Page 94 of Daemon Master

“I wouldn’t recommend trying to escape,” the man said when he caught Adrian’s eyes flick to the open doorway. “Even if you made it past me, you’d find yourself in an enemy stronghold, surrounded by guards. And if you made it pastthem, you’d still be in the middle of nowhere, and I’d exact my vengeance on your friends for the hassle of dragging you back here.”

Adrian recalled the bolt of lightning the seeker had shot from his palm. He might not have any obvious weapons or manifested daemons, but he wasn’t as defenseless as he seemed.

“I thought you didn’t like making others suffer,” Adrian croaked, his throat dry and rasping.

The man shrugged, his coat bunching up around his shoulders. “I don’t. But I also recognize the effectiveness of violence as a deterrent.”

“You’re bluffing,” Adrian said without conviction. “You wouldn’t hurt them—you need us, or else you wouldn’t have had your watchers take us alive.”

The man frowned. “Ineverbluff, and I detest lies. I only require one of you for testing. The others are insurance in case our regimen proves too…challenging. Now, do you intend to cooperate, or do I need to demonstrate my sincerity?”

Based on Crastley’s descriptions of Project Paragon, Adrian could well imagine the sort of ‘tests’ Serenity Corp might subject him and his daemons to. Swallowing a gulp, he nodded.

The man’s lips curved in a thin, satisfied smile. “I’m glad you’ve decided to be reasonable. Seymour took more convincing, though I assure you, he, Tremorfist, and Shadowlash remain unharmed. As do Freya and Metamire.”For now, his merciless tone implied.

Adrian watched as Kali’s partner strode deeper into the cell, leaving the door open behind him.A test—it has to be.Adrian clenched his hands into fists and remained seated against the cold stone wall, not missing the gleam in the man’s eyes when he glanced over to check on him.

“I imagine you have a number of questions for me,” the man said. “I knowIwould were I in your place. As a token of good faith, I’m more than happy to oblige you.” He leaned forward, his smile turning predatory. “You need only ask.”

Excitement briefly flared through Adrian at the prospect of answers before he remembered his current situation and slumped. “Why would you tell me anything when you already have me at your mercy? And why should I care? Knowing the truth won’t make any difference now.”

“Knowledge isalwaysworth acquiring, Adrian. Besides, what other chance will you have to speak about Project Paragon with someone intimately familiar with its operation?”

Even through his despair,thatgot Adrian’s attention. “You work for Project Paragon?”

“Of course.” The man inclined his head. “I am Seeker Jasper—the project’s head.”

Adrian’s breath caught. Not just another scholar then like Crastley or a grunt like Kali but a higher-up within Serenity Corp. Someone who might actually be able to tell him more about Heartrender’s origins or offer key insights into Kali’srelics. Hundreds of potential questions tied his tongue in knots, and he ended up blurting out the first thing that came to mind.

“Did Serenity Corp know about the true bond before Crastley reported his discovery of it?”

“Yes and no,” Jasper replied without hesitation. Adrian frowned, and the seeker raised a hand. “That is not meant as a deflection. Serenity Corp’s founders undoubtedly knew about the true bond when they created the first bondstone. But to my knowledge, no one remembered how to forge it prior to Seeker Callum—the man you know as Crastley—filing his report.”

Seeker Callum.Adrian supposed it shouldn’t surprise him to learn that ‘Crastley’ had been a pseudonym. Even as a recluse hiding in an outlying village like Hillvale, it would’ve been foolish to use his real name.

Still, the revelation tempered Adrian’s enthusiasm. No way would a man like Jasper share Serenity Corp’s secrets out of the goodness of his heart. The seeker had to have an ulterior motive. Adrian needed to remember that and remain on his guard.

“But…how is it possible no one discovered the true bond’s existence before now?” he asked. “I’m sure plenty of seekers have worked with bondstones in the past.”

Jasper shrugged. “Perhaps somehave, their research suppressed more readily than Callum’s. Or perhaps everyone assumed the bondstones operated via a specialized form of aetherforging. I certainly did until Callum, inspired by his work with Heartrender, proved otherwise.”

A thrill coursed through Adrian despite his wariness. It felt good to fill in some of the blanks from Crastley’s journal. “What exactly was Crast…I meanCallumdoing with Heartrender? He was vague on details.”

Jasper chuckled. “Oh, I imagine he was. He had a brilliant mind but possessed a troubling soft spot when it came to daemons. I actually recommended against his assignment tothe project but was overruled. The higher-ups wanted results, you see, and were willing to take the risk.Politicians.”His lips twisted into a grimace.

“You didn’t answer my question.”

“Yes, yes, I was getting to it. Callum was one of the researchers assigned under me to study the creation of artificial aether for use in advanced daemoforging.”

Adrian blinked. “Come again?”

Jasper tapped the silver sigil pinned at his breast. “Daemoforging. It is the single greatest advancement since the invention of bondstones. Simply put, we were attempting to breed specialized daemons in order to siphon their power into portable trinkets.”

Kali’s relics.

Adrian didn’t realize he’d spoken aloud until Jasper nodded. “Indeed. My partner—well,formerpartner—for this mission was privy to several of our early prototypes.”

He struggled to break Jasper’s statement into more digestible parts. “When you say you wanted to ‘breed specialized daemons,’ what do you mean?”