Bonds That Break (The Havoc Chronicles Book 3)

by Brant Williams

  Each of the five beings picked up one of the stones, leaving the sixth one behind. They took their stones and walked out of the cave entrance into the daylight.

  Standing there, waiting for them, were twenty four people. Twelve men, and twelve women dressed in ancient-looking furs and leather clothing. The men were all large and muscular with scraggly beards and hair grown out past their shoulders.

  The women were slightly more feminine versions of the men – slightly. At least they didn’t have any beards. They had that look of hardness and severity that you see in old photographs of women from back in the pioneer days. They might not win any beauty contests, but you sure didn't want to mess with them.

  I looked around and saw that we were standing at the base of a massive mountain. The mouth of the cave that they had come out from led under the mountain. Behind the people was a large lake a few hundred feet away from the cave entrance. The waters were still and the mountain peak was reflected in them. The shore was rocky and covered with multi colored rocks the size of my fist.

  The five people with the stones held them above their heads and close their eyes, concentrating on something. For several moments, nothing happened.

  Then the trees began to shake and the water in the lake began to ripple. The shaking grew more violent and the ground itself began to visibly tremble.

  From over the top of the mountain came the giant dragon from the world with the tree. The creature roared with anger and galloped down the mountain – but to me it was all silent.

  The twenty-four men and women panicked and scattered from where they were lined up before the five beings.

  As the dragon got closer, unlike the twenty-four men and women, the five beings did not move. They continued to stand with their arms raised and eyes closed as the beast got closer and closer.

  When the monster was less than twenty yards away, dark beams of energy shot out of the stones and enveloped it. The monster twisted and thrashed, but the dark energy held.

  The five beings walked back into the cave and each of them placed their free hand onto the stone pillar. The remaining stone on the pillar began to glow a bright blue color and shot a beam of energy straight into the air.

  Being part of the vision, but yet not part of it, I was able to walk back outside and look at what was happening there. The blue beam of light had pierced through the top of the mountain and shot up into the sky. The black beams of energy that held the monster began to constrict, slicing the monster into pieces. As each piece was severed, it turned to dust and shot into the air and began to circle around the blue beam of energy.

  Hundreds of pieces turned to dust until the entire dragon was gone and all that remained was a massive cloud of black particles circling the blue energy beam. Then the energy beam began to dim and the dust tightened around it and disappeared into it. With a final flash, it ended.

  Back in the cave, the five beings were all laying on the ground, each still clutching their stones. The pillar that the stone had been resting on had turned to a hazy white crystal. It appeared to be hollow and inside the pillar black dust swirled around in random patterns.

  What was this I was seeing? Who were these people, this place, the monster? Why was Osadyn showing me this?

  The five beings slowly stood back up and exited the cave. They appeared weak and frail, hardly able to walk. A far cry from the glorious, glowing beings they had been earlier.

  Once again the twelve men and twelve women assembled outside the cave. They watched the beings with looks of awe and reverence on their faces.

  The man with one eye walked forward. He pointed to a man and a woman. They each stepped forward and knelt. The one-eyed man reached out with his stone and rested it on the top of the man's head. The stone flashed a deep navy blue and the man began to glow. He was 'zerking!

  The man looked up, an expression of wonder and awe on his face. He held out his arms and looked at them in disbelief. This was clearly his first time experiencing this.

  Next the one-eyed man placed the stone on top of the woman's head. This time the stone flashed a bright red color. She too looked awed at what she felt. She smiled and tears of joy streamed down her face.

  The one-eyed man then took the stone that he held, put it in his mouth, and unbelievably, swallowed it.

  He doubled over in pain and slowly began to change. His skin began to melt and his limbs stretched and grew. He writhed in agony as his body warped and changed. I watched in fascination as this once glorious being turned dark and scaly. His neck elongated, and he grew. His body swelled until he was the size of an elephant. Within seconds I saw Osadyn before me, complete and whole.

  I gasped as the connection between me and Osadyn was broken, and I was thrust out of the vision. It took me a moment to realize that I was back in the hotel ballroom and the real Osadyn was in front of me. He gazed at me with intelligent eyes – or, rather, eye. One eye was missing. Had that always been the case? I couldn’t remember if I had ever noticed a missing eye before. Osadyn's eyes were small, and I had never really taken the time to study his face.

  After a moment, Osadyn broke eye contact with me and in a flash of darkness, disappeared from the ballroom, leaving me alone to ponder the vision and what it meant.

  I had seen all the people in my previous visions together – the one-eyed man, the redhead with the hammer, the blond woman with the long braid, and the two bearded men. They were all connected by this event.

  The stones had been too much like the Sarolt stone to be a coincidence. That had to be how it was created.

  I was pretty sure I had just witnessed the start of the Berserkers and Binders.

  When the one-eyed man had swallowed the stone, he had mutated and changed to become Osadyn.

  Osadyn was actually some mutated form of the one-eyed man. It seemed impossible, but that was what the vision showed me.

  Did that mean that the other four beings were the other Havocs? Pravicus, Thuanar, Navitan, Margil? Were the Havocs all these people who had sacrificed themselves?

