A sound from the bed startled him. The girl was awake, though her normal, innocent smile was replaced by a bloodthirsty expression. "Who are you and why am I here?" she demanded.
Layel frowned. The voice definitely came from her body, but it was the sound of a man, an adult, and clearly did not fit her. "Are you an enchantment?" he asked. He held the girl's arm. "What are you doing possessing this girl?"
The speaker shook him off. "I belong in her and with her always; she is a nymph and is of course contracted to me. The question, bloodsucker, is not what I am doing. The real question is what you are doing here." He held up a hand in warning. "If you do not answer me well, I will be forced to cut out your throat so you cannot answer to anyone ever again. I just thought it would be fair to warn you."
Layel smiled, somehow cheered by the message. "I am glad to hear someone is watching over her. I had been c-c-concerned before. She is here because I thought it was unwise for a young child to be traveling on her own, but clearly I was mistaken." He thought back to how they'd met and frowned again. "You are not a perfect caretaker, though. Some shifter thugs were about to," he gulped, "take the child. I do not think you took over her at that point. I did save her, but I can't approve of you leaving her alone."
The child's body nodded. "Yes, it's an unfortunate downside to being a contractor. I do not have control of her body and can only take over when she lets me in. She is usually very good about that, but she is still young and still new to this arrangement, so the child does not always remember that she is supposed to keep our connection up at all times, just so I can watch out for her if I need to." He sighed. "She's a good girl and more than happy to have me on board; she's just a little forgetful. I am Dürin, of the Düster Downs. Feel privileged that you have had the chance to speak with one of the greatest contractors in this world."
The vampire shook the girl's small hand, which still did not suit the masculine spirit of a swamp, but one had to get used to these sorts of spirits sharing the body with a nymph that was often quite different from them. "Layel," he replied. He couldn't help but think of what the creature had just said and nod thoughtfully. "I can see how that might be difficult." His stutter had faded away during the conversation without either of them noticing. "In fact, this is the youngest I've ever heard of a nymph being contracted. How did you come to meet her so soon?"
Dürin looked aside. It had been a few decades, but he still remembered that first day so clearly. He shared the story with the vampire.
"It was a calm day, similar to many others. Priscilla had wandered off from her sister, chatting with the flowers and trying to get to know them better, as she had been doing since she could speak out loud. It was a sign of particular power for a nymph to be capable of such a thing before puberty, and as a consequence, she was likely to form a contract with one of them easily, while the rest of her peers might spend years trying to build a relationship and convince a contractor to bind with them to boost their power. That she could speak with them all so easily already meant she had the abilities most nymphs longed for without the need for a boost, and it scared the village children.
"Those same children were out exploring the fields themselves as well. Soon they caught sight of the girl sitting alone. She was often alone, as she never really spoke to the children. Today they saw a great opportunity with her sister finally gone from her side for once.
"All the villagers knew that she had greater powers than the others her age, and she rarely spoke with any of them. It led to the village children being resentful and jealous of those skills she had, and all their parents felt the same about the half-breed girls, so this day they didn't have to worry about parents or Priscilla's sibling interfering with them.
"'Look, it's a daemon," one whispered. 'Maybe we should grab her and see if we can take her horns,' another said. They closed in on her with their grubby faces and hands touching her. One of them held a sharp knife. A pair of small boys pinned her arms back, and a girl stepped forward with the dagger. Priscilla kicked and struggled relentlessly, but their grasp was too firm. The knife was raised and came down to slash at her hair. Then the blade was harmlessly floating away as a tall and menacing man joined the circle.
"What are you doing to my friend," I asked them. The children guiltily backed away. One tried to escape, running off into the trees, but I caught him at the back of his collar. I gave the boy a solid shake and a spank, sending him off into the trees with a flea in his ear.
"The young Priscilla drifted over to me partially hiding behind my back and squeezing my hand as she looked out at the other children.
"'Why are you here, so far from your home,' one of the little boys complained grumpily. 'We aren't due for the ceremony for a few more years, and she can't have done her tour yet and met you in your home.'
"All nymphs were required to set
