Holden, a quiet village of 168 people tucked deep in the southern hills of Evermere Kingdom. It was still early morning when the whining began.

  "Why?" Naomi pouted, arms crossed, her tiny feet stamping against the wooden floor.

  Her mother, kneeling by the cradle, didn’t even glance back. "Because I’m going to the river to wash our clothes. So today, you’re watching your sister."

  "But I want to play with Noel and Leny today," the seven-year-old protested, her voice rising in pitch.

  "You can play with them. Invite them over here."

  "No! We said we’d go to the pond!"

  "Then watching your sister will be the only thing you’ll be doing," her mother snapped, tucking a blanket around nine-month-old Leslie.

  "Moooom!" Naomi wailed, stretching the word with all the drama of a desperate child. "Can’t you take her with you? I wanna go pl—"

  "Aish! Enough!" her mother barked, tossing a bundle of dirty clothes over her shoulder and grabbing a washtub. "All you do is play all day. I ask once, just once, for you to help out, and you argue? Do you want me to forbid you from ever playing with those two little troublemakers?"

  That threat hit Naomi like a slap. Her face crumbled; tears welled up as she frantically shook her head.

  "Then listen. Keep an eye on your sister. She’s asleep. Don’t make a mess, and she’ll still be asleep when I’m back."

  "Y-yes, Mom," Naomi mumbled, wiping her eyes.

  Her mother left with the laundry, and just like that, the house fell into silence, the only sound being Leslie’s soft breathing and Naomi’s sob. The girl just stood there, angry and heartbroken.

  She’d really wanted to go to the pond. She really wanted to. Everyone would be there today.

  Only she would not be there…

  She could not allow that to happen!

  She had to go. But if she left, Leslie alone… she’d be spanked. Hard. And scolded by her Dad too. She couldn’t do that.

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  But then… a thought.

  She could bring Leslie with her.

  "That’s it," she whispered, her spirits lifting.

  She found the small carrying basket her mother always use, padded it with a pillow, and carefully, so carefully, transferred Leslie inside. Miraculously, the baby didn’t stir. Naomi grinned proudly. She’d done it! Basket in hand, she slipped out the door and headed toward the pond.

  But it was much harder than she expected.

  The basket was heavy. Her arms ached, and every step threatened to jostle her sister awake. So she walked slowly, heavily, each step deliberate.

  Fifteen minutes later, Naomi finally reached the top of the small hill overlooking the village pond, the place where all the children came to play, just past the trees below.

  She collapsed at the crest of the hill to rest, panting. Leslie still slept. Naomi’s muscles burned, but she smiled anyway.

  That was when something strange caught her eye.

  A shadow. In the sky.

  She squinted, brushing sweat from her brow. A bird?

  No. Too big. It was getting larger, closer. The wind changed. The grass rippled in a whisper. And then—

  BOOM!

  It landed. Or to be exact it crashed.

  The earth shook violently beneath her. A cloud of dust exploded into the air, swallowing them into a thick screen. Naomi’s heart leapt into her throat. Through the haze, she saw something moving, amidst the dust screen.

  Panic seized her. She turned and ran. Sprinting full speed back toward the village, arms pumping, lungs burning. Then she heard it. A cry. A baby’s cry. It was that Leslie, her sister.

  She skidded to a halt. Her heart clenched. She turned back. She had run without her. She couldn’t. She couldn’t leave her.

  Naomi dashed back toward the hilltop. But before she could reach her sister, she stopped short.

  Someone was standing over the basket.

  It was a girl. No—it was something like a girl. She had silver hair, short and smooth, and pale skin. She was naked, and her body shimmered faintly in the sun. And in her arms, she held Leslie, who was wailing louder than ever.

  “Who are you?!” Naomi gasped. “What are you doing with my sister?!”

  The girl ignored her. Instead, she looked down at the baby with a slight frown and said, in a cold, flat voice:

  “Your crying is annoying. How about… being silent?”

  And just like that, Leslie stopped. Instantly.

  “Good. I like it better that way,” the girl said, before lifting her gaze to Naomi.

  Her silver hair shifted in the breeze. A beauty mark sat beneath the corner of her lip. And her eyes, Naomi hadn’t seen anything like them. Pale, inhuman. Her ears were long. Pointed.

  Not human. Not at all.

  Naomi froze. Only three kinds of creatures had ears like that, demons, elves, and goblins.

  “Who… what are you?” Naomi asked, her voice trembling. “No, I don’t care who you are. Just give me back my sister.”

  The girl tilted her head, smiling.

  “Your sister?” she echoed mockingly. “This isn’t your sister anymore. From here on out… she’ll be my baby.”

  Before Naomi could react, the girl crouched.

  Then with a "whoosh", she shot into the sky like she’d been hurled up, sending a shockwave that knocked Naomi flat on her back.

  From the ground, dazed and breathless, Naomi watched the silver-haired girl twist grotesquely in midair. Wings burst from her back. Her limbs stretched, her body elongated, transforming into something monstrous, a flying, shrieking abomination.

  Naomi could only stare as the creature disappeared into the sky, her sister still clutched in its arms.

  Soon they were gone.

  Just like that.