"Do you think you will be ready for the Trial?" he asked.
I shrugged. "Right now, the Trial's the last thing on my mind I'm not even sure I'm going to get through the training! Vanez is working me hard. I suppose he has to, but I feel exhausted. I could slide under the table and sleep for a week."
"I have been listening to vampires talk," Harkat said. "Many are betting on you."
"Oh?" I sat up, taking an interest. "What odds are they giving me?"
"They do not have actual odds. They bet clothes and pieces of jewelry. Most vampires are betting against you. Kurda and Gavner and Arra are accepting most of the bets. They believe in you."
"That's good to hear." I smiled. "What about Mr. Crepsley?"
Harkat shook his head. "He said he does not bet. Especially not on children."
"That's the sort of thing the dry old buzzard would say," I huffed, trying not to sound disappointed.
"But I heard him talking to Seba Nile," Harkat added. "He said that if you failed, he would eat his cape."
I laughed, delighted.
"What are you two talking about?" Mr. Crepsley asked.
"Nothing," I said, grinning up at him.
When we'd finished eating, Vanez and I headed back to the maze, where we practiced with heavier rocks and in the water. The next few hours were some of the most arduous of my life, and by the time he called it a night and sent me to my cell to rest, I was so tired that I collapsed halfway there and had to be carted back to my hammock by a couple of sympathetic guards.
CHAPTER FOUR
IWAS SO STIFFwhen I woke that I thought I wouldn't be able to make it to the maze, let alone find my way out of it! But after a couple of minutes of walking around, I worked off the stiffness and felt as fit as ever. I realized Vanez had pushed me exactly the right amount and made a note not to doubt his tactics in the future.
I was hungry, but Vanez had told me not to eat anything when I woke if things were tight, a few extra pounds could mean the difference between living and dying.
Mr. Crepsley and Vanez came for me when it was time. Both wore their best clothes, Mr. Crepsley dazzling in bright red robes, Vanez less flamboyant in a dull brown tunic and trousers.
"Ready?" Vanez asked. I nodded. "Hungry?"
"Starving!"
"Good." He smiled. "I'll treat you to the finest meal of your life after the Trial. Think about that if you get into trouble it helps to have something to look forward to."
We wound our way down through the torch-lit tunnels to the Aquatic Maze, Vanez walking in front of me, Mr. Crepsley and Harkat just behind. Vanez carried a purple flag, the sign that he was escorting a vampire to a Trial. Most of the vampires we passed made a strange gesture when they saw me coming: they put the tip of their right-hand middle finger to their forehead, placed the tips of the fingers on either side of it on their eyelids, and spread their thumb and little finger out wide to the sides.
"Why are they doing that?" I asked Vanez.
"It's a customary gesture," he explained. "We call it the death's touch sign. It means, 'Even in death, may you be triumphant.'"
"I'd rather they just said good luck," I muttered.
"That doesn't have quite the same significance," Vanez chuckled. "We believe that the gods of the vampires respect those who die nobly. They bless us when a vampire meets death proudly and curse us when one dies poorly."
"So they want me to die well for their own sakes," I said sarcastically.
"For the sake of the clan," Vanez corrected me seriously. "A vampire in good standing always puts the good of the clan before his own well-being. Even in death. The hand gesture is to remind you of that."
The Aquatic Maze was built in the pit of a large cavern. From the top it looked like a long square box. Around the sides of the pit were forty or fifty vampires, the most the cave could hold. Among them were Gavner and Kurda, Seba Nile and Arra Sails and Mika Ver Leth, the Vampire Prince who'd sentenced me to the Trials.
Mika summoned us over, nodded gravely to Vanez and Mr. Crepsley, then fixed his icy gaze on me. He was dressed in his customary black outfit and looked even sterner than Mr. Crepsley. "You have prepared for the Trial?" he asked.
"I have."
"You know what lies ahead of you?"
"I do."
"Except for the four exits, there is no escape from the maze," he said. "Should you fail this Trial, you will not have to face the Hall of Death."
"I'd rather die at the stakes to drowning," I grunted.
"Most vampires would," he agreed. "But you don't need to worry it is still water, not running."
