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Wethe way like Oliver Twist at the head of a funeral procession Following the massacre at the stadium after the football match, a series of road blocks had been set in place around the town But there weren’tto take only a couple of short detours I was at the back of the line, a fewto coh in the theatre, but now that ere getting closer, I was having second thoughts

While I was running through s I could and should say, Evanna slipped back to walk along beside ht to Paradise," she said

"I never thought otherwise," I replied stiffly, glaring at her hatefully

"Why such a dark look?" she asked, genuine surprise in her ," I growled "You could have warned us and saved Shancus"

"No," she snapped, irritated "Why do you people level the same accusations at me over and over? You know I have the power to see into the future, but not the power to directly influence it I cannot act to change that which is to be Nor could my brother"

"Why not?" I snarled "You always say that terrible things will happen if you do, but what are they? What could be worse than letting an innocent child die at the hands of a monster?"

Evanna was quiet a moment, then spoke softly, so that only I could hear "There are worse monsters than Steve Leonard, and worse even than the Lord of the Shadows - be he Steve or you These other e of the world, never seen by er to break through

"I am bound by laws older than e extent, is e of the present, and tried to change the course of a future I knew about, I’d break the laws of the universe The monsters I speak of would then be free to cross into this world, and it would becoery"

"It seems that way already," I said sourly

"For you, perhaps," she agreed "But for billions of others it is not Would you have everyone suffer as you have - and worse?"

"Of course not," Ito suffer anyway, that the Lord of the Shadoill destroyit to its knees," she said "But he will not crushit entirely Hope will reain If I interfered and unleashed the real "

I didn’t knohat to think about these other monsters of Evanna’s - it was the first tiht the conversation back to centre on thewhen you say I can becoeit "I’m not a monster"

"You would have killed Darius if Steve hadn’t said he was your nephew," Evanna reminded me

I recalled the hateful fury which had flared to life inside me when I saw Shancus die In that ht or wrong I only wanted to hurt limpse of my future then, the beast I could become, but I didn’t want to believe it was real

"That would have been in revenge for Shancus," I said bitterly, trying to hide from the truth "It wouldn’t have been the act of an out-of-control beast I wouldn’t beco"

"No?" Evanna challenged ht differently Do you remember when you killed your first vampaneze, in the caves of Va rong You believed there ays to resolve differences other than through violence"

"I still do," I said, but my words sounded hollow, even to me

"You would not have tried to take the life of a child if you did," Evanna said, stroking the hairs of her beard "You have changed, Darren You’re not evil like Steve, but you carry the seeds of evil within you Your intentions are good, but time and circumstance will see you become that which you despise This world arp you and, despite your noble wishes, the row Friends will become enemies Truths will become lies Beliefs will becoe is always lined with danger By following the ways of those you hate, you risk turning into them This is your destiny, Darren Shan You cannot avoid it Unless Steve kills you and he becomes the Lord of the Shadows instead"

"What about Vancha?" I hissed "Whatif he kills Steve? Can’the become your bloody Lord of the Shadows?"

"No," she said calmly "Vancha has the power to kill Steve and decide the fate of the War of the Scars Butbeyond that, it’s either you or Steve There is no other Death or monstrosity Those are your options"

Shehts Was there truly no hope for me or the world? And if not, if I was trapped between death at the hands of Steve or replacing him as the Lord of the Shadohich was preferable? Was it better to live and terrorize the world - or die nohile I was still halfway human?

I couldn’t decide on an answer There didn’t seehts return to the rown-up sister who’d buried me as a child

Twenty minutes later, Darius opened the back door and held it ajar I paused, staring at the house, filled with a sense of foreboding Vancha and Alice were behind me, and Evanna further behind thely "Do I really have to do this?" I croaked

"Yes," Vancha said "It would be wrong to risk his life without inforhed "You’ll wait out here till I call?"

"Aye"

I gulped, then stepped over the threshold into the house where I’d lived as a boy After eighteen long years of wandering, I’d finally coh I could have founded within the house - neallpaper and carpets, furniture and light fittings - but it felt the same, warm and comfy, layered with host house - except the house was real and I was the ghost

Darius pushed the living-room door open And there was Annie, her brown hair tied up in a bun, sitting in a chair in front of the TV, sipping hot chocolate, watching the news "Decided to coht of him out of the corner of her eye She laid the cup of hot chocolate down "I orried Have you seen the news? There’s-"

She sawthe room after Darius "Is this one of your friends?" she asked I could see her thinking I looked too old to be his friend She was instantly suspicious ofinto the light

"Have weme

"In a way," I chuckled drily

"Mum, it’s-" Darius started to say