The Havoc Chronicles (Book II): Unbound (13 page)

“But why?” I asked.

“Because Azarks have a special link to the Binders,” said Mallika. “They are our weapons, our assassins.”

It took me a minute to process what Mallika was saying. “That creature was summoned by a Binder?” I asked.

Mallika nodded. “Which means that one of the Binders wants you dead.”

“Who would want her dead?” demanded Rhys.

Mallika looked around at the quickly emptying parking lot. “Perhaps it would be prudent to begin our journey home?”

Rhys put the Range Rover in drive and stomped on the gas, shooting us out of the parking lot at a ridiculously fast speed. The way he was driving you might think he was the one trying to kill me.

“To answer your question,” Mallika said. “I do not know who would want her dead, but I would speculate that her unique gift of being both a Binder and a Berserker has made someone feel threatened. This person sent an Azark to kill her, unaware that she would be uniquely qualified to defeat it.”

“Why haven’t I ever heard of an Azark before?” asked Rhys. He made a sharp right turn, sending all of us scrambling for something to hold on to. I grabbed the handle over the window and just held on for the ride.

“Because they are a Binder secret,” Mallika said. “I know you do not trust the Binder Conclave, but you must understand that there are reasons for the secrets we keep.”

“And what’s your reason for concealing your ability to summon invisible assassins?” Rhys asked, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

“Because they are intended to kill Berserkers and they work best when they can attack unawares.”

“What?” I shouted. I couldn’t keep quiet any longer. “Why would you want to kill a Berserker? You’re on the same side.”

I expected Rhys to join in with some particularly savage righteous indignation. Instead, when he spoke, it was practically in a whisper.

“They have reason, Madison. There are times when it is required.”

I remembered what they had told me about Berserkers going feral. They had even told me about the oaths they took to kill each other should that happen.

“A Binder is allowed to summon an Azark in only two cases,” Mallika said. “One is when the Berserker has gone feral and becomes a danger to those around him.”

“And the other?”

Kara answered. “The other is when a Berserker has been captured and is being taken to break a binding. When that happens, it is permitted to summon an Azark to kill a Berserker before he reaches the seal and his life’s blood can be used to free a Havoc.”

“Well, I didn’t see either of those happening tonight,” I said.

“Sadly, you are right,” said Mallika. “And that means we have a traitor in our midst.”

Traitor. The word hung heavy in the air, a palpable weight to it.

“Kara and I must report this to the Conclave as quickly as possible.”

We drove in silence for a few minutes before Rhys spoke. “Do you think it’s really a good idea to discuss what happened with the Binder Conclave?” he asked. “Given the fact that the traitor is a Binder?”

“That is exactly why we need to bring it to the Conclave,” Mallika said.

I could literally feel the tension escalating between them, so I decided to move the topic to something we could all be unified against.

“What happened with Ginger?” I asked. “Did you find out what she was doing up there in the first place?”

“Well, that’s where the Azark did you a bit of a favor,” said Kara. “Saved you some serious embarrassment.”

“What do you mean?”

“Did you ever read the book Carrie, where they dumped a bucket of pig blood on that girl during Prom? Well, she was planning her own improvised version of that scene with a bucket of red paint. Next thing she knew some invisible monster had jumped on her, and then you showed up.”

“Did you put a haze on her?” I asked.

“No.”

“What? But she saw Rhys ‘zerk, saw me kill the Azark. What if she tells someone?”

“We’ve spoken with her,” said Mallika, “and explained the necessity of keeping this secret. I don’t think she’ll be a problem.”

“But why?” I asked. “Wouldn’t it just be safer to wipe her memory?”

“I sometimes forget how new you are to all this,” Mallika said. “A haze doesn’t erase the memory, it just renders it inaccessible. This poor girl was quite traumatized and needs time to process what happened to her. If we put a haze on her now, she won’t consciously remember what happened, and will be unable to come to grips with what she experienced. Without time to process this traumatic experience she will suffer from nightmares and anxieties for years to come. At times we deem that a necessary price for our secrecy, but in this case it seemed unlikely she would tell anyone what happened tonight.”

Were they talking about the same Ginger I knew? The Ginger I knew would break a promise in a heartbeat if it meant causing me pain or embarrassment.

“I’m with Madison on this,” said Rhys. “Ginger would remove her own liver if it meant causing Madison pain.”

“Don’t worry,” said Kara. “We’ll keep an eye on her and take necessary measures if the need arises.”

I doubted there was much
if
to it - it seemed more like
when
to me - but it was obvious they had already made up their minds. They certainly wouldn’t be the only ones keeping an eye on Ginger.

The Range Rover turned into my driveway, and I said an awkward goodbye to everyone. I really could have used a few hours wrapped in Rhys’ comforting embrace, but since no one knew about the two of us yet – that was going to need to change really soon – there was no way that was going to happen tonight.

Once I got inside, I told Dad what had happened. I knew he would freak out and get all uberprotective on me, but I was pretty sure Mallika or Rhys would have told him tomorrow anyway, and I wanted to downplay the seriousness of it so I wouldn’t be confined to my room for the rest of eternity.

For my own safety, of course.

Unfortunately, no matter how I tried to spin it, the mere mention of the possibility of a Binder traitor triggered Dad’s knee-jerk reflexes. He immediately went into his office and began making phone calls.

