Chapter 1:
Into the Darkness

“It was early in the morning when a sound echoed across the entire world. Over the open sea, from the east continent to the west, and from the deep south to the far north it echoed, this hideous, shattering noise. It reverberated down to the bones of the earth, but it originated far above, and when the wondering population of Mysteria looked up, they were all filled with horror, for the sky itself had shattered…”

Aidan Rhiannon was doing nothing in particular, for a change, when he heard the sound. He and his wife, Flame Song Firedancer, had been refurbishing their house for the last several months. Aidan, frankly, was tired of the endless work. True the underground dwelling had stood vacant for more than five years and it had definitely needed some serious cleaning, but enough was enough.

He looked up from where he was sprawled on a pile of furs on the floor. What little furniture they owned had survived the years of neglect, but the upholstery hadn’t been so fortunate. Aidan didn’t really mind. The furs were comfortable enough.

“Flame? Did you hear that?”

Flame Song poked her head out of the bedroom. “Yes.”

“What was it?”

“I have no idea. Want to go take a look?”

Aidan nodded and headed for the door. They went together out of the entry tunnel and into a bright summer morning. At first neither of them saw anything wrong, but then they turned to the south and both of them let out a shocked gasp.

There was a crack in the sky. There was simply no other way to describe the gaping rift that stretched down to the horizon. Clear blue sky was suddenly interrupted by a slash of blank gray nothing that seemed to twist and writhe out of the corner of the eye, though when Aidan looked straight at it there was no motion at all.

Aerian and shape-shifter stood in stunned silence for a long time before Aidan finally broke the stillness by saying, “I think we should go to Tara’s tower, Flame.”

Flame Song nodded. “Yes…” She shook her head in amazement. “What is that?”

“I don’t know. But I doubt it’s anything good.”

“Probably not. But what on earth are we going to do about it? We of the Clan have done a lot of things, but to repair the sky?”

Aidan shrugged. “Tara’s done miracles before this. She’ll think of a way.”

“Let’s go then,” said Flame. “There’s no reason to stay here.”

Aidan nodded. In moments they were winging south, the changeable Flame Song in aerian form, her white wings just inches from her husband’s matching pair as they flew.

For four days they pressed on through the sky, taking as little time as possible for food and sleep. Night and day the eerie gap in the sky stretched above them. As they reached more southern latitudes the rift reached from horizon to horizon. They avoided looking at it as much as possible. It was just too disturbing, especially to Aidan, who had been raised in a rational world of science where they sky wasn’t a literal bowl overhead, but only a view of the galaxy beyond and where they stars weren’t jewels set in place but distant suns. He had known intellectually that Mysteria was different, but seeing it like this brought the strangeness of his new world home to him as never before.

At last, tired and worn, they reached Queen Tara’s tower. Most of the Clan was already gathered since Flame and Aidan lived farther away than all but a few of their fellow Clan members. A day later everyone had arrived and the group met in the library of the queen’s tower. Nearly thirty people were gathered there, humans and non-humans, native Mysterians and out-world immigrants, powerful warriors and great scholars, and simple ordinary folk. Some had known each other for years, some were near strangers, but all were united in one thing, their loyalty to their monarch and to their world, whether native or adopted.

They were the members of the Clan of the Lost Dragon. They were a family of sorts. People who, for the most part, had no real family but had adopted each other as children of Queen Tara, the Lost Dragon of Mysteria.

Tara herself stood and addressed the Clan when they were all gathered. She appeared to be a tall, auburn-haired human woman, her face unlined and youthful. That, however, was only an appearance. In reality she was a great dragon, the oldest and wisest of all the dragons of Mysteria. “I know you have all come here because you’ve seen the crack in the sky and want to know what can be done about it.” She paused for a moment, closing her eyes and letting out a sigh, and Aidan suddenly realized how tired she looked. She often was wearied by the burden of rule, but today she looked terribly worn. When she continued her voice was tinged with regret. “There is something to be done, but first I must tell you a story. You all have heard of the strange sickness that almost destroyed our world some two centuries ago. I must tell you now that you have been told a falsehood.” She turned and looked to where Lavasida, the former Dark Lord who had once been the enemy of Mysteria stood next to the elderly sage Yurik “Lavasida knows the full tale, as does Yurik, for both of them were there, and both took part in the story.”

Lavasida smiled faintly and nodded. “Indeed, though on opposite sides.”

Tara smiled and nodded. “Yes. But I don’t doubt your loyalty to the Clan now, Lavasida.” The Dark Lord gave her an ironic little bow, but didn’t say anything further, and so the queen continued her story. “You were all told how the Dark Lord’s plague nearly destroyed the world. Well, I tell you now that ‘nearly’ isn’t the right word. The plague did destroy Mysteria.”

There were mutters of surprise as the Queen paused to let her followers absorb this information. “That’s impossible,” Aidan whispered to Flame. “If Lavasida destroyed the world, then how come the world is still here?”

The murmurs stilled as the queen continued her story. “We could all see that the plague was killing everything it touched. Plants and animals, elves and men, from the birds of the air to the fish of the sea, everything was dying. We tried all we could to stop it. In the end even the Dark Lord realized his folly, for how could he rule the world if the world was destroyed?” Aidan glanced again at Lavasida, but the Dark Lord’s face revealed nothing. His expression was still and enigmatic. “In the end,” continued Queen Tara, “we could do nothing to stop it. Then Yurik thought of a way. He knew of a spell to create a world. It was a spell none had ever successfully cast, but there was no other choice. Every surviving mage was gathered. They worked in concert to cast the spell, and though many of those who contributed died of it, the spell worked. They made a new world, a close copy of the old. We moved the few survivors to the new world as they slept. When they awoke they didn’t know what had happened. We told them the plague had been stopped. The rest of the story you know, how Yurik and I began to rebuild, how the portals were made to bring in those from other worlds who could help us to repopulate Mysteria, how the Clan was formed to guard the world and prevent any other such disaster from occurring, and how now things are almost restored to the way they were. This new world is so like the old in most ways that none ever guessed the deception. And that deception was needed. There are those who would want to go back to the old Mysteria of they knew. I have seen what remains of that world.” Her eyes were dark with sadness as she said, “There is nothing there but death, dust, and ashes. But there are still those foolish enough to attempt to return, especially now, with this new threat.”

“And what is this new threat?” asked Brianna, the Clan’s leader. “We’ve all seen that crack in the sky. What does it mean?”

“This world is almost like the old Mysteria, but the sphere that houses it is more fragile. We never feared for it, for who would want to crack the world’s shell? They would suffer as much from the resulting destruction as any. Unfortunately Drago, the Vampire Lord, isn’t exactly wise.”

Lavasida gave a harsh laugh. “Every great master of darkness seems to go through a stage where their ambition exceeds their wisdom. But I fear that Drago will not come to his senses as readily as I did.”

“No, he will not. He cracked the world in order to hold it for ransom, thinking he will be safe in his shadow realm. I have already received a sneering letter from him telling me that if I do not hand over my crown and make him the ruler he will never restore the sky.”

There was another murmur, this time of disbelief and anger at the Vampire Lord. “Can he do it?” asked Flame Song. “Could Drago really put the sky back together?”

“He would have to collect all the pieces,” said the queen. “It is possible, but not likely.”

“And what of us then?” said Brianna. “Can we simply fix it ourselves?”

“Yes,” said Tara, nodding. “Yurik was among those who created this world. He has the ability to heal the sky, in concert with other mages of power. But as with Drago, he cannot unless he holds all the pieces. So that is what we must do. No doubt Drago has gotten his hands on a few of them already, meaning to hold them hostage if nothing else. But there are hundreds of them, and there are two that have gone utterly beyond the Dark Lord’s reach.” The queen turned to the sage Yurik. “I will have Yurik tell you what he has seen.”

The elderly robed sage stepped forward. “I cast a simple scrying spell to look back and watch what exactly happened when the sky cracked. The pieces mostly fell down to Mysteria itself. I can use that same scrying spell to track them easily enough. There are perhaps three hundred. It’s a lot, but with all the people in the world to help, we can do it. And they will help, for everyone’s life depends on it.”

“I don’t understand,” said Lon, Brianna’s husband. “I mean the crack in the sky is disturbing to look at, but nothing else seems to have changed. We’re all still fine.”

“For now,” said Yurik. “But the world is open to the chaos beyond. Even now it’s streaming in. It will be days before any effect is felt, and weeks yet before there’s any serious harm. But by the time half a year is up primal chaos will have dissolved the world back into itself.”

Aidan shuddered. He had come to love his adoptive homeland. The last thing he wanted was to see it dissolved into nothing. “We have to gather the shards as quickly as w can then,” he said.

Yurik nodded. “Yes. But it will not be that simple. There are two shards, as I said, that have gone beyond Drago’s reach. They didn’t go inward, they went outward, into the chaos.”

“How do we get those back then? Aren’t they beyond our reach as well?” asked Brianna. “Won’t they be dissolved into nothing?”

“No. They did not remain in the formless void. I followed them in the scrying glass. They have reached other worlds, worlds not far removed from this world. And,” added Yurik with a smile, “if there is one kind of spell I know well, it is a world-traveling spell. I can send a few of you out after the shards. You can find them, bring them back, and then I can restore the sky.”

“What about Drago?” said Lon.

“Somebody will have to get back any shards he holds from him. That too will be difficult, but possible. We know very well where his castle is, even if it is hard to reach.”

“Well then,” said Brianna, “we know what we have to do. Now all we need is to decide who will search for shards here, who will go to the other worlds, and who will deal with Drago.”

The whole group broke up into knots of conversation as the Clan members worked out who would go where. “I don’t know where I’d rather go,” said Flame. “I mean all three groups are needed.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean. But I want to go world-hopping. Searching for shards here isn’t all that interesting and I really don’t want to deal with Drago. But my skills could be very handy on other worlds. And so could yours. You could blend in wherever we went with your shape-shifting abilities.”

“Very true. I’ll tell Brianna that we’d rather go with the world travelers.”

When everything was sorted out seven Clan members were going to Drago’s castle, seven were going world traveling, and the remainder would coordinate the search for the shards on Mysteria.

The group going to other worlds consisted of Brianna, her husband Lon, the Dark Lord Lavasida, the goblin Seymore, the dwarf Belak, and lastly Flame Song and Aidan. The seven of them gathered in the center of the courtyard that fronted Queen Tara’s tower. Yurik stood in front of them, hands raised in preparation to cast the spell that would send them to the first world.

