12. Alone

twelve

Don't stop moving.

That had become Adrian's new creed. He had no idea how far he'd traveled since Kali's daemon attacked. His lean-to had miraculously survived, leaving him his sleeping roll, a waterskin, and Crastley's journal. Everything else, he'd had to scavenge along the way.

Months of training both his body and his aether made it easy to keep moving. His mind, however, proved harder to corral. Every day, he expected to awake to a recovered Blazewing scorching the sky or Kali looming over him with a triumphant grin. Perhaps it was for the best Seymour was gone. No reason for him to hitch his fate to Adrian's sinking ship.

Thinking of the watcher alternately filled him with an indignant anger and an aching sense of loss. He'd actually started to consider the arrogant man his friend, spirit-cursed fool that he was. Now that Seymour had abandoned him, he felt more alone than ever. Had he really thought he could defy Serenity Corp and alter the trajectory of daemon bonding forever?

The idea seemed laughable now. If only Crastley's legacy had gone to someone who knew what to do with it. Seymour had been right about him. He was little more than an idealistic coward who refused to do what was necessary to survive. He wasn't cut out to be a hero.

Lost in his brooding, it took him a moment to realize Heartrender no longer walked beside him. He found her a dozen paces back by a fallen tree, her posture tensed.

"What is it, girl?" he asked. A cold sweat broke out over his skin as he looked around. "Is it…her?" Silly superstition kept him from uttering Kali's name aloud.

Heartrender yipped a negative and pawed at the fallen tree. The wood appeared partially rotten and hollowed out. One end was ragged as if it had recently snapped in half.

"Leave it," he said. No sense wasting time over a dead tree.

He turned to continue, but Heartrender pawed again at the trunk, whining softly. He didn't need the deluge of images she sent to understand what she wanted.

"This had better be important." He crouched and wrapped his arms under the trunk, grimacing at the squelch of half-rotten wood. "I swear, if she catches up to us because we stopped to investigate a rotting log…"

Even heaving with all his might, he couldn't shift the heavy wood. He released the trunk and rubbed his sore back. Heartrender whined again, more urgently this time.

Why don't you help if you're so determined to get under there,Adrian sent irritably. Aether flooded his muscles a moment later. He shook his head with a soft snort.

Fair enough.

Flexing his newfound strength, he gripped the trunk. The wood creaked as it rolled aside through the underbrush. He peered underneath. Crushed leaves. Broken branches. And…

He blinked. A daemon lay there, only slightly larger than Heartrender. It must've been shrouding its aether, though now that he was close, he sensed its energy bleeding through. About the size and shape of a monkey, the creature had a long tail and hands reminiscent of a human's. Its saucer-like eyes stared at him with open terror, its azure skin shuddering with what he assumed to be nerves until he spied the splintered shard of wood rammed through its side.

"Are you okay?" he asked, trying to make his voice soothing. "What happened?"

The daemon didn't respond, but he could guess. The tree had likely collapsed, pinning it here. Its wound hadn't been severe enough to kill it outright, but its aether also hadn't been able to recover with the branch still lodged in place.

"Poor thing. How long have you been trapped there?" He hesitated before extending his hand. "Here, let me help you."

As his fingers neared the creature's wound, it growled a warning and bared its fangs. He wrenched his hand back, frowning as he imagined Seymour admonishing him for wasting his time saving a wild daemon as likely as not to attack him once freed.

His jaw tightened. Spirits take the watcher! Maybe Adrian was an idealistic fool, but he couldn't just walk away. Not when a living creature was hurting, and he had the ability to help.

"It's all right. I won't hurt you. What's your name, little one?" He probed the daemon with his aethersense. "Lockrod, huh? Nice to meet you."

The daemon stared at him with its enormous eyes. At least it wasn't growling anymore. He took that as a good sign.

"I want to help, but that means I'm going to have to get closer. Will you let me do that?"

He doubted Lockrod understood—even Heartrender often struggled to interpret him, and they shared a direct mental link. Still, he hoped his tone conveyed that he meant no harm.

Moving with exaggerated slowness, he nudged his hand toward Lockrod's wound. The daemon froze, every muscle in its body taut. Adrian swallowed. Please don't maul my hand. Lockrod remained perfectly still as his fingers tightened around the end of the branch.

"Sorry about this," he murmured. Then, he wrenched the jagged wood free.

Lockrod let out an agonized shriek. Adrian scuttled back, worried that the pain-frenzied daemon might attack. Thankfully, retribution seemed the last thing on its mind. Aether already pooling around its wound, Lockrod cast one last, wide-eyed glance at him and scampered off.

Heartrender radiated satisfaction through their bond.

