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I woke up on a hard floor and it took me a moment to remember where I was and how I’d come to be here. I was at school…in a classroom…where I’d been trying to get some privacy while I dealt with the daemonite energies I’d been infected with. I had no idea how long I’d been focused on that task before I finally collapsed from exhaustion and fell asleep.

As I sat up, I grumbled, “No more sleeping in armor…” I looked down at my armor and shook my head. “Good armor…uncomfortable pajamas.”

I got to my feet and stretched, relieved to find my injuries were completely healed. I felt great, back in top shape, much to my surprise. I would have expected that even with the jatta infusion Lindrell had given me, that I’d at least have a few aches remaining. However, there was still the matter of my daemonite infection…and the question of whether I’d successfully fought it off or not before I’d collapsed.

I closed my eyes and tried to sense the daemonite energies, and to my relief, I couldn’t find them. They were gone. I’d done it. I’d forced the daemonite energies out, cleaning myself from their infection. But at the same time, I could also feel that something else was a little off, though I couldn’t quite tell what it was.

“But I’m not a daemonite,” I said in relief. “And that is the important thing.”

The very idea of being able to hear daemon thoughts…to feel their emotions as they murdered innocent people and ate them… It was enough to turn my stomach, making me wonder how Estrid or any of the other daemonites could possibly stand that. It was no wonder they all seemed to go insane.

Then for a brief moment, I actually felt sorry for them, wondering how many of them had become daemonites against their will. How many had been infected without their permission and had never even been told they could fight it off… And perhaps, being able to fight it off was a Val Kyr thing, so most daemonites might not even have had that option to begin with. The truth was, I didn’t know. Unfortunately, regardless of how they’d become daemonites, they were daemonites now…and that meant that they were a threat to the world and everyone in it.

After taking a minute to fully wake up, and consider the fact that I really needed a shower and a change of clothes, I left the room. I found Julie sitting on the floor outside the classroom, looking like she was taking a nap. However, the moment I stepped out, her eyes popped open and she jumped to her feet.

“Are you all right?” Julie demanded, giving me a worried look. “If you’d stayed in there much longer, I would have broken the door down…”

“I’m fine,” I assured her, giving her a grin. “I got rid of the infection.”

“Good,” Julie responded, grabbing me in a hug. “You have no idea how worried I was…”

As we held each other tight, being so close together, I thought about the way she’d surprised me with a kiss when I came back. I blushed at the memory, feeling excited and hopeful from that since it had been the first time Julie had been willing to kiss me like that since I’d gone through my change.

“About when I kissed you,” Julie said quietly, as though reading my thoughts. She didn’t let me go though. “I didn’t really mean to do that. It just sort of…happened.”

“Oh,” I responded, trying to hide my disappointment.

“But I’m glad it did,” Julie blurted out, this time to my surprise.

I went to let go of Julie so we could have a proper discussion, but she continued holding me tight. “I don’t like girls like that…or at least I never did before. But now…” She pulled away, shook her head, and then gave me an appreciative look. “I guess I’m starting to realize just how hot you are like this…” Then she turned bright red and admitted, “And I really miss being able to kiss you and all…”

“I miss it too,” I assured her. I hesitated a moment, then quietly admitted, “You have no idea how hard it is taking a bath with you when I still want to…” This time, it was my turn to turn red.

Julie and I both stood there for a moment in silence, both blushing furiously. “This isn’t a good time to talk about this stuff,” Julie finally reminded me, letting out a sigh.

“You’re right,” I reluctantly agreed, looking her over and fighting back the urge to give her another kiss.

“Maybe once this is over,” Julie suggested awkwardly, “maybe we can try the dating thing again...”

“Are you sure?” I asked her, remembering that she was the one who broke things off since she couldn’t handle dating a girl.

Julie was still blushing as she nodded. Then she leaned forward and the two of us began kissing again, much to my delight. When we finally pulled apart, she gave me a grin and said, “Wow. I never thought I’d like kissing girls so much…”

“And I never thought I’d like being one,” I admitted with a self-conscious grin of my own.

After giving me another grin, Julie’s expression turned serious. “You got up just in time. While you’ve been resting, a couple triads have been out hunting the remaining daemons and everyone else has been getting ready for the attack.”

“How long was I out?” I asked, suddenly realizing that I had no idea how long I’d spent fighting the daemonite energy or how long I’d spent asleep afterwards.

“About eight ours,” Julie answered with a faint smirk. “Or at least, that was how long ago you locked yourself in there.”

