The Havoc Chronicles (Book II): Unbound (25 page)

“Not real,” said Rhys. His words were barely audible; his expression peaceful.

And then I realized what was happening. Osadyn was manipulating our emotions, but this time, instead of projecting fear and anger, it was creating a feeling of peace and calm to stop the adrenalin that triggered our ‘zerking.

 After a moment, Rhys’ glow disappeared completely. The two dozen remaining Bringers rushed forward and pinned him to the ground. Through the flailing limbs of the Bringers, I saw his eyes open, staring at me intently – trying to communicate. He mouthed a single word – “go”.

I should have been horrified at the scene before me. Intellectually, I knew that my feelings should be ones of revulsion, fear, and anger, but I could feel none of that. Instead, a feeling of overwhelming happiness colored my thoughts, dominating my emotions and overlaying them with something utterly artificial – a bucket of neon pink paint being dumped on the Mona Lisa. 

Slowly, I felt my heart rate drop, and the glow surrounding me disappeared. Without adrenaline to trigger our powers, Rhys and I were helpless. We still retained our natural Berserker defenses, but we lacked the power to attack or escape.

I became so relaxed that my body couldn’t remain standing. I collapsed to the ground, my varé falling uselessly from my fingers.

I watched helplessly as Osadyn lumbered toward Rhys. For the moment Osadyn seemed to have no interest in me. It was Rhys’ blood that could bind Osadyn, and it had every reason to want him dead.

Held down by a dozen Bringers, Rhys fought in vain to ‘zerk and free himself, but the emotional effect Osadyn projected was too strong. Even with the threat of impending death approaching, neither Rhys nor I was able to ‘zerk.

With a single claw on its front foot, Osadyn pierced the thick muscle of Rhys’ shoulder. It was bone, and living bone at that – a very potent weapon against a powerless Berserker.

For a moment, I saw a flash, a brief flicker of a ‘zerk surrounding Rhys, and then it was gone. Not even pain could break through to let him ‘zerk.

I wanted to cry, to be sad or upset. This eerie sense of wellbeing felt out of place. The disconnect between what I thought and what I felt was overwhelming. My mind tried to rationalize the discrepancy – I saw Rhys in pain, and I felt good, therefore I must not like Rhys. It took enormous concentration not to believe it.

Osadyn took a second claw and drove it completely through Rhys’ thigh, pinning him to the ground. He cried out in agony, his ‘zerk flickering to life for an instant before once again disappearing.  

There was nothing I could do. My mind was too numb and my body too relaxed to even stand up, let alone fight. I was completely helpless, while Osadyn took his time killing Rhys.  

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw two figures moving behind an overturned table. Someone else was here. I caught another glance, and this time the red hair was unmistakable – Ginger. And she seemed to be arguing with someone.

Was that Josh?

What could they possibly be thinking? Why hadn’t they run out like the rest of the kids?

And then it happened.

Pain flashed through my head like a burst of lightning in a night sky. More pictures, more images.

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A little girl eating fruit from a wooden bowl.

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An elderly man clapping his hands to the rhythm of a song.

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A Berserker running through the night.

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Rhys carrying Mallika to meet me when I had first fought Osadyn.

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Mallika and I embracing, mourning the death of Kara.

There were dozens of images – hundreds even – flashing through my mind so quickly that I couldn’t possibly process them all.

 And with it all, I felt a thousand different emotions pushing against the web of false peace Osadyn had imposed on me. One by one the strands broke until I felt a wonderful surge of adrenaline coursing through my veins. I ‘zerked and leapt to my feet, grabbing my varé.

I ran towards Osadyn pushing my muscles as hard as I could. I leapt onto its back and plunged my varé downward, piercing the hard carapace with a loud crunch and sinking it in to the hilt. Golden fluid spurted from the wound.

Osadyn howled and reared back onto his hind legs, throwing me off. I tried to pull out my varé as I fell, but the monster’s blood made the hilt too slippery. My fingers slid off the hilt, leaving the varé still lodged inside him. I hit the floor and slid across it, scattering a table and several chairs. As soon as I stopped, I leapt to my feet for a second attack.

But it wasn’t that easy.

Osadyn turned to face me, and I was bombarded with a new wave of emotions – peace, contentment, serenity – only much stronger than before. The massive beast swung its head away from Rhys and peered directly at me with those malevolent eyes. I managed to take a staggering step before once again dropping to my knees. My ‘zerk faded under the onslaught of emotions. The images flashing through my mind were no longer strong enough to fuel my ‘zerk.

Once my ‘zerk faded, Osadyn turned his attention back to Rhys. He lifted another claw into the air, and I saw Rhys shudder as the claw pierced the muscle of his other shoulder. Despite the emotional dampening of Osadyn, on some level it still hurt to see Rhys in pain.

Desperate to help, I tried to use my Binder powers to send out a snare to trap Osadyn. I reached within myself to tap into that power, but all that came out was a thin trickle of black ooze from my fingertips - nothing like the cables I had sent out before. Either Binder powers were somehow tied into emotions or I was too drained to create the snare.

A whisper from nearby pulled my attention away from Osadyn and Rhys. “Pssst. Madison.”

I looked up to see Ginger kneeling a few feet away from me, her red hair speckled with bits of white plaster from the decimated wall. She looked somehow – different. Instead of her usual scowl of disdain, she had an expression of grim determination. She knelt behind a table, keeping it between her and Osadyn, a tiny purse clutched in one hand. Josh knelt beside her, holding a splintered table leg like a club.

“Go,” I said. “This is dangerous. You shouldn’t be here.”

