Page 84 of Daemon Master

But neither of those were possible with Ghosttear. Adrian didn’t have a link with the daemon, nor any way to communicate with it using aether. If he had a daemon capable of sending like Arbiter Janice’s, then maybe…

His pulse racing, he fumbled in his pockets. For a moment, he feared he’d left what he needed in his hut. Then, his fingers fastened on cool metal, and he brandished Kali’s badge. The spiked crescent moon’s aetherforging had continued to decay, marring its silver surface with flecks of rust, but it should still have enough juice to attempt a close-range mental link. Perhaps that would have more of an effect on Ghosttear than words alone.

Adrian fed aether into Kali’s badge to activate it and focused on the trembling daemon.Hi, Ghosttear, he sent, projecting a sense of safety through the tenuous connection.It’s me again. Everything’s going to be all right, but I need you to calm down. Can you do that for me?

No response, just like with his earlier verbal plea. Seymour shifted impatiently beside him while the remaining crowd watched with bated breath. Ahead of him, Freya’s sprawled arm twitched, and a shudder racked Lockrod’s back.

Frustration tensed Adrian’s jaw and shoulders. All of them were counting on him. This was his chance to rescue his friends, not to mention impress the villagers with the true bond’s potential. And he was blowing it.

Please, Ghosttear. Whatever might’ve happened to you in the past, you’re safe now. I know you don’t want to hurt anyone. All you have to do is stop channeling your aether.

Still nothing. He tried again and again, beseeching Ghosttear with a mix of words and images and raw emotion. None of it seemed to register. If Ghosttear heard him, it didn’t bother to respond.

Bowing his head, he went to sever the connection and sensed a flicker of…something. A hint of fear and pain, radiating from some distant, unreachable point. It felt almost like it had come from one of his daemons, but his bond with Lockrod remained disrupted, and Heartrender’s presence in his mind was as solid as ever. Yet, if it hadn’t come from either of them, then…

Ghosttear?

The sensation vanished so quickly, he wasn’t sure if he’d imagined it. He certainly didn’t feel anything now. Assuming it hadn’t been a hope-fueled figment, what in the name of the spirits had happened?

Waving away Seymour’s demands for an update, he crouched by Heartrender.Doyoufeel a link with Ghosttear?he sent.A connection of any kind?

She projected only uncertainty back. She wasn’t sure what he meant or how to identify such a link if it existed. Spirits above, neither did he. He was acting on pure instinct now, grasping at straws. He couldn’t shake the feeling that the brief link he’d sensed was the key.

There was only one other thing he could think of to alter his perception of aether.

Up for a reverse Surge?he asked Heartrender.Maybe we can figure this out together.

They’d attempted the difficult maneuver numerous times since Freya brought it up that first week at the Enclave. Now that he had a better grasp of the concept, he found it much easier to properly attune his aether to hers. However, it still took a lot out of them, and he could only hold it long enough to cast aMirror Imageor two at best. Thankfully, what he had in mind shouldn’t require the use of any techniques.

Heartrender dutifully extended her aether. As they’d practiced, Adrian vibrated his own in sync, slowly aligning it with his daemon’s until their dual reserves snapped together and became one.Not unlike what happens with aetherforging,he thought absently.The flow of aether shifting to match the given object.

Heartrender’s thoughts intermingled with his, the experience even more intimate than sharing a body via a Fusion. Sorting through the confused jumble, he struggled to extend their shared aethersense, scouring for anything that might represent a mental link with Ghosttear.

There!

So thin as to be practically nonexistent, a faint line of aether stretched between Heartrender and Ghosttear. Though nowhere near as strong as the bond Adrian shared with his daemons, the intrinsic connection might be enough to send an impression where Kali’s badge had failed.

An uneasy corner of his mind wondered why such a link existed in the first place. Did it prove that both Heartrender and Ghosttear had been part of the same Serenity Corp experiment? He cast the conjecture aside to consider when he didn’t have a crisis to resolve.

Avoiding anything as complex as human sentences, Adrian flared his and Heartrender’s joined aether and focused once again on projecting a sense of calm and safety.

No response from Ghosttear. Either the feelings weren’t transmitting through the threadbare link, or Ghosttear wasn’t listening.

He gritted his teeth and channeled still more aether through the makeshift bond. At this point, he was doing the mental equivalent of screamingCalmat the top of his lungs.

His reverse Surge with Heartrender wavered. An instant later, the mental meld shattered, thrusting their minds and aether apart. Adrian staggered, left feeling dizzy and strangely hollow. He might’ve fallen had Seymour not been there to catch his arm and bear his weight.

“Please tell me whatever you did worked,” Seymour said.

Adrian shook his head, unable to speak yet, and studied Ghosttear for any sign his message had gotten through. Even if it had, how would the daemon react? Would his efforts serve to soothe it or only enrage it further?

For a long, nerve-racking moment, nothing changed. Stolen techniques burst in the air above Ghosttear, aimed at nothing in particular. Freya, Lockrod, and the other affected daemons remained where they’d fallen.

Then, all at once, the eruptions of aether ceased. Ghosttear’s shivering subsided, and it shook itself as if throwing off water. To Adrian’s utter astonishment, the daemon plopped down, curled up, and closed its eyes. Apparently, it had received Adrian’s message loud and clear, and decided that now was the perfect time for a nap.

Adrian took a tentative step forward. Sensing no change in his aether, he rushed to Freya’s side. She blinked up at him, appearing tired and a bit dazed. Metamire quivered against her side in a way that was probably meant to be soothing but cameacross as grotesque given the creature’s resemblance to living ooze.

“Are you okay?” he asked her.