I glanced down at Harkat, who was resting peacefully. "He's OK?"

"He will be, for a time," Evanna said. "The nightmares will return, and when they do he'll have to face his past and learn who he was, or succumb to madness. But for now he can sleep soundly, unafraid."

She headed back to her tree.

"Evanna," I stopped her with a soft call. "This Lord of the Shadows… There was something familiar about him. I couldn't make out his face, but I felt I knew him."

"So you should," she whispered in reply. She hesitated, pondering how much to tell me. "What I say now is between you and me," she warned. "It must go no further. You can tell no one, not even Larten or Vancha."

"I won't," I promised.

Keeping her back to me, she said, "The future is dark, Darren. There are two paths, and both are winding and troubled, paved with the souls of the dead. In one of the possible futures, the Vampaneze Lord has become the Master of Shadows and ruler of the dark. In the other…"

She paused, and her head tilted backwards, as though she was staring up at the sky for an answer. "In the other, the Lord of the Shadows is you.»

And she departed, leaving me confused and shaken, dearly wishing that Harkat's moans hadn't woken me up.

A couple of nights later, we hooked up with the Cirque Du Freak.

Mr. Tall and his band of magical performers were playing outside a small village, in an abandoned church. The show was drawing to a close when we arrived, so we slipped inside and watched the finale from the back. Sive and Seersa — the twisting twins — were onstage, twirling around each other and performing incredible acrobatic stunts. Mr. Tall came on after them, dressed in a dark suit, with his customary red hat and gloves, and said the show was over. People began to leave, many muttering about the weak finish, when two snakes slid down from the rafters, sending waves of fear rippling through the crowd.

I grinned when I saw the snakes. This was how most of the shows drew to a close. People were tricked into thinking the show was over, then the snakes appeared and gave the crowd one last scare. Before the serpents could do any damage, Evra Von — their master — would step in and calm them down.

Sure enough, as the snakes were about to slither on to the floor, Evra stepped forward. But he wasn't alone — there was a small child with him, who went to one of the snakes and controlled it as Evra controlled the other. The kid was a new addition. I assumed Mr. Tall had picked him up on his travels.

After Evra and the boy had wrapped the snakes around themselves, Mr. Tall came on again and said the show was over for real. We kept to the shadows while the crowd streamed past, chattering with excitement. Then, as Evra and the child unwound and brushed themselves down, I moved. "Evra Von!" I roared.

Evra whirled around, startled. "Who's there?" I didn't answer, but walked forward briskly. His eyes widened with astonished delight. "Darren?" he yelled, and threw his arms around me. I hugged him tightly, ignoring the feel of his slippery scales, delighted to see him after so many years. "Where have you been?" he cried when we let go of one another. There were tears of happiness in his eyes — mine were wet too.

"Vampire Mountain," I said lightly. "How about you?"

"All over the world." He studied me curiously. "You've grown."

"Only recently. And not as much as you." Evra was a man now. He was only a few years older than me, and we'd looked much the same age when I first joined the Cirque Du Freak, but now he could have passed for my father.

"Good evening, Evra Von," Mr. Crepsley said, stepping forward to shake hands.

"Larten," Evra nodded. "It's been a long time. I'm glad to see you."

Mr. Crepsley stood to one side and introduced our companions. "I would like you to meet Vancha March, Lady Evanna, and Harkat Mulds, whom I believe you already know."

"Hello," Vancha grunted.

"Greetings," Evanna smiled.

"Hi, Evra," Harkat said.

Evra blinked. "It spoke!" he gasped.

"Harkat speaks a lot these nights," I grinned.

"It has a name?"

"It has," Harkat said. "And 'it' would like very much… to be called 'he'."

Evra didn't know what to say. When I'd lived with him, we'd spent a lot of our time gathering food for the Little People, and never once had one of them said a word. We thought they couldn't speak. Now here I was with a Little Person — the limping one, whom we'd nicknamed Lefty — acting as if his being able to talk was no big deal.

"Welcome back to the Cirque Du Freak, Darren," somebody said, and looking up I found myself face to belly button with Mr. Tall. I'd forgotten how quickly and silently the owner of the Cirque could move.

"Mr. Tall," I replied, nodding politely (he didn't like to shake hands).

He greeted the others by name, including Harkat. When Harkat returned the greeting, Mr. Tall didn't look in the least surprised. "Would you care to eat?" he asked us.

"That would be delightful," Evanna answered. "And I would have a word or two with you afterwards, Hibernius. There are things we must discuss."

"Yes," he agreed without batting an eyelid. "There are."

As we filed out of the church, I fell in step with Evra to discuss old times. He was carrying his snake over his shoulders. The boy who'd performed with Evra caught up with us as we exited, dragging the other snake behind him like a toy. "Darren," Evra said, "I'd like you to meet Shancus."

"Hello, Shancus," I said, shaking the boy's hand.

"'Lo," he replied. He had the same yellow, green hair, narrow eyes, and multicoloured scales as Evra. "Are you the Darren Shan I was named after?" he asked.

I glanced sideways at Evra. "Am I?"

"Yes," he laughed. "Shancus was my first-born. I thought it would be—"

"First-born?" I interrupted. "He's yours? You're his father?"

"I certainly hope so," Evra grinned.

"But he's so big! So old!"

Shancus preened proudly at the remark.

"He'll be five soon," Evra said. "He's large for his age. I started him out in the act a couple of months ago. He's a natural."

This was bizarre! Of course, Evra was old enough to be married with kids, and there was no reason for me to be surprised by the news — but it seemed like only a few months since we'd been hanging out together as teenagers, wondering what life would be like when we grew up.

"You've got other children?" I asked.

"A couple," he said. "Urcha — three — and Lilia, who'll be two next month."

"Are they all snake-children?"

"Urcha isn't. He's upset — he wants scales too — but we try to make him feel as loved and extraordinary as the others."

"We being…?"

"Me and Merla. You don't know her. She joined the show shortly after you left — ours was a whirlwind romance. She can detach her ears and use them as mini-boomerangs. You'll like her."

Laughing, I said I was sure I would, then followed Evra and Shancus after the others, to dinner.

It was wonderful to be back with the Cirque Du Freak. I'd been edgy and moody for the last week and a half, thinking about what Evanna had said, but my fears faded within an hour of returning to the circus fold. I met many old friends — Hans Hands, Rhamus Twobellies, Sive and Seersa, Cormac Limbs and Gertha Teeth. I also saw the Wolf Man, but he wasn't quite as welcome a sight as the others, and I kept clear of him as much as possible.

Truska — who could grow a beard at will, then suck the hairs back inside her face — was there too, and delighted to see me. She greeted me in broken English. She hadn't been able to speak the language six years ago, but Evra had been teaching her and she was making good progress. "It is hard," she said as we mingled with the others in a large, run-down school which was serving as the Cirque's base. "I not good at language. But Evra is patient and I slowly learning. I make mistakes still, but—"