The circle for the contract was double layered. The thoughtless spirits in the room were still trying to enter into Nate’s soul. Having helped during the process they had a natural attraction to a normal contracting circle. They would become part of his arsenal only once he was done signing his first contract. Actual contracts were different from how they would be placed into service.

  A spirit contract and contracts in general were two sided. Proposals were offered and then accepted. Those mindless spirits wouldn’t be given the chance for negotiation. To Nate it was the difference between being part of the team and being a part of the equipment. If the equipment breaks, so be it. You can replace a printer or a screwdriver. What is much harder to replace are the people and their talents.

  The outer circle blocking the spirits was made by his teacher. Nate was smart but he wasn’t going to learn magic in a day, let alone half of one. The circle he made was the simplest one possible. Since he couldn’t put any traps or deal breaking rules within he was subject to whatever the spirit asked. The minor intelligence left within the spirit meant it wouldn’t ask for much. Its previous accomplishments meant it held a great chance at recuperating into something stronger.

  When he would later make his contract with Karah, he’d need to be certain of what she wanted. She could be trusted, that's what his gut told him. The chance to be able to demand something of him would be beyond tempting. He would need to be careful not to let his ambition outpace his ability. They only had the one chance of forming a contract with the rudimentary circle.

  The ring secured from invaders, Nate read through the instructions a final time. Whereas most spells pushed an owned spirit into the circle, this one needed him to reach out his own soul. It was the reason each of these contracts were important. They defined what you could truly do and accomplish. The spirits that would be bound later would act as batteries or parts of spells.

  He stretched out his building, the front door acting as the gate way for the meeting. The house was fulfilling its purpose as both storage and a bridge. Looking within himself he closed his eyes. The large Town Square that made up his soul twinkled with the orange light. Walking out into its center he took in the surroundings for a moment.

  The trees rustled in unseen wind, a sole building shifted ever so slightly. Its black and white walls cut the landscape's bright colors in two. The front door to the gothic home stood ajar. The spirit had been brought inside by the spell. It would be waiting for him.

  Pushing the door open he found the foyer. It hadn’t been reformed like the outside. The wallpaper peeled and an odor wasted from the musty wood. He would need to spend time renovating the interior if he was to bring in any spirits of status. The spirit was standing in the room just left of the foyer. Its appearance wavering, the signs his teacher told him were from clear spiritual exhaustion.

  “Hello, Can you understand me?”

  The spirit still had its back turned. It was inspecting what was to be a living room area. A tv was placed to the far wall and hooked in haphazardly. It had been one of the few upgrades they’d given the place. His hands rested on the back of a couch which they’d sourced from the curb. Holes littered the walls where fights had begun, ended, or simply continued.

  “Wh…e….n… H….o…w….”

  Confused words pushed out slowly from its mouth. A darkness bubbled around its feet. If it didn’t form the contract it was likely it would vanish all together. Nate was indebted to the spirit so he had to be quick.

  “I want you to help me. I need the power to defeat my enemies.”

  The spirit seemed to react to the demands. Energy coursed into it from the circle powering it enough to be able to make its own demands. Though with the little mind it had left it was doubtful it would be anything of substance.

  “I… I will always be there for you. I am responsible for you.”

  Nate felt a chill in his body, he had a guess who it was for sometime now. He’d not told his teacher nor Karah. Moving to its side he placed a hand on the apparition's own. It looked at him, its eyes near blindness. Teddy had the same blonde hair as him, that soft smile that couldn’t blame him for anything looking at him.

  “Dad.”

  His fathers smile widened. The other hand shakily touched Nate’s cheek. Tears in both worlds rolled down Nate's face. His father was here and he always had been. Trying to stop his anger, trying to protect him.

  “Dad, you need to agree or I’ll lose you again.”

  “I make a request?”

  His dad was more lucid than his Teacher had said he would be. Knowing his father he wasn’t one to condone violence it could ruin the plan if his demand went too far. He would be faced with an impossible choice. Losing his father forever or being able to save everyone.

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  “What do you want dad?”

  “You must promise to take responsibility. For those around you, so long as it is within reason.”

  “I don’t know what that means? I’ve never been able to be responsible like you dad. I’ll fail you.”

  “You already have succeeded. You just have to be you. Son, I agree to this contract.”

  The room spun as they were carried to the floor above. What was once an office with a double glass door pulled them inside. Paint flaked onto the walls as the broken desk righted itself. The window smudged with dirt cleared and the cracks lessened. It wasn’t perfect, but much of the trash vanished as it coalesced.

