Threads That Bind (Havoc Chronicles Series Book 1) (14 page)

“Sometimes,” Mallika said. “Although standard weapons have very little effect on a Berserker. Most of the time they are killed by the Havoc they are trying to bind, or a swarm of Bringers, like you faced today.”

“So I became a Berserker because the one before me was killed?”

“That’s a stark way of putting it, but accurate. Juan, the Berserker you are replacing, was captured by Osadyn. The binding can only be broken with the spilled blood of a
living
Berserker. Rather than letting Osadyn use his blood to break the binding for Pravicus – the Havoc his blood bound – he killed himself, rendering his blood useless.”

There was a moment of silence as we all contemplated Mallika’s words. I slumped back in the chair, feeling nauseated. While I believed what I was being told – it’s hard to disbelieve after so much evidence – it was difficult to comprehend what all this meant. Until my Berserker powers surfaced, my biggest problems had been social ostracism at school and occasional fights with my parents. They had seemed like big deals at the time, but my new reality made them feel rather insignificant. I couldn’t imagine being in a situation where I had to give up my life to save the world. Could I do it? Was I that brave?

“After the death of a Berserker,” Mallika said, “a new Berserker appears somewhere in the world. Unfortunately, we have no way of identifying the new Berserker until he berserks for the first time. Once that happens, the other Berserkers can sense the new one. We then search for the Berserker, hoping to find him, or her I suppose, before anyone or anything else does.”

Rhys spoke up. “That’s why we came to your school. We could sense you in the general area, but we had a difficult time tracking you down. Since new Berserkers are generally between fourteen and eighteen, we figured the best way to find you would be to infiltrate the high school.”

“So, I’m a Berserker,” I said. “Whether I like it or not, monsters will be after me - some human, some not – wanting to spill my blood to free a Havoc. Am I missing anything?”

Aata pulled a quarter out of his pocket. “She sounds as gloomy as you about all this, Rhys.” He threw the coin up into the air. It came within inches of the vaulted ceiling and then plummeted back down. Aata looked directly at me and held out a hand to the side. Without taking his eyes off me, he caught the coin between his thumb and forefinger. He grinned at my look of amazement. “I know there are a lot of risks, and it sounds kind of bad when you think about it too much, but being a Berserker is a lot of fun, too.” He winked at me. “Don’t worry, Eric and I will show you the fun parts of being a Berserker.”

Kara groaned. “You know, Madison, I think having a girl Berserker might be just what these boys need. Dilute a bit of the overflowing testosterone.”

“Testosterone?” cried Aata in disbelief. “How about the estrogen flood we’re forced to deal with every day?”

Back and forth it went for several minutes as Aata bantered with Kara about the quirks of men and women. Rhys kept silent through all this, and I took the opportunity to surreptitiously watch him. He intrigued me. Yes, he was pleasant to look at – no denying that – but it was more than that. When I looked at him I felt like I was seeing just the smooth surface of a very deep pool.

My cheeks turned red when Rhys glanced over at me and caught me in mid-stare. I turned away, pretending to listen to Aata and Kara. I watched them, but saw nothing. My mind was focused on Rhys and on resisting the temptation to check if he was still looking at me.

Finally, Mallika said: “That is enough discussion of gender differences. There is one more very important fact to reveal to Madison.”

The conversation skidded to a halt, and all eyes focused on Mallika. Despite everything we had gone through, she still sat upright with perfect posture, giving the impression of a queen on a throne.

“Osadyn.” The silence somehow grew deeper as Mallika spoke that name. It seemed to bring a palpable weight with it. Weight and fear.

“There have been many theories over the years about the nature of the five Havocs. For many centuries they were thought to be merely animals – powerful, but lacking intelligence. We no longer believe that to be true. They raise armies, set ambushes, and even select specific targets. They think, they plan, and they are focused.

“You, Madison, are the Berserker whose blood binds Pravicus. Over the last twenty years, there have been five different Berserkers in the same position. That is unheard of in our world – Berserkers generally live for hundreds of years, if not longer. We can only attribute it to the fact that, for some unknown reason, Osadyn wants very badly to free Pravicus.

