"I have no problem accepting that." I grunted.
"Why would he do it?" Evra asked. "It's not his style. I've known him longer than you have, and I've never seen or heard of him doing anything like this. He's not a killer."
"He probably killed when he was a Vampire General," I said. I had told Evra about my conversation with Gavner Purl.
"Yes," Evra agreed. "He killed evil vampires, who deserved to be killed. What I'm saying is, if he did kill these six people, maybethey had to be killed, too. Maybe they were vampires."
I shook my head. "He gave up being a Vampire General years ago."
"Gavner Purl could have persuaded him to join again," Evra said. "We don't know anything about the Vampire Generals or how they work. Maybe that's why Mr. Crepsley came here."
It sounded halfway reasonable, but I didn't believe it.
"Six evil vampires on the loose in one city?" I asked. "What are the odds against that?"
"Who knows?" Evra said. "Doyou know how an evil vampire behaves?I don't, maybe they form gangs."
"And Mr. Crepsley wiped them out by himself?" I said. "Vampires are tough to kill. He'd have no problem killing six humans, but six vampires? No way."
"Who says he was alone?" Evra asked. "Maybe Gavner Purl was with him. Maybe there's a bunch of Vampire Generals in town."
"Your argument's getting weaker by the second," I commented.
"Possibly," Evra said, "but that doesn't mean I'm wrong.We don't know , Darren. You can't kill Mr. Crepsley on a hunch. We have to wait. Think about it and you'll see I'm right."
I calmed down and thought it over. "Okay," I sighed. "He's innocent until proven guilty. But what should we do? Sit back and pretend nothing's happened? Report him to the police? Ask him straight to his face?"
"If we were at the Cirque Du Freak," Evra mused, "we could tell Mr. Tall and leave it in his hands."
"But we're not at the Cirque," I reminded him.
"No," he said. "We're on our own." His narrow eyes narrowed even further as he mulled it over. "How about this? We track him every night when he leaves, see where he goes and what he gets up to. If we find out he's the killer, and that these are ordinary humans, then we kill him."
"You'd do that?" I asked.
Evra nodded. "I've never killed before," he said quietly, "and I hate the thought of it. But if Mr. Crepsley is murdering without good cause, I'll help you kill him. I'd rather leave it to someone else, but since there isn't anybody"
His face was serious, and I knew I could rely on him.
"But we have to besure ," Evra warned me. "If there's even a glimmer of doubt, we can't do it."
"Agreed," I said.
"And it has to be a joint decision," Evra added.
"You have to promise you won't kill him without my approval."
"Okay."
"I'm serious," he told me. "If I think Mr. Crepsley is innocent, and you go after him, I'll do everything I can to stop you. Even if it means" He left the threat unfinished.
"Don't worry," I said. "This isn't something I'm looking forward to. I've grown used to Mr. Crepsley. The last thing I want to do is kill him."
I was telling the truth. I'd love it if my suspicions turned out to be wrong. But I had an awful feeling they wouldn't.
"I hope we're mistaken about this," Evra said. "Saying we'll kill him is easy, but doing it would be a lot harder. He's not the kind to just lie there and do nothing while being attacked."
"We'll worry about that later," I said. "For the moment, let's turn the sound back up. If we're lucky, the police will solve the case and it'll be nothing more than a crazy human who's seen one too many Dracula movies."
I sat down beside Evra, and we spent the rest of night watching the news, rarely speaking, waiting for the vampirethekiller ?to return.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Shadowing Mr. Crepsley wasn't easy. The first night we lost him after a couple of minutes: he shot up a fire escape and by the time we got to the top he was nowhere to be seen. We wandered around the city for a few hours, hoping to stumble upon him, but saw neither hide nor hair of him for the rest of the night.
We learned from that experience. While Mr. Crepsley slept the next day, I went and bought a couple of cell phones. Evra and me tested them out before dusk, and they worked pretty well.
That night, when Mr. Crepsley headed for the rooftops, Evra stuck to the ground. He couldn't move as fast as me. By myself, I was able to keep track of the vampire and pass the information to Evra, who followed on the ground.