I nodded at that. “And how long until we head back to Val Halla?”

Julie shrugged as she told me, “I’m not sure, but it won’t be long. Mostly, we’ve been waiting on that daemonite ripper you caught to get all rested and charged up again. We think she’s about ready, so I don’t expect Lindrell will want to wait for much longer than that.”

“Damn,” I muttered with a scowl. At Julie’s curious look, I explained, “I was just thinking about how much of a head start the daemonites have on us…”

“Yeah,” Julie responded with a grim look of her own. “There aren’t a lot of Val Kyr left to defend the place.” Then she quickly added, “But I’m sure they can hold out. I mean, Freya is there…”

“There is that,” I agreed, knowing that any daemons who tried facing Freya and her triad were sure to be torn to shreds.

Julie and I walked to the cafeteria, where the Val Kyr had taken over a couple of the tables to use as our command center. Lindrell was standing next to the table, talking to several other Val Kyr and even a couple of the locals, including Officer Kyles. However, my dad wasn’t with them at the moment.

“Bonjour, Michelle,” Fleur greeted me with a smile.

Lindrell gave me a worried look as she said, “I’m glad to see you’ve decided to rejoin us.” She hesitated a moment before asking, “Have you taken care of your problem?”

“I think so,” I responded with a sigh. “I think I managed to get rid of all the daemonite energy…”

Shannon stared at me for a moment with a look of concentration, obviously focusing her kaern senses on me. After several long seconds, she gave a smile of relief and nodded. “You’re clean of the infection.”

“Good,” Lindrell said, smiling in relief as well.

Officer Kyles gave me a curious look and said, “They said you caught some kind of disease or something from that prisoner…. So, you just fought it off that easily?”

“Of course,” Jass responded with faint hint of smugness. “She’s Val Kyr.”

Officer Kyles seemed a little surprised by but just shrugged it off. “Well then, I guess that’s good.”

“I did notice one thing that seems odd though,” Shannon commented, giving me a curious look. I felt a moment of worry until she said, “You have more val built up than is normal.”

“More val?” I asked in surprise.

Fleur stared at me for a moment before nodding agreement. “Oui. I see it as well. It does not appear to be anything harmful, just a greater amount of val than normal.”

Shannon continued to stare at me with a curious look that made me uncomfortable, until she abruptly announced, “You didn’t expel the daemonite energy…you converted it to val.”

I blinked at that, wondering if I should be worried. I glanced to Lindrell, who seemed just as confused as I was. “And what does that mean?”

“I have no idea,” Shannon admitted. “This is the first time I’ve ever heard of this… In fact, other than Estrid, you’re the only Val Kyr I know who has ever been infected with daemonite energy.”

“Well, I feel fine,” I said, giving a wry smile. “And I wouldn’t think that a little extra val would be a problem.”

“Me either,” Lindrell agreed with a chuckle. “And if you’re going to get a little more energy, right before a battle does seem like the best time.”

Just then, a little girl who looked to be about eight years old suddenly came over and ran into Julie, grabbing her tightly. “Julie,” the girl squealed. “Come on…” She grabbed Julie’s arm and started trying to drag her away, much to my amusement.

The girl looked vaguely familiar, but I had no idea who she was until Julie responded, “Okay Lili, but I can’t play with you for very long…”

As soon as I heard Julie call the girl Lili, I knew exactly who she was. Lili was Julie’s cousin, who Julie occasionally had to babysit, at least back before Julie had become Val Kyr. The last time I’d seen Lili though, had been about a year ago. The girl had grown a bit since then, and of course, the daemon apocalypse had been just as rough on her as everyone else in town.

Then I noticed that Shannon was watching Julie walk away with her cousin, smiling faintly. I gave her a curious look and she shrugged. “One day, that girl may make a fine Val Kyr.”

I blinked at that, remembering that the val was passed down through bloodlines, which meant that Julie probably had several other relatives who carried a val seed. Since Lili was Julie’s cousin on her mom’s side of the family, I realized that her mom must carry a seed as well.

“Would Julie’s mom be a possible recruit?” I asked, thinking that at the moment, we could use all the help we could get.

“Too old,” Shannon answered, which made me snort at the irony of that statement. Shannon caught that and gave me a faint smile. “What I mean is that we rarely recruit women of her age because they tend to have become fairly fixed in their attitudes and usually aren’t flexible enough to adjust.” She hesitated a moment, then admitted, “And when she was younger, we didn’t recruit her then because she just didn’t have the kind of fighting spirit we look for.”

