Killers of the Dawn. Darren Shan

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СКАЧАТЬ rabbits, run,” Steve murmured, and I cuffed him around the ears again, shutting him up.

      “I’m not leaving Debbie,” I said. “R.V.’s a crazed killer. I’m not going to abandon her to him.”

      “What did you do to that maniac to madden him so much?” Vancha asked, peeking down one of the small holes in the manhole cover, still not entirely convinced that we were in the clear. The purple animal hides he dressed in were hanging from his frame in shreds, and his dyed green hair was flecked with blood.

      “Nothing,” I sighed. “There was an accident at the Cirque Du Freak. He–”

      “We have no time for recollections,” Mr Crepsley interrupted, tearing off the left sleeve of his red shirt, which had been slashed in as many places as Vancha’s hides. He squinted up at the sun. “In our state, we cannot bear to stay in the sun very long. Whatever our choice, we must choose soon.”

      “Darren’s right,” Vancha said. “We can’t leave. Not because of Debbie – much as I like her, I wouldn’t sacrifice myself for her – but the Lord of the Vampaneze. We know he’s down there. We have to go after him.”

      “But he’s too well protected,” Harkat protested. “Those tunnels are full of vampaneze … and vampets. We’d perish for certain if we went … down again. I say we flee and come back … later, with help.”

      “You’ve forgotten Mr Tiny’s warning,” Vancha said. “We can’t ask other vampires for help. I don’t care how poor the odds are — we must try to breach their defences and kill their Lord.”

      “I agree,” Mr Crepsley said. “But now is not the time. We are wounded and exhausted. We should rest and form a plan of action. The question is, where do we retire to — the apartments we have been using, or elsewhere?”

      “Elsewhere,” Harkat said instantly. “The vampaneze know where … we’ve been living. If we stay, we’d be crazy to go where … they can attack any time they like.”

      “I don’t know,” I muttered. “It was weird, the way they let us leave. I know Gannen said it was to spare the lives of his companions, but if they’d killed us, they were guaranteed victory in the War of the Scars. I think there’s more to it than he was letting on. Having spared us when they had us trapped on their own turf, I doubt they’ll come all the way up here to fight on our territory.”

      My companions mused on that in silence.

      “I think we should return to our base and try to make sense of this,” I said. “Even if we can’t, we can get some rest and tend to our wounds. Then, come night, we’ll attack.”

      “Sounds good to me,” Vancha said.

      “As good a plan as any,” Mr Crepsley sighed.

      “Harkat?” I asked the Little Person.

      His round green eyes were full of doubt, but he grimaced and nodded. “I think we’re fools to stay, but if … we’re going to, I guess at least we have weapons and … provisions there.”

      “Besides,” Vancha added grimly, “most of the apartments are empty. It’s quiet.” He ran a menacing finger along the neck of his captured vampet, a shaven-headed man with the dark ‘V’ of the vampets tattooed above either ear. “There are some questions I want answered, but the asking won’t be pleasant. It’ll be for the best if there’s nobody around to hear.”

      The vampet sneered at Vancha as though unimpressed, but I could see fear in his blood-rimmed eyes. Vampaneze had the strength to withstand horrible torture, but vampets were human. A vampire could do terrible things to a human.

      Mr Crepsley and Vancha wrapped their robes and hides around their heads and shoulders, to protect them from the worst of the sun. Then, pushing Steve and the vampet ahead of us, we climbed to roof level, got our bearings, and wearily headed for base.

      CHAPTER TWO

      “BASE” WAS the fifth floor of an ancient, largely abandoned block of apartments. It was where Steve had set up camp. We’d moved in when we teamed up with him. We occupied three apartments on the floor. While Mr Crepsley, Harkat and I bundled Steve into the middle apartment, Vancha grabbed the vampet by his ears and hauled him off to the apartment on the right.

      “Will he torture him?” I asked Mr Crepsley, pausing at the door.

      “Yes,” the vampire answered bluntly.

      I didn’t like the thought of that, but the circumstances called for swift, true answers. Vancha was only doing what had to be done. In war there’s sometimes no room for compassion or humanity.

      Entering our apartment, I hurried to the fridge. It didn’t work – the apartment had no electricity – but we stored our drinks and food there.

      “Anyone hungry or thirsty?” I asked.

      “I’ll have a steak – extra bloody – fries and a Coke to go,” Steve quipped. He’d made himself comfortable on the couch, and was smiling around at us as though we were one big happy family.

      I ignored him. “Mr Crepsley? Harkat?”

      “Water, please,” Mr Crepsley said, shrugging off his tattered red cloak, so he could examine his wounds. “And bandages,” he added.

      “Are you hurt?” Harkat asked.

      “Not really. But the tunnels we crawled through were unhygienic. We should all clean out our wounds to prevent infection.”

      I washed my hands, then threw some food together. I wasn’t hungry but I felt I should eat — my body was working solely on excess adrenaline; it needed feeding. Harkat and Mr Crepsley also tucked into the food and soon we were finishing off the last of the crumbs.

      We offered none to Steve.

      While we were tending to our wounds, I stared hatefully at Steve, who grinned back mockingly. “How long did it take to set this up?” I asked. “Getting us here, arranging those false papers for me and sending me to school, luring us down the tunnels — how long?”

      “Years,” Steve replied proudly. “It wasn’t easy. You don’t know the half of it. That cavern where the trap was set — we built that from scratch, along with the tunnels leading in and out of it. We built other caverns too. There’s one I’m especially proud of. I hope I have the chance to show it to you some time.”

      “You went to all this trouble just for us?” Mr Crepsley asked, startled.

      “Yes,” Steve replied smugly.

      “Why?” I asked. “Wouldn’t it have been easier to fight us in the old, existing tunnels?”

      “Easier,” Steve agreed, “but not as much fun. I’ve developed a love of the dramatic over the years — a bit like Mr Tiny. You should appreciate that, having worked for a circus for so long.”

      “What I don’t understand,” СКАЧАТЬ