It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, being a half-vampire felt weird, but I never missed my old life. I thought that maybe being a vampire would make me feel empty but I'd never felt so alive. I zipped around the cave for a few days, testing my new speed, strength, and abilities.
"Don't forget where we are and what's happening," Sparcalo warned me, it was two days before Kurda's investiture, they had given up their search for Darren Shan, but they were still on edge, especially Kurda.
"I know, I know," I said, "I'll be as good as gold on the day."
"You know you're not coming don't you?" Sparcalo asked.
"What do you mean I'm not coming? I wouldn't miss this for the world!" I exclaimed.
"You might not be human anymore but you're still just a little girl, if you were spotted by the other vampires there'd be hell to pay." Sparcalo said.
"I don't honestly care, I'm coming whether you lot like it or not," I assured him.
"You're not," Sparcalo said firmly.
"Kurda! Can I come to your investiture!" I called.
"Yeah of course," Kurda called back, he was still mourning Darren Shan's death, but he had brightened a little. He was unbelievably nervous about the investiture and had bitten his nails right the way down but apart from that he was the same old Kurda.
"How the hell are you going to do that Kurda? If she goes strolling around up there the other vampires are bound to ask questions," Sparcalo said.
"We'll sneak her in and hide her under a table or something," Kurda replied, he smiled at me, "I want all of the gang there."
"Yes!" I exclaimed and wrapped my arms around a furious looking Sparcalo's neck. "Dance with me Sparky!" Sparcalo pulled away from me looking disgusted so I picked Cosmo up off of the ground and danced with him instead, doing a funny little waltz around the cave.
"You gonna join in Jasper?" I asked, passing the depressed looking Vampaneze on my way round.
"No thanks," Jasper grumbled.
"You can't sit there moping for the rest of your life," I sighed, stopping.
"I just don't feel like doing anything," Jasper said quietly.
"You miserable git!" I growled, " Ok, Onyx is dead, but he wouldn't want you sitting around doing nothing, being a useless lump."
"Ember!" Kurda snapped, coming towards me. "I can't believe you're being so insensitive! I'm disappointed in you!"
"I'm not doing anything!" I complained.
"Yes you are, you're being really harsh, don't you have any heart at all?" Kurda asked.
"Yes, but Jasper's being stupid, he's letting himself get caught up with grief and misery, he's choking, he just needs a push to snap him out of it," I whispered.
"I'll leave you to it, but I warn you it'll all end in tears," Kurda whispered back and then walked away. I sat down beside Jasper, put Cosmo on the floor and gave him a little push as a way of saying 'go away'.
"Leave me alone Ember," Jasper said.
"No, I'm your friend, I'm trying to help you," I replied.
"I know, but I don't know what to do," Jasper cried.
"You have to cheer up Jasper, Onyx is dead but you have to get on with your life, look to the future. I can't stand to see you like this," I murmured. Jasper looked at me, and smiled weakly.
"I know," he said, "Thank you."
It was the day before Kurda's investiture, everyone was tense.
"I don't think I've ever been so excited in my whole life!" Oric whispered to me. We were sitting on the floor throwing a small stick for Cosmo who was enjoying the attention.
"So you're not nervous?" I whispered back.
"Of course I am, I've never been so scared and I don't know whether to laugh or cry!" Oric hissed.
"You'll be fine, what could possibly go wrong?" I asked.
"I suppose I'm just worrying about nothing really," Oric whispered.
"Of course you are," I said, "Err… Oric, why are we whispering?"
"I don't know," Oric hissed and we bot started to laugh.
"No but honestly," I said in my normal voice, "I think you're all worrying about nothing, you'll be fine, you're knights in shining armour, out to save the day. You're the heroes, you can't lose!"
"Aww, thanks, you always make me feel better," Oric said, smiling. Suddenly, don't ask me how it happened, he leant forward and kissed me! And the worst thing was that for some strange reason, I kissed him back! I couldn't understand what was happening, friends didn't kiss like that did they? My heart was pounding in my chest, going one hundred miles per hour. We pulled away from each other after a few moments and looked at each other in silence, then we both laughed.
"Charna's guts! I saw that!" a shocked voice said. I turned around to see Kurda and Cyrus, standing there, their mouths open.
