The Lake of Souls (21 page)

“On the subject of names,” I said, “are you sticking with Harkat Mulds or reverting to your original name?”

“Harkat Mulds or Kurda Smahlt,” Harkat muttered, and said the names a few more times. “No,” he decided. “Kurda’s the person I used … to be. Harkat’s the person I’ve become. We are the same in some ways … but different in many others. I want to be known … as Harkat.”

“Good,” I said. “It would have been very confusing otherwise.”

Harkat cleared his throat and looked at me oddly. “Now that you know the truth … about me, does it change anything? As Kurda, I betrayed you and … all the vampires. I killed Gavner Purl. I will understand if you don’t … think as highly of me as you … did before.”

“Don’t be stupid.” I grinned. “I don’t care who you used to be — it’s who you
are
that matters. You’ve long made up for any mistakes in your previous life.” I frowned. “But does this change how
you
feel about
me?”

“What do you mean?” Harkat asked.

“The reason you stuck by me before was that you needed my help to find out who you were. Now that you know, maybe you’d like to head off and explore the world by yourself. The War of the Scars isn’t your battle any longer. If you’d rather go your own way …” I trailed off into silence.

“You’re right,” Harkat said after a couple of thoughtful moments. “I’ll leave first thing in … the morning.” He stared seriously at my glum features, then burst out laughing. “You idiot! Of course I won’t go! This is my war as much as … it’s yours. Even if I hadn’t been a … vampire, I wouldn’t leave. We’ve been through too much … together to split up now. Maybe when the war is over … I’ll seek a path of my own. For the time being I still feel … bound to you. I don’t think we’re meant… to part company yet.”

“Thanks,” I said simply. It was all that needed to be said.

Harkat gathered up the panther’s teeth and put them away. Then he studied the postcards, turned one over and gazed at it moodily. “I don’t know if I should … mention this,” he sighed. “But if I don’t, it will … gnaw away at me.”

“Go on,” I encouraged him. “Those cards have been bothering you since you found them in the kitchen. What’s the big mystery?”

“It has to do with … where we were,” Harkat said slowly. “We spent a lot of time wondering where … we’d been taken — the past, another world … or a different dimension.”

“So?” I prodded him when he stalled.

“I think I know the answer,” he sighed. “It ties it all together, why … the spiders were there … and the Guardians of the Blood, if that’s … who the Kulashkas really were. And the kitchen. I don’t think Mr. Tiny put the kitchen … there — I think it was in place … all along. It was a nuclear fallout shelter, built to … survive when all else fell. I think it was put to the test … and it passed. I hope I’m wrong, but I’m … afraid I’m not.”

He passed a postcard to me. On the front was a picture of Big Ben. There was writing on the back, a typical tourist’s account of their holiday — “Having a great time, weather good, food fab.” The name at the bottom and the name and address on the right-hand side of the postcard meant nothing to me.

“What’s the big deal?” I asked.

“Look at the postmark,” Harkat whispered.

What I saw confused me. “That date can’t be right,” I muttered. “That’s not for another twelve years.”

“They’re all like that,” Harkat said, passing the rest of the postcards to me. “Twelve years ahead … fifteen … twenty … more.”

“I don’t get it,” I frowned. “What does it mean?”

“I don’t think we were in the past or … on a different world,” Harkat said, taking the postcards back and tucking them away. He stared at me ominously with his large green eyes, hesitated a moment, then quickly mumbled the words that turned my in-sides cold. “I think that barren, monster-filled wasteland … was the
future!”

TO BE CONTINUED …

W
HO
W
ILL BE THE

LORD OF THE SHADOWS

B
OOK
11
OF THE
CIRQUE DU FREAK
SERIES

A
S
I
WAS STACKING
several chairs away, to be removed to a truck by other hands, Mr. Tall stepped forward. “A moment, please, Darren,” he said, removing the tall red hat he wore whenever he went on stage. He took a map out of the hat — the map was much larger than the hat, but I didn’t question how he’d fitted it inside — and unrolled it. He held one end of the map in his large left hand and nodded for me to take the other end.

“This is where we are now,” Mr. Tall said, pointing to a spot on the map with his right index finger. I studied it curiously, wondering why he was showing me. “And this is where we will be going next,” he said, pointing to a town one hundred or more miles away.

I looked at the name of the town. My breath caught in my throat. For a moment I felt dizzy and a cloud seemed to pass in front of my eyes. Then my expression cleared. “I see,” I said softly.

“You don’t have to come with us,” Mr. Tall said. “You can take a different route and meet up with us later, if you wish.”

I started to think about it, then made a snap gut decision instead. “That’s OK,” I said. “I’ll come. I want to. It… it’ll be interesting.”

“Very well,” Mr. Tall said briskly, taking back the map and rolling it up again. “We depart in the morning.”

With that, Mr. Tall slipped away. I felt he didn’t approve of my decision, but I couldn’t say why, and I didn’t devote much thought to it. Instead I stood by the stacked-up chairs, lost in the past, thinking about all the people I’d known as a child, especially my parents and younger sister.

Harkat limped over eventually and waved a grey hand in front of my face, snapping me out of my daze. “What’s wrong?” he asked, sensing my disquiet.

“Nothing,” I said, with a confused shrug. “At least, I don’t think so. It might even be a good thing. I…” Sighing, I stared at the ten little scars on my fingertips and muttered without looking up, “I’m going home.”

I
F YOU’RE BLOODTHIRSTY FOR MORE, CONTINUE ON
D
ARREN’S SPINE-TINGLING
J
OURNEY
WITH LORD OF THE SHADOWS.

BOOK 11 OF THE CHILLING
CIRQUE DU FREAK
SERIES
.

Book 1

C
IRQUE
D
U
F
REAK

THE SAGA OF DARREN SHAN

Darren Shan is just an ordinary schoolboy—until he gets an invitation to visit the Cirque Du Freak. Soon, Darren and his friend Steve are caught in a deadly trap. Darren must make a bargain with the one person who can save Steve. But that person is not human and deals only in blood….

Book 2

C
IRQUE
D
U
F
REAK

THE SAGA OF DARREN SHAN

The Vampire’s Assistant

As a vampire’s assistant, Darren struggles to resist the one temptation that sickens him — the one thing that can keep him alive. But destiny is calling — the Wolf Man is waiting.

Book 3

C
IRQUE
D
U
F
REAK

THE SAGA OF DARREN SHAN

Tunnels of Blood

When corpses are discovered—drained of blood — Darren and Evra are compelled to hunt down whatever foul creature is committing such acts. Beneath the streets, evil stalks. Can they escape, or are they doomed to perish in the tunnels of blood?

Book 4

C
IRQUE
D
U
F
REAK

THE SAGA OF DARREN SHAN

Vampire Mountain

Darren Shan and Mr. Crepsley embark on a dangerous trek to the very heart of the vampire world. Will a meeting with the Vampire Princes restore Darren’s human side, or push him further toward the darkness? Only one thing is certain—Darren’s initiation into the vampire clan is more deadly than he ever could have imagined.

Book 5

C
IRQUE
D
U
F
REAK

THE SAGA OF DARREN SHAN

Trials of Death

Darren Shan must pass five fearsome Trials to prove himself to the vampire clan—or face the stakes in the Hall of Death. But Vampire Mountain holds hidden threats. In this nightmarish world of bloodshed and betrayal, death may be a blessing.

Book 6

C
IRQUE
D
U
F
REAK

THE SAGA OF DARREN SHAN

The Vampire Prince

Can Darren, the vampire’s assistant, reverse the odds and outwit a Vampire Prince, or is this the end of thousands of years of vampire rule?