Bonds That Break (The Havoc Chronicles Book 3)

by Brant Williams

"No, it won't," he said. "I could see you were starting to believe it too, so I decided to call a time out and set you straight."

  "So, how do we stop it?" I asked.

  "You can't," said the boy. "You have to ride it out."

  "Ride it out?"

  He shook his head as if I were a particularly dim-witted child he was trying to explain calculus to. Given that I kept repeating his statements as questions, I couldn't really blame him.

  "They were right about the magic corrupting," he said. "I've already told you that. But they have it backwards. You aren't the one that has to die. They are." He shrugged his shoulders. "All of them. They all have to die eventually, Madison, so that you can have their powers. The Havocs breaking free is just the beginning. The magic binding Verinex's seal is just as corrupt. If that breaks, well, you can pretty much say good bye to the entire earth. See the dilemma? And if they kill you the magic will still be corrupted, only there will be no one who can bring the powers together.

  "Only when you have all their powers will the magic be whole once more. With all the magic consolidated in you we can fix Verinex's seal and rebind the Havocs. But, in order to do that, you must have all the magic."

  A million questions ran through my head as I tried to process what he just told me, but before I could ask any of them, he was gone.

  Time started up again, and the voices sped up until they sounded normal once more. I let the Berserker's and Binder's words wash over me in an unintelligible wave as I processed what my mysterious informant had told me.

  If I didn't get all the powers, then Verinex's seal would break and destroy the entire world.

  All the powers.

  Rhys. Shing. Julie. Onaona. All of them. They would all have to die for me to save the world.

  I dropped my head to my lap and started to cry. It was one thing to give up my own life to save the world, it's quite another to tell those you love that they have to give up theirs.

  I squashed my fears and emotions into a tiny ball and stuffed them into the far reaches of my mind. It was time to act, and I needed to think clearly. Those emotions were too painful and distracting to deal with right now. I was sure they would still be there when I went back to look.

  Then I stood up.

  "It won't work." I said.

  Everyone went silent.

  "What was that?" Nakai asked. The look of confusion on her face was almost comical. She had no idea how I could be talking against her express orders.

  "I said it won't work," I repeated. "Yes, the powers are consolidating in me, but if you kill me, it will just doom us all."

  "How do you know this?" Jacinda asked.

  "Sit down and be quiet," Nakai said to me. "You are not to speak unless spoken to."

  I ignored her. "It's not just the magic binding the Havocs that's corrupting," I said. "Verinex's binding is breaking too. If it breaks, the destruction at Nuremberg will look like a kid knocking down some blocks in comparison."

  "I said sit down!" Nakai yelled.

  "Let her speak," said Yul. "I want to hear what she has to say."

  Nakai turned her attention back out to the audience. "That is quite enough out of you, Yul," she said.

  If I hadn't been looking for it, I don't think I would have seen it. He hesitated, and for just a moment his stare became vacant – that same look I saw in my Mom's eyes when she started making connections into areas blocked by her Haze.

  Yul sat back down and didn't say another word.

  Nakai turned to Sunee. "Take Madison back to her room. We are going to have a vote, and we don't need any more interruptions."

  Sunee motioned for me to get up and follow her. I debated on my plan of action. I could refuse and let them know that the Haze didn't work at all. But what good would that do? I could argue my case until I was blue in the face, but clearly Nakai and Sunee had at some, if not all, of the Berserkers under their control.

  My other option was to go with Sunee and hope that they believed my outburst was a fluke and that I was still under control of the Haze.

  I still wasn't sure why I wasn't.

  I opted to go with Sunee. I had learned everything I needed to about who was on my side, and if they were going to try to kill me, I would prefer fighting for my life up above rather than under a mountain with a single route of escape.

  We walked down the hall to the elevator in silence. I could hear the arguing from the council room echoing down the corridor. It wasn't until the elevator doors closed that the noise stopped.