"What the hell happened there?" Cyrus gasped. I gulped.
"Err… I dunno really," I admitted.
"Neither do I," Oric said, blushing.
The next day was one of the worst I'd had. Kurda's investiture would take place in a large hall, tables lined each wall and I was sat underneath one of them, hidden by a long table cloth. I'd been watching the vampires outside the hall for about fifteen minutes, keeping as quiet as I could. I'd had no problem getting in, the hall was empty when Sparcalo and Oric pushed me in and shoved me under the table.
"Good luck," I whispered.
"Thanks," Oric said and gave me a quick peck on the cheek. We'd spent the previous day together and I'd found out that I'd really loved him all along, it just didn't seem right to me because he was so much older. I reasoned now that because we were both vampires it didn't matter, what were thirteen years when you lived to be over four hundred anyway? Cosmo had tried to follow me and had started to bark and whine pitifully when I told him he couldn't come, so in the end I had to give in to him. He was curled up in my arms, his head resting on my shoulders. There was a small gap in the corner where the two different tablecloths met and I could watch everyone in the hall from there without being seen. Nobody had entered the hall yet, there were just three royal vampires sitting silently on thrones like statues. The vampires hadn't yet arrived, they were stood in two lines facing each other just outside the door, I spotted Cyrus, Oric and Sparcalo standing up straight, their smart green uniforms immaculate and it occurred to me just how regal they looked. Oric, Sparcalo, Cyrus and three other vampires I didn't know came into the hall, they were all carrying clothes, I didn't know why, I guessed they must be part of some silly ritual or something. Kurda hadn't told me much about what happened during this investiture thing, I'm not sure he really knew to be quite honest. Then more vampires followed, they were singing! They sounded so funny I just wanted to laugh but I knew that if I did it would probably be the last thing I would ever do. Then behind them came Kurda, he was dressed all in white and was being carried along on a platform held by four vampires. He looked like some sort of Arabian princess.
"You lucky sod," I muttered under my breath. I couldn't help but feel proud to know him though, it felt like I was the friend of some sort of celebrity! Kurda had his head bowed and his eyes closed and I could see that he was breathing fast, he was terrified but determined not to show it. I watched happily as Kurda was carried into the hall, suddenly Cosmo started to struggle in my arms.
"Stop it!" I hissed, but he bit me! I couldn't understand what had got into him but he wriggled underneath the tablecloth and ran off. I just hoped he wouldn't be seen by the vampires, I watched him as he ran and suddenly my heart leapt into my mouth. There was an unwelcome visitor creeping through a hole in the wall. A young boy, bald, dirty and half-naked. He was smiling smugly.
"Stop!" he shouted and all heads turned his way.
"Oh my God, Oh my God!" I breathed, this was very, very bad! Everyone stopped and looked up at Darren Shan, the little weasel! Sparcalo, Oric, and Cyrus leapt into action and I watched intently, waiting to see who would be the first to cut Shan down. A group of vampires leapt after my friends, they managed to grab hold of Cyrus and Oric and pin them to the floor but Sparcalo was too fast for them, he rushed at Shan wielding his pair of knives. He threw one and for the first time since I'd met him he actually missed! He was about to throw the other but two huge wolves jumped out from behind Shan and leapt on him. I gasped as I watched the wolves bite and claw him savagely, I almost darted out from under the table to help him but it would have been useless anyway. Sparcalo yelled, trying to fight the wolves off but he didn't get very far. Then I spotted Cosmo, my sweet little dog, he stood beside Sparcalo, barking and growling savagely, challenging the wolves, which were at least four times bigger than him. One of the wolves grabbed him by the throat in his jaws and bit down hard, Cosmo whimpered and then was still. Sparcalo had stopped yelling, he was just gasping now, trying to push the wolves off of him but one of them ripped at his neck and in that moment he died. I was too scared to cry, Cyrus, Oric and Kurda were still in danger, I had to see what was happening. Shan walked calmly into the middle of the hall and stared at Kurda, his eyes filled with hatred. I tensed all of my muscles, if he took another step I'd be able to reach him, I'd be able to kill him for sure. But he didn't take another step and I noticed another wolf at his heels, larger than the other two, it sniffed the air and I hoped that it wouldn't find me. Cyrus and Oric were trying to break free from the vampires holding them, they had been disarmed but Cyrus was trying to hit them and Oric was biting and snapping at the vampires. Kurda was just staring at Darren Shan from the platform. He seemed surprisingly calm, like he knew it would happen and suddenly I thought about the walk to Vampire Mountain and the night when Desmond Tiny had showed up and had a private word with Kurda. Suddenly it dawned on me why Kurda had been so hysterical when Darren had been swept down the river!