Ginger shook her head, and the determination in her face sharpened. “That’s what he keeps telling me,” she said, motioning to Josh. “Sorry, but I’m not leaving you to fight this thing on your own. What can I do to help?”

What could she do? She was a gifted athlete, but she was no match for Osadyn and the Bringers. I knew she was trying to be brave, but there was nothing she could do right now. Maybe I could have her insult me until I got angry enough to ‘zerk.

And then the answer hit me.

Weakly I pointed to the table where Rhys and I had sat. “My purse,” I said. “I need my purse.”

Ginger didn’t question my strange request. She nodded brusquely and headed toward the table. She was only a few feet away from the purse when one of the Bringers saw her.

The Bringer emitted a piercing shriek and ran toward Ginger, its slavering mouth open wide. Josh ran forward and placed himself between Ginger and the Bringer, holding the table leg out like a bat. The Bringer hesitated, giving Ginger time to grab my purse and throw it to me. It landed on the floor right next to me before sliding several feet away.

Josh paid the price for his bravery. From the corner of my eye I saw the Bringer knock the table leg away, unhinge its slimy jaws, and begin to swallow Josh whole.

With the last of the strength I had left, I crawled toward my purse, each foot of distance taking far more energy than something as simple as crawling should do.

I heard slurping noises from the side and knew that Josh was now partway down the throat of the Bringer.

At last my fingers clutched the small purse, and I fumbled the zipper open. There it was, my last chance at survival – my EpiPen. I popped it open and with a trembling hand jabbed it into my leg.

Pain rushed through me. An all-consuming fire that burned away all traces of Osadyn’s emotional control. What had felt like ropes binding me down, preventing me from ‘zerking, burned away like cobwebs before a flame.

Anger. Hatred. Destruction.

My mind was a blur now, and I felt the overwhelming desire to destroy things. The last time I had used the EpiPen, I wasn’t prepared for the onslaught of emotions. This time I knew what to expect and was able to hold off the rage... somewhat.

To my left I saw the Bringer swallowing the last of Josh while Ginger futilely beat at it with the table leg. With the last bit of clarity I could muster, I grabbed the Bringer’s head and ripped its jaws apart. Chunks of flesh flew through the air, turning to black goo. I drove one hand through the ribcage of the dying Bringer and with my other hand pried open a hole, tearing the Bringer in half. The remaining flesh turned to black goo, leaving Josh visible under a puddle of nastiness.

“Get him out of here,” I said to Ginger. “It’s not safe.” My voice sounded harsh and raspy, as if it were coming from someone else. Josh’s eyes widened at my glowing Berserker rage. Ginger grabbed his hand and together they ran from the ballroom, black goo dripping off Josh and leaving a trail behind them.

Once Ginger and Josh were gone, I stopped resisting and allowed the adrenalin-fueled ‘zerk to overtake me. Power flowed. There was nothing I couldn’t kill right now, no force on earth that could stop me.

I rushed toward Osadyn, crashed into the massive monster, and knocked it flying across the room. I looked down at Rhys’ bleeding body, and my anger burned even hotter. With an incoherent growl, I leaped onto Osadyn’s back, punching and clawing. I yanked my varé from its back and plunged it back in repeatedly.

Osadyn howled, rearing back onto his hind legs. But this time I was prepared for that tactic and used the hilt of the varé as a handle, maintaining my position while it tried to throw me off.

Golden blood oozed from a dozen wounds, and for the first time ever, I saw Osadyn start to weaken. He collapsed to his knees, his long neck flopping feebly for a moment before going still. 

He was done.

I yanked out my varé and jumped off Osadyn to check on Rhys. He pulled himself into a sitting position. I ran to embrace him. The look of terror on his face told me of my mistake an instant too late.

Pain exploded through my leg, and I found myself lifted into the air, clenched in Osadyn’s powerful jaws. It whipped me around and flung me high into the air. For a dizzying instant I felt as if I were flying – light-weight and floating – before I began the quick descent back to the ground. I twisted in the air, attempting to land on my feet. I almost managed it. My heels hit first and slipped out from under me, causing me to land awkwardly on one hip. Had I not been a Berserker, a fall like that would have killed me.

No sooner had I landed than Osadyn once again clamped its jaws on my leg. I could feel the flesh tearing, the teeth sinking down to the bone. The pain was intense – blinding. I felt consciousness starting to fade away.

Abruptly Osadyn let go of my leg and roared. I struggled back to full consciousness and saw Rhys, his arms and legs wrapped around Osadyn’s neck squeezing with all his Berserker might. He was ‘zerking!

“A snare!” Rhys yelled. “Do it now!”

I reached out my hands and pushed. This time black cables flew out of my fingertips, weaving into a net as they covered Osadyn. Rhys leaped off and rolled clear as the snare descended.

Osadyn roared and thrashed about, trying to break through the cables of my snare. I felt the strain on the snare and struggled mentally to keep it from ripping apart. I had not expected how difficult the snare would be to maintain once Osadyn was trapped in it.  

The strain was too much for me, and I collapsed to the floor. My mind was buffeted by dueling forces – the pain from my leg; the effort required to keep the snare from breaking; the fury of my adrenalin enhanced ‘zerk; and on top of it all the sickly sweet layer of false peace coming from Osadyn. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could hold on to the snare and the ‘zerk.

Within moments, my rage ebbed, and I could feel myself burning through the adrenalin I’d injected. The EpiPen wasn’t a long-term solution, just a jumpstart.

Like a candle guttering out, the glow around me flickered several times and then disappeared.

With my ‘zerking extinguished, Osadyn renewed his efforts to break free of the snare. The cables stretched, and my mind felt the pressure on them. A few of them frayed and snapped, but enough of them held to keep Osadyn trapped.