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HARKAT WAS STANDING by his coffin when I woke up, his green eyes wide open I stretched and said goodThere was a brief pause, then he shook his head and looked at ?" I asked

"Just woke now When you spoke toup"

I frowned "But your eyes were open"

He nodded "Always open No lids or lashes Can’t shut theot! "Does that s while you’re asleep?"

"Yes, but I take no notice of them"

Gavner appeared at the entrance to our roo on There’s work to be done Anybody for bat broth?"

I asked to use the bathroom before ent to eat Gavner led me to a small door with the letters WC carved into it "What does that stand for?" I asked

"Water closet," he inforht that was a joke, but when I stepped inside, I realized it was a genuine warning - there was no toilet in the water closet, just a round hole in the ground that led to a gurgling e enough for an adult to fall through, but soht just fit - and shivered when I saw dark, gushing water at the botto over the hole, but there was no other option, so I just did it

"Are all the toilets like that?" I asked when I cahed "It’s the easiest way to get rid of the waste There are a couple of big strea out of the mountain and the toilets are built over the away"

Gavner led Harkat and me to the Hall of Khledon Lurt Seba Nile had pointed out the Hall to me the day before and said it here meals were served He also told reat standing, who had died saving other vaht with the va tales about their ancestors They kept only a feritten records, choosing instead to keep their history alive by word of ends around fires or over tables fro froe statue of Khledon Lurt at the center of the Hall (Like most of the mountain’s sculptures, it had been carved fro torches, and it was almost full e arrived Gavner, Harkat, and me sat at a table with Mr Crepsley, Seba Nile, and a bunch of vah A lot of it had to do with fighting and daring acts of endurance

This was ood look at a crowd of va They didn’t look that different fro, and not a single one - pretty obvious why! - was suntanned

They were a sh a couple had strings of wildflowers or naturally scented herbs around their necks and wrists Although vampires made sure they washed in the world of humans - a foul stench could lead a vampire hunter to his prey - here in the mountain hardly any of them bothered with such luxuries With all the soot and dirt of the Halls, they didn’t see the point - it was impossible to stay clean

I noticed pretty , I spotted one sitting at a table in a corner, and another serving food Besides that, the vampires were all men There were hardly any old people either; Seba seemed to be the oldest vampire present I asked hie," he replied "While vaer than humans, very few of us make it to our vampiric sixties or seventies"

"What do you e in tays - earth years and vae of the body - physically, I ae refers to howboy when I was blooded, so I am seven hundred earth years old"

Seven hundred! It was an incredible age

"Though many vampires live for hundreds of earth years," Seba went on, "hardly any make it to their vampiric sixties"

"Why not? "I asked