Darren Shan - The Vampire Prince

SUMMARY: Branded a traitor, betrayed by a friend, hunted by the vampire clan-Darren Shan, the Vampires Assistant, faces certain death. Can Darren reverse the odds and outwit a Vampire Prince? Darrens initiation on Vampire Mountain draws to a stunning, bloody conclusion-but the Saga continues

Cirque Du Freak Book 6

VAMPIRE PRINCE

by

Darren Shan

CONTENTS

Prologue

Chapter Three

Chapter Six

Chapter Nine

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Eighteen

BROWN AND COMPANY

New York An AOL Time Warner Company

Copyright 2002 by Darren Shan

ISBN 0-316-60709-6

Page 1

Printed in the United States of America

Also in the Saga of Darren Shan:

Cirque Du Freak (Book 1)

The Vampires Assistant (Book 2)

Tunnels of Blood (Book 3)

Vampire Mountain (Book 4)

Trials of Death (Book 5)

For:

Martha & Bill who fed a hungry half-vampire

OBEs (Order of the Bloody Entrails) to:

Katherine kill-crazy Tyacke

Stella slabber Paskins

Editors extraordinaire: Gillie Russell & Zoe Clark

Agent provocateur: Christopher Little

Be careful who you trust.Even a supposedly close friend might be capable of betraying you. I found that out the hard way.

My names Darren Shan. Im a half-vampire. I was blooded when I was very young, and for eight years I toured the world with the Cirque Du Freak a traveling circus of magically gifted performers. Then my mentor Larten Crepsley said I had to be presented to the Vampire Princes. Page 2

Most of the Princes and Vampire Generals gather in the remote Vampire Mountain once every twelve years, for the Council of Vampires. After a long, tiring trek to the mountain with Mr. Crepsley, Harkat Mulds (a Little Person whod been brought back from the dead by a powerful man called Mr. Tiny), Gavner Purl (a General), and four wolves (including a male I called Streak and a cub I nicknamed Rudi), I faced the Princes, who said I had to prove myself worthy of joining the ranks of the undead. They gave me a series of harsh tests known as the Trials of Initiation. If I passed all five tests, Id be accepted as one of them. If I failed, Id be killed.

I passed the first three Trials, but the fourth ended disastrously I would have been gouged to death by a wild boar if not for Harkat, who leapt into the pit and killed the boar. The problem was, his intervention broke all the rules. While the vampires debated my fate, one sneaked into my cell and led me away to safety. He was a blond, slender, peaceful, highly intelligent vampire called Kurda Smahlt, and he was shortly due to become a Prince. I believed he was my friend.

While we were escaping, Gavner caught up with us and tried talking me into going back to face the verdict of the Princes. Kurda persuaded him to let me go. But as we were closing in on freedom, we ran into a bunch of vampaneze purple-skinned enemies of the vampires, who kill humans when they drink from them hiding in a cave.

Thats when Kurda showed his true colors. He stabbed and killed Gavner, and I realized he was in league with the vampaneze. He tried taking me alive, but I ran and fell into a mountain stream. Kurda would have saved me, but I ignored his helping hand and surrendered myself to the vicious flow of the stream, which swiftly swept me away underground, into the belly of the mountain and certain death

Darknesscold churning water roaring, like a thousand lions spinning around and around

bashing into rocks arms wrapped around my face to protect it tucking up my legs to make myself smaller, less of a target.

Wash up against a clump of roots grab hold slippery the wet roots feel like dead fingers clutching at me a space between the water and the roof of the tunnel I draw quick gasps of breath

current takes hold again try fighting it roots break off in my hands swept away. Tumbling over and over hit my head hard on a rock see stars almost black out struggle to keep head up spit water out of my mouth, but more gushes in feels like Im swallowing half the stream.

The current drags me against a wall sharp rocks cut deeply into my thighs and hips freezing-cold water numbs the pain stops the flow of blood a sudden drop plummet into a deep pool

down, down, down held under by force of the falling water panicking cant find my way up

drowning if I dont break free soon, Ill

My feet strike a wall and propel me forward drift slowly up and away from the pool flow is gentle here lots of space between water and the top of the tunnel able to bob along and breathe airs cold, and it stings my lungs, but I gulp it down thankfully.

The stream opens out into what sounds like a large cave. Roars from the opposite end: the water must drop sharply again there. I let myself drift to one side before facing the drop. I need to rest and fill my lungs with air. As I tread water near the wall in the dark, something clutches at my bald head. It feels like Page 3

twigs. I grab at them to steady myself, then realize theyre not twigs theyre bones! Too exhausted to be scared, I grasp the bones as though they were part of a life buoy. Taking long, deep breaths, I explore the bones with my fingers. They connect to a wrist, an arm, a body, and a head: a full skeleton. This stream was used to dispose of dead vampires in the past. This one must have washed up here and rotted away over the decades. I search blindly for other skeletons but find none. I wonder who the vampire was, when he lived, how long hes been here. It must be horrible, trapped in a cave like this, no proper burial, no final resting place.

I shake the skeleton, hoping to free it. The cave erupts with high-pitched screeches and flapping sounds. Wings! Dozens or hundreds of pairs of wings! Something crashes into my face and catches on my left ear. It scratches and bites. I yelp, tear it loose, and slap it away.

I cant see anything, but I sense a flurry of objects flying over and around me. Another collides with me. This time I hold on and feel around it a bat! The caves full of bats. They must nest here, in the roof. The sound of me shaking the skeleton disturbed them, and theyve taken flight. I dont panic. They wont attack me. Theyre just frightened and will settle down soon. I release the one Ive caught and let it join the rush above me. The noise dies down after a few minutes, and the bats return to their perches. Silence.

I wonder how they get in and out of the cave. There must be a crack in the roof. For a few seconds I dream about finding it and climbing to safety, but my numb fingers and toes quickly put an end to thoughts like that. I couldnt climb, even if I could find the crack and it was big enough for me to fit through.

I start thinking about the skeleton again. I dont want to leave it here. I tug at it, careful this time not to make too much noise. It doesnt budge at first its wedged firmly. I get a stronger grip and pull again. It comes loose, all at once, and falls on top of me, driving me under. Water gushes down my throat. Now I panic! The skeleton is heavy on top of me, weighing me down. Im going to drown! Im going to drown!