“She is an experiment,” Jaedia said. She tapped her chest, and Maya followed suit automatically with her free hand, feeling the hard lump of the Thing. Something flickered in her mind, shredded flashes of a dream, and her eyes widened. Jaedia went on. “An experiment that has-has not yet produced a result, and preserving that has some value. However. I think-think it has reached the end of its usefulness.”

All at once, the mass of muscle and bone that had been Nicomidi twisted and sprang, long tentacular limbs hurling it up toward Jaedia. It opened, more bones cracking, and wrapped itself around her torso like a suit of armor, two extra arms of coiled meat extending from her shoulders. Blood sprayed and spattered, coating Jaedia’s clothing in crimson.

Tanax brought up his hand, sending a wave of twisted, shredding force at the Jaedia-thing. She spun lithely aside, and one long tentacle stretched. He slashed down at it with his haken, and it wove out of the way of the blade, rippling muscle whipping it into his stomach in a blow strong enough to send him spinning away and rolling back over the stones.

Maya raised her haken and charged, and another tentacle lashed out at her. She ducked under the blow, blood spattering her hair, and carved through the thing, closing with Jaedia. Her mentor, still grinning, shifted and lashed out at Beq with a second tendril. Maya checked her attack and threw herself sideways, haken cutting down to sever that limb too, but the tentacle reversed course and slammed into her, making her panoply flare. She coughed, winded, and reached out with deiat, fire blooming around her in a tight spiral. Flesh crackled and charred, but not fast enough—the groping tips of the tendril wrapped around her right hand, prying her fingers apart and prizing the haken from her grip. With a flick, they tossed it away, and the flames winked out.

“This is the problem with you-you centarchs,” Jaedia said. Her tentacle lifted Maya by her wrist before her, the tips of her toes dangling inches off the ground. “Your strength, ultimately, comes-comes from the outside. For all your power-power, it leaves you vulnerable.” Jaedia brought Maya up to her, face-to-face, and raised her real arm to touch her cheek. “I learned that more than four hundred years ago.”

“Jaedia.” Maya’s voice was a croak. “Don’t … do this. Please.”

“Oh, dear. Begging for your old-old master. How tragic.” Jaedia ran her finger down Maya’s cheek, and Maya could feel the muscles jumping and twitching in its wake, as though eager to rip themselves away from the bone. “Perhaps next you’ll cry for your mother.” She shook her head. “This experiment has gone-gone on long enough. You are not the one I am looking for.”

“Jaedia.” Maya stared at the bright green eyes. “Please. Stop this.”