  We rode the elevator in silence, and when we reached my room, Sunee cast another Haze, once again telling me to stay in my room and await their instructions. As far as I could tell it was just as ineffectual as the first Haze. Maybe the same corruption that was causing the seals to break was stopping their Haze from working on me.

  At least something good was coming from it.

  I tried calling Rhys on my cell phone, but I got no signal. Clearly something was blocking the reception. I knew I had reception earlier, so it wasn't just a bad location. I suspected they blocked all communications during council meetings as a precaution.

  I stepped out and walked a bit down the hall to see if I could get any better reception, but I got nothing. My phone continued to read "no signal".

  Should I run? It seemed like a good idea if the alternative was them killing me. I could escape and be away from here before their meeting ended. I could likely get on a plane back to the mainland before they even noticed I was gone.

  And then what? They would follow me back to Washington and take care of killing me there. But if I had Rhys and Shing with me, I could...

  Only I couldn't have Rhys with me. Not with me with me. Being around me would cause him to go feral.

  I thought through my options for quite a while, pondering what I was going to do. Eventually I came to the conclusion that I didn't want to run from this. What good would it do? It would just postpone the inevitable. I would be running forward with my head always turned and looking behind me. That was no way to live.

  So I waited.

  And waited.

  "I've called in some help," said a voice.

  I jumped in surprise and turned to once again see my mysterious informant.

  "What does that mean?" I asked.

  "I have too much invested in this realm to let those children destroy my world. They just took a vote and the results didn't come out in your favor, I'm afraid. Since they are too foolish to make decisions on their own, I am calling in some reinforcements to help out. Besides, it will make everything easier in the end. No sense in putting off the inevitable, right?"

  "Putting off the inevitable? That sounds ominous."

  My informant smiled at me and shook his head. "You have no idea," he said. "Believe me, I am doing you a favor." He smiled and winked at me. "So, in interest of keeping you alive, I am going to recommend that you leave here as quickly as your Berserker feet will carry you."

  "But what–" I stopped my question in mid-sentence as I realized that I was now completely alone. He had once again disappeared. While I appreciated the help and insight this guy was giving me, his social graces were sorely lacking.

  A moment later I heard a knock at my door. Was this the reinforcements he had talked about? From how he had explained it, I wasn't sure I wanted to meet them.

  I walked over to the door and listened carefully. I didn't hear anything. "Who is it?" I asked.

  "It's me," said Onaona. "And Julie and Davu. We need to talk."

  I opened the door and before I could get out of the way, they all piled into the room.

  "Grab your things," said Julie. "We need to get you out of here. The council has determined that you are a danger and they are going to kill you."

  "I'm sure she can't understand," said Onaona. "Let me see if I can counteract the Haze." She reached up her hands, ready to send out the blue mist.

  "Wait," I said. "You don't need to worry about the Haze. For some reason it didn't w
ork. I can leave anytime."

  Onaona and Julie looked at each other uncertainly. This was surely the first time they had heard of a Haze not working.

  Julie cut the silence. "Then why are you still here, Madison?" she asked. "We need to get you away before they realize what we're up to."

  I grabbed my bag and the four of us walked out of the room. We had only gotten about halfway down the hall when the walls around us began to shake.

  I stumbled into Julie and we both hit the wall. Davu had dropped to his knees, his legs spread wide and one hand out to give him more balance.

  Onaona crashed into a painting of a large mountain with trees and a river, knocking it from the wall. It fell to the floor, shattering the glass in the frame.

  The house rocked back and forth and a massive crack split open along the hallway wall. That was followed by a loud bang and a shaking so violent that we were all knocked off our feet.

  "It is an earthquake?" asked Julie.

  "This isn't an earthquake," said Onaona. "I've felt them before."

  "I wish it were," I said, as a familiar feeling of nausea and heat washed over me. I had felt this before, but this time it was so strong it threatened to overwhelm me completely. "I have a feeling this is going to be much, much worse."

