The Havoc Chronicles (Book II): Unbound (16 page)

We found our contact sitting on a bench in an out-of-the-way park. If we hadn’t been looking for it, we would have walked right past the entrance without even knowing it was there.

Our contact stood as soon as she saw us, clearly recognizing who we were. I guess we did kind of standout down here.

“My name is Araceli,” she said. The first thing I noticed was her height. I towered over her. I wasn’t exactly the tallest person in the world, but Araceli was really short. Olympic gymnast short. She had dark hair, a kind face, and a beautiful smile. She sure didn’t look very dangerous.

We spent the next few minutes exchanging introductions. When I told her my name, Araceli gave me a curious look, and I wondered what she might have heard about me.

“Let me take you to the binding place, and I will tell you what has been happening.”

We followed Araceli through the city, twisting and turning through narrow streets. The buildings in this part of town were so close together that it felt like walking through a maze, or a dense forest where you can’t see very far or identify any landmarks to give you a point of reference.

After a while I gave up any hope of keeping my bearings and simply followed Araceli blindly. I was relieved when we finally emerged from the maze into an open area. Directly in front of us was a large, extremely ornate building surrounded by a wrought iron fence with what looked like statues of angels sitting on top. It was too large and ornate to be anything other than a cathedral. The building took up the entire block and had two large towers on either side topped with crucifixes. Definitely a cathedral.

Araceli led us through the gate and into the cathedral’s courtyard. It was still relatively early in the morning, so the courtyard was not too crowded with tourists. The space was wide and flat with a few lamp posts dotting the grounds.

She strode across the courtyard and stopped in front of what looked to be a circular gold plaque in the middle of the ground. In the center of the circle was a blood-red hand print like a twisted version of those stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

I bent to examine it, but as I did, I caught movement in my peripheral vision. Startled, I fell back as a creature the size of a school bus charged us.

“Look out!” I yelled. Instinctively, I rolled sideways to avoid the charging monster. It wasn’t until I had jumped to my feet and caught a better look at the creature that I realized I had most likely overreacted.

The insubstantial creature reared back on its hind legs and let out a tremendous roar. Or at least, that’s what I thought it was doing. Not a single sound came from it.

This must be the Havoc we had come to see: Thuanar.

They had told me the Havocs were out of phase with our world and insubstantial, but I didn’t understand what that actually meant until I finally saw him.

Thuanar looked like he had stepped out of an old photograph. He was completely drained of color and his outline was slightly blurry. While Osadyn had been built like an elephant with a long neck, Thuanar’s body was long and sinuous. He appeared more reptilian than Osadyn had. Spaced throughout the long body three sets of legs protruded, each ending with long talons. Two parallel rows of wicked-looking spikes ran completely down the creature’s back. He looked very much like a Chinese dragon except for the face. The face was flat and squished looking, almost monkey-like.

Araceli grabbed my arm and pulled me several steps back.

“What are you doing?” She hissed in my ear.

Several people walking near us gave me strange looks, but quickly moved on. I could only imagine what I must have looked like to them – yelling and then rolling on the ground for seemingly no reason.

Now I just felt kind of dumb.

“Sorry,” I said. “I just wasn’t expecting that.” I gestured vaguely at Thuanar. Then I realized that neither Araceli nor my dad could see Thuanar or the seal, and that my explanation was completely unenlightening.

Kara started to snicker, and I gave her my best glare. I didn’t really mean it and couldn’t keep it up for very long. Within a few seconds we were both laughing.

Dad just rolled his eyes. “Can we get back to the matter at hand?” he asked.

“Thank-you,” said Araceli. She looked around the grounds, checking to be sure we would not be overheard.

“About a week ago, I noticed two men acting oddly. Most of the tourists are focused on the cathedral and look up or out. These two were focused on the ground, looking down. They had a stick with a wheel on it and were rolling it across the courtyard.

“At first I didn’t pay too much attention to it, but I noticed them making chalk marks on the ground.”

She pointed to a series of lines on the ground just a few feet away from the seal.

“I realized that the stick with a wheel on it was a measurement device and they were marking the location of the seal. Obviously I can’t see it myself, but I was shown where it is by a Binder.”

I tried to listen to Araceli's explanation, but I couldn't stop looking at Thuanar. As I observed him, he grew more and more agitated. He began thrashing about, whipping his long tail through the air and silently roaring. There was something about the way he moved that didn't seem right.

Because he had been bound, I knew that Thuanar couldn't hurt me, and I took a step closer. I could hear Araceli talking, but I was so focused on Thuanar that her words were just a droning background noise.

After three more steps I was directly in front of him. His thrashing slowed down and he lowered his front half back to the ground. His enormous head was almost as tall as I was. His slit pupils were bigger than my hands and looking straight at me. This was no mindless monster – I could see intelligence behind those eyes.

I reached out my hand and touched the Havoc.

Pain flowed through me, bright and sharp. I felt the hairs on my arms stand up, responding to a primeval force that I didn't even have a name for.

In an instant the world around me faded until it was washed out and drained of color. Vivid pictures flooded my mind moving faster and faster until they blurred together...