I nodded at that, realizing that recruiting Julie’s mom would have been a bad idea anyway. First off, even if she had the right attitude, it was impossible for her to go through her physical changes in the time we had available much less even a fraction of the training she’d need. And then, there was the fact of what her awakening would mean to her marriage. Somehow, I suspected that Julie’s dad would have a hard time adjusting if his wife suddenly became an immortal warrior who was far more powerful than him. He was having a hard enough time just accepting that of Julie. That thought made me glance at Lindrell, wondering what it had been like to keep all that from Dad…and how hard it must have been for him when he finally found out.

After talking with Lindrell for a few minutes about what we had planned, I made my way to the other side of the cafeteria, watching from a distance as Lili showed Julie off to all her friends. I smiled at that, especially when the gathered kids kept begging Julie to show off some ‘magic’. Julie gave in after a minute and did a few small notru tricks such as making a rock reshape itself into a cube.

Then I noticed that there was one girl my own age, who was sitting back and glaring at Julie with a jealous look. She looked a bit dirty and worn down so it took me a few second to recognize this girl. This was Shelly Nelson, one of the ‘pretty girls’ at the school. She’d always been one of the girls who teased Julie for not matching up to her level of beauty and popularity, so it had to be killing her to see what Julie had become.

Shelly finally noticed me, and a calculating look passed over her face before it was replaced with a fake smile. She got up and started towards me, saying, “Hi, I’m Shelly…”

“Michelle,” I responded with a fake smile of my own. I was just glad that we’d kept the gossip to a minimum around the locals so that the only one who knew who I used to be was my dad. I shuddered at the thought of Shelly or Buff recognizing me from school.

“You know, you Val Kyr seem really interesting,” Shelly said. “I keep hearing that you all have super powers…and I’ve seen how much Julie changed since joining…”

“You know Julie?” I asked, pretending like I didn’t know.

“Of course,” Shelly assured me. “We’re old friends… I was wondering though, how I might be able to join you… I mean, do you accept applications?”

I chuckled at the greedy look on Shelly’s face, seeing exactly what she was after. She was jealous of Julie and wanted the same kind of enhancement to her own looks…as well as the power that came with being Val Kyr. Admittedly, I couldn’t blame her. If I’d still been my old self and saw Julie now, I would have been jealous of her power and immortality…not to mention the exciting life as a monster slayer.

“I’m afraid it doesn’t work like that,” I explained politely, trying to be gentle about this since I could see things from her perspective. “Becoming Val Kyr is a genetic thing. You have to have it in your DNA…sort of like being a mutant in the comic books. I mean, the X Men can’t just turn anyone into a mutant so they can join…you have to be born that way.”

Shelly gave me a look of annoyance and disappointment. “You sound like she does…”

“We are friends,” I responded, trying to remain cheerful while Shelly just grimaced and stomped away. I wondered if she was going to track down some other Val Kyr to ask about our recruitment methods. If so, Shelly was going to be pretty disappointed.

Once Shelly was gone, I let out a sigh and slowly looked around the cafeteria. I spotted Buff Grissom talking to one of my other old friends, though the sight made me feel a little sad. I couldn’t just go over and join them in whatever they were talking about, nor would I ever really be able to be friends with them again. This was a reminder that even though I’d gained a great deal by becoming Val Kyr, I’d also lost most of my old life too. Still…I wouldn’t go back if I could.

Thinking about the things I’d lost from my old life reminded me of my dad, and I smiled faintly at the reminder that at least he now knew about me. It was awkward and embarrassing, but I was glad he knew. After thinking about that for a few seconds, I decided to go talk with him while I still could…before we returned to Val Halla.

It didn’t take long to find my dad, who was in the old principal’s office, which he’d claimed as his own. He was sitting behind the desk, slumped over a bit and staring at a bottle of Jim Beam which rested in front of him. I gulped at the sight, which was far too familiar from the last couple years.

“Dad?” I asked cautiously.

Dad looked up at me with an expression that I couldn’t quite read. After several seconds, he cautiously asked, “Are you all right? That infection…”

“It’s gone,” I assured him. I gave a wry smile and added, “My immune system is pretty good now.”

