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"Onlyon to these rags - they can go straight in the bin!"

Harkat sh his robes "I still have the postcards I took - froround kitchen, as well as - the panther’s teeth" He spilt the teeth on to the grass and turned the theot to the end of "Harkat", he stopped, quickly scanned all the teeth, and groaned

"What’s wrong?" I asked sharply

"Re at the - start that we’d find a clue to who I was - e killed the panther?" Harkat quickly rearranged the letters on the teeth to form another naroaned like Harkat had "The ansas in front of us all along - your naram! If we’d spent more time on the letters after we’d killed the panther, we could have solved the puzzle and skipped the rest of the ordeal’"

"I doubt it would have been - that sihed "But at least I nohere - my name came from I used to wonder - how I’d picked it"

"On the subject of na 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 ? As Kurda, I betrayed you and - all the vampires I killed Gavner Purl I will understand if you don’t - think as highly of rinned "I don’t care who you used to be - it’s who youare thatmade up for any mistakes in your previous life" I frowned "But does this change howyou feel aboutme !"

"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 oay ?" I trailed off into silence

"You’re right," Harkat said after a couple of thoughtful " He stared seriously at"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 - vah too ether to split up now Maybe when the war is over - I’ll seek a path ofI still feel - bound to you I don’t think we’re meant - to part company yet"

"Thanks," I said siathered up the panther’s teeth and put theazed at it hed "But if I don’t, it will - gnaay at ed hi you since you found the mystery?"

"It has to do with - where ere," Harkat said slowly "We spent a lot of ti where - we’d been taken - the past, another world - or a different dimension"

"So?" I prodded hihed "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’, but I’m - afraid I’m not"

He passed a postcard toon the back, a typical tourist’s account of their holiday - "Having a great tiood, food fab" The naht-hand side of the postcarddeal?" I asked

"Look at the postmark," Harkat whispered

What I saw confused ht," 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 - et it," I frowned "What does it mean?"

"I don’t think ere in the past or - on a different world," Harkat said, taking the postcards back and tucking thereen eyes, hesitated a moment, then quickly mumbled the words which turned my insides cold "I think that barren, monster-filled wasteland - wasthe future!"