Darren Shan – Sons of Destiny (страница 6)

They spent a lot of time together. Steve put on a good act — kind, generous, loving. Annie thought he cared for her, that they had a future together. She fell in love with him, and gave her love to him. Then she found out she was expecting a baby.

“His face lit up when he heard,” she said, shivering from the memory. Darius was by her side, solemn, silent, listening intently. “He made me believe he was delighted, that we’d get married and have lots of children together. He told me not to tell anyone — he wanted to keep it secret until we were husband and wife. He went away again. He said it was to earn money, to pay for our wedding and the baby’s upkeep. He stayed away a long time. He returned late one night, while I was sleeping. Woke me up. Before I could say anything, he clamped a hand over my mouth and laughed. ‘Too late to stop it now!’ he mocked me. He said other things, horrible things. Then he left. I haven’t heard from him since.”

She had to tell Mum and Dad about the baby then. They were furious — not with her, but with Steve. Dad would have killed Steve if he’d found him. But nobody knew where Steve was. He’d vanished.

“Raising Darius was hard,” she smiled, ruffling his hair, “but I wouldn’t give up a day of it. Steve was wicked, but he gave me the most marvellous gift anyone could have ever given me.”

“Soppy old cow,” Darius grunted, fighting hard not to smile.

I was quiet a long time after that. I wondered if Steve had meant to use Darius against me even then. This was back before he met the vampaneze and learnt of his abominable destiny. But I bet he was already planning my downfall, one way or the other. Did he deliberately get Annie pregnant, so he could use his nephew or niece to hurt me? Knowing Steve as I did, I guessed those were his exact intentions.

Annie started telling me about her life with Darius, from how Mum and Dad helped rear him until they moved away, how the pair were managing now on their own. She worried about him not having a father, but her experience with Steve had made her wary of men, and she found it hard to trust anyone. I could have listened to Annie talk all night, telling tales about Mum, Dad and Darius. I was catching up on all those missed years. I felt like part of the family again. I didn’t want it to stop.

But we were in the middle of a crisis. I’d delayed the moment of truth, but now I had to tell her about it. The night was drawing on, and I was keen to conclude the business I’d come about. I let her finish the story she was telling – about Darius’s first week in school – then asked if I could introduce her to some of my friends.

Annie wasn’t sure what to make of Vancha, Alice and Evanna. Alice dressed normally, but Vancha in his animal hides, with his straps of throwing stars and green hair, and the hirsute, deliriously ugly Evanna draped in ropes … They would have stuck out like a couple of gargoyles anywhere!

But they were my friends (well, Vancha and Alice were, whatever about the witch), so Annie welcomed them — though I could tell she didn’t entirely trust the trio. And I knew she sensed they weren’t here just to make up the numbers. She guessed that something bad was coming.

We made small talk for a while. Alice told Annie about her years on the police force, Vancha described some of his Princely duties and Evanna gave her tips on how to breed frogs (not that Annie had any interest in that!). Then Darius yawned. Vancha looked at me meaningfully — it was time.

“Annie,” I started hesitantly, “I told you Darius pledged himself to the vampaneze. But I didn’t tell you what precisely that means.”

“Go on,” Annie said when I stalled.

“Steve blooded him,” I said. “He transferred some of his vampaneze blood to Darius. The blood isn’t very strong within him, but it will strengthen. The cells will multiply and take over.”

“You’re saying he’ll become like you?” Annie’s face was ashen. “He won’t age normally? He’ll need to drink blood to survive?”

“Yes.” Her face crumpled — she thought that was the worst, the part I’d been holding back. I wished I could spare her the truth, but I couldn’t. “There’s more,” I said, and she stiffened. “Vampires can control their feeding habits. It isn’t easy – it requires training – but we can. Vampaneze can’t. Their blood forces them to kill every time they feed.”

“No!” Annie moaned. “Darius isn’t a killer! He wouldn’t!”

“He would,” Vancha grunted. “He’d have no choice. Once a vampaneze gets the taste of blood, his urges consume him. He goes into a kind of trance and feeds until he’s drained the source dry. He can’t stop.”

