Darren Shan - Lord Of The Shadows

"Did you tell Oggy what the Cirque Du… Freak really was?" Harkat asked.

"Nah," Darius said. "He's got a big mouth. He'd tell everybody and they'd all come. I like being the only one who knows about it."

"So you're a boy who knows how to keep a secret," I chuckled. "Of course, the downside is that since nobody knows you're here, if wedid kidnap you or feed you to the Wolf Man, nobody would know where to look."

I was joking, but Darius reacted sharply. He half-bolted to his feet, dropping the unfinished bowl of soup. Acting instinctively, I snatched for the bowl, and with my vampire speed I caught it before it hit the ground. But Darius thought I meant to strike him. He threw himself backwards and roared, "Leave me alone!"

I took a surprised step back. The other people around the fire were gawping at us. Harkat's green eyes were on Darius, and there was more than just surprise in his expression he looked wary too.

"Easy," I half-laughed, lowering the bowl, then raising my hands in a gesture of friendship. "I'm not going to hurt you."

Darius sat up. He was blushing angrily. "I'm OK," he mumbled, getting to his feet.

"What's wrong, Darius?" Harkat asked quietly. "Why so edgy?"

"I'm OK," Darius said again, glaring at Harkat. "I just don't like people saying stuff like that. It's not funny, creatures like you making threats like that."

"I didn't mean it," I said, ashamed for having frightened the boy. "How about I get a ticket to tonight's show for you, to make up for scaring you?"

"I ain't scared," Darius growled.

"Of course you aren't," I smiled. "But would you like a ticket anyway?"

Darius pulled a face. "How much are they?"

"It's free," I said. "Courtesy of the house."

"OK then." That was as close as Darius got to saying thanks.

"Would you like one for Oggy too?" I asked.

"No," Darius said. "He wouldn't come. He's a scaredy cat. He doesn't even watch horror movies, not even the really old and boring ones."

"Fair enough," I said. "Wait here. I'll be back in a couple of minutes."

I tracked down Mr Tall. When I told him what I wanted, he frowned and said all the tickets for tonight's show had been sold. "But surely you can find a spare one somewhere," I laughed. There was always lots of space in the aisles and it was usually never a problem to stick in a few extra chairs.

"Is it wise, inviting a child to the show?" Mr Tall asked. "Children tend to fare unfavourably here. Yourself, Steve Leonard, Sam Grest." Sam was a boy who'd had a fatal run-in with the Wolf Man. He was the first person I'd drunk blood from. Part of his spirit not to mention his taste for pickled onions! still lived on within me.

"Why mention Sam?" I asked, confused. I couldn't remember the last time Mr Tall had made a reference to my long-dead friend.

"No reason in particular," Mr Tall said. "I just think this is a dangerous place for children." Then he produced a ticket out of thin air and handed it to me. "Give it to the boy if you wish," he grumbled, as if I'd squeezed an inconvenient favour out of him.

I walked back slowly to Darius and Harkat, wondering why Mr Tall had behaved in such a curious manner. Had he been trying to warn me not to let Darius get too closely involved with the Cirque Du Freak? Was Darius like Sam Grest, eager to leave home and travel around with a band of magical performers? By inviting him to the show, was I setting him up for a fall like Sam's?

I found Darius standing where I'd left him. He didn't look like he'd moved a muscle. Harkat was on the other side of the fire, keeping a green eye on the boy. I hesitated before giving Darius his ticket. "What do you think of the Cirque Du Freak?" I asked.

"It's OK," he shrugged.

"How would you feel about joining?"

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"If there was an opening, and you had the chance to leave home, would"

"No way!" he snapped before I finished.

"You're happy at home?" Yes.

"You don't want to travel around the world?"

"Not with you lot."

I smiled and gave him the ticket. "That's OK then. The show starts at ten. Will you be able to come?"

"Of course," Darius said, pocketing the ticket without looking at it.

"What about your parents?" I asked.

"I'll go to bed early, then sneak out," he said, and giggled slyly.

"If you're caught, don't tell them about us," I warned him.

"As if!" he snorted, then waved sharply and left. He looked at me one final time before he passed out of sight, and again there was something odd about his gaze.

Harkat walked around the fire and stared after the boy.

"A strange kid," I commented.

"More than just strange," Harkat murmured.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"I don't like him," Harkat said.

"He was a bit sullen," I agreed, "but lots of kids his age are like that. I was that way myself when I first joined the Cirque Du Freak."

"I don't know." Harkat's eyes were full of doubt. "I didn't buy his story about his… friend, Oggy. If he's such a scaredy cat, what was he… doing exploring up here by himself?"

"You're getting suspicious in your old age," I laughed.

Harkat shook his head slowly. "You didn't pick up on it."

"What?" I frowned.

"When he accused us of threatening him, he said… 'creatures like you'." So?

Harkat smiled thinly. "I'm quite obviouslynot human. But what tipped him off to the fact… thatyou aren't either?"

A sudden chill ran through me. Harkat was right the boy had known more about us than he should have. And I realized now what it was about Darius's gaze which had disturbed me. When he thought I wasn't looking, his eyes kept going to the scars on my fingertips, the standard marks of a vampire like he knew what they meant!

Harkat and I weren't sure what to make of Darius. It seemed unlikely that the vampaneze would recruit children. But there was the twisted mind of their leader, Steve Leopard, to take into account. This could be one of his evil, hate-fuelled games. We decided to take the boy to one side when he came to the show, and pump him for information. We wouldn't resort to torture or anything so drastic just try to scare a few answers out of him.

We were supposed to help the performers get ready for the show, but we told Mr Tall we were busy and he assigned our tasks to other members of the troupe. If he knew about our plans for Darius, he didn't say so.

There were two entrances to the big top. Shortly before the audience started to arrive, Harkat and I each took up a position close to one of the entry points, where we could watch for Darius. I was still worried about being recognized by somebody who'd known me in the past, so I stood in the shadows beside the entrance, disguised in a set of Harkat's blue robes, the hood pulled up to hide my face. I watched silently as the early birds trickled in, handing their tickets to Jekkus Flang (Mr Tall was on the other entrance). With every third or fourth customer, Jekkus threw their ticket into the air, then launched a knife at it, spearing it through the middle and pinning it to a nearby post.

As the trickle of people turned into a steady stream, and Jekkus pinned more and more tickets to the pole, the tickets and knives took on the outline of a hanged man. People chuckled edgily when they realized what Jekkus was doing. A few paused to commend him on his knife-throwing skills, but most hurried past to their seats, some glancing backwards at the figure of the hanged man, perhaps wondering if it was an omen of things to come.

I ignored the hanged man I'd seen Jekkus perform this trick many times before and focused on the faces in the crowd. It was hard to note everybody who passed in the crush, especially short people. Even if Darius entered this way, there was no guarantee I'd spot him.