“Father’s knack for getting into trouble was bad enough, but sometimes it wasn’t just his bad luck. Sometimes trouble came looking for him. When he was still young and very reckless he stole a magical talisman. Talismans of power are trouble at the best of times, but when you add in the fact that this one had to do with demons, well, it’s no surprise that Father had a number of unpleasant run-ins with unpleasant creatures after the talisman.”

The day dawned at Flame Song Firedancer and Aidan Rhiannon’s home in the far north of Mysteria as it always dawned, with the little family going to bed. Flame Song tucked their daughter, Littlespark, who had just turned two, into bed. One story, one lullaby and the little half-breed girl fell fast asleep. Flame Song stroked her daughter’s white hair gently with one hand, glad that the child had adapted so readily to her parent’s change of schedule.

“Is she asleep?” came a soft whisper from the doorway. Flame Song looked up to see her husband, Aidan, standing in the doorway.

Flame Song got up and came over to her husband. She said softly, “Yes, she’s out for the day.” Aidan gave her a brief kiss. He had to tilt his head up just a bit to do so, as Flame was an inch or two taller than he. He had once found the difference in their heights odd, but by now he was quite used to it. Together they went to their bedroom. Aidan was already dressed for bed, and he flopped onto the low bed that they shared and watched appreciatively as Flame got herself dressed. By the time she settled next to him on the bed, however, he was yawning, barely able to stay awake, and Flame knew that the sun must have risen above the horizon. Her husband was the reason for the family’s unusual sleep habits. In addition to being an aerian, he was also a vampire. Most people might view vampires as fearsome monsters, but as Flame and Aidan had discovered becoming a vampire didn’t automatically make someone a bloodsucking menace. Aidan found his life was actually largely unchanged. They’d had to make some accommodations, like the reversed sleeping schedule, but most things went on just as they’d done before Aidan had become one of the undead.

Flame Song put her arm around Aidan. He had already drifted off, and to an unknowing eye his perfect stillness might have seemed like the stillness of death, for he wasn’t breathing and his heart didn’t beat, but Flame Song had grown accustomed to it, and no longer found it disturbing. A few minutes later she too was sound asleep, though unlike her silent husband she snored slightly.

Precisely at sundown Aidan opened his eyes to find himself alone in the bed. He yawned and stretched. Flame had probably been up for hours. That was one thing he didn’t like much about his condition, the fact that during daylight had always wanted to sleep. During the winter it was no bother, the days were short, the nights were long, and he was awake most of the time, but during the summer months it was very inconvenient. Living as far north as they did, the summer days were very long. Sometimes the sun would only slip below the horizon for an hour or so before rising again. During that time of the year Aidan practically hibernated, spending so much time asleep that he wasn’t much use to anybody. The year had turned toward winter now, so the nights were growing longer, but he still slept more than he wanted to. He got to his feet, getting dressed for the day. As always he chose an outfit in dark colors, today’s being deep navy blue. He adjusted the medallion around his neck that allowed him to go out in daylight when necessary. He could stay awake during the day if he had to, but he never felt as alert as he did during the night. Darkness was his element now, and most of the time he liked it that way.

He wished he could see his reflection to get some idea of how he looked. That was another thing he found somewhat annoying about his vampirism, the fact that mirrors now ignored his existence. The little mirror that Flame used was propped up on a dresser at the moment, and it reflected an empty room, even when Aidan stood directly in front of it. He combed his hair and straightened the dark iron collar that he always wore around his neck. Judging that he was ready for the day, or rather night, that lay ahead he opened the door and went out into the main room of the house. He found Flame Song reading Littlespark a story. She was going slowly, sounding out some of the words.

Flame’s firecat people had no written language, so she’d never learned how to read or write. Not long after they’d gotten married he’d started to teach her how, and she’d picked it up well enough, but was still struggling with it a bit. Raised without even the concept of reading, she found it a difficult skill to master. The child’s book, however, was quite within her ability.

“Hi Flame.”

“Hi yourself,” she said, breaking off he story. “I was thinking it was about time for you to emerge.”

“Yeah, I just crawled out of my coffin. How do I look?”

“Handsome as ever, though your sun medallion is on crooked.” She got up and straightened it.