25. Daemon Master

twenty-five

Freya reacted the quickest, cocking her still-disguised head to the side. "I'm not sure what you mean, sir," she said, deepening her voice. "We're sweeping this ship for the escaped prisoners. You should clear the area for your own safety."

Jasper chuckled. "Nice try. But I'm afraid those nifty little illusions of yours don't fool me."

Aether flared around the seeker. Adrian tensed, unsure what to expect, but all that happened was the appearance of a tiny, spherical daemon hovering beside Jasper's head. At first, Adrian thought it was covered in some sort of shifting scales. He shuddered when he realized it was actually thousands of little eyes, packed tightly across the daemon's azure skin.

"Foreye's technique enhances my vision, both increasing my awareness of the world around me and allowing me to cast my sight at a limited distance," Jasper said, gesturing to the floating daemon. "I've been observing you since you left your cells, though I briefly lost you in that conjured cloud. Your stunt with the watcher armor had even me fooled at first."

Seymour's teeth clicked together beneath his Mirror Image. Aether roiled off him as he flexed his aura. "You've been watching us this whole time?"

"Of course. I've been looking forward to witnessing the true bond in action, and I'm pleased to say it doesn't disappoint."

Adrian's stomach sank, pieces clicking into place. "You let us escape."

"I wouldn't go that far," Jasper said with a slight frown. "Everything you've done has been of your own volition. I merely tweaked the variables to allow for myriad possibilities." He glanced at Adrian, his admiration plain. "I knew of your interest in aetherforging thanks to our discussions. But to have managed something akin to daemoforging so soon in your studies..." His gaze shifted to the others. "Not to mention your remarkably effective use of daemonsbane, Freya, or your ingenuity and tenacity, Seymour. I'm impressed."

"But why?" Adrian demanded. "Why allow us to knock out those watchers? Why let us make it this far?"

Jasper shrugged. "Intellectual curiosity. I suspected you'd try something, and I wanted to see how it would play out. As I said, it proved an effective demonstration of the true bond's potential. Even with your daemons subdued and your hands chained, you managed to execute a successful escape attempt, taking out a squad of trained watchers in the process."

"Y-you're demented," Freya said, her voice low and trembling. "How can you treat living beings like nothing more than pawns in your sick games?"

Jasper's expression sobered, looking almost pained. "I'm a scientist, my dear. I cannot afford to allow emotion to cloud my judgment—not with so much at stake. No cost is too great in pursuit of the League's salvation."

"And now that you've finished your little experiment?" Seymour sneered, summoning Tremorfist and Shadowlash. "If you expect us to go quietly, you're sorely mistaken."

"I expect nothing of the sort." Jasper's eyes glinted. "Besides, this experiment's far from over."

"It's three against one," Adrian said as he manifested Heartrender and Lockrod. Next to him, Freya did the same with Metamire. "Eight if you count our daemons. Surrender or face the same fate as your former partner."

"Surrender?" Jasper shrugged off his white coat, revealing his bare chest beneath. Adrian gaped at the shimmering azure tattoos coating Jasper's skin in swirling patterns. "I think not."

Freya took an involuntary step back. "You injected yourself with aetherforgings?"

Jasper stretched his arms wide to better display the lines of aether rippling across his muscles. "Why rely on an object that can be broken or stolen when you can harness the power directly? Imagine, if you will, an army of daemoforged watchers, each with the techniques of a dozen daemons imbued into their flesh. With such power, we wouldn't need to hide behind our walls or rely on captured daemons for pitiful protection. We'd possess the strength to eradicate our foes once and for all! This is the true culmination of Project Paragon." His fervent gaze fixed on Heartrender. "And your daemon there is the key."

Adrian tightened his jaw, resolve coursing through him as he settled into a fighting stance. Lockrod and Heartrender echoed his determination via their bonds. "I won't let you have her."

Aether erupted around Jasper in a series of overlapping auras as he drew upon the enchantments seared into his flesh. "You desire your freedom? Revenge for the wrongs you believe I've caused you? Then fight for it! Pit your true bond against my daemoforging and let us see which makes for the greater daemon master!"

Baring his teeth in a savage grin, Jasper charged. The crisscrossing lines of aether on his chest blended together, making it impossible to distinguish one daemoforging from another. Not that Adrian could get a clear sense of what any of them did anyway without more time.

And since we have no idea what he's capable of, our best bet is to take him out swiftly.

With that thought rattling around his brain, Adrian barreled forward, Lockrod and Heartrender to either side and an Unbendable Rod in his grip. As Seymour, Shadowlash, and Tremorfist careened after him, Tremorfist unleashed a ferocious Stunning Howl.