I frowned. "What's that got to do with anything?"
"Still water cannot trap a vampire's soul," he explained.
"Oh, that old myth," I laughed. Many vampires believed that if you died in a river or stream, your soul remained trapped forever by the flowing water. "That doesn't bother me. It's the drowning I don't like!"
"Either way, I wish you luck," Mika said.
"No, you don't." I sniffed.
"Darren!" Mr. Crepsley said.
"It's all right." Mika silenced him with a wave of his hand. "Let the boy speak his mind."
"Youmade me take the Trials," I said. "You don't think I'm good enough to be a vampire. You'll be happy if I fail, because it'll prove you were right."
"Your assistant has a low opinion of me, Larten," Mika remarked.
"He is young, Mika. He does not know his place."
"Don't apologize for him. The youngshould speak their minds." He addressed me directly again. "You are right in one thing only, Darren Shan Idon't think you have what it takes to make it as a vampire. As for the rest of what you say " He shook his head "No vampire takes pleasure in seeing another fail. I sincerely hope you prove me wrong. We need vampires in good standing, now more than ever. I will raise a glass of blood to your name if you complete the Trials, and willingly admit in public that I misjudged you."
"Oh," I said, confused. "In that case, I guess I'm sorry for what I said. No hard feelings?"
The black-haired, eagle-eyed Prince smiled tightly. "No hard feelings." Then he clapped his hands loudly and barked sharply, "May the gods bless you with the luck of the vampires!" and the Trial began.
I was blindfolded, placed on a stretcher, and carried into the heart of the maze by four guards so I couldn't memorize the way. Once inside, I was set down and the blindfold was removed. I found myself in a narrow corridor, about five feet wide, less than six and a half feet high. My size would work in my favor in this Trial tall vampires had to stoop, which made the going even harder.
"Are you ready?" one of the guards asked.
"I'm ready," I said, glancing around the corridor to find my first marker. I saw a whitish stone in the wall to my left and made note of it, starting my mental map-making process.
"You must stay here till the water pours," the guard said. "That's the signal for the start of the Trial. Nobody can check on you once we leave, so there's nothing to prevent you from cheating, apart from your conscience."
"I won't cheat," I snapped. "I'll wait for the water."
"I'm sure you will," the vampire smiled apologetically. "I had to say it anyway tradition."
The four guards gathered up the stretcher and left. They were all wearing extrasoft shoes, so their footsteps made no noise.
Small candles were set in glass bulbs in the roof of the maze, so I'd have plenty of light to see by, even when the water rose high.
My nerves gnawed at me while I was waiting for the water to gush. A cowardly voice inside my head nudged me to make an early start. Nobody would ever know. Better to live with a little shame than die because of stupid pride.
I ignored the voice I'd never be able to look Mr. Crepsley, Gavner, or the others in the eye if I cheated.
Finally there was a gurgling sound, and water bubbled up out of a nearby pipe. Breathing a sigh of relief, I hurried for the end of the corridor, dragging my rock behind me, shaking the rope at regular intervals, as Vanez had taught me.
I made good time at the beginning. The water barely held me back, and there were plenty of striking stones to identify the different corridors by. I didn't panic when I came to a dead end or worked my way back to a corridor I'd already visited; I just stuck my head down and kept walking, taking a new route.
The going got tough after five or six minutes. The water was up above my knees. Each step was an effort. The rock now felt as if it weighed a ton. I was having trouble breathing, and my muscles ached, especially in my legs and back.
Still I didn't panic. Vanez had prepared me for this. I had to accept the water, not fight it. I let my pace drop. The mistake many vampires made was to try walking quickly they exhausted themselves early and never got anywhere near the end.
Another couple of minutes passed. I was growing anxious. There was no way to tell how close or far from the finish I was. I could be a single turn away from an exit door without knowing it or nowhere near one. At least I'd recognize an exit if I saw it a huge white X was painted on all four doors and a large black button was in the center of the X. All I had to do was press that button, and the door would open, the water would flood out, and I'd be safe.
