Originally posted December 2011 on the JWH Connection fan forum, this story is now posted here as a free download (see options below), as well as offered in print/ebook format in the vignette compilation, Cantrips: Volume #1.

A vignette featuring Jacob and Lyssa of Vampire Queen’s Servant, Mark of the Vampire Queen and Bound by the Vampire Queen from the Vampire Queen Series.

Background: In thinking about what a Christmas mall trip would be like with Lyssa, my thousand-year-old vampire queen, and her servant, Jacob, I decided to tag along on an actual trip and see if I could hear a few snippets of conversation. They of course decided to bring their son Kane with them, because what could be more fun than shopping with a vampire toddler?

While this story is barely more than a few pages, much shorter than what has become my normal length for vignettes, it kicked off two follow-up Christmas vignettes. The very next year, I wrote one where Lyssa hosted a Christmas party for a variety of the Vampire Queen Series characters (You’re All Invited). And a few years later, an incident that occurred in this very short vignette inspired another Christmas novella about Lyssa’s son as a grown-up (A Season of Giving). As a result, I felt it deserved a spot in the compilation.