“That means you, Madison, are in serious danger. You are too new to the Berserker world to understand just how serious today’s attack was. All the histories indicate that the Havocs rarely attack directly, preferring to work through others in the shadows, and they never attack Berserkers.

“But that is no longer reality. We’ve witnessed a change in Osadyn’s behavior over the past twenty years, and we’ve concluded that Osadyn has begun focusing his efforts on the easiest target - the new Berserker. We used to be the hunters, but now we are being hunted.”

“You mean
I’m
being hunted,” I said. “Osadyn’s not after the rest of you, just me, right?”

Mallika slowly nodded. “That is correct.”

I looked around the room, but no one met my eyes. The atmosphere had changed from one of comfortable banter to wary silence, and it obviously had to do with Osadyn coming after me.

“What’s going on?” I asked. No one answered. “What aren’t you telling me?”

“We can’t do it,” said Rhys, his head down and staring at the floor. “Not to a girl.”

“Can’t do what?” I demanded. No one answered. “Can’t do what?” I repeated significantly louder.

“Use you as bait,” said Eric. He leaned against the door frame, his arms folded, looking grim. When had he walked back in?

“Bait?”

“Bait,” Eric said. All eyes turned to him, even Mallika’s. “Normally, we try to hunt down any unbound Havoc. But it’s a bit like hunting a rabbit on foot - a really ugly, dangerous rabbit that could turn and rip out your throat at any minute. Havocs usually run from us. They know we’re there to bind them, and they don’t make it easy for us. Now Osadyn has begun hunting the Berserker whose blood binds Pravicus. From a tactical perspective, since we know he wants to slaughter you and drain your blood to free Pravicus – oh all of you stop looking at me like that, it’s the truth isn’t it? – we have the unique opportunity to set a trap.”

There was an immediate uproar as everyone started talking at once. Rhys stood up and began shouting at Eric while Kara placed herself between them, trying to calm them down. Mallika and Aata joined the fray, and the room soon became so loud that it was impossible to hear myself think, let alone make out what everyone was saying.

“Stop!” I yelled, my hands clenched into fists.

The silence that followed felt wonderful. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, thinking things through.

Bait. Images of worms on hooks and buckets of chopped fish flashed through my mind. Not pleasant thoughts. Bait helps to capture animals, but it doesn’t often survive the process. Was I prepared for that?

What was the alternative?

Run? For how long?

Like it or not, I was a Berserker. There was nothing I could do to change that. Osadyn had chosen me as his target and even if I ran, he’d eventually catch me. Did I want to be bait in a trap or spend my life running?

When I opened my eyes, everyone’s attention was fixed on me. Mallika’s gaze was particularly piercing, but I turned away from her and looked directly at Eric as I spoke. “I’ll do it.”

Once again the room erupted into chaos. I hated listening to arguments. More than that, I hated people arguing about me. I groaned, wishing there were something hard to bang my head against.

Kara seemed to sense my distress. She walked over and whispered in my ear, “You’d think at their age they would have better manners than this.” She gave my hand a squeeze and let out a piercing whistle just a few decibels shy of a jet engine taking off.

 “You should all be ashamed of yourselves,” she said and put a protective arm around me. “Can’t you see your squawking and growling is upsetting the poor girl?”

All eyes turned to me, and I felt the heat of embarrassment color my cheeks. What Kara said was true, but it made me feel like a toddler listening to her parents fight.

“I appreciate your concern,” I said to Rhys, as he was the one who seemed most opposed to putting me in any kind of danger. “But the fact that I’m a girl doesn’t change anything. Osadyn is still hunting me. I still have powers. No matter what we do, I’ll still be a target. If Osadyn is going to come after me, I would rather fight when and where we choose.”

Rhys opened his mouth to speak, but Mallika put a hand on his arm. “Let’s not discuss this right now,” she said. “I think Madison has more than enough to think about for today. We can talk this over when we’ve had a chance to cool down and think through the, ah, additional facts that have come to light.” She looked at her watch. “Besides, it’s getting late and I imagine that Madison’s parents might get worried if she doesn’t come home soon.”

I checked my watch and saw that it was already 5:30. Where had the time gone? I guess time flies when you find out evil creatures want to spill your blood. Not that I really wanted to go home right then. Going home meant explaining to my mom how her car had gone from a compact to a sub-compact. Not something I was looking forward to.