The trouble was finding it. The water was up to my chest by this point, and the rock was getting heavier all the time. I'd stopped shaking the rope it was too much of an effort and could feel it drifting along behind me, threatening to get caught between my legs. That happened sometimes vampires got knotted up in the rope and came to a standstill, drowning where they stood.
I was turning a corner when the rock snagged on something. I gave the rope a pull, trying to free it with no luck. Taking a deep breath, I dived down to see what was wrong. I found that the rock had jammed against a large crack in a wall. It only took a few seconds to pry it loose, but when I sprang up, I suddenly realized that my mind was a blank. Had I been in this tunnel before? I looked for a familiar sign, but couldn't see any. There was a yellow stone high up in one of the walls, and I thought I'd passed it earlier, but I didn't know for sure.
I was lost!
I lurched to the end of the corridor, then up another, desperately trying to establish my position. Panic flooded my system. I kept thinking, "I'm going to drown! I'm going to drown!" I could have passed a dozen markers and not recognized any of them, I was so stressed out.
The water was up to my chin. It splashed into my mouth. Sputtering, I slapped at the water, as though that would make it go away. I stumbled and fell. Came up spitting water and gasping. Terrified, I started to scream
and that stopped me. The sound of my roars snapped me back to my senses. I remembered Vanez's advice, stood perfectly still, shut my eyes, and refused to budge until I had the panic under control. I concentrated on the thought of the feast that awaited me. Fresh meat, wild roots, and fruit. A bottle of human blood to perk me up. Dessert mountain berries, hot and juicy.
I opened my eyes. My heart had stopped beating like a drum, and the worst of the panic attack had passed. I waded slowly down the corridor, searching for a marker. If I could find one, I was sure I'd recall the rest of my mental map. I reached the end of the corridor no markers. The next corridor was also new to me. And the one after that. And the next.
I could feel the panic bubbling up again when I spotted a candleholder set in a pale grey circular stone one of my markers! I stared at the candle and waited for my map to reform. For several long seconds my mind remained as terrifyingly blank as it had been then the map fell back into place. It came to me in sections first, a piece at a time, then in a rush. I stood where I was for a few more seconds, making sure I had it clear in my head before continuing.
The water was up to my lower lip now. The movement was almost impossible. I had to proceed in sluggish jumps, lurching forward to keep my head above water, being extra careful not to bash it on the ceiling. How long before I ran out of air? Three minutes? Four? It couldn't be much more than that. I had to find the way out and quick!
Concentrating on the map inside my head, I tried figuring out how far away I was from the spot where I'd started. By my calculations, I should be near one of the border walls. If I was, and the exit door was close by, I stood a chance. Otherwise the Trial was as good as over.
Turning a corner, I ran into my first stretch of border wall. I knew it immediately, because the stones were darker and rougher than the rest of the maze. There was no X printed on it, but my heart gave a joyous leap anyway. Backtracking, I banished the map from my thoughts it was no use to me anymore and hurried to the next turn, searching for that elusive X.
I found four different sections of border wall, none of which contained the exit. The water was almost up to the ceiling now. I was swimming more than walking, pressing my lips to the ceiling to draw in air. I'd have been OK if it wasn't for the horrible rock it dragged behind me worse than ever when I tried to swim, slowing me down to a crawl.
As I paused to take a breath, I realized it was time to make a critical decision. Vanez had discussed this with me in the practice maze. He'd hoped things wouldn't reach this stage, but if they did, I had to choose correctly.
If I continued as I was, I'd die. I was making very little progress, and in a minute or two the water would cover my face completely, and I'd drown. The time had come to gamble. One last roll of the dice. If the luck of the vampires was with me, it would mean survival. If not
I took several deep breaths, filling my lungs, then ducked under the water and dived to the floor. Picking up the rock, I turned over, so I was floating on my back, and placed the rock on my belly. Then I swam. It was awkward streams of water forced themselves up my nose but this was the only way to stop the rock from dragging me down.
Vampires can hold their breath longer than humans five or six minutes, easily but because I was on my back, I had to keep blowing air out through my nose, to stop the water from going up it, so I'd have two, three minutes at most before I ran out of oxygen and drowned.
