Disclaimer: I own none of these characters. The proposition as to the identity of the Wolf Man is just that - a proposition by a fan. Everything in here belongs to Darren Shan, though of course, I completely made up these events. The final section of the fanfiction, in italicised font, is all completely written by Darren Shan and is an extract from "Cirque du Freak".

"Beranabus," I said, as we made our way through the thicket, "just what are we doing here again?"

"There you go again, questioning me," said the crazy homeless-looking guy I called my mentor. "I still blame Dervish for never warning me about this habit of yours."

"Don't side-step the question," I grinned. "C'mon. It's not like you to get distracted from a mission all of a sudden. Bile went through the other window. Kernel, you saw, didn't you?"

Kernel nodded. "We're letting the demon get away."

"Forget Bile," Beranabus growled. "I was summoned here by far more important creatures."

I exchanged a brief look with Kernel. "Who?"

The old man scratched his head. I swore I saw a tiny critter jump from the destructive path his fingers carved into his scalp. "How to explain ..."

We waited.

"It's like this," he began. "We're in a whole other world here, which is populated by the same humans who populate your world. But in here, none of us ever existed. It's just completely different people. Demons are also absent from it."

Kernel raised an eyebrow. I felt the same. It was difficult, now, to imagine a world without demons, a world in which I carried no galactic burden on my shoulders. What a wonderful thing it must be to never have existed. "Go on."

"No werewolves, no zombies and sorcerers and demons. Just people."

"So basically, the world I thought I lived in. Completely normal and unmagical."

"Well, not quite," Beranabus said. He hesitated. "Being that all worlds are a part of the same universe, the same laws govern this one that govern ours. There are people with magic here, magic five times stronger than all of ours put together, but they number less than ten."

"Who are they?" asked Kernel.

"A family. You'll be meeting a couple of them soon. And before I forget, this world isn't completely without its share of crazy wives-tale creatures, too. It has vampires."

"Vampires? Like 'Blade'? That is awesome!"

"No, believe me when I say this, Grubbs," Beranabus said. His eyes were darker somehow, though they remained their usual shade of deep slate. "The two breeds of nightwalkers in this world are not to be taken lightly."

"Okay, so," Kernel cut in, shifting from foot to foot with impatience, all business as usual, "what are we doing here?"

"The young man asks a practical question," someone behind us chuckled. We'd been walking along three abreast, but at the sound of the words spoken we all whipped around. There was an incredibly short man standing there, dressed in the height of bizarre fashion: a butter-yellow suit and bright green wellies, and clutching a big heart-shaped pocketwatch. He was smiling a fatherly smile at us. "Beranabus."

To my astonishment, Beranabus looked ... nervous. "Mr. Tiny. These are my assistants, Grubitsch and Cornelius."

"Grubbs," I said, annoyed, at the same time that Kernel muttered, "That's Kernel to you."

Mr. Tiny's hand shot up to adjust his glasses as he beamed at us. There was something about that expression that made me want to grab Kernel and run. "Pleasure to meet you finally, boys, pleasure to meet you finally ... ah ... a Grady ..."

Beranabus's hand went to my shoulder and gripped it. "Not the one you're expecting," he fake-laughed.

"What-?" I started.

Beranabus's grip on my shoulder tightened. I shut my trap.

"I could always do with another," this Mr. Tiny person chortled, then grew serious. "But not you, young Grubbs. Other forces have dibs on you."

I was genuinely disturbed for the first time in what felt like a year.

"Back to business." Mr. Tiny clapped his hands together. The red pocketwatch glowed as it swung from the impact of the clap. "Where is my Grady?"

"He'll join us at the circus," Beranabus replied.

"Good!" Mr. Tiny seemed pleased. "Let's head there now."

Beranabus nodded at Kernel. "A place called the Cirque du Freak, Kernel."

The magician's assistant raised his hands to start slotting a window together.

"Oh, no need for that, chauffeur," chuckled Mr. Tiny. He put up his pocketwatch, which was glowing rapidly now. It released a bright pink light that encapsulated all of us, surrounding us all with dazzling shimmering light that seemed to take us out of the thicket ...

Within seconds, we were in a completely different place.

We were on the outskirts of a deep forest. It did appear to be a circus of some sort, with a few caravans and several tents announcing the place's occupation, as well as a colourful signboard that read "Welcome to the Cirque du Freak".

"What are we doing at a circus?" I asked. "What the hell's going on anyway?"

Beranabus hissed at me, but Mr. Tiny laughed. "You'll see very soon, young Grady. You might even meet a couple of old friends here."

I found out what he meant perhaps ten minutes later, with the arrival of two people I had never expected to meet here and whose presence was immediately unwelcome: Lord Loss and Juni Swan!

Kernel and I both shouted, 'You!' and prepared to fight. But to our surprise and dismay, we couldn't summon any magic. Our hands stayed stupidly useless in the air, in war stances. Juni cackled at our ridiculous poses.

