"I don't like it," Niko's muttering to her, now positioning himself between Melanie and the stranger. "Melanie, where's his dæmon?"

Melanie frowns vaguely down at Niko, then back up at the other person. 'Dæmon' must mean his soul-animal. And it is weird that he doesn't have one. "Where is it?" she asks, puzzled.