Bonds That Break (The Havoc Chronicles Book 3) (3 page)

When I pulled back he managed a weak smile. "I have no idea what that was for, but, uh, it was spectacular."

"You passed out," I said. "I was in the middle of binding Margil when you collapsed to the ground."

"I did?" asked Rhys. "That was rather rude of me." He reached out and stroked my cheek.

"So, what happened?"

"I have no idea," Rhys said. He sat up and Shing and I helped him to his feet. "I've been feeling a little off all day, but it started getting worse when you were binding Margil."

"What do you mean off?" I asked. As far as I knew Berserkers never got sick. It was one of the perks of the job. The closest thing I knew of was the feeling of nausea and heat when a Havoc was nearby.

"I can't really explain," Rhys said, his lips turning down in a frown of concentration as he tried to remember. I did my best not to get distracted by those lips, but it was a losing cause. "I had a mild headache all day, but I really didn't think much about it. I figured it had to do with us being so close to Margil. But when you started to bind Margil the pain became much worse and it became really hard to think."

"Have you heard about anything like this?" I asked Shing. He was one of the oldest living Berserkers. If this had happened before, he would be the one who would know.

He shook his head. He was never one to waste words. I knew he was hundreds of years old and perfectly fluent in a dozen languages, but it always seemed he felt uncomfortable speaking. It couldn't be the language. Was it me? That was a thought for later. Right now it was about Rhys.

"I'm fine," Rhys said. He jumped up and down and did some shadow boxing. "See, I'm fit as a fiddle."

"Wow. I sometimes forget you're almost two hundred years old and then you bust out a phrase like that."

I knew I had made a mistake the minute those words left my mouth.

The smile faded from Rhys’ face and was quickly replaced by a fake version that didn’t reach his eyes.

Rhys was, in fact, much older than me. Much, much older. He was old enough to be my great-great-grandfather or something like that. Given the fact that Berserkers age so much slower than normal people, it didn’t bother me.

But it did bother Rhys.

“I’m sorry,” I said. I reached out and pulled him into a hug. “That was just a bad joke. You know I don’t care about that.”

“I know,” he said, but his hug told a different story. Usually when I hugged Rhys it was the best feeling ever – like being wrapped in fluffy blankets on a cool evening. This time something was off and instead of blankets it was like bundling up with a burlap sack – sharp and prickly.

I was about to say more, to try and make things right, when lights turned on in a building about a half mile away and people with flashlights started heading towards us.

Without another word, the three of us ‘zerked and ran down the mountain, away from the flashlights. I could always cast a haze to make any witnesses forget what they saw, but as a general rule we tried to be discreet so we didn’t have to.

We ran back down the mountain in silence, my thoughts in turmoil. I hadn’t meant to upset him. To me it was a funny joke, but clearly it hadn't been to him.

Once we reached civilization again, we turned off the ‘zerk and made our way back to the hotel on the MTR – Hong Kong’s subway system. It was really kind of amazing. You could get pretty much anywhere you wanted to go without having to drive and the system was so easy that even without speaking Chinese I could get around no problem. Of course, it might just seem easy in comparison to where I was from. To use public transportation in Washington you practically needed a Rosetta stone to decode the bus schedule.

I tried to talk to Rhys on the ride back, but he wouldn’t admit that anything was actually wrong.

“It’s not a big deal,” he said. “I know you were just kidding.”

But his words didn’t match the subtle vibe I was getting from him. There was a feeling of coolness between us – an invisible wall that I couldn’t seem to penetrate – that was still there by the time we got back to the hotel. I was at a loss of what I could do to make it better. We would have to find some time to be alone and talk through this.

But all thoughts of my relationship with Rhys were put on the back burner when we arrived at the hotel. Before Shing could finish unlocking the door, Dad pulled it open. He pushed passed Shing and threw his arms around me.

“Thank goodness you’re all right,” he said. He squeezed me tight and seemed reluctant to let go.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“I was afraid something had happened to you.”

