges. Beams of sky-blue light shot out from it, dancing on the walls and ceiling.

  Nakai took in the blue light from the stone and then turned her attention to me. "I see you are – what do you call it – pre-zerking? A very useful skill. Gaining a limited subset of the Berserker powers without the visible glow."

  Sunee closed the lid with a snap and the blue light winked out. She gently set the box on her lap.

  "The questions is, what do we do with you?" Nakai asked. "On the one hand, there is a prophecy that these powers will come together and be united in one person. It very well may be referring to you, Madison." She clasped her hands together and placed them in her lap. "But on the other hand, it is also possible that it does not."

  "What do you want me to say?" I asked. "I don't have any control over it. When a Berserker or Binder dies, I get their powers – no questions asked. I didn't ask for this. I would fix it if I could."

  Nakai raised an eyebrow. "You would fix it if you could?" she asked.

  I threw up my arms in frustration. "Of course I would. Do you think I wanted Nuremberg to be destroyed? Do you think I want anyone else to die?" Especially Rhys, I thought. But that was a selfish thought. I didn't want any of them to die. Not Shing, Josiah, Miguel, Davu, Yul or any of the others.

  "That is good to know," said Nakai. "You see, we have been debating that very thing in the Binder Council the past few days. There is quite the divide on the matter."

  The Binder Council had been debating how to fix the corrupting magic? I was surprised, but after a moment realized that I shouldn't be. Of course they would be talking about it once they saw how dangerous the problem had become.

  "And what is the divide over?" I asked.

  Nakai and Sunee looked at each other, an unspoken conversation taking place in their expressions. Finally they turned back to face me.

  Nakai looked me directly in the eyes and spoke. "We've been deciding whether or not to kill you."

  Chapter 14

  Extreme Measures

  I stood up, completely shocked. They were debating killing me? What good would that do?

  Nakai stood up and held out her hands in a pacifying gesture. "Now just relax for a moment," she said. "We haven't made any decisions yet."

  "And that's supposed to make me–" I began, but before I could finish, blue mist shot out of Nakai's hands. A Haze! She had tricked me.

  The mist felt cool and calming as it surrounded me and then collapsed in, entering my body. I couldn't move, the mist seemed to be somehow paralyzing.

  A look of relief flashed between Nakai and Sunee. They both let out deep breaths.

  "Ok," said Nakai. "You will not leave the Manor house unless Sunee or I command you to. You will sit in the Council meetings you are invited to and will speak only when asked a direct question by Sunee or myself. You will agree with any decision we make regarding your fate, up to and including your execution. You will not harm any Berserker or Binder, or attempt to escape in anyway. You will obey any order from me or Sunee without hesitation or question. When we are done here, you will not remember that we had this conversation."

  She clapped her hands together.

  What was that? It looked like a haze, but instead of isolating memories, it seemed to be focused on controlling my decisions. Was that even possible?

  Nakai put a hand on my shoulder. "I apologize for having to do this Madison. It isn't often that we use the Haze to directly control a person's behavior. Only a few Binders even know it's possible. It’s how we keep the Berserkers under control of the council. They may have the strength, but we use that strength how we see fit."

  I tried to keep my face as blank as possible. What was going on here? If they had put a Haze on me I shouldn't be able to remember it, should I? I didn't feel any different, but if it worked I wouldn't feel different. That was kind of the whole point of a Haze – that they didn't know it had happened.

  It was time to make a choice. I could go along with their plan and then test out just what they had done to me, or I could punch them both through a wall right now.

  Honestly, both plans had their merits.

  The more I thought about what they had just tried to do, the more anger I felt. I took stock of my thoughts and what I could and couldn't do. They were trying to control my mind and make me go along with a potential death sentence. Based on the fury that was building, I was pretty sure that the Haze hadn't worked. As much as I wanted to resort to extreme violence, I wasn't going to use my powers to smash old ladies, no matter how dangerous they were.

  "Believe it or not, we are sorry it has come to this," said Sunee.

  "Save your words," said Nakai. "She won't remember any of this. Let's get her to her room. We have to talk with the Council."

  I followed them in silence as they led me through the corridors to my room. It was the same one I had stayed in the last time I had been there.

  "We will be back to get you in a few hours," said Nakai. "Wait here until we return."

  I held my breath while they walked down the hall. I could feel my anger building. Once I was sure they were gone, I let my emotions out and burst into a full 'zerk. My anger made it feel stronger and brighter than normal. I wanted to punch through the walls and show Nakai and Sunee that I was not some puppet that could be so easily manipulated.