Even alone, it was difficult to keep up. Mr. Crepsley could move a lot quicker than me. Fortunately, he had no idea I was after him, so he didn't go as fast as he could, since he didn't think he had any need to.
I kept him in sight for three hours that night before losing him when he slipped down to street level and took a couple of turns that I missed. The next night I stuck with him until dawn. It varied after that: some nights I'd lose him within an hour; others I'd be on his tail until morning.
He didn't do much while I was following him. Sometimes he'd stop in one place for a long time above crowds of people and observe them silently (picking out his next victim?). Other times he roamed without stopping. His routes were unpredictable: he might go the same way two or three nights in a row, or try entirely new directions every night. It was impossible to anticipate his moves.
Evra was exhausted at the end of each nightI kept forgetting he wasn't as powerful as mebut he never complained. I said he could stay in for a few nights if he wanted, but he shook his head and insisted on coming with me.
Maybe he thought I'd kill Mr. Crepsley if he wasn't around.
Maybe he wasright .
No fresh bodies had been discovered since news of the six in the building broke. It had been confirmed that all the bodies had been drained of their blood, and that they were ordinary humans: two men and four women. All were youngthe oldest was twenty-sevenand from different parts of the city.
Evra's disappointment was evident when he heard the victims were normal peopleit would have made life much easier if they'd been vampires.
"Would doctors be able to tell the difference between a human and a vampire?" he asked.
"Of course," I replied.
"How?"
"Different kind of blood," I said.
"But they were drained of blood," he reminded me.
"Their cells wouldn't be the same. Atoms act strangely in vampiresthat's why they can't be photographed. And they'd have extra-tough nails and teeth. The doctors would know, Evra."
I was trying to keep an open mind. Mr. Crepsley hadn't killed anyone while we'd been following him, which was a good sign. On the other hand, maybe he was waiting for the fuss to die down before striking againat the moment, if somebody was late home from school or work, alarm bells rang immediately.
Or perhaps hehad killed. Maybe he knew we were following him and was only killing when he was cer-tain he'd lost us. That was unlikely, but I didn't rule it out completely. Mr. Crepsley could be crafty when he wanted. I wouldn't have put anything past him.
Although I was sleeping through most of the daysin order to stay awake at nightI made a point of waking a couple of hours before sunset to spend some time with Debbie. Usually I went over to her house and we sat upstairs in her bedroom and played music and talkedI was always trying to conserve energy for the night chase aheadbut sometimes we'd go for a walk or hit the stores.
I was determined not to let Mr. Crepsley ruin my friendship with Debbie. I loved being with her. She was my first girlfriend. I knew we'd have to break up sooner rather than laterI hadn't forgotten what I wasbut I wouldn't do anything to shorten our time together. I'd given up my nights to pursue Mr. Crepsley. I wasn't going to give up my days, too.
"How come you don't come around after dark anymore?" she asked one Saturday as we came out of a matinee. I'd woken up earlier than usual so that I could spend the day with her.
"I'm afraid of the dark," I whimpered.
"Seriously," she said, pinching my arm.
"My dad doesn't like me going out at night," I lied. "He feels a little guilty, not being around during the day. He likes Evra and me to sit with him at night and tell him what we've been up to."
"I'm sure he wouldn't mind if you went out now and then," Debbie protested. "He let you out the night of our first date, didn't he?"
I shook my head. "I snuck out," I said. "He went crazy when he found out. Wouldn't speak to me for a week. That's why I haven't introduced you to himhe's still fuming."
"He sounds like a mean old man," Debbie said.
"He is." I sighed. "But what can I do? He's my dad. I have to stick by him."
I felt bad lying to her, but I could hardly tell her the truth. I smiled to myself when I imagined breaking the news: "That guy I say is my father? He's not. He's a vampire. Oh, and I think he's the one who killed those six people."
"What are you smiling at?" Debbie asked.
"Nothing," I said quickly, wiping the smile from my face.
It was a strange double lifenormal boy by day, deadly vampire-tracker by nightbut I was enjoying it. If it had been a year or so earlier, I would have been confused; I would have tossed and turned in my sleep, worrying about what the next night would bring; my eating habits might have been affected and I would have become depressed; I probably would have chosen to focus on one thing at a time, and stopped meeting Debbie.
