THE POSSIBILITY of refusing the challenge never entered my thoughts. Six years of living among vampires had filled me with their values and beliefs. Any vampire would lay down his life for the good of the clan. Of course, this wasn't as simple as giving one's life - I had a mission to fulfill, and if I failed, all would suffer - but the principle was the same. I'd been chosen, and a vampire who's been chosen does not say 'no'.

There was a short debate, in which Paris told Mr. Crepsley and me that this was not official duty and we didn't have to agree to represent the clan - no shame would befall us if we refused to co-operate with Mr. Tiny. At the end of the debate, Mr. Crepsley stepped forward, red cloak snapping behind him like wings, and said, "I relish the chance to hunt down the Vampaneze Lord."

I stepped up after him, sorry I wasn't wearing my impressive blue cloak, and said in what I hoped was a brave tone, "Me too."

"The boy knows how to keep it short," Mr. Tiny murmured, winking at Harkat.

"What about the rest of us?" Mika asked. "I've spent five years hunting for that accursed Lord. I wish to accompany them."

"Aye! Me too!" a General in the crowd shouted, and soon everyone was bellowing at Mr. Tiny, seeking permission to join us in the hunt.

Mr. Tiny shook his head. "Three hunters must seek - no more, no less. Non-vampires may assist them, but if any of their kinsmen tag along, they shall fail."

Angry mutters greeted that statement.

"Why should we believe you?" Mika asked. "Surely ten stand a better chance than three, and twenty more than ten, and thirty-"

Mr. Tiny clicked his fingers. There was a sharp, snapping sound and dust fell from overhead. Looking up, I saw long jagged cracks appear in the ceiling of the Hall of Princes. Other vampires saw them too and cried out, alarmed.

"Would you, who has not seen three centuries, dare to tell me, who measures time in continental drifts, about the mechanisms of fate?" Mr. Tiny asked menacingly. He clicked his fingers again and the cracks spread. Chunks of the ceiling crumbled inwards. "A thousand vampaneze couldn't chip the walls of this Hall, yet I, by clicking my fingers, can bring it tumbling down." He lifted his fingers to click them again.

"No!" Mika shouted. "I apologize! I didn't mean to offend you!"

Mr. Tiny lowered his hand. "Think of this before crossing me again, Mika Ver Leth," he growled, then nodded at the Little People he'd brought with him, who headed for the doors of the Hall. "They'll patch the roof up before we leave," Mr. Tiny said. "But next time you anger me, I'll reduce this Hall to rubble, leaving you and your precious Stone of Blood to the whim of the vampaneze."

Blowing dust off his heart-shaped watch, Mr. Tiny beamed around the Hall again. "I take it we're decided - three it shall be?"

"Three," Paris agreed.

"Three," Mika muttered bleakly.

"As I said, non-vampires may - indeed, must - play a part, but for the next year no vampire should seek out any of the hunters, unless for reasons which have nothing to do with the search for the Vampaneze Lord. Alone they must stand and alone they must succeed or fail."

With that, he brought the meeting to a close. Dismissing Paris and Mika with an arrogant wave of his hand, he beckoned Mr. Crepsley and me forward, and grinned at us as he lay back on my throne. He kicked off one of his wellies while he was talking. He wasn't wearing socks, and I was shocked to see he had no toes - his feet were webbed at the ends, with six tiny claws jutting out like a cat's.

"Frightened, Master Shan?" he asked, eyes twinkling mischievously.

"Yes," I said, "but I'm proud to be able to help."

"What if you aren't any help?" he jeered. "What if you fail and damn the vampires to extinction?"

I shrugged. "What comes, we take," I said, echoing a saying which was common among the creatures of the night.

Mr. Tiny's smile faded. "I preferred you when you were less clever," he grumbled, then looked to Mr. Crepsley. "What about you? Scared by the weight of your responsibilities?"

"Yes," Mr. Crepsley answered.

"Think you might break beneath it?"

"I might," Mr. Crepsley said evenly.

Mr. Tiny pulled a face. "You two are no fun. It's impossible to get a rise out of you. Harkat!" he bellowed. Harkat approached automatically. "What do you think of this? Does the fate of the vampires bother you?"

"Yes," Harkat replied. "It does."

