Page 105 of Daemon Master

Skirting around Heartrender’s brawl with Pulsespike, he went straight for Garrick. He’d expected the watcher to put up a fierce fight, but after facing a foe like Kali, squaring off with him felt almost too easy.

A silent command to Heartrender obscured Garrick’s vision with a sheen of illusory blood. The watcher shouted a surprised curse, instinctively reaching up to swipe at the nonexistent liquid. Adrian capitalized on the blunder with a savage strike across his exposed chest.

Garrick doubled over, wheezing past his breastplate. A final blow to the skull sent him crumpling to the ground. Bereft of its master’s guidance, Pulsespike flickered and remelded with his unconscious body.

Praying he hadn’t taken too long, Adrian spun toward where he’d left the others just in time to see the last of the watchers collapse at Freya’s feet. His eyes widened in shock as she delivered a brutal slash to the man’s side even as he fell.

Seymour glanced at the blood-slicked sword in Freya’s grip. “Remember, these watchers are just doing their jobs. No need to kill them unless they leave you no other choice.”

She flicked blood off her sword, her expression still hidden beneath theMirror Image. “They didn’t give my people a choice. This isn’t much as far as payback goes. But it’s a start.”

Then, she began to sob.

Seymour hesitated before giving her an awkward pat on the back.

Adrian looked away, remorse eating at him. His gaze fixed on the fallen guards. “I can’t believe you took care of two fully trained watchers without any daemons.”

Seymour gestured to Freya. “We haveherto thank for that.”

She sniffled loudly before nodding. “The seeker visited me in my cell. He wanted me to show him how to use daemonsbane. He’d brought fresh sprigs of it with him, and I snagged some without him noticing. I forged it into a paste with leftovers from my meals.” Sorrow rang clear in her voice. “I didn’t want to be caught unprepared. Not again. So, I rubbed it on that sword I stole from the watcher and…” She gulped, looking down.

Adrian shook his head in amazement. From Seymour’s mastery of the reverse Surge to Freya’s ingenuity with the daemonsbane, it would seem he hadn’t been the only one to prepare.

A fresh round of sniffles from Freya brought his guilt careening back.

“Freya…” He cleared his throat. “Listen, I—”

She shook her head. “Not now. I…I don’t want to talk about it.”

He nodded. Feeling like a coward for the relief flooding him, he moved to the cages and used hisUnbendable Rodalong with a boost from Heartrender to smash the remaining locks.

Once Lockrod, Tremorfist, Shadowlash, and Metamire were free, he allowed the rod to fade. The aetherforging’s energy wasall but spent anyway. So far, his relics had proved a resounding success. With any luck, the bracelets would sustain theirMirror Imageslong enough for them to finish their escape.

“What next?” Seymour asked. He prodded a fallen watcher with his foot. “It won’t be long before someone stumbles on the mess we left.”

“We stick with our original plan and make for the airship,” Adrian said.

“And what about the tournament?” Freya asked. Her tone was impossible to read, especially when he couldn’t see her face. “Do you still intend to go to Haven to fight?”

Adrian hesitated. “Honestly, I haven’t thought that far ahead. For now, let’s just focus on reaching the airship. Once we’re out of this spirit-cursed place, we can determine our next steps.”

Recalling their daemons so they’d be less conspicuous, they set off down the corridor. Seymour took the lead, guiding them in the same general direction their procession had been heading earlier. They passed several watcher squads along the way. Adrian tensed beneath his illusory armor each time, but none gave them more than a passing glance.So far, so good.

When they finally emerged onto a massive open-air balcony, relief flared through him. No guards in sight. In fact, the airship appeared abandoned from the outside. With its sleek wooden lines, the vessel reminded him of pictures he’d seen of ocean-faring ships but without any oars or sails. From what he understood, Serenity Corp’s airships utilized specially bred daemons to keep the vessel afloat. It could’ve been a literal wooden box and still would’ve worked fine.

“Where is everyone?” Seymour said, his gaze sweeping over the platform.

Adrian shrugged. “Maybe they thought it too brazen a target and reassigned the guards.”

“I don’t like this. Something’s off.” Seymour glanced from the airship to the edge of the balcony and the distant ground below. “We can’t be more than a couple days’ travel from Overlin Forest. If we abandon this spirit-cursed plan of yours to enter the Diamond Cup, we could seek refuge in the woods like we did before and—”

“No!”Freya’s voice quivered with such vehemence that they both fell silent. Adrian wished he could see her face so he could read her expression. “I willnotlet this all be in vain. Wewillgo to that tournament, wewillenter, and wewillwin. Then, we’ll expose Serenity Corp’s lies to the entire League and burn their spirit-cursed organization to the ground!”

Seymour appeared at a loss for words.

After a long moment, Adrian cleared his throat. “Right, then. Well, I guess we should head aboard. Stay on your guard and be ready to summon your daemons. Things might be quiet out here, but we don’t know what sort of welcoming party to expect inside.”

They made their way through an opening in the airship’s hull and found themselves in a dimly lit wooden corridor. The bare walls and utilitarian design lacked the artistic flourishes of the ship’s exterior. Seymour took the lead, guiding them past several sealed doors to a narrow staircase he insisted led to the bridge in the ship’s bowels. Though the watcher had never flown an airship himself, he’d been trained in the basics of their operation. So far, they’d yet to see another living soul on board. If therewasany crew here, they’d made themselves scarce.