Not now. My experiences with Mr. Crepsley and the Cirque Du Freak had changed me. I was able to handle two different roles. In fact, I liked the variation: tracking the vampire at night made me feel big and importantDarren Shan, protector of the sleeping city!and seeing Debbie in the afternoons let me feel like a normal human boy. I had the best of both worlds.
That stopped when Mr. Crepsley zoomed in on the next victimthe fat man.
CHAPTER TWELVE
I didn't realize at first that Mr. Crepsley was following someone. He was hovering above a busy shopping street, where he'd been for almost an hour, studying the shoppers. Then, without warning, he climbed to the top of the building he'd been clinging to and started across the roof.
I called Evra. He never called me, for fear the vampire would hear my phone. "He's on the move again," I said quietly.
"About time," Evra grumbled. "I hate it when he stops. You don't know how cold it gets, standing still down here."
"Go get something to eat," I told him. "He's moving pretty slowly. I think you can take five or ten minutes off."
"Are you sure?" Evra asked.
"Yeah," I said. "I'll call you if anything happens."
"Okay," Evra said. "I'd love a hot dog and a cup of hot chocolate. You want me to pick something up for you?"
"No thanks," I said. "I'll keep in touch. See you soon." I hit the off switch and started after the vampire.
I didn't like eating stuff like hot dogs, burgers, or French fries while tracking Mr. Crepsley: his nose could easily detect such strong scents. I ate dry slices of breadwhich produced almost no smellto keep my hunger down. I had ordinary tap water in a bottle to drink.
After a couple of minutes I got curious. The other nights, he'd either stayed in one spot or wandered around without direction. He was moving with purpose this time.
I decided to get closer. It was dangerous, especially since he wasn't rushinghe was more likely to spot mebut I had to see what he was up to.
Closing the gap by a thirdas near to him as I dared getI saw that he was sticking his head out over the edge of the roof, keeping a watch on the street below.
Looking down at the well-lit street, I couldn't spot who he was after. It was only when he paused above a lamp that I noticed the fat man at the base, adjusting his shoelaces.
That was it! Mr. Crepsley was after the fat man! I knew by the way the vampire stared, waiting for him to tie his shoelaces and move on. When the fat man finally stood up and started walking again, sure enough, Mr. Crepsley followed.
Taking a few steps back, I called Evra.
"What's up?" he asked. I could hear him munching on his hot dog. There were voices in the background.
"Action," I said simply.
"Oh, hell!" Evra gasped. I heard him dropping the hot dog and shuffling away from the people behind him, to a quieter spot. "Are you sure?" he asked.
"Positive," I said. "The prey has been sighted."
"Okay," Evra sighed. He sounded nervous. I didn't blame himI was nervous, too. "Okay," he said again. "Give me your position."
I read out the name of the street. "But don't rush," I told him. "They're moving slowly. Stay a couple of streets back. I don't want Mr. Crepsley spotting you."
" Idon't want him spotting me either!" Evra snorted. "Keep me up to date."
"Will do," I promised. Clicking off the phone, I started after the pursuing vampire.
He trailed the fat man to a large building, which the human disappeared into. Mr. Crepsley waited half an hour, then slowly circled the building, checking on windows and doors. I trudged along behind, keeping my distance, ready to race after him if he entered.
He didn't. Instead, when he was through examining the place, he went to a nearby rooftop, from where he had a perfect view of all the entrances, and sat down to wait.
I told Evra what was happening.
"He's just sitting there?" Evra asked.
"Sitting and watching," I confirmed.
"What sort of place is it?"
I'd read the name on the walls while I was passing them, and seen in a couple of the windows, but I could have told Evra what went on in the building just by the foul smell of animal blood in the air.
"It's a slaughterhouse," I whispered.
There was a long pause. Then: "Maybe he's just here for the animal blood," Evra suggested.
"No. He would have entered by now if that was the case. He didn't come for the animals. He came for the human."
"We don'tknow that," Evra said. "Maybe he's waiting for it to close before going in."
