I didn’t know if it was because of the nap I took during the day, or perhaps the inevitable confrontation with Mom. It could also be the constant fear I had of someone dangerous finding this place. Whichever it was, it made it impossible for me to sleep early like I wanted. It wasn’t until an hour past midnight that I could finally close my eyes and find myself in the dreamworld, where I saw the same two shadows from days ago, still hidden by the same mist.

Oddly enough, I slept quite well after that. Of course, that meant I woke up late in the morning, and I was now running downstairs, still in my pyjamas, to see if I could somehow make it in time to find any food at all.

As I walked into the almost empty cafeteria, I saw Anna, Allison and Sylvia sitting at one of the tables. Only their backs were visible to me. Thinking that they had been waiting for me drew a smile on my face. It wasn’t until I walked around them that I saw two strangers eagerly eating everything in front of them.

The first one was a short and robust man. I said short, but I could tell he was still taller than me. His face was mostly hidden by his medium length brunet hair and unusually large braided beard. Despite all the hair, you could still see his light green eyes, rosy cheeks and rather big nose behind it.

The other one was a guy with unblemished, snow white skin. His short, silver hair was almost translucent, and it made it difficult to tell where his forehead actually ended from a distance. One could probably laugh at it if not for the pair of sharp crimson eyes, which gave him the air of a cold and calculating person. His pupils were Cat-like, like mine, which only helped in making his gaze all the more intimidating. His somewhat long and pointy ears were another trait he shared with me. Finally, two big pairs of fangs peeked from his mouth whenever he opened it to gobble up more food. The upper ones were the longest.

The clothes both of them wore could hardly be called so. Torn, burnt and dirty. They were nothing more than rags at this point. I didn’t even bother guessing their ages. I’d probably find out later. Although, they both looked to be at least twenty years old.

I had no doubts about the races of the two individuals in front of me. A dwarf and a vampire had mysteriously showed up overnight. That said, nobody had ever mentioned the existence of dwarfs.

I wonder how many other races I’m not even aware of.

Since they were facing my direction, these two newcomers were the first ones to notice my presence when I walked towards them. The dwarf, after swallowing the last bit of food, was also the first one to speak. “Is this girl the one helping you, Sylvia?”

Finally aware of my presence, she turned to look at me and answered. “Yes, this is Nora.”

“Hey there! My name’s Rex, and this unfriendly looking fellow here is Alex,” he said, wrapping his arm around the vampire’s neck to pull him closer.

Alex frowned and pushed him away before he cleaned his face with a napkin and bowed from his seat. “The name’s Alexander Barlow. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

Any elegance he attempted to show was completely dulled by the state of his clothes. I struggled to contain my laughter.

“Ha! Serves you right for trying to act all fancy!” Rex commented, placing a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Oh, but vampires must have class, am I right?”

Alex brushed the dwarf’s hand away and sneered at him. “Says the one aiming to achieve the ultimate dwarf stereotype. His real name is Reginn, by the way.”

The dwarf grimaced for a split second before he returned to his wide smile. “Just ignore this bloodsucker. I do prefer Rex.”

I could only smile at their silly exchange. It was nice to see Allison was not the only one to welcome her change so openly.

“Where did you guys come from, anyway?” I asked as I climbed onto my usual stool.

“Nora!” shouted Anna, looking at them in concern.

“What?”

Rex laughed. “Oh, come on, let her be. She’s just curious.” His sight shifted back to me. “We came from Kelpont’s Research Facility. Have you heard about it?”

I gasped. “I’m sorry! I didn’t-”

The dwarf raised his hand to interrupt me and shook his head. “We really don’t mind, missy. We are safe now, aren’t we? That’s what matters. We barely knew anyone there, anyway.”

Alex continued. “They were so paranoid about us telling someone about their little secret that they kept us in complete isolation.”

“Who would’ve thought that their favouritism would become our salvation,” Rex added.

“What do you mean? What secret?” Dr. Blake asked with interest when he walked in with his tray of food. Lily was flying behind him, making it clear it was his turn to let the fairy pick his breakfast. Most seemed to be leftovers of whatever they could still find, though. I hoped that wasn’t all that was left.

Alex smirked. “What would you say if I told you this isn’t the first time the world has seen vampires or giants?”