This was definitely out of character for my dad. Sure he wasn’t thrilled when I went out after Havocs, but he never had this kind of reaction before. I was really confused.

“Why would you think that?”

Dad pulled back so I could once again see his face. The look of relief was clearly visible, but I could see that something was still wrong.

“I just got a call from the Binder council,” he said. He took a deep breath. “Thuanar’s seal is breaking.”

Chapter 2

Decisions, Decisions

“What do you mean ‘breaking’?” I asked. Seals didn’t just break. They were permanent – sort of. It took the life blood of a Berserker being spilled on the seal to break one. Not just a drop or two. All of it.

Since Aata had died, and I had taken on his powers, it meant
my
life blood was needed to break the seal.

And as far as I could tell, I was still alive.

Dad pushed the door open and shooed us all into the hotel room before closing, bolting, and then flipping the u-shaped security lock as well. Clearly he didn't want to be disturbed.

The hotel room had a completely different feel than hotels I had stayed at in the US. There were two queen beds in the room and a desk, which was normal enough. The television was a large flat screen that had been hidden behind a sliding panel with a large photograph of the Hong Kong skyline at night printed on it. It had taken me several minutes to find the TV after checking in. Not that it really mattered. I couldn't understand anything that was being said. But it had been entertaining to watch some of the shows and make up my own storyline to go with it.

All the doors in the room slid open instead of pulling out. The entire room seemed to be a mixture of traditional Chinese and ultra modern design. And I loved it.

Rhys and I sat down on one of the beds, Shing on the other, and my dad pulled out the chair from the desk and sat down.

"How is it even possible for a seal to start breaking?" I asked. "I sure don't feel dead."

"I honestly have no idea," Dad said. "I've never heard of anything like this before."

"How do they know it’s breaking?" Rhys asked.

"I don't know all the details," Dad said. "But it seems that Araceli has seen flashes of Thuanar and the seal."

The Binder Council assigned people to watch the location where each of the Havocs was bound. Their job was to be on the lookout for people who seemed to be scouting out the area, attempting to pinpoint the location of any of the seals. And also attempt to prevent any Berserkers from being sacrificed on the seals and breaking them. Araceli was one of the women assigned to watch Thuanar's seal in Mexico. We had met her when we had gone there last spring break to investigate some suspicious activity.

"So, what, he just suddenly appeared in front of the cathedral?" I asked. "Shouldn't I have at least felt something? Had some sort of advanced warning?"

"Again, I don't know," Dad said. He sighed and leaned back in the chair. "We're in completely uncharted territory here."

Shing nodded. "I also have never heard of anything like this before. It defies all that we know."

"There has to be a reason for it," said Rhys. "I know this is magic that we're dealing with, but it's had order for thousands of years. It has rules and laws. It can't just decide to change for no reason."

"Like suddenly having a girl Berserker?" I asked.

Rhys squeezed my hand. "That's different. That wasn't necessarily a change. It was just the first time it happened."

"But that's just my point," I said. "Things are changing here, and they have ever since I came into the picture. You know what Mallika wrote in her note. The magic is corrupting."

My words were met with a thundering silence.

Several months ago, Mallika had discovered that there was a Binder prophecy that said the Berserker magic would one day begin to corrupt and that all the powers would eventually consolidate in one person.

Which, apparently, was me.

She had written me a letter explaining what she had learned shortly before taking her own life so that I could have her Binder powers and bind Osadyn.

I still had difficulty thinking about it without starting to cry. 

What I hadn't really dealt with yet, nor discussed with Rhys, was the implication in her words that
all
the other Berserkers would eventually have to die for that prophecy to come to pass.

Which meant him as well.

Every time I let myself think about it, I felt completely nauseated and wanted to throw up. What good was it to have these powers and live for a thousand years if I had no one to share it with?

"We don't know for a fact that it will happen," my dad said. His voice sounded strained. I could tell he was trying very hard to keep calm. He still had a hard time dealing with the fact that I had been pulled into the Berserkers' world.