"He'd have a long wait," I laughed. "It stays open all night."
"I'm coming up," Evra said. "Don't move until I get there."
"I'll move when Mr. Crepsley moves, whether you're here or not," I said, but Evra had hung up and didn't hear me.
He arrived a few minutes later, his breath stinking of mustard and onions. "Dry bread for you from now on," I muttered.
"Do you think Mr. Crepsley will smell me?" Evra asked. "Maybe I should go back down and "
I shook my head. "He's too close to the slaughterhouse," I said. "The smell of blood will block everything else out."
"Where is he?" Evra asked. I pointed the vampire out. Evra had to squint but eventually spotted him.
"We have to be extra quiet," I said. "Even a small noise could have him swooping down on us."
Evra shiveredwhether because of the cold or the thought of being attacked, I don't knowand settled down. We said hardly anything to each other after that.
We had to breathe into our cupped fists to stop our breath from showing. We would have been all right if it had been snowingthe snow would have hidden the smokelike tendrilsbut it was a clear and frosty night.
We sat there until three in the morning. Evra's teeth were chattering, and I was at the point of sending him home before he froze to death, when the fat man emerged. Mr. Crepsley started after him immediately.
Too late, I realized the vampire was going to pass by us on his way back. There was no time to hide. He'd see us!
"Keep perfectly still," I whispered to Evra. "Don't even breathe."
The vampire came toward us, walking steadily across the icy roofs in his bare feet. I was certain he'd spot us, but his eyes were trained on the human. He passed within ten feet of ushis shadow crept over me like some awful ghostand then he was gone.
"I think my heart stopped," Evra said shakily.
I heard the familiar thump-thump sounds of the snake-boy's heart (it beat slightly slower than a normal human's) and smiled. "You're okay," I told him.
"I thought we were done for," Evra hissed.
"Me, too." I stood and checked which way the vampire was going. "You'd better slip back down to the street," I told Evra.
"He's not going fast," Evra said. "I can keep up."
I shook my head. "There's no telling when he'll speed up: the man might get in a cab or have a car waiting for him. Besides, after our narrow escape, it's better we split: that way, if one of us gets caught, the other can sneak back to the hotel and pretend he wasn't involved."
Evra saw the sense in that and went down the nearest fire escape. I began following the tracks of the vampire and the fat man.
He walked back the way he'd come, past the deserted street where we first picked him up, on to a block of apartments.
He lived in one of the central apartments on the sixth floor. Mr. Crepsley waited for the lights to go off inside, then went up in the elevator. I ran up the stairs and watched from the far end of the landing.
I expected him to open the door and enterlocks were no problem for the vampirebut all he did was check the door and windows. Then he turned around and went back to the elevator.
I hurried down the stairs and got the vampire back in view as he walked away from the apartments. I told Evra what had happened and where the vampire was heading. A few minutes later he caught up with me and we followed Mr. Crepsley as he jogged through the streets.
"Why didn't he go in?" Evra asked.
"I don't know," I said. "Maybe there was somebody else there. Or maybe he plans to come back later.
One thing's for sure: he didn't go up there to send a letter!"
After a while, we turned a corner into an alley and spotted Mr. Crepsley bent over a motionless woman. Evra gasped and started forward. I caught his arm and yanked him back.
"What are you doing?" he hissed. "Didn't you see? He's attacking! We have to stop him before "
"It's okay," I said. "He isn't attacking. He's feeding."
Evra's struggles stopped. "You're sure?" he asked suspiciously.
I nodded. "He's drinking from the woman's arm. The corpses in the building had their throats cut, remember?"
Evra nodded uncertainly. "If you're wrong"
"I'm not," I assured him.
Minutes later, the vampire moved on, leaving the woman behind. We hurried down the alley to check. As I'd guessed, she was unconscious but alive, a small, fresh scar on her left arm the only sign that she had been feasted upon.
"Let's go," I said, standing. "She'll wake up in a few minutes. We'd better not be here when she does."
"What about Mr. Crepsley?" Evra asked.
I looked up at the sky, estimating how long was left until dawn. "He won't kill anyone tonight," I said. "It's too late. He's probably heading back for the hotel. Come onif we don't get back before him, we'll have a hell of a time trying to explain where we were."