“Ha! I knew it!” Dr. Blake yelled, pumping a fist into the air.

Alex’s eyes widened in response. “Oh, so you are aware?”

“Calm down, Dad. We don’t know that yet.” Anna grabbed her father’s arm, guiding it back down. “Do you have any proof?” she asked back.

The vampire shrugged. “Not anymore, I’m afraid. They took everything the moment we submitted it.”

Anna snorted at him. “How convenient.”

Dr. Blake gave her a hard look before speaking. “Please, don’t mind her. She’s never been a fan of my theory. What was it that you found?”

“A couple of giant skeletons. One male and one female based on their belongings.”

“Were they like me?” Allison asked, pointing at herself.

“Not quite,” the vampire responded. “They were smaller, although still too big for a human at nearly three metres high.”

“Maybe they were young?” I suggested.

He shook his head. “They were adults. I could tell. Most likely a couple who, judging by the same hole in their heads, were executed with a gun. We can’t exactly confirm it now.”

Dr. Blake ran his hand through his hair, processing what Alex told us. He then asked, “What about the vampires then? How do you know they existed?”

“Well, that’s because they told us,” Alex responded nonchalantly.

“Why would they tell you, two random civilians, something so important?” Anna asked. “My father has been speculating about it for weeks, and no one has even hinted we were right!”

Alex smirked. “It’s all in how you ask.”

She frowned and motioned her head for him to continue.

“Let’s just say they didn’t react kindly to our refusal when they asked us to hand over any pictures or additional evidence we had. Realising we were in trouble, I tried buying us some time to escape and tricked them into thinking I also had proof that vampires existed. I remembered my niece claiming that one of her classmates was a vampire, so it was the first creature that came to my mind at that moment.”

“That prank came with a price, though,” Rex added laughingly.

“Indeed. I didn’t expect them to transform me into one and lock me down to keep me out of the way while they searched my property for it. They got Rex too, of course.”

“They transformed you?” I asked in disbelief.

Anna sighed. “That may be true, Nora. Well, part of it at least. Remember when I told you my dad accepted the job because of me? We weren’t entirely sure, but we already suspected that the government had something to do with my transformation. They knew he wouldn’t be able to refuse with me involved. We believe them when they say they want to stop the virus from spreading out of control, but that’s the key word in all this. Control.”

Alex's loud and sudden laughter drew our attention back to him.

“My apologies. I don’t mean to be rude. I just find it amusing that they can’t even hire their own employees without blackmailing them. That does sound like the nobles I know.” He took a moment to calm down and cleared his throat. “At least you don’t have the Spectres to threaten you yet. We made the right choice coming here.”

“Spectres? You mentioned them when you got here,” Dr. Blake commented. “Could you elaborate?”

“Gladly,” Alex replied with a nod. “The Spectres are an order of knights who operate in secret. You could call them the real men in black. The difference being that they hide evidence of mythical beings, rather than aliens.”

“Let me guess, they also told you that themselves,” Anna said mockingly with crossed arms.

“As a matter of fact, yes, one of them did. You could say he was our prison guard back in Kelpont. He was a nice guy, actually. All he needed was ‘a little push’, and we became friends fairly quickly. He didn’t agree with much of the stuff the government was doing back there, but he didn’t dare talk any further than what I’ve told you.”

“It was him who helped us escape and told us to come here when the place was compromised. He said you guys were our ticket to safety,” Rex added.

“In any case, there’s what we know. Care to share your side of the story? How did you know of their existence, doctor?” Alex inquired.

Dr. Blake smiled from ear to ear and began explaining his theory, now backed up by their recent discoveries regarding shared genes among people with elfkin potential. I knew the story already, so I took my chance to finally listen to my grumbling stomach and excused myself before getting up and grabbing whatever food I could still find.

Walking back to the table with a plate full of random leftovers, I watched Anna take the newcomers to the living quarters, no doubt to show them to their new rooms. Allison and Sylvia waited at the table to keep the rest of us company whilst we ate.

“You were quite late today, Nora,” Dr. Blake commented after a sip of coffee. “Did you still feel weak after your nap?”

I shook my head as I sat down. “I think it was the opposite. I couldn’t sleep until very late because I wasn’t tired.”