"What's going on?" Roared one of the vampires sitting on the thrones, he must have been one of the other princes. "Why are those vampires fighting? Break them apart immediately!"
"Sire!" a vampire dressed in red said quickly, "Those who raised weapons against Darren are not our allies! Those who hold them down do so at my command, I would strongly advise you against releasing them until you have heard Darren out!"
"No let them go," I pleaded silently, " Darren Shan is a liar."
"Never before has anyone interrupted the investiture of a prince," another of the princes said, "I do not know why you are siding with this boy, but I think the two of you should be removed from this hall until later, when we can…"
"No!" Darren Shan shouted. "You say no one has ever interrupted the investiture of a Prince before, and this might be true, but I say no one has sought to invest a traitor before, so it's time that…"
Shan was cut short as the vampires in the hall exploded with rage, furious that Kurda had been called a traitor. Lots of them leapt forward and started kicking and punching and tearing at Darren Shan, roaring fit to burst.
"Yes! Woo! Rip him to pieces!" I shouted, I couldn't be heard over the yelling and I knew it. Darren was a dead weasel for sure!
"Stop this," the three princes were shouting, "Stop it!"
"No don't stop!" I yelled, laughing. But the vampires obeyed their princes and backed off of Shan. He was cowering there, covering his head with his hands. He wasn't dead! I was fuming!
"But he called Kurda a traitor!" someone yelled. This was the cue for the vampires to start hurling abuse at Shan, I joined in, shouting the foulest names I could think of.
"Enough!" one of the princes shouted, "If it were up to me I'd have you bound and gagged before you could say another word!" he snarled at Shan. I whooped silently. "Then I'd see you hauled off to the Hall Of Death to suffer the fate that you deserve!" there were roars and applause from the vampires who thought that this was a brilliant idea. "But Seba Nile says we should pay attention to what you have to say, and I for one am loath to disregard him."
"I agree with that," one of the other princes said.
"Say your piece Darren, but make it quick." The other Prince said reluctantly. Darren smiled triumphantly.
"Ok, lets see if this is quick enough for you. "Kurda Smahlt killed Gavner Purl. At this very moment dozens of vampaneze lurk in the tunnels beneath us, waiting to attack," there were gasps from the other vampires.
"You lying git!" I growled.
"They were invited here by him," Shan continued, pointing an accusing finger at Kurda who gulped uneasily. "He's a traitor!"
Suddenly everyone was looking at Kurda but not me, I was glaring hatefully at Darren Shan, there were tears dripping down his face, he was crying now.
"That's it, you do the sob, sob act, make everyone feel sorry for you, you little creep!" I thought. There was a long, long silence in the Hall and I trembled, knowing that my friends were surely doomed.
Eventually one of the Princes spoke. "These are grave charges to bring against any vampire," he said, "To level them at a Prince-to-be while he stands on the point of investiture…" he shook his head, "You understand what the consequences will be if you are lying?"
"Why would I lie?" Darren asked, he knew that he now held all the cards. I was dying to wipe that smarmy smirk off of his face, he thought he was invincible! "Everyone knows I failed my trials of initiation and fled before I could be killed. By returning I've condemned myself to execution."
"You liar, you know they'll let you go if you make Kurda out to be the bad guy!" I hissed.
"Do you think I'd do that for no good reason?" Darren continued, "Kurda betrayed you! He's in league with the vampaneze. As near as I can figure, he plans letting them into the Hall of Princes once he's been invested, to seize control of the Stone Of Blood."
"How do you know this?" one of the Princes yelled.
