Free The Havoc Chronicles (Book II): Unbound by Brant Williams Page B

one’s power without the visible signs of a full Berserking is quite remarkable. Could we see a demonstration?” 
    With a shrug, I tapped into my emotions and pre-zerked with hardly any effort.
    The results were spectacular. The stone glowed a brilliant sky blue and sent rays of that same blue light flashing across the ceiling. The light bounced around the room, almost playfully, as if it were alive.
    Sunee gasped and closed the lid. The light winked out, leaving the room feeling darker than before.
    Naki clapped her hands excitedly. “Oh, that was spectacular!” she said.
    “Is she the one?” said Sunee. It was very soft, hardly more than a whisper, but I was still pre-zerking and heard it quite clearly.
    Naki’s excitement vanished, her eyes flashing with anger. “Do not bring up Conclave business outside of the circle,” she whispered back.
    Sunee stared at Naki for a moment, and then bowed her head in submission.
    “What Conclave business is that?” asked Mallika, arching an eyebrow.
    Naki stood. “It means exactly what it says. Conclave business that can only be discussed in the privacy of the circle.” She pushed back from the table and motioned for Sunee to do the same.
    “I believe it’s time for us to go now,” she said.
    Mallika held up a hand. “Before you go, do I have permission to teach Madison the ways of the Binders?” she asked.
    Sunee and Naki looked at each other a moment before Naki answered. “The Sarolt stone has spoken,” she said. “There can be no doubt that she is both a Binder and a Berserker. As such, she needs to be trained as a Binder. You have the Conclave’s permission.”
    And with that, Naki and Sunee embraced Kara and Mallika, kissing them on the cheeks before leaving.
    Once they were in their BMW and driving away, Kara let out a deep breath.
    “I’m glad that’s over with,” she said. “Those two make me nervous. What was Naki talking about at the end about Conclave business? I didn’t catch what Sunee said.”
    “Me neither,” said Mallika. “But I would really like to know.”
    “I heard,” I said. “I was still pre-zerking. She asked if I was ‘the one’. Do you know what that means?”
    “No,” said Mallika. She cocked her head to the side, looking thoughtful. “But I intend to find out.”

Chapter 5
     

Beaches, Confessions, and Spoons
     
     
    Over the next two weeks, thoughts of Naki and Sunee were driven from my mind by sheer scheduling. Between school, play practice, Berserker training, and now Binder training, I had no time for anything that didn’t require my immediate attention.
    Mallika and Kara took turns teaching me basic control techniques, much like the practice that had helped me learn how to ‘zerk on command. While not physically exhausting, my Binder training was mentally and emotionally draining. Each night after it was over I would fall into bed, lucky to remain conscious long enough to change out of my clothes.
    Play practice continued to be awkward. Josh had finally learned his part well enough that Rhys couldn’t annoy him by prompting him with his lines, but off stage they might as well have been a couple of dogs circling and defending their territory – me.
    As stressful as it was, the one positive factor was Rhys’ increasingly visible interest in me – at least when Josh was around. When we were alone he still had a tendency to keep me at arm’s length, but it was better than nothing.
    A few days before the final dress rehearsal, Amy and I sat in the audience watching Josh and Rhys practice a scene onstage.
    Amy leaned over to me and said, “What’s it like having two hot guys both wanting you?”
    “It’s a lot like taking out my own appendix without anesthesia,” I said. “Only less fun.”
    Amy rolled her eyes. “Really?” she said. “It’s that bad?” She was clearly unconvinced.
    “Worse.”
    “Worse than having no one interested in you?”
    Now that question made me think. In some ways the