Swimming around another corner, I stared down a long corridor. I could spot the shape of what must be border wall at the end, but I was too far away to see if there was anX on it or not. I thought there might be, but that could be my mind playing tricks Vanez had warned me about underwater mirages.
I swam up the corridor. About halfway, I realized there was no X a long crack in the stones had fooled me so I turned and quickly headed back the way I'd come. The weight of the rock was forcing me down. I stopped, put my feet on the floor, and used them to push myself up, then straightened out and resumed swimming.
I searched in vain for another glimpse of border wall, but the next two corners both led to other corridors, not the wall. My oxygen was running out. It was getting harder and harder to move my arms and legs.
The next turn didn't lead to border wall either, but I had no time to swim ahead and look for another corner. Summoning all of my energy, I swam down the short corridor and took the right turn at the end. That led to another short corridor. As I started down it, the rock slipped off my belly, scratching me as it fell. I yelped without thinking. Water rushed in, and air rushed out.
Coughing, I aimed for the ceiling to draw more air, but when I reached it, I found the water had beaten me to the punch there was no more air.
I was treading water, silently cursing the fates and vampire gods. This was the end. I'd given it my best, but it wasn't meant to be. The best thing now would be to open my mouth, gulp in water, and make as quick an end of it as I could. I would have too, except this corridor wasn't well lit, and I didn't like the idea of dying in darkness. So, painfully, I dived again to the floor, gathered the rock, turned over onto my back, placed the rock on my belly, and swam ahead to find somewhere brighter to die.
As I made a left turn at the end of the corridor, I spotted the dark stone of border wall. I smiled weakly, remembering how excited that would have made me a few minutes ago. I rolled over onto my belly, so that I could die on my feet then stopped.
There was anXon the wall!
I stared at it stupidly while precious air bubbles popped out of my mouth. Was this another trick of my mind? Another false crack? It must be. There was no way I could be this lucky. I should ignore it and
No! Itwas anX!
I was out of air and strength, but the sight of that X gave me a new burst of life. Making use of resources I hadn't known I had, I kicked hard with my legs and shot towards the wall like a bullet. I bumped my head against it, recoiled, then rolled over and studied the large, rough X.
I was so delighted to find the X, I almost didn't think to push the button in its center. What a joke that would have been to come so far and fail at the very end! But thankfully, I was spared that shame. Of its own accord, my left hand crept out, ran its fingers over the button set in the X, then pressed it. The button slid inwards, and the X vanished as the stone slid back into the wall.
With a huge slushing roar, water gushed out through the gap. I was carried along with it, jolting to a stop just beyond the door when my rock caught on something. My eyes and mouth were shut, and for a while it seemed as if I was still submerged in the maze, as water flooded out over my head. Gradually, though, the water level dropped, and I realized I could breathe.
After the deepest breath of my life, I opened my eyes and blinked. The cavern seemed a lot brighter than it had less than half an hour ago, when I'd been led down to it by Vanez Blane. I felt as if I was sitting on a beach on a warm summer's day.
Cheers and hollers reached my ears. Staring around like a fish on dry land, I noticed delighted vampires streaming towards me, splashing through pools of water, whooping with excitement. I was too tired to identify their faces, but I recognized the orange crop of hair on the vampire leading the way Mr. Crepsley.
As the water subsided, I struggled to my feet and stood outside the door of the Aquatic Maze, smiling foolishly, rubbing the bump on my head where I'd hit the wall. "You did it, Darren!" Mr. Crepsley roared, reaching my side and throwing his arms around me in a rare display of affection.
Another vampire embraced me and yelled, "I thought you'd had it! So much time had passed, I was sure you'd failed!"
Blinking water from my eyes, I made out the features of Kurda and Gavner. And close behind, Vanez and Arra. "Mr. Crepsley? Kurda? Vanez? What are you doing on a beach in the middle of the day?" I asked. "You'll sizzle in the sunlight if you don't watch out."
"He's delirious!" Someone laughed.
"Who would not be?" Mr. Crepsley replied, hugging me proudly.
