Threads That Bind (Havoc Chronicles Series Book 1) (22 page)

Rhys punched a large rock and it shattered into fragments. “Feed it rocks,” he said.

“Rocks? Is this some sort of joke?”

“Look out!”

I had been so intent on Rhys’ rock lecture that I didn’t notice the drall roll around behind me. Pain blossomed up my back as the drall connected with one of its arms. The jagged rocks tore through my coat and gouged out furrows of flesh. They must be a living part of the drall if they could slice me like that. I screamed and lost my footing in the dirt, falling to the ground with the all the grace of a pigeon covered in cement.

The drall leaped into the air and pointed all its tentacles down, attempting to impale me.

Rhys threw a large rock at it, trying to distract it, but the drall completely ignored him and continued its plummet. I rolled to the side, and almost got away. None of the tentacles pierced me, but one of them did pin the shoulder of my coat to the ground.

I jerked my body as hard as I could and ripped the coat, freeing myself. Scrambling to my feet, I pulled out the varé and faced the drall, prepared for its next attack.

I needn’t have bothered. In attempting to impale me, the drall had managed to drive the majority of its tentacles deep into the ground and was now stuck, unable to pull itself free.

I circled around until I found the mouth. Now that it was still I could see four tiny eyes above it. I raised the varé, ready to drive it through the drall’s mouth and hopefully kill it.

A hand caught my arm. Rhys stopped me. “What are you doing?” 

“Me? I’m trying on prom dresses.” I said. “What does it look like I’m doing?”

“Don’t kill the drall,” said Rhys. “There are only a few left in the world. Cut off an arm and let’s get back to camp.”

“Isn’t killing monsters part of the Berserker job description?” I asked.

“Not these,” he said. Rhys picked up a few pieces of rock and tossed them into the drall’s mouth. It chewed the rocks with the noisiest crunching sound you could imagine. It was like listening to someone eat Grapenuts while using a megaphone.

It almost seemed as if Rhys liked the creature. Me, I personally had a hard time getting past the whole trying to impale me incident and wasn’t feeling much love.

“Cut off an arm and let’s go,” said Rhys. He pointed at one in the back left side. “This one looks to be your size.”

I swung the varé and sliced off the arm. It fell to the ground, writhing and flopping, like a fish out of water. When I picked up the tentacle it was moving so much that it was difficult to hold properly. It was also much heavier than it looked. I was pretty strong as a Berserker, but this arm was noticeably heavy.

Once I had moved the arm out of the way, Rhys pushed against the side of the drall, freeing some of its legs. Using its newly freed tentacles, the drall frantically began digging the rest of itself free.

“Let’s go,” said Rhys. “You don’t want to be anywhere close when this guy gets loose.”

We ran off into the night and out of Goblin Valley. The trip back was much slower than the trip in. The thrashing arm seemed to grow in strength as we ran. Or in my case, tried to run. The thrashing kept knocking me off balance.

After I had dropped it for the fourth time, Rhys said, “I would offer to carry it for you, but if anyone else touches it the bonding can’t happen and the entire trip would be a waste of time.”

After the tenth time the tentacle had thrashed out of my grip, I realized my coat was completely in tatters from the sharp rocks attached to the tentacle. It was a lot like trying to hold a moving chainsaw blade.

I began to wonder if this wasn’t some sort of cruel Berserker initiation rite. A joke they all played on the newbies. Fortunately for Rhys, he didn’t seem to be enjoying my frustration and pain so I didn’t whack him with the tentacle. If Eric had been there with his mocking smile, I probably would have lost it.

We followed the GPS back to the camp where Dad had a roaring fire going under the cauldron, which was now filled with boiling water. When he saw the ripped up state of my coat, arms, face, and well... everything, he rushed over to us.

“Are you okay?”

I threw the tentacle on the ground where it continued thrashing. How long was it going to take for this thing to die? “I’ll live.” I said. “What’s next?”

“Boiling.”

I looked at the thrashing tentacle. “You can’t be serious. How are we going to keep that thing in the pot?”

“
We
will be doing nothing of the kind,” said Rhys. He released his power and the glow faded around him. “
You
will be doing it. Remember, we can’t touch it.”

What I wanted to do was change out of these clothes and crawl into a sleeping bag and crash for a dozen hours, but it didn’t seem like that was going to happen anytime soon.

“Fine. Let’s get this over with.” I picked up the tentacle. Dad and Rhys backed away as if I were infected with a disease rather than just carrying a nasty severed tentacle. I struggled to hold it still while it thrashed wildly in my arms. I stumbled over to the pot and dumped the tentacle in.

