Page 4 of Daemon Master

He silently ordered Trailseeker forward. Though guilt tightened his chest at putting the daemon in danger, he knew the worst it faced was its aether returning to his body to recover. So long as its daemon master lived, a bonded daemon was essentially immortal.

Still, he let out a relieved breath when Trailseeker reached the other side of the bridge unharmed. It wasn’t a perfect stress test since the daemon’s aetheric body weighed considerably less than his own, but it would have to do.

Marshaling his resolve, he took a tentative step onto the bridge. The wood trembled, and he readied himself to leap back. When nothing else happened, he took a second step, then another. Soon, he’d passed the halfway point, placing him directly over the raging rapids. He glanced down and swallowed at the jagged rocks beneath the waves. His stunted aether would offer his flesh some protection if he fell…but probably not enough.

Only a few steps from the edge, a weakened plank buckled beneath his foot. He cried for help as he toppled to his belly, his legs slipping into the broken hole. Trailseeker obeyed at once, propelling itself forward on legs strengthened by itsBolster Bodytechnique. It reached Adrian an instant later and snapped its jaws around his forearm.

Adrian hissed, gritting his teeth against the pain. For the thousandth time, he cursed his weakness. The aether reinforcing his skin partially blunted Trailseeker’s attack but not enough to stop its fangs from drawing blood.

The bridge shuddered, and for a terrifying moment, he feared the whole thing was about to collapse beneath them. Then, he felt the welcome brush of grass against his back.

Trailseeker had dragged him free.

Ordering his daemon to release him, he cradled his wounded arm to his chest.What a glorious day this has been so far.Torn between laughter and tears, he settled for glaring at the creaking death-trap he’d just vacated.

When it was clear the bridge would survive another day, he shakily regained his feet, his limited reserve of aether attempting to mend his punctured arm. Seymour likely could’ve managed the feat in minutes, but it would take Adrian closer to an hour to fully heal.

He fixed Trailseeker with a stern look. “You didn’t have to bite methathard.”

The daemon didn’t react, and Adrian sighed, wishing Trailseeker would showsomeinterest in what happened around it. All he’d ever felt through their bond was a hollow emptiness. He doubted even death would make the daemon express a hint of concern.

If an actual trail led from the bridge to Crastley’s cabin, Adrian couldn’t spot it. He charted a path through the swaths of flowers, commanding Trailseeker to redirect the enhancement fromBolster Bodyto its senses so it could watch for hidden daemons.

Sure enough, Trailseeker perked up a few hundred paces from the cottage. Adrian froze, peering about warily. Perhaps, Crastley had left behind a stray or two after all.

When he quested out with his aethersense, however, nothing pinged beyond the faint traces of ambient aether. That meant their target must either be too weak to register or clever enough to shroud its aura and disguise it from view. Adrian had never picked up the trick of shrouding his aura himself. Thankfully, his pathetic lack of aether left little enough to bother hiding.

Instructing his daemon to follow the scent, he waited while it padded through the meadow, pausing every few steps to sniff the air. At first, Trailseeker moved toward Crastley’s cabin. Then,the daemon veered left toward the line of trees marking the edge of Overlin Forest.

Adrian eyed the thick woods with a ripple of unease. Overlin Forest stretched for days in all directions, a patch of untamed wild on the border of civilization. While the Watcher Division should’ve eliminated anything too dangerous nearby, countless strays had hidden there over the years. If that’s where the trail led, this chase was a lost cause.

He was about to call Trailseeker back when another daemon emerged from the forest. Its body was sleeker than Trailseeker’s, with a shorter snout, longer legs, and a whip-like tail. Focusing his aethersense on the newly revealed creature, Adrian hissed in a breath. A faint instinct whispered its name asShadowlash, but that’s not what sent fear spiking through him.

The creature’s aura burned brighter than any he’d ever seen. More importantly, its aether appeared hale and healthy. This was no mere stray left confused by Crastley’s death, nor some pest hiding nearby. Whatever a daemon this strong was doing out here, it was far beyond his capacity as a catcher to handle.

Baring rows of glistening cobalt fangs, Shadowlash prowled forward.

Adrian fought to tamp down his panic. Running would be impossible. Even if he made it across the bridge without it collapsing, the daemon would overtake him in moments. Yet, fighting was even more laughable. His flawed aether left him useless in a brawl, and Trailseeker was no match for a monster like this.

Shadowlash paused twenty paces away, muscles bunching as it settled onto its haunches. Its azure eyes flicked between Trailseeker and him. Adrian frowned, unsure what to make of the daemon’s strange behavior. Why didn’t it just attack?

Well, no sense waiting for it to make the first move. If he couldn’t run and he couldn’t fight, he’d have to try a mixture of both.

At his mental command, Trailseeker charged forward, usingBolster Bodyto enhance its speed. It reached Shadowlash and lunged for the other daemon’s neck. Before Trailseeker’s fangs could connect, Shadowlash blurred into a mass of writhing shadow. Trailseeker’s jaws slammed closed on nothing but air.

More tendrils erupted along Shadowlash’s back, forming tentacles of solid darkness. Trailseeker tried to leap aside, but a shadowy tentacle heaved it to the ground like a sack of grain. Before Trailseeker could rise, a second tentacle slammed into its back and drove it into the dirt with crushing strength.

Adrian winced. He’d been taught that daemons didn’t register pain the same way humans did, but that didn’t mean he enjoyed watching his daemon get pummeled.

While Trailseeker scrambled up amid the meadow, Adrian took the opportunity to retreat to the bridge. He stepped gingerly onto the creaking planks as he ordered his daemon to focus on dodging Shadowlash’s strikes. It didn’t need to defeat the enemy, just keep it distracted long enough for him to escape.

Maybe if I scream loudly enough, someone will save me before I get eaten.Shame blossomed in his chest. A true daemon master would face his foes head on, not run like a coward while his daemon fought and died in his stead.

He’d barely taken a few steps when he sensed a change in the aether behind him. Glancing back, he found Trailseeker sprawled in the trampled grass. Shadowlash stood over the fallen daemon, its eyes fixed once more upon Adrian.

It regarded him for a long moment, like a statue carved from living shadows. Then, without a backward glance, it bounded into the forest and vanished from view.

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