"Yeah, yeah. Nice work," Adrian said. "Now, let's get out of here."

Over the next couple days, Adrian kept catching glimpses of movement in the nearby underbrush. Lockrod was following them. He considered sending Heartrender to confront the daemon but decided to leave it be. So far, it had given him no reason to consider it a threat. If it wanted to approach him, it would do so when it was ready.

As he settled down to rest beside a small campfire one night, he spied Lockrod watching from a bush. Their eyes met, and though the daemon tensed, it didn't immediately flee. Adrian allowed some of his aether to pool in his palm and held it out.

"Here you go, buddy. A gift for you."

Daemons didn't need to eat beyond absorbing ambient aether from their environment, but that didn't mean they couldn't appreciate a snack. Minutes passed, the two of them at a standstill. Just when Adrian was about to give up and lower his hand, Lockrod edged forward. Heartrender perked up in his lap, watching the daemon approach.

Adrian did his best not to move as Lockrod drew near. "That's it. I won't hurt you."

Stretching out a tentative hand, Lockrod reached for the offered aether, ready to bolt at the first sign of danger. When it realized Adrian had no intention of stopping it, its confidence grew. Soon, it had lapped up the entire offering.

"See?" Adrian said encouragingly. "You're safe here."

Heartrender yipped her agreement.

Lockrod remained a moment longer, glancing between them before retreating to the safety of its bush. It stayed there the rest of the night until Adrian had doused the fire and settled into his sleeping roll. When he awoke the next morning, Lockrod had vanished. He thought that would be the last they saw of the daemon. To his surprise, however, it returned later that day, accepting another treat of aether more readily than the first.

Several days passed in like manner, Lockrod seeming to warm to their company. Heartrender took a liking to the little daemon as well, and Adrian couldn't help but grin watching them play. It was almost enough to make him forget his current plight.

That night, with Heartrender and Lockrod curled up together nearby, he let his thoughts wander. Everyone in the League seemed to believe conflict with daemons inevitable. Yet, more and more, his skepticism grew. Were daemons truly the feral monsters Serenity Corp claimed…or had the mass enslavement of their brethren driven them to hatred and rage?

Perhaps it would have been better for someone else, someone stronger, to find Crastley's journal. But there was no turning back the clock now. This was his burden to bear.

Watching the two resting daemons, a sort of calm stole over him for the first time since Blazewing's attack. Did he really intend to spend the rest of his life running? Didn't he owe it to everyone, humans and daemons alike, to at least try to right Serenity Corp's wrongs?

He had no idea what the future held, but one thing was crystal clear—Kali would never stop hunting them. Defeating her wouldn't magically fix all his problems. He'd still be a fugitive from the League, bereft of allies and in way over his head. But it would be a start.

With Lockrod as silent witness, he established a rudimentary camp the next day and resumed practicing his aetheric control, honing the strategies Heartrender and he had used to win their third match against Seymour. Though they couldn't easily anchor a Mirror Image directly to Kali or her daemons, some of their other tricks might still work. As he'd proved outside Hillvale, they only needed to catch her off-guard once in order to triumph.

To that end, he spent his evenings scouring Crastley's journal for any potential edge. While he uncovered nothing new, his mind kept returning to the reverse Surge. The meld took on an almost talismanic quality—if he could master it, he'd be ready to face Kali.

Despite a week of attempts, however, he failed to complete a reverse Surge even once. Heartrender thought he lacked the required focus, though his head throbbed from the strain of concentrating. Whatever he was missing, his continued setbacks frustrated him. Nevertheless, he did his best to set aside his disappointment in favor of other, more promising preparations.

Lockrod became a permanent fixture around camp. The monkey-like daemon sipped on Adrian's offered aether and occasionally even let him pet its smooth fur. One night, rather than retreating to its usual bush, the daemon plopped next to him and snuggled into his side.

Adrian froze, afraid of startling it away. Slowly, he lifted the hand he'd been using to stroke Heartrender in his lap and shifted it toward Lockrod. The daemon tensed when he hesitantly touched the top of its head, gently scratching behind its large, rounded ears. After a moment, Lockrod relaxed and let out a low growl Adrian took to be satisfaction.

He cleared his throat, continuing to scratch away as nerves fluttered in his belly. No time like the present. "Now that you've seen we mean you no harm, would you, ah, be interested in a, um…more permanent arrangement?"

Lockrod stared up at him with its saucer-like eyes, and Adrian sighed. Heartrender had been more than willing to bond from the start, and as painful as Trailseeker's rejection had been, his former companion had at least grasped his intent. How was he supposed to broach the subject with an oblivious wild daemon?

A little help here? he sent to Heartrender.