The boiling water turned bright green and a cloud of steam erupted. The tentacle thrashed even harder and emitted a high-pitched keening sound. I took a step back. It sounded like it was still alive and we were torturing it.

With a splash, the tentacle flipped out of the pot and onto the ground. Rhys jumped out of the way to prevent it from touching him. I quickly picked it back up and found that with the added effect of boiling heat it was even less pleasant to hold than before. I dumped it back into the pot before it could burn my hands too badly. This time I picked up a thick forked branch from the pile of firewood and used it to hold the tentacle in the water.

After a half hour or so, the thrashing began to die down. I relaxed slightly. It seemed that the worst was over.

Dad and Rhys came over to inspect the progress. By now the tentacle was just twitching slightly. I gave it a good jab with the forked stick just in case it was even thinking of jumping out again.

Dad approached with a large serrated knife and informed me that now I needed to cut the flesh off to reveal the bone below.

I fished the tentacle out and laid it on a camp table set up near the fire. I took the knife and began sawing at the thick hide on the tentacle. It was difficult to cut through, but after a few minutes I hit bone and was able to start peeling the flesh away. It peeled off in a single piece, like a sleeve turned inside out, revealing the bones that I knew would form my varé.

Next Dad and Rhys showed me how to carve down the larger bones at the end to form a hilt for the sword and the release button. After that, I filed the bones along the blade to make them sharper. When we were done, I looked at what I had built. It was a beautiful piece of work even if I did say so myself. As far as I could tell, it was indistinguishable from Rhys’ and my dad’s varés. I pressed the button and the sword rolled up into a small disk.

I grinned. “Is that it?” I asked.

“Not yet,” said Dad. “Now comes the actual bonding.”

“Hold the sword out in your hands and close your eyes,” said Rhys. “What you need to do now is to search for the varé. I don’t know how else to explain it. You should be able to reach out with your mind and feel it. Once you feel it, push out and put a bit of yourself into it.

I closed my eyes and held out the sword. It seemed to pulse and shift in my hand as if part of it were still alive. I reached out, looking for... something. At first I felt nothing, except stupid. Could the instructions have been more vague?

But before I could open my eyes and accuse Rhys and Dad of playing a joke on me, I felt the first inklings of the varé. It
was
still alive. Severed, boiled, and skinned, but it still held a tiny spark of quickly-fading life.

I reached out and with my mind pushed into the varé, feeling the connection arise. While I knew what I was supposed to feel, the descriptions I had heard were utterly inadequate to the experience. It wasn’t a sense I could describe, but it was similar to the feel of a nearby Berserker using his powers, or the sensation of Bringers encroaching – only not so evil and gross.

Joyful.

That was how the varé felt when we connected. It welcomed me and allowed my essence to suffuse it. Peace and happiness flowed back to me. Rather than joining with something new, it felt as if I had regained a lost limb.

I opened my eyes and saw Rhys and Dad smiling at me.

“It feels wonderful,” I said.

I stepped back and flicked open the varé. I swung it in a graceful arc. They had been right about the control. The varé was no longer an inanimate object in my hand, but a living part of me. I could manipulate the blade as well as I could my limbs. I instinctively knew how close or far away it was to an object. After a few more practice thrusts I leaped into the air, swung the varé in a complicated pattern, and brought it down toward the cauldron. I stopped it at the last second, a mere fraction of an inch above the back metal.

Complete control over the blade.

Now I understood why Dad had been so insistent that I bond to my weapon as quickly as possible.

I couldn’t wait to get back and start training.

As I got ready for school Monday, I had a new addition to my purse. Up until now, my EpiPen had been the only item I always kept on me - in case of bee stings. Now the varé had also earned a permanent spot. Never again would I be caught unprepared.

The weather was hot for Washington, especially given that it was mid-November. Usually by now the temperature had dropped to the low 50s with lots of rain. This year it was staying in the upper 60s and 70s. We were also getting hardly any moisture – a rare occurrence in this area. At least that was the case for a fifty mile radius around Woodbridge. The weatherman on the news was unable to explain why this high pressure system was still lingering and causing such unusual weather patterns in the area.

I mentioned it to Rhys and Eric when they picked me up for school. 

“It’s Osadyn,” Eric said.

“Osadyn,” I repeated. “What would he have to do with the temperature?”

“Do you remember what you felt when he first attacked you?”

I thought back to the day I had followed Rhys and Eric home. “Nausea,” I said. “I felt sick to my stomach.” I didn’t mention the fact that I had actually vomited all over the side of the road.

