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AS THE NEW DAY DAWNED most vampires retired to their coffins They’d have happily continued fighting and drinking, but the first of the formal balls was at sunset, and they had to prepare for it There’d be three balls during the Festival of the Undead, one at the end of each day Two large Halls were used for the balls, so all the vae event Most of the vampires were dressed in their colorful clothes, as they had been earlier, but now their shirts, pants, and capes were torn, ripped, and blood-stained, while their bodies and faces were scratched and bruised Many had broken arle one of them took to the dance floor, even those on crutches

At the stroke of sunset, the va and howled like olves The howling went on for severalas possible They called this the howl of the night, and it was performed at the first ball of each Festival The aim was to outlast the others - the vaest would win the title "of the Howl" and carry it until the following Council So, if I’d won, I’d have had to be addressed as Darren Shan of the Howl for the next twelve years

Of course, I didn’t co - since I was only a half-va the first to fall silent Gradually, as the voices of the others cracked, they fell silent too, one by one, until in the end only a handful were howling, their faces red with the strain of such a fierce bellow While the last few vaed on their favorites - "Keep it up, Butra!" "Howl like a demon, Yebba!" - and pounded the floor with their feet and hands

In the end the contest on by a huge vah not at the last Council - and was a popular victor There was a short cereht doithout pause, then Paris Skyle dubbed him Yebba of the Howl Almost as soon as the words had left the Prince’s lips, the band began to play, and the vampires started to dance

The band consisted entirely of drummers, who kept up a slow, heavy beat As the vampires danced stiffly - short steps, in time with the funereal reat battles and va those who’d died nobly, and cursing those who’d betrayed or shah they didn’t name them - it was a custom never to )

I tried dancing - everybody had a turn - but I wasn’t very good I could have ju fast and loud, but this was too precise If you didn’t kno to do it right, you looked stupid Not knowing any of the words to the soto stop to scratch my back

After a fewfor Seba Nile, who’d said he had so I found the quarter the singing, so I took a seat and waited for him to finish

Gavner Purl was in the Hall; he spotted me after a while and sat down besideheavier than usual "I only got to o," he explained "I was trapped by a couple ofto their stories"

There was a break in theSeba bowed to his co the pause I waved a hand in the air to grab his attention He stopped to grab ayourselves?"

"I would be if I had the energy," Gavner wheezed

"How about you, Darren?" Seba asked "What do you think of our Festival of the Undead?"

"It’s weird," I answered honestly "First you all howl like wild anih "You should not say such things out loud," he gently chided s Most va - they think they dance with great style"

"Seba," I said, scratchingthat would stopit to me now?"

"It is not so easily fetched," Seba said "We must take a short trip, down to the tunnels beneath the Halls"

"Will you take me when you have the time?" I asked

"I have the time," he said "But first find Kurda Smahlt I promised I would let him accoion"

"Where should I tell hio where the arachnids roarab that beautiful spider of yours - Mada her with us"

I found Kurda listening to vaendary stories froreat demand at the Festival Vampires didn’t bother much with books They preferred to keep the past alive orally I don’t think the full history of the vaed on Kurda’s elbow and whispered Seba’s e to hiive hi equipment He said he’d meet us outside Seba’s quarters, low in the mountain, close to the stores that the quartere of

When I arrived back with Madam Octa, I learned that Gavner had also decided to join us He thought he’d fall asleep if he stayed where he was, listening to the low of the torchers and the press of vampires "A stroll below decks is just what the captain ordered," he said, i a sailor’s salty tones

I looked around for Harkat - I thought he ht like to see what the lower tunnels of Va vaer than a vaht without being affected The vampires were astonished by his capacity for drink and were cheering hi of beer after another I didn’t like to take him away from his newfound friends, so I left hiether outside Seba’s rooate connecting the tunnels to the Halls weren’t regular guards - no va the Festival They weren’t dressed as neatly as the regular guards, and so, which they’d never do while on duty any other ti, and they waved us through, warning us not to get lost

"We’d better not" Kurda s an apple at the bottohed and made uards asked if anted torches, but Seba said we’d be OK - the walls were coated with glowingequipment out e reached tunnels where he’d never been before It was just a sheet of gridded paper and a pencil He paused every so often to add a tiny piece of line to the page, signifying the length of tunnel we’d traversed

"Is that all there is to ?" I asked "It looks easy"

"Tunnels aren’t difficult toto map open land or a stretch of seacoast"

"Don’t listen to him," Gavner said "Even tunnels are difficult I tried it once and made a mess of it You have to work to scale and ht If you’re off by even the tiniest fraction, it throws the rest of the map off"

"It’s just a skill," Kurda said "You’d pick it up quickly if you gave it a try"

"No, thanks," Gavner said "I have no intention of spendingto map them out I don’t knohat the appeal is"

"It’s fascinating," Kurda said "It gives you a dearer understanding of your environreat sense of achievement when you’re finished Apart from which, there’s the practical aspect"

"Practical aspect!" Gavner snorted "Nobody uses your maps except you!"

"Not so," Kurda corrected hi me make maps, but plentya new Hall, lower than any of the other levels, over the next few years?"

"A Hall of storage" Gavner nodded

"That’s being constructed out of a cave I discovered, which will connect to the rest of the Halls via a tunnel nobody knew about until I went snooping Around"

"There are also the breach points," Seba noted

"What are those?" I asked

"Tunnels which open into the Halls," Seba explained "There are ates of entry Kurda has unearthed ht theainst attack"

"Who’d attack you up here?" I frowned

"He’s referring to animal attacks," Kurda said "Stray wolves, rats, and bats often crept in by breach points and went foraging for food They were getting to be a nuisance My maps helped put an end to- your et h"

We proceeded in silence for a while The tunnels were narrow and the roofs were low-hanging, so it was hard going for the grown vampires They enjoyed a few minutes of relief when the tunnels opened up briefly, but then they constricted again, and it was back to crouching and shuffling along It was dark too We had just enough light to see by, but there wasn’t enough for Kurda to ht it, but Seba stopped him

"No candles," the quartermaster said

"But I can’t see," Kurda complained