Author's Note: So, Gavner is one of my favorite people ever to appear in this series (I have a lot of them actually… hmm), and I had to throw him in somewhere. I love love love him. If things go the way I'm planning there should be about five chapters left until the conclusion of this fic... which is outstanding, because I really want to get where I'm going with this. Plus Nikki (nikochan23, for those of you who don't know) TOTALLY owes me when I get to the climax, assuming the ultimatum still stands of course c:

In addition, I wrote this chapter to parallel chapter two in Cirque du Freak: Tunnels of Blood, so if the characters of Darren or Larten shift slightly it's because I'm trying to keep it as close to the original text as possible, with the exception of Michaela's presence of course. Speaking of which, I'll be mainly following her because I don't want to wind up just rewriting scenes. So please bear with me while I figure this out, I'm not accustomed to writing with the actual book next to me. Thank you c:

Review Response Time:

—Nikochan23: Literally, completely agree. As for whether or not he gets her… we'll soon see c; I actually haven't completely decided what to do with her… Hmmm. But anyways, I love you long time, and miss you lots, and and and-

On with the show!

"I can't believe it didn't work!" Darren whined after yet another failed attempt at telekinesis. Michaela fought the urge to let out a chuckle; she had been sitting out by the mill with him for quite some time, watching him try and move the cross by simply yelling at it. Michaela had, from the beginning, known that it was just a trick that Mr. Crepsley had mastered during his time with the Cirque— but Darren had been so excited about the possibility of being able to move objects with his mind that she didn't have the heart to break it to him.

Darren shuffled forward, growing frustrated rather than discouraged by his inability to move the cross he'd found. "I command you to move," he growled, snapping his fingers.

Michaela raised her eyebrows and, for the first time, tried to interrupt him. She could see that he was beginning to grow genuinely upset, and she felt that it was finally time to reveal to him what she knew to be true. "Dare—"

"Michaela, I can do this," he snapped, causing her to fall silent. He once again clicked his fingers together in one final try. "I order you to move." Click. "Move." No dice. Click. "Move!"

"What are you doing?" The voice came from behind Michaela, causing her to jump. A familiar hand settled on her shoulder and relaxed her just in time to hear Darren's sheepish response.

"Nothing…" He tried to hide the cross he was practicing with in the palm of his hand, but it was slightly too large, and one of the corners stuck out from underneath his thumb.

After that, time flew by quickly. Mr. Crepsley demonstrated his trick for Darren, and the look on the latter's face was priceless— the amount of pride he felt in discovering that it was an illusion brought a grin to Michaela's face. Darren was nearly eighteen and hardened by the burden of being a half-vampire, and yet he still managed to get excited over little things like this. Michaela's eyes remained trained on Darren's face, lit up with childish curiosity as Mr. Crepsley explained some of the little perks of being a vampire— illusions, opening locks, that sort of thing. Michaela was so busy marveling his innocence that she didn't notice the man creeping up on them until there were blades at both of the boys' necks.

Michaela froze, the concept of losing both her best friend and makeshift father figure in one swift movement immobilizing her. The fear that coursed through her veins was so potent that she heard nothing up until Mr. Crepsley's exasperated sigh filled the air. "Gavner, Gavner, Gavner," he chided. He used his hand to push the knife away from his throat, as though this was a casual occurrence and his life had never really been in any danger. "I always could hear you coming from half a mile away."

"Not true!" The man, apparently named Gavner, retracted both knives, returning them to their individual places before going on to defend himself. "You couldn't have heard."

"Why not?" Mr. Crepsley challenged immediately. "Nobody in the world breathes as heavily as you. I could pick you out blindfolded in a crowd of thousands."

Gavner's brows furrowed and a scowl grew on his lips as he muttered, "One night, Larten." His eyes flashed up to Mr. Crepsley's as he went on, "One night I'll surprise you. We'll see how smart you are then."

Mr. Crepsley let out a laugh at the man's expense, a grin settling on his face. "Upon that night I shall retire in disgrace." Once the comment had passed his lips, signifying the end of their exchange, Mr. Crepsley glanced around, finally recalling that his assistant and Michaela were both still present. They were both still stiff with fear, though Darren seemed to be recovering faster than Michaela. Mr. Crepsley moved over to rest a hand comfortingly on Michaela's shoulder for the second time that night before shooting a look at Gavner. "Shame on you, Gavner. You have frightened the children."

