Chapter 3

"Daryl!" a voice yelled then I felt a hand on my arm shaking me.

I groaned as the movement set off a sharp pain that started just behind my eyes and shot back into my skull like an ice pick.

"Daryl? Are you alright? What happened?" another voice asked then a different hand caressed my forehead then moved down to my eye before roughly prying it open sending a bright light into my head making me groan again as the light exacerbated the pain in my head.

A loud angry squawk sounded out causing both hands on me to pause then withdraw.

"What the hell is that?" the first voice asked.

"How did it get in here?" the second asked a moment later.

I groaned again then tried to open my eyes on my own. My mind was starting to wake up, which thankfully seemed to be causing the pain in my head to lessen, not sure how or why but I was grateful for it regardless. I recognized the voices as Megan and Karen's, but I had absolutely no idea what had made the squawking sound.

As my eyes opened I was once again blinded by the bright light, but it wasn't as bad as the first time when one of the girls opened my eye. After a few moments my eyes adjusted to the light and I was able to make out my surroundings. The girls were kneeling beside me looking as pretty as they usually did. Megan was the one who had been shaking me and was on my left side. Karen was on my right.

Directly in front of me was a large red bird perched on the top of one of our crappy dining room chairs. It was all battered wood that had seen better days before the Micheal and I had spotted the set at a yard sale. It still served its purpose and that was all we really cared about right now.

The bird looked like a raven except that it was a bit too big, had fire engine red feathers and its eyes glowed red.

"Finally you wake up!" a feminine voice said.

I looked around for the owner of the voice. She sounded like a bubbly teen girl with way too much energy, but I saw no such person nearby.

"Who are you looking for master?" the voice asked again. I looked back to the bird absurdly wondering if it was the bird speaking, but it had yet to open its beak.

"Is anyone else hearing a voice?" Megan asked.

"A girl's voice, sounds a bit too energetic?" Karen asked.

"Yeah." Megan replied.

I groaned then moved to find a more comfortable position. With the girls so close to me it was hard not to bump into them as I moved but neither seemed bothered as they continued to stare at the red raven worriedly.

"Who, or what are you?" I asked looking at the bird once I had settled into a more comfortable position with my back against the couch. I felt stupid for doing it but despite the situation it seemed the most logical answer.

"Yeah! I didn't get an idiot!" the voice cheered then before our eyes the bird shifted its shape from that of a overly large red raven to a one and a half foot tall woman with brilliant red hair wearing a bright shoulder less red feathery dress. Her skin, where it showed, was sickly pale, and her eyes still glowed red. Demon was the first thing that came to my mind.

"I am not a demon!" the woman yelled then stomped her little foot, obviously forgetting that she was precariously balanced on top of one of my dining room chairs. That little display of anger threw off her balance and a moment later she was whirling her arms around as she tried then failed to regain her balance which ended with an ungraceful fall from the top of the chair to the table behind her.

"Ow." the little red haired woman groaned.

The girls and I glanced at each other unable to really process what we had just seen.

After another moment the little red woman reappeared standing on the dining room table. She glared at us angrily for a moment then sighed. "I am not a demon." she repeated again minus the foot stomping.

"Did you just read my mind?" I asked her.

"We're bonded, of course I can hear the thoughts you direct at me." the little woman replied.

"If you aren't a demon then what are you?" Karen asked.

"I am a fire elemental. A lesser fire elemental if you must know, but I have high hopes of ranking up now that I am bonded to a master with such high potential!" she informed us excitedly.

"And who is your master?" Karen asked suspiciously.

Without the elemental's reply I already knew the answer. Despite the odd situation, I could sense the presence of the elemental better than I could the two beautiful women beside me. Even with the three of us positioned close enough that our bodies were in contact.

"Him." the elemental confirmed my thoughts by pointing at me.

Both Megan and Karen looked at me. I met each woman's gaze for a moment then shrugged. "Don't look at me, the last thing I remember was getting horribly ill after I got out of the shower and falling down on the ground because of the pain." I told them.

"So you only just awakened? Wow! Though I should have guessed as much, the essence around here seems awfully thin." the elemental chattered on.

"Awakened?" I asked latching onto a reason for that horrible pain. I remembered the gathering of fog, but I was nearly convinced that it had been some kind of dream or illusion that my mind had created to explain the waves of heat and pain.

"Hmm? Oh wow, okay, ummm. Well let's start with having you close your eyes." she replied.

"Huh?" I asked.

"You want to know what I mean by awakened right?" she asked looking from me to the girls then back to me.

"Yeah." I agreed.

"Then close your eyes. I would also recommend keeping your hands in your lap. The ladies beside you seem to like you a little bit, but not enough for wandering hands." she told me.

Immediately both Karen and Megan moved away from my sides leaving me on the floor alone.

I glared at the fire elemental but she didn't seem perturbed at all. "For the best master. You might be my first bonded, but I have been summoned before. When someone first discovers how to interact with their abilities they always flail their arms around. While I personally think it is funny, I believe it better to warn you now then get you in trouble when they think you are trying to take advantage of them." she told us.

"Thank you." Karen said.

"Normally I don't bother, watching such scenarios are usually worth the wasted time when newly awakened summon me by accident. Even with having him as my bonded I was tempted, it is usually fairly entertaining." she said then sighed "Though I know it is for the best to save him the embarrassment and the days or weeks of silence you girls would likely put him through." she said then shrugged whole seeming sad. "Never really understood why you fleshy races are so offended by bodily contact. I have had the same man accidentally summon me again not even a day later while he and the same woman who was upset with him were completely naked touching and grinding against each other as they moaned, groaned, and ...."

"So what does he do after he closes his eyes?" Megan asked interrupting the elemental as she blushed a deep red.

"Huh? Oh right, the ability interface. Ummmm, I have never had to use it, my abilities don't work the same as you fleshy races. If I remember correctly the others with the newly awakened would tell them to concentrate on the glow they will see once they close their eyes. That glow will be from your mana core. Once you are focused on it it should open the interface. From there it is supposed to be instinctual. Something about racial memories or something like that." she explained.

"Racial memories?" I asked skeptically.

The fire elemental shrugged. "It's one of the ways I have heard it explained. It made more sense than the others." she replied.

"And the others were?" Karen asked.

"Let's not get into a theological debate right now. Master still needs to access his ability interface." she replied.

"What is it going to look like?" I asked curiously.

"No idea. No one ever talks about its appearance." she responded. "Besides they usually send me away right after the newly awakened has finished flailing around like a lunatic."