Jasper's body seized up, and a savage surge of triumph spiked through Adrian. With Freya and Metamire bombarding the seeker with Volatile Bolts and Shadowlash churning the air with dark tentacles from her Cloak of Shadows, they'd overwhelm the seeker in mere moments.

Barely a heartbeat after his paralysis began, however, Jasper snapped free and conjured a crackling energy barrier. Metamire's Volatile Bolts exploded across its surface in gouts of fire, frost, and lightning. Whistling to himself, Jasper resumed his approach at a more leisurely pace.

A tight knot of fear coiled in Adrian's gut. The seeker had claimed to be born aetherically weak like Adrian, but that shield had borne the brunt of multiple attacks without buckling, and his shroud must be nigh impenetrable to shake off Tremorfist's technique so readily. Adrian sent a mental note to Heartrender to avoid directly anchoring illusions to Jasper. He had a feeling the seeker would shrug them off just as easily.

Seymour and his daemons had almost closed the gap—Adrian and his own daemons a few steps behind—when water suddenly erupted from Jasper's hands, crashing into them in a colossal wave. Adrian floundered as the water dragged him back. He ended up splayed against the far wall, his bedraggled daemons washing up beside him.

No sign of Seymour. It took Adrian a few seconds to realize the quick-thinking watcher must've melded with either Tremorfist or Shadowlash. Unlike Adrian's daemons, they'd managed to stand their ground thanks to their superior size and strength.

The water quickly receded, the pressure abating enough for Adrian to regain his balance. Like most things created entirely from aether, it didn't persist beyond its caster's concentration. He scanned the room for Jasper and found him standing near Tremorfist and Shadowlash. The seeker had his hands raised, but instead of water, they now crackled with electricity. Adrian glanced down at the water still dripping from his clothes, his eyes widening.

Spirits below!

Flailing out with his aether, he attempted a desperate Fusion of his own with Heartrender, pulling it off right as Jasper unleashed his gathered electricity into the puddle coating the floor. Energy surged through the liquid, washing over his and Seymour's daemons. Freya and Metamire, thankfully, had been far enough back to avoid it.

Heartrender's body jerked and shuddered as lightning ate away at her aether, rendering her motionless in a far more impressive display of paralysis than Tremorfist's earlier roar. Through their bond, he sensed Lockrod's frustrated howl.

The stream of electricity cut off, though remnants of it continued flickering over them. Jasper grinned and flicked his wrists. Ice spread across the floor, coating all four stunned daemons in a thin sheen of frost and further diluting their aether while freezing them in place.

Even from within Heartrender, Adrian suppressed an involuntary shiver at the residual cold. This battle was off to a terrible start. With so many daemoforgings available, Jasper didn't need to worry about conserving energy—it only took a small investment of his own aether to activate an enchantment, the stored technique providing the rest of the magic for him.

Drawing courage from his daemons, Adrian struggled to hold on to his flagging resolve. They'd come this far, and no matter how much the odds seemed stacked against them, they couldn't give up. Jasper was the only thing between them and freedom. They had to stop him, whatever it took.

"I expected more from you," Jasper said. He clasped his hands behind his back, studying their daemons as they shook free of the ice. "Is this really the best you can muster?"

Heartrender's low growl mirrored Adrian's own anger. Moving more cautiously now, she regrouped alongside Lockrod, Tremorfist, and Shadowlash. Adrian noticed that Freya had also followed their lead, melding with Metamire in the chamber's rear for the added protection.

Though Jasper likely could have unleashed more elemental blasts, he didn't. As much as Adrian wanted to believe that meant he'd exhausted those particular daemoforgings, he had a sinking feeling the seeker was holding back, poking and prodding at them like the test subjects he viewed them as. Perhaps he'd make the same mistake as Kali, his arrogance leading him to underestimate them until it was too late.

Seymour's daemons attacked, and Adrian ordered his own daemons to follow their lead. Lockrod summoned his own Unbendable Rod now that Adrian was melded. Having all four daemons in melee made it difficult for Freya to line up a clear shot, so she switched to firing Volatile Bolts strategically, trying to catch Jasper off-guard or force him to react at an inopportune time. Coupled with Heartrender's illusions, it should have given them plenty of openings to exploit.

Somehow, however, Jasper always seemed one step ahead. Daemonic techniques bolstered his body, speeding up his reflexes and enhancing his strength. He met Tremorfist blow for blow, striking hard enough with his fists to shove the enormous daemon back, and even without his forcefield, Lockrod's staff bounced off his hardened skin with a reverberating clang.

Jasper laughed, a penumbra of flame erupting across his body. Heartrender recoiled from the technique as the inferno seared her flesh. More fire shot from the seeker's fists with each strike. He was destruction incarnate—an unstoppable force of nature, whirling through their midst.

