Lord of the Shadows (6 page)

We gathered with most of the performers and backstage crew in a tent behind the big top for the post-show party. There wasn’t a celebration after each performance, but we liked to let our hair down every once in a while. It was a hard life on the road, driving long distances, working doggedly, keeping a low profile so as not to attract attention. It was good to chill out now and then.

There were a few guests in the tent — police officers, council officials, wealthy businessmen. Mr. Tall knew how to grease the right palms, to make life easy for us.

Our visitors were particularly interested in Harkat. The normal audience members hadn’t seen the grey-skinned Little Person. This was a chance for the special guests to experience something different, which they could boast about to their friends. Harkat knew what was expected of him and he let the humans examine him, telling them a bit about his past, politely answering their questions.

I sat in a quiet corner of the tent, munching a sandwich, washing it down with water. I was getting ready to leave when Jekkus Flang pushed his way through a knot of people and introduced me to the guest he’d just led into the tent. “Darren, this is the world’s best goalkeeper, Tom Jones. Tom, this is my good friend and fellow workmate, Darren Shan.”

I groaned and closed my eyes. So much for the luck of the vampires! I heard Tommy gasp with recognition. Opening my eyes, I forced a smile, stood, shook Tommy’s hand — his eyes were bulging out of his head — and said, “Hello, Tommy. It’s been a long time. Can I get you something to drink?”

CHAPTER EIGHT

T
OMMY WAS ASTONISHED
to see me alive when I’d been declared dead and buried eighteen years earlier. Then there was the fact that I only looked a handful of years older. It was almost too much for him to comprehend. For a while he listened to me talk, nodding weakly, not taking anything in. But eventually his head cleared and he focused on what I was saying.

I spun him a far-fetched but just about believable tale. I felt bad, lying to my old friend, but the truth was stranger than fiction — it was simpler and safer this way. I said I had a rare disease that prevented me from aging normally. It was discovered when I was a child. The doctors gave me five or six years to live. My parents were devastated by the news, but since we could do nothing to prevent it, we told no one and tried to lead a normal life for as long as we could.

Then the Cirque Du Freak came to town.

“I ran into an extraordinary physician,” I lied. “He was traveling with the Cirque, making a study of the freaks. He said he could help me, but I’d have to leave home and travel with the Cirque — I’d need constant monitoring. I talked it over with my parents and we decided to fake my death, so I could leave without arousing suspicions.”

“But for heaven’s sake, why?” Tommy exploded. “Your parents could have left with you. Why put everyone through so much pain?”

“How would we have explained it?” I sighed. “The Cirque Du Freak is an illegal traveling show. My parents would have had to give up everything and go undercover to be with me. It wouldn’t have been fair to them, and it would have been dreadfully unfair to Annie.”

“But there must have been some other way,” Tommy protested.

“Maybe,” I said. “But we didn’t have much time to think it over. The Cirque Du Freak was only in town for a few days. We discussed the proposal put forward by the physician and accepted it. I think the fact that I’m still alive all these years later, against all medical odds, justifies that decision.”

Tommy shook his head uncertainly. He’d grown up to be a very large man, tall and broad, with huge hands and bulging muscles. His black hair was receding prematurely — he’d be bald in a few more years. But despite his physical presence, his eyes were soft. He was a gentle man. The idea of letting a child fake his death and be buried alive was repulsive to him.

“What’s done is done,” I said. “Maybe my parents should have searched for another way. But they had my best interests at heart. Hope was offered and they seized it, regardless of the terrible price.”

“Did Annie know?” Tommy asked.

“No. We never told her.” I guessed Tommy had no way of contacting my parents directly, to check out my story, but he could have gone to Annie. I had to sidetrack him.

“Not even afterwards?” Tommy asked.

“I talked about it with Mom and Dad — we keep in touch and meet up every few years — but we never felt the time was right. Annie had her own problems, having a baby so young.”

“That
was
tough,” Tommy agreed. “I was still living here. I didn’t know her very well, but I heard all about it.”

“That must have been just before your soccer career took off,” I said, leading him away from talk about me. We discussed his career after that, some of the big matches he’d been involved in, what he planned to do when he retired. He wasn’t married but he had two kids from a previous relationship.