"You care for them?" Harkat nodded. "Hmmm." Mr. Tiny rubbed his watch, which glowed briefly, then touched the left side of Harkat's head. Harkat gasped and fell to his knees. "You've been having nightmares," Mr. Tiny noted, fingers still at Harkat's temple.

"Yes!" Harkat groaned.

"You want them to stop?"

"Yes."

Mr. Tiny let go of Harkat, who cried out, then gritted his sharp teeth and stood up straight. Small green tears of pain trickled from the corners of his eyes.

"It's time for you to learn the truth about yourself," Mr. Tiny said. "If you come with me, I'll reveal it and the nightmares will stop. If you don't, they'll continue and worsen, and within a year you'll be a screaming wreck."

Harkat trembled at that, but didn't rush to Mr. Tiny's side. "If I wait," he said, "will I have... another chance to learn... the truth?"

"Yes," Mr. Tiny said, "but you'll suffer much in the meantime, and I can't guarantee your safety. If you die before learning who you really are, your soul will be lost forever."

Harkat frowned uncertainly. "I have a feeling," he mumbled. "Something whispers to me-" he touched the left side of his chest "- here. I feel that I should go with Darren... and Larten."

"If you do, it will improve their chances of defeating the Vampaneze Lord," Mr. Tiny said. "Your participation isn't instrumental, but it could be important."

"Harkat," I said softly, "you don't owe us. You've already saved my life twice. Go with Mr. Tiny and learn the truth about yourself."

Harkat frowned. "I think that if I... leave you to learn the truth, the person I was... won't like what I've done." The Little Person spent a few more difficult seconds brooding about it, then squared up to Mr. Tiny. "I'll go with them. Right or wrong, I feel my place is... with the vampires. All else must wait."

"So be it," Mr. Tiny sniffed. "If you survive, our paths will cross again. If not..." His smile was withering.

"What of our search?" Mr. Crepsley asked. "You mentioned Lady Evanna. Do we start with her?"

"If you wish," Mr. Tiny said. "I can't and won't direct you, but that's where I would start. After that, follow your heart. Forget about the quest and go where you feel you belong. Fate will direct you as it pleases."

That was the end of our conversation. Mr. Tiny slipped away without a farewell, taking his Little People (they'd completed their repair work while he was talking), no doubt anxious to make that fatal volcano of his the next day.

Vampire Mountain was in uproar that night. Mr. Tiny's visit and prophecy were debated and dissected at length. The vampires agreed that Mr. Crepsley and me had to leave on our own, to link up with the third hunter - whoever he might be - but were divided as to what the rest of them should do. Some thought that since the clan's future rested with three lone hunters, they should forget the war with the vampaneze, since it no longer seemed to serve any purpose. Most disagreed and said it would be crazy to stop fighting.

Mr. Crepsley led Harkat and me from the Hall shortly before dawn, leaving the arguing Princes and Generals behind, saying we needed to get a good day's rest. It was hard to sleep with Mr. Tiny's words echoing round my brain, but I managed to squeeze in a few hours.

We woke about three hours before sunset, ate a short meal and packed our meagre belongings (I took a spare set of clothes, some bottles of blood, and my diary). We said private goodbyes to Vanez and Seba - the old quartermaster was especially sad to see us go - then met Paris Skyle at the gate leading out of the Halls. He told us Mika was staying on to assist with the night-to-night running of the war. He looked very poorly as I shook his hand, and I had a feeling that he hadn't many years left - if our search kept us away from Vampire Mountain for a long period, this might be the last time I saw him.

"I'll miss you, Paris," I said, hugging him roughly after we'd shaken hands.

"I will miss you too, young Prince," he said, then squeezed me tight and hissed in my ear: "Find and kill him, Darren. There is a cold chill in my bones, and it is not the chill of old age. Mr. Tiny has spoken the truth - if the Vampaneze Lord comes into his full powers, I am sure we all shall perish."

"I'll find him," I vowed, locking gazes with the ancient Prince. "And if the chance falls to me to kill him, my aim will be true."

"Then may the luck of the vampires be with you," he said.

I joined Mr. Crepsley and Harkat. We saluted to those who'd gathered to see us off, then faced down the tunnels and set off. We moved quickly and surely, and within two hours had left the mountain and were jogging over open ground, beneath a clear night sky.

Our hunt for the Lord of the Vampaneze had begun!
    
 

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