Chapter 14: Darren
Neither the halfvampire Gillian, nor the vampire master Larten Crepsley came back home that night.
Darren wandered aimlessly through the camp of the Cirque du Freak and sat down at the camp fire, but remained silent and talked to no members of the Cirque.
Until Rebecca, the only normal girl in the circus who took care of the costumes, sat down beside him and smiled shy at him.
"Hi, Darren."
"Hi, Rebecca."
"Is everything okay?"
Was it so obvious that he was worried?
"Not really. Gillian and Mr Crepsley have been arguing, and now both are gone " He looked up into the sky. "And soon the sun will rise."
"Are you worried about the vampire?" Rebecca asked. "He can take care of himself."
"Yes, I know. It's just ... somehow I feel guilty. I'm to blame, that Gillian has been bruised ... "
"What happened? '". Rebecca made round eyes.
"I shouldn`t have left the circus without permission."
Even if that was not a precise answer to her question, Rebecca did not ask more. She only kept sitting next to the vampires assistant, and they both stared into the dancing flames in front of them.
"I've seen Gillian."
"When?" Darren asked.
"Two hours ago maybe. She came out of Crepsleys tent, and she looked ... well, a little upset. I almost collided with her because she was in such a hurry. She pushed me aside and asked what I wanted. I told her I had a message for Mr Crepsley."
"A message?"
"Yes. I was close to the trailer of Mr Tall when the director stuck out his head and called me over. He wanted me to go to Crepsleys tent and give him a message. That must have been at three o`clock. "
"What was it you should tell Mr Crepsley". Darren was excited.
"Nothing special ..." Rebecca hesitated and looked at Darren. "The message was for Mr Crepsley but Gillian said I could tell her as well. She is his student, and would deliver the message to him, she said. So I told her. I was not thinking it might be wrong ... " She looked guiltily at Darren and he hastened to assure her, that she had done nothing wrong.
"What was the message? You can tell me. After all, uh ... I'm Mr. Crepsleys assistant. "
Rebecca hesitated. But Darren smiled so innocently at her, that she finally said: "Oh, Mr. Tall only said, that a friend of Mr Crepsley wants to visit him. He told me, to tell Mr Crepsley that Gavner Purl was waiting in the directors trailer, and that he wanted to see him. "
Darren was taken aback. Gavner Purl? Was that not the other ancient vampire, a friend Crepsleys? What did he want? And why had not Gillian come back to tell Larten that his friend was waiting for him?
What did this all mean?
Rebecca yawned.
"It's getting late, nearly five clock in the morning." Darren looked at the clock. "You should go to bed."
"What about you?"
"I will stay awake until they return."
Rebecca did not dare to take Darren's hand and press it, so she got up, wished him a good night, and went away with the feeling of not having comforted him at all.
Darren stayed a while longer sitting by the fire and then rose as well.
He checked the tent again, but neither the vampire nor his student were there.
He opened the coffin and went down into the secret hiding place, but there was nobody. Lartens coffin was abandoned with the lid open at the end of the cellar.
When Darren left the tent, the sun was a narrow strip on the horizon.
The vampire had not come back.
Darren felt the uproar and stress of the day had exhausted him, and thought he could not keep his eyes open for another minute.
He staggered over to his tent and crawled onto his bed.
Evra startled and looked with sleepy eyes to him. "All right, buddy?" He asked, still half asleep.
Could he not leave him alone? "Hmhm, all right." Darren turned his face to the wall.
"You and Gillian. Have you fought, or something? "
"What makes you think that?" Darren muttered.
"Well, she was here earlier ..."
"When?", Darren sat up, his tiredness was swept away.
"A little while ago. She's gone, just before you came. "
Then Gillian had been all the time in the camp, while Darren was looking for her. Was she hiding from him on purpose?
"What did she want?"
Evra had raised the upper body and was lying on his elbow in his bed, so that he could look at Darren.
"I'm not sure. At first I thought she was here to see you. I mean, she never comes to visit me. But she did not ask for you, she just hung around here. At first I thought, she was waiting for something, but then ... "
"What then?"
"I think, she tried to say me something."
"What did she want to say?"
"I don`t know exactly. It was just a feeling, well ... "
Darren's heart began to pound. He had a queasy feeling.
"She was different than usual", Evra watched Darren, as he hoped that his friend can help him.
"What do you mean by different? What did she say? "
"Well she said ... not necessarily with words ... But I felt as if ... As if she wanted to say goodbye to me!"
Darren was freezing cold at these words.
Suddenly he felt he would never see Gillian again.
He looked over at Evra, whose eyes reflected the same concern.
Against his conviction Darren said: "Come on. Don`t worry. "
And he turned his face to the wall.
"Do you know the story of how the vampire and Gillian did meet for the first time?"
"No," said Darren, trying not to sound too curious.
"It is said," whispered Evra, "that Mr Crepsley had been wandering in the city and had spread flyers for the Cirque. It is said, that he had seen Gillian first time in a dark alley. It was a dangerous area and she seemed far too young to hang around there alone. And she was in trouble. A group of drunken men embarrassed and tried to get off with her." Evras voice sounded husky."They were near to rape her."
"And she was saved by Crepsley?" Darren said with wide eyes.
"No. She saved herself. "
Darren turned around to Evra: "How?"
"Maybe Mr Crepsley would have intervened, but that was not necessary. As it turned out, Gillian could very well defend herself alone. She pulled out a knife and gave a kick at one of the guys. Then she could probably get away ".
Darren was impressed.
"They say, that the vampire had never before met a young woman who defended herself with such courage and whose will to live was so strong."
"And then he took her with him ..." concluded Darren.
"No. That's the point. He's just gone his way. But then, shortly afterwards he met her again. On a bridge. It was the same girl. But now she stood on the bridge railing. It seemed as if all will to live had left her. Gillian wanted to jump off the bridge. She wanted to kill herself. "
Darren was stunned "But why ...?"
Evra shrugged. "No one knows. Anyhow, Mr Crepsley invited her to the Cirque and made her into a half-vampire. "
After this story it was difficult for Darren to fall asleep, but when he finally closed his eyes, his last thoughts were, that the vampire master had not returned home.
And that Gillian had said goodbye to Evra.
Something had been broken this night, and nothing would ever be as before.