This story is an excerpt from The Children of the Sun, which is now available! Visit to buy the entire novel. —- The elder vampire Ashayt was once a simple peasant girl living in Egypt, on the outskirts of the great city of Memphis. Her life changes first when she meets a man—Amun Sa—with whom she falls in love, and second when she meets a deadly creature in the reeds, who bestows upon her both the gift and curse of immortality. This two-chapter story is a spoiler-free excerpt from The Children of the Sun, the upcoming conclusion to the II AM Trilogy by Christopher Buecheler.