The binding process was a simple one. More so than the one for True Bond, from what he’d heard about it.

He exerted his will on Nix while they were touching—his ‘essence’, Will probably would have called it—and all she needed to do was let it in.

It was never a pleasant adjustment process for the new familiar, but it was even worse for Nix than any of his other companions. He figured her physiology probably had a hard time integrating with the Concord.

He held her up as she bent double, groaning. Parts of her body bulged and deformed, like there were hands pushing against her skin from the inside. Eventually her legs gave way, and he had to set her down in the grass. Her eyelids fluttered shut, and she threw her head around in obvious pain.

Then, with a sudden snap like his ears popping, their bond asserted itself, an invisible thread connecting them that went taut and firm.

Nix opened her eyes, and her slit pupils narrowed as she looked up into his face.

He could tell what she was feeling. She was happy, which was a relief. He also sensed that she was… hungry? She would very much like to eat him whole.

That was slightly disconcerting, but he figured maybe that was the closest emotion a demon possessed to love.

“I feel it,” she purred, leaning into his embrace. “Oh… Oh my. You’re quite ready to go, aren’t you?”

“Bitch, what did you expect? You’ve had me blue-balling for a minute now.”

“I see. Well, you will have to wait, master.” She put a mocking twist on the last word. “There are still a few formalities to take care of.

That being the contract. Mongrel stood the demon up so that she could retrieve the document she had written out, which materialized as a parchment roll in the air and landed in her waiting palm. She unfurled it and read aloud.

“The primary signee, Nixanthine of the Shalahai brood, does submit that she shall not, whether directly or indirectly, inflict knowing and intentional harm (physical, emotional, spiritual) upon the secondary signee, on pain of cumulative discomfort. She does also submit that she shall not revoke the bond of familiarity unless expressly agreed upon by the secondary signee.

“In return for her service and discretion, the secondary signee, Matthew Blanchard, does submit to provide the primary signee with the utmost possible autonomy in reference to the bond of familiarity, and refrain from any direct control over her thoughts or actions in reference to the bond of familiarity, on pain of cumulative discomfort.

“Additionally, the secondary signee submits to provide the primary signee with one (1) elixir of fellowship as part of fulfillment of the contract, within a period of thirty (30) days of signing, on pain of grievous bodily wounding.”

“Wait,” Mongrel said, “your full name is Nixanthine?”

“Yes. I never told you that?”

“Don’t think so.”

“Now you know. Do you have a problem with it?”

“Nope. It sounds like a pill that would get you high as shit.”

She cocked one eyebrow. “Earth humor?”

Mongrel nodded. “Indeed.”

“Funny.”

Thinking properly about the contract, Mongrel said: “I don’t really like the part about ‘grievous bodily wounding’. Why’s that in there? What if I drop the elixir before I give it to you, will my arm fall off or something?”

“Greater stakes allow for a better outcome,” Nix explained patiently, like she was talking to a five-year-old. “And yes, it would be quite unpleasant for you if you failed to deliver the elixir, so I suggest you avoid dropping it if possible.”

Even now, signing a contract with a demon felt wrong in some deep part of his being. But he trusted her, and he pushed that of himself aside.

I guess there’s nothing for it.

He signed his name in blood, and Nix did the same, using her pinky nail to put down an intricate, flowing signature. The contract split into two identical documents, and she handed one to Mongrel while keeping the other for herself.

“There,” she said. “Now there’s only one part left.”

With sweaty hands, Mongrel handed over the little crystal vial, and managed not to drop it in the process. There was a shimmer in the air when she took it, along with the faint chiming of bells. She swept the liquid in one go and smacked her lips at the taste.

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“Tastes like cinnamon.”

The boys grumbled at their well-deserved elixir going to such an unworthy recipient. Mongrel ignored them. Babies.

Nix’s back arched as the elixir kicked in. Her horns grew longer, her fangs too, and her eyes ignited with a dangerous new glow—two trapped golden flames.

“That was… That was good,” she panted when she came out of it, holding onto his shoulder and nearly piercing both clothing and skin with her claws.

“Do you think it made you stronger?” Mongrel asked. “It sure made you look scarier, at least.”

“Yes, it worked. I can feel it. Increased the benefits gained from your Concord, I think, and gave me some strength due to being obtained via contract.”

“Nice.”

Mongrel held up his hand for a high-five. Nix left him hanging for a good few seconds before she half-heartedly reciprocated the gesture with a heavy sigh.

They had to test that she had fully transitioned into a familiar and that everything worked as it should. First, he picked out a random flower on the ground and told her to use Nourish on it.