  Instead I took a few deep breaths and tried to relax. The first thing I needed to do was to see if I had to obey their commands. They had told me I couldn't leave the room so an easy test was to go out.

  I walked over to the door and felt a constricting in my chest. I felt a sense of panic as I reached out to grasp the doorknob. I could feel the weight of the Haze on me.

  But I was stronger.

  I twisted the doorknob and stepped outside my room. Immediately I felt the sense of panic disappear. I was not under their control.

  It would be really fun to go find them and see the look of pa
nic in their faces when they realized not only did their little mind trick not work, but that I was on to them.

  Instead I went back into my room and called Rhys. I needed to talk this through with him and make a plan. He was much more familiar with Binder politics than I was.

  I didn't know how much time we would have before they came and got me, so the conversation had to be quick. I explained to him what they had done and how they had tried to use a form of the Haze to make me do their bidding.

  But Rhys just couldn't grasp it. No matter how I tried to explain it to him, the concept of them controlling Berserkers seemed beyond his comprehension. I was really confused because it wasn't that difficult of a concept and Rhys was a very smart guy.

  And then it hit me. They had already used a Haze on him – and probably most, if not all, the other Berserkers – to not let them understand that this power existed. No wonder he was having such a hard time grasping the concept. It also explained why the Binders were in charge when the Berserkers were older, more experienced and presumably more knowledgeable.

  Clearly there were limits on what they could make Berserkers do, since there was always a struggle, but it gave them a huge advantage and essentially allowed them to make key decisions.

  I gave up explaining to Rhys what was happening and told him everything was fine. Apparently, I would have to deal with this on my own.

  When Nakai came and got me, I was ready. I had composed myself and was as prepared as I could get. I almost decided to simply run away, but I wanted to understand what was going on and who I could trust. I had a feeling this meeting was going to be very revealing in that regard. It would be worth the risk to get that information.

  Once again we went down the elevator and into the tunnel leading under the mountain. This time when we entered there was no crowd to mingle with. We were the last to arrive and they were all seated in their pods.

  I was led up onto the stage and sat in a chair between Nakai and Sunee. I looked out over the audience of Binders and Berserkers and wondered which ones were on my side, and which ones wanted me dead.

  Nakai stood up and walked to the podium. She paused and looked out over the audience, stopping and making eye contact with each Berserker and Binder before she spoke.

  "You have all heard the news by now," she said. "Nuremberg is no more. Destroyed. The magic that bound the Havocs to the seals has become corrupted and now has taken the lives of millions of innocent people."

  I felt the blood drain out of my face. Millions of people dead? I hadn't realized that Nuremberg was that large.

  "The issue at hand is not whether or not the magic is corrupted – we know it is – but if the magic can be fixed. You see that we have Madison Montgomery sitting up here with us. We have investigated and discovered that she is the source of the magic corrupting."

  Several people started shouting at once. Julie and Onaona were both standing up and yelling. Davu, Yul, and Jacinda all looked angry at Nakai's words.

  Nakai held up her hands for silence. Once the yelling died down, she pointed at Yul to give him a chance to speak.

  "You can't know that," he said. "She is the newest of us all. How could she corrupt the magic?"

  A general murmur of assent issued from the audience.

  "We are not claiming that she has deliberately corrupted the magic," said Nakai. "It is by her very nature and birth that the magic has been corrupted. She is the daughter of a Berserker and a Binder – the first that has come into her powers. She has the powers of both and now is taking on the powers of others. There have been no other Berserkers or Binders since she has joined us, yet we know of two Berserkers and three Binders who have died since she joined us. Madison has their powers. We do not blame her or ascribe malicious intent, but the truth is that her existence places millions of lives in jeopardy."

  Silence greeted this pronouncement. The angry shouts of denial had faded, and the very silence seemed like a condemnation from them all.

  Sunee got to her feet and walked over to stand by Nakai. "We are at a cross roads and must make a decision as to our course of action. Before we do that, you must know of a certain prophecy that has been passed down through the Binder leadership since the beginning of our records. The prophecy states that there will come a time of consolidation when all the powers will come together in a single individual."

  Nakai put an arm around Sunee's shoulder and then took over the explanation. "That individual would then have the power to break the bindings forever, to free Verenix, and to unleash the Havocs on the world. The time of the consolidation, is in short, the beginning of the end."

  I carefully watched the reactions of the Berserkers and Binders. Tez and Arthur were clearly not on my side. Yul and Davu seemed to be with me. I couldn't tell from Miguel's expression what side he was on.

