Chapter 10-

(Shan's POV)

"You can leave in the tunnels then meet with Harkat at the cirque later. I'm sorry. Larten and I tried everything but they still wish for your death. This is the only way. You have to run away to keep your life," Kurda tells me.

"Okay," I nod, not happy about it.

"Let's go now. Hurry."

"Wait!" I stop in my tracks.

"We have no time to waste," He warns.

"I can't leave Catarina. I won't!" I remember what she said about being alone, having no one except me. She needs me.

Kurda sighs, frustratedly. "Wait here. I will get her," and then he flits through the halls to her room. He returns a moment later with her on his back. She jumps down and she grabs my burnt hand in her perfect smooth one. We follow Kurda as quickly as possible.

(Catarina's POV)

Shan has to stop and rest because he is still not in good shape. That's when we hear the footsteps and again my heart almost jumps out of my chest. I am surprised I have not yet had a heart attack and died. "Darren!" Kurda screeches. "You can't stay here! We've got to make a break for it before-"

"I can't," he insists. "Take Catarina and hide. I'll pretend I acted alone."

"You know I wouldn't leave you," he sits down. "Go Catarina while you still have the chance."

I shake my head. "I cannot leave either one of you. I will stay here and if it is death that we are sentenced to then I will take it because at least I will be facing the end with you."

He sighs and then we wait a few moments for the vampire to arrive. It is Gavner Purl! "You two are in so much trouble. Who's dumb idea was it to run?"

"Mine!" Kurda and Shan both say at the same time.

Gavner shakes his head, exasperated. "You're as bad as each other. Come on now, the truth."

"It was my idea," Kurda confesses. "I persuaded Darren to come. The blame is mine."

"You're an idiot. This will destroy you if words gets out. You won't just have to forget about becoming a vampire Prince- chances are you'll be carted off to the Hall of Death to suffer the same fate as Darren."

"Only if you tell on me."

"You think I won't?"

"If it was your intention to punish us, you wouldn't have come alone."

"You're right. Catarina, what on earth are you doing here? You are not in any trouble. You should have stayed. Was it Kurda's idea to bring you along in this mess?"

"It was Shan's but if Kurda had not told me what was going on, and they left without me, you all would have my wrath to face. I would never forgive any of you. If we are all sentenced to death then so be it," I stand up. "At least we will be together. I am not afraid. I just do not want to be alone. Shan is my friend. He is all I have. I'm not leaving him."

"You are a very brave girl Catarina, foolish but brave. Your loyalty to your friends is very clear. You would make a good vampire. I do not wish to see you all be killed. If you three come back with me I'll keep your names out of it. In fact, nobody will ever need to know what happened. Harkat and I are the only ones who know at the moment. We can get Darren back before judgement is passed."

"Why?" Kurda challenges. "So he can be taken to the hall of death?"

"If that's the judgement of the Princes- yes."

"That's why we're escaping from here. I won't let him go back to be killed. It's wrong to take a boy's life in such a heartless fashion."

"Wrong or right the judgement of the Princes is final!"

"You agree with me though, you think his life should be spared."

Gavner nods. "But that's my own opinion. I'm not going to ignore the ruling of the Princes."

"Why not? Do we have to obey them even when they're wrong, even when they rule unjustly?"

"It's our way."

"Ways can be changed. The princes are too inflexible. They ignore the fact that the world is moving forward. In a few weeks, I'll be a Prince. I can change things. Let Darren go, and I'll get the ruling against him overturned. I'll clear his name and allow him to return and complete his Trials. Turn a blind a eye just this once and I swear you won't regret it."

"It's wrong to plot against the Princes."

"Nobody will know. They'll think Darren and Catarina got away by themselves. We'll never be investigated," Kurda argues.

"It goes against everything we believe in."

"Sometimes we have to abandon old beliefs in favor of new ones."

"You should not take Catarina. Keep her here where she is safe. They can reunite later on."

"No!" I argue.

"When they find out you are with him they will punish you."

"Go Catarina. Stay with Harkat and Mr. C. They will take care of you and then we can meet up again later," Shan says.

