Page 72 of Daemon Master

The way her eyes flicked to Elana left no secret of who she blamed for that blunder. For her part, Elana’s only visible reaction was a slight tightening around her eyes.

“If you would have had us turn aside a dying man and his friend’s request for aid, then you’re no better than the society we left behind,” Elana said. “Now, if that is all—”

“I have as much a right as anyone else here to speak my mind!” Leda cried.

“Of course,” Elana replied. “During a hearing, everyone can argue their case—so it has been for twenty years. But that doesnotpermit you to make whatever baseless accusations you please, nor to turn this occasion into a pulpit for your own grandstanding. Now, do you have any otherlegitimateconcerns to voice? Reasoned arguments to raise?” She swept her gaze over the assembled crowd. “Anyone else?”

Silence.

Moving jerkily like a puppet whose strings had been cut, Leda fell back into her seat. Elana dismissed her sister, studying Adrian and Seymour with an unreadable expression before glancing at Freya, who stubbornly met her gaze. With a heavy sigh, Elana nodded.

“Very well. While I’m not as convinced as my daughter, I also take issue with the assumptions underlying my sister’s objections. Thus, I propose a middle ground. Adrian and Seymour, you will remain here as our guests. You may useour shelter, partake of our food, and speak with our people so that we might observe this ‘true bond’ of yours firsthand. In one month’s time, we shall meet again for a final verdict. This communal meeting is adjourned.”

Elana banged her staff on the ground three times. The crowd erupted into a frenzy of discussion while Leda stormed off, a small cluster of villagers trailing after her.

Adrian watched them go as a lead weight settled in his gut. They certainly had their work cut out for them. Still, he’d bought them a month to prove to the Enclave that they were telling the truth. All he could do now was ensure he made the most of every minute of it.

seventeen

The Enclave

Over the next fewdays, Adrian settled into his tenuous place at the Enclave. They’d been given their own furnished hut to sleep in, replete with woven rugs to disguise the cracked stone. Everything appeared handcrafted. While the occasional daemon milled about, they spent their time begging aether handouts from passing villagers rather than performing manual labor.

Seeing daemons roaming the streets without a specific task to complete bolstered Adrian’s vision for a brighter, more peaceful future. He set Ghosttear loose with the other wild daemons, and though he checked in on it when he could, it ignored him as readily as everything else, spending its days dozing in the sun.

For now, the pitiable creature was yet another problem he didn’t have time to solve—not with Elana’s deadline hanging over their heads. His initial hope that seeing Seymour and him interacting with their daemons would allay the villagers’ fears proved woefully misplaced.

“Almost makes mewantto send Shadowlash on a murderous rampage,” Seymour said after yet another family abruptly turned down a side street to avoid them.

Adrian only rolled his eyes, though he shared the watcher’s growing frustration. How were they supposed to prove their good intentions when no one would give them a chance?

He tried not to let their rejection get to him. While Leda and her ilk never missed an opportunity to fix him with a scathing glare, most of the other villagers simply seemed wary.

The only person in the entire Enclave who actuallywantedto spend time with them was Freya. Since the town meeting, she’d spent every free moment badgering them with questions.

What was Hillvale like?

What did you two used to do?

How did you become friends?

That last one led to Adrian blushing through a particularly awkward conversation, though Freya lapped up every morsel she could about the world beyond the Enclave. She’d been particularly intrigued by the true bond, frowning thoughtfully after he explained the different types of melds. He could almost see the gears turning in her head.

“So, this reverse Surge combines your aether with your daemon’s into a shared reserve?”

Thinking back to the first—and so far, only—time he’d managed a reverse Surge during his fight with Kali, he shrugged. “Something like that. It’s mainly about a daemon lending their technique, but I guess to do that, you also need access to one another’s aether.”

“Could you maintain that state indefinitely?” Freya asked. “Seems to me that would be a lot easier than hopping in and out of it. Plus, more aether for everyone involved.”

Adrian blinked, considering. “Maybe. But, even if itwaspossible, I’m not sure I’d want to.”

“Why not?”

“Independence, for one.” He glanced to where Heartrender and Lockrod played tug-of-war with anUnbendable Rod, a soft smile gracing his lips. “One of the greatest benefits of the true bond is that your daemon can think for itself. A reverse Surge might hamper that freedom.”

Freya nodded sagely as if she hadn’t learned the reverse Surge existed only minutes earlier.

“Then, there’s the other melds,” he continued. “It’d be hard, maybe even impossible, to pull off a Fusion or Enhancement in that state without overtaxing your aether.”