Cirque Du Freak 08 - Allies of the Night by Darren Shan

Author:Darren Shan [Shan, Darren]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: JUV000000
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Published: 2007-09-03T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

WE SPENT SATURDAY and Sunday exploring the tunnels. Harkat and Steve carried arrow guns. They were simple to use — load an arrow, point, and fire. Deadly up to a range of twenty yards. As a vampire, I’d sworn not to use such weapons, so I had to make do with my usual short sword and knives.

We started with the area where Steve had first spotted “Hooky,” in the hope of finding some trace of him or his companions. We took the tunnels one at a time, examining the walls for marks of vampaneze nails or hooks, listening carefully for sounds of life, keeping within sight of each other. We moved swiftly at first — Steve knew these tunnels — but when our search extended to new, unfamiliar sections, we advanced more cautiously.

We found nothing.

That night, after a long wash and simple meal together, we talked some more. Steve hadn’t changed much. He was as lively and funny as ever, although he’d sometimes get a faraway look in his eyes and fall silent, perhaps thinking about the vampaneze he’d killed or the path in life he’d chosen. He got nervous whenever talk turned to Mr. Crepsley. Steve had never forgotten the vampire’s reason for rejecting him — Mr. Crepsley said Steve had bad blood and was evil — and didn’t think the vampire would be glad to see him.

“I don’t know why he thought I was evil,” Steve grumbled. “I was wild as a kid, sure, but never evil — was I, Darren?”

“Of course not,” I said.

“Maybe he mistook determination for evil,” Steve mused. “When I believe in a cause, I’ll commit to it wholeheartedly. Like my quest to kill vampaneze. Most humans couldn’t kill another living being, even a killer. They’d rather turn them over to the law. But I’ll go on killing vampaneze until I die. Maybe Mr. Crepsley saw my ability to kill and confused it with a desire to kill.”

We had lots of dark conversation like that, talking about the human soul and the nature of good and evil. Steve had devoted many long hours to Mr. Crepsley’s cruel judgment. He was almost obsessed with it. “I can’t wait to prove him wrong,” he smiled. “When he learns I’m on his side, helping the vampires in spite of his rejecting me … That’s something I’m looking forward to.”

When the weekend drew to a close, I had a decision to make about school. I didn’t want to bother with Mahler’s — it seemed a waste of time — but there were Debbie and Mr. Blaws to consider. If I dropped out suddenly, without a reason, the inspector would come looking for me. Steve said this wasn’t a problem, that we could switch to another hotel, but I didn’t want to leave until Mr. Crepsley returned. The Debbie situation was even more complicated. The vampaneze now knew she was connected to me, and where she lived. Somehow I had to convince her to move to a new

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.