Page 40 of Daemon Master
Seymour’s voice rang out. “Begin.”
Adrian barely had time to command Heartrender forward before Tremorfist charged at full speed across the clearing. Heartrender conjured aMirror Imageas a distraction, but Tremorfist simply brushed it aside. Adrian’s eyes widened in panic as the massive daemon barreled straight for him. He snapped to his senses just in time to roll, Tremorfist rushing past where he’d been.
“Heartrender!” he cried.
His daemon responded instantly, abandoning her technique to launch herself onto Tremorfist’s back. He’d expected that to buy him time, forcing Tremorfist to grab for the nimbler daemon assaulting him. Instead, Tremorfist instantly dropped and rolled.
Heartrender let out a pained squeak as the larger daemon’s bulk crushed her against the ground. Adrian winced at the sensation via their bond. Tremorfist completed his roll, leaving Heartrender in the dirt as he regained his feet and turned toward Adrian. Adrian watched the daemon closely. Would it charge him again? Attempt itsStunning Howl? He braced himself for the expected technique, double-checking his shroud.
Too late, he realized his fatal mistake. He’d been so focused on Tremorfist that he’d forgotten about Seymour. A flicker of movement to his left was the only warning he got before a fist smashed into his gut, followed by a blow to his throat that lefthim gasping for air. He felt his feet swept out from under him and went down hard on his stomach.
Seymour landed on top of him, pinning him to the ground. “Do you yield?” he growled.
Adrian gritted his teeth and tried to buck the watcher off.
Seymour dug his left forearm into the back of Adrian’s neck, grinding his face into the dirt while his right hand twisted Adrian’s arm in an agonizing hold. “Do you yield?” he repeated.
This time, Adrian nodded, his eyes watering from the pain. The pressure on his arm and back eased as Seymour retreated. Adrian groaned and rolled over, humiliation curling in his belly. Seymour and Tremorfist hadn’t needed a single technique to beat them.
He waited for the watcher to sneer at his incompetence, to shake his head and proclaim that Adrian was as worthless as he always suspected. To his shock, Seymour held out a hand. Adrian stared at it for a long moment before grasping it, letting Seymour haul him roughly to his feet.
“Terrible,” Seymour said. The barest hint of a smirk twisted his lips. “But I’ve seen worse.”
Adrian hung his head. “You barely worked up a sweat.”
“Of course not. I haven’t taught you how to put up a proper fight yet.”
Frustration boiled through him, and he fixed Seymour with a glare. “All I’ve been doing forweeksnow is training! What good is any of it if I still can’t stand up for myself?”
Unfazed by Adrian’s outburst, Seymour strode over to stand by Tremorfist. He glanced up at his daemon, a silent conversation flowing between them. After a moment, Tremorfist grunted and puffed out his chest in apparent pride at whatever encouragement Seymour had sent him. The watcher turned, glancing briefly at Adrian before fixing his gaze on the nearby trees.
“Did you know the Watcher Division still considers your parents heroes?”
Adrian fought down a deluge of conflicting emotions, unsure how to reply. Heartrender rubbed against his leg, sending silent encouragement via their bond.
When he didn’t respond, Seymour continued. “Every watcher, at least out here, learns the tale of Bennett and Lucile Penfrost during basic training—how they volunteered to stay behind so the rest of their squad could retreat and bring warning to the Bulwark. We…I…aspire to live up to the example they set. Even now, knowing what I do about Serenity Corp’s lies, I’m proud to count myself among their brethren. To have had the privilege of knowing them while they were still alive. They were truly the best of us.”
By the time the watcher finished, Adrian’s vision had blurred, confusion mixing with his sorrow. “Why are you telling me this?”
Seymour spun back to him, his expression hardening. “Because you once told me you’ve never stopped fighting to uphold your parent’s legacy. Neither have I. Has something changed? Are you ready to give up—to roll over and wait for Kali to end you?”
Heartrender growled, giving voice to Adrian’s anger as he tensed. “Never.”
“Good. As I said, your skills may be lacking, but your instincts aren’t completely worthless. I can work with this…assuming you’re still up for it.”
Adrian scrubbed his face, bristling at the challenge in Seymour’s voice. “I am.”
“Then, go grab some breakfast. We’ll begin again in one hour.”
The arduous march into Overlin Forest and Adrian’s own self-directed training had nothing on the brutal drills Seymour demanded of him over the next few weeks.
“What use is an aether-enhanced body without the muscles to back it up?” Seymour snapped when Adrian collapsed after their first workout. The watcher had performed all the exercises alongside him, a light sweat now glistening on his brow and across his bare chest. Adrian struggled not to stare at the ridges of sculpted muscle. “While daemons only require aether,weare beings of flesh and blood. It’s up to us to give our aether a worthy vessel.”
So, Adrian trained, forcing himself to push past his exhaustion. Every morning, he woke up bruised and sore, and every night, he went to bed doubly so. Only his reserve of aether, supplemented by Heartrender, kept him from utter collapse. Without it, the gains he was making likely would’ve taken far longer.
Other than muscle conditioning, Seymour taught him how to block or deflect a blow, as well as how to dodge around an attack. Such defensive techniques constituted the core of a watcher’s fighting style, where the goal was usually to survive until your daemon rescued you.
Not that Seymour neglected hand-to-hand fighting entirely. With Serenity Corp agents hunting them, there was a strong likelihood they’d one day face other daemon masters. Adrian learned how to throw a proper punch and how to take one without going down, along with how to use an opponent’s momentum against them and how to grapple and pin them to the ground.
