Root: Part IV, Chapter 9

Trapped in a deserted hardware store, Hasta’s cohort does battle with two daemons of terrible beauty and power. Meanwhile, Lamm lays claim to a thrilling mode of transport.

For more on this project, please see “This Year a Serial Takes Root.”

9.0 Hasta

Two minutes later, the sliding glass doors whooshed open. Hasta crouched in the feedstock aisle at the far end of the store, absently stroking Moses’s back as she watched the convex security mirror set high in the front corner.

Even miniature and distorted, the two daemons were…