  Blain Cotton’s form became corporeal, color returned to his body. He smiled at Nate as he ran a finger over the dust laden desk. It was no longer broken but still a mess. A hand clapped Nate on the shoulder and the two embraced. No words were needed in that moment they were truly together again.

  “Son, I think it best you go for now. My mind is still fogged. I will rest here for a time to regain my strength. Try not to almost die again, please.”

  “I’ll try my best, dad.”

  Nate slowly returned to the room. The lights were dim compared to the glow of the spirit house. He smiled widely at Karah and his teacher. Wayne felt proud it was the same feeling of getting a particularly difficult golem to the launch phase. It was all about getting it to boot, after that was the fun part. The programming, the tweaking, everything that would be needed to make Nate into a proper necromancer.

  “What were their demands? Nothing too crazy were they?”

  The concern in his voice died quickly. Nate’s smiling face made it clear that it wasn’t anything bad. He would still insist on knowing but the tension eased. He’d seen classmates at the academy suffer life threatening issues because of a bad deal. Once one was made they couldn’t go back on the deal without severe consequences.

  “I just have to be responsible for my actions as I have tried to be up till now. A promise just to be myself.”

  “So it's a bit of a perspective thing? So long as you take responsibility for the things you think you should do then you're golden? Honestly, it would have been easier to feed it children. Oh, well it could be worse.”

  “So does that mean I can ask for anything? Like to make you only love me, or to agree to conquer the world?”

  Nate grimaced at the ideas popping out of Karah’s mouth. Neither of those were something he could really agree too. Maybe to conquer the world but he’d never actually follow through. What would the penalty be if he wasn’t actively pursuing such a thing?

  “Who said I was going to make a contract with you?”

  Both of them were shocked at Nate’s words. Wayne obviously thought that's why she was there. Karah seemed to have it as a done deal already. To win the battle you must even trick your allies. Nate wouldn’t let himself be duped.

  “Nate what do you mean? Of course you should form one with me. I mean don’t you care for wittle ol me anymore? Haven’t I been so good to you?”

  Nate had to hold in his smile. Karah always thought she was in control. It was why when she assumed the leadership she let Nate do the day to day work. She never really understood the concept of leadership other than being the strongest in the room. Nate had her number the moment he’d lost, after all they were similar. They both like the fight, she just never learned to command.

  “Nate, as your Teacher I agree with the… uh, Wittle girl. She’s strong and her potential will help in what's to come.”

  “I completely understand Teacher. But as you've told me I need to be careful what I agree too. Karah not that I’m going to, but what would you like to be in the contract. If it's something too hard to complete, don’t you think it would be a waste of time to attempt?”

  Wayne eyed Nate coming to the conclusion that he was already in the negotiations. Any good necromancer started early and ended only when it suited themselves. He might not have had such a negotiation in a long time, but the reasoning was sound. Unsure how to help, he chose silence. If it really broke down he’ll swoop in and look great doing it.

  “Nate you can’t do this to me. I fucking came here for you. You little shit think I would ask for something crazy? I’ll show you crazy. If you don’t make a contract with me I'll squash you like a bug.”

  The idea to fool her into lowering her asking price might work, if Nate doesn’t get killed. He wanted to wipe at the sweat forming on his head. He wasn’t going to be able to do that; he needed to look confident. His tongue ran across the back of his teeth. If he played it right then maybe he wouldn’t end up stuck as practically enslaved to Karah.

  “Karah, If you beat me up then I will never make a contract with you.”

  Her fist hung in the air internally she was screaming. Did he really think so low of her, now she couldn’t even cover her tears up with being angry. Slowly tears rolled down her cheek, she went silent. Wayne looked at Nate like he was a monster. He knew she wasn’t just a little girl, still he seemed to be acting quite cruel.

  There were a few choices for Nate at the moment but he didn’t like most of the options. Option one was to just give in and do whatever she wanted. He wouldn’t let that happen. The second was to keep on going. Nate found he still had feelings for her so he couldn’t do that. The last is what he chose.

  “Master the contract circle please.”

  Karah slowly stopped crying. Her hands had been covering her mouth, which was still in an anger filled smile. A horrifying appearance without doubt yet she was still sad. Nate knew this. They were friends and then lovers. So he knew that she was more fragile than she gave away. Inside his soul they’d be able to talk more openly. It was now or never.

  “This contract is different from others, when your souls touch you have to allow it to happen. Otherwise you could end up with tears in the fabric of your souls.”

  They both placed a hand on the circle, their minds pulled along with their souls.