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The long wait betweenthe creh Mr Crepsley kept saying I would be pardoned for failingaway, I wasn’t so sure Working ontrial, but once I’d brought it up-to-date and checked toto do but sit back and twiddle uards appeared and told me the Princes were ready to receive me I asked for a few minutes to compose myself They stood outside the door ofhi to a friend of mine - Sam Grest) with my diary and some personal items "If they decide to execute me, I want you to have these"
Harkat nodded soleuide me to the Hall of Princes Mr Crepsley also fell in behind, having been notified by a third uard
We paused outside the doors of the Hall My belly was ru all over "Be brave," Mr Crepsley whispered "The Princes will treat you fairly In the event that they do not, I shall come to your aid"
"Me too," Harkat said "I won’t let the crazy to you"
"Thanks," I said with a set involved Things are bad enough as they are No point all three of us winding up in the Hall of Death!"
The doors opened and we entered
The va to ease my discomfort Nobody spoke as we , stern, arasp deeply for breath
Mr Crepsley and Harkat sat at the base of the platform, next to Seba Nile and Vanez Blane I was led up onto it, where I stood facing the Vampire Princes After a short period of silence, Paris Skyle spoke "These are strange tihed "For centuries, we vampires have stuck by our old ways and traditions and looked on, a ever more fractured While the humans of this planet have lost their sense of direction and purpose, our belief in ourselves has never wavered - until recently
"It is a sign of the tiainst his brothers, regardless of his good intentions Treachery is nothing new to mankind, but this is our first real taste of it, and it has left a sour taste in our mouths It would be easy to turn a blind eye to the traitors and disnore the root of our problem and leave the way open for further acts of treason The truth is that the changing world has e if we are to survive within it
"While we have no plans to abandon our ways outright, we must face the future and adapt as required We have been living in a world of absolutes, but this is no longer the case Weand living
"That is e have gathered here tonight In the nors, there would have been no call for ato decide Darren Shan’s fate He failed the Trials of Initiation - the penalty for which is death He then fled fro, a crime punishable in only one way - death In the past, he would have been put to the stakes, and none would have intervened on his behalf
"But tied, and Darren has played an instrue He has endured great pain and sacrificed his freedoht bravely and proven his worth Previously, his reould have been a noble death Noever, pleas have been subht to live"
Paris cleared his throat and sipped frolass of blood The air in the Hall was alive with tension I couldn’t see the faces of the va into th," Paris continued "In the world of huine it would have been easy to reach a conclusion, and you would have been openly pardoned But we view justice differently To clear your na the very fabric of our laws
"Some have claimed that it is ti case on your behalf They said laere ree with, but which I a to the Trials of Initiation temporarily waived In that case, you would have been cleared, then the laould have been reinstated A few called for peres They felt the laere unfair and - keeping inof the Vaht work to rob us of new recruits and weaken our hand"
Paris hesitated and ran his fingers through his long grey beard "After lengthy debate,our laws There may come a tiuts!" Mr Crepsley roared, and the next thing I knew, he’d ju in front of me, fists raised Moments later, Harkat had joined hilared "I will not stand for this!" Mr Crepsley shouted "Darren risked his life for you, and now you would sentence hiratitude Anyone wishing to lay hands on my assistant will first have to lay hands on ht theoes forloose the rey face eventhan usual
"I expected more self-control, Larten," Paris tutted, not in the least disturbed "This is most unlike you"
"Desperate times call for desperate measures," Mr Crepsley retorted "There is a time for tradition, and there is a time to exercise common sense I will not let you -?
"Larten," Seba called from the crowd Mr Crepsley half-turned at the sound of his ested
"You agree with them?" Mr Crepsley howled
"Actually," Seba replied, "I argued for change But when the motion was defeated, I accepted it, as any loyal vampire would"
"The hell with loyalty!" Mr Crepsley barked "If this is the price of loyalty, perhaps Kurda was right Maybe it would have been for the best to turn this place over to the vampaneze!"
"You do not mean that" Seba smiled "Step down, take your seat, and let Paris finish You area fool of yourself"
"But -" Mr Crepsley began
"Larten," Seba snapped impatiently "Down!"
Mr Crepsley’s head dropped "Very well," he sighed "I shall bow to your will and hear Paris out But I a Darren’s side, and anyone who tries to force ret it"
"It is all right, Seba," Paris said as the quarterue "Larten and the Little Person may remain" Once that had been settled, Paris continued with his speech "As I said, we opted not to alter our laws There may come a ti into such a course of action Change should be gradual We reed upon the need to be true to our lae searched for a loophole that Darren could take advantage of Nobody in this Hall wished for his death Even those es in the laws racked their brains in the hope that an escape clause would present itself
"We considered the possibility of letting Darren ’escape’ a second ti hi But there would have been no honor in such a strategy Darren would have been shareed to the comproainst it"
Mr Crepsley bristled, then addressed the Princes in a whisper "Arra made me pro you - do not force me to choose between loyalty to you and my vow to her"
"There will be no need to choose," Paris said "There is no conflict of interests, as will become apparent as soon as you shut up and lethis voice, he again addressed the Hall "As those ere present during the debate know, Arroas the first to suggest an honorable way out of our dileht of it," Arrow grunted, running a hand over his bald head, grireat thinker Norht i like a fish, deep within the ocean of my brain, and eventually it surfaced"
"The solution," Paris said, "is sie the laws to suit Darren’s purposes Instead, we need only place him above them"
"I do not understand" Mr Crepsley frowned
"Think, Larten," Paris urged "Who a us are immune to punishment? Who could fail the Trials of Initiation a dozen times and walk away untouched?"
Mr Crepsley’s eyes widened "You cannot asped
"We do," Paris smirked
"But it is inco! He is not a General! He is not even a full-vampire!"