"I'm only guessing about the Stone of Blood," Shan said matter-of-factly, "But I've seen the Vampaneze, Gavner saw them too. That's why Kurda murdered him. He'd have spared my life but I threw myself into the stream in the Hall Of Final Voyage. I was sure I'd die but I survived."
"Unfortunately." I hissed.
"Once I recovered I came back here to warn you," Shan added.
"How many vampaneze are down there?" one of the Princes asked.
"At least thirty, possibly more," Shan said dramatically.
"This makes no sense!" one of the Princes said, obviously frustrated.
"I agree, but a lie this outlandish would be simple to disprove. If he wished to fool us he'd have chosen a less fantastic story," one of the other Princes said.
"Besides," the other Prince sighed, "I look into the boys eyes and there's noting but truth in them."
"Check your glasses Gramps!" I muttered. Suddenly there was a roar and I gasped as Cyrus broke free from the guards holding him down.
"Go Cyrus!" I squealed, I was lucky I wasn't heard but there were shocked mutterings that covered up my voice. Cyrus leapt towards Shan, holding a knife, I was happy that it would be Cyrus who made an end of him.
"No Cyrus!" Kurda bellowed, what the hell was he doing? Cyrus stopped and stared at Kurda questioningly, I noticed the vampire's closing in on him.
"It's over," Kurda said softly, "Don't spill blood unnecessarily, that was never our aim."
Cyrus looked sad and confused, his eyes flickered briefly to me, and then he nodded at Kurda. Then, without any warning, he gulped and used the knife in his hand to stab himself. I pressed my hand over my mouth hard to muffle my screams. There was a steady growing pool of blood around him, when he fell his body sprawled on the floor he was too far away for me to get to. I couldn't risk anyone spotting me but Cyrus wasn't dead yet, he had a few seconds, I needed to let him know that I was there for him. It was so frustrating, I quickly stuck my arm under the tablecloth and grabbed hold of his hand. He stared at me, his eyes were open but lifeless, and the ghost of a smile was on his lips. Tears were running down my face, my best friend had gone, the only reason that I was no longer on the streets was because of Cyrus.
"What have you to say in rebuttal of Darren's claims?" one of the Princes asked.
"At this moment, nothing," Kurda replied.
"You don't deny the charge?" another Prince asked, shocked.
"I do not," Kurda replied quietly. There was a large groan from the crowd of vampires. What was Kurda doing?
"Let's kill him now!" one of the Princes screamed.
"No," I cried.
"With respect Sires," the vampire who had spoken for Darren Shan said, "would it not make more sense to focus on the vampaneze before we execute our own? Kurda can wait, we should deal with the intruders first."
"Seba is right," A Prince said, "The Vampaneze must be put to the sword. There will be time for traitors later." He turned to a group of guards, "Take Kurda and the other traitor away and hold them captive, under no circumstances let them take their own lives. That would be the easy way out, Keep them alive until we have time to interrogate them."
The Vampires stayed in the hall whilst the three Princes and Shan left to discuss things, they would probably praise the swine and tell him what a hero he'd been. I couldn't leave yet, not without being caught. I'd lost everyone in the space of about ten minutes. Cosmo, Sparcalo, Cyrus, and Oric and Kurda were as good as dead.
"Why Cyrus?" I whispered. "Why did you leave me?" I lay under the table and cried and then my sorrow turned into anger and I hissed and swore and spat at the name of Darren Shan. Eventually the vampires filed out of the hall and I was able to leave. I didn't go straight back to the tunnels, I knew it was risky but I had to find Oric and Kurda, they needed me. I covered myself in the long black tablecloth, pulling it over my head so I wouldn't be seen, and then I hurried down the many corridors, searching desperately for my friends. It was amazing really, I didn't get caught and I managed to find the place where Oric and Kurda were being held within about half-an-hour. There were two guards stationed by the door to a Hall. I could see past them, the hall was empty apart from a large pit in the middle of the floor and a few wooden cages that lined the walls. Then I spotted two steel cages in the far corner, about four metres apart so the people inside couldn't touch each other. Kurda and Oric were in the cages, Kurda with his knees drawn up to his chin and his head bowed and Oric curled up with his eyes closed. I needed to get to them, I needed to distract the guards on the door. I drew myself up to my full height, my heart racing. I stepped around the corner and cleared my throat, the guards looked at me suspiciously.
