15. Battlefield

fifteen

Adrian stared out at the trampled expanse where he'd fought Kali. Charred trees served as evidence of their furious battle, and his skin tingled from expended aether lingering in the air.

Seymour let out a low whistle. "Spirits below, you sure did a number on this place."

Unable to summon his voice, Adrian nodded mutely.

Amid the debris, he spied a crumpled body. His heartbeat quickened as he approached. Kali's face, once coldly beautiful, appeared merely tired in death. Several chunks had been torn from her flesh, likely the result of daemonic scavengers preying on her remaining aether.

He averted his eyes from the horrific sight, relief that she hadn't escaped mixing with a deep sorrow that it had come to this. For all their self-serving greed, Serenity Corp wasn't truly evil. They'd taken Kali in after her parents had died, brought order to the nascent League. No matter what Kali said, Adrian didn't want to watch society crumble. Yet, neither could he stand aside and allow Serenity Corp's lies to continue corrupting daemons and humans against one another.

Footsteps beside him announced Seymour's approach. "We found you right here," he said quietly, pointing to Kali's corpse. "You'd passed out on top of her. Your aether was churning wildly, though by the time we reached you, it had almost run dry keeping you alive."

A glint of silver caught Adrian's gaze—the crescent moon sigil still affixed to Kali's chest. Something about the object tugged at his memory, and his eyes widened.

"What is it?" Seymour asked, noticing his reaction. "If you'd rather I dispose of the body, I can—"

"It's not that," Adrian replied. "That badge—she used it to talk to someone at a distance."

Seymour studied the bit of metal with a frown. "You mentioned that on the way here—a seeker, as I recall. To be honest, I assumed you misinterpreted what was happening. Such things aren't possible without the use of daemonic techniques."

Before he could lose his nerve, Adrian plucked the badge from Kali's blood-soaked tunic. Fighting down the bile in his throat, he turned away to study the object with his aethersense. It possessed a network of aether channels reminiscent of what one might find in a living being. He'd never seen anything like it before, save perhaps for the similarly intricate latticework that had comprised the containment cylinder Kali used on—

The containment cylinder!

He'd been so thrown by the sight of Kali, he'd forgotten why they'd traveled here in the first place. Don't worry, Heartrender—I'm coming! He reached for Kali's belt, then froze. Both cylinders—the one holding Heartrender and the other that had appeared damaged—were gone.

"You were saying something about the badge?" Seymour prompted.

"Forget the spirit-cursed badge! Help me look for the containment cylinders."

Understanding dawned on Seymour's face, and he gave a curt nod. Adrian's stomach churned as he scoured the nearby ground. His dismay rose when they found no sign of the devices by Kali's corpse. Had a wild daemon sensed the aether within and taken them? Or worse—had Kali's unseen partner beaten them here?

It took several frantic minutes of searching before he realized he'd overlooked the obvious solution. His link with Heartrender had been dulled before by distance, the Suprimera tea, and her bondstone. Now, only one of those obstacles remained. Reaching out through their tenuous bond, he sought her familiar aura. Sure enough, he felt a pulse near the clearing's edge.

He followed it to its source, the tension in his chest loosening when he spied the pair of metallic cylinders lying in the trampled dirt—one rusting and falling apart, the other gleaming brightly. They must have either rolled free during his tussle with Kali or else been discarded by some enterprising daemon that decided they weren't worth the hassle.

Focusing his aethersense on the shinier of the two cylinders—the one Kali had used to trap Heartrender—he studied its inner workings. The patterned aether still baffled him, and he couldn't find any obvious buttons or switches to work the spirit-cursed thing.

How did Kali activate it?He'd been distracted trying not to die, but he thought she'd simply touched the device. Bondstones required a small infusion of aether to activate them. Did this follow a similar principle? Twisting the cylinder around in his fumbling grip, he poked and prodded at it with a thin string of his aether. At last, he heard a satisfying click.

Aether erupted from the cylinder in a blue haze, consolidating into Heartrender's familiar form. Adrian cried out and dropped to his knees, flinging his arms around her. Yet, something still wasn't right. He leaned back to glare at the dark bondstone thrumming within his daemon.

"Never again," he whispered fervently. "Never again."