“I’ve given Brianna a talisman that will track the shards. She’ll be able to at least point you in the right direction. I wish I could send you to the precise spot, but portal travel is an art, not a science. It’s very hard to fix where the other end will come out. Find the shard as fast as you can. I’m keying the portal spell to it. As soon as Brianna touches it, you’ll find yourselves sent onward to the second world. Are you all ready?”

They all nodded their assent, and Yurik began the spell. Aidan felt a twisting, twirling sensation surround him. He felt as if he were being tugged on from every direction, and everything around him swirled. He clung to Flame Song’s hand as the swirling increased and then gradually died away. When at last the world stilled again they were no longer standing in the bright sunlight of Mysteria. Instead they were on a cobblestone street with the stars twinkling and a full moon bright above.

Before any of them had time to take a good look around a shriek came from behind them. “Monsters! Help!”

Aidan spun around to see a young woman standing in the middle of the street and pointing right at them. Behind her the glow of an open door led into a dim tavern. Already half a dozen men had poured out of the door and were advancing towards the little group of… Aidan did a double take as he looked at his fellow Clan members. They didn’t exactly look like they had only moments ago. But there was no time to analyze what had happened, because the group of men had swelled into a mob, and they were advancing on the Clan members with grim determination.

“Run! Scatter and run!” shouted Brianna, and they ran.

Aidan spun around and dashed down an alley, and the other five went every which way, scattering down the dark streets of the town. He ran for what seemed like hours. At first the mob, or part of it at least, was right behind him, but it wasn’t long before he shook them for a few moments, and as soon as they were out of sight he took to the air. Before long the town was a tiny collection of toy houses below. He could see the searching mobs as little swarms of firefly torches. He only hoped that they hadn’t caught any of the others. He continued to circle, watching the town below, and eventually the mobs began to break up. He’d seen no sign that they’d found any of the other Clan members, but now he needed to find them. He suddenly saw a flicker of fire on a hilltop a mile or so from town. Hoping it was friends rather than foes he headed for it. He landed some distance away, settling gracefully to the ground at the base of the hill.

He paused for a moment to catch his breath… and realized he didn’t need to. Huh? I’ve been flying for more than an hour, he thought, and running like nuts before that. I should be out of breath. But I’m not. With a kind of bizarre curiosity he held his breath… and kept holding it, and holding it. At last he gave up. For some reason he didn’t seem to need to breathe. That’s downright weird. What kind of world is this if I don’t need to breathe here? And what kind of world is it, he added to himself, suddenly noticing something else, that puts me in this ridiculous outfit? He surveyed himself and found himself dressed from head to toe in formal eveningwear. A tuxedo? That’s just bizarre.

Shrugging off the weirdness he made his way silently and cautiously up the hill. Before long he could make out the murmur of voices. I must be nearly to the top, he thought. But after another good fifteen minutes of climbing he still hadn’t reached the summit. He had, however, recognized the voices. It was Brianna and Lavasida. Why aren’t they keeping their voices down? Don’t they know how loud they sound? He hurried the rest of the way to the top to find Brianna, Lon, Lavasida, Seymore, and Flame Song already there.

“Brianna,” he said softly, or tried to say softly, but somehow it came out too loud. He had a sudden suspicion that it wasn’t that people were speaking loudly, but that his ears were more sensitive.

“Aidan. Thank heavens. Now we’re all here.”

“Huh? What about Belak?”

“I’m right here, lad,” said a voice out of thin air. Aidan jumped and spun around, but there was nothing there. “Seems I’ve become invisible,” came the voice again. “Most of us seem a wee bit changed lad, yourself included.”

Aidan surveyed the group and realized that Belak was right. They seemed to have become a collection of things out of old Hollywood horror movies, an odd assortment of ghouls and goblins. Well, the goblin was nothing new. Seymore looked just like his usual greenish self, and Lavasida, vampire that he was, was unchanged. But the others… Belak was, of course, nowhere to be seen. Brianna though was very visible, and she looked decidedly unhealthy. Her skin was dull, lifeless, as though she was dead. Some kind of zombie, I guess, thought Aidan. Lon, standing behind her, was a shaggy wolfish creature. While he had always been half were-wolf, it had never shown like this. But now he had hair everywhere there was to have hair. Flame Song looked a lot like she usually did in human form, her wavy red hair loose about her shoulders, her fair skin dusted with a bare handful of freckles, her green eyes sparkling in the moonlight, but she had acquired a new outfit. She had on a brightly colored, layered dress instead of her usual sensible trousers. It made her look like a gypsy. Aidan didn’t care what she looked like though, he just went up to her and hugged her. She hugged him back tightly.

“What’s going on?” he asked when he finally let Flame go.

“Apparently this world insists we fit in,” said Brianna “We might have expected it if we’d thought. Mysteria changes people when they come there.”

“Yeah, but not right away, and not complete with wardrobe,” said Aidan. “And why Hollywood monsters?”

“What monsters?” asked Flame Song

“Hollywood. It’s one of those Earth things,” said Brianna, who, like Aidan, had once lived on Earth.

“Oh,” said Flame.

“This is,” said Aidan, “more than a little bit weird. A vampire and a goblin are normal, but on top of that we’ve got a zombie, an invisible spook, a gypsy, a wolf-man, and a… er… what do I look like?”

Brianna grinned. “Like Count Dracula, only shorter, and with wings.”

“Like who?!” yelped Aidan.

“Count Dracula. Evening wear, fangs and all.”

“You mean I’m a vampire?”

Lavasida laughed, his own sharp fangs showing clearly in the moonlight. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

"Well, er,” Aidan spluttered, “I mean you… you’re supposed to be one… I mean you’re the Dark Lord! I’m not… I don’t want to be… This is ridiculous! Me as a vampire?”

“No stranger than myself as a zombie, Aidan,” said Brianna. “We’re just going to have to deal with this. We need to find the shard as soon as possible and then go after the second one.” She touched the pendant around her neck and closed her eyes for a moment. “I can’t quite sense where…”

A howl cut her off. She turned around to find Lon crouching, his head thrown back. He howled again and then suddenly his body seemed to sort of twist and fold inward. A moment later a shaggy brown wolf dashed off down the hill.

“That idiot!” said Lavasida with a growl, and just as suddenly the vampire ran off after the retreating werewolf.

Brianna sighed. “What next? I guess we had better stay here until they get back. Without any sense of which direction the shard is in there’s no reason to go tearing off without everyone here.”

So they settled in for the night. Aidan leaned tiredly against the trunk of one of the few scraggly trees that grew on the hilltop. Flame Song settled in next to him gingerly, giving him a troubled glance.

“What is it?” asked Aidan softly. He knew her well enough to know that something was bothering her.

“It’s just…” She sighed. “I don’t know. This vampire thing. I don’t like it. I don’t like the thought of you as some kind of undead.”

Aidan ran his tongue over his fangs, feeling their sharpness. He took a breath to speak, suddenly aware all over again that he wasn’t breathing normally. “I don’t exactly like it either.” He reached out and took her hand in his. For the barest second she flinched away from his touch, and he felt as though he’d been stabbed in the heart. It may not be beating just now, he thought, but it can still feel. “Flame… you know I would never hurt you, no matter what.”

“I know,” she said, and consciously made the effort to relax. “I just can’t help but worry. What if it changes you? What if you become like other vampires? I mean I know Lavasida is an honorable man in his own way… but he’s hard, Aidan. He’s cold-blooded and inhuman. I couldn’t stand to see you like that.”

Aidan sighed, closing his eyes and trying not to think about it. Flame had just voiced exactly what he’d been afraid of and exactly what he’d been trying not to think about. “I won’t. Maybe if it was just me I might,” he said. “But it isn’t just me. I have you. So long as you’re with me I could never become cold. You’re my Flame, you’ll keep me warm,” he added with an impish smile.

Flame Song smiled back and squeezed his hand gently. “I guess you’re right.” Aidan gently caressed her hand, running his fingers over her smooth skin. She sighed softly and relaxed further, letting out a sigh of released tension. He smiled and leaned in toward her, resting his raven-haired head on her shoulder. Flame was taller than he by two inches. Not a really significant difference, but enough that it was more comfortable for him to rest his head on her shoulder rather than the other way around. He could recall a time when that had seemed odd, but now it was just the way things were. They leaned together comfortably until Flame let out a yawn.

“Tired?”

“Yes.”

“Well, I’m afraid we’re short on bedding, but if I’ll do as a pillow, feel free to go to sleep. I don’t think I’ll be able to fall asleep tonight.”

Flame Song smiled and laid her head in Aidan’s lap, and moments later she was snoring softly. Aidan smiled down at her, remembering all over again how much he loved her. He could never get over the fact that she’d wanted to marry him. Even after more than three years it still seemed like a miracle. He gently stoked her fire-orange hair. He could hear her soft breathing as she slipped deeper into sleep. He could hear too the gentle rhythm of her heart, as clearly as if he’d had a stethoscope to her chest, could see the faint pulse in her neck, and even smell the scent of her blood… No! He broke off his gaze, a shudder going through him. He forced down the sudden surge of hunger that swept over him, clenching his teeth and squeezing his eyes shut as he tried to block out sound, sight, and scent. I must do nothing to harm her! Nothing!

He opened his eyes and stared up at the cool, distant stars for a long time. I have to keep this under control, he told himself. Maybe I can talk to Lavasida. He’s been a vampire for who knows how long. He’s sure to be able to help me control myself. I’m sure we’ll find the shard in just a day or two, and then we can leave here and I’ll be back to my normal self. I hope…

A sound from out of the darkness cut through the soft sounds of Flame Song’s soft snoring, and he quickly identified the approaching noise as two sets of feet. Lon and Lavasida returning, I hope. A few moments later the approaching pair emerged into the firelight and Aidan saw that they were indeed the missing Clan members. They weren’t quite alone, however. Lavasida was carrying a young boy in his arms.

Brianna sat up from where she’d been lying by the fire. “What’s this?” she asked.

“Er…” said Lon, eloquent as usual. He’d turned humanoid again, but was still hairy. I think if he hadn’t been covered in fur, he’d have been beet red.

“Your beloved cleric has yet again distinguished himself, Brianna. He has managed to scare this child nearly to death. By the time I caught up with him he’d knocked the boy down. To give him credit I doubt he intended any harm, but the child was so terrified he fainted on the spot.”

Brianna rolled her eyes. “Oh Lon. Why on earth did you run off in the first place?”

“I couldn’t help myself,” the embarrassed wolfman admitted. “Something about the moon… I mean I’ve been half werewolf all my life, but now I have a feeling I’m the real thing, and I just couldn’t resist it. I had to run! I really didn’t mean to scare the boy.”