“I only get to see them a couple of times a year and during the summer,” he said sadly. “I hope to move to where they live when I quit soccer, to be closer to them.”

Most of the performers, crew, and guests had departed by this stage. Harkat had seen me talking with Tommy and made a sign asking if I wanted him to stick around. I signaled back that I was OK and he’d left with the others. A few people still sat and talked softly in the tent, but nobody was near Tommy and me.

Talk turned to the past and our old friends. Tommy told me Alan Morris had become a scientist. “Quite a famous one too,” he said. “He’s a geneticist — big into cloning. A controversial area, but he’s convinced it’s the way forward.”

“As long as he doesn’t clone himself!” I laughed. “One Alan Morris is enough!”

Tommy laughed too. Alan had been a close friend of ours, but he could be a bit of a pain at times.

“I’ve no idea what Steve’s up to,” Tommy said, and the laughter died on my lips. “He left home at sixteen. Ran off without a word to anyone. I’ve spoken to him on the phone a few times, but I’ve only seen him once since then, about ten years ago. He returned home for a few months when his mother died.”

“I didn’t know she was dead,” I said. “I’m sorry. I liked Steve’s mom.”

“He sold off the house and all her effects. He shared an apartment with Alan for a while. That was before . . .” Tommy stopped and glanced at me oddly. “Have
you
seen Steve since you left?”

“No,” I lied.

“You don’t know anything about him?”

“No,” I lied again.

“Nothing at all?” Tommy pressed.

I forced a chuckle. “Why are you so concerned about Steve?”

Tommy shrugged. “He got into some trouble the last time he was here. I thought you might have heard about it from your parents.”

“We don’t discuss the past,” I said, elaborating on the lie I’d concocted. I leaned forward curiously. “What did Steve do?” I asked, wondering if it was in any way linked to his vampaneze activities.

“Oh, I don’t rightly remember,” Tommy said, shifting uncomfortably — he was lying. “It’s old history. Best not to bring it up. You know what Steve was like, always in one form of trouble or another.”

“That’s for sure,” I muttered. Then my eyes narrowed. “You said you’ve talked to him on the phone?”

“Yeah. He rings every so often, asks what I’m up to, says nothing about what he’s doing, then hangs up!”

“When was the last time he rang?”

Tommy thought about it. “Two, maybe three years ago. A long time.”

“Do you have a contact number for him?”

“No.”

Too bad. I’d thought for a moment that Tommy might be my path back to Steve, but it seemed he wasn’t.

“What’s the time?” Tommy asked. He looked at his watch and groaned. “If my manager finds out how late I’ve been out, I’ll catch hell! Sorry, Darren, but I really have to go.”

“That’s OK.” I smiled, standing to shake his hand. “Maybe we could meet up again after the match?”

“Yeah!” Tommy exclaimed. “I’m not traveling with the team — I’m staying here for the night, to see some relatives. You can come to the hotel after the game and . . . Actually, how’d you like to come see me play?”

“At the World Cup qualifier?” My eyes lit up. “I’d love to. But didn’t I hear you telling Jekkus the tickets were sold out?”

“Jekkus?” Tommy frowned.

“The guy with the knives — your number one fan.” “Oh.” Tommy grimaced. “I can’t give away tickets to all my fans. But family and friends are a different story.”

“I wouldn’t be sitting near anyone who knew me, would I?” I asked. “I don’t want the truth about me going any further — Annie might hear about it.”

“I’ll get you a seat away from the others,” Tommy promised. Then he paused. “You know, Annie’s not a girl anymore. I saw her a year ago, the last time I was here to visit family. She struck me as being very level-headed. Maybe it’s time to tell her the truth.”

“Maybe.” I smiled, knowing I wouldn’t.

“I really think you should,” Tommy pressed. “It would be a shock, like it was for me, but I’m sure she’d be delighted to know you’re alive and well.”

“We’ll see,” I said.

I walked Tommy out of the tent, through the campsite and stadium tunnels to where his car was parked. I bid him good night at the car, but he stopped before getting in and stared at me seriously. “We must talk some more about Steve tomorrow,” he said.

My heart skipped a beat. “Why?” I asked as casually as I could.

