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WE KICKED our way through the wall at the back of the building and found ourselves on the second floor, above a deserted alley

"Can you jump?" I asked Mr Crepsley

"No," he said, "but I can clie of the hole in the wall and dug his nails into the bricks, Harkat and I dropped to the ground and crouched low, scanning the shadows for signs of life When Mr Crepsley joined us, we hurried to the end of the alley, where we paused to scout the terrain

Mr Crepsley glanced up at the sun It wasn’t very strong - a weak, autulow - but two hours of exposure could be fatal for the va his cloak, he could have pulled it up over his head and sheltered beneath it, but he’d taken it off in the apartazing around uncertainly

"Find a round," I replied "They won’t be able to track us through the tunnels, and Mr Crepsley won’t have to worry about the sun"

"A worthy plan," Mr Crepsley said, rubbing his sore right ankle and looking for a manhole cover There weren’t any in the i the va close to the walls of the alley

The alley forked at the end The left turn led towards a busy ht on to another dark alley I’d turned right on i towards the alley when Harkat stopped me

"Wait," he hissed "I see a way down"

I looked back and saw a cat picking through a mound of rubbish which had spilt out of a toppled bin and half-obscured a roundover, we shooed the cat away - cats aren’t great lovers of va - and kicked the rubbish from the cover Then Harkat and I pulled the cover off and laid it to one side

"I’ll go first," I said, starting down the ladder into the welcome darkness "Mr Crepsley next Harkat last"

They didn’t question my orders As a Vampire Prince, it was my place to take control Mr Crepsley would have objected if he disagreed with s he was satisfied to follow s were cold and led from the contact As I neared the botto to step off the ladder?

?then snatched it back quickly when a gun fired and a bullet tore a chunk out of the wall close to the side offroot down here so quickly, and how they knehich e’d take

Then sos, va you"

My eyes narrowed That was no policeer, I squatted low on the ladder and peered up the tunnel There was a largein the shadows, too far away for me to identify

"Who are you?" I snapped

"One who follows the Lord of the Va here?"

"Blocking your passage," he chuckled

"How did you knoe’d couessed you’d escape and make for the tunnels Our Lord doesn’t want you down here yet - the day is long, and it a through it - so we’ve blocked off all entrances to the underworld When night falls, we’ll retreat, but until then these tunnels are off li shot, like the first, but I didn’t stick around to test his ai the ladder, I shot out of the h propelled, and cursed loudly as I kicked a large empty tin across the alley

"Police?" Mr Crepsley asked sullenly

"No - vampets They’ve blocked off all entrances to the tunnels until nightfall They want us to suffer"

"They can’t have coveredevery - entrance, can they?" Harkat asked

"Enough of them," Mr Crepsley responded "The tunnels this close to the surface are carefully linked By choosing the right spot, one man can block the paths of six or seven entrances If we had tiht find a way past, but we do not We o instead?" I asked

"We run," the vampire said simply "Or hobble, as the case may be We try to avoid the police, find soht"

"That won’t be easy," I noted

Mr Crepsley shrugged "If you had held tight for sunset to make your break, it would have been easier You did not, so wehis back on the manhole "Let us make tracks"

I paused to spit bitterly down the hole, then took off after Mr Crepsley and Harkat, putting the disappointht ahead

Less than three minutes later, the police were hot on our trail

We heard the into cars, honking horns, turning blaring sirens on full We’d beensteadily but hadn’t drifted far away fro to back alleys, which had an annoying habit of doubling back on themselves We’d have taken to the rooftops, except that would haveMr Crepsley more fully to the rays of the sun

"This is useless," the va a busy shopping street "We are ress We et it," he snapped "If I burn, I burn It will not kill me i, I looked for a way up to the roofs Then a thought struck I gazed at the tee street, then studied my clothes I was dishevelled and dirty, but didn’t look a whole lot worse than any average teenager going through a grunge or heavythe worst of the dirt fro back my hair with a handful of spit Then I tucked the chains of the cuffs in undertheroaned

"I knohat I’rinned "Have we money or not?"

"I had some notes, but the police took them," Mr Crepsley said "I ahed "No matter I’ll do without"