Threads That Bind (Havoc Chronicles Series Book 1) (28 page)

With a deafening thunderclap, the first bomb went off, vaporizing the Bringers within a ten-yard radius and spraying deadly bits of bone for another twenty. The Bringers screeched and spread out to the sides.

Right by the other bombs.

This time I detonated two bombs simultaneously. The noise was horrific. Between the earth-rattling boom of the bomb and the high shriek of the Bringers’ death cries, I knew I would be replaying this night in my dreams for years to come. But the bombs got the job done, wiping out several hundred Bringers in an instant.

And so it continued. As the Bringers advanced, I exploded the bone bombs, decimating their numbers. Unfortunately, I ran out of bone bombs with at least a hundred Bringers left on the hill.

Now came the hard part.

I held my varé at the ready, positioned to attack. I had to destroy these Bringers. Only once Osadyn saw that its Bringers could not capture me would it come for me personally.

As the Bringers approached, I pulled in all the energy I could. I felt the extra power that was there from this one day and I opened myself to it – fully, completely. I let it envelop me.

When the Bringers arrived, I was ready. I was no longer Madison – Berserker in training. I was death, destruction, and chaos incarnate. As I surrendered to the energy around me, I exploded into action: cutting, slashing, stabbing, and killing.

The first Bringers to arrive were killed in an instant, dissolving into goo before they hit the ground. Never before had I moved so quickly, killed so efficiently, or felt so alive! My motions were effortless, graceful, and automatic. It was as if I were detached from my body, watching from above as it sliced and killed the Bringers. I cheered myself on, loving every minute of it. I wanted to shout for joy, to sing, anything to express my feelings.

And then it came.

Darkness.

Not the dark feeling brought on by the Bringers, but the true-black darkness of a Havoc – Osadyn. He pushed his way through the trees, cracking them like a child snapping twigs. When he came into the open, a wave of heat washed over me, followed by an almost overwhelming feeling of nausea.

I faltered in my dance of destruction and a Bringer grabbed me from behind, wrapping its arms around me and lifting me off the ground. Its hot fetid breath surrounded me as it opened its jaws wide and lowered them over my head.

I struggled to escape. I was far stronger than the Bringer, but with my arms pinned I had no leverage to use that strength. There were only a few dozen Bringers left now. If I could just get my arms free, I could kill them.

But I couldn’t. Other Bringers swarmed in and grabbed my arms and legs, immobilizing me and knocking my varé to the ground. As the Bringer’s head descended over me, the last thing I saw was Osadyn climbing over the dirt wall.

The hot, moist membranes of the Bringer’s mouth surrounded me. The muscles of its esophagus constricted, pulling me down. I tried to move my arms and legs but there were at least a dozen Bringers holding me. I wanted to scream, but I couldn’t even breathe to take in air.

And then as I was halfway down the Bringer’s throat, I heard a loud crash, an almost deafening roar, and the squeals of frightened Bringers. Despite my unspeakably gross predicament, I wanted to cheer – Osadyn had fallen into the snare. Several of the Bringers let go of my legs and arms, giving me just a fraction of freedom.

But it was enough.

Immediately I threw my arms out, breaking open the jaws of the Bringer who was swallowing me and smashing anything my fists could reach. When I had enough room, I dropped to retrieve my varé, swinging it around behind me to kill the Bringers who were coming at my back.

Fatigue was setting in. My struggles to escape the clutches of the Bringers had taken more out of me than I thought. I stumbled, but recovered in time to cut a Bringer neatly in half before moving on to the next. How much longer until the other Berserkers came? I couldn’t last much longer on my own.

Between killings I had time to glance at Osadyn. Just as we had planned, he had fallen through the plywood and into the trench. The black bands of the snare clung to him, stretching as he struggled to free himself, but for now they held. We needed Mallika or we would lose this opportunity to bind Osadyn.

To my immense relief, from the south I felt their welcome presence as they ran towards me. So did the remaining Bringers on the hill. Twenty of them ran to protect Osadyn while the rest attempted to recapture me.

Like a welcome sunrise, the Berserkers burst out of the trees, their glow brightening the hill, making everything easier to see. Shing and Aata came out of the woods first, wielding their bone weapons, followed by Rhys and Eric carrying Mallika and Kara.  

Shing met the Bringers head on with his Tiger Hook swords, swinging them in a deadly arc. Aata used his Mere club to bash in the Bringers’ heads.

Rhys and Eric put down the Binders and jumped into the fray, Rhys wielding his varé and Eric his staff. Together the four of them made quick work of the remaining Bringers, pushing them back up the dirt embankment.

Aata pressed forward, running after them.

“No!” I yelled, but it was too late.

Like a praying mantis on demonic steroids, Osadyn’s claws flashed out, grabbing Aata and pulling him down into the trench.

I finished the six remaining Bringers near me in two strokes and ran down the hill, pulling up short near the ensnared Osadyn. The last thing we needed was for both of us to be captured.

By the time I got there, the Berserkers had gathered around Osadyn and Aata. Osadyn held Aata tight, a massive claw enveloping his neck. If Osadyn pinched his claw closed, Aata would be decapitated. He might be a Berserker, but he was clearly in Osadyn’s power.