“Well, what’s done is done. I suppose we’ll just have to deal with it. Lavasida, put the boy down over here. We’ll see if Lon can redeem himself a bit and revive the child. And perhaps…” she looked around for a moment before her gaze settled on Flame Song, who’d been woken by all the commotion. “Perhaps a more normal-looking person than myself should be the one to speak to the boy when he awakes.”

Flame Song nodded and went over to the boy. Lon, still looking somewhat sheepish, knelt down next to him and put his large, furry hands on the boy’s head. He closed his eyes, summoning his clerical power. A few moments later the boy’s eyes fluttered. Lon quickly backed away from the boy. When his eyes opened all the way, all he saw at first was Flame. She smiled at him. “Are you all right?”

“I… Where is the devil-wolf?”

“He’ll not harm you. Don’t worry. What is your name?”

“Michael. Who are you?”

“My name if Flame Song, odd as that may sound. I’m a stranger here. I apologize for the man who scared you. He didn’t mean to.”

“But he was a devil-wolf! One of the were-folk demons! They are evil!”

“Things aren’t always as they seem, Michael. Lon, the wolf who frightened you, is also the cleric who woke you. He’s a good man.”

“A devil-wolf who is a cleric? Then you must be the strangers my grandmother sent me to find. She said there were strangers, new-come to Spectoria, though how that could be, as there is nowhere else to come from, I don’t know. But she told me I would know them because they would be as angels who wear demons’ forms, evil-seeming without and good within. Are you them?”

“I suppose we could be. We are certainly strangers here. Though how your grandmother could have known about us on the same night we arrived I have no idea.”

“Grandma knows nearly everything. She is our wise woman.”

“I see. Do you trust her then?” said Flame.

“Of course!” replied the boy.

“Then don’t fear. Sit up and take a look around.”

The boy sat up slowly, his eyes going wide as he looked at the group gathered around him. Two vampires, a werewolf, a zombie, and a goblin looked back at him. He looked for a moment like he was bout to bolt, or maybe to faint again, but he calmed himself and got to his feet. “I am to tell the leader of the strangers that her quest will not succeed without aid. She needs my grandmother to tell her how to find what she seeks.”

“Thank you for the message,” said Brianna. “I don’t doubt it, since the tracking amulet doesn’t seem to be working. I take it you’re supposed to lead us to your grandmother?”

“Yes.”

“We’ll go in the morning then.”

So yet again they settled in to wait. Aidan returned to his tree, and Flame Song went with him. Before long she was again sound asleep. Aidan remained awake, thinking. He could hear every motion of the others as they variously slept or didn’t sleep. He could even track the invisible Belak by the sound of his footsteps, as the dwarf was anything but quiet. I guess there are a few benefits to this whole mess, he thought to himself. Strength, speed, inhumanly keen senses, that’s all good. But there’s plenty of downside to go with it. I really wouldn’t like to be stuck this way. Drinking blood isn’t going to be pleasant for one thing, and what about when morning comes? Do I have to find a coffin to crawl into? I really ought to talk to Lavasida, find out how this all works. He’s been out in daylight lots, but then he’s a very, very old and powerful vampire. Me, I’ve been one for a couple of hours. In some of the stories that makes a big difference. I hope all that about crosses and garlic doesn’t turn out to be true either, but with my luck it will. Looks like I’m going to be finding out about the sunlight thing pretty soon. The sky is already starting to get lighter.

And indeed it was. Toward the east the invisible sun was beginning to approach the horizon. Aidan realized that he could actually sense it. He knew exactly how far away the sun was from rising. Pretty soon he didn’t need any unnatural senses, because the edge of the sun inched above the horizon. Immediately he felt it, like a blow. It was as if a giant, scalding weight were pressing against every inch of him. He could feel his skin burning everywhere the sunlight touched.

“Flame, get up!” he said, urgently. With a sleepy murmur she opened her eyes.

“Hrm?”

“The sun is rising,” said Aidan. “I need to move.”

“Oh!” Flame sat up quickly, and Aidan instantly scooted around to the shaded side of the tree. The trunk was wide enough to shield his body, though his wings stuck out. They didn’t feel burned the way his bare skin did, so he wasn’t going to worry about it.

Freed from the immediacy of his own problems he was suddenly aware of the stream of inventive cursing coming from just a few yards away. When he looked over he saw Lavasida likewise huddled in the shadow of a scraggly tree. Lon, looking less hairy and more human now that the moon had set, was crouched next to him with a concerned expression on his face. “I thought your amulet protected you from sunlight?” asked the cleric.

“It used to,” snarled the Dark Lord. “Apparently it doesn’t work on this insane world.”

“Maybe I can…” Lon reached out toward the vampire.

“Don’t touch me!” snapped Lavasida. “Idiot. You’re a cleric, I’m a vampire. You couldn’t heal me if you tried. You’d just hurt me more.”

“Oh. Sorry, I forgot.”

“I guess we’re not going to go anywhere today,” said Brianna with a sigh. “We’ll just have to wait until sundown.”

Sundown was a long time coming. Finding the little patch of shade offered Aidan some relief, but not much. He could still feel the hot hammering of the sun. He squinted against the intolerable brightness, almost totally blinded, and tried to wait with patience. He tried to rest, but couldn’t do more than doze fitfully. The worst came at noon. With the sun directly overhead there were no more solid shadows. Bits of direct sunlight filtered down among the leaves and shone down on the huddled vampire. However much he tried to protect himself, folding his wings around him and curling up as tightly as he could, some little bit of sun still managed to find bare skin. When at last a patch of deeper shadow appeared on the opposite side of the tree he moved into it with a little sigh of relief.

Aidan heaved a much bigger sigh when at last the sun went down. He heard a matching sound from Lavasida and looked over to find the Dark Lord looking back with a wry smile. “Being a vampire isn’t always a bad thing, Aidan. But it’s not always a walk in the park either.”

“I’m beginning to see that.”

“Well,” said Brianna, “now that we can all move again, let’s get going.”

They quickly gathered themselves together, making sure everyone, even the invisible Belak, was with them, and set off with Michael in the lead. They made their way down the hill and through the woods, moving away from the village. By the time the waning moon rose they had reached their destination.

In a clearing amid the trees was a gypsy encampment. There were no tents. Instead a dozen brightly painted wagons circled around several huge bonfires. Sitting around the fires were the gypsies, men and women alike colorfully dressed, and all regarding the little group of Clan members with wary suspicion. Aidan and Lavasida received the brunt of the suspicious looks. Vampires were obviously not welcome here.

Aidan tested the air, smelling smoke, sweat, and somewhere the faint taint of spilled blood. Somebody in the camp was injured. He pushed a recurring spasm of hunger out of his mind and looked ahead to where an old lady sat by the central fire.

“Gather around my fire, travelers from afar. Be still and hear what I have to tell you. I will not tell it again. I know of your quest, and I know what you must know in order to succeed. First you must know this. Magic in this world is not quite like magic in the world from whence you come. Fear not, for the traveling spell that will send you on shall succeed, but the spell you bear to track that which you seek shall not. The shard you seek, however, is known to me. Several days ago it fell to the earth. Baron Almaric, lord of this land, holds it now.

“He is not an evil man, but neither is he a good one. He thinks first of his own land and people. He will not aid strangers without a price. But the price you pay to the Baron shall be the least of your losses. There is another from your world here. The vampire Drago has followed you, come from his castle in the shadow realm. Your fellows who set out to seek it have been trapped therein. Already one has been lost. Others may yet follow, but know this. If you seek Drago’s castle to rescue your friends, he will find the shard before you and your quest shall fail. You shall be trapped here, unable to move on to the second world or return to your home.

“Spectoria where you stand is a dark land. Here Drago’s power is great. You must not face him now. He will follow you again to the next land you visit, and there your power will be great and your allies many. This all I see ahead for you. Perhaps it is not beyond changing, but the means to change this fate are beyond my sight.”

She stopped then and looked over the strange group gathered before her. “Have you aught you would ask me?”

“Please,” said Brianna, her violet eyes shining with pain, “is there no way we can save our friends? We can’t just leave them in Drago’s hands.”

“I said not that you couldn’t save them. I said only that in this world you will of a surety lose. Hurry in your quest and you will yet be able to save those who remain. The second world you must visit is not a place of dark magic as is this place.”

Brianna bowed her head, accepting.

“How do we know,” said Lavasida, “that we can trust you? You’re a stranger to us.”

The old woman smiled. “Ah. You are one how knows much of betrayal, and you are right to distrust. I ask then that you prove my words. I have told you where the shard lies. Go, speak with the baron. If all is as I’ve said then you’ll know I speak true.”

Lavasida didn’t look satisfied, but he nodded curt acceptance of the gypsy’s words.

“I’ll do this for you as well. You will need to travel for two days to reach Baron Almaric’s castle. To speed your journey so that you may go by daylight I’ll lend you one of our wagons. Once you reach the castle you will not easily be allowed inside, particularly looking as you do. But the Baron is holding a costume ball on All Hallows Eve, three days hence.” The old woman smiled, her face wrinkling merrily. “On that night your odd appearance will not draw comment, save perhaps admiration for the quality of your costumes.

“Now, you may rest here while we prepare the wagon. I will send a driver along as well to return the wagon when you are finished with it. By the time the sun rises all will be ready.”

“Thank you,” said Brianna softly. “I wish you hadn’t had so much bad news to tell us, but thank you for your help.”

The others remained gathered around the fire, but Aidan got up and made his way out of the circle of wagons. Flame rose and followed him. “Are you alright?”

With a heavy sigh he sat down at the base of a huge oak. “I guess. I just… I’m not adjusting to this vampire thing very well. The whole time that old gypsy kept talking it was all I could do to keep my attention on her. Somebody in the camp is injured, bleeding, and I can smell it. I’m hungry in a way I’ve never been before. It’s getting harder and harder to ignore. I just had to get away from it.”

Flame Song sat down next to him and took his hand. “I hope you don’t mind if I keep you company.”

Aidan closed his eyes. “I… I’m afraid I do mind. It’s not really you, but… so long as you’re here I can still smell it. Do you understand?” He looked at her pleadingly. “I can smell your blood! I can hear your heartbeat! There’s just no escaping it, no way to fight it.”

Flame looked at Aidan silently for a long time. Then she took a deep breath and said softly, “Maybe you shouldn’t fight it.”

“What?!”

“Look Aidan. We’ve been here for less than two days now, right? And you’re already having problems. We need at least three more days, if this gypsy is right. Are you going to be able to hold out that long? And what if it takes longer? What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know! But I can’t just go out and find some victim.”