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Before dusk descended the next night, Evra went around to the block of apartments to keep watch on the fat man. I stayed home, in order to follow Mr. Crepsley. If the vampire headed for the apartments, I'd join Evra. If he went anywhere else, we'd discuss the situation and decide whether Evra should desert his post or stay.
The vampire rose promptly as the sun went down. He was looking more cheerful tonight, though he still wouldn't have appeared out of place in a funeral parlor.
"Where is Evra?" he asked, diving into the meal I had prepared.
"Shopping," I said.
"By himself?" Mr. Crepsley paused. For a moment
I thought he was suspicious, but he was just looking for the salt.
"I think he's buying Christmas presents," I said.
"I thought Evra was above such absurdities. What is the date, anyway?"
"The twentieth of December," I answered.
"And Christmas is the twenty-fifth?"
"Yes," I said.
Mr. Crepsley rubbed his scar thoughtfully. "My business here may have come to an end by then," he said.
"Oh?" I tried not to sound curious or excited.
"I had planned to move on as soon as possible, but if you wish to remain here for Christmas, we can. I understand the staff are hosting some kind of celebration?"
"Yes," I said.
"You would like to attend?"
"Yes." I forced a smile. "Evra and me are buying presents for each other. We're going to eat dinner with the rest of the guests and eat cookies and stuff ourselves with turkey. You can come, too, if you want." I tried to make it sound like I wanted him there.
He smiled and shook his head. "Such follies do not appeal to me," he said.
"Suit yourself," I replied.
As soon as he left, I started after him. He led me straight to the slaughterhouse, which surprised me. Maybe it wasn't the fat man he was interested in: perhaps there was somethingor somebodyelse there that he had his eye on.
I discussed it with Evra over the phone.
"It's weird," he agreed. "Maybe he wants to catch him when he's entering or leaving work."
"Maybe," I said uncertainly. Something seemed odd about it. The vampire wasn't behaving as I had expected him to.
Evra stayed where he was, to follow the fat man. I chose a safe spot to hide, next to a warm pipe that kept some of the cold out. My view of the slaughterhouse wasn't as good as it had been last night, but I had a clear sight of Mr. Crepsley, which was what mattered.
The fat man arrived at the scheduled time, Evra soon after him. I moved to the edge of the roof when I saw them, ready to leap down and intervene if Mr. Crepsley made his move. But the vampire remained stationary.
And that was it for the night. Mr. Crepsley sat on his ledge; Evra and me crouched on ours; the workers kept the slaughterhouse up and running. At three in the morning, the fat man reappeared and went home.
Once again Mr. Crepsley followed, and once again we followed Mr. Crepsley. This time the vampire didn't go up to the landing, but that was the only change in the routine.
The next night, the exact same thing happened.
"What's he up to?" Evra asked. The cold was getting to him and he was complaining about cramps in his legs. I had told him he could leave, but he was determined to stick it out.
"I don't know," I said. "Maybe he's waiting for a special time to act. Maybe the moon has to be in a certain position or something."
"I thought werewolves were the only monsters affected by the moon," Evra said, half-jokingly.
"I thought so, too," I said. "But I'm not sure. There's so much Mr. Crepsley hasn't told me about being a full vampire. You could fill a book with all the stuff I know nothing about."
"What are we going to do if he attacks?" Evra asked. "Do you think we stand a chance against him in a fight?"
"Not a fair fight," I said. "But in a dirty one" I pulled out a long, rusty butcher's knife, let Evra's eyes focus on it, then slipped it back beneath my shirt.
"Where did you get that?" Evra gasped.
"I came exploring around the slaughterhouse to-day, to familiarize myself with the layout, and found this knife lying in a bin out back. I guess it was too rusty to be of any use."
"That's what you're going to use?" Evra asked quietly.
I nodded. "I'll slit his throat," I whispered. "I'll wait for him to make his move, then" I clenched my jaw shut.
"You think you can do it? He's really fast. If you miss your first chance, you probably won't get a second."
