Page 78 of Daemon Master

Adrian stood off to the side while Seymour took position near the front. The watcher wore his drained armor, and even with its battered appearance, he struck an imposing figure as he surveyed the gathered crowd.Especially with how the sun catches the flecks of gold in his eyes,Adrian thought, fighting down a blush.

“All right,” Seymour said, dropping into a basic fighting stance that had him bouncing lightly on the balls of his feet. “Let’s begin.”

eighteen

Tournament

Adrian leaned back, asmile playing over his face as he watched his daemons race toward the latestUnbendable Rodhe’d tossed for them to fetch. Heartrender reached the rod first but couldn’t secure it in her jaws before Lockrod caught up. The two scuffled in the dirt until Lockrod emerged, lifting the rod triumphantly overhead as he scampered back to Adrian.

Lockrod won more often than not. Though Adrian couldn’t prove it, he suspected the daemon kept using his technique to shift theUnbendable Rodslightly beyond Heartrender’s reach. From the irritation radiating through their bond, Heartrender had reached the same conclusion. Ghosttear lounged nearby, maintaining its customary distance. Lockrod tried at first to convince the daemon to join in the game but eventually left it alone at Adrian’s urging.

The younger kids near Adrian marveled at his daemons. Though daemons were a common enough sight around the Enclave, they were rarely so playful. Seymour, meanwhile, ledthe adults and older children through a series of blocking exercises. A faint blush colored Adrian’s cheeks as he admired the watcher’s lithe, graceful movements.

These daily workshops had done wonders for their reputation. Over the last couple days, their group had swelled past thirty, with more showing up to watch. People who’d once turned the other way to avoid Adrian on the street now made a point to smile and greet him. A few had even given Seymour and him gifts to welcome them to their village.

Beyond his daemons, he glimpsed a familiar disapproving stare. His smile dimmed. Of course, not everyone had been so easily won over. Leda and her ilk continued to avoid them. He’d stumbled upon them several times huddled with other villagers while speaking in urgent whispers, no doubt reminding them of Adrian’s sins and the perils of daemon bonds.

Leda caught his gaze and held it for a long moment, her face contorting with disgust. Then, she spun, her long shawl flapping behind her like a cape as she stalked off down the street.

Adrian watched her go, disappointment souring his gut. He couldn’t win everyone over—he knew that. Still, he wished there was a way to show Leda they weren’t her enemies.

Another figure dashed toward their group. Even from this distance, he could make out the excited grin plastered across Freya’s face. “They’re back!” she shouted as she rushed past Leda’s disapproving scowl. “The caravan’s back!”

Every few weeks, the Enclave sent traders to the nearest town. Though located only a couple days’ travel by foot along the eastern stretch of Overlin Forest near the Bulwark, it seemed a world away to Adrian after the months they’d spent hiding out in the wilderness.

“Any news?” he asked as Freya halted, gulping for breath.

“Oh, lots!” She launched into a detailed account outlining everything the expedition had done, practically down tothe minute. A few nearby villagers gave her fond looks or exasperated shakes of their heads, clearly used to her enthusiasm.

Adrian chuckled and raised his hand. “Hold on.” He walked to where Seymour was running through his latest drill. “I’m going to grab an early lunch with Freya. Want to come?”

The watcher fixed him with a slight frown, a bead of sweat dripping down his brow. “These people are as hopeless at self-defense asyouwere when we first started training. Food can wait until I’ve finished my lesson.”

Adrian suppressed a smirk. He’d had to drag Seymour to the first of these community outreach sessions. Now, less than a week later, the watcher refused to miss a single one. Perhaps, the villagers hadn’t been the only ones who’d needed to learn how to open up to outsiders.

Wishing Seymour good luck, Adrian informed the rest of the group that he’d be back tomorrow to answer more questions. He’d fielded a slew of them so far on everything from what life had been like in Hillvale to their adventures in Overlin Forest. As the crowd dispersed, Xander and a few of the others stopped to shake his hand or wish him a good day. It was nice to feel like part of a community again.

Not that your company’s not great,he sent to soothe Heartrender’s pulse of jealousy. But even though he’d never really felt like he belonged in Hillvale, ever since leaving, a part of him had longed for a new place to call home. In his weaker moments lying awake at night, he could imagine giving up his half-formed ambitions to expose Serenity Corp and settling in here to make a peaceful life for himself. Let the rest of the League figure out their own problems.

And leave the eternal war between humans and daemons to continue based on a lie…

No matter the temptation, that was a guilt he wasn’t prepared to bear. He couldn’t allow himself to become distracted from their purpose here. They had less than two weeks remaining to earn the Enclave’s trust and recruit them to their cause. That was the only thing that mattered.

Shoving away his melancholic thoughts, he refocused on Freya, who practically bounced up and down from being made to wait. The sight brought a faint smile back to his lips.

“All right, all right. Let’s go get some food, and you can finish telling me about the caravan.”

Freya’s ceaseless babble filled the air while he walked with her to the communal fires, nodding at Gabriella when she ladled a bowl of stew for him. He half-listened for any relevant news on Serenity Corp or the League while he ate, his thoughts wandering until something she said yanked his mind back to the present.

“Wait, what was that about a tournament?”

She rolled her eyes. “Of course,thatpart caught your interest. Peter said they had these big posters plastered all over town for the Diamond Cup. Have you heard of it?”

Adrian nodded. “It’s part of the Watcher Division’s dueling circuit. They invite that year’s most promising daemon masters to compete at the Crystal Arena in Haven. He frowned, recalling the announcement he’d seen in Hillvale. “But it should’ve ended weeks ago.”

“Rumor has it Serenity Corp wanted an even bigger spectacle than usual,” she said, leaning in conspiratorially. “So, they pushed the cup back a few months and opened it to the public! There’s a round of qualifiers coming up for anyone under the age of twenty-five willing to compete.”

An electric thrill raced through him at the thought. Participating in such a tournament had seemed ludicrous when he’d been a washed-up catcher with stunted aether channels.But now that he’d faced someone like Kali and walked away victorious,nothingseemed impossible.