Page 5 (1/2)

I WAS in a cell noh There were no s - apart from a small one set in the door - and no tay mirrors There were two surveillance ca table with a tape recorder on it, three chairs,police officers

One of the officers was standing by the door, a rifle cradled tightly across his chest, eyes sharp He hadn’t told me his name - he hadn’t spoken a word - but I could read it froe: Williaes, but had told me their names: Con and Ivan Con was tall, dark-faced and very lean, with a gruff rey hair He looked tired and spoke softly, as though the questions were exhausting him

"Is Darren Shan your real name, like we’ve been told?" Ivan enquired for about the twentieth ti cell They’d been asking the sa up

I didn’t answer So far I hadn’t said anything

"Or is it Darren Horston - the na recently?" Ivan asked after a few seconds of silence

No answer

"How about your travelling companion - Larten Crepsley or Vur Horston?"

I looked down atI exa the handcuffs: steel, short, thick I thought I’d be able to snap it if I had to, but I wasn’t sure

My ankles were cuffed as well The chain linking my ankles had been short when I was arrested The police left the short chain on while I was being fingerprinted and photographed, but took it off and replaced it with a longer chain soon after they locked me away securely in the cell

"What about the freak?" the officer called Con asked "That grey-skinned monster What’s?"

"He isn’t amy code of silence

"Oh?" Con sneered "What is he then?"

I shook my head "You wouldn’t believe ed ain

"What about the other two?" Con asked "Vancha March and Larten Crepsley Our informants told us they were vampires What do you have to say about that?"

I smiled humourlessly "Vampires don’t exist," I said "Everyone knows that"

"That’s right," Ivan said "They don’t" He leant across the table, as though to tell me a secret "But those two aren’t entirely normal, Darren, as I’ician, while Crepsley ?" He coughed "Well, we haven’t been able to photograph him"

I smiled when he said that, and looked up at the video cameras Full-vampires have peculiar atoms, which make it impossible for them to be captured on fille they could dream of, with the best carin on him!" Con snapped "He thinks this is funny!"

"No," I said, wiping the s?"

I shrugged "I was thinking of so else"

Ivan slumped back in his chair, disappointed by my answers "We’ve taken a blood sa called Harkat Mulds too We’ll find out what they are when the results coe to tell us now"

I didn’t reply Ivan waited a hed despondently, and began with the questions again "What’s your real name? What’s your relationship to the others? Where ?"

More ti I’d been imprisoned It felt like a day or more, but realistically it was probably only four or five hours,outside

I thought about Mr Crepsley and wondered hoas faring If he was in a cell liketo worry about But if they’d put him in a cell s ?

"Where areso under their breath Now they looked at uarded

"You’d like to see them?" Ivan asked

"I just want to knohere they are," I said

"If you answer our questions, a ed," Ivan promised

"I just want to knohere they are," I repeated

"They’re close," Con grunted "Locked away nice and tight like you"

"In cells like this?" I asked

"Exactly the same," Con said, then looked around at the walls and smiled as he realized why I was concerned "Cells without s," he chuckled, then nudged his partner in the ribs "But that can be changed, can’t it, Ivan? What say we move the ’vampire’ to a cell with lovely round s? A cell with a view of the outside - the sky - thesun "

I said nothing, but locked gazes with Con and stared back angrily

"You don’t like the sound of that, do you?" Con hissed "The thought of us sticking Crepsley in a rooed indifferently and averted my eyes "I want to speak to a lawyer," I said

Con burst out laughing Ivan hid a suard with the rifle sh I’d cracked the best joke ever

"What’s so funny?" I snapped "I know hts I’m entitled to a phonecall and a lawyer"

"Of course," Con crowed "Even killers have rights" He rapped the table with his knuckles, then turned off the tape recorder "But guess what - we’re withholding those rights We’ll catch hell for it later, but we don’t care We’ve got you walled up here and on’t let you take advantage of your rights until you give with sorowled "You can’t do that"

"Norreed "Nore in and kick up a stor like this But our Chief isn’t here, is she? She’s been abducted by your fellow killer, Vancha March"