  Then that would mean that the huge dragon I saw was... Verenix. I had seen him go through the portal, leave his world, and somehow come into ours.

  I had just seen the first binding and creation of the Berserkers and Binders. I had seen Verenix! My mind reeled at the implications. I had to tell Rhys about this.

  Rhys.

  Who was dead.

  My elation at understanding the history behind the Havocs plummeted as I remembered what I had not yet had a chance to fully process – Rhys was dead.

  I heard voices outside the door as people started emerging from their hiding places. With the binding for Osadyn broken, the storm outside must have stopped.

  I dropped my 'zerk, slipped out of the room, and ran down the stairs. The lobby was now full of people as they came out of hiding and went to look outside and see for themselves that the storm was over.

  I walked out under a sky that was now clear and calm. If it weren't for the debris scattered everywhere and torrents of water still running down the streets, you would have never known there had been a massive storm raging only a few minutes ago.

  I pulled out my phone. On it was a voicemail from Rhys. The last thing he ever said to me.

  I couldn’t bring myself to listen to it.

  I put my phone back. It could wait until I was ready. Right now it was time to check on Amy and make sure she was ok. Now that the storm was over, I could get her back home.

  As I made my way back to the car, a man stepped out from behind a tree and blocked my path.

  He was a small man, several inches shorter than me, who looked to be in his early thirties. He had dark skin and features that looked Native American. He wore a wide brimmed hat with a strap underneath to keep it from flying off, jeans, and a heavy Gore-Tex jacket.

  I tried to walk around him, but he moved to block my way.

  Bad move on his part.

  I was about to pre-zerk and give him a good shove, when he s
poke.

  "Are you Madison?"

  Now he had my attention. "Who wants to know?" I asked. My hands instinctively reached into my pocket for the bottles with the antidote Shing had made me promise to carry with me. If this man was another assassin who tried to use the same toxin on me again, I would be prepared.

  The man took off his hat, revealing long dark hair tied back into a ponytail. He gave me a sad smile and a slight bow.

  "I am Nanti," he said. "I believe you and I are the last two Berserkers alive."

  Chapter 20

  The Last Berserker

  I stiffened and immediately grabbed my varé. I pulled it out and held it at the ready position.

  Nanti didn’t even try to defend himself. He held out his empty hands in a gesture that said he didn’t want to fight, but I didn't believe it.

  "I'm not going to let you kill me," I said. "Killing me won't break the powers back up again."

  Nanti looked me in the eyes. "Madison, I have no intention of killing you. Quite the contrary. If everything works out as I believe it will, I plan on being dead by morning."

  That made me pause. I slowly lowered my varé. I didn't want to fight if I didn’t have to, but I also didn't want to walk into a trap and get myself killed.

  "Please come with me while I have my last supper and pass on what I know before I die." He bowed his head and waited for my response.

  It would be easy to kill him right now. I could tie him up with a snare and run him through with my varé. I would have all the powers and could repair all the bindings.

  But what did he know? He didn't seem to be a threat, but he could just be an excellent actor. Was the risk worth the potential information he had for me?

  "Madison!"

  It was Amy, of course. She was supposed to stay in the car, but the end of the storm must have convinced her it was safe to come looking for me. This was going to complicate things. If Nanti was not on my side like he claimed, Amy could once again be a hostage.

  Completely oblivious to the potential danger around her, Amy walked up to me and looked at Nanti with curiosity. "Is this one of the you-know-whats?"

  I sighed. "Yes, he is a Berserker," I said. "Now please get back in the car."

  Amy's expression turned to ice and she put her hands on her hips. It was never a good idea to order her around. If I hadn’t been so worried about her, I wouldn't have even tried it.

  "If you think I'm going to leave you alone with someone who wants to kill you, then you have another thing coming," she said.

  Nanti raised his head. "I have no desire to end Madison's life. On the contrary, I merely wish to pass on my information to her before I take my own life and give her the last of the Berserkers' powers."

  "Please Amy," I said. "I don't know him, and I don't know if I can trust him completely." I pulled out my keys and took off the one for the Honda. "Take my car and go home. I'll feel much better knowing you're safe."

  Amy shook her head. "I’m not going to leave you here with a stranger. How could you possibly think I would do that?"

  She was right. Amy would never willingly leave me in this situation. But I needed her to leave. I couldn't have her around and be worried about her safety while I was talking with Nanti. I needed a way to convince her to leave.

  It was time for desperate measures.

  I hated doing this to her, but she wasn't giving me much of a choice. I had to protect her. I held out my hands and a blue mist enveloped Amy. Her eyes unfocused and she stared blankly ahead.

  "You will take my keys and go home. You will remember our conversations, but you will not try to find me or follow me until I contact you again. You will know that I care about you and am doing this for your own good. And you won't be mad at me." I added that last part in hoping it might make some slight difference in how she reacted to this.

  I clapped my hands together and Amy blinked, her eyes coming back into focus.

  She looked at me and rolled her eyes. She held out her hand. "Fine. Give me the keys."