"Think I'll sit down awhile," I muttered. "Call me when it's time to build sand castles." And, collapsing on my bottom, I stared up at the roof, convinced it was the wide open sky, and hummed merrily to myself while the vampires fussed around me.
CHAPTER FIVE
IWAS SHIVERRINGlike a bedraggled rat when I woke up late the next day. I'd been asleep for fifteen hours or more! Vanez was there to wish me good morning. He handed me a small mug full of a dark liquid and told me to drink.
"What is it? "I asked.
"Brandy," he said. I hadn't tried brandy before. After the first mouthful, which made me gag, I decided I liked it. "Careful." Vanez laughed as I poured it freely down my throat. "You'll get drunk!"
Laying aside the mug, I hiccuped and grinned. Then I remembered the Trial. "I did it!" I shouted, jumping up. "I found the way out!"
"You certainly did," Vanez agreed. "It was close. You were in there just over twenty minutes. Did you have to swim towards the finish?"
"Yes," I said, then described all that had happened in the maze.
"You performed excellently," Vanez said. "Brains, strength, and luck no vampire lasts long without a healthy measure of each."
Vanez led me to the Hall of Khledon Lurt to get something to eat. The vampires there applauded when they saw me and crowded around to tell me how well I'd done. I made light of it and acted humble, but inside I felt like a hero. Harkat Mulds turned up while I was digging into my third bowl of bat broth and fifth slice of bread. "I am glad you survived," he said in his simple, direct fashion.
"Me too," I laughed.
"The betting against you has dropped since you passed the first Trial. More vampires are betting on you to win, now."
"That's good to hear. Haveyou bet anything on me?"
"I have nothing to bet," Harkat said. "If I did I would."
While we were talking, a rumor spread through the Hall, upsetting the vampires around us. Listening closely, we learned that one of the last remaining vampires on his way to Council had arrived before dawn and immediately rushed to the Hall of Princes to inform them of vampaneze tracks he'd come across while traveling to the mountain.
"Maybe it's the same vampaneze we found on our way here," I said, referring to a dead vampaneze we'd stumbled on during the course of our journey.
"Maybe," Vanez muttered, unconvinced. "I'll leave you for a while. Stay here. I won't be long."
When he returned, the games master seemed worried. "The vampire was Patrick Goulder," he said. "He came by an entirely different route, and the tracks were quite fresh. It's almost certain that this was a different vampaneze."
"What does it mean?" I asked, unsettled by the anxious rumblings of the vampires around us.
"I don't know," Vanez admitted. "But two vampaneze on the paths to Vampire Mountain are hardly coincidence. And when you take Harkat's message about the Vampaneze Lord into consideration, it doesn't look promising."
I thought again of Harkat's message and Mr. Tiny's long-ago vow that the Vampaneze Lord would lead the vampaneze against the vampires and crush them. I'd had other things to worry about, and still did my Trials were far from over but it was hard to ignore this ominous threat to the entire vampire clan.
"Still," Vanez said, making light of it, "the doings of the vampaneze are of no interest to us. We must concentrate on the Trials. We'll leave the other business to those best equipped to deal with it."
But try as we might to avoid the topic, the rumors followed us around the Halls all day long, and my achievements of the night before went unmentioned nobody was interested in the fate of a single half-vampire while the future of the race itself hung in the balance.
Hardly anyone paid attention to me when I turned up with Vanez Blane at the Hall of Princes at dusk. A few pressed their right-hand fingers to their forehead and eyelids when they saw the purple flag the death's touch sign but they were too preoccupied to discuss my first Trial with me. We had to wait a long time for the Princes to beckon us forward they were arguing with their Generals, trying to decide what the vampaneze were up to and how many might be skulking around. Kurda was standing up for his outcast friends.
"If they meant to attack us," he shouted, "they would have done so on the trail, while we were coming singly or in pairs."
"Maybe they plan to attack us on the way back," someone retorted.
"Why should they?" Kurda challenged him. "They've never attacked before. Why start now?"
"Perhaps the Vampaneze Lord put them up to it," an old General suggested, and nervous growls of agreement echoed around the Hall.
"Nonsense!" Kurda snorted. "I don't believe those old legends. Even if theyare true, Mr. Tiny said the night of his comingwas at hand not already upon us."