“But you have to do something. What happens if you lost control and just attack somebody? You might kill them.”

“Well, what are you suggesting?” said Aidan, frustration in his voice.

“Haven’t you told me that people on your Earth give blood to those who are injured? It wouldn’t hurt me to give you a little bit of blood. Surely you don’t need that much?”

Aidan was horrified. He couldn’t… couldn’t drink his wife’s blood! The very thought was repulsive. “No! I won’t let you!”

“What then? You’ll wait until you can’t control yourself and end up killing some innocent?”

“That’s exactly why I can’t do this! What if I kill you?”

“You won’t Aidan. I know you. I trust you. And I trust our love. I know you won’t hurt me. And I can’t see any other way. It’s this now, or someone’s death later.”

“I just can’t. If I hurt you, I couldn’t live with myself.” His tone was pleading as he tried to convince her. She surely didn’t know what she was offering. To donate blood in a blood drive was one thing, but this!

Flame Song suddenly smiled. “But you wouldn’t have to live with yourself. You’re already dead.”

Aidan sputtered wordlessly. This wasn’t a joking matter! Besides, whispered a little voice in his head, you’re supposed to be the one who makes the jokes. Almost against his will a laugh escaped him. He quickly returned to seriousness, however, at the thought of what Flame was offering him. He looked at her. Too his newly sensitive eyes her face was clear in the dim moonlight that filtered through the trees. He knew to her his face must have been mostly in shadow. An expression of determination marked her features. It was one he’d seen before. She wouldn’t back down easily. And the thing was, he knew she was right. He felt like he was starving already. What would it be like tomorrow? The day after? He couldn’t keep on without risking a total loss of control. And here was Flame Song, offering him the greatest gift she could offer, offering to risk her life for him. He suddenly felt tears gather in his eyes. He hadn’t known vampires could cry. Not trusting himself to speak, he nodded.

Flame nodded, having known she was right all along. “What do I do then?”

“You know as well as I. But I don’t think you need to do anything. Just hold still.”

He put his arms around her, one hand brushing the hair away from her neck. She closed her eyes and tilted her head to the side. He could hear her heartbeat racing, the blood seeming to thunder in his ears. He hesitated, torn between hunger and revulsion. How could he do this? He realized that Flame was trembling and pulled back a bit to look at her. “Flame? Are you sure you want to do this?”

She shivered and spoke with her eyes still closed. “I… I admit it scares me. But yes, I’m sure. I love you, Aidan. I want to do this for you.”

With tears again welling in his eyes Aidan gently bent forward. He kissed the side of her neck softly, whispering “Thank you,” before biting down as gently as he could. She let out an involuntary gasp of pain. I must not hurt her, thought Aidan. I must take the smallest possible amount. And then he swallowed the first drops and all thought left him. It felt like nothing else he’d ever experienced. It was as if he’d swallowed liquid electricity, pure fire. Those were the only terms that fit, but there was nothing unpleasant about the sensation. It reached to the end of every nerve in his body, filling him with an amazing euphoric energy. Each drop strengthened him, filled him with new life, but he gradually became aware that as he grew stronger Flame Song was growing weaker. She sagged limply now in his arms, her breathing fast and shallow and he could feel the energy draining out of her.

He struggled. He didn’t want this incredible euphoria to end. It was so intoxicating, so seductive. Surely he could take just a little bit more? No! No, I must not hurt her. I can’t! The struggle went on for a moment longer and then at last will prevailed over appetite and Aidan drew back. Had it been some other person there instead of his love he might mot have stopped, but the thought of losing her was motivation enough to counter any temptation. He looked down at her where she lay slumped in his arms. Her eyes were closed and her breathing shallow, and for one horrible moment Aidan feared he’d gone too far in spite of all he could do, but then she sighed softly and took a deeper breath, relaxing into a natural sleep. He shifted slightly to rest her head against his shoulder, cradling her gently in his arms. She murmured sleepily and snuggled closer to him. She’s only asleep; thank whatever gods there are in this cursed place. And… the hunger is gone!

He looked down at his wife with a deep sense of gratitude. She had risked her life for him before, but somehow this was different. This was more… intimate, more personal. She’d offered him her own life’s blood. He was hit all over again by how very much he loved her. What would he do without her?

The east was light with the first hints of dawn and the gypsy wagon ready to go when at last Flame Song stirred.

“Good morning,” said Aidan. “How do you feel?”

“Still tired, but otherwise alright.”

“Did it… did it hurt very much?”

“Actually no. It did a little bit at first, but it really wasn’t that bad. I could sort of… I don’t know, sort of feel what you were feeling. Like there was some kind of link between us.”

“That’s weird.”

“You have no idea…”

“What do you mean?”

“Well…”

“Hey, Aidan, Flame!” Brianna’s shout interrupted them before Flame could answer. “The wagon is ready, and the sun’s almost up. Let’s get going!”

“We’ll talk more later,” said Flame, and set off at a brisk trot toward the wagon. Aidan shrugged and followed. Flame climbed up onto the seat next to the gypsy driver; calling down to Brianna, “Hope nobody minds if I ride for a bit. I’m afraid I’ve had a rather… draining evening.”

Aidan shook his head. Flame seemed to be in a strangely good mood for somebody who had lost a significant amount of blood and only slept a few hours. He was still feeling the energy he’d gained, but he was also feeling a certain lethargy with the approach of the sun, so he didn’t waste any time climbing inside the wagon. It was like a mobile home back on Earth, a tiny house with all the amenities possible packed into as little space as possible. There was a single marrow bed, a little table, a few chairs, and a tiny kitchen area.

Lavasida was already in the wagon when Aidan came in and shut the door. He turned around and acknowledged Aidan’s presence with a curt nod, saying, “I’ve made sure the curtains will stay closed.” The Dark Lord walked over to the bed and picked up one of the pillows. “Well, I suppose you’ll be wanting the bed, since you didn’t sleep much yesterday.” He dropped to the floor and set the pillow down next to him.

Aidan gaped at the other vampire. Lavasida, the Dark Lord, was being nice? He hadn’t slept any better than Aidan had the previous day! Why was he doing this? But Lavasida’s expression didn’t invite questions, so Aidan simply lay down on the bed without a word. Moments later the sun rose unseen outside the wagon’s sturdy wooden walls and both of them were soundly asleep.

Aidan awoke feeling refreshed and rested, with only the faintest hint of hunger lurking in the back of his mind. He stretched and looked around. Lavasida was already up, sprawled comfortably in a chair and seemingly unmindful of the lurching movement of the wagon. Aidan got out of the bed and made his own way to a second chair. He had just seated himself and was trying to think of something to say when the wagon suddenly stopped. Aidan and Lavasida exchanged glances and both of them got to their feet.

Thunk! Aidan looked up at the noise to see the tip of an arrow protruding from one wall. What the…? Before he could even complete the thought Lavasida had already drawn his sword and was halfway out the door. Gathering his scattered wits, Aidan drew one of his long daggers and followed.

Outside was a scene of total chaos. Wavering torchlight cast shifting shadows across a scene of battle. Aidan couldn’t make heads or tails of who was fighting who, so he simplified matters by getting an aerial view. One quick bound and he was in the air. From thirty feet above he looked down on the battle and was quickly able to sort it out. The Clan members had been attacked by a group of torch-wielding human men. There were perhaps a dozen attackers, details of age and appearance impossible to make out from above in the dim light. There was no sign of the gypsy driver anywhere. As for the Clan, Brianna, Lon and Seymore had formed a rough triangle. Lavasida was quickly fighting his way toward them and a moment later had joined up. Aidan couldn’t see Belak, but the occasional attacker would suddenly drop for no apparent reason, ample evidence that the invisible dwarf was taking part in the battle. At first Aidan couldn’t make out Flame Song either, but then he saw a pale shape among the bushes, stalking one of the attackers. She had reverted to her natural form, that of a firecat. Her white fur and fire-orange stripes were surprisingly effective camouflage in the flickering firelight. She leapt at the unsuspecting man and he went down without a sound at the impact of some 500 pounds of airborne feline.

Confident that his wife was doing just fine, Aidan picked his own target. He sheathed his dagger and dove at one of the men who were crowding forward to attack the little circle of defenders. He weighed in at only ten pounds over a hundred, but with the speed he’d attained in the dive the force of his impact was more than enough to knock the man off his feet. The man hit the ground with a grunt and immediately took a swing at Aidan with an odd-looking weapon. It took the new vampire a moment to place it, but with a kind of shock he realized that the man was holding a wooden stake. He dodged with cat-quick reflexes and batted the thing out of the man’s hand.

Who does this guy think he is, Buffy? Aidan almost laughed at the thought. Well, he’s going to get the rough end of the vampire-hunting business.

Aidan grabbed the man tightly, very aware of his new strength. The vampire hunter was almost a foot taller than the diminutive aerian, and weighed nearly twice as much, but Aidan held the man immobile with little effort. He bent in close, smelling the scent of the man’s blood and of his fear. As Aidan moved in toward the man’s neck, he went suddenly limp in the vampire’s grip. Fainted, thought Aidan. So much for Mr. Buffy.

He hesitated for a long moment, looking down at the unconscious man. His hunger was poking its ugly head up again, but… could he do this in cold blood to an unwilling victim? This man would have killed me if he could, Aidan told himself. I don’t need to feel any guilt on his behalf. He let the hunger loose and banished his second thoughts. He sank his fangs into the man’s neck and drank deeply, and it was good. It was very good. Here was a food source with no need for holding back and no need for remorse. But he had fed only the night before, and so when at last he pulled back, fully sated, the man was still alive.

Aidan got up, leaving him there, and wiped the blood off of his mouth with the back of his hand. He looked around to see Flame Song staring at him, her own muzzle stained with red. “Better him than you, love,” said Aidan, and leapt back into the sky.

Already, however, the battle was ending. Between Lavasida’s gifted swordsmanship, Flame’s ferocity, and the sheer unnerving quality of the invisible Belak the attackers had had more than enough. Brianna, Lon and Seymore too had done their part, and only a handful fled back into the dark woods.

They regrouped by the wagon to assess their injuries. There were a few cuts and scrapes, but nobody was seriously injured. Brianna had been run through by one lucky swordsman, but being a zombie apparently had its good side, because she seemed to be just fine. She was trying to convince Lon of that, and he wasn’t cooperating. Aidan left the couple to their argument and wandered away from the battleground. Flame Song, who’d reverted to human form, tagged after him.

“Are you all right?”

“Yeah, I’m ok. You?”

