DARREN SHAN - Shan, Darren - Cirque Du Freak 07 - Hunters Of The Dusk

I glanced down to make sure I hadn't trodden on any frogs. When I looked up again, Evanna's face was back to normal. She was smiling. "Appearances, Darren," she said. "Never let them fool you." The air around her shimmered. When it cleared, she was tall, lithe and beautiful, with golden hair and a flowing white gown. My jaw dropped and I stared at her rudely, astonished by how pretty she was.

She clicked her fingers and was her original self again. "I'm a sorceress," she said. "A wyrd sister. An enchantress. A priestess of the arcane. I am not�" she added, shooting a piercing look at Mr Crepsley and Vancha, "� awitch . I'm a creature of many magical talents. These allow me to take any shape I choose � at least in the minds of those who see me."

"Then why �" I started to say, before remembering my manners.

"� do I choose this ugly form?" she finished for me. Blushing, I nodded. "I feel comfortable this way. Beauty means nothing to me. Looks are the least important thing in my world. This is the shape I assumed when I first took human form, so it is the shape I return to most often."

"I prefer you when you're beautiful," Vancha muttered, then coughed gruffly when he realized he'd spoken aloud.

"Be careful, Vancha," Evanna chuckled, "or I'll take my hand to you as I did to Larten all those years ago." She cocked an eyebrow at me. "Did he ever tell you how he got that scar?"

I looked at the long scar running down the left side of Mr Crepsley's face, and shook my head. The vampire was blushing a deep crimson colour. "Please, Lady," he pleaded. "Do not speak of it. I was young and foolish."

"You most certainly were," Evanna agreed, and nudged me wickedly in the ribs. "I was wearing one of my beautiful faces. Larten got tipsy on wine and tried to kiss me. I gave him a little scratch to teach him some manners."

I was stunned. I'd always thought he picked up the scar fighting vampaneze or some fierce animal of the wilds!

"You are cruel, Evanna," Mr Crepsley moped, stroking his scar miserably.

Vancha was laughing so hard that snot was streaming from his nose. "Larten!" he howled. "Wait till I tell the others! I always wondered why you were so coy about that scar. Normally vampires boast about their wounds, but you�"

"Shut up!" Mr Crepsley snapped with uncharacteristic bluntness.

"I could have healed it," Evanna said. "If it had been stitched immediately, it wouldn't be half as noticeable asit is. But he took off like a kicked dog and didn't return for thirty years."

"I did not feel wanted," Mr Crepsley said softly.

"Poor Larten," she smirked. "You thought you were a real ladies' man when you were a young vampire, but �" She pulled a face and cursed. "I knew I'd forgotten something. I meant to have them set up when you arrived, but I got distracted." Muttering to herself, she turned to the frogs and made low, croaking noises.

"What's she doing?" I asked Vancha.

"Talking to the frogs," he said. He was still grinning about Mr Crepsley's scar.

Harkat gasped and dropped to his knees. "Darren!" he called, pointing to a frog. Crouching beside him, I saw that on the back of the frog was an eerily accurate image of Paris Skyle, done in dark green and black.

"Weird," I said, and gently touched the image, ready to whip my hand back if the frog opened its mouth. I frowned and traced the lines more firmly. "Hey," I said, "this isn't paint. I think it's a birthmark"

"It can't be," Harkat said. "No birthmark could look that � much like a person, especially not one we� Hey! There's another!"

I turned and looked where he was pointing. "That's not Paris," I said.

"No," Harkat agreed, "but it's a face. And there's a third." He pointed to a different frog.

"And a fourth," I noted, standing and gazing around.

"Theymust be painted on," Harkat said.

"They're not," Vancha said. Bending, he picked up a frog and held it out for us to examine. This close to it, aided by the strong light of the moon, we could see that the marks were actually underneath the frog's uppermost layer of skin.

"I told you Evanna bred frogs," Mr Crepsley reminded us. He took the frog from Vancha and traced the shape of the face, which was burly and bearded. "It is a mix of nature and magic. She finds frogs with strong natural markings, magically enhances them, and breeds them, producing faces. She is the only one in the world who can do it."

"Here we are," Evanna said, pushing Vancha and me aside, leading nine frogs over to Mr Crepsley. "I feel guilty for lumbering you with that scar, Larten. I shouldn't have cut so deeply."

"It is forgotten, Lady," he smiled gently. "The scar is part of me now. I am proud of it�" he glared at Vancha "�even if others can only mock."

"Still," she said, "it irks me. I've presented you with gifts over the years � such as the collapsible pots and pans � but they haven't satisfied me."

"There is no need�" Mr Crepsley began.

"Shut up and let me finish!" she growled. "I think at last I have a gift which will restore amends. It's not something you can take, just a little � token."

Mr Crepsley looked down at the frogs. "I hope you do not mean to give the frogs to me."

"Not exactly." She croaked an order to the frogs and they rearranged themselves. "I know Arra Sails was killed in the fighting with the vampaneze six years ago," she said. Mr Crepsley's face dropped at the mention of Arras name. He'd been very close to her and had taken her death hard.

"She died valiantly," he said.

"I don't suppose you kept anything of hers, did you?"

"Such as?"

"A lock of hair, a knife which was dear to her, a scrap of her clothes?"

"Vampires do not indulge in such foolishness," he said gruffly.

"They should," Evanna sighed. The frogs stopped moving, she looked down at them, nodded and stepped aside.

"What are�" Mr Crepsley began, then fell silent as his eyes took in the frogs and the huge face spread across their backs.

It was the face of Arra Sails, a section on each frog's back. The face was perfect in every detail and boasted more colour than the faces on the other frogs � Evanna had worked in yellows, blues and reds, bringing life to its eyes, cheeks, lips and hair. Vampires can't be photographed � their atoms bounce around in a bizarre way, impossible to capture on film � but this was as close to a photo of Arra Sails as was imaginable.

Mr Crepsley hadn't moved. His mouth was a tight line across the lower half of his face, but his eyes were filled with warmth, sadness and � love.

"Thank you, Evanna," he whispered.

"No need," she smiled softly, then looked around at the rest of us. "I think we should leave him alone a while. Come into the cave."

Wordlessly we followed her in. Even the normally raucous Vancha March was quiet, pausing only to clasp Mr Crepsley's left shoulder and squeeze comfortingly. The frogs hopped along after us, except the nine with Arra's features plastered across their backs. They stayed, held their shape and kept Mr Crepsley company as he gazed sorrowfully at the face of his one-time mate and dwelt at length upon the painful past.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

EVANNA HADprepared a feast for us, but it was all vegetables and fruit � she was a vegetarian and wouldn't allow anyone to eat meat in her cave. Vancha teased her about it � "Still on the cow-food, Lady?" � but ate his share along with Harkat and me, though he only chose food which hadn't been cooked.

"How can you eat that?" I asked, revolted, as he tucked into a raw turnip.

"All in the conditioning," he winked, biting deeply into it. "Yum � a worm!"

Mr Crepsley joined us as we were finishing. He was in a sombre mood for the rest of the night, saying little, staring off into space.

The cave was far more luxurious than the caverns of Vampire Mountain. Evanna had made a real home of it, with soft feather beds, wonderful paintings on the walls and huge candle-lit lamps which cast a rosy glow over everything. There were couches to lie on, fans to cool us, exotic fruit and wine. After so many years of rough living, it seemed like a palace.