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The journey across town passed without incident All the police seemed to have been sent or drawn to the stadium We didn’t run into any road blocks or foot patrols In fact we met hardly anyone It was eerily quiet People were in their ho for the actions kick off It was a silence I knew from the past, the silence that usually comes before battle and death

Dozens of police cars and vans were parked in a ring around the stadiu every possible entry or exit point Barriers had been erected to keep back the public and hts were trained on the walls of the stadiuhts, even fro way off, and I had to stop and tie a strip of thick cloth around them

"Are you sure you’re up to this?" Alice asked, studying rowled, although I wasn’t as convinced of hest I’d been since h the stomach of Vampire Mountain when I’d failed e, my shoulder wound, overall exhaustion and the blood transfer had sapped y I wanted only to sleep, not face a fight to the death But in life we don’t usually get to choose the ti moments We just have to stand and face them when they come, no e crowd had gathered around the barriers Wethem, unnoticed by the police in the darkness and crush of people ¨C even the weirdly dressed Vancha and Evanna failed to draw attention As we gradually pushed our way to the front,thick clouds of s froun report

"What’s happening?" Alice asked the people nearest the barrier "Have the police moved in?"

"Not yet," a burly man in a hunter’s cap inforo Must be some new crack unit Most of them had shaved heads and were dressed in brown shirts and black trousers"

"Their eyes were painted red!" a young boy gasped "I think it was blood!"

"Don’t be ridiculous," his hts wouldn’t blind them"

We withdrew, troubled by this new infor, I heard the boy say, "Mummy, one of those women was dressed in ropes’"

Hisup stories’"

"Sounds like you were right," Alice said ere at a safe distance "The vao anywhere without their masters"

"But why did the police let the for the vampaneze ¨C can they?"

We looked at each other uncertainly Vampires and vaaze of huether an army of select hueneral If the va with regular hu neist in the War of the Scars

"I can still pass for a police officer," Alice said "Wait here I’ll try to find out h the crowd and past the barrier She was i a quick, hushed conversation, she was led away to talk to whoever was in command

Vancha and I waited anxiously, Evanna standing calmly nearby I took the tierously so, andand ht, but in all honesty I couldn’t say whether or not I’d be able to fend for myself It would have been wiser to retreat and recover But Steve had forced this battle He was calling the shots I’d have to struggle along as best I could and pray to the gods of the va about Evanna’s prophecy again as I waited If Vancha and I faced Steve this night, one of the three of us would die If it was Vancha or me, Steve would become the Lord of the Shadows and the vaht, as well as the world of mankind But if Steve died, I’d become the Lord instead of him, turn on Vancha and destroy the world

There e that But how? Try to make peace with Steve? Impossible! I wouldn’t even if I could, not after what he’d done to Mr Crepsley, Tommy, Shancus and so many others Peace wasn’t an option

But what other as there? I couldn’t accept the fact that the world was damned I didn’t care what Evanna said ThereThere must