“I’m fine,” she answered.

Aidan looked at her. “How come you’re back in human form so soon? I thought you preferred being a firecat when you could.”

“I do. But I couldn’t keep the firecat shape going. There’s something about this world that just won’t let me. It was all I could do not to change back in the middle of the battle.”

“Huh.” Aidan filed it away as just one more weird thing about this world. The wagon was getting back underway again, the driver having reappeared from wherever he’d been hiding. They walked alongside together for a while and then Flame spoke. “Aidan, it keeps nagging at me, how you killed that man. What did you mean when you said, ‘better him than you.’ What did you mean?”

“I don’t want to have to depend on you for… for blood the whole time I’m here in this crazy world. You can’t afford to lose blood that often. So, well… better that I take from people like that. I didn’t kill him, you know.”

“You didn’t?”

“No. He may still die, but he was breathing when I left him.”

“Oh. I just assumed… well, I shouldn’t have.” She went silent again.

“What’s bothering you, Flame?”

“I… You’re a gentle man,” she said softly. “And I mean that in the most literal sense. It’s part of what I love about you. Underneath that cocky surface you’re kind, and gentle. I don’t want that to change. I don’t ever want it to change. I thought… I was afraid that you’d killed that man, that you were starting to change.”

“I have killed a man once. I might have killed that man too.”

“I don’t like that thought. I don’t want you to be a killer.”

“What about you? You’ve killed.”

Flame sighed. “I’m a hunter, Aidan. I always have been. And yes, I’ve been a killer too. It’s part of what I am. Sometimes I wish I could be otherwise, but it can’t. You were different though. So light-hearted, so… I don’t know, almost innocent. I don’t want you to change.”

Aidan took her hand, holding it gently as they continued to walk. “We all change, love. There’s no way to help it. And I don’t know if innocent is the word.” He added with a smile.

“Possibly not,” she agreed, smiling back. “And I know changes will come. But… I don’t want you to become somebody I don’t recognize. Promise me that you won’t start to enjoy blood and death Aidan. Just promise me that.”

“I can promise that without reservation. I hate being a vampire. I hate liking blood. I can’t wait until we find the shard and can leave this horrible world.” That was all true, but what Aidan tried not to admit to himself was that there had been a certain undeniable pleasure in taking the vampire hunter’s blood. He hadn’t needed to hold back, hadn’t worried about consequences, and it had been good. Too good. It would be so easy, he thought. There are enough thugs out there for me to justify it. I could say I was doing the world a favor by ridding it of criminals. But I would be just as much in the wrong as those vampire hunters. They thought they were doing the world a favor by ridding it of the evil undead. In the end I would become what I was fighting.

Flame smiled at him and squeezed his hand. He returned the gentle pressure and the smile too. “I agree,” she said. “Though who knows what the next world will be like. Maybe it will be worse.”

“Don’t say that! Ugh… I don’t even want to think about what could be worse than this.”

The remainder of the night and the next day passed without incident, and when Aidan awoke with the sundown they had arrived at Castle Almaric. Aidan could hear the distant rumble of waves and smell the scent of the sea as he stepped out of the wagon. The driver didn’t wait any longer than he had to, no sooner were the two vampires out of the wagon he turned it around and headed back the way he’d come.

“Guess we’re on our own now,” said Brianna, watching the gypsy man drive off.

“We’ve been on our own all this time, lass,” said Belak’s voice out of the darkness. “He’s not been much use thus far.”

“I suppose so. Well, let’s see about finding a place to stay for a bit. The big party isn’t until tomorrow night, so there’s not much we can do until then.”

A little scouting turned up a suitable campsite, far enough from the little town below the castle to avoid notice, but near enough that they wouldn’t have far to go the following evening. Aidan wasn’t looking forward to the next day with no more shelter from the sun than the shade of a tree, but he figured he’d live.

The next day was indeed unpleasant, but Flame kept him company, distracting him from his pain with stories of her homeland.

“You’ll have to write those down someday,” said Aidan. You’re quite the good story teller.”

“I ought to be, since I was the tribe’s story teller back home. But story telling isn’t the same as writing. I’m still not very good at it. I mean I didn’t even know there was such a thing as writing until I left my people. Firecats don’t write. No hands you see.”

At last the day was past. The seven of them got themselves presentable for the costume ball. Aidan cleaned off his somewhat rumpled tuxedo as best he could. Lavasida was likewise dusting off his similar finery. Brianna, Lon, Seymore, and Flame Song didn’t need to do much, they all looked right with somewhat ragged clothes, and Belak of course didn’t need to do anything, as he was still entirely invisible.

They set out for the party just after sundown. Ahead, at the top of a slight hill, the castle loomed forbiddingly. The main entrance was lit up with dozens of lights, but the main bulk of the building was still dark and gloomy. Beyond it cliffs dropped off to the crashing sea below.

The group was soon mingling with other partygoers. Most arrived in carriages, but some were on foot. All were dressed in Halloween costumes, some simple, some outlandishly elaborate. The crowd all streamed in together through the front gates of the castle. Inside the courtyard there was music playing, fountains splashing, and food being served. Sitting in a dais overlooking the revelry was a bearish man with flaming red hair. He could be no other than Baron Almaric. But as the little group made their way toward the baron, they suddenly noticed a second figure standing at the baron’s side. He was a tall, thin man, dressed impeccably all in black. His skin was unnaturally pale, his eyes and hair were very dark, and his lips were startlingly red. Brianna let out a little gasp of dismay. It was Drago!

The Vampire Lord hadn’t yet noticed them among the crowd. His eyes passed blankly over the little group that was, after all, unremarkable among the many costumed nobles and dignitaries present.

“What are we going to do?” asked Lon.

“I don’t know,” answered Brianna. “I didn’t quite believe the old gypsy when she said Drago was here too, but it looks like it’s the truth. And he got here before us.”

“I doubt he has gained the shard yet,” said Lavasida.

“Huh?” Aidan chimed in brightly.

The other vampire smiled. “I know somewhat how Drago thinks. I thought much the same when I was as young as he is.” Aidan wondered a bit at that. Drago was well over a century old and Lavasida was calling him young? “He wouldn’t bother with being at this party, or even on this world, if he’d gotten what he came for. He’d have moved on already. I think the Baron has refused to give it to him. Didn’t the gypsy woman say that the Baron wouldn’t give the shard up freely?”

“You’re right,” said Brianna. “So we still have a chance. And in that case I see only one option. The longer Drago’s up there whispering in the baron’s ear, the less likely we are to get the shard, so there’s no time like the present.” And with that Brianna headed straight for the raised dais where Baron Almaric sat.

Lavasida smiled at her. “She has quite a bit of courage, doesn’t she?”

The rest of the Clan just gaped. “Courage, yeah,” said Aidan. Lavasida smiled and set out after Brianna, the others close on his heels.

“Baron Almaric.” Brianna presented herself in front of the dais, curtseying respectfully.

“I don’t think I know you,” said the baron, his voice rich and deep.

“These are the strangers I’ve been telling you about,” said Drago, his eyes narrowed with instant hatred at the sight of Brianna.

“Are they?” The baron gave the little group an interested look. “Well, I have heard much about you from this man here. Now I think I would like to hear your own story. Why are you here?”

“We’re looking for a crystal shard. It is needed to heal our world. I don’t know what Drago’s told you, truth or lies, but he has attempted to hold the world for ransom with theses shards. He will be responsible for the destruction of a world if the shards can’t be regained.”

Baron Almaric nodded. “Well now I have heard two different tales, and which one is truth I honestly don’t care. I’ll simply ask this: why should I give you the crystal?”

Brianna looked for a long time at the baron. At last she said, “My lord, I could give you many reasons. I could talk about doing good, I could talk about saving lives, but instead I’ll tell you this. I will do anything you ask, complete any task you set, give you anything I possess, in order to gain the shard. And all of these my companions can say the same.”

The baron smiled. “Your friend here has tried to tell me I must give him the shard since he claims it as his own. I frankly find his hubris and pride irritating.” Aidan grinned at Drago, who was scowling angrily. “Your attitude is refreshing. No nonsense about how I must do this or must do that. You have the wisdom to know that the shard is in my possession and I shall give it to whom I please. Very well then. The shard shall be yours… if you do one favor for me.”

“Ask it, we’ll do it,” said Brianna confidently.

“You want the shard. Well, there is a talisman I want. It is held by a powerful witch and vampyress who also happens to be my sister. A long time ago we divided our father’s realm between us, and each promised never to set foot on the other’s land. But some years ago a servant of hers stole an amulet that belongs to me. I want you to retrieve it for me. Her half of the barony is an island; perhaps two day’s sailing from here. I’ll give you a ship and whatever supplies you require.”

“We’ll be ready to go as soon as the ship is,” said Brianna with confidence. Aidan just sighed. Two days there, two days back, and probably a day or two getting the thing, he thought. I am so sick of this world! I want to go home. Home… With a kind of inward start her realized that he had really started thinking of Mysteria as home. When had that happened? Earth used to be home. But it’s true. Mysteria is my home now.

“The ship will sail on the morning tide,” said the Baron.

“Almaric! You can’t do this! These… these thieves have no right to the crystal! It belongs to me!” Drago’s face was a mask of rage.

“No, Sir Drago, it belongs to me,” said the Baron calmly. “I have it in my possession. Whatever claim you or they have on it changes nothing. The shard is mine, and I will not give it to you simply because you tell me I must. You offered nothing in return for the shard. You simply greedily demanded that I give it to you. This woman has said she will give me anything within her power to give. If she succeeds in this quest, I’ll give her the shard. It’s that simple.”

“But…”

“No. I’m tired of hearing your inane babble. Leave us.”

“I’ll go. But you!” he pointed at Brianna, “I have six of your precious Clan in my dungeons. They will suffer for this insult!” Drago snarled hatefully, gathered his cloak around him and vanished in a melodramatic puff of smoke.

Lavasida shook his head. “Dramatics. How childish.” Brianna simply bowed her head, knowing she was unable to protect those the Vampire Lord held prisoner.

The baron laughed. “Indeed. And now, as you can’t leave until the morning, I invite you to enjoy the party. I must say your costumes are quite excellent.” The twinkle in the baron’s eye as he said that last made Aidan suspect that he knew the “costumes” were nothing of the sort.

Brianna stepped in closer to the dais, apparently wanting to talk to the baron further. Aidan took a good look around. There were people dancing, food, laughter, and generally a good time all around. He smiled at Flame Song and held out his hand as the musicians struck up a new song. “May I have this dance?”

Flame laughed. “You ought to know I’m not the best dancer.”