He deactivated the bondstone with another burst of aether. Heartrender shivered as if awaking from a restless sleep. Emotions flooded him through their bond, and he tugged her to his chest, tears standing out in his eyes. Heartrender mewled softly and nuzzled her snout against his neck. Her affection burned brightly through their bond.

Seymour cleared his throat. "Not to break up your happy reunion, but we shouldn't linger. Whatever's been feasting on Kali's aether might decide to return."

A faint blush colored Adrian's cheeks. "Right."

He left Lockrod chittering excitedly with Heartrender and focused his attention on the other cylinder. Unlike the ordered aether that had comprised the first device, this one's aura raged as if the entire contraption might implode at any moment. When he'd first spotted it during his fight with Kali, he'd assumed it was an earlier prototype, now obsolete. But if that were the case, why bring it with her? To serve as backup in case the other failed? Unless…

He gulped, eying the corroded cylinder uneasily. Unless this was what happened to the containment device after long-term use. What if there was another daemon in there—one Kali had captured prior to their battle? He'd heard of daemon masters who kept extra pacified daemons, switching their bonds among them as needed. Another daemon like Blazewing or Shadowlash could prove an immense threat, especially if it had been left enraged from long captivity.

Only one way to be certain. And, as much as he disliked the look of the damaged device and its corrupted aether, he couldn't leave any creature to suffer in solitude.

"Be on your guard," he said. "I'm going to activate this other cylinder, and I'm not sure what might come out."

He waited for the others to move into position. Then, he squared his shoulders and activated the device. A slumped daemon appeared in a flash of azure light. It possessed the same third eye and sinuous feline body as Heartrender, but its skin was coated in thick scales and its tail split into a spiked barb. Its aether was so pale it appeared more gray than blue, with a flickering, almost insubstantial quality. The daemon gave him a disinterested look, then huffed and lay there, motionless.

"Ghosttear," Adrian announced. "At least, according to my aethersense."

"A strange name for a strange daemon." Seymour studied the creature with obvious distaste. "Is it sick?"

"Maybe."

Truth be told, Adrian wasn't sure what to make of the daemon. It didn't appear bondsick, though its aether was so tumultuous, he wasn't certain he'd be able to tell. It reminded him of the sorry state his own aether used to be in, always threatening to slip free of his control.

Then, there was the creature's obvious resemblance to Heartrender. The most likely explanation was that Ghosttear was Heartrender's broodmate—another of the daemons bred for Project Paragon. Crastley had said the majority of specimens proved unstable, which might explain Ghosttear's flawed aether. But why would Kali bring a failed experiment with her?

"What do you plan to do with it?" Seymour asked, snapping Adrian out of his reverie.

He returned his attention to Ghosttear. The pathetic-looking daemon hadn't moved. It flicked its mournful gaze to regard him, then snuffled and closed its eyes as if it lacked the energy for any of this nonsense. Poor thing, forgotten and discarded. Just like me.

"I'm going to try to bond with it," he said.

Seymour let out a long-suffering sigh. "Of course you are. Setting aside the obvious issues with its aether, you do realize you've already got two bonds, right? No daemon master in the history of the League has ever been able to support more than two bonded daemons at a time."

"No daemon master in the history of the League has ever used the true bond either," Adrian said, his gaze still fixed on Ghosttear. "We've already disproven many of the other limits we typically ascribe to daemon bonding. If manifesting multiple daemons at once or performing a reverse Surge are possible, then why not bonding more than two daemons?"

Seymour's only response was a grunt. Taking that as reluctant agreement, Adrian crouched beside Ghosttear and raised his hand. Aether gathered about his fingers, coalescing into the runic circle of the true bond.

"What do you say?" he asked Ghosttear. His hand hovered above the daemon, his aether poised to sink into its flesh should it accept his offer. "Care to give this ‘true bond' thing a shot?"

Ghosttear didn't visibly react, remaining curled up on the ground where it had appeared. Adrian's runic circle flickered, and his breath caught. For a moment, he thought Ghosttear had accepted the bond. Then, his aether began to shudder and unravel. Within a matter of heartbeats, it had entirely broken apart.

"Well, so much for that," Seymour said. "Now what?"

Adrian frowned, trying to sort out what had happened. Had his bond failed because Ghosttear rejected it? Or was there something else at play? Perhaps Ghosttear's own unstable aether rendered such a bond impossible. Or perhaps this was proof that two bonds remained the limit after all.

