Aidan awoke as the sun touched the horizon. For a moment he was disoriented by the complete blackness around him. He couldn’t even tell if his eyes were actually open or not. Then he felt the cold stone beneath him and the ropes around his hands and remembered the events of the previous night. The ache in his head had faded somewhat, but was still there. It wasn’t long after sunset when he saw a faint glimmer of light and heard steps coming toward him. He gave the girl a longer look this time. She was short, probably about the same height as he was, and had blue-gray eyes. Her hair was blond and pulled back in a sensible ponytail. She was pretty, in a cute kind of way, and he realized that she probably looked younger than she really was. She might well be near his own age.

“Have you changed your mind yet, vampire?”

“I can’t change my mind because I honestly don’t know. And I have a name besides ‘vampire’ you know."

She glared at him and said nothing.

"I'm Aidan. What's your name?"

She didn't answer right away, but he waited, letting the silence stretch out, and eventually she said, “Shauna.”

“I once had a good friend named Shauna.” He smiled wryly. “But that is neither here nor there. Shauna, please, let me go. I mean no harm to you or to anyone else here. I’ll help you hunt down this other vampire if you want. I have no love for those who kill people, vampires or not. What will it take for you to believe me?”

“You’re a vampire. You would have to present a signed letter from the King of the Wood or the Dragon Queen, and even then I’d be suspicious.”

Aidan couldn’t help himself, it was just too ironic. He burst into laughter.

“Why are you mocking me?” Shauna’s voice was confused, hurt. Suddenly she didn’t seem quite so confident.

Aidan quieted his laughter. “I’m sorry, I'm not mocking you. But if I’d known this was going to happen I could have brought you exactly that. I count Queen Tara as a friend, and I actually had a letter from her not long ago.”

Shauna’s expression told her disbelief louder than words. Aidan shrugged. “You don’t have to believe it, in fact I bet you won’t, but I’m a member of the Queen's Own."

“The Queen's Own?” Shauna’s eyes lit up at the thought of the legendary band of adventurers. Even in elven lands they were well known. Then she scowled. “You’re right, I don’t believe it. They would never allow one of the evil undead among them.”

“Believe what you will,” said Aidan, giving up on trying to convince this crazy girl to let him go any time soon. “But tell me, why do you feel so strongly about vampires?”

Shauna hesitated. Why should she open her heart and tell her story to this vampire? But then he would never have the chance to repeat it, and he was something in the nature of a captive audience. “It’s not just vampires, it’s anything that’s a threat to this town.” She settled down on the floor, placing the lantern beside her. “My father, you see, was a great warrior. He fought in many battles when he was younger, in many different lands. He even fought along side the real Queen's Own. When he came home he took up the job of protecting the village. The forest is a dangerous place, and there are goblins and worse things in the mountains. There are no larger villages to turn to, and the elves only tolerate our presence here, so we have to fend for ourselves. My father guarded this village for nearly twenty years. Then he died. He didn’t even die in battle.” The pain of the memory was evident on her face. “He got sick, some kind of fever, and just never recovered. He never had any sons, only me, so I took up where he’d left off, defending the village. Nobody took me seriously at first, and some of them still don’t, but I’ve proved myself often enough. We’ve had almost no trouble of any kind for the last year, and then you vampires show up.” She broke off, saying, “Why do you care anyhow?”

“I just wanted to know. You seem so dedicated. You’re wrong about me, but I can understand where you’re coming from. This whole village is like a family to you, isn’t it?”

She nodded. But then her expression went hard again. "But what would you know about family?"

“A lot. I would give my life for my family. If you feel the same way about these villagers then they could not ask for a better protector.”

She suddenly got to her feet and glared at him. “You’re just trying to trick me into letting you go. Well it won’t work. I have no sympathy for you, vampire. I won’t let you loose until you tell me where the other vampire is.”

Aidan sighed tiredly. “I’m not trying to trick you into anything. I think by now I know better. I just wish you’d believe me when I say I don’t know anything about this other vampire.”

“It does no good trying to protect him, you know. Even without you I’ll catch him sooner or later.”

“I don’t want to protect him, whoever he is. If he’s been murdering innocents, then I’ll happily help you get rid of him. But I suppose you just think that’s a trick too.”

Shauna just glared at him. Then she snatched up her lantern and stalked off. As she rounded a curve that would take her out of sight she turned back and said, “You can’t hold out forever you know. Pretty soon you’re going to start feeling hungry. What will you do then, vampire?”

A very good question, thought Aidan as the glow of her lantern slowly vanished. That deer was some time ago. I’m already starting to feel hungry. By tomorrow night I’ll really be feeling it. I don’t think I’ve ever gone more then three days without some kind of meal. I don’t know what starvation will do to me, but I imagine it’s not going to be good. And I don’t think Shauna is going to give in and let me go any time soon. It seems I haven’t lost my knack for getting into trouble. He sighed. Now if only Flame Song were around to bail me out of it. He passed the night alone with his thoughts, and when the sun rose that morning he was sound asleep. He didn’t see Shauna when she came into the cave, lantern lit, and stood gazing down at him where he slumped against the wall in a rather uncomfortable-looking position.

I could almost wish he were telling the truth, she thought to herself. He looks so innocent, so peaceful. Almost like an angel. It’s hard to believe he’s a bloodthirsty killer. She stared, taking in his soft-feathered wings, his unruly dark hair, and his peaceful expression. Her own expression softened momentarily, but then she shook herself. No. He’s nothing but a murdering vampire. If he's an angel, he's an dark angel of death. He doesn’t deserve any compassion. She turned to go, but couldn’t resist one last look behind her.