Page 108 of Daemon Master

Tremorfist bellowed an enraged roar, swinging at Jasper in a vain effort to avenge his fallen comrade. The meaty fist collided with the seeker’s side—and stopped as if it had slammed into a stone wall. Jasper slowly turned to face Tremorfist, an arrogant smirk playing over his lips. No matter his occasional flashes of sympathy, the spirit-cursed seeker was clearly enjoying this.

In a flash of aether so bright Heartrender had to avert her eyes, Jasper unleashed a half-dozen techniques at once. Water and ice, wind and lightning, fire and earth all blended together into a single cacophonous eruption of destructive potential.

When the whirlwind of aether cleared, Adrian stared, struggling to process what he saw. The portion of the cockpit near Jasper lay in smoking ruin, melted metal scattered amid cracked and blackened wood. No sign of Tremorfist remained, the daemon obliterated by Jasper’s magic. Seymour lay, unmoving, a short distance away. Judging from his singed clothes, he must’ve been caught in the last vestiges of the blast after Tremorfist’s demise.

Worry lodged in Adrian’s throat.Spirits above, please let him be all right.

“And then there was one,” Jasper said, turning to fix his gaze on Heartrender. “Tell me, Adrian—do you believe me yet that daemoforging is the future of the League?” He held out an aether-filled hand. “With such power, your parents needn’t have died.No oneever needs to feel helpless again. We will be as gods and remake the world into our eternal paradise!”

Adrian’s only response was a soft, sorrowful growl via Heartrender.

Jasper shook his head, his brow furrowing. “Even after everything, youstillintend to fight this unwinnable battle? Surrender now, and I’ll spare you the pain of Heartrender’s suffering.”

Adrian studied the seeker through Heartrender’s eyes, weighing his options. By now, it was clear he couldn’t outlast the seeker in a straight fight. He snuck a glance toward the entrance to the bridge. Could he make it through the storage bay and up the stairs before Jasper caught him? The odds seemed slim, but Heartrender was a small target. Itmightbe possible, even if Jasper wouldn’t be fooled by anyMirror Imagesfor long.

As if sensing his train of thought, Jasper let out a long-suffering sigh. “There’s nowhere to run, Adrian. The only reason this airship isn’t already swarming with watchers is becauseIordered it. If you return to the fortress, you’ll find your way barred. The only way out of here is with me.”

Adrian broke his Fusion with Heartrender, allowing his body to rematerialize beside her. Maybe conversation would buy him more time to think. “Yeah, as one of your experiments.”

“Perhaps,” Jasper conceded. “Buthowthat process goes depends entirely on you. Instead of enemies, we could be allies, working toward the common good of the League.”

“While you subject Heartrender and our other daemons to unimaginable torment.”

“Heartrender and Ghosttear remain Serenity Corp property.” Jasper fixed his greedy gaze on Heartrender. “What I do with them no longer concerns you. As for the others, you have my word that, if you cooperate, none of them will be harmed more than necessary.”

“I think you and I might differ in what we deemnecessary. And no matter how they came to exist, Heartrender and Ghosttear are still sentient beings. You can’t…”

He trailed off, an image of Ghosttear locked in the cage outside flashing through his head.

Jasper frowned, studying him. “What is it? Have you finally decided to see reason?”

Instead of answering, Adrian ordered Heartrender to obscure his retreat with aMirror Image. Then, he spun and bolted from the chamber.

“I can still see you, Adrian. This is pointless!”

Jasper’s exasperated shout ringing in his wake, Adrian emerged into the cargo bay full of scattered boxes. He beelined for Ghosttear’s cage with Heartrender at his heels, reaching it right as Jasper appeared in the doorway. Adrian dropped to the floor and started to reach through the bars of Ghosttear’s cage before hesitating.

He’d originally intended to grab the daemon and force another fit like what had happened at the Enclave. But staring at Ghosttear’s flickering aether and the protective way he was curled about himself conjured images of the poor daemon suffering through the same invasive experiments as Heartrender. Serenity Corp believed it their right to abuse daemons in whatever manner suited them. If Adrian did the same, how was he any better than his foes?

Settling back on his haunches, he bowed his head as Jasper charged across the room in a blaze of aether. The seeker’s aura pulsed with readied techniques he didn’t bother using. He mustwant to finish this up close and personal. Adrian understood the impulse.

Breathing deep, he focused his aether to form a hasty reverse Surge with Heartrender so he could better sense the tenuous link she shared with Ghosttear.Please, he sent through that frayed connection.After everything humans have done to you, I know I don’t deserve your help. But if you can hear me, I’m begging for it anyway. Your brood sister and I need you.

There was no response. Adrian’s heart fell as he opened his eyes to watch the oncoming seeker. Jasper had almost reached them, the air so thick with magic that Adrian had to struggle to remain upright. Instead of buckling, he set his jaw and squared his shoulders. This might be his end, but he could still face it with his head held high. Whatever the real circumstances of his parents’ deaths, he preferred to believe they would have done the same.

Everything happened in a blur. One moment, Jasper was stretching a hand ablaze with aether toward him, his lips stretched wide in a triumphant grin. The next, the seeker’s back arched. Every muscle in Jasper’s body went rigid as his eyes widened in surprise, followed by horror. He tried to speak, but whatever he would’ve said was lost to a terrible shriek as he collapsed on the metal floor, twitching and flopping like a beheaded serpent. Strands of aether leaked wispy blue tendrils into the air from his tattoos, each flaring blindingly bright all at once.

Adrian stared at his convulsing foe, confusion gripping him.What in the name of the spirits is happening?Then, he sensed a crackle of energy behind him and slowly turned.

Ghosttear stood in the center of his cage, more awake and aware than Adrian had ever seen him. The little daemon had his gaze fixed on Jasper. Unstable aether so pale and washed out as to appear almost gray roiled around him. Instead of wildlysnatching at the surrounding aether like he had at the Enclave, Ghosttear had focused his technique on a single target. And as it turned out, Jasper had plenty of stored aether to spare.

Elemental explosions rocked the chamber as Ghosttear channeled Jasper’s daemoforged techniques at random, unleashing a chaotic whirlwind around them. Flurries of ice collided with blazing fire in great gouts of steam while torrents of water and acid fell like poisonous rain amid brief bursts of pure, shimmering force.

The deluge of conflicting powers reminded Adrian of the attack the seeker had used to finish off Tremorfist, amplified tenfold. He stared, unable to tear his gaze away from the spectacle even as a wild lightning bolt cracked against the floor near his head.

Only when the maelstrom intensified, a tremor racking the airship, did he finally shake himself free from his stupor. He glanced worriedly at Ghosttear and found the daemon shuddering as his pale aether grew ever more disordered. Whatever initial control he’d managed over his technique appeared to be slipping. It wouldn’t be long before he caught Adrian and Heartrender in the effect as well, whether he wanted to or not…assuming he didn’t tear the entire ship apart first.

Somehow, Adrian had managed to maintain his reverse Surge with Heartrender through his shock. Attempting to tune out the wild kaleidoscope of magic poised to obliterate him, he reached out once more to Ghosttear through the faint thread linking them together. He didn’t bother with fully formed thoughts this time, not when he might only have mere moments left to act. Instead, he opted for an impression of gentle serenity—of being safe and letting go.