"Shan...," I protest sadly.

"I'll go back if you want me to," he tells Gavner. "I'm afraid of dying which is why I let Kurda talk me into fleeing but if you say I should return, I will."

"I don't want you to die but running away never solved anything."

"Nonsense!" Kurda retorts. "Vampires would be a lot better off if more of us had the good sense to run from a fight when the odds are stacked against us. If we take Darren back, we take him to die. Where's the sense in that?"

"I don't like it but it's the lesser of two evils. I won't turn you in but only if you agree to resent the truth to the others once you become a Prince, Kurda. We'll come clean, clear Darren's name if we can, accept our punishment if we can't. Okay?" Gavner bargains.

"That's fine by me," Kurda agrees.

"Your word on it?"

"My word," he nods.

"How are you anyway Darren?"

"Not so bad."

"You look like you're about to drop."

"I'll make it."

We all go through the tunnels and then we hear voices. Gavner goes to check it out and is looking awful when he returns. There's 34 or 35 Vampaneze. They are waiting to attack us. Shan decides to just go back to the others so we can warn them. He will take whatever punishment comes. I am not happy about it but I don't have time to get upset. We have to hurry back. But on the way we run into a few vampaneze. Gavner kills one but more run towards us. Kurda says he will stay to help fight and that we should run away. We do but only get so far before Shan changes his mind. "I can't leave them. Go and warn the others."

"No, Kurda is my friend too, one of my only friends. And Gavner is an honorable person. I'm not leaving you. I will go with you."

We get closer and watch for a minute before realizing it is too late to jump in. We are about to leave when we get a shock. We see Kurda plunge his knife into Gavner's belly. I open my mouth to scream but Shan clamps his hand over my lips to stop me. Gavner falls down. One of the vampaneze says to Kurda "I thought for a minute you were coming to his aid."

"No, I'd have knocked him out and taken him away somewhere if possible, but the others could have tracked down his mental signals. There's a boy and a girl up ahead, both half vampires. The boy is injured so he won't be hard to catch. The girl is a little more stubborn but she will go with the boy. I want them both taken alive. The others won't be able to track them."

"Do you mean the boy and girl behind you?"

Kurda turns to us in surprise. "Darren! Catarina! How long have you been there? How much have you-"

Gavner groans. Shan jumps over and kneels beside him. He is dying. "I'm with you Gavner," he whispers, crying. "You're not alone."

"Sorry," he mumbles then he dies.

Shan stands up. "You killed him!" he yells at Kurda.

"I had to. There was no time to let him die a noble death- you might have gotten away if I'd left him for the vampaneze."

"You knew they were here all along..."

"That's why I didn't want to take the route under the stream. Everything would have been okay if we had gone the way I wanted."

"You're in league with them! You're a traitor!"

Again my heart lurches as I realize that this is indeed true. My dear friend Kurda has betrayed me.

"You don't understand what's happening. This looks terrible but it's not what you think. I'm trying to save our race, not condemn it. There are things you don't know- things no vampire knows. Gavner's death is regrettable, but when I explain properly-"

"The hell with your explanations! You're a traitor and a murderer scum!"

"I saved your life."

"At the expense of Gavner's. Why did you do it? He was your friend. He...Never mind, I don't want to hear it." he picks up Gavner's knife and the vampaneze draw their own weapons, starting to close in. My eyes widen in horror.

"No!" Kurda shouts. "I said I want him taken alive!"

"He has a knife. Do you want us to let him chop our fingers off while we get it away from him?" the vampaneze challenges.

"Don't worry Glalda. I'm in control of the situation," he drops his knife and steps toward us. I am behind him a couple feet.

"Stop!' Shan demands. "Don't come any closer!"

"I'm unarmed."

"I don't care. I'll kill you anyway. You deserve it."

"Maybe but I don't think you'd kill an unarmed man, no matter what he'd done. If I'm wrong, I'll pay for my error of judgement in the severest way but I don't think I am."

"I hate you!" Shan tosses the knife, then grabs my arm and we run through the tunnels. The vampaneze run after us and Kurda warns them not to harm us.