“But you’re the only one I care about.”

She blushed and took Aidan’s hand. Aidan held her close as they circled the dance floor, just enjoying her nearness. She was beautiful in the warm light of the many lanterns set up around the courtyard. Her green eyes sparkled and she smiled warmly down at him. He smiled back, amazed all over again at the beauty of this amazing woman. His newly enhanced senses let him smell the scent of her, feline, feminine, with a hint of perfume overlaying it. He felt a different sort of hunger stir as he gazed into her eyes. My blood may not be all my own these days, he thought to himself, but it’s a red as the next man’s. Too bad we’re not likely to have much privacy for the next few days. Ships aren’t exactly known for plentiful and spacious accommodations.

And so it proved. The ship they boarded the next morning, with Aidan and Lavasida half blinded by pain and sunlight as they stumbled aboard, was fairly small with only a pair of cabins for the seven of them to share. Lavasida, Aidan, and Flame took a little windowless cabin while the other four shared a slightly larger cabin with little portholes that looked out just above the water line.

The first day passed without incident, as did the night, but mid-morning on the second day Aidan was awakened by someone calling his name. “Aidan! Aidan! Wake up!”

“Huh? What?” Aidan opened his eyes to see Lavasida bending over him, the other vampire’s sword drawn.

“Come on! There’s a battle going on up there and they need us!”

Aidan jolted to full awareness and drew both his daggers. He followed the Dark Lord through the narrow passageway and up a steep stair onto the deck. In a glance Aidan took in the situation. A thick veil of fog, for which Aidan was profoundly thankful, hid the sun. The sky was still far too bright for his taste, but at least he wasn’t feeling the punishing blow of direct sunlight.

A second ship, flying a skull and crossbones, was grappled to their own ship. Pirates were pouring aboard the ship and the baron’s sailors were fighting them off with Aidan’s fellow Clan members fighting along side. Aidan quickly took to the air, gaining the high ground, and picked his first target. One pirate quickly went down, dead or simply fainted from blood loss Aidan didn’t know. He caught a glimpse of white fur as he returned to the sky and looked down to see Flame dispatching a pirate. He also saw a second pirate behind her who, rather than closing with the deadly cat, had a dagger in his hand, pulled back to throw.

“Flame!” shouted Aidan, but before he could do anything the pirate had thrown the knife. It thudded into Flame’s side and she cried out. And then all of the sudden her form blurred and wavered and instead of a huge firecat there was a slender human woman standing there, unarmed but for a small dagger of her own.

The pirate grinned and drew a curved cutlass. Flame backed into the rail, having nowhere to retreat to. And Aidan dived, daggers drawn. He hit the pirate from behind, with the full force of his dive behind him and his left-hand dagger leading the way. The pirate and Aidan together crashed into the deck. Only Aidan got up. He pulled his dagger from the pirate’s heart and wiped it off on the dead man’s shirt.

“Are you all right?”

“Yes. What about you?”

“I…” Aidan started to say, “I’m fine,” but suddenly the fog began to break up and a beam of sunlight shone directly on the ship. Aidan gasped and collapsed, flattened to the deck by the hammer blow of light. Flame looked up to see the other ship breaking off, cutting away the grapples and retreating back into the fog.

“Looks like we won. Guess I’d better get you back below deck.” She draped Aidan’s arm over her shoulder and hoisted him to his feet. She made a little noise of pain as the attempt to lift her husband sent a sharp twinge of pain through her wounded side.

“Here,” said a voice out of nowhere, “I’ll get the lad.” Aidan rose into the air apparently unsupported as the invisible Belak easily lifted the slight aerian.

“Thanks,” said Flame. Aidan just groaned. The sunlight was just about the most painful thing he’d ever felt. He felt as though his skin was on fire, though there was no visible reddening. But it wasn’t just his skin that hurt, it was his whole body. The sun seemed to pierce him and pass through him, reaching every bit of him. When at last Belak carried him down the hatch he sagged in relief.

“Here, I’m alright. Put me down.”

“Sure lad,” said the dwarf, putting Aidan back on his feet. “And now I’ll go fetch the cleric for you, lass,” added the voice from nowhere, and the tread of heavy booted feet was clearly audible going back up the stairs.

“Are you really alright?” asked Flame, clearly worried.

“Yeah. Sunlight doesn’t seem to do my any real damage, it just hurts like nothing else.”

“And you’re very lucky that it works that way here, Aidan,” said a voice from the stairs. The Dark Lord, Lavasida, was descending. He let out a relived sigh as he reached the shadows. “Back on Mysteria sunlight will burn you and it can even kill you. If you were there, you’d probably have died just then. Then again, if we were on Mysteria my amulet would be working and I wouldn’t have to suffer the pain of sunlight.” He smiled a sharp-toothed smile. “There’s nothing you can slice so thin that there aren’t two sides to it.”

“How do you stand it?” asked Aidan. “I just collapsed.”

“You’re young yet, and new to vampirism. You’ll learn to deal with pain as you gain more experience. But then you’re not likely to remain a vampire long enough for it to make much difference.”

Just then Lon came down the stairs. “Belak told me Flame Song was injured?” he said, making the statement into a question.

“Yes. Not badly though. I just got a dagger in the back. It didn’t go in very deep, and I was a firecat at the time.”

“It’s getting far too crowded in the hall,” said Lavasida, trying to avoid the cleric’s touch. “Come on, Aidan, let’s go back to our room.” Aidan nodded and made his way down the narrow passage into their little cabin. Aidan sat down on one of the two narrow beds in the room and relaxed.

“Lavasida,” he said, “do you ever want to be normal again?”

The other vampire considered for a long moment before replying. “I’ve never discussed this much. Who was there to speak to?” He favored his fellow vampire with a rare smile. “But I suppose you can understand this as well as any. There are occasionally things about being a mortal man that I miss, I’ll not deny it, but no. I wouldn’t trade in what I am now if I could. I did go through a stage where I regretted what I’d done. I chose to be a vampire, I sought it out, and I thought it was what I wanted. At first it was prefect, but as I grew older I came to see the negative side as well. I’ve given up many happy ordinary things.” There was a faint look of sadness in his eyes, and Aidan wondered what it was that the Dark Lord regretted. “But had I chosen to remain mortal I would now be more than five centuries dead, so I never would have…” he stopped suddenly and turned away. “Never mind.”

Aidan wanted to ask Lavasida what he’d meant, but he knew better than to pry. So he simply lay down on the bed and by the time Flame Song came into the room he was sound asleep.

The next night was almost done when the ship reached the island. Aidan was grateful for the cover of darkness as they disembarked. The sailors refused to come ashore, and as Aidan looked around he didn’t blame them. The port town was eerily deserted. Houses were falling down, dust and cobwebs gathered everywhere, and the wind was the only sound. It looked as though it had been abandoned for years.

“What happened here?” said Flame Song.

“I have no idea,” replied Aidan, “but whatever it was it happened a long time ago.”

“It doesn’t matter,” said Brianna. “The place we’re looking for is inland. There’s no need for us to hang around here, so lets get going.”

They’d gone perhaps three miles inland when the sun came up. Lavasida and Aidan both stopped as the first light touched them. The others came to a halt moments later. Brianna looked at the pair with concern. “We need to keep moving if we can. Do you think you two can make it?”

“I’ll be fine,” said Lavasida, starting forward again and gritting his teeth.

“Aidan?” Brianna looked at the little aerian, almost a head shorter than she.

Aidan squinted against the unbearable brightness. “I… think I can do it.”

“If not, I can carry the lad,” said Belak.

“We’ll press on then,” said Brianna.

Flame Song put an arm around her husband. “Lean on me, I’ll help you.”

Aidan gratefully draped his arm over her shoulder and let her guide him as they continued down the road. He could hardly see in the blinding glare, and every inch of him ached bone deep, but he found he could move. The rest of the day was a blur of brilliant light and a dusty road that went on and on. Aidan just concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other.

Finally, just when he felt one more step would be the death of him, the sun touched the horizon. All too slowly it sank below a distant hill and vanished. Aidan took his arm from Flame’s shoulders and slowly straightened. With a long sigh he opened his eyes and looked around at the blessedly dim twilight that had descended over island.

“How much farther do we have to go?” he asked.

“Not far, less than a mile I think,” replied Flame.

“I am so sick of this place. I am so tired of being a vampire. I hate it!”

“It’s all right, Aidan. We’ll get the amulet and then we can go.”

“Yes, go on to some other crazy world.” He sighed. “I just want to go home.”

“Me too. Me too.”

“There!” interrupted Lon, pointing up ahead. A dark shape loomed up before them. It was a castle. It looked just as abandoned as the port town, with some of the towers falling down, but one dim light showed that somebody was home. Nearer at hand a high wall of greenery blocked off their view of the base of the tower.

“What might that be?” asked Belak from just a foot behind Aidan, making the vampire jump.

“Don’t do that!”

“Sorry lad.”

“I think,” said Brianna, “That it’s a maze.”

“Joy,” said Aidan sarcastically.

“I also think,” added the tall woman, “that we ought to split up. Who knows if we’ll be able to get in by the front door? I think you,” she pointed to Aidan, “Belak, and Seymore should circle around the back and look for a way in there. The rest of us will try a more frontal approach.”

“Right,” said Lavasida. “Let’s go.”

Aidan said a quick goodbye to Flame and set out with Seymore and the invisible Belak. They made their way around the edge of the maze and into the thick forest that surrounded the castle. The woods were gloomy and dim, the trees covered with hanging moss. Aidan looked around nervously. Sure, darkness is a thief’s and a vampire’s best friend, he thought to himself, but I don’t like this one bit. There’s darkness and then there’s darkness. And this, he added mentally with a touch of gloomy humor, is definitely darkness.

The trio made their way cautiously through the trees. Aidan kept seeing movement out of the corner of his eyes, but when he turned to look there was never anything but the omnipresent trees. Turning to look yet again at a half-glimpsed motion, he looked back to see Seymore well ahead of him. “Hey Seymore! Wait up!” He ran forward, hurrying to catch up. Abruptly a tree root reached up and grabbed his foot. He staggered and almost fell, just managing to keep his balance. Then the root actually pulled, jerking his feet out from under him. He toppled backward, his head hit something hard, and everything went dim.

He came to gradually. He was aware that he was lying flat on his back and something was tugging on his foot. Or rather somebody was pulling him away and his foot was being held firmly in place.

“Blasted plant! Let go!” shouted a voice. Aidan’s eyes shot open, but he still didn’t see much of anything.

“Belak?”

