“Ok, so we found out that there is something weird about Victor. He apparently looked that same way he did ten years ago. So, could the date be wrong?” I asked

  “No, that was a government software. They wouldn’t have incorrect time stamps.” Mom said

  “Well, it wouldn’t be the first time that a human government’s system was faulty.” Alaric scoffed

  “Either way, Vivian is right, even if she is acting strange. Only a demon or devil could have erased all those images without physically being here. A witch could have probably done the same as well, but he would need to be extremely old and experienced, older than I am.” Grandma said

  “Alright, so Victor is either a demon or devil, so what should we do?” I asked

  “Not sure, this is a complicated situation. On one hand, if we try snooping and piss him off he could just kill us. On the other, he might just do that anyway. We could try leaving town, but if he had set his sights on us, then he might follow us.” Grandpa said thoughtfully

  “So I’ll go snooping around then.” I said and they looked at me disapprovingly

  “Whether he is a demon or a devil, I don’t think he’ll hurt me. Him letting me feed on him is proof enough.” I said

  “I do not approve of this. Who knows what that guy, whatever he is, is planning? He could hurt you.” Mom said worriedly

  “He could hurt us either way, at least this way I can find out what he wants.” I said and she looked at me while biting her lips

  “I think she should do it.” Alaric supported and I smiled

  “Alright fine, but we should do what Vivian suggested earlier. A series of random encounters and see what we can learn about him.” Mom said and my smile grew even wider

  “Since I’m gonna take on the task of investigating a possibly powerful demon or devil, I should learn some advanced vampire abilities. Specifically flight, misting and phasing.” I said and grandpa laughed

  “I think it’s time you learned as well, but I’ll warn you, they will take time to master and they are very dangerous to learn, so be cautious.” He warned and I nodded his head

  “Now, I need you to go into a meditative position.” He said and I looked at him confused before sitting on the floor and crossing my legs. From what I knew, flight, misting and phasing were the three advanced abilities that a vampire can learn. Each ability was powerful and useful in their own way, but also hard to master. I never received any theoretical training for these abilities since my family didn’t see the point. But according to my knowledge, misting was the ability to turn your entire body into dense mist. Some of the most contained your real body, while other parts were just mist made of excess magical energy. Phasing allowed you to simply pass through solid objects, pure and simple. While flight allowed you to move through the air without obstructions from wind pressure and all that. According to Vivian, it was a pretty freeing experience. But the one thing she warned me about was that all of them were tiring and draining on your magical reserves.

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  “Now I need you to close your eyes and sense the energies in your body. Breathe in, breathe out and relax. No need to rush.” Grandpa said and I chuckled

  “What are you a Buddhist monk?’ I asked and he snorted

  “You should take this seriously, finding the energy in ones body is important in understanding oneself. The magical energy that flows through our body is not just energy that we use to power our abilities, it’s an integral part of who and what we are. Like the cells in our body. If you want to figure out what exactly it means to be a halfling, then understanding your magical energy is key.” He said passionately and I decided to take this seriously. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, slowly breathing in and out. I allowed my mind to relax, sinking into a sea of darkness where time felt like a foreign concept. I have no idea how long I sunk in that darkness, but when I opened my eyes, I was in a dark place with dense mist that almost felt tangible to the touch. The mist reminded me of the pictures of the Aurora Borealis I’ve seen online, softly switching between different colours, from red to yellow to green to cyan to red once more.

  ‘Beautiful.’ I thought and instinctively knew this mist was magical energy, but not mine. Then who’s was it.

  ‘Victor.’ I thought and that pretty much confirmed that he wasn’t human. It was still possible that he was just half supernatural though, which means that it’s still possible for me to teach him. That thought made me excited. I walked through the mist, guided by instinct and eventually, I found it, my magical energy.

  ‘Uhh, why does it look so pathetic.’ I thought as I looked at the small, crimson red orb, around the size of a bowling ball with cracks all over it. The orb was letting out low shrill shriek, that made me feel sad. I walked over and placed my hand on it and images flashed in my mind, images of the nightmares I have been having for years.

  ‘So this thing is the reason I have been having nightmares all my life. But why? Grandpa said my magical energy was an integral part of who and what we are. Is it trying to tell me that halflings, and by extension me, are just sad and depressing like my nightmares.’ I thought, feeling angry and sad at the thought

  ‘Nope, I refuse to believe that. There must be some other meaning.’ I thought and I knew this was going to be tiresome

  **********************************

  Third Person POV

  “It looks like she’s doing well, for her first time. Though, most of it is probably due to the spirit root.” Alaric said as he looked at the blue candle with small yellow star like dots all over it, burning in the kitchen. The scent smelled amazing, making him feel like falling asleep, but he fought it off.

  “Yes, I wonder what she found inside herself. It should be interesting.” Camilla said

  “By the way, how much did you two spend on this candle.” Alaric asked while squinting his eyes

  “200 Aurous.” Camilla answered and Alaric gritted his teeth angrily. Aurous was the name of the currency used in the supernatural community, developed by fair trade among supernaturals. They were introduced by the house of trade, a clan of demons and devils after the Blood Wars. The coins were gold and filled with a unique magical energy, so that no one could make counterfeits, causing them to be solely minted by the house of trade. On one of the coin faces, was a scale with a pile of gold on one side and feather on the other, signifying goodwill, with both weighing equally. On the other face, was an eclipsed sun and moon, signifying unity of light and dark, representing the house of trades willingness to do business with anyone.

  “That’s our entire stockpile of Aurous. We are flat broke now, we can’t even buy a fucking pendant enchanted to glow in the fucking dark.” Alaric said angrily

  “Calm down will.” Lilian said

  “Of course you’re telling me to calm down, you don’t understand what it means to not have any Aurous coins. We can easily hypnotize humans and get USD or whatever, but it’s not the same with Aurous. We have to trade something useful for that, and right now, we have nothing.” Alaric said and the place started to become covered in frost.

  “It was for Chrissy, the sooner she can master her abilities, the sooner our life will get better and we won’t have to stay here. We can earn more Aurous coins once she masters her abilities. What do you even need Aurous coins for anyway?” Camilla asked and Alaric started to calm down

  “Let’s just hope that Chrissy can learn quickly, because we can’t get anymore of those candles. And we all know just how hard it is to see our actual magical energy without spirit root or other magical ingredients like that.” He said and walked away