  It looked like the reinforcements my informant had warned me about had arrived.

  Chapter 15

  Wreaking Havoc

  Davu and I both 'zerked. I felt my senses sharpen and the world burst into the bright colors that I could only see while 'zerking.

  "What do you mean 'worse'?" asked Onaona.

  There was no time to explain. Another loud bang shook the walls of the building so hard that the roof above us started to collapse.

  "Gather together!" Davu yelled. He and I held up our arms and did our best to shield the Binders from the falling debris. Chunks of roof dropped onto us, but there were too many pieces for us to stop them all.

  One piece slipped through and hit Onaona, knocking her to the floor. Larger pieces started falling too quickly for Davu and I to do anything more than hunch over the Binders and hope we were enough of a shield to protect them.

  I had a flashback to Mexico when I fought the black monster birds sent out by Thuanar. There had been too many to fight by hand, so I had used my snare to fight them.

  I cast my snare and wove the tendrils into a crude shield above us. The roof continued to fall apart and dump debris on us, but my impromptu shield held off the biggest chunks.

  I reached down and helped Onaona stand back up. "Are you ok?" The second it came out of my mouth I knew it was a stupid question. Regardless of her injuries, none of us were ok.

  Onaona stood up and looked wobbly for a second, but then seemed to get her balance and nodded to me. "I can do this."

  I squeezed her shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile. Or at least the best version I could do while facing potential impending doom.

  "We've got to get out of here," I said to Davu. "This is going to get bad in a hurry."

  "I know," he said, and I heard the fear in his voice. "I can feel them."

  By now the roof had completely collapsed, and my snare was the only thing holding it up. The pressure was tremendous, and I felt my strength starting to fade as I burned my power to keep the roof from collapsing.

  "Bust us a way out of here," I said to Davu. "We need to get Julie and Onaona to safety."

  We heard screams coming from outside. There were various shouts and the sounds of gunshots. It sounded like a war out there, but it had to be better than being crushed by a falling building.

  Debris had piled all over, but Davu made short work of it. He tossed hunks of wall and furniture out of the way as if they weighed nothing. Slowly he cleared a path toward an outer wall. Once there, Davu punched the wall and a hole the size of a car blew out.

  Impressive.

  That lasted for all of about three seconds before everything above us started to collapse again. I had been moving my makeshift shield with us, but now I had to pull half of the threads out of it to shore up the hole Davu had made so we could get through before it collapsed.

  "Go!" I shouted. "Get out of here! I can hold this up."

  "What about you?" asked Onaona.

  There was no time to argue or even be polite. "Just go! I'll be right behind you."

  Onaona and Julie ran through the hole. Davu hesitated and looked back at me.

  "Go!"

  He nodded and ran outside. Once I was sure they were clear, I leaped forward letting my shield drop behind me.

  I barely made it through the hole to the outside before the entire wall collapsed. The once beautiful mansion was now nothing more than a pile of rubble.

  A loud scream pulled my attention away from the ruin and back to what was happening outside. My ears hadn't been wrong – it was a warzone.

  Two massive creatures roared and rampaged across the Manor House grounds. One of them was long and thin with a double row of spikes running down its back – Thuanar.

  The other creature I didn't recognize, but by process of elimination I knew what it was – Pravicus.

  My Havoc.

  Pravicus was by far the largest Havoc I had seen. He was built like a battering ram the size of two semi-trucks placed side by side. Six thick legs held this massive beast up. The feet were wide and flat like an elephant's and the creature's hide was a mottled green and grey that was thick enough that the bullets being shot at it by Austin and the other guards appeared to have little, if any, effect. The head was disproportionately large, and a wide collar of spiked bone wrapped around and protected the neck.

  Two horns wider around than a person and easily six feet long stuck out from the Havoc's forehead. Two smaller ones stuck out on either side of his jaws.

  All in all, this creature was built like a tank and clearly made to kill.