Dad grunted at that, then turned his attention back to the bottle. “The world has turned upside down,” he finally said, sounding a little tired. “Monsters really exist. Those things from my nightmares are really out there…and they always have been. All those gods from mythology…they used to be real too.” He shook his head and picked up the bottle. “The world isn’t anything like I thought it was. It just doesn’t make sense anymore…”

“It is pretty weird,” I admitted, watching the bottle nervously. I’d been so happy to see my dad back to his old self, and I’d hoped it was permanent, but with the way he was acting now… “But there are some pretty amazing things out there…” I smiled faintly as I thought of Val Halla and how incredible it was that something like that even existed.

“There’s a war going on,” Dad stated. “The most important war that has ever been fought. I’m a soldier and my every instinct says that THIS is the war I should be fighting…” Then he paused, shaking his head and staring at the bottle in his hand. “But this is a war I’m just not equipped to fight anymore…” He hesitated a moment before adding, “If I ever was.”

“I don’t know what to say,” I said awkwardly, afraid that if I said the wrong thing, that Dad would go off. I’d hated seeing him as a drunk, and I was horrified that he was going back to being that. I didn’t want to be the one to push him back.

“You know, this is weird as hell,” Dad said, looking at me. “First you disappear, then you come back like this…with your mother beside you.” He chuckled faintly, then to my surprise, he smiled. “In spite of… You’re alive. And Lynn… I never thought I’d see her again…”

“I…I think she still loves you,” I told him quietly, remembering the way Lindrell had sounded when she’d been talking about him and how hard it had been to leave us behind.

Dad smiled faintly at that, then turned and dropped the bottle into the garbage can beside the desk. “I’ve seen you in action,” he told me with a faint smile. “And as hard as it was to believe…you impressed the hell out of me. I’m proud of you Mike…Michelle…so very proud.”

“Thank you,” I said, tearing up as I grabbed him in a hug. He grunted a bit so I loosened my grip, having gotten used to how tough the Val Kyr were and forgetting that he couldn’t take quite as much. Then, I giggled and told him, “Hey, I’m a girl now. I’m allowed to get all touchy feely…”

“You make a very pretty girl,” Dad told me, looking just a little awkward as he said it. “You look so much like Lynn…” He paused to shake his head, then joked, “Now I’ll have to start polishing my shotgun when you bring home your dates.”

I just burst out laughing at that. “Sorry, but the only person I see myself dating in the near future is Julie.”

“Then at least I know you won’t get pregnant,” Dad pointed out with a faint smile.

I started to chuckle at that, though it came out more as a giggle. “No, you won’t have to worry about that.”

Then Dad let out an exaggerated sigh, “But I did want grandkids someday…”

“Maybe one day I’ll be ready for that,” I told him, cringing at the very idea of ever getting pregnant. “Maybe in a hundred years or so.”

Dad gave me a faint look of surprise at the reminder of my new lifespan. He nodded faintly and said, “Just don’t get sloppy and let yourself get killed. You’re a soldier now, and that means you have to watch not only your own back…but those of your comrades as well. You have to trust that they’ll watch yours too.”

“I do,” I assured him. “I couldn’t ask for a better triad.”

Dad nodded at that, giving me a steady look that was difficult to decipher. However, I noticed a fierce determination in his eyes, one that was quite different from the shaken look he’d had a few minutes ago.

“You’d better go and prepare for your mission,” he told me, giving me a slightly awkward hug and adding, “I have a few things that I need to take care of here as well.”

“I’ll see you later,” I promised him before I left.

A short time later, all the Val Kyr had gathered together in the gym, and all of us were armed and ready to go. There were grim looks all around as we prepared to head back home…and to face the worst.

A number of the locals stood back, watching us all with expressions of curiosity. Julie’s parents were among the group, standing up towards the front and looking horribly worried. I glanced to Julie, knowing that she’d already said goodbye to them and that she was trying hard not to look in their direction.

“I believe you’ll need this,” Lindrell told me, handing me my bow, the one I’d dropped when the wyvern had grabbed me.

“Thank you,” I said, accepting the bow with a deep sense of relief. I hadn’t really owned this bow all that long, but it meant a great deal to me.

“I think you’ll need this too,” Shannon added, handing me a large quiver of arrows. They weren’t the usual Val Kyr made arrows, but ones that had probably been taken from the sporting goods store. However, they’d still work fine.

“Thanks,” I responded with a faint smile before slinging the quiver over my shoulder.

“Let me go,” Nessa snarled as Bethany pushed her into the room. Bethany was glaring at the much smaller woman, looking as though she was thinking of squashing her. “You fucking overgrown bitch…”

“Careful,” Julie said, looking a little worried. “Don’t let her infect you…”

“As if,” Bethany responded with a laugh, making a show of smacking Nessa in the back of her head.

