Chapter 7

That morning I had a more comfortable day's sleep. My mind put at ease at last. However, I only just realized I hadn't had a feed for a couple of days…and knew I would need to. Not as much however as I knew Darren did.

I called Darren to my tent when I woke, and checked him over, tilting his head forward and back and looking at the back of his eyes.

"How do you feel?" I asked and after snapping at me when he entered, it seemed he was prepared to tell me the truth, after I treated him I still did not think I deserved to know, but he told me all the same.

"Tired…" he replied in a mellow tone.

"Weak?" I asked " Sick?"

"A bit…" he muttered.

Just as I expected, "Have you been drinking much blood lately?" I asked

"As much as I'm meant to" he replied, but I already knew before I asked what his answer would be.

"But no Human blood?"

Darren bowed his head; he could not look at me as he answered, "No…"

I frowned in thought, running a hand down my scar then sighed, "Ok--get ready we are going out."

"Hunting?" he asked.

I shook my head; I had wanted to make this visit anyway, with or without Darren, this way I could kill to birds with one stone as the old saying goes.

"To see a friend" I replied and left it as bluntly as that.

Once we were clear of the camp that night, I flitted to the nearest town, I had been to this town before as a performer. However, no one who had known me as a 10-year-old was alive now 200 years later, but there was one person in this place who did know me…Jimmy Ovo.

Jimmy was one of the first people I met as a vampire who I befriended who was human and Gavner and I met him when he was barely Darren's age whilst asking for shelter from his father. As we walked inside a tall building to meet my old and trusted friend I silenced Darren so as to make a good entrance, when Doctor Ovo entered the room I smiled inwardly.

"How may I--" he began when he recognized me, just as I recognized him. Jimmy was almost in his forties now, and no grey hair in sight among the red locks. He like his father had become a pathologist…and I must say though I am biased, that he is one of the best I know.

When he recognized me it showed on his face, "Larten Crepsley!" he boomed happily, all formalities forgotten, "What the hell are you doing here, you old devil…!" he asked

"Hello Jimmy, I said smiling, I shook his hand and smiled as we greeted each other."Long time, no see…" I told him and he smiled.

"Not as long as I thought it would be!" said Jimmy smiling, "I heard you'd been killed, an old foe had finally rammed a stake through your rotten heart, or so that's how the story went."

Rotten…me!

I raised an eyebrow as he spoke the rumor. ME DEAD! SO EASILY! NEVER! I laughed inwardly; I would never die without a fight, which I swore to myself long ago.

"You should not believe everything you here…" I told him smiling then remembered Darren and put a hand on his shoulder. "Jimmy, this is Darren Shan a travelling companion of mine, Darren, this is Jimmy Ovo, an old friend and the worlds finest pathologist"

They shook hands and I smiled watching them. Jimmy smiled, "You--you aren't a--I mean well belong to the club do you?"

"He is a vampire" I told Jimmy and Darren glared up at me.

"Only half of me!" he snapped.

Jimmy winced, I had forgotten how he hated the word. "Please don't use that word, I know what you guys are, and I'm fine with it, but that V word never fails to freak me out!" he said shivering, "I think it was all the horror movies I watched as a kid! I know you're not those cinema monsters but it's hard to get the image out of the mind"

"What does a pathologist do?" Darren asked as Jimmy stopped shivering.

"I cut up bodies to see how they've died; I don't do it with most bodies, just ones that have died in suspicious circumstances."

To help Darren's inquisitiveness Jimmy showed him one dead body, lying on a table in the middle of a room.

As we entered I asked Jimmy how his life had been going, Darren seemed to interested in the room to take notice.

"By the way, I had an old friend here a few years back?"
"Who was that?"
Jimmy sniffed heavily through his nose as though imitating a snore and I found myself hooting with delight! "Gavner Purl…How is the old dog as clumsy as ever!"

"He came for a refill, as you vampires do…he even asked about you, funny thing I told him what I heard and he laughed at it, but he did look a bit nervous, have you spoken to him at all since your last visit here?"
"No, no, after we left here last time, I was at Vampire Mountain again after, then left again after a year…Hadn't seen him since"

Jimmy went to ask something else, probably why I had left but Darren cut across to my relief. "Where do you keep the bodies?"

