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I HAS A SPLIT SECOND to think and react For a human, it would have been all over As a half-va out of the as iinto rabbed for the dropping stalactite

I caught it in hthe flesh of onized yell inside

Ignoring the pain, I pressed htly as I could, and the tip came to a stop a couple of inches above my belly The muscles in my arms creaked at the effort it took to stop and hold the heavy piece of stalactite, but didn’t letarms, I laid the stalactite to one side, careful not topalms, the lines of which had been severed in dozens of places by the sharp sides of the stake By the luck of the vaers had been arateful for

The rest of my body had been similarly lacerated I felt like I’d been stabbed all over Blood was flowing freely fros, and I could feel a deep impression in the skin ofover the rest of the sharp cluster, hard as it was Once clear, I paused, wiped the blood froers, and rubbed spit into the worst of my wounds I wasn’t able to close cuts like full-vampires could, but the damp saliva eased some of the pain A few sorry tears crept down et me nowhere, so I wiped them away and told myself to concentrate - I wasn’t out of the cavern yet

I thought about taking offthe strips around rip But that would have been cheating, and the vaestion Instead, I found more pockets of dirt and used theers I also rubbed lots of dirt into s, which were slippery with blood that had dripped from my hands

After a short rest, I continued It wasn’t so hard on this side of the cluster, but I was in such bad shape that it see no chances at all

Finally, after more than an hour and a half on the Path of Needles - most vampires made it across in less than forty reeted by the few vaathered to cheer my success

"Well?" Vanez asked, throwing a roughly woven towel around my shoulders "Still think it isn’t aain," I told hiue and sew hed "We’ll wash off that blood and dirt, then get busy with the bales"

Supported by Vanez and Mr Crepsley, I hobbled away from the Path of Needles and said a silent prayer that the next Trial would have nothing to do with cramped caverns and razor-sharp obstacles If I’d knoto be answered, I wouldn’t have bothered!

As it turned out, I didn’t have to worry aboutunder an icy-cold waterfall in the Hall of Perta Vin-Grahl, word reached us that the final vampire had arrived at the in at the end of the next day, with the setting of the sun

"There!" Vanez beahts and days to drink, be s couldn’t have worked out better if we’d planned theernails to dig dirt out of the cuts in s and feet "I think I’ll need a couple of weeks - at least!"

"Nonsense," Vanez said "A few nights and you’ll be good as new A little scarred and scratched, but nothing that ork against you in the later Trials"

"Will I have my extra allotted day to prepare for the Trial, on top of the three days allowed for the Festival?" I asked

"Of course," he said "There can be no official business during the Festival of the Undead It’s a ti of old tales Even the subject of the vahts and days

"I’ve been looking forward to this for a or overseeing ga the Festival - so I can cut loose and really enjoyup to"

"Can you take part in the games with just one eye?" I asked

"Certainly," he replied "There are a fehich require the use of both, but most don’t Wait and see - I’ll crack many a head before the final cere to leave the Council cursing ht they crossed , I stepped out of the waterfall and wrappedtorches to dry out, then Vanez bandaged the worst of ht clothes he’d provided Although the material afer thin, I felt uncoot rid of the clothes and lay down naked in ht - I was too sore Though I tried to lie still, I couldn’t, and ot up, pulled on a pair of pants, and went looking for Harkat It turned out he was back in the Hall of Princes - they were questioning hie from Mr Tiny one last time, before the Festival of the Undead - so I returned tothe scratches on the backs ofused to the passage of time inside the mountain; when I’d first arrived I hadn’t been able to tell the difference between day and night - I got back in ed to doze off, and though my sleep was fitful, I squeezed in a handful of hours before the start of the much-awaited Festival of the Undead