Regardless, he had no intention of leaving the poor daemon here alone to fend for itself.

"We take it with us," he said firmly.

He'd expected Seymour to protest. Instead, the watcher rolled his eyes. "Your sympathy for wild daemons is going to get us killed one of these days."

"My sympathy for wild daemons revealed the truth about Serenity Corp."

"Exactly my point!"

Ignoring Seymour, Adrian stooped to scoop Ghosttear into his arms. "Come on, little guy. If the Enclave's as good with wild daemons as they say, perhaps they can find a place for you."

The daemon didn't move or even acknowledge him as he leaned over. The second his fingers touched its skin, however, it tensed and began to shake, letting out a pitiable, whining growl. He quickly withdrew his hand.

"Easy there. It's all right." He studied the daemon curiously. "You don't like being touched, huh? That's going to make this difficult."

After a moment's hesitation, he steeled himself and tore a long strip off Kali's tunic. Seymour raised an eyebrow but didn't interfere. Once he had a couple lengths of cloth, Adrian fashioned them into a makeshift sling.

"How about this?" he asked, holding his breath as he nudged the sling toward Ghosttear's folded front paws.

To his relief, the daemon seemed unperturbed. Perhaps only direct contact with living beings upset it? Now, he just had to get Ghosttear onto the cloth. He was about to risk picking the daemon up when it edged forward and draped itself over the sling.

Adrian grinned. Ghosttear must've intuited what he wanted. He carefully raised the sling and tied its edges around his neck. The result left Ghosttear nestled in a cloth hammock against his chest. Ghosttear languidly cocked its head to regard him before settling into the sling to sleep.

He let out a breath. "One problem down."

"Indeed," Seymour said as he began gathering Kali's scattered relics—the two empty containment cylinders, the aetherforged daggers (one caked with dried blood), and the badge. He offered that last to Adrian. "Before, you had some sort of revelation about this. What was it?"

"Oh, right." He held out a hand. "Here, let me see it."

Seymour passed him the badge, and he fumbled with his aether until he found the proper activation spot. The badge flared to life. The effect, however, felt strangely faint. He furrowed his brow, turning the badge over in his fingers. Had corruption worn it down like Ghosttear's cylinder? He couldn't tell. Despite its weakened state, however, it still appeared to function. Working off his earlier hunch, he pictured Seymour. Easy enough to do with the watcher frowning impatiently at him.

Greetings, he sent. Can you hear me?

Seymour's eyes went wide. "Spirits above, how did you do that?" He glared at Ghosttear. "Did you somehow bond a third daemon after all when I wasn't looking?"

Adrian chuckled. Nope. This is all Kali's badge. It's aetherforged all right, same as those containment cylinders.

The watcher's expression shifted from astonishment to doubt before finally settling on awe. "This goes way beyond a typical aetherforging. A daemon's technique at your fingertips, no bonds required…it's even better than your reverse Surge!"

Personally, Adrian wasn't so sure he agreed. The only reason people didn't slaughter every daemon they encountered was their potential utility. He could imagine all too well what would happen if Serenity Corp deemed daemons obsolete.

"Your voice in my head—it sounds like when you called for help," Seymour continued.

"I suspected as much," Adrian said, deactivating the badge. "My best guess is that, when I collapsed on Kali, I fell directly onto the badge and my aether accidentally activated it while trying to heal me."

Seymour smirked. "So, I'm the one you thought of on your deathbed? I'm flattered."

Heat prickled the back of Adrian's neck. "Don't let it go to your head. You also happened to be the only person in the entire forest I knew, so…"

They finished gathering Kali's relics, Seymour electing to carry them since Adrian held Ghosttear. The daemon had barely shifted during all the commotion. If it weren't for the occasional glimpse of dull eyes, he'd have suspected it had fallen asleep.

Heartrender's curiosity and concern pulsed through their bond, and he reassured her he'd do everything he could to help her broodmate. Lockrod's thoughts on the matter were less clear, their bond too new. What he did get was protectiveness, along with a slight hint of jealousy.

Adrian grinned and offered a palm slick with aether. "Don't worry, Lockrod. I'm not going to replace you."

The daemon chittered, sending admonishment through their bond. Nevertheless, he hopped forward and drank the offered aether before resuming his play with Heartrender.

"If that's all, we should get moving." Seymour leaned companionably against Tremorfist's heavily muscled side. "Where to now?"

