He awoke flat on his back in dim shack, or at least that’s what it looked like from the inside. He could hear the wind howling outside. That storm Flame predicted must have blown up, he thought woozily. A strange man was sitting next to him and staring. Aidan got his first good look at him, and he was decidedly odd. He was thin to the point of emaciation and his skin was pale, almost pasty. His eyes were black and very intense. He was wearing only a threadbare robe, but the cold didn’t seem to bother him at all. Aidan, dressed in a warm coat lined with fur, was still shivering, but the man didn’t even notice.

“Ah, you are now awake. Marvelous. I didn’t want to start until you were awake, yes. And starting is now very important, for the time has come for me to take over this wonderful land where the nights last for days. Think of it! Days of darkness! How amazing”

His inappropriate attire isn’t the only thing wrong with him, thought Aidan. This guy is a nutcase! The stranger drew closer to Aidan. “Now, if I am to conquer, I shall need you to be my loyal minion, and there is only one way to insure that. Don’t worry, my minion, it will hurt, but then it will be over. You will thank me afterwards.”

He was kneeling next to Aidan’s sprawled form now, and as he leaned closer he smiled, revealing two sharp fangs. Aidan thought he felt his heart stop. This maniac was a vampire! Aidan scrambled backwards away from him, but he didn’t get very far before her bumped into the wall of the little shack.

“Oh no, no, no, no, no, please no, no, no, not that, no…” Aidan babbled over and over. His terror was too great, all he could think of was that this could not be happening. It must not be happening! He raised his hands to ward the vampire off, but he might as well have been trying to ward off a mountain. The stranger was far too strong. He grabbed Aidan’s hands, pinning them down easily, and leaned over. Aidan struggled with all of his might, still saying over and over “No, no, no, no, no, no, no!”

He pressed back into ground, as if he might somehow sink through the dirt and escape, but there was no escape to be found. Then the vampire’s fangs sank into his neck, and his repeated protest suddenly died. He felt an intense malevolence pouring into him, as if the mad vampire were replacing the blood he took with some dark elixir. It hurt like nothing he had ever felt before. It wasn’t just his neck, it seemed like fire had been poured into his whole body. He felt like he should be screaming, but somehow he couldn’t. He could only tremble and gasp for breath. Every breath was pain, every heartbeat was pain, and it felt like his life, his very soul was being drained out of him. The madman’s crazed mind wrapped around his in a parasitic embrace and he shrank futilely from the source of his agony. The pain went on and on, and Aidan could feel himself getting weaker. He felt like he was dying. That would be better. Just let me die. That way I won’t have to hurt Flame Song again. I know how hard it is to stop. This nut won’t be able to. There was a kind of relief in the thought. There would be an end to pain, and he would be dead and it would all be over.

And then it was. The pain stopped, but Aidan didn’t think he was dead. He was still laying on the floor of the shack with the crazy vampire bending over him. It felt hard to breathe, and everything seemed dim. Ah good, I’m still dying.

Then the crazy vampire was tearing his own fangs across his wrist, ripping open the skin. Aidan knew he had to get away, had to do something, but he couldn’t move. He couldn’t even twitch. The vampire held his ravaged wrist over Aidan and his thick blood dripped into Aidan’s mouth. Aidan choked, coughed weakly, and swallowed involuntarily. Then the world began to spin and everything went dark.