“I see. Well, try to get plenty of exercise so you can go back to your schedule. I heard from Allison that you didn’t last long with yesterday’s flight training. Are your wings still hurting?”

“A little. Is that normal?” I asked. “Anna said they were supposed to be strong enough with my transformation.”

“Yes, quite normal. Don’t worry about it. I believe Anna meant to say that they are in good condition, rather than capable of effortless flight. Take Allison, for example. She has strong muscles to support her new body. Thanks to that, she could walk and move normally despite being unconscious for a month. Still, that doesn’t mean she’s in shape for a marathon. In fact, her legs will hurt in the same way your wings did after a few minutes of exercise.”

I sighed in relief. “I was starting to think it was because of something wrong with my body.”

“It’s understandable. You’re the youngest demon that has awoken, after all. Though I’ve read reports of younger children who are still in the process of transformation that seem to indicate demons gain this ability somewhere between 7 to 12 years of age.

“That is assuming you really develop at half the rate a human does. That’s simply our theory based on the regression all demons and giants had. We’re quite sure that’s the case, but there’s a small chance it’s just a side effect of the mutation, like your horns or your pigmentation. After that, you could age normally again. Time will tell if we’re correct.”

---<>----------<>----------<>---

It was slightly past noon when we finished eating, and, as promised, I intended to exercise as much as possible to return to my usual sleeping schedule. Dr. Blake also gave us the camera back, asking us to record my flight training for him to review later. Lily decided to stay with him. She was not ready to go out yet.

Realising I was still in my pyjamas, I left Allison and Sylvia, who sat down at the terrace to wait for me whilst I changed into something better suited for exercising. Hopefully, Allison would work her magic and soothe the poor woman. She probably needed it after the news about Kelpont.

Once in my room, I took the chance to check my phone and saw Mom’s message asking me to call her before I went to bed. The lack of her usual army of emoji at the end of the text was a bad omen for me. I answered back to confirm it. After taking a minute to calm down, I grabbed my fessy, hung it over my shoulder, and ran back outside.

We went to the training grounds for some flight training first. Same as before, Allison picked me up, and I dedicated myself to beat my wings at the rhythm I previously found to be comfortable and effective.

Knowing the proper wing movements and frequency, I lasted considerably longer than the first day, even with the pain I still felt. In my initial attempt, I was able to continue ‘flying’ for 20 minutes without stopping. After that, I repeated the exercise three more times, but I could only keep going for 15 minutes for the second one, and much less for the remaining two.

Satisfied with my improvement, I suggested going to the lake for a break. Mostly because I really wanted to practise playing the flute, and the scene inspired me to do so.

As we walked, I stole glances at Sylvia to inspect the changes that had already taken place. Her hair had grown slightly, and the hooks on her ankles had reached around half their maximum size. I couldn’t see her wings or tail since she was sitting, but her posture told me they were somewhat present and annoying. Feeling my stare, she gave me a questioning look with her now silver eyes.

“Is everything alright?” she asked.

Snapping out of my trance, I answered, “Yeah. Just checking your progress.”

She looked down in silence.

Crap. I did it again.

I did apologise, but she dismissed it saying it was okay.

Reaching the lake, I pulled out my fessy from its case and walked to the pier to play. As expected, I still had trouble with my muscle memory messing up the notes. Thankfully, Sylvia and Allison were busy with their own conversation, making it less embarrassing for me. I trusted the giantess to continue helping her.

I kept playing the same pieces over and over, hoping that it would help my general technique. After nearly an hour, I was able to play it properly once more. When I finished, I looked behind me and noticed my audience had grown by three.

The newcomers had already showered and changed from their rags, but only Alex was wearing normal clothing. Rex, on the other hand, was wearing a hospital gown. It was him who stood closest to me and was clapping as if I had given an outstanding performance. I couldn’t tell if he meant it or he was simply mocking me.

His following words pointed towards the former. “That was Danath Online’s main theme, wasn’t it? Do you play it?”

“Yes, I am a druid,” I replied.

“Ah, I’ve heard that one is a bit difficult because it’s easy to mess up your build. Never caught my interest, but some of my guildmates are quite familiar with that class. I can introduce you to them once I’m able to log back in.”

“Thanks, Rex. I would love to meet them. What do you play as?”

“I’m a paladin. My username is Viperex79 if you want to add me.”