“There are things you should know. I don’t want to get into them now — it’s too late — but I think . . .” He trailed off into silence, then smiled. “We’ll talk about it tomorrow. It might help you make up your mind about some other things.”

And on that cryptic note he said farewell. He promised to send over a ticket in the morning, gave me his hotel name and cell number, shook my hand one last time, got into his car, and drove away.

I stood outside the walls of the stadium a long while, thinking about Tommy, Annie, and the past — and wondering what he’d meant when he said we needed to talk some more about Steve.

CHAPTER NINE

W
HEN I TOLD HARKAT
about the match, he reacted with automatic suspicion. “It’s a trap,” he said. “Your friend is an ally of . . . Steve Leonard.”

“Not Tommy,” I said with absolutely certainty. “But I have a feeling he might in some way be able to direct us to him, or set us on his trail.”

“Do you want me to come with . . . you to the match?” Harkat asked.

“You wouldn’t be able to get in. Besides,” I laughed, “there’ll be tens of thousands of people there. In a crowd like that, I think I’ll be safe!”

The ticket was delivered by courier and I set off in good time for the match. I arrived an hour before kickoff. A huge crowd milled around outside the stadium. People were singing and cheering, decked out in our country’s colors, buying drinks, hot dogs, and burgers from the street vendors. Troops of police kept a close watch on the situation, making sure rival fans didn’t clash.

I mingled for a while, strolling around the stadium, relishing the atmosphere. I bought a hot dog, a match program, and a hat with Tommy’s picture on it, sporting the slogan, “He’s not unusual!” There were lots of hats and badges dedicated to Tommy. There were even CDs by the singer Tom Jones, with photos of Tommy taped across the covers!

I took my seat twenty minutes before kickoff. I had a great view of the floodlit pitch. My seat was in the middle of the stadium, just a few rows behind the dugouts. The teams were warming up when I arrived. I got a real buzz out of seeing Tommy in one of the goals, stopping practice shots. To think one of my friends was playing in a World Cup qualifier! I’d come a long way since childhood and put most of my human interests behind me. But my love of soccer came flooding back as I sat, gazing down at Tommy, and I felt a ball of pure childish excitement build in the pit of my stomach.

The teams left the pitch to get ready for kickoff, then re-emerged a few minutes later. All the seats in the stadium had been filled and there was a huge cheer as the players marched out. Most people stood up, clapping and hollering. The ref tossed a coin to decide which way the teams would play, then Tommy and the other captain shook hands, the players lined up, the ref blew his whistle, and the game got under way.

It was a brilliant game. Both teams went all out for the win. Tackles flew in fast and hard. Play shifted from one end to the other, both sides attacking in turn. There were lots of chances to score. Tommy made some great saves, as did the other goalkeeper. A couple of players blasted wide or over the bar from good positions, to a chorus of jeers and groans. After forty-three minutes, the teams seemed like they’d be tied at half-time. But then there was a quick break, a defender slipped, a forward had a clear shot at a goal, and he sent the ball flying into the left corner of the net, past the outstretched fingers of a flailing Tom Jones.

Tommy and his teammates looked dejected as they trudged off at halftime, but the home fans kept on singing, “One-nil down, two-one up, that’s the way to win the cup!”

I went to get a drink but the size of the line was frightening — the more experienced fans had slipped out just before the halftime whistle. I walked around to stretch my legs, then returned to my seat.

Although they were a goal down, Tommy’s team looked more confident when they came out after the break. They attacked from the start of the half, knocking their opponents off the ball, pushing them back, driving hard for a goal. The game grew heated and three players got yellow cards within the first quarter of an hour. But their newfound hunger was rewarded in the sixty-fourth minute when they scored a scrappy goal from a corner to tie the score.

The stadium erupted when our team scored. I was one of the thousands who leapt from their seats and punched the air with joy. I even joined in with the song to the silenced fans of the other country’s team, “You’re not singing, you’re not singing, you’re not singing anymore!”

Five minutes later, I was chanting even louder when, from another corner, we scored again to go two-one up. I found myself hugging the guy next to me — a total stranger! — and jumping up and down with glee. I could hardly believe I was behaving this way. What would the Vampire Generals say if they saw a Prince acting so ridiculously!