  Four of the six-wheeled Pinzgauer were arrayed in a semicircle facing the two Havocs. Large mounted guns fired repeatedly at the two Havocs with absolutely no effect. Austin shouted orders and appeared to be in charge of the dozen or so men trying to stop the Havocs. What were they doing there? Against the Havocs, they were worse than useless. They were dead men waiting to happen.

  I ran to Austin and waved my arms to get his attention. "Get your men out of here," I yelled over the noise. "You can't stop these things."

  Austin glared at me. "My job is to protect this place," he said. "I'm not leaving."

  I motioned to the crumbled ruins of the Manor House. "Yes, and you're doing such a wonderful job."

  "I don't have time for this," he said and turned back to his men.

  I grabbed his shoulder and turned him to face me. "Listen, you need to get your men out of here. Bullets won't stop these creatures any more than they would a Berserker. Staying here is suicide."

  Austin didn't even bother to respond. He turned back and continued to direct their suicidal assault on the massive supernatural monsters that couldn't be hurt by their weapons.

  I admired bravery, but this was a waste of lives.

  Pravicus lowered his enormous head and charged at the string of armed Pinzgauers. He bashed one with the initial hit, and hit two more with sideways swings of his head.

  In less than ten seconds Pravicus had destroyed half of Austin's forces. I rushed over and managed to pull two men out of harm's way before they could be crushed, but for most of them I was too late.

  Davu appeared beside me. "I have taken Julie and Onaona down the mountain to safety. Perhaps, it would be best if you left while the others are too distracted to kill you?"

  I reached out and squeezed Davu's shoulder. "I appreciate the thought, but I am not leaving the rest of you to deal with this. I am your best chance of getting out of here alive."

  Davu raised an eyebrow at me. "You are our best chance? I admire your confidence. I just wish I shared your optimism."

  "Oh, Davu, you haven't seen anything yet," I said and grinned. "That's the trouble. You can't s
ee like I do."

  Davu gave me a confused look. "And what is that supposed to mean?" he asked.

  "Just make sure you keep Pravicus occupied," I said. "I've got an old score to settle with Thuanar. He's the one that got away."

  I flung out my arm and shot a snare toward Thuanar. The cables flew from my fingers and wrapped around his body. He roared in anger and thrashed about, trying to free himself. I tied off several of the cables to trees and other sturdy-looking anchor points.

  To the left, Davu was doing his best to keep Pravicus occupied. Yul had joined him, and the two of them were attacking from opposite sides, keeping the massive Havoc off balance. I was glad to see that the surviving soldiers under Austin's command had fled after the initial slaughter. We didn't need any more corpses.

  Thuanar glared at me, his eyes bright and malevolent. He knew exactly what I was going to do.

  Once I was sure I had him incapacitated, I pulled out my varé. It was time to rebind this Havoc.

  I pulled the blade of the varé across my arm. Bright red blood welled up and began flowing out of the wound. I willed it to flow into a pool at my feet.

  Something hit me and knocked me flying into a tree. I dropped to the ground, unhurt, but my concentration was at its limit. My connection to the blood was gone, and I could feel the tendrils of the snare slipping from my mental grasp.

  With an effort of supreme will, I managed to keep hold of the snare and not let Thuanar go.

  I caught movement in my peripheral vision and rolled out of the way of Tez's follow-up varé strike. The blade sliced into the tree behind me, cutting it in half.

  "What are you doing?" I yelled. "You almost killed me!"

  Tez gave me a crazy-looking grin. "That's the idea, Madison. The council pronounced the sentence, I'm just following through with it."

  I wanted to beat him senseless. "Listen, moron, if you haven’t noticed there are two Havocs trying to kill us all. Why don't we bind them first and then you all can talk about killing me afterward?"

  Instead of answering, Tez lunged at me with his varé and grazed my shoulder. Hot anger flowed through me. Here I was trying to bind Thuanar and this idiot was trying to kill me.