“What else?”

“Heat. It was like I’d opened an oven door.”

“Exactly,” said Eric. “All the Havocs bring heat with them. It’s usually just a small area because they move around so much, but since Osadyn is staying here, it seems to be causing some unanticipated effects.”

“That’s an interesting theory,” said Dad walking into the kitchen. “This may be the first time that a Havoc has stayed in an area for so long. Hmmm.” He paused and looked thoughtful.

“What is it?” asked Rhys.

Dad shook his head. “Nothing – for now anyway. I want to do a bit of investigating to be sure.”

Eric groaned. “Fine, Scottie, be that way.” He turned to me, completely changing the subject. “Can I see your varé?”

 I pulled the circular disk from my purse and handed it to him. With a deft flick he opened it and began to examine it.

He ran a finger along the sharpened blade. “Not bad,” he said. “The balance feels good, too.” He flicked it closed and handed it back to me. “That’s a nice weapon you have there. I personally can’t wait to see it in action.”

***

When we pulled into school there was a crowd standing in the parking lot. Two freshman were in the center rolling on the ground and attempting to beat each other senseless while the crowd egged them on.

Without even a glance at each other to coordinate their plans, Eric and Rhys waded through the crowd and pulled the thrashing freshmen apart. The clustered students booed and jeered, but when it became clear that the fight was over, they quickly dispersed. Eric and Rhys were left holding two struggling freshmen who were doing their best to get back to pummeling each other.

“What’s going on?” asked Rhys.

“I hate him!” shouted the smaller of the two. His shirt was ripped at the shoulder and he had the beginnings of what would be a spectacular black eye.

The other freshman surged forward, pulling Eric off balance.

“He started it!”

While he was somewhat larger, he didn’t seem to have gotten off any better. A cut on his scalp dripped blood down his face and his shorts were split down the backside, revealing plaid boxers.

Eric lifted the kid into the air. “Well, we’re stopping it,” he said. The boy’s eyes grew wide and his furious anger gave way to fear as he realized the position he was in. Eric set him down facing the school. “Get to class. Or better yet, go see the school nurse,” he said and gave him a nudge. The boy looked back resentfully, but did as he was told.

After the boy was out of sight, Rhys released the second freshman. He glared balefully at Rhys. “I would have had him if it hadn’t been for you.” He walked toward school. When the boy was almost inside he turned around, yelled a couple of semi-articulate swear words, and ran off.

Eric shook his head. “See, this is why being a good Samaritan just isn’t worth it.”

There were three other fights during school that day and the entire atmosphere felt tense. Everyone was on edge, ready to blow up at the least provocation.

It wasn’t just that day, either. For the next two weeks, the fighting continued to escalate. Even the teachers were not immune. They were grumpy and irritable, giving out detentions with little provocation.

The whole atmosphere made school practically unbearable. Fortunately, I had my after-school varé training sessions to look forward to. Rhys supervised the majority of my instruction, with Dad and the other Berserkers helping out here and there.

Rhys taught me the various defensive positions and blocks. We worked on posture, the proper way to hold the blade as well as the underlying theory of combat with the varé.

I wasn’t sure if it was because I had bonded to the varé or because I was a Berserker – or maybe both together - but learning the moves Rhys taught was much easier than I had expected. Rhys had only to show me something once, and I was able to replicate it easily.

After I had the basic movements and theory down, we moved into more advanced practical applications with other instructors. With my dad, I had slow-speed sparring matches where I had to explain each move choice as I attempted to attack or block. With Rhys, I had real-time sparring where I had to put together combinations of attacks and blocks together in a seamless flow.

With the rest of the Berserkers, I had the opportunity to fight against other weapons and adapt my moves to the weapon wielded by my opponent. Because we were bonded to our weapons, we were able to spar at nearly full-speed without any danger of accidentally hurting each other.

When Thanksgiving break came around, I was grateful to be out of school for a few days. The tension in the halls was practically palpable. Several fights a day were now the norm. And it wasn’t just the school that was affected. The crime rate in Woodbridge skyrocketed with more violent attacks in a one month period than in the previous five years combined. Dad finally let us in on his theory that Osadyn’s presence was not only responsible for the heat, but for the increase in violence as well.

“It’s because of his primary power,” Dad told me and Rhys after a training session.

Rhys looked thoughtful and nodded. “That could be it,” he said. “I’ve only seen his primary power used on targets within his field of vision, but you’re saying that it could be another side-effect of his presence?”

“Exactly,” Dad said. “Something is manipulating emotions on a massive scale. I don’t think it’s a coincidence.”

