Darren Shan: Procession of the dead

"No," he said firmly. "It wasn't. That's why you are special. You did virtually all of it yourself. I brought you into the company, yes, but you made your own way from that point on. I meant for you to meet Ama-I made her for you, and she will be a great help in the years ahead, as Leonora was of help to me-but not here in Party Central, on the stairs. You were never meant to meet Conchita-that was a twist I hadn't imagined. Adrian had nothing to do with you-I made him for Sonja, who was having personal troubles and needed somebody to love.

"I never intended for Y Tse and Leonora to be your sponsors. Adrian and Y Tse's disappearances weren't related to you. I planted the Ayuamarca file, yes, but it was your decision to come looking for it and face me. You found the words to stay my hand when I fully intended to execute you-I thought you'd spun out of control. I was set to wipe you out and begin again, but you persuaded me not to.

"To be honest, Mr. Raimi, you're something of a mystery to me. I didn't mean for this day of reckoning to arrive so soon. I thought I'd have years to prepare for this, that you'd grow into your role slowly, feeling your way along, climbing the rungs one at a time. I hadn't expected to have this conversation for at least another eight or nine years, when you were experienced and established, ready to meet me on equal, less hysterical terms."

He scratched his scalp and shivered as a gust of wind swept around a corner. "That's what I like about you," he continued. "You're unpredictable. You've surprised me since the beginning. You cut corners and make leaps forward. You're instinctive, original, innovative. I saw your despondency when you learned of your origins but believe me, you're no pawn of mine. You've forged your own path and thrown any carefully laid plans I had for you into disarray. You're here because you want what I want-the world. But you want it for your own reasons, not mine. You have free will like the second Inti Maimi, but whereas he turned away from my empire, you have embraced it."

I thought about that. "You really didn't set me up with Leonora, Y Tse and the others?" I asked. "It was coincidence? You had nothing to do with any of them?"

"Only with Ama Situwa. I programmed you to love her. In that respect you're helpless. You love her now and always will, even when she's gone. Apart from that, and the desire to be a gangster with your uncle, every other relationship you have formed, every step you've taken, every goal you've set, every route you've followed has been of your own making. I created your body but your mind is wholly your own."

My body…

"What about my regenerative powers? Are they common to all Ayuamarcans?"

He shook his head. "That quality is yours alone. The others suffer, ache and die like normal humans. They need not-I have the power to spare them-but I like to keep my creations as mortal as possible.

"I told you I want my empire to last. That has always been an impossibility. Strong men die and their legacies unravel. In the end, everything falls apart and only memories are left. Death has been the constant leveler of kingdoms and empires. It has always limited the influence of great men. Until now. I believe I've found a way to cheat death. I might be wrong but I think it will work."

"What are you getting at?" I asked suspiciously.

"When I made you, Mr. Raimi-when I described the type of man I wanted-I wished for a man who couldn't be destroyed by human hands, who could only be undone by me. I created a man who could recover from any wound, even a fatal one. A man who'd age for a decade, then remain that age forever, who couldn't be scarred, who'd never sicken, who'd be impervious to the effects of time. A man who'd never die. A man who could live forever."

He sank back in his chair and smiled, the smile of a master magician revealing his final, deepest secret. "You're immortal, Mr. Raimi."

Neither of us uttered a word for about an hour. We sat facing but not looking at each other. My head was spinning, the thought of eternity searing the cells of my brain. I'd never considered this. I'd planned to make as much of myself as possible in the time I was allowed. I'd hoped for long years, several decades if I was lucky. But eternity…

If it was true, if he could pull this off, I'd be stuck here forever, running his empire. At the moment I could live with that-the thought of being in control, ruling the world, having that much time to play with and that much power thrilled me. But what if I tired of it in fifty years, a hundred, a thousand? I'd be stuck, unable to end things. Did I really want to be part of a never-ending cycle, nothing to look forward to other than an inescapable future?

"It's a trap," I muttered. "If I accept this and it works, I'm trapped forever. No way out."

"As with everything in life," he said drily, "there are drawbacks. That's one of them. Another is loneliness. Look at me, Mr. Raimi. There is no room for happiness this high up. All I have is my empire. If you replace me, you'll assume that lonely mantle. Only it will be worse, because you'll have to live with it forever. Can you do that?"

"I don't know," I sighed. "I think I can but how can I say for sure?"

"You can't," he said. "You have to gamble and trust in your instinct."

"But will it work?" I asked. "What happens to the Ayuamarcans when you die? Can any of us survive your passing?"

"I don't think the others can. Maybe they'll go on to live full, normal lives, dying of natural causes when their time is up. But I doubt it. I think they'll vanish the instant my heart stops."

"Then what makes you think I'm any different? Surely I'll zip out of existence like the rest of them."

"Maybe. But when I made you, I stressed that not even my death should halt you. I don't know if I can thwart death in this way but I think your chances are good. Not great but better than average. Look at Conchita. Paucar Wami. How your body healed after our fight. I am able to pervert the laws of nature. If I can go that far, breaking so many natural rules, why not further? We won't know for sure until the day arrives-and I'm not planning to shuffle off this mortal coil for quite a while yet-but the precedents allow us to be optimistic."

I thought about it some more. I didn't have to-I'd reached my decision halfway through his last speech, as suddenly as I'd decided to kill Dee-but it would be unwise to jump the gun when the stakes were so high. When I was certain that nothing would alter my mind, I spoke.

"I'll run your empire for you, Mr. Dorak," I said slowly and deliberately. "I'll be your successor, the new Cardinal, and do everything in my power to carry your dream on, to one day rule all and become, as it were, The Pope." His face lit up and he began to rise. "But there's a price," I added, and his smile faded. "I'm not prepared to wait. I've moved fast, pole-vaulted all between myself and the top. I'm not about to ease up now. If you want me to take over, you'll have to relinquish control immediately. I won't be second to anybody, not any longer."

He frowned, then shrugged and tried to make little of it. "If thatis what you wish, I will grant it. But why ignore my knowledge, experience and wisdom when you can benefit from them and milk me for all I'm worth? You have so much to learn. Wouldn't it be better to keep me around, if only as a-"

"You don't understand," I said. I rose and crossed to the edge of the building, no longer feeling the wind. I stood looking down at the city for a minute, my city, seeing it through new eyes, feeling it beat with my heart, sensing the links which existed between us. Sighing happily, I returned to my chair and sank into it. "I want everything. The power, the city, the dream, the future. And freedom."

"But you are-"

"Please don't interrupt when I'm speaking." He stared at me with eyes the size of runny eggs. "I'll be your heir, but on my terms. I'm not prepared to play your game any longer. I won't wait for you to die and live every day worrying about your health, making plans for a future which may never come. I have to know for sure. If your experiment succeeds, I'll take control today. If it fails, and I pass from this world when you die, that will also be today.