ABC Amber LIT Converter - Shan, Darren - Cirque Du Freak 02 - The Vampire's Assistant

"I'm not sure," I admitted. "It's something my dad used to say."

We joked around some more, then hopped down and crossed the yard to the guard's house. The doors had rotted off years ago, and most of the glass in the windows had fallen out. We walked through a couple of small rooms, then into a larger one, which had been the living room.

There was a huge hole in the middle of the floor, which we carefully avoided.

"Look up," Sam told me.

I did and discovered I was gazing directly at the roof. The floors in between had fallen in over the years, and all that was left of them were jagged edges around the sides. I could see sunlight shining through a couple of holes in the roof.

"Follow me," Sam said, and he led me to a staircase at the side of the room. He started up. I followed slowly, not sure if it was the smartest thing to do � the steps were creaky and looked as though they might collapse � but not wanting to be called a chicken twice in the same day.

We stopped at the third floor, where the stairs stopped. You could touch the roof from there, and we did.

"Can we get out on the roof?" I asked.

"Yes," Sam said, "but it's too dangerous. The shingles are loose. You could slide off. Anyway, there's something better up here than the roof."

He walked along the side of the uppermost room of the house. The ledge was about two feet wide most of the way, but I kept my back to the wall, not wanting to take any chances.

"This section of floor won't collapse, will it?" I asked nervously.

"It never has before," Sam replied. "But there's a first time for everything."

"Thanks for putting my mind at ease," I grumbled.

Sam stopped a little farther on. I craned my neck so I could see past him and realized we had come to a set of rafters. There were six or seven of them, long pieces of wood stretching from one side of the room to the other.

"This used to be the attic," Sam explained. "I guessed that," I told him.

He looked back at me and grinned. "But can you guess what we're going to do next?" he asked.

I stared at him, then down at the rafters. "You don't mean � You aren't going to � You're going to walk across, right?"

"Right," he said, and set his left foot on the rafter.

"Sam, this isn't a good idea," I said. "You looked unsteady on the railroad tracks. If you stumble up here �"

"I won't," he said. "I was only fooling down there."

He set his other foot on the wooden rafter and began walking. He went slowly, his arms stretched out on either side. My heart was in my throat. I was certain he'd fall. I looked down and knew he wouldn't survive if he fell. There were four stories if you included the basement. It was a long drop. A deadly one.

But Sam made it across safely to the other side, where he turned and took a bow.

"You're crazy!" I yelled.

"No," he said, "just brave. How aboutyou ? Dare to chance it? It'd be easier for you than it was for me."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Chickens have wings!" he shouted.

That did it! I'd show him!

Taking a deep breath, I went across, moving quicker than Sam had, making full use of my vampire abilities. I didn't look down and tried not to think about what I was doing and in a couple of seconds I was across and standing beside Sam.

"Wow!" He was impressed. "I didn't think you'd do it. Certainly not so quickly."

"You don't travel with the Cirque without picking up a few tricks," I said, pleased with myself.

"Do you thinkI could go that fast?" Sam asked.

"I wouldn't try it," I advised him.

"I bet you can't do it again," he dared me.

"Just watch," I said, and darted back across, even faster.

We spent a fun few minutes crossing over and back, taking each of the rafters in turn. Then we crossed at the same time, on different rafters, yelling and laughing at each other.

Sam stopped in the middle of his rafter and turned to face me.

"Hey!" he shouted. "Let's play mirrors."

"What's that?" I asked.

"I do something and you have to copy me." He shook his left hand above his head. "Like this."

"Oh," I said, and shook my hand. "Okay. As long as you don't jump to your death. That's the one thing Iwon't copy."

He laughed, then made a face. I made one, too. Then he slowly stood on one leg. I did the same. Next he bent and touched his toes. I followed his example. I couldn't wait until it was my turn. I'd do a few things � like jump from one rafter to the next � that there was no way he could copy. For once, I was glad for my vampire blood.

Of course, that was the moment when it went and let me down �

There was no warning. One second I was beginning to stand, having bent to touch my toes. The next my head was spinning, my arms were flapping, and my legs were shaking.

This wasn't my first dizzy spell � I'd had several recently � but I hadn't taken much notice before � I'd just sat down and waited for the dizziness to pass. This time was different. I was four stories up. There was nowhere to sit.

I tried lowering myself, thinking I could cling to the rafter and crawl to safety. But before I could get low enough, my feet slipped out from under me � and I fell!

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Although my vampire blood was responsible for getting me into the mess on the rafters, it also saved my life.

As I fell, I stuck out an arm � more out of desperation than anything else � and my hand caught the rafter. If I'd been an ordinary human boy, I wouldn't have had the strength to hold on. But I wasn't ordinary. I was a half-vampire. And even though I was dizzy, I was able to grab tight and hold on.

I swung above the four-story drop, eyes shut, hanging on by those four slim fingers and my thumb.

"Darren! Hang on!" Sam shouted. He didn't need to tell me that � I was hardly going to let go.

I'm coming over," Sam said. "I'll be there as fast as I can. Don't let go. And don't panic."

He went on talking as he made his way across, calming me down, telling me it would be all right, he'd rescue me, I had to relax, everything was fine.

His words helped. They gave me something other than the drop to think about. If not for Sam, I would have been a goner.

I felt him inch out along my rafter. The wood creaked, and for one awful moment I thought the weight would cause it to break and send both of us plummeting to our deaths. But it held and he closed the gap, crawling along on his stomach, quickly but carefully.

Sam paused when he reached me.

"Now," he said, "I'm going to grab your wrist with my right hand. I'll do it slowly. Don't move while I'm doing it, and don't grab me with your free hand. Okay?"

"Okay," I said.

I felt his hand close over my wrist.

"Don't let go of the rafter," he said.

"I won't," I promised.

"I don't have the strength to pull you up," he told me, "so I'm going to swing you from one side to the other. Stretch your free arm out. When you can, grab for the rafter. If you miss, don't panic, I'll still be holding on. If you get a grip, stay still for a few seconds and give your body a chance to relax. Then we can haul you up. Got it?"

"Got it, captain," I said, grinning nervously.

"Here goes. And remember: Everything will be all right. Okay. It's going to work. You will survive."

He began swinging me, lightly at first, then a little harder. I was tempted to grab at the rafter after a few swings but forced myself to wait. When I thought I was swinging high enough, I stretched out my fingers, concentrated on the thin plank of wood, and grabbed.

I caught it!

I was able to relax a little then and rest the muscles of my right arm.

"Do you feel ready to pull yourself up?" Sam asked.

"Yes," I said.

"I'll help you get your upper body up," he said. "When your stomach is safe across the rafter, I'll get out of the way and give you room to bring your legs up."