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"BASE" WAS the fifth floor of an ancient, largely abandoned block of apartments It here Steve had set up camp We’d moved in e teamed up with him We occupied three apartments on the floor While Mr Crepsley, Harkat and I bundled Steve into the rabbed the vampet by his ears and hauled hiht

"Will he torture hi at the door

"Yes," the vaht of that, but the circu what had to be done In war there’s so our aparte It didn’t work - the apartment had no electricity - but we stored our drinks and food there

"Anyone hungry or thirsty?" I asked

"I’ll have asteak - extra bloody - fries and a Coke to go," Steve quipped He’daround at us as though ere one big happy fanored him "Mr Crepsley? Harkat?"

"Water, please," Mr Crepsley said, shrugging off his tattered red cloak, so he could exaes," he added

"Are you hurt?" Harkat asked

"Not really But the tunnels we crawled through were unhygienic We should all clean out our wounds to prevent infection"

I washed ry but I felt I should eat -solely on excess adrenaline; it needed feeding Harkat and Mr Crepsley also tucked into the food and soon ere finishing off the last of the cru to our wounds, I stared hatefully at Steve, who grinned backdid it take to set this up?" I asked "Getting us here, arranging those false papers forus down the tunnels - how long?"

"Years," Steve replied proudly "It wasn’t easy You don’t know the half of it That cavern where the trap was set - we built that fro in and out of it We built other caverns too There’s one I’m especially proud of I hope I have the chance to show it to you some time"

"You went to all this trouble just for us?" Mr Crepsley asked, startled

"Yes," Steve replied sly

"Why?" I asked "Wouldn’t it have been easier to fight us in the old, existing tunnels?"

"Easier," Steve agreed, "but not as much fun I’ve developed a love of the dramatic over the years - a bit like Mr Tiny You should appreciate that, having worked for a circus for so long"

"WhatI don’t understand," Harkatthere, or why the other vampaneze - aided you in your insane plans"

"Not as insane as you ht think," Steve retorted "The Va Mr Tiny told hi his footsteps He also said that running away or hiding wasn’t an option - if our Lord didn’t make a stand and face those who hunted him, the War of the Scars would be lost

"When he learnt of ether we hatched this plan Gannen Harst cautioned against it - he’s old school and would have preferred a direct confrontation - but the Vampaneze Lord shares my theatrical tastes"

"This Lord of yours," Mr Crepsley said "What does he look like?"

Steve laughed and shook a finger at the vampire "No, Larten You don’t honestly expect me to describe him, do you? He’s been very careful not to show his face, even to most of those who follow hirowled

"I doubt it," Steve s you can dish out I’d let you kill ed off the heavy jacket he’d been wearing since weche any more," Harkat said suddenly Steve had told us he suffered from colds, which hy he had to wear lots of clothes and smear on lotions to protect himself

"Of course not," Steve said "That was all for show"

"You have the slyness of a de to be susceptible to colds, you were able to wear gloves to hide your fingertip scars, and douse yourself in sickly-s lotions to mask your vampaneze stench"

"The shed "I knew your sensitive noses would sniff my blood out, so I had to distract them" He pulled a face "But it hasn’t been easy My sense of shly developed, so the fumes have played havoc with my sinuses The headaches are awful"

"My heart bleeds for you," I snarled sarcastically, and Steve laughed with delight He was having a great tiht with evil glee

"You won’t be grinning if RV refuses to trade Debbie for you," I told hih," he admitted "But I live only to see you and Creepy Crepsley suffer I could die happy knowing the tor teacher girlfriend"

I shook et so twisted?" I asked "We were friends, almost like brothers You weren’t evil then What happened to you?"

Steve’s face darkened "I was betrayed," he said quietly

"That isn’t true," I replied "I saved your life I gave up everything so that you could live I didn’t want to become a half-vampire I?"

"Shut it!" Steve snapped "Torture me if you wish, but don’t insult me with lies I know you plotted with Creepy Crepsley to spite , h a pitifully short life, weak and afraid like everybody else Well, guess what? I outsained ood it has done you," Mr Crepsley snorted

"What do you mean?" Steve snapped

"You have wasted your life on hatred and revenge," Mr Crepsley said "What good is life if there is no joy or creative purpose? You would have been better off living five years as a human than five hundred as a monster"

"I’rowled soh of this crap," he declared aloud "You’re boring ent to say, keep yourthe back of his hand across Steve’s cheek, drawing blood Steve sneered at the vaers, then put theht soon, it’ll beyour blood I dine on," he whispered, then lapsed into silence

Exasperated and weary, Mr Crepsley, Harkat and I also fell silent We finished cleaning our wounds, then lay back and relaxed If we’d been alone, we’d have dozed off - but none of us dared shut our eyes with a destructive beast like Steve Leopard in the room

More than an hour after Vancha had taken his captive vah he’d washed his hands before co in, he hadn’t been able to remove all the traces of blood Some of it was his own, from wounds received in the tunnels, but most had come from the vampet

Vancha found a bottle of ware, yanked the top off and downed it hungrily He nor other than fresh water, milk and blood - but these were hardly normal times