"The Enclave," Adrian replied, setting his jaw. "We have some new allies to make."

Seymour nodded, and they started back the way they'd come. Hopefully, the watcher had a good enough sense of direction to retrace their steps. Neither of them had thought to leave a trail.

They'd almost reached the clearing's edge when Adrian's aethersense pinged. The source was faint enough that he almost ignored it, dismissing it as a random fluctuation in the ambient aether. But there was something strangely familiar about the aura that tickled his memory. Could it be another of Kali's mysterious devices, discarded nearby?

The aether appeared to be emanating from a thicket of bushes a couple dozen paces to their right. He stepped closer to investigate, then staggered, almost losing his footing when the faint trace of aether abruptly blossomed into a powerful aura that swept over them.

Shadowlash emerged from the bushes amid a rustling of leaves and branches. Dark energy roiled across the daemon's back, shrouding its features, while black tendrils lashed the air. As if that weren't an ominous enough sign of its current mood, it let out a low, rumbling growl.

Adrian's heart hammered in his chest. He and his daemons had proved ineffectual against the creature once before. Even without Kali, this was a fight they couldn't win.

A hand gripped his shoulder, and he fixed frantic eyes on Seymour. The watcher gave him a grim smile. "No reason to look so dour. It's just us and it. Tremorfist and I have your back."

Gratitude blunted the edge of his fear, and he took a deep breath. Facing the approaching daemon, he adopted a defensive stance Seymour had taught him, holding his hands up to shield his face and angling his feet apart for balance.

Shadowlash lunged, and Tremorfist loosed a terrible roar. It didn't slow the enemy daemon for long, though the paralysis at least made it hesitate. Adrian took advantage of the opening to carefully deposit Ghosttear to the side and channel a full Fusion on Heartrender, sinking his entire being into her flesh. Seymour followed his lead and melded with Tremorfist. Including Lockrod, that left three against one—still not great odds, considering their foe.

Shadowlash recovered enough to strike. Tremorfist batted away a handful of shadowy tentacles while Lockrod and Heartrender dashed to either side. Heartrender conjured a Mirror Image around herself for added protection. Lockrod, meanwhile, manifested an Unbendable Rod to use as a weapon. In tandem, the three daemons assaulted Shadowlash in a pincer maneuver.

The counterattack proved exactly as ineffective as Adrian had feared. Lockrod's club and Tremorfist's raw strength counted for little when Shadowlash's cloak of darkness rendered its flesh incorporeal. And although Heartrender's illusions provided a minor distraction, they mostly just encouraged Shadowlash to ignore her in favor of juicier prey.

Lockrod tried again to strike Shadowlash with an overhead swing of his staff, and again, the blow passed harmlessly through the shifting daemon. Tentacles lashed at Lockrod in reprisal, and Heartrender created a screen of duplicate Lockrods. The illusion confounded Shadowlash long enough for the real Lockrod to scamper to safety.

Tremorfist rushed forward while Shadowlash was distracted and caught another tentacle to his broad chest. He loosed a Stunning Howl as he strained against the dark tendril, finally wrenching it aside, but more followed the first, forcing Seymour's daemon to retreat.

Spirits below!Shadowlash's display of martial prowess would've been impressive had it not been so terrifying. Adrian considered unmelding from Heartrender to attempt talking Shadowlash down, then thought better of it. Seymour would never let him hear the end of it if he got himself wounded reasoning with an enraged daemon. He'd save that as a last resort.

Shadowlash unleashed a fresh barrage of tentacles at Tremorfist. The larger daemon held his ground, shoving back against the assault. He didn't seem to notice as a thin tendril of darkness snaked by his feet. Adrian tried to have Heartrender yowl a warning, but the sneaky tentacle wrapped around Tremorfist's legs before he could, yanking Tremorfist off balance. The rest of the tentacles broke past the daemon's guard, coiling around his arms and chest.

Lockrod and Heartrender moved to rip them free, but a whip-like tentacle tossed Lockrod back. Heartrender narrowly escaped the same fate thanks to her defensive illusions. She drove her fangs and claws into Shadowlash's flank, but the daemon ignored her entirely.

Frustration boiled Adrian's blood. No matter what they threw at it, Shadowlash remained an impervious avatar of pure destruction.