He led to one of the filing cabinets in the room or rather the refrigerated coffins they were really, and as I have seen him and his father do on countless occasions he opened it to reveal a dead body.

I could still, after even all the dead bodies I have seen, never understand how Jimmy could smile in the presence of the dead, as though it was nothing big, but ofcourse it was his job, and his father had been the same, it was just part of his normal routine, just as Darren and I had the routine to drink small amounts of blood from humans.

"We store the bodies here until there we're ready, or until their next of kin come to collect them," said Jimmy and Darren looked at the number of drawers.

"Is there a body behind each one?" he asked.

"No, we only have six guests at the moment," the way he referred to the bodies as guests used to make me feel un easy the first time I came here. "Mind you we've had busier times, most of our storage space foes unused, it's rare for us to be half full. We just like to be prepared for the worst."

"Any fresh bodies in stock?" I asked casually

"I'll check…" sad Jimmy, and flicked through papers "Theres a man in his thirties, died in a car crash just eight hours ago…" he told me.

"Nothing fresher?" I asked, disappointed.

"Afraid not" he told me.

I thanked him and it seemed that Darren got the gist of why else they had come. "Wait--your not going to drink from a dead person are you?" he asked as though I was insane.

"No," I told him, reaching into my cloak for bottles to put the dead mans crimson into. "I have come for a refill."

"You can't!" he protested.

"Why not!" I asked calmly.
"It isn't right--" he told me desperately, "It's not fair to drink from the dead--besides the blood will be sour!" he said, which made me nod in consideration, atleast that meant he was listening to me.

"I will not be best," I agreed, "But it will do for bottling, and I disagree with you--the blood here is much more ideal, the blood is of no use to the corpse, It will take a lot to fill these bottles, too much to take from a living person"

"Not unless you took from several" he retorted.

"True, but that would require time effort and risk, It is easier this way!"

Jimmy made a comment, and wish he hadn't spoke, I asked him as politely as I could now I was in such a bad mood for Jimmy to lead us to the body, and on it being revealed I started to refill. The process did not take long, using a tube I stuck into the dead mans heart, I was able to use his heart like a pump to fill the 8 bottles.

After this I looked at Darren and handed him a bottle, "Darren, I know you are reluctant to drink human blood, but now is the time to get over your fear--"

"No! he said immediately, my rage building inside of me, "DARREN! This person is dead! The blood is no use to him any more…!"

"I cant not a corpse!" he whined, I looked at him angrily.

"BUT YOU WILL NOT DRINK FROM A LIVING PERSON!" I growled at him, my eyes alight with rage as they burnt into him, "YOU HAVE TO DRINK HUMAN BLOOD EVENTUALLY! THIS IS THE BEST WAY TO START!"

Jimmy tried to cut in but I told him to be quiet, and felt bad afterwards--it was just my anger breaking through. I was angry because I was trying to help the boy and he was throwing it back in his face, and even more angry at myself because I had done nothing sooner!

"YOU HAVE TO DRINK! YOU ARE A VAMPIRES ASSISTANT IT IS TIME YOU BEHAVED LIKE ONE!"

Darren looked desperate, he looked at me sadly, and I knew I would give in before he spoke. "Please--" he begged, "not tonight, another time, when we go hunting I cant drink off a corpse It's disgusting…!"

I sighed and shook my head, and I looked at him sadly. "One night I hope you realize how silly you are being…and I just hope by that time you aren't beyond being saved."

I talked with Jimmy a while, about how he was and how his father was, and what we'd been up to. My mind however, was still troubled over Darrens predicament, that soon we were waving goodbye and as we went back to the Cirque I wandered how long Darren had left; If I would miss the lad if he died.

When we got back, before he could go back to his tent he shared with Evra, I took him aside,

"If you die it is not my fault" I said bluntly, and he just looked up at me with bored eyes.

"OK…" he replied and I growled bitterly.

"STUPID BOY!" I hissed as I left and then stormed back to my coffin, but sleep again did not come easy…because even though I tried to get the idea out of my head, but I knew one thing was certain.

If Darren did die,

It would be my fault.