“Aidan, lad, you’re alive! You must get yourself loose. I can’t get this cursed tree to let go of you, and the others are getting a mite annoying.”

“Huh?” Aidan looked around and his eyes went wide. Little Seymore was crouched with spear in hand and attempting to fend off the reaching branches around him. The trees had come alive, and they didn’t seem to be happy. The hands gripping Aidan’s shoulders let go, and suddenly an axe appeared out of nowhere, spinning through the air to chop branches and trunks.

Aidan tried to get to his feet, but the tree root was still holding his foot. No sooner was he up than it pulled him down again. Drawing a dagger he started sawing away at the wood. Around him Seymore and Belak were fending off the trees that actually seemed to be moving slowly closer.

“Aidan lad, you must get loose. I can only hold them off for so long!”

“I’m sorry! I can’t cut this thing! It’s as hard as rock.”

“Me have idea!” The usually quiet goblin suddenly piped up. “Trees hard to cut, but trees burn. They no like fire, me think.”

“Seymore lad, you’re a genius. Fire! Hold them off for a moment more and I’ll have a torch.” The goblin nodded grimly and attacked the branches with renewed ferocity. A dead branch rose up off the ground, there was a crash of glass as the invisible dwarf broke his oil flask over it, and then a flare of fire. “Take this!” shouted the dwarf, and flung the torch.

Aidan almost expected a shriek as the nearest tree went up in flames, but there was no sound. The tree writhed, its branches flailing in agony, spreading the fire to the neighboring trees. Aidan felt the root around his ankle let go and he jumped to his feet. Seymore was already out from the immediate circle of trees and was running through the woods. Aidan ran after him, but something latched on to his shoulder. He looked back to see a flaming tree, apparently determined to take Aidan down with it.

Aidan struggled to free himself, but a second branch was already wrapping itself around his throat, dragging him backward. He tried to shout for help, but he couldn’t get any air. The tree had him pinned to its trunk now and the flaming branches were all around. He heard Belak shouting, but knew there was no way the dwarf could reach him.

Curiously the flames didn’t seem very hot. He could see them licking up all around him. Not only was the tree still burning, but now his trousers and vest were catching fire. But he couldn’t feel it. What was going on?

The grip of the branches was weakening as the tree died, and suddenly Aidan broke free. He tumbled to the ground and stayed there, rolling to extinguish his clothes. When at last he got up his clothes were smoking, but he himself seemed unhurt. That was downright weird, he thought to himself as he hurried away from the burning trees. Weird, but very welcome. I thought I was a goner.

“Aidan lad! You’re not dead!”

“No. Well, not any deader than usual these days.”

“Come on. We have to get out of here.”

“Amen to that. Let’s go before this whole forest burns down, and us with it.”

An hour later the three of them stood before the maze. “There’s no way we can go through the woods with all the trees against us. Do you think we should go through the maze after the others?”

“I don’t know lad. Mayhap.”

“I don’t think I’ll be much use. I still can’t quite focus, and my head is killing me.” He reached gingerly behind him and felt the back of his head. There was a tender lump there, and his fingers came away sticky with blood.

“Aye. When I couldn’t wake you lad, I thought you were dead. You’ve quite the gash on your head there.”

“Maybe I’ve got a concussion.” Everything was still swirling around him, refusing to fully focus. The adrenaline rush that had carried him through the battle with the trees was fading and he felt worn out. Dead tired in fact. And I can’t even get up the energy to laugh at my own bad pun. Sad.

“I never seem to be any use. I always end up needing to be rescued.”

“I didn’t save you from that tree, Aidan. You saved yourself.”

“But I didn’t do anything. It was just… weird. The fire didn’t hurt me. I don’t know why. Flame Song is immune to fire, but I’m not! And its not as if you can gain something like fire immunity just by being married to a firecat.”

“No, most likely not.”

“Wait… I think I hear something.”

“What is it?”

“Voices. I think it’s the others.”

“Let’s home they had better luck than we did, lad.”

Belak’s hopes proved well founded, as Lavasida emerged from the maze first with the baron’s amulet in one hand. “What happened to you?” he asked, surveying the scorched aerian and somewhat battered goblin.

“We met a few trees,” said Aidan. “You?”

“We found the witch and she found us.”

“Found you charming,” said Brianna, emerging from the maze behind him. “Lavasida seduced the woman to get the amulet. She’s going to be surprised and unhappy when she wakes up.”

“Er…” Aidan couldn’t think of a ready response. “Ooohhh…” Suddenly everything started spinning again, and he started to collapse. Lavasida darted forward and caught Aidan before he could hit the ground.

“Are you all right?”

“Not exactly,” said Aidan woozily. “But I don’t want to stick around here.”

“I’ll second that,” said Flame, taking Aidan’s arm as Lavasida helped him to his feet. “Let’s get going.”

With Aidan leaning on Flame they set out back the way they’d come. They had only gone a few miles when the sun again peeked above the horizon. Aidan groaned. He already ached all over, his head felt like it was going to explode, and the light seemed to pierce through his eyes and burn its way towards his injured scalp from the inside. He only stumbled on a few more steps before Belak had to carry him. So when they reached an abandoned town an hour or so later Brianna called a halt. Aidan hadn’t even noticed the town on the way up, but now he was very glad of it. He knew that he was the main reason Brianna insisted on stopping, any of the others could easily have gone on, but he wasn’t going to argue.

They found an empty inn and made themselves at home. Aidan felt weak, he couldn’t stay in focus, and he was worried. Flame Song guided him over to a dusty couch and sat him down gently on it.

“Are you going to be all right Aidan?” she asked, looking concerned. “You don’t look good at all. What happened?”

“I was tripped by a tree, as far as I can tell. And it was deliberate too! Darn trees…”

“I had a run in with some greenery too.”

“Tell me about it. I need something to focus on. I’m afraid… I’ve heard that you need to keep awake when you have a concussion, that if you lose consciousness you might never wake up.”

Flame Song nodded. “All right. The first thing was the maze. The actual maze itself wasn’t hard, but it turns out it was enchanted. There were these bush sculptures, animals, monsters, things like that. They started coming alive. One of them got the jump on me, but then Lon had a bright idea and started setting them on fire. I got a bit scorched, but of course fire can’t hurt me.”

“I got burned too. Or well, I should have been burned, I was right in the fire, but I didn’t. I can’t figure that out. It’s not like I could catch fire immunity from you.”

Flame Song cocked her head to one side and looked at her husband. “Maybe you did get it from me.”

“Huh?”

“Well, you did drink my blood. Maybe whatever it is that makes me immune to fire is in my blood and it got into you.”

“Huh. Maybe. What else happened to you guys? How did you get the amulet?”

“It’s like Brianna said, the witch thought Lavasida was charming. We tried sneaking in, but she caught us. She’d locked us up, but she er…” Flame blushed a bit. “She took him up to her bedroom. I guess he caught her eye. So he, um… anyway, he got the amulet after she fell asleep and came down and let us out. That’s it. What about you?”

“Nothing really. We tried to go through the woods, the trees attacked us, Belak rescued me and set them on fire, I almost got set on fire, I lived, we turned back. I’m really not much use you know. No matter what I always seem to end up needing a rescue.”

“You’re plenty of use, Aidan love. Just because you’re not out front with sword in hand, being the hero, doesn’t mean you haven’t contributed. Why without you I’d most likely have been killed by that pirate, and that’s not the first time you’ve saved my life.”

“Guess I’m just feeling a bit down right now. This whole business is getting to me.”

“Aidan, there is one thing I’ve been meaning to ask you. When Brianna charged the animated bushes that were attacking us, she shouted a very odd war cry, something about knights of knees and shrubbery. It that another of your obscure Earth things?”

“Knights of knees… knights of knees and shrubbery…” It took a moment for it to dawn on him, but when it did he burst out laughing. His aching head instantly told him that laughter was a bad idea, but he couldn’t help it. In spite of the pain it felt good to laugh. He hadn’t really laughed in far too long. “Yes, it’s one of those obscure Earth things,” he said when at last he calmed down, “and I don’t really think I could explain it properly. I think you have to see it to understand.”

“Oh.” She shrugged. “Well, I was just curious. And now I’m curious about the prospect of food. Lon said he was going to try and find some. I’m going to see if he has. I’ll be back soon.” She stood up and went, leaving Aidan alone with his somewhat jumbled thoughts. He kept trying to focus on something, but his mind insisted on wandering off on tangents.

Stop wandering, mind, he told himself, if I lose you I’ll be in trouble. I’m in trouble already, I think, and there I’m thinking so my mind must be around here somewhere… I never thought that vampires could get concussions. Looks like they can. I wonder how Lavasida is doing? He looked around until he spotted the other vampire, talking to Brianna. So strange, that. He has more presence than Brianna, but he follows her lead. Why? There’s so much history I’m missing here. Those years we were away, a lot happened during them. So odd that the Dark Lord is part of the Clan now. He’s evil, sort of. But he has his own kind of honor. He might kill me for a whim, but he won’t because we’re on the same side in this. I guess that’s why he follows Brianna too, honor. And maybe respect for her. There’s something between them. Wish I knew the whole story there… But I’m wandering again. Need to focus, need to be in control.

Lavasida now, there’s control, definitely dominant, Hmmm… alliteration, and there goes my mind again. Come back here, I need to focus, on what? Oh yes, vampires. I’m one now and Lavasida has always been one. I have a feeling that if it were just the two of us he’d be the one in charge. Right now if he said “frog” I’d hop without thinking. I can just sense his dominance. Guess vampires are kind of like wolves, there has to be an alpha.

Wolves and wandering minds, and there’s that alliteration again and why can’t I focus? Strange how my senses are so good but it just distracts. I can tell where the sun is, which is really odd now that I think of it. Even when it’s set I can still feel it. And I can smell people, and I can sense Lavasida’s strength. This vampire thing is just weird all over.

Finally Flame Song returned, carrying a bowl filled with something. The smell of it ought to have been enticing, but instead it smelled utterly unappetizing.

“What’s that?”

“Stew. Lon found a bit of this and a bit of that, and Brianna put it all together. It’s not the best I’ve ever had, but it fills up the empty spots. Speaking of which, how are you doing?”

“Wishing I could stomach that,” said Aidan. “I’m starving again, I think being injured is making it worse, but that stuff smells awful.” Aidan could smell what he really needed, the blood scent was practically pouring off of Flame Song. He tried to put it out of his mind. After all, they had the amulet and they were on their way back. Three more days at the most would see them off of this world. Surely he could hold out that long.