“But there must be some way to help him!” Annie insisted. “Doctors … surgery … medicine…”

“No,” Vancha said. “This isn’t a human disease. Your doctors could study him, and restrain him while he was feeding — but do you want your son to spend his life imprisoned?”

“Also,” I said, “they couldn’t stop him when he was older. As he comes into his full powers, he’ll grow incredibly strong. They’d have to keep him comatose to control him.”

“No!” Annie shouted, her face dark with stubborn rage. “I won’t allow this! There must be a way to save him!”

“There is,” I said, and she relaxed slightly. “But it’s dangerous. And it won’t restore his humanity — it will merely drive him towards a different corner of the night.”

“Don’t talk in riddles!” Annie snapped. “What does he have to do?”

“Become a vampire,” I said.

Annie stared at me in disbelief.

“It’s not-as bad as it sounds,” I went on quickly. “Yes, he’d age slowly, but that’s something you and he could learn to cope with. And yes, he’d have to drink blood, but he wouldn’t harm when he drank. We’d teach him to master his urges.”

“No,” Annie said. “There must be another way.”

“There isn’t,” Vancha huffed. “And even this way isn’t certain. Nor is it safe.”

“I’ll have to trade blood with him,” I explained. “Pump my vampire cells into his body, and accept his vampaneze cells into mine. The vampire and vampaneze cells will attack each other. If all goes well, Darius will become a half-vampire and I’ll carry on as before.”

“But if it fails, you’ll become a half-vampaneze and Darius won’t change?” Annie guessed, trembling at the thought of such a horrible fate.

“No,” I said. “It’s worse that that. If it fails, I’ll die — and so will Darius.”

And then I sat back numbly and awaited her decision.

CHAPTER FOUR

Annie didn’t like it – nobody did! – but we eventually convinced her that there was no other solution. She wanted to wait, think it over and discuss it with her doctor, but I told her it was now or never. “Vancha and I have a mission to complete,” I reminded her. “We might not be able to come back later.”

When we’d first discussed the transfusion, Vancha had volunteered. He didn’t think it was safe for me to try. I was in the middle of the purge — my vampire cells were taking over, turning me into a full-vampire, and my body was in a state of flux. But when I pressed him, he admitted there was no real reason for thinking that the purge would have any affect on the procedure. It might even work in our favour — since my vampire cells were hyperactive, they might stand a better chance of destroying the vampaneze cells.

We’d tried to quiz Evanna about the dangers. She could look into the future and tell us whether it would succeed or not. But she refused to be drawn. “This has nothing to do with me,” she’d said. “I will not comment on it.”

“But it must be safe,” I’d pressed, hoping for reassurance. “We’re destined to meet Steve again. We can’t do that if I die.”

“Your final encounter with Steve Leonard is by no means set in stone,” she’d replied. “If you die beforehand, he will become the Lord of the Shadows by default and the war will swing the way of the vampaneze. Do not think you are immune to danger because of your destiny, Darren — you can and perhaps will die if you attempt this.”

But Darius was my nephew. Vancha didn’t approve – he would have preferred to overlook Darius for the time being, and focus on Steve – but I couldn’t leave the boy this way, with such a threat hanging over him. If I could save him, I must.

We could have handled the blood transfer with syringes, but Darius insisted on the traditional fingertips method. He was excited, despite the danger, and wanted to do it the old way. “If I’m going to be a vampire, I want to be a real one,” he growled. “I don’t want to hide my marks. It’s all or nothing.”

“But it’ll be painful,” I warned him.

“I don’t care,” he sniffed.

Annie’s doubts remained, but in the end she agreed to the plan. She might not have if Darius had wavered, but he stuck to his guns with grim determination. I hated to admit it – and I didn’t say it out loud – but he had his father’s sense of commitment. Steve was insanely evil, but he always did what he set out to do, and nothing could change his mind once he’d made it up. Darius was the same.

“I can’t believe this is happening,” Annie sighed as I sat opposite Darius and prepared to drive my nails into the tips of his fingers. “Earlier tonight I was only thinking about doing the shopping tomorrow, and being here to let Darius in when he got home from school. Then my brother walks back into my life and tells me he’s a vampire! And now, as I’m just getting used to that, I might lose him as swiftly as I found him — and my son too!”