Darren Shan - Wolf Island

The werewolf who removed the panel darts into the crawlway, but stops at a command from me. Shuffling forward, I stoop and stare into the gloominess. I can’t see the person scuttling away from us, but I can smell him. It’s a familiar, cultured scent. I smile viciously.

“After me,” I say softly, then lower myself to my hands and knees. I edge forward, moving faster than the man ahead of me, steadily catching up, making heavy snarling noises, letting him know I’m coming, savouring the intoxicating smell of his mounting fear.

The crawlway opens out into a large room at the rear of the compound. There are several boats stacked at the sides, but all the hulls have been shattered, holes punched through the shells, making them as seaworthy as sieves. I figure Juni wanted to give her soldiers an extra incentive to stand and fight. She made sure nobody shipped out early.

Antoine Horwitzer is struggling with one of the useless boats, hauling it towards an open section at the far side of the room. I can smell and hear the sea, the crash of the waves, the cries of the gulls. Antoine is sobbing, his jacket tossed to one side, shirt ripped, trousers dirty. He must know he can’t get anywhere in the boat, but desperation drives him on.

As the others emerge behind me, I raise a hand, holding them in check. Antoine doesn’t know we’re here. He’s totally focused, head bent, straining painfully, using muscles he probably hasn’t tested in years. I’m amused by the sight of him dragging the wreck of a boat towards the edge. For a while I forget about Juni Swan and her terrible prophecy, and just enjoy the show.

Finally, when he has about a metre to go, I cough softly.

He freezes. Moans. Gives the boat an especially strong tug. Doesn’t look up.

“Antoine,” I laugh, stepping towards him.

He looks back, gauging how much further he has to go. His arms relax and his shoulders slump when he realises he can’t make it. He turns his desolate gaze on me and his eyes widen as he takes in my monstrous form, my blood-soaked body and limbs, my fangs and wolfen face.

“What happened to you?” he gasps.

“Teenage angst,” I chuckle. I whistle at the werewolves and they spread out. Meera, Timas and Prae are directly behind me.

Antoine shrieks when he spots the werewolves. Turns and races for the edge, to leap into the sea below. Drawing from the faint traces of magic in the air, I halt him, exerting an invisible hold over the fallen executive. He struggles wildly, then sees that it’s hopeless. Giving up, he faces me.

“I’m going to kill you,” I growl, advancing menacingly. “Juni got away, so I’m going to take out all my frustration on you. It will be slow and painful. Suitable payback for the lives you’ve ruined, the friends of mine you’ve killed.”

“I didn’t kill anyone!” he squeals.

“No, your kind never do,” I sneer. “You leave it to others. You just set things up and give the orders.”

“Please,” Antoine sobs, throwing himself to his knees. “Don’t do this. It serves no purpose. Put me on trial. Let the proper authorities deal with me. You’re not a killer. There’s no evil in your soul. Don’t—”

“Look at me!” I roar. “Do you think you’ll be the first I’ve killed today? I wasn’t a murderer, but you changed me. I’m a monster now. And I’m hungry.”

“Meera!” Antoine whines. “Prae! Please, I beg you. You’re civilised people. Help me.”

“We can’t,” Prae says coldly. “Even if we wanted to—and personally I have no problem with him gutting you—we couldn’t. He’s not ours to control. He’s one of your specimens. You helped create him—now you have to deal with him.”

Antoine stares at Prae in disbelief. I draw closer, growling softly in anticipation of the kill. Antoine’s eyes harden. “Don’t be so hasty, my hairy friend,” he murmurs, sounding more like his old self. “There are others to consider.”

“Like who?”

“Your uncle,” he says smoothly, and I come to an abrupt halt.

Antoine rises, brushing dirt from his shirt and trousers. He frowns at his untidy condition, then runs a hand through his hair and shrugs. “I suppose this means an expensive trip to my tailor when I get back.”

“You’ve got five seconds to tell me what you know about Dervish,” I snarl.

“Oh, I have more time than that,” Antoine grins. “Your uncle’s in a perilous situation. There are forces moving against him even as we speak. It will take more than five seconds to—”

“Tell me!” I shout. “Now. Or I’ll torture it out of you.

“I’m sure you could,” Antoine says slickly, “but how long would it take? I’ll hold out as long as I can, just to spite you. After all, you’ve already vowed to torment me. I don’t know how long I can stand the pain, but minutes are precious. Do you dare waste them?”

I want to throttle him so badly it hurts. But he knows how important Dervish is to me. I don’t want to cut a deal with this treacherous viper, but time’s against me.

“What do you want?” I growl.

“My life,” Antoine replies.

I think about it, then curse. “OK. I won’t kill you. Now talk.”

“Not so fast,” Antoine says. “I want to add a few conditions before I divulge all that I know. Such as a boat without a hole in it, a compass and map, some—”

“Time’s all you have to bargain with!” I snap. “If you don’t tell me what you know immediately, I might as well torture you.”

Antoine licks his lips nervously, then decides he has no choice but to play out the hand and hope for the best.

“A trap was laid for your uncle and some others,” he says. “The girl called Bec was the one they wanted, but your uncle and Beranabus were important to them too. Juni didn’t reveal all the details, but from what I gathered, the trap was partially successful. Beranabus was killed, but the—”

“No!” Meera cries, taking a step in front of me. “Beranabus can’t be dead.”

“According to Juni, he is,” Antoine says calmly.

“But—” Meera starts to exclaim.

“Leave it,” I cut in. “If Beranabus is dead, he’s dead. Let this worm finish telling us what he knows about Dervish.”

Meera doesn’t like it, but she pulls back.

“Bec and your uncle escaped,” Antoine continues. “The attack took place at sea, on a giant cruiser. They got off before it sank and are adrift in a lifeboat. Juni was furious. When she calmed down, she told me to send a crew to intercept the lifeboat and finish the job. They have instructions to kill Dervish and bring Bec back alive. Taking no chances, I roused three separate units and dispatched them from different locations. The first should be upon your uncle—” He checks his watch. “in sixteen minutes.”

“Call them off,” I hiss.

“I can’t from here,” he smirks. “But if you would kindly accompany me to my temporary office…”

I tremble with rage and hatred. If only I could rip the tongue from his mouth and swallow it whole—that would wipe the smirk from his face. But he has the upper hand, at least until I know that Dervish is safe. I’ll have to allow him his smugness for a while. I start to agree to take him to his office, but Timas speaks before me.

“There’s no need to relocate. I can see a radio unit in one of the boats. There are telephones and computer terminals set in the walls. We can communicate with the outside world from here.”

“No,” Antoine snaps. “There are things in my office which I need.”

“Such as?” Timas asks with a little smile.

Antoine glowers. I see in his features that he had a plan in mind. The office was an excuse. He thought he could trick us and escape some other way.