She stirred from her slumber long enough to inform him that bonding daemons was his problem, not hers, and that he already knew what to do.

He rolled his eyes. Fat lot of help you are!

Lockrod was still staring at him, so he did the only thing he could think to signify his intent—he channeled his aether to form the runic circle marking the true bond. As the symbols snapped into place across his hand, he scrutinized Lockrod for its reaction. The daemon perked up, eying the runes without shying away. A promising sign. But not quite good enough.

Taking a deep breath, he lowered his hand toward Lockrod's skin. The runic circle buzzed with latent potential, the pent-up energy seeking release. He gave Lockrod plenty of time to shirk away. Instead, it watched the magic approach with a curious tilt to its head.

Adrian paused, his fingers hovering a hair's breadth from Lockrod's slick skin. "I promise that, as your daemon master, I'd do everything in my power to keep you safe," he said, his eyes locked on the daemon's. "But this last step is up to you. Do you accept my bond?"

When nothing happened, he bowed his head. Maybe Lockrod still didn't understand. Or, worse, maybe it did and was rejecting him just as Trailseeker had.

Then, he felt it—a faint shimmer to Lockrod's aether as its aura resonated with acceptance. The runic circle instantly leaped from his hand and sank into Lockrod's hide. The daemon released a surprisingly loud roar, its limbs jerking as a halo of aether enveloped its body.

Adrian and Heartrender were both on their feet in an instant, watching Lockrod's thrashing with rising concern. You're sure this is normal? he sent to Heartrender.

Her response wasn't as certain as he would've liked. Her own bond had affected her similarly, and she'd told him later that, despite how it had looked, she'd experienced no real pain. Hopefully, the same would be true of Lockrod.

After what seemed like an eternity, the aetheric surge dimmed, leaving Lockrod panting on the ground. Adrian tentatively probed their nascent bond, and a jumbled mess of thoughts flooded his mind. Curiosity. Excitement. A hint of fear. Yet nowhere did he sense any regret. He huffed out a relieved breath. The daemon—who he could now sense was a he—wasn't trying to resist or shrug off the bond. Lockrod had accepted him as his daemon master.

Wonder replaced his concern. His link with Lockrod felt distinct from his bond with Heartrender—similar in form but possessing an altogether unique cast. Perhaps it had to do with their differences in temperament? Either way, he went to sleep that night with both his daemons nestled beside him, filled with more hope than he'd had since Seymour's departure.

It wasn't until the next day while trying to get a measure of Lockrod's technique that it hit him. Daemon masters could only ever manifest one daemon at a time. Those with two daemons kept the other melded via a reverse Fusion, swapping them as needed. But Adrian had maintained both Heartrender and Lockrod for hours now. Spirits above, he'd done it in his sleep! So far as he could tell, keeping both daemons manifested entailed no extra strain at all.

Did that mean the restriction on summoned daemons was a weakness of the bondstones rather than an inherent quality of daemonic mastery? If so, this could be precisely the edge he'd been searching for against Kali. It made him wonder what other limits they took for granted.

For now, he returned his attention to Lockrod. Having a second daemon wouldn't do him any good if they couldn't work effectively together. He discovered that Lockrod's technique was called Unbendable Rod. It generated an almost-invisible bar of force that, so far as Adrian could determine, was nigh unbreakable. Lockrod could either freeze the bar in space or allow it to move freely. The latter proved a formidable weapon. It had no blade to speak of, but its exceptional lightness and durability made it perfect for bludgeoning foes or parrying attacks.

The former use of Unbendable Rod allowed for more imaginative applications. After an afternoon, Adrian had already brainstormed a dozen possibilities, from anchoring it in midair as a handhold, to creating a hidden trap with which someone might collide, to positioning an immobile rod directly atop a foe to pin them in place. Both uses of Unbendable Rod required Lockrod's continued concentration, and he could currently only maintain a single rod at a time.

Still, simply having a second daemon was an unexpected blessing. So far as Adrian could tell after a week spent training together, fighting with both daemons summoned cost him no additional effort. And while it would take time for him to grow as comfortable in his new bond with Lockrod as he was in his existing bond with Heartrender, he'd happily take all the help he could get.

As he settled down later to sleep, Lockrod snuggled against his back and Heartrender curled at his feet, his mind went, as it often did, to his parents. Had they felt as he did now when they'd marched beyond the Bulwark—a mix of resolve and duty that drowned out any lingering fear?

This would be his last stand, and he would face it head-on like his parents had theirs. No more running. No more hiding. If Kali had found him once, she'd do it again. And with his new daemon and bolstered aether, he was as ready as he'd ever be for her arrival. All that remained now was to set a trap that not even a Serenity Corp assassin could escape.