“I’ll take her,” said Eric. He grabbed my hand and started to pull me towards the door, but stopped when Rhys blocked his path. 

“Can I talk now?” asked Rhys in a rather dry tone. He looked from person to person until he had everyone’s attention. “Regardless of what we eventually decide regarding Osadyn, the fact remains that Madison is in danger, and should have someone guarding her - at least until she is better trained in her powers. We’ve already seen that Osadyn is going to actively seek her out.”

“Agreed,” said Mallika. “You and Eric can watch her during school since you already have a pretense to be there. Shing and Aata can take the overnight shifts.”

Overnight shifts? I didn’t like the sound of this. Being under twenty-four hour guard sounded more like prison than protection. I was about to protest when my mind flashed back to Osadyn, massive and powerful, directing hundreds of those creatures towards me.

Maybe protection wasn’t such a bad idea.

While they worked out the logistical details, Eric took my arm and pulled me out of the house.

Once outside, he took a deep breath and stretched. “Ah, it feels good to finally be out of there.”

He let me into the Range Rover and even opened my door for me. It felt strangely formal, almost like we were on a date, rather than being relative strangers thrown together by magic and monsters.

“Where to?” he asked. “Do you need anything from your car, or do you just want me to take you home?”

I sighed. I didn’t really want to go back to the car. That would force me to confront the situation, and how I was going to explain things to my mother? Unfortunately, my backpack and purse were in the car, and I would definitely need them.

I blew out a breath. “The car.”

“The car it is,” he said. We drove back to the remnants of Mom’s Jetta. It looked even worse than I had remembered it - battered and dented like a discarded child’s toy.

The doors were so warped that I couldn’t get them open. How was I going to get my things out of the car?

Eric saw my distress and stepped in to help.

“One of the real advantages of being a Berserker,” Eric said, “is the fact that you never need the Jaws of Life.” He ‘zerked and ripped the roof off the car with his bare hands.

“And is this something you need to do often?” I asked.

Eric winked at me. “More often than you’d think.”

We salvaged what we could from the car, which was basically my personal belongings. The more I looked at the damage, the more I dreaded having to tell my parents about the car. What excuse could I possibly come up with to explain this? A car crash wouldn’t work since there was no way I could have gotten out of the car alive, let alone without a scratch.

“Let’s go,” I said, once I had everything worth taking. “I need to get home and figure out how I’m going to explain this to my mom.”

Eric laughed as he helped me load my things into the Range Rover. “Don’t worry,” he said. “I’ll take care of everything.”

“You’ll take care of everything?” I asked. “And how are you going to do that?”

“You’ll see.”

We pulled into the driveway and Eric escorted me out of the car. He insisted on carrying everything, despite my objections.

“Honestly, I’m perfectly capable of carrying my own backpack,” I said.

“So am I,” he said, and we walked up to the front door.

I took a deep breath before going inside. This wasn’t going to be pleasant.

Mom was in the kitchen making dinner. A delicious aroma of garlic bread and alfredo sauce filled the house.

I looked over at Eric and for an instant saw an expression of wistfulness infused into his features, as though he were coming home after a long trip. There was a sort of sadness there, hidden behind the smile.

“Madison, is that you?” called Mom.

“Yeah, it’s me,” I said.

“Oh, good,” she said. “It was getting late, and I hadn’t heard from you. Your dad’s out running an errand and dinner will be ready any minute.” She walked out of the kitchen drying her hands on a dishtowel and stopped when she saw Eric. “Oh, you have a, um, friend.” She looked meaningfully at me.

Leave it to my mom to think that any boy I brought home would be some sort of romantic interest. “Relax, Mom,” I said. “Eric is a friend from school who gave me a ride home. He was just leaving.”

Eric strode forward and shook my mom’s hand. “A pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Montgomery,” he said. “My name is Eric Douglass.”

Mom looked slightly nonplussed. “Nice to meet you too, Eric.” She turned to me. “Perhaps you can explain to me why you needed a ride home when you took my car to school?” 

 I still didn’t have a convincing story to explain what had happened. Car accident? Falling meteor? Outbreak of bubonic plague?

