Chapter 14

"Wait!" Megan exclaimed excitedly looking down at Delilah. "Does that mean you aren't bonded to Daryl?"

"That's right." I said then smiled. "The option is there, but she isn't summoned already bonded. Didn't Enya say she was the one who set the terms of her bond." I reminded them.

"Oh did she?" Delilah asked curiously.

"Yeah. My skill? Level? My fire ability and bond were strong enough and created a linked skill during my awakening. She was accidentally summoned after my mana heart formed." I explained.

Delilah nodded then narrowed her eyes. "That might all be true, but there was no way she could have set the conditions of the bond without your consent." she informed us.

I had wondered about that. The bond ability was my own and the linked ability wasn't anything special, instead it allowed me to feed her energy to keep her here. Perhaps in time I could discover a way to add to the linked ability and make it something more, but I didn't see any point at the moment.

Which made me wonder, how was Enya already bonded to me when I woke up? I considered it for a few moments before I came up with an idea. "Probably the same reason I was able to create a linked skill while I was unconscious." I stated.

"He wanted it!" Enya stated looking angry.

I wasn't sure why she looked so angry, but I had to agree with her. I nodded. "Yeah, that was what I was thinking too." I told them.

"See! See! I am not a life stealer!" Enya said passionately.

"Shhh, little one, I never said you were, I was just curious, it isn't normal for an elemental to have all the say in bond conditions." she told the fire fairy soothingly.

Enya seemed to be mollified by that and calmed down a bit.

I personally was incredibly curious what a life stealer was.

"Master?" Delilah asked looking up at me with a sweet voice while her expression looked like she was begging, but mixed with her devilish looks, I felt a shiver run down my spine. It was clear that despite the fact she didn't have a gender, she knew how to act the part of a seductress, and she was very good at it, despite her size. "Could you tell me how you think it happened?" she asked.

I had to close my eyes and look away for a moment. I tried to appear to be in thought, but Karen and Megan's snickering were a clear indication I had failed.

With a sigh I looked back down at the shadow fairy. "I believe it had to do with my mental state when I awakened. I was scared and alone. When I passed out I had no idea what was going on, except that it hurt, a lot, I even feared I was dying. At that time especially right before I passed out, I desperately wished I wasn't alone." I told her.

"Damn." Megan muttered, shifting about uneasily. Even Karen flinched listening to my explanation.

Delilah nodded, "Yes, that would do it." she told me then grabbed Enya's hand and pulled her closer. Despite having calmed down she still seemed a bit put out. "You did good." Delilah told Enya as she hugged her. "With an open invitation like that, it would be hard even for older elementals to resist the urge. You did very good." Delilah praised.

Enya finally seemed to relax and cheer up again as she hugged her back. I had no idea what the hell was going on, but I had a feeling I dodged a bullet I hadn't even known about.

"Daryl." Megan said meekly, obviously uncomfortable hearing about the condition I had been in when she and Karen took off.

I shook my head. "Don't worry about it." I told them. "You couldn't have known what was going to happen." I told them.

Megan nodded, but she didn't seem convinced. Karen wrapped her arms around the pretty blonde and whispered in her ear for a moment.

I turned my gaze back to the elementals. I couldn't hear what Karen was saying anyways, and I needed to know what kind of bullet I had dodged.

"So what is a life eater?" I asked.

"Not me!" Enya replied immediately, very defensive.

"I know that Enya, that is very clear, but I still would like to know what they are." I told her.

Enya calmed back down.

Delilah gave her a warm smile as they separated. Then she looked up at me. "A life eater is an elemental who uses the bond between them and their summoner to consume their summoner's life essence. While mana is all we need to grow stronger, life essence would do it faster, a lot faster. Worse it gives an elemental a high similar to the drugs in your mortal worlds. It is incredibly addictive. Usually the first time is unintentional, but the next time they are summoned they will try and manipulate their contract in such a way that they can gain more life essence. In the worst cases their addiction turns them into monsters even worse than the beings in the demon realm. In those cases they will steal the summons of a lesser elemental so they can overwhelm the summoner and drain them dry, then run rampant across the world feeding on every being they come across." Delilah explained.

That sounded bad.

"Worse than demons?" Megan asked curiously.

"Yes, the beings you call demons are just races from other planes. As they usually feed off of life essence they are usually avoided, however they don't usually get as bad as a life stealer, life essence isn't like a drug to them." Delilah explained.

"Not sure that reassures me." Megan said.

I had to agree with Megan on that. One was obviously worse than the other, but both sounded bad.

"Master?" Delilah called me with that sweet voice and begging expression again sending a shiver up my spine.

"Yes?" I replied trying not to show how much it affected me.

"Are you considering bonding me?" she asked.

I looked down at Delilah for a few moments in contemplation. Leaving aside her appearance, and the way her voice affected me, she was only a foot and a half tall, so that wasn't going to work even if I wanted it to. She seemed much more knowledgeable and that was what we needed now.

A plaintive cry drew my attention away from Delilah to Heather and Bryan. Heather looked almost catatonic while she clutched Bryan against her protectively. Apparently she was holding on too tight though.

"It's alright Heather, breath." I told her as I got up and guided her to sit down where I had been.

Heather just shook her head but didn't speak.

"She will be fine master." Delilah spoke up then tilted her head to the side, "This world… It feels young. The gates aren't open, and the ambient mana feels thin." she stated as if to herself before her eyes landed on me again. They were sharp this time like I was a puzzle she was trying to figure out. "Master, can I see the contract that Enya created for you?" she asked.

"How would I do that?" I asked.

"Just imagine offering me the same conditions as those she has." Delilah told me.

I frowned, I hadn't even decided on whether I was going to bond her yet. I was leaning in that direction.

Sensing my hesitation Delilah giggled. "The contracts aren't permanent. Even if I accept it you can still cancel it." she told me.

I groaned, hadn't I told Enya that myself. There was just too much going on all at once. I did as Delilah instructed.

Delilah seemed to look off into the distance as if she was seeing something that only she could see, which she probably was.

"Twenty percent little one? And a constant drain?" Delilah asked without looking at Enya.

"He has more than enough to spare." Enya replied defensively.

"Hmmmm, so he does, but still, if this is a young world, he is going to need all the power he has to survive." she said only in an offhand manner as she looked over the contract. "Well at least you set a limit and didn't create a loophole." she added a moment later as she sighed then looked at me. "It is a very generous contract. Twenty percent of your mana absorption given to her as a constant drain. Service time is unlimited, so unless you break the contract she will be your permanent bond until you pass away. Normal contracts only give a specified amount, which is usually much smaller than what she is getting, and even then it is given in a lump sum, or if it is more than the summoner is capable of, smaller payments, all at the summoner's discretion." Delilah told me. "She did specify a limit to the amount she gains in a month though. A cap which would give you some leeway if you needed to cut the feed to her."

"And if she doesn't get that amount?" I asked even though I knew the answer. I had looked over the bond before which was why I knew it wasn't permanent. I just hadn't realized that what she was taking was well above the normal rate, I had assumed it, but didn't know exactly how much. I asked only because Megan and Karen seemed concerned.

"Nothing bad." she said looking to Karen and Megan reassuringly. "It just gives Enya the ability to renegotiate or break the contract without penalty. No life essence price at all."

Both girls seemed to relax.

"So recommendations?" I asked Delilah curiously. Her answer would be a huge determining factor on whether I offered to bond her. While I needed advice, I needed good advice. I wouldn't expect her to be unselfish, what living entity wasn't to some degree. I just needed her to be reasonable.