"Seba told me to come and tell you to arrest Vanez Blane, it's an order from the Princes, he's been behaving suspiciously and may have been in league with Kurda," I said authoritatively as if I knew what I was doing. I picked one of the names that I'd heard the vampires talking about.
"What? Now?" one of the guards asked.
"No, next week," I said sarcastically, "Of course now! Move it!" The vampires looked at each other and then dashed off. I stood there for a moment, I was so surprised that it had actually worked! I came to my sense and ran into the hall.
"Kurda!" I hissed.
"Darren?" he asked. I was more than a little hurt.
"No, I'm not a sneaking, two-timing, two-faced, back stabbing, ungrateful, unfriendly, obnoxious, stuck-up, annoying, spiteful, selfish, cowardly little weasel!" I spat.
"Ember it's not his fault, he just got the wrong end of the stick." Kurda sighed.
"Wrong end of the stick? He's turned every vampire in the whole mountain against you, he's ready to watch you be tortured and killed!" I growled.
"I know," Kurda said quietly and then he started to cry.
"Kurda come on, stop it." I pleaded.
"I'm just scared Ember," Kurda sobbed.
"Don't be silly, I'm here now, I'm getting you out aren't I?" I said smiling.
"No," Kurda whispered.
"What do you mean no?" I asked, my mouth open.
"I have to tell the other vampires what I know, if I don't they'll all die, at least if they know they have a small chance of surviving this." Kurda told me.
"Don't be thick! Oric, make him see sense!" I gasped. There was silence, I turned to the cage where Oric was.
"Oric?" I asked. "Oric?"
"Ember leave him, he's dead," Kurda said quietly.
"No! No he can't be! How?" I cried.
"They'd torture him, he would have died anyway, at least he was at peace like this. He had some poison with him, it was in case this happened, Cyrus and Sparcalo had some too. I… I told him to drink it," Kurda sobbed.
"No!" I cried, "Kurda, you stupid idiot! I could have got him out!"
"I'm sorry, I didn't know," Kurda gulped.
"Oric! Damn you Kurda I loved him!" I screamed.
"Keep it down," Kurda whispered, "Someone will hear!"
"Let them hear, you're not going anywhere anyway right?" I snapped.
"No, but if they find you they'll kill you as well," Kurda said gently.
"I don't care, I don't give a damn, let them come," I hissed.
"Now you're being stupid Ember, you're young, you don't need this, you have to warn the vampaneze and then get out of here," Kurda told me. I swore at him but knew that he was right. I knelt down beside the cage with Oric's body in and took his hand through the bars. He groaned and I jumped back in shock.
"He's alive," I whispered.
"He won't be for much longer," Kurda said grimly. I reached through the bars and stroked Oric's face, then I held his hand tightly in mine and kissed it gently.
"I love you Oric, if you can hear me I want you to know that I love you," I sighed. I poked my other arm through the bars and laid my hand on his chest, his heart was still beating, slowly and faintly, but it was still there. "I love you," I repeated again and again. I kept saying it for five or six minutes, until his heart stopped and he died. Fresh tears spilt down my face and I let go of Oric and stood up.
" You should go," Kurda said softly.
"Ok," I sighed and turned to leave.
"Ember?" Kurda said in a voice barely above a whisper. I stopped and turned to face him again. "Will you come when they kill me?"
I shivered and wrapped my arms around myself. "Do you want me to come?" I asked. Kurda didn't reply, just nodded slightly.
"I promise I'll be there, no matter what, I've told you before, you're a fantastic person and anyone that says otherwise deserves to rot," and with that I left.
I managed to get to just outside the cave where the vampaneze were before I had to stop. I leant against the wall to support myself, it had suddenly dawned on me what had happened, it had been such a shock that it hadn't sunk in properly but it had only been a matter of time. I screamed, collapsed to my knees, and howled pitifully. I was violently sick but I didn't care, and then I was sobbing and retching and gasping for breath in between.
"Ember! What's wrong?" a voice asked, it was Harlan.
"Everything!" I cried. I felt him grab me by the shoulders, pick me up, and then throw me over his shoulder. He carried me into the cave and put me gently on the floor, everyone was silently staring at me.
