Vampire Rites Trilogy. Darren Shan

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       CHAPTER THIRTEEN

      HARKAT WAS standing by his coffin when I awoke, his green eyes wide open. I stretched and said good morning. There was a brief pause, then he shook his head and looked at me. “Good morning,” he replied.

      “Been awake long?” I asked.

      “Just woke … now. When you … spoke to me. Fell asleep … standing up.”

      I frowned. “But your eyes were open.”

      He nodded. “Always open. No lids … or lashes. Can’t shut them.”

      The more I learned about Harkat, the stranger he got! “Does that mean you can see things while you’re asleep?”

      “Yes, but I … take no … notice of them.”

      Gavner appeared at the entrance to our room. “Rise and shine, boys,” he boomed. “Night’s wearing on. There’s work to be done. Anybody for bat broth?”

      I asked to use the toilet before we went to eat. Gavner led me to a small door with the letters WC carved into it. “What does that stand for?” I asked.

      “Water Closet,” he informed me, then added, “Don’t fall in!”

      I thought that was a joke, but when I stepped inside, I realized it was a genuine warning – there was no toilet in the water closet, just a round hole in the ground which led to a gurgling mountain stream. I stared down the hole – it wasn’t large enough for an adult to fall through, but somebody my size might just fit – and shivered when I saw dark, gushing water at the bottom. I didn’t like the idea of squatting over the hole, but there was no other option, so I got on with it.

      “Are all the toilets like that?” I asked when I came out.

      “Yes,” Gavner laughed. “It’s the easiest way to get rid of the waste. There are several big streams leading out of the mountain and the toilets are built over them. The streams wash everything away.”

      Gavner led Harkat and me to the Hall of Khledon Lurt. Seba Nile had pointed out the Hall to me the day before and said it was where meals were served. He also told me a bit about Khledon Lurt; he had been a General of great standing, who’d died saving other vampires in the fight with the vampaneze, when they broke away.

      Vampires loved telling tales of their ancestors. They kept few written records, opting instead to keep their history alive by word of mouth, passing on stories and legends around fires or over tables, one generation to another.

      Red drapes hung from the ceiling, covering the walls, and there was a large statue of Khledon Lurt at the centre of the Hall. (Like most of the mountain’s sculptures, it had been carved from the bones of animals.) The Hall was lit by strong torches, and it was nearly full when we arrived. Gavner, Harkat and me sat at a table with Mr Crepsley, Seba Nile and a load of vampires I didn’t know. Talk was loud and raucous. Much of it had to do with fighting and feats of endurance.

      This was my first good look at a crowd of vampires and I spent more time gazing around than I did eating. They didn’t look that different to humans, except many were scarred from battle and hard living, and not a single one – it goes without saying! – was sun-tanned.

      They were a smelly lot. They didn’t use deodorants, though a few had strings of wild flowers or naturally scented herbs around their necks and wrists. Though vampires took care to wash in the world of humans – a foul stench could lead a vampire hunter to his prey – here in the mountain hardly any of them bothered with such luxuries. With all the soot and dirt of the Halls, they didn’t see СКАЧАТЬ