"He won't be expecting me," I said. "I can do it." I faced Evra. "I know we agreed to do this together, but I want to go after him by myself when the time comes."
"No way!" Evra hissed.
"I have to," I said. "You can't move as quietly or as quickly as me. If you come, you'll be in the way. Besides," I added, "if things go badly and I fail, you'll still be around to take another shot at him. Wait for day and get him while he's sleeping."
"Maybe that's the best solution," Evra said. "Maybe we shouldboth wait. The main reason we're here is to confirm he's the killer. If he is, and we get proof, why don't we wait and "
"No," I said softly. "I won't let him murder that man."
"You know nothing about him," Evra said. "Remember what I said: that the six dead people may have been killed because they were evil? Maybe this guy's rotten."
"I don't care," I said stubbornly. "I only agreed to go along with Mr. Crepsley because he convinced me he wasn't bad, that he didn't kill people. If he is a killer, I'm guilty, too, for believing him and helping him all this time. I could do nothing to stop the first six murdersbut if I can prevent number seven, I will."
"Okay," Evra sighed. "Have it your own way."
"You won't interfere?"
"No," he promised.
"Even if I run into trouble and look like I need help?"
He hesitated before nodding. "All right. Not even then."
"You're a good friend, Evra," I said, clasping his hands.
"Think so?" He smiled bitterly. "Wait until you mess up with Mr. Crepsley and end up trapped, screaming for help, only for me to ignore you. We'll see what kind of a friend you think I am then!"
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
On the night of the twenty-second of December, Mr. Crepsley made his move.
Evra spotted him. I was taking a short break, resting my eyeseven a half-vampire's eyes get sore after hours of concentrationwhen Evra made a sudden alarmed jump and grabbed my ankle.
"He's moving!"
I sprang forward, just in time to see the vampire leaping onto the roof of the slaughterhouse. He wrestled open a window and quickly slipped inside.
"This is it!" I moaned, leaping to my feet and taking off.
"Wait a sec," Evra said. "I'm coming with you."
"No!" I snapped. "We discussed this. You promised "
"I won't come all the way in," Evra said. "But I'm not going to sit over here worrying myself crazy. I'll wait for you inside the slaughterhouse."
There was no time to argue. Nodding quickly, I ran. Evra hurried after me as fast as he could.
I paused at the open window and listened carefully for sounds of the vampire. There were none. Evra pulled up beside me, gasping from the exertion of the run. I climbed in and Evra followed.
We found ourselves in a long room filled with pipes. The floor was covered in dust, in which Mr. Crepsley's footprints were clearly visible. We traced the prints to a door, which opened onto a tiled corridor. The dust that Mr. Crepsley's feet had picked up crossing the room now marked his path across the tiles.
We followed the dusty trail along the corridor and down a flight of stairs. We were in a quiet part of the slaughterhousethe workers were grouped near the other endbut we moved cautiously anyway: it wouldn't be good to be caught at this delicate stage of the game.
As the dust grew fainter by the step, I worried about losing the vampire. I didn't want to have to search blindly around the slaughterhouse for him, so I quickened my pace. Evra did, too.
As we turned a corner, I saw a familiar red cape and promptly stopped. I stepped back out of sight, dragging Evra with me.
I mouthed the words "Say nothing," then cautiously peered around the corner to see what Mr. Crepsley was up to.
The vampire was tucked behind cardboard boxes that were stacked against one of the walls. I saw nobody else, but I could hear footsteps approaching.
The fat man appeared through a door. He was whistling and looking through some papers attached to a clipboard that he was carrying. He stopped at a large automated door and pressed a button in the wall. With a sharp, grinding noise, it opened.
The fat man hung the clipboard on a hook on the wall, then entered. I heard him press a button on the other side. The door stopped, creaked, and came down at the same slow pace with which it had gone up.
Mr. Crepsley darted forward as the door was closing and slid underneath.
"Go back up to the room with the pipes and hide," I told Evra. He began to complain. "Just do it!" I snapped. "He'd spot you here on his way back if you stayed. Go up and wait. I'll track you down if I'm able to stop him. If not" I found his hands and squeezed hard. "It's been nice knowing you, Evra Von."