But Osadyn did not kill Aata. He looked at me, and in that moment I saw an image – the snare was gone and Osadyn was letting Aata go. Instinctively, I took a step back and shook my head. I suddenly didn’t feel so good.

Aata’s face had gone white, and he stopped ‘zerking, his glow faded to nothing. His eyes were filled with fear. Fear and sadness. He stood completely still - not struggling, not even moving. His eyes met Mallika’s and he mouthed the words, “Do it.”

At that moment, an overwhelming sense of peace come over me. A calmness, completely out of relationship to everything going on around me. For some odd reason, I found it difficult to continuing ‘zerking – the emotions I depended on were fading, relaxing.

Once again, I saw the image in my head of the snare disappearing and Osadyn releasing Aata. But this time I didn’t back away. I peered into Osadyn’s eyes and found him staring back at me. Not a creature driven by hunger or the need to kill: I saw intelligence there, a mind, a want.

Once again images flashed into my mind, one, then two, then a dozen. They ripped through my brain like tissue paper - there was too much information, too quickly. The pain was unbearable, and I screamed, pressing my hands to my head, trying to keep it from exploding.

Abruptly the images stopped, and I knew what Osadyn wanted.

“If we release the snare, Osadyn will let Aata go,” I said.

Everyone looked at me with expressions varying from open skepticism – Shing – to sheer terror – Kara.

“How do you know?” asked Rhys, not taking his eyes off of Osadyn.

“He’s sending me images, or impressions. I’m not really sure,” I said, “but they’re coming from Osadyn. He wants to bargain.”

Kara looked at me with tears streaming down her cheeks. “Are you sure?”

But before I could answer, Aata spoke. 

“Don’t do it,” he croaked, his voice raspy and harsh. “We may never get a chance to bind-” he cut off in mid sentence as Osadyn tightened his grip.

“The Havocs have never communicated before,” Shing said. I couldn’t tell if he meant that he believed me or not. Given his look of skepticism, I was going with the not.

“But the fact remains,” said Mallika, “that Osadyn has not yet killed Aata, so there may be truth in what she says.”

“So after a couple of thousand years, Osadyn finally decides to get chatty?” said Eric. “I’m going to have to go with Shing on this being unlikely. Why now?”

“Because Madison is both a Binder and a Berserker,” said Mallika.

For a moment, there was complete silence. Even the wind in the trees and the animal noises seemed to fade into nothingness.

Then more images from Osadyn - my head felt torn in two. I dropped to my knees as the pain overwhelmed me, and instantly Rhys was there, draping my arm over his shoulder to lift me.

“We have to decide now,” I said. “He won’t wait much longer.”

Aata stared up at us, and began to really struggle. “Don’t do it,” he said, his voice so hoarse, it was barely a whisper. “Remember your oaths.”

 Rhys nodded and then spoke, “I will do what it takes, whatever it takes, to fight for our cause.” It had a memorized, ritualistic feel to it, and the other Berserkers nodded in response.

Aata seemed to relax as he saw that the Berserkers were not going to give in. I had a hard time wrapping my brain around the fact that he looked so peaceful knowing that he was going to die. That even though there seemed to be a chance to save him, he would rather die than give up this opportunity to bind Osadyn.

My body began to tremble, and I felt the tears flowing down my cheek. Rhys pulled me even closer and whispered into my ear. “I know it is hard,” he said. “But some things are worth dying for.”

I nodded. Of course I understood – intellectually. But it is one thing to academically know that something was worth dying for. It was quite another to see it happen – to let it happen.

And then I heard Kara sobbing. She looked down at Aata and reached out a hand feebly towards him. He mouthed the words, “I love you,” and then closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable.

Kara turned to me, terror in her eyes. I tried to look brave, but she must have seen in my face that I was not going to interfere with Aata’s wishes.

“No!” Kara shouted. She was hysterical, her voice rose in pitch and grew louder. “I won’t let this happen! I love you!”

It happened in an instant. Kara raised her arms above her head and slashed them down to her side. Aata’s eyes flew open as he realized what she was doing. He didn’t have time to do more than open his mouth in an expression of horror before it was over.

Kara’s hands finished moving. The black bands of the snare fell apart, disintegrating into mist, leaving Osadyn free.

Before anyone could react, Osadyn dropped Aata and leapt out of the trench. In three bounds, he had cleared the top of the hill and was speeding into the darkness.

Shing, Rhys, and Eric raced after Osadyn, but even with the incredible speed of Berserkers, it was clear they would not be able to overtake him.

With Rhys gone, I managed to stay on my feet for a good half a second before collapsing to the ground. My head felt like it had spent the past few hours being beaten by a two by four full of nails.

I managed to roll to my side in time to see Mallika and Kara rush to Aata’s side. He appeared to have lost consciousness, and Kara lifted his limp head into her lap. She stroked his face and rocked back and forth, tears still streaming down her cheeks.

Bits of whispered conversation made their way to my ears. I couldn’t piece them together, but I had the distinct impression that Mallika and Kara were at the beginning of a spectacular argument. The fog of pain in my head made it difficult to think, but after lying on the ground for a minute, I finally realized that the battle was over and there was nothing left for me to do, so I stopped fighting and embraced unconsciousness.