Flame Song finished the stew and put the bowl down. “You really don’t look so good. I think you need some help in order to heal up.” And before Aidan really registered what she’d said she’d pulled out her little dagger and nicked herself across her wrist. Aidan went wide-eyed. How could she just do that? I can stand the sight of blood just fine, especially now, oh yes… but I don’t think I could a knife to myself like that.

“Flame! What are you doing?”

“What do you think? Here.” She held out her wrist to him and he stared at it, fascinated almost against his will. He could smell her blood, rich and inviting. The scent overwhelmed all thought, leaving room only for action. He took her wrist in his hands and brought it to his lips. The warmth of it flowed through him and the pain in his head gradually faded away.

This time he managed to stop before Flame fainted. It was still difficult, but it seemed to be getting easier. Flame Song smiled at him and put her arm around him. He smiled back, and all of the sudden everything that had happened seemed to catch up with him at once. Before he knew it he was sound asleep.

“Wake up you two.” Aidan opened his eyes to see Brianna standing over him. “The sun has been down for hours and we’ve got to get moving.”

They reached the ship well before dawn. Flame Song practically dragged Aidan down to the little cabin and once they were inside she slid the bolt across, locking the door.

“What are you doing? Lavasida…”

“Can take care of himself. There are plenty of places where sunlight doesn’t reach on this ship. We haven’t had a real moment alone since we left the northlands.”

It was true enough. And Aidan knew that when Flame made up her mind about something there was little chance of convincing her otherwise. Besides, he thought, why would I want to?

“Sounds like a good idea, but the sun is coming up pretty soon. I’m worn out and then some, so I’m afraid all I’m going to be doing for the next few hours is sleep.”

“Fine by me,” said Flame as Aidan lay down on the narrow bunk. She sat down next to him and gently stroked his raven-black hair. Aidan relaxed completely, dozing off contentedly to her gentle caress.

He awoke precisely at sundown, feeling more refreshed and relaxed than he had in ages. Flame Song was sitting on the floor next to the bed with her head pillowed on her arm. She seemed to be asleep. Aidan softly said, “Flame?”

“Hmmm?” Flame yawned and raised her head.

“You awake?”

“I am now.”

“Anything interesting happen while I was out?”

“No, thank heavens. We could use some peace and quiet.”

Aidan sat up and stretched and Flame got up and sat next to him. For a long time they just sat there, holding hands and staring into each other’s eyes like a pair of lovesick teenagers. Well, lovesick anyhow, thought Aidan. I’m not exactly a teen anymore, even if I still look like one. Twenty-one, and almost three years married. There are times when I still can hardly believe it. Aidan smiled warmly at Flame and put his arms around her. Flame returned his embrace with interest. He could smell the sweet scent of her, hear her breath quicken and her heart begin to race. She nibbled on his ear, and his own kisses moved down her neck. Aidan felt her pulse pounding beneath his lips, and that’s when things got away from him. Without consciously thinking about what he was doing, he found the spot over the vein in her neck and broke through her skin with his teeth. For a moment, as Flame’s blood welled up in his mouth, he was filled with intense pleasure. This was different from the other times he’d taken her blood, far different. Her blood was heated with passion, and his own passion rose to match it. Then the soft cry she’d made as he cut into her registered on his mind. Realization hit him like a physical blow and he quickly broke things off.

He pulled away from her, putting some space between them and giving him time to calm down. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to hurt you, I just… I lost control,” he said, sick with the thought that he’d caused her needless pain.

Flame Song’s eyes were wide and she was breathing hard. She raised her hand tentatively to the tiny wounds Aidan had made. Her fingers came away bloodied. It was a long moment before she finally calmed a bit and to his surprise replied, “It didn’t really hurt at all. Quite the contrary in fact.”

“Huh? How could my biting you not hurt you?”

Her expression turned thoughtful as she answered, “I’m not sure, but I think sharing blood makes some kind of emotional link. The other times I’ve been oddly aware of how you were feeling. It was kind of funny to be able to feel your hunger, and the pain when your head was inured.” She shook her head. “Maybe this time because you weren’t actually hungry and because of the way we were feeling…” she trailed off before finishing the thought, but Aidan understood what she was getting at.

“I guess that makes sense. I could feel what you were feeling, which is kind of logical, but it’s kind of odd that it goes both ways.” He looked into her clear green eyes. “You’re sure I didn’t hurt you?”

She nodded with a rather dreamy smile. “Anything but.”

Aidan smiled back and leaned in toward her, lowering his face to her neck. She took a deep breath as his lips touched her skin, then let it out in a long, slow sigh as he gently kissed away the thin trickle of blood that oozed from the marks he’d made. He drew back for a moment and with a twinkle in his eye said, “This definitely calls for further experimentation.”

Further experimentation kept them busy for quite some time. Much later they lay curled up together on the bunk, it narrowness making it necessary for them to cuddle close together, which neither of them minded at all. Aidan’s arm was around Flame’s waist and one wing was draped over her. He closed his eyes and listened to her even breathing. He loved this, simply being close to her, enjoying her warm presence. “How did I ever get so lucky?” he murmured softly.

“I could ask the same thing,” she said. Then after a long silence she added, “I wonder sometimes, why did you ever ask me? I mean me, of all people. I’m not even human.”

Aidan kissed the back of her neck. He didn’t want to move and it was the only thing he could reach without moving. “Because you’re just wonderful,” he said.

She gave a soft little laugh. “Is that the only reason?”

“You really want an honest answer?”

“Yes. I look back and I just can’t figure it out. Why me?”

Aidan thought back to those days. It seemed like ages ago, though it had been little more than three years. “To tell you the truth, I’m not entirely sure. I’d been alone and unwanted for so long, I think that was a big part of it. You accepted me, warts and all. Nobody else seemed to want a scruffy thief. And back in my Earth days, nobody was interested in the scrawny geek I was then. I’d never even dated a girl. And then all of the sudden here’s this beautiful woman who likes me, wants to be with me, makes me want to be my best self. I thought about how I’d feel if you ever left me, and I just couldn’t stand the thought of being so alone again. So I did the only thing I could think of to be sure you always stayed. It’s kind of funny but I don’t think I really and truly fell in love with you until afterward.

“While we’re making true confessions,” Aidan added, “what made you say yes? I mean I was just a scruffy kleptomaniac with a knack for getting in trouble. Why me?”

There was a long silence as she thought, then she said, “It’s kind of the same story, actually. A lot of my friends in the Clan were pairing up. Everyone seemed to be in love, and I was completely alone. I was the only member of my species on the entire planet,” he could hear the echo of an old loneliness in her voice as she said that, “and I thought I’d never find anybody who would want to marry a firecat. And I couldn’t take anything less. With humans you can give your heart many times, but in our language there is no word for divorce, and we have no such thing as a one-night stand. A firecat gives her heart but once, and that’s forever.

“I’d just about given up hope of finding anyone I could give my heart to, and then you practically dropped into my lap. You were kind, funny, gentle, intelligent, and you didn’t seem to mind that I wasn’t really human. When you asked me if I’d marry you, I thought all my dreams had come true. The funny thing is, thinking about it now, it was more the loneliness than anything else that made me say yes. Like you said, it wasn’t until after, when I really got to know you, that I actually fell in love.”

Suddenly Flame laughed. “You know, on our wedding night I was absolutely terrified. I was sure I wouldn’t know how to make love as a human and I’d do something really stupid and ruin it all.”

Aidan laughed and kissed the back of her neck again. “Well, you didn’t need to worry about that. As I recall it was perfectly wonderful.”

Perfectly wonderful might have described the journey back to Baron Almaric’s castle, but the peaceful interlude was all too short. Soon they were pulling into the harbor. Aidan looked up at the castle that loomed above and sighed. He would be very glad to get off this world and hopefully back to his normal self, but all the same he felt a sudden pang of regret. It didn’t make any sense, being here had been little but misery and gloom, but all the same there was something… Ah, emotions are so illogical and messy, he thought. Why in earth would I miss this horrible place? What’s there to miss about being a vampire? I can’t wait to get out of here.

The Baron was waiting for the little group in the courtyard. Brianna, looking bone-tired and somewhat decomposed, handed him the amulet wordlessly. The Baron took it and examined it.

“Well, you have been true to your word. Does my sister yet live, or did you have to kill her to get this?”

“She lives, Baron. Lavasida struck up a friendship with her and got the amulet without a fight.”

Friendship huh? Is that what you call it? Aidan grinned a bit at the thought.

“Very well. Here is the crystal you seek.” He waved his hand and a liveried servant stepped forward with an ornate box in his hands. He opened it and inside was a long shard of glittering bluish crystal. Brianna stepped forward and then hesitated.

“Take it,” said the Baron. “This is the thing you’ve come in search of, is it not?”

“Yes,” said Brianna, “but… if we take the shard we will be transported away from this world. And Drago still holds some of our friends here. If we leave…”

“Drago has already left. I sent him back to his shadow realm. Your friends surely are there now. You cannot reach them from here.”

Brianna closed her eyes. She seemed to wilt, the burden of tiredness on her bearing her down even further. “Then we will go. Thank you Baron,” she said, and reached for the shard. As her hand closed around it the world melted away and we were thrown into a swirling nothingness.

When reality came back to itself we were standing in an open meadow with trees all around. “I wonder where we are now?” asked Flame Song, looking around. “There’s something almost familiar about this place.”

Aidan wasn’t too interested in the place, he was busy examining himself. He was back in his normal clothes. And… yes! Running his tongue over his teeth his fangs were gone. He was normal again! With that done he took a look around. He saw trees, grass, mountains in the distance… and Brianna and Lon hugging each other like they were never going to let go.

“What’s with them?”

Lavasida gave Aidan a contemptuous look. “You’re pretty dense sometimes. Tell me, what is it that Lon does?”

“He’s a cleric.”

“Right. And for the last couple of weeks what has Brianna been?”

“A zombie, but why…” suddenly it dawned on Aidan. Here he’d been wallowing in pity because of his vampirism, and he hadn’t even noticed Brianna’s greater curse. Her husband was a cleric, and she had been undead. They hadn’t even been able to touch for the entire time! “You’re right, I’m pretty dense. And pretty self-centered. Here I’ve been throwing myself a pity party, and Brianna and Lon have been so much worse off than me.”

“Well, now you’ve seen the light. But I think our first priority should be figuring out where we are. The place looks very familiar, and I wish I knew why.”

“I know why,” said Brianna, finally loosening her grip on Lon. “It’s the meadow just behind Queen Tara’s tower.”

“What? You mean we’re back in Mysteria?” said Aidan.

“Maybe. Let’s go find out.”