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.

“I wonder what happened here?” said Flame Song.

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

“The place we’re looking for is inland," said Brianna. "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. Aidan had at least managed not to collapse this time, though he was in as much pain as he had been in before. The others came to a halt as well. 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 attempting to look as though nothing was wrong, though his teeth were clenched tightly against the pain.

“Aidan?” Brianna looked at the little aerian, almost a head shorter than she, looking pale and fragile in the bright light of day.

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 the 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!" He was weary, he still ached all over, he was starting to feel hungry again, and he was sick, sick, sick of this world, of vampirism, and of everything to do with either.

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

He sighed. "I know. But this has taken much longer than I'd hoped it would. Even if we get he amulet tonight it will take us three days to get back to the baron's castle. And... even once we're home, we'll have to immediately set out again."

“I think we have arrived,” interrupted Lavasida, pointing up ahead. A dark shape loomed up before them, only just visible in the gloom. 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.”

“Oh joy,” said Aidan sarcastically, making Flame giggle.

"I think we should split up," said Brianna. "The frontal approach might work, or it might not. Somebody needs to try to circle around and approach the castle from the back. Aidan, you're probably the best choice for breaking in quietly. Belak, as you are now you're just as good at going unnoticed. And Seymore should go with you as well, I think. Meanwhile the rest of us will see about threading the maze."

Aidan said a quick goodbye to Flame and set out with the goblin and the invisible dwarf. She sent all us shorties together, though Aidan with a chuckle. Belak was only a little bit shorter than Aidan, but Seymore hardly came up to his chest.

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, their branches bare and somehow menacing as they clawed at the sky. Aidan looked around nervously. There was something wrong, something subtly off about this forest and its gathered gloom. 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 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.