The figure dropped through the torn roof, landing with a metallic thud. The walls shuddered.
"You are free now," he said, gaze sliding toward the woman and her son. "Do you want to run?"
The woman shook her head, voice trembling. "No… no, I only wanted my son's freedom. You can do to me whatever you want."
His boots clicked against the metal as he closed the distance.
"Stop!" Jack forced himself upright, voice raw.
The figure's head snapped toward him. "Ahhh, a visitor. Where are my manners? What do you want, sir?"
"Are you Calder?"
A low chuckle. "Hmm. You know my name. I must be popular now."
He crouched beside the woman and the boy. Jack staggered forward, blood dripping from his ruined eye.
"Don't you dare."
Calder's black eyes flared red, burning like coals. "Dare? You come into my house and tell me not to dare?"
His hand shot out, long nails curling around the woman's throat. She gasped, clawing at his grip.
"Do you know him?" Calder hissed.
She shook her head frantically. "No—no, please. Just let my son go!"
Jack launched himself forward, fury blazing.
Calder barely moved. With a flick of his arm, a shockwave erupted, slamming into Jack's chest.
Jack's body tore through the freight wall, metal shrieking as it split. Splinters and rusted shards rained down.
He rolled across the gravel of the yard, each impact jarring bone and tearing skin. His breath came ragged, blood dripping from his ruined eye.
God—he's strong. He flicked me aside like I was nothing. What did that devil send me into?
Jack forced himself onto one knee, gravel biting into his palms. His chest heaved, every breath raw. The compass pulsed in his gut, hot and restless, as if it wanted to claw its way out.
Above, Calder crouched on the freight roof, red eyes burning through the mask.
"Pathetic," he hissed. "This is who the association chose? A blind thing, wiggling and scurrying in my yard?"
Jack spat blood into the dirt, the metallic taste thick on his tongue. He pushed himself upright, legs trembling, fists clenched.
I can't show him fear. Not now.
Calder's laugh rattled through the mask. "Hhhhaa… wasting my time with you. Come on, blindie—I've brought you a puppet."
From the jagged hole Jack had torn through, two pale lights drifted into the dark, flickering like will‑o'‑wisps.
The mother stepped out, her eyes ignited—green fire spilling from her sockets, casting sickly light across the freight walls.
Jack's stomach dropped. No.
Her lips trembled. "I'm sorry," she whispered, voice hollow, not her own.
Then she lunged, chains snapping like whips, her eyes blazing green.
The chains struck Jack, the force of her charge driving him back across the gravel. Her strength was wrong—unnatural, Calder's will burning through her veins.
Above, Calder's voice dripped with mockery. "Fight. Show me what you'll do for your son's life, my puppet. And you, blindie—let's see if you can kill what you wanted to protect."
[End her.]
"No!" Jack snarled, twisting as the chains coiled around his arm like serpents.
The mother's face contorted, tears spilling even as her mouth moved with Calder's voice. "Kill him. Kill him for me."
She hurled Jack into the side of a train. Steel rang, his ribs flared with pain, and he collapsed, gasping.
[You disappoint me, mouse.]
Jack spat blood, dragging himself up. Sorry, devil. I'm trying not to kill her.
[A good heart… that heart will be the cause of our death.]
Jack's fists clenched. "No. Not if I can prevent it!" he roared.
His marked hand ignited, crimson light tearing open the air. Azimuth burst forth, her body unfurling like flame given form.
[Finally.]
Calder tilted his head, red eyes narrowing behind the mask. "Azura…"
Azimuth streaked forward, slamming the mother to the ground. The woman shrieked, her voice fractured—half her own, half Calder's. Green fire poured from her eyes, spilling jagged beams across the floor. She twisted beneath Azimuth, nails clawing at crimson flesh.
Jack staggered forward, one eye burning, blood dripping down his cheek. Stop—don't kill her. She's not the enemy. Calder is.
The mother bucked violently, throwing Azimuth off balance. Chains whipped through the air, wrapping around Azimuth's arm. With a wrench, she dragged the crimson woman down, slamming her into the floor. Sparks burst where Azimuth struck.
Azimuth snarled, her form flickering like fire in a storm. She tore free, chain links snapping, and drove her knee into the mother's chest. The impact cracked the air, forcing a gasp from the woman's throat.
The mother's eyes flared brighter, green light searing the walls. She lunged again, puppet‑like, screaming words that weren't hers: "Tear her apart! Tear him apart!"
Azimuth caught her wrists, forcing her down. Crimson flame clashed with sickly emerald, sparks hissing where they met. The freight shook with each strike, metal ringing like a war drum.
Jack raised his hand, voice breaking. "Azimuth—don't, don't kill her!"
The crimson woman froze, eyes blazing.
"Is she out?"
[Yes.]
"Then get off her."
Azimuth rose, stepping back. The mother lay sprawled in her own blood, chest rising faintly.
Calder chuckled, voice low and amused. "What a scene." He dropped from the freight roof, boots clicking on gravel. His gaze lingered on Azimuth.
"It's been a long time, Azura. Good to see you."
Azimuth's eyes burned like coals. [You too, Calder.]
Jack's pulse hammered. Azimuth and Calder… they know each other. This isn't just my fight. I've stumbled into something older, deeper.
Azimuth's crimson form flickered, her fists still dripping with the mother's blood. She stood rigid, every muscle taut, her gaze locked on Calder.
Calder's voice dropped low, almost tender. "come here, my puppet."
The mother's eyes snapped open. She rolled onto her stomach and began crawling toward the masked man, her movements jerky, puppet‑like.
"Stop it," Jack said.
Calder gaze never leaving Azura. "So tell me—who is he?"
[He's my master.]
Calder threw his head back, laughter rattling through the mask. "Hhhhaaaa—no. You're kidding. No way you got chained to a kid. That's not the Azura I knew—the one who made the association tremble."
Her eyes narrowed. [And I thought you stopped taking souls.]
Calder's voice was low, edged with grief. "After Jane died, I lost the only thing in life that mattered. So I went back to the only thing left that brought me joy—others' misery. you should know"
The mother reached Calder, clutching at his leg like a child seeking comfort. "Oh, my puppet. You did well. Now leave in peace."
He lifted his boot, poised to crush her skull.
Jack surged forward, fist slamming into Calder's face. The impact jolted up his arm—but Calder didn't budge.
"Blindie," Calder hissed, turning his head slowly. "You're annoying."
He raised his hand to strike Jack down.
Azura blurred forward, crimson light flaring. She slammed into Calder's chest, the force hurling him back into the side of a train. Steel shrieked, sparks bursting where his body struck.
[Take the woman and hide, mouse,] Azura's voice thundered in Jack's mind. [When I finish him, come and burn his soul.]
Jack scooped the mother into his arms, her body limp and trembling. Blood streaked her face, her breath shallow but still there.
He staggered across the gravel, ribs screaming with every step, and ducked behind the hulking shadow of a derailed train car. Rust flaked beneath his grip as he pressed her down gently against the steel.
Stay alive. Please—just stay alive.
From the other side of the train, Calder's boots clicked against the yard, slow and deliberate. His voice carried, low and mocking. "so you going to fight me azura."