  ***

  Nanti had a rental car, and drove us to a restaurant. It was a Brazilian Churrascaria I had eaten at once before with my Dad. He loved it because it was all you can eat meat – it was carnivore heaven. The waiters walked around with big skewers of wood-roasted meats and hacked off slices for you. They never stopped coming until you had eaten your own body weight or cried uncle and told them to stop.

  "The nice thing about a last meal, is you don’t have to worry about how you will feel in the morning," Nanti said after finishing off yet another piece of roasted chicken wrapped in bacon. He had consumed a truly massive quantity of food. Even the waiters were impressed and made several comments. He took in a deep breath and smiled.

  I couldn't help smiling back. There was something about this man that made me want to trust him. I had no logical basis for this feeling, but I felt the trust just the same.

  "How did you find me?" I asked.

  "Now that's a long story," Nanti said. "We don’t have time for it all, so I'll give you the semi-abridged version." He picked up the round disk on our table that was currently green side up and flipped it to red. It was a signal that told the waiters we – at least for now – don't want any more food.

  "It was my turn to be the Berserker in hiding. You know we always have one of the seven in hiding so that no one can free Verenix by sacrificing us all at once. This time I went down to the Amazon jungle and stayed in a small village down there. Some of the Berserkers like to hole up in a hotel or rented mansion for their time, but I prefer being in a remote location and then having the freedom to be outside.

  "Anyway, when my turn was up, I traveled to Rio and called to check in. I got no answer for any of the numbers I had, and I knew something was wrong. I took the first flight to Hawaii and went to the Manor House."

  I shivered, remembering the slaughter that had taken place there. I could only imagine what Nanti had thought when he got there.

  "I saw the remains and figured a Havoc or two must have attacked. But I also saw the graves and knew that at least one Berserker had survived to bury the dead."

  He stopped and took a sip of his drink. The playfulness and joking from before seemed to have evaporated. He now appeared sad and resigned to his fate.

  "It was Thuanar and Pravicus," I said. "I was the one who buried the dead."

  Nanti nodded as if this confirmed his suspicions. "I am glad you were there to give them a proper ending," he said. "As for the Thuanar and Pravicus, neither of them were free when I went into hiding. It is amazing that Pravicus is free and yet you still live. Much has changed since I left."

  "The bindings have become unstable," I said. "Pravicus' binding broke on its own and destroyed everything within a hundred miles. There is no more Nuremberg."

  Nanti nodded solemnly. "I saw the destruction on the news. I figured it had to do with the binding."

  "The same thing was happening here, which is why I just broke the binding on Osadyn."

  "And Navitan and Margil?"

  "Both are bound, for now. I just bound Margil not long ago in Hong Kong, but Navitan's binding in Paris is starting to become unstable."

  "So you truly are the one," Nanti said.

  "That's what people keep telling me," I said. "What do you know about it?"

  Nanti nodded thoughtfully. "More than most, I would venture to say, but far from everything." He picked up his glass and started swirling the ice. "I have seen you before Madison. It was a long, long time ago, but I will never forget it."

  "What do you mean?" I asked.

  "I had a vision of you over four hundred years ago. There were five of us there. Me, Shing, Davu, and two other Berserkers who died long before you were born. We had gone on a trip across the globe to check on the various seals. We were in Egypt verifying that Pravicus was still bound there when we all had the sudden urge to touch the seal. Almost in unison we each reached out on our own without discussing with the others and touched the sea
l that bound Pravicus."

  "What happened?"

  "We saw you," said Nanti. "I could see your face as clearly as I see you now. We saw you 'zerk and we were all in awe that there could be a woman Berserker. In the vision we saw you take on other powers and saw that it was your destiny to consolidate all the powers in you so that you could send Verenix back to his home."

  I remembered my vision of Shing and how when he first saw me, he knew that my existence meant they would all soon die. He had been there. He knew.

  "That day the five of us made a vow that we would do everything we could to help you if we were still alive when the time came – even if it meant that we had to die so that you could have our powers."

  "But why?" I asked. "Why are you willing to sacrifice yourself? Not all the Berserkers and Binders felt the same. Josiah, Arthur, Sunee, and Nakai were all trying to kill me. They thought that if they could stop the powers from consolidating in me that they wouldn't have to die."

  "Because I know that won't work," Nanti said. "In the vision we were given to understand that what we saw was not an if, but a when. The original binding of Verenix was a temporary solution and wouldn't last forever."

  "Did you see the original binding?" I asked.

  Nanti shook his head. "We did not. Some things we saw, some we heard, and some we just sort of came away from the vision collectively knowing. We didn't see the original binding, but once the vision was over we all realized that we somehow knew Verenix's binding was temporary."

  I hesitated. Should I tell him about my vision? He seemed to be telling me the truth about his. Maybe he might have some insight into mine.

  "I've had a vision, too," I said. "Several of them." I told him about the five people I had been having visions about, the dragon, the stones, the cave, and what I thought was Verenix's binding. When I got to the part about the man with one eye turning into Osadyn, Nanti shook his head.

  "At this point I believe that anything is possible," he said. "It's possible that the Havocs were once people, but I'm afraid I have no help for you as to who they could be." He hesitated a moment and then spoke again. "But I do have something I think I am supposed to give you."