Lady of the Shades (36 page)

‘Ed?’ Greygo says behind me.

‘So long, Andeanna.’

‘You’re leaving?’

I stop but don’t look back. ‘You want me to stay?’

‘Of course!’ He gets to his feet and shuffles towards me.

‘No,’ I murmur.

He draws to a halt. ‘Ed?’ he says again, fearful this time.

‘You’ve destroyed me,’ I whisper.

‘But you said you love me.’

‘I do.’

‘Then you’ve got to stay. We can make this work. We can save each other. It won’t be easy, but if nothing good comes of this, we’re finished, the two of us.’

‘We’re finished already,’ I sigh.

‘No!’ he protests. ‘Is it because I’m a man? I can change that. Everything’s possible. If you’re patient, I can alter my sex, become Andeanna for
real.’

‘No.’ I smile bitterly. ‘Like I said, that isn’t a problem for me. I thought it would be, but it’s not. Guess I’m more metrosexual than I assumed. Don’t
become someone else again. Be yourself. It’s time.’

‘But if you leave . . . ’

‘Goodbye, Greygo.’

‘Ed!’ he howls.

‘You’ve destroyed me,’ I whisper again, only this time to myself, and I make for the door.

‘Ed! No! We can . . . ’ he starts, but he’s too late. It’s over. I’m gone.

EPILOGUE

London is a cold, cruel city in the winter. Dark streets. Dark people. Dark ghosts.

The ghosts are everywhere. I see not just my own gaggle now – who mock me jubilantly at every turn, rejoicing in my downfall – but just about everyone who died here and remained
bound to the buildings and streets. Old, young, innocent, guilty, from the distant past and the recent present. They reveal themselves wherever I go. Their resigned eyes follow me sadly, patiently,
knowingly, as I stumble by, unwashed, unshaved, clothes torn and filthy, sobbing, moaning, gibbering.

Are they real or am I imagining them? I don’t know. That doesn’t seem to matter any more. Answers are for wise men, not fools like me.

I have no idea how long it’s been since my showdown with Greygo. A week? A month? I’ve been sleeping rough, in old warehouses or under bridges. Not that I’ve been catching much
sleep. The ghosts I have to face during my waking hours are a thousand times preferable to those that drift through my dreams — Andeanna, Joe, Greygo and Etienne. The fourth not as frequently
as the first three, but the mystic has her moments, when her features dissolve in bubbling pools of flesh and blood to reveal a jeering skeleton, which in turn crumbles away to display the sad,
haunted face of Gregory Menderes.

I think of Belinda sometimes too, and wonder if she misses Dash or ever thinks about me. I no longer hate her. There are worse than Belinda Darnier in the world.

I could go back. Track down Greygo and stop the suffering, kill or forgive him, crush or embrace him. But I won’t. I’ve been consumed by madness. I no longer have the strength to
take control of my life. All along I’ve been a figure in a tragic play. Now I must accept my fated end with dignity and resignation. There can be no other way.

The one comfort in this cold city of callous spectres is that my death is certain. My days and nights are numbered. Bond Gardiner will find me and keep his promise. He’s a man of his word.
Even if he doesn’t want to kill me, he will. He’s bound to his destiny as surely as I am to mine. It’s only a matter of time.

So through this city of ghosts I crawl, broken and alone, trying in vain to hide from thoughts of Andeanna. Cut loose from God and man, I seek refuge and comfort among the shades of the dead,
and wait for them to claim me.

THE END

written between 5th april 1999 and 29th may 2012

Also by Darren Shan

THE SAGA OF DARREN SHAN

Cirque Du Freak

The Vampire’s Assistant

Tunnels of Blood

Vampire Mountain

Trials of Death

The Vampire Prince

Hunters of the Dusk

Allies of the Night

Killers of the Dawn

The Lake of Souls

Lord of the Shadows

Sons of Destiny

Ocean of Blood

Palace of the Damned

Brothers to the Death

Lord Loss

Demon Thief

Slawter

Bec

Blood Beast

Demon Apocalypse

Death’s Shadow

Wolf Island

Dark Calling

Hell’s Heroes

Procession of the Dead

Hell’s Horizon

City of the Snakes

The Thin Executioner

AN ORION EBOOK

First published in Great Britain in 2012 by Orion Books.

This ebook first published in 2012 by Orion Books.

Copyright © Home of the Damned Limited 2012

The right of Darren Shan to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All characters and events in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior permission in
writing of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published without a similar condition, including this condition, being imposed
on the subsequent purchaser.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN: 978 1 4091 4362 8

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