“It was my fault,” said Eric, before I could speak.

“Your fault?” I asked.

Eric put on a very serious expression. “Yes, my fault. You see, my uncle is a rare and exotic animal dealer. And no, he doesn’t deal with any of the legally questionable animals like some do who give the whole industry a bad name. Anyway, he recently came into possession of a rare albino moose.”

I glared at Eric. What was he getting at? Was he trying to get me grounded for life?

“An albino moose?” said Mom, a confused look on her face.

“Yes, a moose,” continued Eric. “My uncle was shipping it by truck from Canada down to California where he has a buyer. Well, you see, I have a particular fondness for moose, so my uncle thought it would be a treat for me to see this rare specimen. We arranged to meet in the school parking lot where there would be enough room to let the moose stretch its legs.”

Pausing for a moment, Eric put his arm around my shoulders. I felt a shiver of excitement and that familiar feeling of my senses heightening.

Eric turned to me, a look of slight panic in his eyes. For a full second, he stared at me before turning back to look at my mom.

“Well, everything went fine at first,” he said. “We brought the moose out and let it walk around for a bit. Then it saw your car.”

Mom raised an eyebrow and began twisting the dishtowel in her hands.

“I’ve since found out that this is a perfectly natural moose reaction,” Eric said, “but the moose apparently mistook your car for a rival male and attacked.”

“A moose attacked my car?”

Eric nodded solemnly. “It was very thorough. A fully grown moose like this one can weigh up to eighteen hundred pounds. I’m afraid there isn’t much left of your car.”

The towel in Mom’s hands was twisted so tightly that it had folded in on itself and formed a sort of ball. “My car is totaled?”

“Yes, but don’t worry, my Uncle takes full responsibility for this unfortunate incident and his insurance will cover everything. We’ve already had the car towed away, and I will have a brand new car waiting for you in the driveway tomorrow morning before school.”

Mom looked thoughtful as she processed Eric’s ridiculous story. There was no way she was going to buy this. I would have been better off telling her I had been hit by a drunk driver or something that might have at least generated a bit of sympathy for me.

Finally, Mom smiled. “Well, Eric,” she said, “I’m glad to hear your uncle is willing to make this right.”

“You’re not mad?” I asked.

Mom let the towel untwist, and flipped it over her shoulder. “Why bother? It wasn’t anyone’s fault, really. Well, it wasn’t a very smart idea to let a fully grown moose walk in a parking lot, but no one could have predicted it would attack a car.” She turned and walked back into the kitchen.

Once we were alone, I grabbed Eric and pulled him towards the front door, away from the kitchen and where my mom couldn’t overhear. “What were you thinking?” I hissed.

Eric just shrugged and gave me that annoyingly smug grin. “Since we couldn’t tell her the truth,” he said, “we might as well have fun with the story. Besides, I’ve found that the more ridiculous the story, the more likely people are to believe it – to a point at least. They think you couldn’t possibly make something like that up.” 

 “What about the part about your uncle’s insurance and having a new car in the driveway tomorrow? How are we – no wait, hold that - how am
I
going to explain things in the morning when there’s no car here?”

But Eric didn’t seem to be the least bit concerned. “Oh, I’m sure you’ll think of something,” he said. And with a wink he slipped out the front door, leaving me alone to deal with the fallout of his lies.

I walked into the kitchen, prepared to face the inquisition now that Eric was gone, but to my surprise Mom didn’t seem too worried about the car. She was more interested in finding out whether I had been in any danger from the moose.

At dinner that night, Dad also seemed more concerned about my safety than the fact that the car had been totaled. All in all they were taking the news much better than I had thought. When I mentioned that, Dad shrugged.

“I guess it means we love you, or something,” he said with a wry smile. He reached across the table and gave my hand a squeeze.

Before I went to bed that night, I thought about the day’s events: Ginger’s repeated sabotage, the basketball game, detention, being attacked by Osadyn and his minions, and finally discovering I was a Berserker.

Had all that been today?

I was pretty sure that time must have somehow lengthened to cram an extra dozen hours into the day, because it didn’t seem possible for so much to happen in such a short amount of time. And given all the strange stuff that had happened to me lately, the idea of time lengthening didn’t seem quite as impossible as it once would have.