Darren Shan - Tunnels of Blood

SUMMARY: Darren, the vampires assistant, gets a taste of the city when he leaves the Cirque Du Freak with Evra the snake-boy and Mr. Crepsley. When corpses are discoveredcorpses drained of blood Darren and Evra are compelled to hunt down whatever foul creature is committing such horrendous acts. Meanwhile, beneath the streets, evil stalks Darren and Evra, and all clues point to Mr. Crepsley. Can they escape, or are they doomed to perish in the tunnels of blood?

TUNNELS OF BLOOD

Cirque Du Freak Book 3

By

Darren Shan

CONTENTS

Prologue

Chapter Three

Chapter Six

Chapter Nine

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Eighteen

Tunnels of Blood

My name is Darren Shan. Im a half-vampire. I used to be human, until I stole a vampires spider. After that, my life changed forever. Mr. Crepsleythe vampireforced me to become his assistant, and I Page 1

joined a circus full of weird performers called the Cirque Du Freak.

Now Darren, the vampires assistant, gets a taste of the city when he leaves the Cirque Du Freak with Evra the snake-boy and Mr. Crepsley. When corpses are discoveredcorpses drained of bloodDarren and Evra are compelled to hunt down whatever foul creature is committing such horrendous acts. Then beneath the streets, evil stalks Darren and Evra, and all clues point to Mr. Crepsley. Can they escape, or are they doomed to perish in the tunnels of blood? This is Darrens story.

Rave reviews for:

Tunnels of Blood

A perfect book for reluctant middle school readers. For those fans of Buffy and Angel , here is another book to satisfy their vampiric tastes.

Voya

Described in stomach-churning detail, the story is compulsively readable. But its not for the squeamish.

School Library Journal

The Cirque Du Freak series approaches vampires from a new perspective, completely rewriting some of the ground rules with regards to powers, strengths and weaknesses, giving them [a] fresh feel.

Science Fiction Chronicle

THE SAGA OF DARREN SHAN

Tunnels of Blood by Darren Shan

LITTLE, BROWN AND COMPANY

New York An AOL Time Warner Company

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Copyright 2002 by Darren Shan

First U.S. Paperback Edition

The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

First published in Great Britain by Collins in 2000

Tunnels of blood by Darren Shan.p>

(The saga of Darren Shan ; bk. 3) Sequel to: The vampires assistant.

Summary: Darren, Evra, and Mr. Crepsley leave the Cirque Du Freak and get a taste of the city, but when corpses drained of blood are discovered, Darren and Evra must confront a dangerous creature of the night.

ISBN 0-316-60763-0 (he) ISBN 0-316-60608-1 (pb)p>

Printed in the United States of America

Also in the CIRQUE DU FREAK series:

Cirque Du Freak (Book 1)

The Vampires Assistant (Book 2)

Vampire Mountain (Book 4)

Trials of Death (Book 5) The Vampire Prince (Book 6)

For:

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Granny and Grandad tough old fogeys

OBEs (Order of the Bloody Entrails) to:

Caroline Tracker Paul

Paul The Pillager Litherland

Heads off to:

Biddy Jekyll and Liam Hyde

Gillie Grave Robber Russell

The hideously creepy HarperCollins gang

and

Emma and Chris (from Ghouls Are Us)

The smell of blood is sickening. Hundreds of carcasses hang from silver hooks, stiff, shiny with frosty blood. I know theyre just animals cows, pigs, sheep but I keep thinking theyre human. I take a careful step forward. Powerful overhead lights mean its bright as day. I have to tread carefully. Hide behind the dead animals. Move slowly. The floors slippery with water and blood, which makes progress even trickier.

Ahead, I spot him the vampire Mr. Crepsley. Hes moving as quietly as I am, eyes focused on the fat man a little way ahead.

The fat man. Hes why Im here in this ice-cold slaughterhouse. Hes the human Mr. Crepsley intends to kill. Hes the man I have to save.

The fat man pauses and checks one of the hanging slabs of meat. His cheeks are chubby and red. Hes wearing clear plastic gloves. He pats the dead animal the squeaky noise of the hook as the carcass swings puts my teeth on e.g. then begins whistling. He starts to walk again. Mr. Crepsley follows. So do I.

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Evra is somewhere far behind. I left him outside. No point in both of us risking our lives. I pick up speed, moving slowly closer. Neither knows Im here. If everything works out as planned, they wont know, not until Mr. Crepsley makes his move. Not until Im forced to act. The fat man stops again. Bends to examine something. I take a quick step back, afraid hell spot me, but then I see Mr. Crepsley closing in. Damn! No time to hide. If this is the moment hes chosen to attack, I have to get nearer.

I spring forward several feet, risking being heard. Luckily Mr. Crepsley is entirely focused on the fat man.

Im only three or four feet behind the vampire now. I bring up the long butchers knife that Ive been holding down by my side. My eyes are glued to Mr. Crepsley. I wont act until he does Ill give him every chance to prove my terrible suspicions wrong but the second I see him tensing to spring

I take a firmer grip on the knife. Ive been practicing my swipe all day. I know the exact point I want to hit. One quick cut across Mr. Crepsleys throat and thatll be that. No more vampire. One more carcass to add to the pile.

Long seconds slip by. I dont dare look to see what the fat man is studying. Is he ever going to rise? Then it happens. The fat man struggles to his feet. Mr. Crepsley hisses. He gets ready to lunge. I position the knife and steady my nerves. The fat mans on his feet now. He hears something. Looks up at the ceiling wrong way, idiot! as Mr. Crepsley leaps. As the vampire jumps, so do I, screeching loudly, slashing at him with the knife, determined to kill

One month earlier

My names Darren Shan. Im a half-vampire.

I used to be human, until I stole a vampires spider. After that, my life changed forever. Mr. Crepsley

the vampire forced me to become his assistant, and I joined a circus full of weird performers called the Cirque Du Freak.

Adapting was hard. Drinking blood was harder, and for a long time I wouldnt do it. Eventually I did, to save the memories of a dying friend (vampires can store a persons memories if they drain all their blood). I didnt enjoy it the following few weeks were horrible, and I was plagued by nightmares but after that first blood-red drink there could be no going back. I accepted my role as a vampires assistant and learned to make the best of it.