Tremorfist roared. Seymour must've bolstered the Stunning Howl with a Surge because even Heartrender and Lockrod recoiled at the thunderous sound. Astonishment gripped Adrian as, through Heartrender's blue-tinged vision, he saw Shadowlash's tentacles briefly flicker, losing their grip on Tremorfist. The daemon wrenched himself free and lumbered to his feet while Heartrender's attack rended into Shadowlash's flesh.

Shadowlash howled, retreating several paces. It recovered quickly, its shadowy armor and tendrils reforming, yet Adrian's mind raced. The paralysis from Tremorfist's roar must've interrupted Shadowlash's concentration on its technique long enough for them to hurt it. If they could repeat the feat while prepared to strike…

Trying not to think too hard about the overwhelming stupidity of what he was about to do, he broke his Fusion with Heartrender. His body reformed in the clearing beside her.

Ignoring Heartrender's spike of alarm, he shouted, "The roar!" Tremorfist turned to regard him, cocking his head. "Boost your Stunning Howl as much as you can! Then—"

A terrible weight slammed into Adrian's side, driving him to the ground. Concern from both Heartrender and Lockrod flooded his consciousness, along with a searing pain. He struggled to stand and found shadowed aether pinning him in place. One of Shadowlash's tentacles. More black tendrils writhed toward him, and his daemons threw themselves in the way to intercept.

He gritted his teeth. This was exactly why he'd melded with Heartrender in the first place!

A deafening roar reverberated through the clearing, loud enough to shake his bones and momentarily blot out his hearing. The shadowy tentacle pinning him flickered. As soon as the pressure vanished, he rolled to the side despite the agony that assaulted his chest.

Forget about me! he sent through his bonds. Attack!

Staggering to his feet, he turned to see if his daemons had listened. Perhaps sensing his intent, Heartrender had abandoned the tentacles coming for him to ravage Shadowlash's flank alongside Tremorfist. Lockrod, however, hesitated, glancing between him and their foe.

Quickly, Lockrod, Adrian sent. I need you to trust me. Give Tremorfist your rod. Now!

Lockrod's hesitation morphed to determination. An instant later, an Unbendable Rod materialized in Tremorfist's giant grip. To the daemon's credit, he reacted swiftly to the gifted weapon, brandishing it like a cudgel as he brought it down atop Shadowlash's skull.

All at once, the shadows encompassing the daemon winked out. The terrible beast, bane of Adrian's existence since their first meeting all those months ago, collapsed to the trampled earth.

Tremorfist didn't relent, driving several more blows home. Neither did Heartrender—not until Shadowlash curled into itself, mewling pitifully in defeat.

Wincing as he expelled a relieved breath, Adrian checked his chest. Thankfully, nothing felt broken—at worst, a few bruised ribs his aether should have no trouble mending during their return to the Enclave. He joined Heartrender and Lockrod as Seymour unmelded beside Tremorfist, glaring at their defeated foe.

Even in its present state, Shadowlash possessed more than enough aether to resume the battle, yet it made no move to rise. Had it lost the will to fight?

Adrian opened his mouth to intervene on Shadowlash's behalf, then slowly shut it as memories of Souleater assailed him. The wild daemon might be cowed for now, but nothing stopped Shadowlash from ambushing them later. Or worse—following them back to the Enclave and attacking the people there who lacked the means to defend themselves.

Instead of ordering the killing blow, however, Seymour grunted and kneeled beside the slumped daemon, offering his hand. Shadowlash stared at it for a long moment. Then, it leaned forward and rested its chin in Seymour's palm.

The watcher grinned. "There's a good girl. You put up one doozie of a fight, I'll give you that. But I don't blame you for being scared or confused. Not after losing your bond the way you did. Still, I bet it's good to be free, huh?"

Shadowlash chuffed, its tongue lolling out of its fanged mouth. Adrian could scarcely believe what he was seeing. I might actually die of shock, he thought dazedly.

"If you want to be left alone, we won't stop you," Seymour continued. "You're strong enough to make a life for yourself out here. With that technique of yours, you could probably even cross the Bulwark to the Untamed Wilds beyond." He paused, a hint of uncertainty marring his features. "But, uh, if you're interested in another arrangement…"

Spirits above, Seymour was trying to bond the beast! Adrian didn't know whether to laugh or scream. The sheer audacity of it would've shocked him, but he'd seen how the spirit-cursed watcher had wrestled Tremorfist into submission. Maybe this was his modus operandi.