"You all need to get out, now!" I said. "They're coming, they'll kill you all, Kurda wants me to go tomorrow, I have to stay, you all need to get out!"
"Ember slow down!" Glalda said firmly, calming me instantly. "Now tell us what's happened, where's Kurda and the others?"
"Kurda's been captured by the vampires, the others are all dead." I yelled and dragged my nails across the stone ground, trying to get rid of some of my anger.
"How?" Harlan asked.
"Darren Shan! I'll kill him!" I spat.
"He's alive?" Glalda asked, I nodded.
"He interrupted Kurda's investiture and told the vampires that Kurda was a traitor, he told them about you lot down here and at this very moment they're coming up with a plan to kill you all!"
A few of the vampaneze swore and muttered things under their breaths.
"Don't panic," Glalda said calmly, "They won't find us down here, Kurda chose this cave for a reason."
"But Shan is with them," Harlan pointed out, "He knows where we are."
"But I doubt he'll remember. I say that we should leave but not all of us immediately, we'll only draw attention to ourselves if we all go now and the vampires will have us pinned but if we leave in small groups over the next few days then we should be fine." Glalda said.
"Three days is too long Glalda, they'll send trackers after us, we'll be lucky if they don't find us by the end of tonight," one of the other Vampaneze said.
"I disagree, even if they know where we are I don't think they'll attack by tonight. They know that we are good fighters and won't want to risk losing too many of their people. To be on the safe-side we'll move to a different cavern, Kurda showed me many" Glalda said quietly, "If there's any sign of trouble then we'll go but I think for the moment that it would be best if the majority of us stayed."
"I want to go," a voice said. I turned round to see Jasper standing behind me. "I have no reason to stay ad I think I need to go and figure out what I'm going to do with my life now Onyx is gone."
"You are permitted to leave if you wish Jasper," Glalda said gently. "You deserve a break."
"Thank you Glalda, but I want Ember to come with me."
"I can't," I said. " I need to stay."
"Ember, we don't mind if you want to go," Harlan said. "There's nothing but bad memories for you here."
I nodded silently and gave him a weak smile.
"Ok then," I said, standing up and wiping tears off of my face.
"Come on Ember, let's go," Jasper said kindly, offering me his hand.
"I'm really gonna miss you lot," I said to the crowd of Vampaneze, "You all take care of yourselves."
"We'll try to," Glalda said smiling at me. I hugged the vampaneze I knew best, Glalda, Harlan, and Craig. Harlan fetched my little bag with my sweaters in for me and then I took Jasper's hand and we made our way out of the tunnels, out of the mountain and into the night.
The first breath of fresh air was amazing, the sky was dark and covered with stars, and it took my breath away. Jasper suggested that we just sat outside the tunnels for the night, sleep there by day and then start walking back the next night. I liked the sound of that so we stayed up, gazing at the stars and talking about Onyx, Cyrus, Sparcalo, Oric, Kurda and everyone else that we had lost that had been so important to us.
As soon as night fell the following day I shook Jasper awake.
"I have to go," I whispered.
"Huh? What?" he groaned.
"I promised Kurda I'd be there for him when he died, I can't not show up," I sighed. I didn't want to go back but I knew that I had to.
"Are you sure?" Jasper asked, I don't think he'd even heard me properly.
"Yeah, I'll catch up with you later," I said.
"Ok," Jasper yawned and fell back to sleep. I made my way back up the tunnels with a heavy heart and then I stopped, I could hear yelling and screaming and I knew that there was a fight going on. The vampaneze had moved to a different cave but they'd obviously been found. I wasn't sure what to do, I wanted to help. I opened my bag to take the knife that Cyrus had given me out of it and then I noticed the present waiting there for me. It was three boxes of cigarettes, obviously from Harlan. I knew that I had to help him out then, I had to help them all out, they were my friends, even Gilligan with his broken nose! I took one of the cigarettes out of the box, lit it, smoked it, and then got ready to fight! I can't really remember what happened, it's all a blur now, but I know that I barged past some vampires and started defending my friends. The vampires weren't quite sure what to make of me, I didn't attack any of them, just protected the vampaneze. I was cut and scratched a little, my shoulders, my legs, my arms, my face. I was shaking so much it was amazing I could move at all. I actually think that fighting the vampires was a good thing, I released all of my anger and all of my emotion, and it got it out of my system. There were a group of vampires circled around Gilligan who was on the ground, he was in a bad way. The vampires were laughing at him, taunting him and I saw red.