“Hold on!” I shouted. “You’re in my guild! I’m Vylt.”

“No way! So this is where you were? Ryme told us you were sick, but to think it was something like this. You’re way younger than I expected! Voice changer? Don’t worry, I also lied about my age whenever the games required it.”

I rubbed my forearm and looked at Sylvia in concern. She merely looked down, seemingly thoughtful.

“I’m actually eighteen,” I replied. “The virus did this to me.”

“Oh!” The dwarf exclaimed. “Why didn’t you say anything earlier?”

I shrugged. “You didn’t ask.”

It made him chuckle. “True that.”

“Anyway, what happened to you?” I asked out of curiosity. “Mary- I mean, Ryme told me you went treasure hunting. Was that how you found the giants?”

“Sort of,” the dwarf replied. “We never got to start our journey, actually. Alex wanted to test the devices before the trip, and it turned out his backyard was a giant’s grave.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, some luck we’ve got. Anyway, what a small world we live in, huh?”

“Hold on,” Anna said, interrupting us. “Do you hear that?”

Everyone stayed quiet and paid attention to our surroundings, but other than a few birds and bugs, I heard nothing worth mentioning.

“What is it, Anna?” Allison finally asked.

“Music,” she whispered. “The same piece Nora was playing just now, but I don’t recognise the instrument. It comes from the other side of the lake.”

“Maybe some campers heard Nora’s flute and liked the music?” Allison suggested.

“Can’t be,” Anna replied. “The camping area is too far from here. Even if they were near the shore, they wouldn’t be able to hear it.”

“And you can?” Sylvia asked.

“Yeah, surprisingly. I normally can’t hear something that far away. It’s hard to explain, but Nora’s flute is like that, too. It has a longer reach than it appears. It sounds different from afar, though. Maybe it’s like a dog whistle from a certain distance. It carries on in a frequency that the human ear can’t pick up.”

Alex stared at the lake some time, then asked, “Any ideas on who this mysterious player might be?”

She shook her head. “No. The only people who should be there are our rangers, but it makes no sense for them to be playing an instrument, much less the same tune. Speaking of which...”

Anna pulled her phone out. She dialled a three digit number and placed the device next to her ear.

“It’s Anna Blake. May I speak with Mr. Galen?”

“Thank you.”

We remained silent as we listened.

“Hello. Sorry to bother you, Clark, but I heard music coming from the other side of the lake.

“Yes. Yes, I’m afraid someone may have slipped past one of your rangers. Would you mind sending some of your men to deal with them?

“Thank you. Let me know when it’s over.”

She ended the call and stared at the lake some more.

“Should we leave?” I asked.

“It’s not necessary,” The elf replied. “Whoever that is, they’re still far from here. The rangers should take care of them in no time.”

Alex cleared his throat to get our attention. “So, Nora. Anna told us earlier that you learned how to use ice magic. Is there a chance you could show us? I can teach you mine in exchange if you want.”

“You know how to use magic too?” I asked.

“Psychic magic, same as the other vamps. Not as impressive, but it’s something. What do you say?” he asked, extending his hand for a shake.

“Well, I guess I could use someone else’s view on it,” I said, accepting the deal.

“You mean you have a teacher already?”

I tilted my head and hummed in contemplation. “I guess you could call him that. He just explained how it worked and gave me something to practise on. Can’t say I’ve actually done anything about it, though. My own magic has kept me a bit busy.”

“In that case, I can simply listen to what you know. Not that I doubt your teacher, of course. I’ll just make sure he didn’t miss anything.”

“That works,” I replied, looking around. Finding a thick brand within the shrubbery, I stuck it on the ground vertically and took a step backward before freezing a good section.

“I’m not going to lie, I expected something flashier,” Rex said with a frown. “Can’t you, like, throw ice spikes or something? Not even a small piece of hail?”

“I don’t know. I just learned yesterday,” I answered with a shrug.

Alex pushed the dwarf aside. “If you want ice cubes to throw, go to the kitchen, Rex.” He then looked back at me. “How do you do it?”

“I simply think about making something cold or freezing it. So far, I’ve discovered that it affects anything between me and my target. Rather than ice, I think it should be called freezing magic.”