“What’s a primary power?” I asked.

Dad blinked and looked at me, then shook his head as if clearing it. “Sorry, Madison. I sometimes forget you’re still learning about all this.

“Each Havoc has a unique ability. We call that its primary power. Osadyn’s power is emotional control and manipulation. Fear, paranoia, lust, hatred, doubt: Osadyn can make anyone feel these emotions, or the opposites, but that’s much rarer.”

“That’s why Osadyn has been so difficult to bind,” said Rhys. “The few times we have gotten close enough, he’s turned us against each other.”

“Only those emotions?” I asked.

“No,” said Dad. “He has control over the full range. But he certainly prefers some emotions over others.”

“What about the other Havocs? What are their primary powers?”

“I’ll take this one,” said Rhys. Dad shrugged, acquiescing. “Thuanar, Aata’s Havoc, has the primary power of invisibility. It can also conceal objects and people. Navitan, Shing’s Havoc, drains living things of energy. Margil, Eric’s Havoc, accelerates decay. It also has a limited control over the dead.” I shuddered, thinking of an army of undead zombies attacking me. “And Pravicus, your Havoc, has the ability of mental domination. It can bend people, even Berserkers, to its will.”

“So, all the crazy stuff going on is because of Osadyn?”

“I think so,” said Dad.

Which meant it was all happening because of me. Osadyn was only staying in one place to get me. He was waiting for me to be alone so he could free Pravicus. The longer that took, the worse things would be. Winter Solstice felt like it was years away instead of less than a month.

“How can we keep waiting?” I asked. “If this keeps up, people are going to die.”

And suddenly Dad was there, pulling me into a hug. He held it for a long moment and then let go, looking at me very intently. “I know this is hard for you,” he said. “But what Osadyn does isn’t your fault. It’s because of you that we even have a chance to bind him. Yes, the fact that you are here and too well-guarded for him to attack means he will stay close by and will likely cause more people to die. But you have to understand that he will kill wherever he goes. There may be a few more deaths now, but you have to weigh that against all the lives that will be spared when he is finally bound.”

Rhys nodded in agreement. “Believe me, no one wants Osadyn bound more than I do, but we’ve tried going directly after Osadyn before. It doesn’t work. This time we will make him come to us and believe me, we won’t waste this opportunity.

***

For Thanksgiving, we invited all the Berserkers and Binders to our house. It still seemed strange to have Mom both know and not know what was going on, but the haze seemed to be working. Mom interacted with everyone and seemed to genuinely like them, but never spoke about their powers or why they were with me so much.  

Eric seemed to have gone out of his way to charm my mother. He helped out in the kitchen, preparing the turkey and making the mashed potatoes. While she was around he seemed like the most perfect well-mannered boy – not the way I generally perceived him. I wasn’t sure what he was up to until Mom started talking about what a nice boy he was and hinting that if I showed a bit more interest he might ask me out.

I wasn’t sure whether to laugh or rip out my hair in frustration.

After Thanksgiving dinner, we all sat outside enjoying the weather. At first I felt guilty since I knew the warmth came from Osadyn and was surely causing serious problems with the local environment, but the pleasant temperature was too inviting to pass up.

When I mentioned my difficulty to Shing, he looked at the sky for a moment before responding. “Is it wrong to make something good out of something evil?”

Before I could come up with an answer, Mallika sat down by me. “I have a proposal for tomorrow morning,” she said.

I glanced at Shing. He didn’t seem to be waiting for an answer to the question he’d posed, so I turned my attention back to Mallika. “I’m intrigued. What’s up?”

“I know your father wants you fully weapons-trained before the Winter Solstice, but that training has come at the expense of teaching you about the relationship between the Binder and Berserker. I haven’t pushed too hard since we were waiting to find your Binder, but I don’t think it can wait any longer. Tomorrow morning, I would like Kara to give you some basic lessons on Binders.”

“Sure,” I said. “If you think it’s that important, then I’m in.”

Mallika nodded. “Good. I’ll let your father know the plan. Kara and Aata will pick you up tomorrow at eight o’clock.”

***

 The next morning I accidentally slept in and had to rush to get ready on time. I didn’t have time to really do my hair, so pulled it back into a ponytail and threw on a hat. I don’t wear hats often, but this one was really cute, and I had bought it for just such an occasion.

Kara and Aata picked me up in the Range Rover and drove me back to the Berserker house. Aata, Kara, and Mallika were the only ones there. Shing, Rhys, and Eric had gone out scouting locations for setting our trap for Winter Solstice.