"I thought I was the one with a weak spot for daemons?" Adrian muttered.

"Maybe I've been spending too much time with you," Seymour shot back. His voice grew more serious. "Seeing you with Lockrod has me longing to finally replace Willowrush."

"With a daemon that's tried to kill me thrice and you at least once?"

"I admire her tenacity. Besides, that wasn't her fault, was it? The first two were at Kali's command, and I suspect this last was mostly self-defense. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been hiding in that bush, nor surrendered so easily."

Adrian frowned. The watcher might have a point, but that didn't mean he had to admit it. "How do you know the daemon is a she without bonding it?" he asked instead.

Seymour shrugged. "I just do." Shadowlash let out a low growl. The watcher grinned, turning back to the daemon. "Right you are. It's up to you, not either of us. So, what do you say? Are you up for a new adventure?"

Surely, Shadowlash would refuse. How could it—she—not after their tumultuous history? To his utter astonishment, however, the daemon bobbed her head in a clear expression of assent.

Seymour nodded as if he'd expected nothing less. "Very well. Let's do it."

The watcher forged his aether into the runic symbols of the true bond and allowed the magic to sink into Shadowlash's flesh. Like their other daemons, her body grew rigid. Though she didn't collapse, she trembled at the unfamiliar aether roiling through her.

Seymour winced, rubbing his head.

"What is it?" Adrian asked, instantly on edge. "What's wrong?"

"I-I'm not sure. I can feel the bond working, but the drain on my aether…" Seymour suppressed another wince. "It's much worse than with Tremorfist. I don't know if I—"

The watcher suddenly screamed and fell to his knees, clawing at his temples. Adrian rushed to his side, moving to touch him before recoiling at the crackling energy seething across his skin. Activating his aethersense, he saw Seymour's aether was going wild, burning him alive from the inside out.

Spirits below, what had gone wrong? Nothing had seemed out of place with the runic circle. Had the watcher been too weak after their battle?

He switched his attention to Shadowlash. Unlike Seymour, the daemon appeared fine. But if there was nothing wrong with the bond itself, then what…

It hit him all at once. Daemon masters could bond daemons stronger than them—he'd done it himself when he'd tamed Trailseeker years ago with his stunted aether. But that was while using the more limited connection of a bondstone. Who knew what the requirements of the true bond were, especially when it came to such a wide gap in aetheric strength?

Spirits above, what should he do? Touching the watcher might disrupt the ritual and incinerate them both in a deadly backlash. Even if it didn't, the metaphysical link had already been forged. Dragging Seymour away now wouldn't sever it, and neither he nor Shadowlash had enough control over the process to cancel it prematurely.

Tremorfist saved Adrian the need to decide. Shoving him aside, the daemon wrapped his arms around his master and roared, his aura joining the roiling mass of magic connecting Seymour and Shadowlash. He's gifting Seymour his aether, Adrian realized. The watcher lacked enough to complete the ritual on his own, so Tremorfist had offered up his as well.

The raging aether cut out moments later. Seymour and Tremorfist collapsed together in a heap. Shadowlash shook herself, appearing only slightly disoriented. When she took in Seymour's state, she rushed to his side. The watcher let out a loud groan.

Adrian cautiously approached. "Are you all right? Is there anything I can do to help?"

Seymour shakily regained his feet, leaning on his daemons for support. "Go back in time five minutes and tell me what an idiotic idea that was."

Tremorfist eyed Shadowlash mistrustfully, eliciting an annoyed growl from the other daemon. Adrian suppressed a faint smile. He had a feeling those two might prove a handful.

Something rustled by his feet, and he glanced down to find Ghosttear settling back into its sling. He'd practically forgotten about the daemon during his bout with Shadowlash. Now, though, it appeared fully awake for the first time, studying Seymour and Shadowlash with wide eyes. Interesting. Had it been drawn to the expended aether? He set the question aside as he returned the sling to his chest. There'd be time enough to learn more about the daemon later.

Once Seymour had caught his breath, they continued into the woods. Adrian gave Kali's corpse one last parting glance as they left the clearing, whispering a quick prayer for the spirits to watch over her. Then, he focused his attention on what lay ahead. In just a few days' time, they'd reach the Enclave, and he'd have his chance to plead their case. He only hoped Elana would listen.