Too emotionally drained to argue with him, I changed into my pajamas and crawled into bed. I tried to sleep, but even as exhausted as I was, I ended up tossing and turning.

After an hour of sleepless frustration, I got out of bed and opened my window. The moon shone through the branches of the trees, casting strange shadows and lighting the night. Ordinarily, I loved looking out at our yard at night. The night noises and the feel of a cool breeze on my face always gave me a peaceful feeling. But tonight, it took on a sinister tone as I thought about the Azark that had been sent to kill me. 

At the edge of our yard, I caught sight of movement near the bushes. Immediately, I pre-zerked and searched the yard with my enhanced vision.

Seconds later, I felt a ‘zerking from nearby. Right where I had seen movement.

Rhys stepped out of the shadows, his varé drawn and his body crouched into a defensive posture.

I changed to a full ‘zerk long enough to jump out the window, landing on my feet and using one arm for balance. I then dropped the ‘zerk and approached Rhys.

“What are you doing here?” I asked.

Rhys switched off his ‘zerk. He looked sheepish. “Don’t be mad,” he said, “but given what happened tonight, I thought it might be a good idea if I stood guard. Just in case.”

I wrapped my arms around Rhys’ broad chest, laying my head on his shoulder. “That’s very sweet,” I said. “Except that if another Azark comes tonight, since you can’t see it, I’m likely to have to come rescue you.”

“The Azark depends heavily on the element of surprise. Now that I know what it is and what it can do, I can fight it. I have a few tricks up my sleeve that should work nicely.”

I gave Rhys a squeeze and said nothing. I really didn’t want to talk Azark killing tactics and strategies. I preferred to stay silent and enjoy the feel of being in his arms.

***

Saturday morning existed for me in theory only. Intellectually, I knew that Saturday morning followed Friday night, but since I managed to sleep right through it, I had no conscious recollection of it. I had stayed up with Rhys for more than an hour before he insisted I go to bed so he could properly guard me. By that time I was exhausted enough that I didn’t argue.

My mom woke me up just after noon so I could eat and get ready to do the first of two performances today – one at two and one at six.  

Rhys picked me up at one and we drove to the school to get into makeup and costume. On the way he told me that Kara had cut the Azark into seven pieces and buried each of them in a different location.

When I asked him why, he simply said, “You can never take too many precautions. We want to make sure this thing stays dead.”

Our first performance of the day went off with only a few hitches. A couple of people missed their cues and the techs in the sound booth accidentally started the music to “What Do The Simple Folk Do” when there were still a dozen lines of dialogue to go before the song.

Mallika and Kara were there, but neither of them sat in the audience to watch the play. Instead they prowled around the hallways and corridors looking for anything unusual. We all hoped the Azark attack was a one-time thing, but no one wanted to take any chances.

Josh kept his distance from me when we were not on stage together. I hadn’t really spoken to him since he had kissed me and I had – justifiably – punched him in the arm. Hard. Okay, maybe a bit too hard. I was beginning to wonder if that punch hadn’t somehow triggered his memory of our first kiss. I would have to keep an eye on him just in case.

It didn’t take Amy long to notice that Josh wasn’t hanging around me. She immediately began a full-out assault, ready to take the opportunity as it presented itself. She found excuses to spend time with him when neither of them were on stage and began dropping hints about Prom. After all, it was only a couple of weeks away.

All of which was fine with me. It was too stressful trying to manage two guys at once. I was glad I was in a committed relationship without any complications - except for the not telling my dad or other Berserkers and Binders part.

Sigh.

Between performances, Mrs. Abrams ordered pizza and the cast ate together. Amy sat by Josh – no surprise there – and grinned at me when he stood up to get her another slice of pizza. He came back and sat with his arm wrapped around the back of her chair, so close she was practically in his lap. How did she do that to guys? I had thought she was like Machiavelli, with schemes and plans, but Josh was reacting too quickly for this to be a scheme. Schemes took time. This was more like Houdini pulling off one impossible escape after another. Unbelievable.

Rhys saw where I was looking. “Does it bother you?” he asked.

“Not in the slightest,” I said. “I’ve got the man I want.” I scooted closer to him and leaned my head on his shoulder, basking in his warmth. It was amazing that hard muscle could be so comfortable to lean against. He took my hand in his and together we sat in comfortable silence, simply enjoying each other's presence.

Our third and final performance was the best of all. We got the music issue resolved and by now everyone had gotten their initial jitters out. The performance was practically flawless.

I was deeply in character and enjoying the performance until it came time for me to sing “I Loved You Once In Silence”. While singing this heart-wrenching song to Rhys, I happened to glance out over the audience. There, standing in the back, I saw a familiar face with blond spiky hair and high cheekbones.

Eric.

My pulse quickened in surprise and my senses sharpened as I pre-zerked out of sheer shock. What was he doing back? To my credit, I did manage to hold my note and remember the lyrics. Rhys, feeling me pre-zerk, got a panicked look on his face. He looked around for some sort of danger – another Azark or a Bringer.

When I reached out and took his hand, I gave him a few gentle squeezes and just slightly shook my head. He seemed to understand my message and visibly relaxed, once again submerging himself in the part of Lancelot.