Shannon gave Nessa a flat look and explained, “When a daemonite converts someone else, they give them half their energy. It takes months to build up enough to infect someone else.”

“Thank God,” Jass muttered. “Otherwise we’d be buried in daemonites.”

“After what she did to Michelle, she won’t be infecting anyone else,” Bethany agreed.

Nessa just glared at the Val Kyr surrounding her, then her eyes settled on me and she smirked. “Just wait until you start talking to the daemons… It’s a real experience…so freeing…”

“Not going to happen,” I pointed out smugly. “It didn’t stick.”

Nessa snarled, definitely not looking happy at that. I imagined that if she’d given me half her daemonite energy in order to convert me, then she probably felt like she’d wasted it. That was perfectly fine with me.

“Now, open a door to Val Halla,” Lindrell told Nessa, who just glared back.

Just then, a voice announced, “We thought you could use some help.”

I looked over and was surprised to see a group of the local men had entered the gym, all armed and ready to fight. Officer Kyles, Jim, and three other men stood there…including Dad.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Lindrell asked them in steady voice.

“We’re coming to help you,” Dad stated as though it was a simple fact.

“You helped us against those things,” Officer Kyles added, “so we figure we should help you.”

A look flashed over Lindrell’s face that I couldn’t quite make out, but I think she was both worried and impressed at the same time. “While I appreciate your courage and desire to fight,” Lindrell said carefully, “I cannot allow you to accompany us…”

Bethany said, “Where we’re going, guns won’t work.” She held up her sword and added, “There’s a good reason we use archaic weapons…besides habit that is.”

A look of disappointment passed over each of the men’s faces, or at least, each of them except for Dad. “I suspected as much,” Dad said, holding up a compound bow.

“David,” Lindrell started hesitantly.

“Lynn,” Dad cut in, using the tone of voice that indicated he’d made up his mind and it wasn’t about to change it. “I may not be in much shape to fight anymore, but I can still do my part with this. I won’t need to run around in order to shoot from cover.”

“He has a point,” Lei said with a chuckle, only to earn a glare from Lindrell.

Julie leaned over and whispered to me, “At least my dad isn’t with them.”

“I don’t think you understand how bad this is going to be,” Lindrell started, a faint hint of pleading in her voice.

However, Dad just responded, “I’ve seen combat before…more than my share of it. I might not have as much experience as you fighting these daemons, but I know combat and what I’m capable of. Those monsters destroyed this town, and if what you said is right, then if they get hold of that anchor of yours, then they could spread over the entire world. This isn’t just your fight. This fight affects everyone in the world…and I’ll be damned if I sit it out.”

I hesitated a moment, not wanting to see Dad getting torn up by daemons. I wanted to protect him, to keep him safe. However, when I looked in his eyes and saw that burning look of determination, I knew that there was no way I could keep him away. There was no doubt in my mind that Dad needed this.

“He’s a really good shot,” I told Lindrell. “He’s the one who taught me.”

“Two people I care about are going into this fight,” Dad said a little more gently. “I can’t watch you go while I stand back and do nothing…”

“But what about this town?” Lindrell asked, though I could see her determination was fading quickly. “They need you…”

“The monsters are already gone,” Officer Kyles said, looking to dad. “We can keep things running.”

“Damn,” Jim muttered, shaking his head with a look of disgust. “I have no idea how to use a damn sword, and I’m pretty sure this isn’t the time to learn.” He held up his gun and added, “But this thing will work fine here, so we’ll stay and hold down the fort.”

“Men are forbidden from Val Halla,” Jass said from the back. Then she gave Dad a grim look before telling Lindrell, “But in this situation…I believe Freya will allow an exception.”

“Fine,” Lindrell exclaimed, giving in to the pressure. Then she gave Dad a worried look and insisted, “You keep back behind the notru line with the rest of the archers. And don’t you dare get killed.” She stepped towards him and in a quieter voice, told him, “I couldn’t bear to see you get hurt again.”

“Now that this has been settled,” Shannon said, giving Nessa a flat look. “Open the way to Val Halla…”

“Fuck you,” Nessa exclaimed, looking like she was about to say more until Jass drew her dagger. The daemonite paled and snarled, “Fine…” She held her hand out and tore a rip in the air. She looked around at the gathered Val Kyr, then spat out, “I hope the daemons eat all of you…slowly.”

“And we love you too,” Bethany told her with a smirk before we all started towards the portal.