"Very bad." He's not emotionally equipped to be free of them just yet. they may not keep the demons at bay, but any victim of abuse will carve out some kind of safety for themselves, however much it's only an illusion of safety. "For a couple of reasons..."

That, and Abe will go mental if he thinks Zack has broken free of the magic. It's a very good point too, what's going to happen when Zack isn't compatible with 'home' any more. Perhaps by then, he'll have discovered a real safety, somewhere and somehow; or have evolved enough for Abe not to be able to lay claim to him.

He buries his face in his hands and speaks. Unfortunately, it's unintelligible. It's clear he's trying something though, when his dust body shifts again, each speck flickering over and over again, like a Mexican wave in particle form.