He had once been a Berserker until a freak accident had stopped his heart. For several minutes he had technically been dead. Fortunately, the doctors had been able to revive him, but his heart had stopped beating for so long that it severed his connection with whatever source the Berserkers' powers came from. One of the more horrific parts of being a Binder is that when a Berserker died, the Binder died with him. My mother had been the Binder for my father, so when he died, she died as well. And she wasn't lucky enough to be taken to a hospital and revived.

Barely able to deal with his own grief, my dad had spent most of my life trying to protect me from this world of death and danger, only to have me end up in the middle of it.

He wasn't thrilled.

"But don't you think what's happening right now is exactly what the prophecy was talking about?" I asked. "The prophecy is already right. The magic is corrupting. The bindings are the foundation of everything we do. What's the point of Berserkers if the bindings won't work any longer?"

"But why Thuanar?" asked Rhys. "Why now?"

No one spoke for a minute while we pondered Rhys' question.

Finally Dad spoke. "I do have a theory," he said. He yawned and looked up at the ceiling. Clearly he was exhausted. We all were. Being in a timezone on the opposite side of the world takes its toll, even on Berserkers.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Whose blood was binding Thuanar?" he asked.

"Mine," I said.

"Was it?" Dad asked.

Rhys raised an eyebrow. A very cute look on him. "No, it wasn't," he said. "It was Aata's blood."

"And now he's gone," said Dad. "And that power of binding was passed on to you."

"So? Isn't that the same thing that happens every time a Berserker dies without breaking a seal?" I asked.

"True, to a point. But most of the time the power of binding isn't passed on to someone who is already a Berserker twice over."

"And a Binder," Shing added.

"So the binding is corrupting because it is all concentrating in me and that's somehow weakening the seals?"

"It's just a theory," Dad said. "We don't know anything for sure."

Great. As if I didn't have enough to feel guilty about with everyone dying around me. Why did I always have the weird powers?

"What conclusions has the Council made about Thuanar’s binding?" Shing asked.

"They're naturally concerned and very confused," Dad said. "They want to find the new Berserker and Binder as quickly as possible."

When Aata had died, we had notified the Binder Council about it. What we neglected to tell them was that I now had Aata's powers. And Eric's. And Mallika's. And several others’.

"Do you think they suspect?" Rhys asked. He gently caressed the back of my hand with his thumb. I looked up into his eyes. Those blue eyes that somehow always captivated me. I could spend a long time just gazing into them. And truth be told, over the past few months I had.

"Maybe," Dad said, letting out a breath. "Probably in fact. They want us to come to headquarters to discuss what's been happening."

Rhys' hand tightened on mine. "You aren't actually considering going?" he asked.

Dad looked away and said nothing.

"Scottie, one of the Binders is trying to kill her," said Rhys, his voice rising. "We can't let Madison anywhere near them."

"Do you think I don't know that?" Dad asked. "I don't like the idea of her being near Binders any better than you do. But you know the Council as well as I do. If we don't go to them, they will certainly come to us. And once they come to us, I think we'll find they have excuses to stay and keep us under watch."

"Yes," said Shing. "We have seen this done before."

"So you really think we can't trust any of them?" I asked. I knew there was distrust between the Berserkers and the Binders of the Council, but both Mallika and Kara had been good. I had trusted them.

"I trust my Binder, Julie," said Shing.

Which when translated from Shing-speak meant that he didn't trust the other Binders. I was finally starting to understand him. It was as important to listen to what he
didn't
say as to what he did.

"I just don't know," said Rhys. "We know that at least one of the Binders wants you dead. Who that is and why they want you dead is anyone's guess. So, until I have proof that exonerates a specific Binder, I'm going to assume that they're all in on it."

 "But now that Thuanar’s binding is breaking, don't we need to tell them what's happening?" I asked. "I have to try and fix it. We can't really keep my having multiple powers a secret anymore. Besides, we were going to tell them anyway once we bound Margil."