Page 62 of Daemon Master

“But their leader seemed reasonable enough,” Adrian continued before the watcher could stop him. “If we can convince her we mean no harm, she might be willing to listen.”

“Listen to us aboutwhat?Letting us go? Because if you haven’t noticed, we no longer require her permission.”

Adrian ran a hand through his grimy hair. “About the truth. These people have already given up bondstones in defiance of Serenity Corp. They could prove valuable allies.”

“Do you hear how ridiculous you sound?” Seymour said. “Your so-calledallieshave kept us locked up for days, with no hint of when they might release or kill us!”

“I know, I know. But…”

Frustration burned hot in his throat. Staying could mean forsaking Heartrender while leaving might jeopardize their best hope of defying Serenity Corp. Not that he had any clear concept of what that meant. All he knew was that simply surviving no longer felt like enough.

“If we can’t even convince Serenity Corp’s most adamant detractors to believe us, what hope do we have of convincing anyone else?”

Now that he’d admitted it out loud, he realized that was therealreason he wanted to stay. He’d grown up dismissed by everyone around him. What if, faced with an unpleasant truth, no one believed them. Worse, what if they simply didn’t care? That would mean he’d gone through all this—survived Kali—for nothing. They’d spend the rest of their lives as fugitives whilehumans and daemons continued senselessly slaughtering each other until the world ended.

Seymour gave him an assessing look. When he spoke, Adrian was surprised at the gruff gentleness in his tone. “Look, I understand what you want to do here, Adrian, and I see your point. But we’re not going to convince anyone of anything locked up like this.”

Adrian expelled a heavy breath and gave a reluctant nod. “So, what do you suggest?”

“We stick to my original plan—we escape.” The watcher raised a finger to forestall any protests. “Butwe don’t run. We recover our aether and, when we’re ready, return here at full strength so we can negotiate on equal footing. What better way to show them we mean no harm?”

Elana and her ilk might turn them aside, treat them as enemies, or refuse to listen for any of a dozen reasons. Still, it sounded like their best shot. Besides, regaining their freedom would allow him to ensure that Heartrender was all right.

“Fine,” he said, praying to the spirits he was making the right call. “Let’s go.”

He followed Seymour out into the night, stricken by how much darker everything seemed without aether to enhance his vision. They appeared to be on the outskirts of a village. Standing torches flickered further in, along with more stone huts like the one he—and, he assumed, Seymour—had been locked in these past few days. Laughter spilled over from a large bonfire in the distance, along with the mouth-watering smell of roasting meat.

“No sign of patrols,” Seymour murmured, his muscles tensed as he scanned the area. “Still, there might be sentries in the trees. Keep low, stay silent, and follow me. If they raise an alarm, split up to divide their forces. We’ll meet back up afterward.”

Adrian nodded, and they set off at a crouched run away from the fire. Ancient trees loomed above them as they approached, made all the more intimidating due to his lack of aether.

Taking a deep breath, he strove to smother his nerves. He was far from the runt who’d first entered these woods months ago. Aether or no aether, he’d face whatever challenge Overlin Forest threw at him next.

They’d almost reached the treeline, the moonlight overhead barely enough to see by, when he caught an azure glow nearby and froze right as a daemon crossed their path. Its body was lumpy like unmolded clay while its head protruded on a long, serpentine neck. A forked tongue tasted the air as it swiveled to face them.

They stood there, staring at the daemon while it regarded them. Would it alert its master to their escape? Sound an alarm? Or simply move to attack?

After a tense handful of heartbeats, the daemon turned and shuffled off.

“I…I guess it was only curious?” Adrian asked, dazed.

Seymour resumed his prowling gait toward the forest. “I’m not about to look a gift daemon in the mouth. Come on!”

A few minutes later, they paused to catch their breath beneath the cover of the trees. Their bodies weren’t used to even this level of light exertion without aether. They’d encountered no one else on their way out of the village, though Seymour had spotted a pair of figures in the distance chatting as they made a lazy circuit about the perimeter. Muttering under his breath about lax discipline, Seymour had easily evaded them.

“I’d have…expected…more guards,” Adrian panted.

Seymour shrugged. “I suppose that’s what happens when you live out in the middle of nowhere—you become complacent. They likely thought that tea of theirs would be enough to deterus. Honestly, that daemon we encountered posed a greater threat than those ‘guards,’ even if it was acting peculiar.”

Adrian had spent the hike considering their odd encounter and thought he’d figured it out. “Remember how…there are…no daemon masters here?” he wheezed. Seymour gave him a look, so he soldiered on. “Well, that must’ve…been a wild daemon…used to being around people.”

Seymour snorted and shook his head. “I never thought I’d see the day where humans and daemons coexisted like that. They probably spoil those beasts rotten with treats of aether.”

Adrian grinned despite his exhaustion. “You saw the furniture and those stone houses. My guess is the daemons pay it back by expending aether of their own assisting around town.”

That brought a thoughtful expression to the watcher’s face. “Perhaps. With any luck, I suppose you’ll have a chance to ask.” He grimaced. “Once this spirit-cursed tea wears off, that is. We’ll walk awhile longer in case they come looking for us, then hunker down and wait it out.”

“Actually, there’s somewhere else we need to go first. Kali used some sort of aetherforged device on Heartrender to trap her essence. It got left behind in the clearing where we fought. Even through the haze from the tea, I think I can point us in the right direction.”