"Seems all I'm good for," Gavner agreed with a small pretense sigh. "Scaring children and little old ladies." His eyes landed on Michaela, scrutinizing her appearance. "Though you do not seem to fit either category."

Both teenagers stared at Gavner blankly, examining him just as he'd done to Michaela. He was taller than Darren but shorter than Larten, and wider than the two put together. His attire was normal enough, but his face was covered in the remnants of battle wounds, and his teeth were a bright shade of yellow. His fingertips each had a scar, marking him as yet another vampire who did not fit the stereotypical terrifying description. He seemed friendly enough, though not the kind of friend either teen would expect Mr. Crepsley to have.

"Darren, Michaela, this is Gavner Purl— an old, trust, rather clumsy friend." He gestured to each of his three companions in turn, stopping on the newcomer. "Gavner, these are Darren Shan and Michaela Freiland."

"Pleased to make your acquaintance, my lady," Gavner said with a bow. He kissed Michaela's hand, earning himself a scowl from Darren and a chuckle from Mr. Crepsley. Once he stood fully erect, he moved to shake Darren's hand as well. "And yours as well. You didn't hear me coming, did you?"

"Uh-uh," Darren answered begrudgingly. He'd been so focused on learning the tricks of the vampire trade that he had forgotten Michaela's existence, let alone the presence of an unannounced vampire.

"There!" Gavner exploded. Pride was evident in his voice, as though deceiving the young vampire was an admirable feat. "See?"

"Congratulations," Mr. Crepsley deadpanned. "If you are ever called upon to sneak into a nursery, you should have no problems." He redirected his attention to the girl next to him, whose heart was still beating slightly faster than its usual pace. He had a feeling that it would be a while before she calmed down. "Michaela, why do you not go find Evra? I am sure he could use some help setting up for his act."

"Oh, I get it," she said sarcastically, a small grin on her face. "It's time for the manly men to talk about big boy things. Whatever." She stood, planting a kiss on Mr. Crepsley's scar before departing. "Bye, Larten. Darren. Nice to meet you Gavner."

"He didn't know you were a vampire?" Michaela whispered in surprise. She always assumed that Darren's vampirism was relatively well-known. It had never occurred to her that Darren's existence might be a secret, or that Mr. Crepsley could potentially get in trouble for having blooded him.

"Nope." Darren's eyes shifted over to a bare wall of the room they were in, focusing on a spider crawling down it. "They were talking about Crepsley being judged at the next Council or something like that. I don't know. Gavner flipped out when he found out I was a vampire— he calmed down a little when he found out that you were still human, though."

"But if you're not supposed to have been blooded—" Michaela paused, trying to find a way to word what she felt without instilling fear into Darren, as well. "They're not going to do anything to you, right, Darren? I mean… you'll be safe? Both of you?"

"I— I dunno." His gaze returned to Michaela's face. The worry she felt was written all along it, and Darren reached over to grab her hand. "Hey. We'll be fine, okay? I'm not going any—"

"Darren?" Both heads spun to look at Gavner, who had just appeared at the door of the room. "Oh, and hello, Michaela." He then turned his attention back to Darren. "Would you care to take a walk with me?"

Sensing his incoming refusal, Michaela jumped in to answer for him. "He would love to." A grin appeared on her face as she increased her pressure on his hand, letting him know that she would be fine without him. "Go. I'm sure Evra could use my help with his snake."

After a long pause for deliberation, Darren finally nodded his consent. He got to his feet and dropped a kiss on her forehead before departing with Gavner. Once he was out of her line of vision, she rose as well, going in the opposite direction in order to find Evra.

A/N: So, this was significantly shorter than I'd anticipated, mostly because I was dead for a good three-fourths of it. I apologize for that! There were a lot of filler scenes in the beginning of this book where Michaela would just not fit in, and being as you guys have read the books already I saw no need in rewriting them. (Plus, let's be real, there's no way I'd ever outshine Darren Shan.) Next chapter is back to Stevieboy, and the one following is going to be Michaela, Evra, and Darren's introduction to the city. See you guys soon!