  "But there is hope," said Nakai. "The prophecy says that this consolidation will happen, but it does not state when it will happen. We are fairly certain that we know how to stop and reverse the process that has been happening. We just have to eliminate the cause of the consolidation."

  "And how do we do that?" asked Davu.

  Nakai didn't even hesitate. "It would mean killing Madison."

  There were several loud gasps before the entire audience began shouting in an incoherent babble of voices.

  Once again Nakai held up her hands for silence, but this time it didn't work. Finally she had to shout into the microphone before the others stopped talking.

  "We do not mqake this proposal lightly," she said. "Sunee and I have searched for other alternatives, considered every possible scenario, and debated for months with each other. This is the only possible solution we can find. We wish it were otherwise, but we see no other options. Where are the powers consolidating? Madison. Why? Because she is the daughter of a Berserker and a Binder. If she is eliminated, there will be no other where the powers can consolidate. We believe the powers will then distribute as they used to and others will be called to replace the fallen Berserkers and Binders."

  I wondered if that would stop the consolidation. Could you circumvent a prophecy that easily? It seemed like they were depending upon a big technicality to save the day.

  "You may think this is harsh, but let us remind you what happened just a few days ago in Nuremberg." An image of the destruction surrounding Nuremberg flashed up on the screen behind her. While I had my back to the screen, there were several smaller monitors facing our direction so I could see what they were showing.

  "Can you imagine if this happened in Paris? Assuming the destruction is roughly the same magnitude, there are over twelve million people in the affected area. There are seven million people in Hong Kong, and another two million in the Portland Metro area. Do you start to see how the numbers add up? Four million have already died. Do we need another twenty million to die before we do something?"

  "And that is just the death toll of the current seals breaking," said Sunee. "Imagine the damage that will be done when all five Havocs are free. I abhor the thought of taking the life of this, admittedly innocent, young girl, but when compared to the tens of millions who will die if we do not, I cannot in good conscience ignore this option."

  I sat in silence, observing as Sunee and Nakai opened up the floor to discussion. I could have opened my mouth at any time, but that would have given away my only advantage. I was sure if Nakai and Sunee knew I was free of their Haze that they would never have told me their plans or let me come down here to begin with.

  Besides, I wasn't entirely sure they weren't right.

  After listening to them talk about the potential death count, I found myself beginning to agree with them. If my death could save twenty million, then maybe they had a point. No, I didn't want to die, but when you weigh the needs of twenty million versus one, it gets kind of hard to justify saving the one.

  There was a clear split for who wanted me dead and who wanted to keep me alive. Yul and Onaona were both for keeping me alive, as was Shing's Bi
nder, Julie. Davu and Yvette were split – he wanted me alive and she thought I should die. Tez and Kamiko were both for killing me are were Arthur and Sunee. No surprises there. Miguel and Dagmar were divided with him wanting me alive, and Jacinda was extremely vocal against killing me. What surprised me was that Josiah was in favor of killing me. It hadn't been that long ago that he was hinting that we should go out. Now he wanted me dead?

  Maybe I shouldn't have been surprised.

  I wanted to be angry at those who thought I should die, but I couldn't bring myself to feel anger. It wasn't that they had anything against me personally, they just didn't see how my life was worth twenty million other lives.

  In the midst of the discussion, everything started to slow down. I looked around, trying to see if anyone else was noticing it, but I seemed to be the only one.

  Voices dropped in pitch, slowed down, and trailed off. All movement around me stopped. None of the Berserkers or Binders moved at all. I stood up and everything around me stayed exactly the same. Jacinda's mouth was stuck open and her finger stayed completely still, stabbing straight up in the air, caught in the middle of making a point.

  "It won't work," said a voice. I turned around, looking for the source and saw a boy I couldn't help but recognize. Roughly my age with spiky black hair and bright green eyes, he smiled at me with a wicked grin. He sat on the edge of the stage, leaning back on his hands.

  "What, no dragon this time?" I asked?

  He shrugged. "Nah. I only use that for special occasions when I really need to make an impression. This is going to be quick and dirty." He winked at me.

  I raised an eyebrow. I was pretty sure he was flirting with me.

  "We don't have much time," he said, losing the flirting edge to his voice. "I've been watching this little farce of a discussion here, and I need to tell you they are arguing with some very wrong assumptions."

  "Like what?"

  "Like, thinking that killing you will end the consolidation. It won't."

  "It won't?" That changed everything.