"Kurda is correct," Paris Skyle said. "Besides, attacking us in such a fashion alone, on our way to or from Council would be cowardly, and the vampaneze are no cowards."
"Then why are they here?" someone cried. "What are they up to?"
"It's possible," Kurda said, "that they came to seeme. "
Every vampire in the Hall stared at him.
"Why should they do that?" Paris asked.
"They are my friends." He sighed. "I don't believe this Vampaneze Lord myth, but many vampaneze do, and a lot are as troubled by it as we are they don't want a war any more than we do. It's possible that Mr. Tiny sent word to the vampaneze as he did to us, and the pair found on the way here were coming to warn me, or to discuss the situation."
"But Patrick Goulder couldn't find the second vampaneze," Mika Ver Leth said. "If he's still alive, wouldn't he have contacted you by now?"
"How?" Kurda asked. "A vampaneze can't waltz up to the gates and ask for me by name. He'd be killed on sight. If he is a messenger, he's probably waiting somewhere nearby, hoping to catch me when I leave."
That made sense to a lot of vampires, but others dismissed it out of hand the idea of a vampaneze going out of his way to help a vampire was lunacy as far as they were concerned and the argument reared up again and bubbled on for another couple of hours.
Mr. Crepsley said little during the arguing. He just sat in his pew near the front, listening carefully, thinking hard. He was so absorbed in what was being said, he hadn't even noticed my arrival.
Finally, during a lull, Vanez crept forward and whispered to one of the guards, who advanced to the platform and spoke in the ear of Paris Skyle (his only good ear his right had been chopped off many years before). Paris nodded, then clapped loudly for silence. "We have been overlooking our duties, my friends," he said. "The news of the vampaneze is worrying, but we must not let it interfere with regular Council affairs. There is a young half-vampire for whom time is precious. May we enjoy a few minutes of peace to deal with his more pressing concerns?"
When the vampires had settled back into their seats, Vanez escorted me up to the platform.
"Congratulations on passing the first of your Trials, Darren," Paris said.
"Thank you," I replied politely.
"As one who never learned to swim, I have extra reason to admire your narrow escape," said Arrow, the large, bald Prince, with tattoos of arrows on his arms and head. "Had I found myself in your position, I wouldn't have made it out alive."
"You did well, young Shan," Mika Ver Leth agreed. "A good start is half the battle. There's a long way to go, but I'm willing to accept that I might have been wrong about you."
"We would hear about more of your exploits in the maze if we had the time," Paris sighed, "but, alas, that is a tale you must save for another occasion. Are you ready to choose your next Trial?"
"I am."
The bag of numbered stones was produced. After they'd been checked, I reached in, dug down, and picked one close to the bottom. "Number twenty-three," the guard called out, having examined the stone. "The Path of Needles."
"I thought there were only seventeen Trials," I muttered to Vanez as the stone was taken to the Princes.
"Seventeen for you," he agreed, "but there are more than sixty in total. A lot have been omitted because they're not currently possible to host like the pit of snakes and others have been left out because of your size and age."
"Is it a difficult Trial?" I asked.
"It's easier than the Aquatic Maze," he said. "And your size will help. It's as good as any we could have hoped for."
The Princes examined the stone, announced their approval, then set it aside and wished me well. They'd treated me rather curtly, but I understood their distraction and didn't feel slighted. As Vanez and I left, I heard the arguments about the vampaneze kick into life again, and the thick air of tension in the Hall was almost as suffocating as the water in the Aquatic Maze had been.
CHAPTER SIX
THE PATHof Needles was a long, narrow cavern filled with sharp-tipped stalactites and stalagmites. Vanez took me to see it before we set off to practice in another cave.
"All I have to do is walk across?" I asked.
"That's all."
"It isn't much of a Trial, is it?" I said confidently.
"We'll see if you think the same way tomorrow," he grunted. "The stalagmites are slippery one wrong move and you can impale yourself in the flicker of an eye. And many of the stalactites are precariously perched, hanging by a thread. Any sudden noise will result in some falling. If one hits you on the way down, it can cut clean through you."