"This is for Darren Shan!" I screamed, "But you'll do!" and I launched myself at the vampires, slit two throats and ran for it. I zipped past some more vampires and ran up the tunnels, breathing faster than I ever had in my life.
I slept in the cave that we had always used before that night, it felt strange, it was so empty. I wasn't used to sleeping by myself, I'd always been in a cave full of vampaneze and before that I'd been with Kurda, Cyrus, Sparcalo and Oric. I thought about Kurda then, I didn't have a clue how I was going to find out when and where to go, maybe he wouldn't be killed anyway. Though he'd been pretty damn sure he would be and I didn't really believe that he had much of a chance. In the end it turned out that my problem was sorted out for me. I group of vampires came past the cave entrance, discussing their great victory in the battle against the vampaneze, I ground my teeth but listened carefully.
"What do you think will happen to Kurda?" one of them asked.
"They'll question him later today and then they'll send him to the Hall of Death and skewer him like a sausage on a stick," another replied. My stomach churned at the thought of it and as vampires walked away I followed them.
"When do you think they'll question him? I wanna be there to see what he has to say, it'll be funny," another vampire said.
"Dunno, a couple of hours I guess when everyone's cleaned up, I reckon everyone will turn up to watch him squirm," the second laughed. I followed the group of vampires out of the tunnels and as they started to mingle with other groups I hung back, just inside the tunnel round a corner so I couldn't be seen. I was just waiting to hear any information that would tell me what was happening about Kurda.
There weren't many vampires in the hall, it was easy for me to hide behind a stack of wooden cages against one wall. Kurda knew I was there, I made sure he knew. As soon as they dragged him into the Hall of Death and the other vampires were looking away I popped up from where I was hiding and waved at him. Obviously he couldn't wave back but he gave me a weak smile. He didn't struggle as they chained him into another wooden cage, he just let them do it. He was trembling but he held his head high and didn't cry. I'd never really thought of him as being brave, Sparcalo had always been the ferocious 'no nonsense' one of the group, but now I realised that Kurda was much braver than any of us had been, I was sorry that I'd never really appreciated him. He'd always been whiny Kurda, Kurda who was so easily upset, who was on edge, who couldn't relax. But I mean who could blame him if he knew what was going to happen? If there was even a chance that this would have become a reality? And it had, and I was sorry and I bet the others would have been too because Kurda had guts, he'd been carrying so many lies and secrets around and he'd dealt with it and we'd never even thanked him, nobody had. The three vampires that had brought Kurda to the hall blindfolded him and then hoisted the cage up so it dangled over the pit of stakes in the middle of the hall. I dug my fingernails deep into my palms, frustrated that there was nothing I could do to save my only living friend and also scared for him. Kurda's back was facing the stakes, they hadn't even given him the chance to face his death. I know that death is death but Kurda was a proud person and I knew he'd rather face what was coming head on and prove that he could deal with it. They'd stripped him of his clothes as well. They were savages, barbarians, it was no wonder there were so many vampire hunters in the world! If I wasn't I vampire I would have become a hunter myself, I hated the vampires for what they'd done to my friends… what they'd done to me! I was snapped out of my thoughts as the vampires dropped the cage, impaling Kurda on the spikes in the pit. I bit down on my fist so I didn't make a noise. They pulled the wooden cage back up, Kurda's wounds dripped blood and he hung limp in the cage, but he wasn't dead. He was coughing and choking, trying to get air, but he still didn't scream or cry. The vampires dropped the cage again, I wiped the tears away from my cheeks, if Kurda could stay strong then I had to as well. They dropped the cage three times before Kurda died, I watched as they lowered the cage and retrieved his cold, blood-smeared body. They treated him like a dead animal carcass, like he'd never been a person, like he'd never really lived. They dragged his body away, out of the hall and I took one of the sweaters out of my bag, leapt forward and mopped up some of Kurda's spilled blood, I still have it.