Chapter 23

“Emma!”

I wasn’t sure I had ever put so many of my emotions into just one word as I did then. My frustrations, longing and so many other emotions that I couldn’t even begin to fathom, all seemed to be encapsulated into that one word. As she stood before me, the perfect picture of majestic brilliance, I couldn’t help but wonder if I could ever sort out my emotions when it came to this woman.

“What are you doing here?” I found myself at a loss of words, asking the first question that came to my mind.

Emma just raised an eyebrow in reply to my question, her amusement evident. I wonder how long would it be before I stopped embarrassing myself in front of her.

She replied, a hint of a smile still present on her face, “I like spending time here, David, among familiars. A feeling I think you will appreciate, now that you have one of your own.”

Unsurprisingly, I found myself agreeing with her. I was vaguely aware of the presence of a second core at all times within myself. Even in the short time we had been bonded together, my familiar had helped me in more ways than one. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that I was alive today only because of my familiar and its parent.

Since she was the one who had introduced me to familiars, I asked her about something that was bugging me, now that I was painfully reminded about my familiar in this Sanctuary. “The parent of my familiar took it away, given that it was still a newborn. I was wondering how I would find it if I wanted to check up on it?”

In reply, Emma’s smile grew even wider, as if I had just finished telling a very amusing joke. She said, “You won’t find the familiar. Not until it wants you to find it anyway. It’s normally the familiar who finds its own bonded Untethered when it judges itself to be ready. It could be a while before your own familiar seek you out, given that it is still young.”

It was at this moment that Frank decided to butt in our conversation, which I was grateful for. “Okay, if you two don’t mind, could you tell what in Luna’s name is going on? You didn’t make a stellar effort in explaining things to us. And what’s this about you getting a familiar?”

Emma wisely decided that it would be better for her to proceed with the explanation. She explained to them all about familiars. The fact that miasma-monsters can choose to bond with Untethered and how that affects a monster and an Untethered. It was the same explanation that she gave me, with a few tidbits thrown in when Samuel or Frank asked a question.

To say Frank and Samuel were perturbed by Emma’s explanation was an understatement. I could relate, of course, having had the same experience a few days ago. It wouldn’t be wrong to say one’s entire world-view might be turned on its head once you realise that something that is meant to be your fated enemy could also bond and function together with you.

We stood there in silence for a moment before Frank said, “That still doesn’t explain how you got your familiar, David? Correct me if I am wrong, but I am pretty sure I haven’t seen any monster hovering around you.”

I could only heave a sigh before proceeding to answer, “In some ways, I have got to thank Frost for getting my familiar.” That gained the reaction I had expected. Samuel was on edge immediately, while Frank’s face gained a stormy expression. But before they could mull over Frost for too long, I proceeded with my explanation, “I have told Samuel this before, but when I was here before for the purposes of training, Emma had voiced her suspicions to me about there being a potential traitor in the Council.”

“There’s no two ways about it. I didn’t believe her at first. Or it would more correct to say that I didn’t want to believe her. But the mere possibility of there being a traitor in the Council was enough to rob me of my peace of mind. So I went to the location where we had been ambushed by the griffin so that I could find conclusive proof that the griffin had me lured there and that someone was after me.”

“And I did. I found the proof. In an abandoned apartment in the area were three baby griffins who had just been born. Three progeny of the griffin we had the pleasure of encountering. The griffin came and collected her babies, but not before one of them bonded to me.”

They could only nod at my tale before Frank said, with a wry smile and a shake of the head, “Only you, David. Only you.”

I had no retort to that remark since I agreed with that sentiment, at least partially. The number of mishaps and adventures I had gotten myself into in my very young life as an Untethered was nothing short of remarkable.

Samuel interrupted my introspection and asked, “So, what are we going to do now? Not that this place isn’t nice but I’d really like to go back home. Also, I don’t think we are welcome here at the moment.”

Before I could reply to that, Emma exclaimed, “So, I guess what I heard is true then. About you three not seeing eye to eye with the Council.”

I could only silently nod at that, not aware of Emma’s possible reaction. From what I had understood, Emma seemed to be working for the Council in some capacity and I didn’t want the tense relationship between me and the Council to affect my relationship with Emma.

Contrary to my expectations, Emma’s reaction was rather tame. She gained a melancholic look on her face before saying, “I am not surprised that you didn’t agree with the Council on this matter. The Council is rather reluctant to admit its own mistakes. Don’t judge them too harshly though. They have been almost as badly affected as you and Frank. I wouldn’t judge them solely on this event.”