A tall man with bright red hair and full beard stood in a palace. I couldn't hear a word he said, but he was clearly agitated. He wore a single metal glove on his left hand – I had the feeling this predated Michael Jackson – and was repeatedly bashing it onto a table in frustration. Chips of wood flew out with each hit and the table looked almost ready to crack in half.

The scene changed and a muscular man sat on top of an enormous throne. His long hair hung down, obscuring half of his face. His single visible eye was fierce and I had the feeling that it missed very few things. On his shoulders sat two black birds.

One of the birds faced me and let out a squawk so loud that it echoed through the room, painfully ringing in my ears. The bird turned back to the man on the throne and put its beak to his head, seeming to whisper to him.

The man's one eye searched the room, finally stopping on me. This time I knew the man saw me. He grabbed a spear by the throne and threw it at me.

The throw took me completely by surprise and I instinctively stepped back. The spear flew true and pierced me between the eyes...

Blue sky loomed above me. The angle seemed wrong. Something was different.

Then I realized that I was laying on the ground. At some point I had collapsed and lay on the rough cobble stones of the courtyard.

Rhys and my dad kneeled around me, worried expressions clouding their faces. They were talking to me, but at first no sounds seemed to come from them. Something was wrong with my hearing.

Slowly, the sounds of the world came back to me, gradually getting louder and washing over me.

"Madison, can you hear me?" My dad asked.

I nodded and started to sit up, but stopped when that small movement made the world spin around me. Laying down was safer for the moment.

"What happened?" I asked. My tongue felt thick and my words slurred as I spoke.

"That's what we want to know," Rhys said. His face loomed over me, eyes filled with concern. "One moment you were fine, and the next you fell to the ground, convulsing."

"I touched Thuanar."

"And that's when you collapsed?" asked Kara.

"The whole collapsing thing is blank," I said. "I don't remember it at all. But when I touched him I had a vision."

Complete silence followed my statement. If I hadn't been so shaken up, the looks of confusion on everyone's face would have been really funny.

Dad finally broke the silence. "Ok, let's all just give her some room. There will be plenty of time for questions."

Rhys and Dad helped me into a sitting position. This time the world had the courtesy to not spin about. Kara brought me a bottle of water and after taking a few sips I felt much better.

After a few moments, I told them what happened and the strange vision I saw.

"Has anyone else ever had something like this happen?" I asked.

"Not that I've ever heard of," Dad said. "What about the Binders?" he asked Kara.

Kara shook her head. "I've never heard of anyone having a vision when touching a bound Havoc. I mean, that's the whole point of the binding, isn't it? That the Havoc can't bother anyone."

"Great, I'm the oddball once again," I said. "That seems to be the story of my life."

After a few more minutes I was feeling well enough to stand up. I looked around and saw Thuanar sitting motionless on the cobblestones staring intently at me. His large eyes, full of anger and intelligence, bored into me. Then in a quick movement, Thuanar spun around and walked off in the other direction, clearly dismissing me.

"I think we should get Madison back to the hotel," Rhys said, and Dad immediately agreed.

Thunar was clearly done with me, and I could feel the beginnings of a spectacular headache coming on. I wasn't about to touch him again.

Araceli led us off the cathedral grounds and back towards our hotel.

As we walked, Dad and Rhys both hovered nearby as if I were some Victorian-age woman liable to get the vapors and collapse at any moment.

"I'm fine," I said. "I just have a headache, that's all."

But this was Dad and Rhys we're talking about, and I knew arguing with them was pointless, so I let them hover and didn't make a fuss.

Clack.

Something very small flew past me and hit the wall beside my head. It was just a tiny noise. It was so faint that an ordinary person likely wouldn't have even noticed it. The small something fell to the ground.

In a flash Rhys bent down and picked it up. It appeared to be a needle-like piece of bone about an inch long. The tip of the bone was covered in a yellow tar-like substance. His eyes grew wide with fear.

A second bone shard whizzed through the air, this time it hit the wall just in front of me.

It was a dart. A bone dart.

Both Rhys and my Dad jumped in front of me. It was like one of those movies when the president is under attack and the secret service people dive in front of him to take the bullet.

Only this was a weapon designed for a Berserker.

"What are you doing?" I yelled. I didn't want anyone dying while trying to save me. Especially not those two.

"Get down, Madison," my Dad said. "Someone is trying to kill you."

"What if they're after Rhys?" I asked.

"They're not," said Rhys.

"You don't know that," I said. "You can't possibly know that."

"That's a chance I'm willing to take," said Rhys.

By now I had slipped into a pre-zerk. Dad and Rhys were standing in front of me, but I looked around them and scanned the crowd. My enhanced senses had no problem finding the attacker. He raised a blowgun up to his lips and fired a third bone dart.

In half a heartbeat, I had slipped out from behind Dad and Rhys. In a single fluid motion, I pulled the hat off a passing stranger and used it to knock the flying dart out of the air. I didn't dare use my hand in case it scratched me, and I was guessing that yellow stuff was some kind of poison.

The attacker saw me, and spun around, running away from us and into a crowd.