Bonds That Break (The Havoc Chronicles Book 3) by Brant Williams Page A

introduce Julie Pierce. Julie is my Binder. Julie, this is Madison, Scottie, and you already know Rhys.”
    Julie shook all our hands in turn. When she shook my hand, she gave me an even bigger grin, and pulled me in for a hug and then held me out at arms’ length, like an aunt who hasn’t seen her niece in several years. I just needed her to pinch my cheek and say something about how much I’ve grown to make the scene complete.
    “Madison, I’m so glad to finally meet you,” she said, and pulled me back in for another hug. “Shing has told me so much about you.”
    “He has?” I asked. I glanced over at Shing who looked slightly embarrassed.
    “Oh yes,” she said. “Every time we’ve talked over the past six months you’ve been all he’s talked about. You know how he gets when he’s excited about something.”
    Actually I had no idea. As far as I could tell, Shing hadn’t been excited about a single thing since I’d met him. He was probably the most reserved person I knew.
    “Well, I hope he’s told you good things,” I said, not sure what else to say. She was very friendly, but a little overwhelming.
    We didn’t get much more time to talk, as other people started filing over to see us. I went through the motions of shaking many hands as I was introduced to people who up until now had only been names and facts drilled into me by Rhys and my father.
    I already knew Sunee and Nakai, they were the two binders who had come to confirm that I was a Berserker and a Binder. Nakai was the unofficial leader of the Binders and Sunee was the keeper of the Sarolt stone, the strange rock that was somehow attuned to Berserker and Binder powers.
    Arthur Cooper, Josiah Smith, and Davu – who didn’t seem to have a last name – were all here. I had met these Berserkers earlier that spring when Eric had brought them to visit.
    All the other Berserkers I hadn’t yet met were here except for Nanti who was the Berserker currently in hiding.
    The first to introduce himself was Yul Romanov, a broad-shouldered Russian man. He looked to be in his mid-thirties, but from what Rhys and Dad told me, he had become a Berserker later in life and was only three hundred and fifty or so. He had dark hair and a neatly-trimmed beard that only partially hid his infectious smile. He grabbed my hand with both of his and shook it vigorously.
    “Madison! It is good to finally meet you!” he said and pulled me in to give me a kiss on both cheeks. It was one of those not-quite-kisses where he put his cheek next to mine and made a kissing sound without actually touching me with his lips.
    This was one type of greeting that I had only partially gotten used to. It was easier when girls did it. Having men pull me in that closely was still a little out of my comfort zone.
    The next Berserker was Tezcacoatl, but everyone called him Tez. He was rumored to be an actual Aztec. Not a descendent or some wannabe, but the actual thing. Of course, he didn’t quite fit my stereotype – no long ponytail or jaguar tooth jewelry. He had buzzed his dark hair short with a single streak of blue dyed in it. He looked to be a little bit younger than Yul, but according to my information was actually quite a bit older.
    The last of the new Berserkers was Miguel Ortega. He was from Mexico and looked to be about my age. He had only become a Berserker thirteen years earlier at the age of fifteen, so physically he was younger than I was, even though he had lived almost twice as long as I had.
    After I had met the last of the Berserkers, Nakai came up to me and wrapped her arm around my shoulders. Rhys and Dad were both talking with other Berserkers, so I was essentially alone.
    “Now that you’ve met the brawn,” Nakai said, “it’s time to introduce you to the brains behind everything here.”
    Nakai gently, but firmly enough that I got the idea following her wasn’t optional, escorted me across the room to where a group of four Binders stood talking together.