“I just… say the word, do I?” she asked, hands curled around the delicate plant.

“Yup. Like you mean it, though.”

“NURTURE!”

There was a soft glow about her hands, and one of Mongrel’s AP crystals winked out.

He chuckled. “Might have come on a bit strong, but you did it. We’ll work on your technique later.”

After that, it was time to test the recall. He exerted his will on the demon, and she flew right into his chest. He felt her right there in his friend hole until he gave a mental command to vomit her back out again as a stream of knotted limbs.

“That was bizarre,” she said. “But also... comfortable. It will be very convenient for taking naps.”

Mongrel poked the empty glass vial that had fallen to the ground with his foot. “I should probably mention that when you get recalled, anything the Concord classifies as ‘clothing’ will come with you. Anything the Concord doesn’t classify as clothing—armor, weapons, general items—are left outside. So far, me and Will haven’t found any ways of circumventing it. Like if you sew a knife into a piece of clothing, the knife will get spat out anyway.”

They went again, but had Nix initiate the recall and summoning this time. It took her a few tries to get it right, but got the hang of it before long.

With that resounding success, Mongrel sent the boys away so they could get a little time to themselves. He felt the chimps’ silent judgment through the bond—but again, ignored them.

Mongrel did not waste any time. He swept the demon up and kissed her. She was soft in his arms, and warm against his lips. Afterwards, they sat together among the flowers and held hands.

They did not have sex. And that was all right. He could tell that she wanted to wait a little.

*****

Bee and Nix watched with mild interest while the men argued.

“Yes, there are some obvious upsides with familiars,” Will admitted, rubbing at the bridge of his nose with two fingers. “But True Bond scales excellently at higher ranks, especially with the setup I’ve come up with for it. To argue that one is better than the other is apples and oranges.”

Mongrel scoffed, hands on hips. “The argument of a loser, brother. Come on, man—three ranks before it starts paying off? Look, I’m not saying True Bond is bad or anything, only that one has some clear benefits over the other.”

They were supposed to be breaking camp, but Will and Mongrel had gotten distracted some fifteen minutes ago, and it didn’t look like they were about to get back on task anytime soon.

“Should I go over there and twist their ears a bit?” Bee asked, shoving the last bit of cooking gear inside one of the packs before folding the flap shut.

“Let them be,” Nix cooed. “They’re cute when they squabble. They’re like little goslings or something.”

Bee snorted. “I think they’re more like two seagulls fighting over one french fry.”

“What’s a french fry?”

“Like a potato but thin.”

“That sounds disgusting.”

“They’re delicious.”

“I’m dubious.”

“It's been ages since I had some. They must sell them somewhere on this fucked-up planet. When we find some, I’ll treat you.”

“If you insist, Beatrice.”

Even while she went about other tasks, Bee kept a close eye on her bond with Will to make sure he didn’t keel over and pass out from anemia or something. Engaging in animated arguments likely wasn’t the best thing for him at the moment, especially with a long day of walking ahead. But she was happy to see him up and about, so she let it slide.

Under Pigeon’s guidance, they found their way back to the road and continued ever northeast towards Talltop.

Will had been in a positively homicidal mood ever since Mongrel flubbed it with his infernal bride, but now that the situation was taken care of he was riding a high of glorious efficiency. His new habit of light-hearted debating a function of that. He was in such a good mood that it seemed to have entirely slipped his mind that their group was down a member. Or maybe he was already looking to Pigeon as the potential replacement.

She was certainly impressive. Over the next few days they encountered no monsters on the road. But on the second morning, when they woke up, the Jeweler was covered in blood that was not her own. Evidently, something had tried its luck in the night, but there wasn’t even enough left of the corpses for Will to extract anything useful from them.

They came upon a fork in the road, one leading south, but kept their bearing.

They saw more traffic, wagons from Timbryhall catching up now that the Midsummer Festival had ended. While they walked behind a tarp-covered carriage, she immediately became aware of a terrible stench. She ignored it, but then she caught the same smell of cloying rot from another wagon some hours later.

“The fuck is that smell?” Bee asked, her voice nasally as she breathed through her mouth.

“Corpse carts,” Will said. “Bound for Stormfort.”

“Human corpses?”

“Yeah.”

“Do I want to know why?”

“They're a valuable resource up there. The lady of Stormfort uses them to make zombies.”

“Uh-huh. Zombies, got it.”

On the fourth day, they finally made it to Talltop. According to her own account, Pigeon had made the same trip going the other direction in less than one full day.

Not for the first time, Bee was glad that Pigeon was on their side.