Too many techniques, Adrian despaired as Jasper launched a bolt of lightning at Metamire, striking out at Shadowlash an instant later. She attempted to use her Cloak of Shadows to phase through the blow, but he infused his fist with earthen energy right before it landed. The elemental attack bypassed her defenses, knocking her aside even as her tentacles ineffectually pummeled him. A daemon with any one of Jasper's techniques would have made a formidable foe. Taken together, the seeker had an answer for anything they threw at him.

Lockrod was the first to fall. Jasper deflected a blow from Lockrod's Unbendable Rod on his forcefield. Then, moving with inhuman speed, he snatched the smaller daemon out of midair and tightened his hand around Lockrod's neck. Lockrod chittered frantically, straining to break free. Spreading flames engulfed him an instant later.

Adrian and Heartrender unleashed a bitter roar in unison. A Stunning Howl from Tremorfist eventually interrupted Jasper's technique while Shadowlash's flailing tentacles forced the seeker back, but the effort came too late. Lockrod dissolved into aether and returned to Adrian.

A fresh wave of rushing water shoved them away. As the liquid cleared, Adrian realized Jasper had followed in its wake, dashing past them toward Metamire. A barrage of Volatile Bolts deflected harmlessly off his frontal barrier. He reached Metamire an instant later, freezing the daemon to the ground with a blast of ice before cupping his fingers in front of him. Adrian and Heartrender barely made it a half-dozen steps before a cone of lightning arced from his hands. Metamire evaporated, Freya landing heavily on the floor when her Fusion broke.

Adrian's heart skipped a beat as Jasper loomed over her. Slain daemons with bonds could reconstitute their forms given time—not so with slain daemon masters. Relief flooded him when Jasper merely slammed a fist against the side of Freya's skull to knock her out.

The seeker lifted his arms above his head, multiple tattoos flaring with winding bands of aether. "This has certainly been illuminating, but I believe I've made my point. No matter the strength of your connections with your daemons, their potential pales in comparison to daemoforging. Still, I'm sure I can find a use for you." He fixed Adrian with an assessing look that made his skin crawl. "Your insights into aetherforging alone may have shaved years off my research. Serenity Corp owes you a debt."

Bile rose in Adrian's throat. The thought that he might have done anything to aid Project Paragon, even inadvertently, made him sick to his stomach. Seymour must've felt the same because his daemons both loosed terrifying roars and moved to flank the seeker.

As much as Adrian yearned to join the fray himself, he knew his limitations…and his strengths. Instead, he directed Heartrender to fill the room with as many duplicate images of them as she could.

Let Jasper sort through that!

The original daemons charged, and Heartrender shifted her illusions to mimic the motion and obscure the real strikes. Jasper, however, appeared unfazed. A small smile played over his lips while his eyes momentarily flashed with aether, just like they had at the Enclave. Adrian's gut twisted as he recalled what Jasper had said about possessing enhanced sight.Hedirected Heartrender to yip a warning, but it came too late.

Ignoring the illusions entirely, Jasper conjured a burst of light over Shadowlash that burned away her dark tendrils. She whimpered, trying to retreat, but more light solidified into an array of brilliant swords that pierced her from all sides. Just like that, one of the most fearsome daemons Adrian had ever faced fell in a puff of aether.

Jasper could have done that at any time, Adrian thought dazedly. He'd had that technique available from the beginning but waited until now to use it. What elements didn't he have? And how much of their survival thus far had hinged on his restraint?

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 one ever 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, you still intend 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. It might be possible, even if Jasper wouldn't be fooled by any Mirror Images for 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 because I ordered 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. "But how that 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 deem necessary. 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 a Mirror 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 must want 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 wildly snatching 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.

Perhaps Ghosttear recognized Adrian's intentions, or maybe he reacted instinctively to Adrian's soothing touch. Either way, the daemon's roiling aether gradually began to still. Adrian released a pent-up breath as the eruptions of power rocking the room followed suit. The whirling maelstrom slowly dissipated until all that remained was a faint haze of aether imprinted upon the air. After so much chaotic activity, the sudden peace was unnerving.

Ghosttear settled back onto the floor of his cage. With one last look at Adrian that was almost friendly, he closed his eyes to rest.

Jasper lay on the ground nearby, unmoving.

His heart pounding, Adrian cautiously approached the seeker. Smoke rose from his flesh in thin trails. A quick check revealed him to be alive but unconscious. Where before his tattoos had glowed, now they appeared faded, barely visible without the bright blue light that had previously suffused them. Ghosttear had drained the daemoforgings dry.

A weary relief spread through Adrian, lighting him up from head to toe. "So much for your methods," he said softly, staring down at his defeated foe. "I guess the true bond wins after all."