"There's no magic in this world, you stupid brats. At least, none for the likes of you."

"The girl tells no lies," Mr. Tiny purred. "No magic for you here, boys. All power to me. And him." He pointed his chin at Lord Loss.

"And me," said a new voice. We all turned to look. There was a very tall man standing by a purple caravan nearby, his arms folded and looking slightly displeased by our presence.

"Lady and gentlemen, this is Hibernius, the boss freak at the Cirque du Freak."

"Very amusing."

"Let's get back to business," Beranabus snapped, reassuming his characteristic firmness. "Lord Loss and Juni - where's the wolf?"

My heart sank a mile. "So that's what you meant," I snarled at Mr. Tiny.

"No freak show's complete without a wolfman," he winked.

Lord Loss finally spoke. "Not so fast, my demon friend in human form. There is a condition to be obeyed, before we proceed."

Mr. Tiny's eyes narrowed. "And that is?"

"The laws of the universe that control us demand that a Grady be given to the Cirque," said Lord Loss, in the slow, sad tones that I knew so well and detested, "that much is true. Unfortunately, there is almost no such Grady who can survive long in such a different, foreign world, a world almost completely devoid of magic."

Beranabus's hand had returned to my shoulder. I was a little weirded out, to be honest, by how unusually protective of me he was being that day. "Geroff," I muttered, but he scowled and wouldn't let go.

"The only Grady capable of surviving in this world is young Grubitsch." And with that, the demon master turned to me.

"Go fuck yourself, Lord Loss. I'm not staying here if you paid me."

Mr. Tiny threw his head back and laughed. "The boy's got spirit. I like him."

No one said anything. The tall, mysterious Hibernius was looking at me and frowning. Lord Loss continued.

"There is a way to separate the werewolf half of Grubitsch Grady from his human half, though not completely. That would mean his death ... though ... I would not mind that ..."

I grinned.

"What do you mean?" Beranabus asked.

"We may be able to take the werewolf in young Master Grady's spirit and keep it alive and whole here in this world," explained the tall Hibernius. "However, that does not mean that he will not turn one day. There will be two Grubbs Gradys; one a magician - with a slight werewolf side to him - and another a wolfman, here in the Cirque."

"Tell me why the circus needs a wolf again?" Kernel said, rubbing his forehead. "How is this so important?"

"The workings of fate, young Cornelius. This wolfman plays a crucial role in another game that destiny plays."

Mr. Tiny smiled gleefully. "So we take the wolf away from the boy's spirit and keep it in this world in bodily form, but the boy will still turn?"

"He might."

"I say let's do it," said Mr. Tiny, rubbing his hands and taking a step towards me.

"Hold on, hold on, hold on," I snapped, backing away. "I don't hear any of you asking for my damned permission. It's my wolf."

"Grubbs, this decision won't affect you in the slightest," Beranabus muttered. "They'll take the werewolf part of you for the keeping and you, me and Kernel can walk away. Just like that. You'll never hear about it again."

"I don't trust them," I growled. "It's enough that the Gradys who've turned be treated like lab rats by the Lambs. I don't know what these people will do with my wolf if I give him to them."

"Grubbs," said Hibernius. It was the first time he directly addressed me. "Your concern is touching. I promise you that he will not be mistreated. The Cirque du Freak is not like other freak shows and circuses; we are a family."

I hesitated. The skeptic in me said no, but my eyes saw the kindness in Hibernius's face.

Kernel nudged me. "I don't think you have much of a choice," he said softly. "This world's got its own story. Maybe the wolf side of you will do something good and useful for it. Maybe he'll help someone."

I sighed.

"Okay." Mr. Tiny's face lit up. "I'll do it."

"In all honesty," Mr. Tiny chattered, "I didn't need your permission. I could have just knocked you out and ripped it out of you. But I'm in a gentle mood today."

"Just get on with it," I said grumpily.

Less than twenty minutes later the odd group dispersed, with no warm goodbyes. Let's face it, none of us liked each other much anyway. Though I did agree with Beranabus and Kernel that Hibernius could be trusted.

Upon our return to our realm of demons and magic and nomad living, all thoughts of the meeting were set aside for the continuation of our goal - find Bile. Track down demons affiliated with him. Stop him from opening a tunnel to let loose the rage of the Demonata. Any concern for what the wolf side of me was going through flew clean out of my thoughts.

An excerpt from Darren's diary:

Somewhere high up in the theatre, someone switched on a green light and the stage lit up. It looked eerie! For about a minute nothing else happened. Then two men came on, pulling a cage. It was on wheels and covered with what looked like a huge bearskin rug. When they got to the middle of the stage they stopped, dropped the ropes and ran back into the wings.

For a few seconds more – silence. Then the trumpets blew again, three short blasts. Then the rug came flying off the cage and the first freak was revealed.

…

It was the Wolf Man.