“All right, let me try.” He rolled his sleeves up, and extended his hand towards a different spot on the stick. He grunted, tried different poses, and even cursed at the ‘bloody’ target.

There was nothing.

“Maybe you can try thinking about taking the heat away? Something more scientific like immobilising the molecules could help too,” I suggested.

He nodded and tried again. The result, however, was the same. It didn’t surprise me. If it were that easy for everyone, it would’ve been discovered earlier. Although that raised an important question:

Why can I?

“Are you sure that’s all I need?” He asked.

I shrugged. “As far as I can tell.”

He clicked his tongue in response and walked away. “A pity. I’ll give it another go later. For now, let’s review your psychic magic knowledge like we agreed.”

“Is that fine?” I asked. “I couldn’t teach you properly.”

“I only wanted to see it. Learning how to use it would’ve been better, but it’s not like I can’t keep trying later. With this, at least both of us will have something to work on. Or did you have something else in mind?”

I shook my head. Despite wanting to focus on my freezing powers, I was also very interested in getting familiar with psychic magic, mostly so I could get the hang of illusion spells when they became a thing. If they ever did.

“Okay. Could you give me a brief summary of what you’ve learned?”

I gave him the same explanation Jack told me when I asked him. At least what I understood from it.

Alex chuckled. “Well, my only problem with that is that I really can’t teach you anything else for now. At least not until you’re done with that first spell. Talk about a bad trade. Neither of us got much out of it.”

“Yeah, I guess so,” I replied.

Anna, who had been staring at the lake the entire time, then walked to us. “Sorry to interrupt you, Nora. Can you help me with something?”

I raised an eyebrow. “Sure, I don’t mind. Did they find the trespassers?”

She shook her head. “I haven’t heard from them yet, which is why I need your help.”

Just as she said that, her phone rang. “Hold on.” She checked the screen and took the call. “Did you find them?” She frowned. “Are you sure?

“Alright, thanks.” She sighed and turned her phone off.

“Nothing?” I asked.

“I’m sure I heard it, though.” She looked down and remained silent for a while before looking at me once more. “Back to my previous idea, then. Do you think you can play your flute some more? Try something different this time.”

I was concerned about the safety of that decision. She seemed to be getting obsessed with it, although, after the recent attack, it made sense for her to be on edge. It didn’t hurt to try to see if we got something from it. I nodded, walked to the pier, and took my fessy out of its sleeve.

This time, I played the theme from one of my favourite movies, and I kept repeating for several minutes until Anna told me to stop. After I did, she closed her eyes and listened carefully.

“I hear it! They’re copying this one too.” This time, instead of using her phone, she walked towards the forest whilst removing her lab coat.

I tugged at her shirt. “Wait! What are you doing?”

She dropped the white clothing in my hands. “I need to go and see for myself.”

“Can’t you leave that to the rangers?” Allison asked, getting up.

“They had their chance. If someone can find whoever is playing that instrument, that’s me,” she said, pointing at her ears. “Don’t worry. I won’t let them see me. I’ll just scout for a bit, so I can point the rangers in the right direction.”

Fortunately, her green shirt and dark mustard pants could offer some camouflage. Though, given her bright hair, the fact that she could hear someone from far away was probably the biggest source for her confidence.

I didn’t think it was enough, but I understood it was a risk worth taking if that meant we could keep unwanted eyes away from our hideout. I just wished Lily was with us so she could keep her company, and maybe even alert us if something actually happened to Anna.

“I’ll go with you,” Alex said, stepping forward. “Just for safety.”

She paused briefly, then nodded. The moment they disappeared within the foliage, I resumed my task with the fessy, playing a new piece I thought would be catchy enough. If I could manage to keep the trespassers interested, Anna would have a bigger chance of finding them.

---<>----------<>----------<>---

I kept going until I felt dizzy, and my mouth was dry. When I said I could drink from the lake, I never actually expected to do it.

We heard rustling coming from the woods, and soon enough, the two of them reemerged from within the forest.

I ran to them and offered Anna her coat back, which she took and wore before saying, “We couldn’t find them. I followed the noise all the way to the other side, but just as we were getting closer, it stopped.”

Feeling defeated, Anna contacted the rangers again and told them to stay on the lookout. After that, all of us walked back to the building to let Dr. Blake know about our intruders, as well as getting something to eat.