The Lying Saga

Chapter 25

Chapter 25

I sat in the hall where we went to get food, (yeah, I knew all the halls were named after vampires but I had totally forgot what this one was called.), and watched Seba and Mr Crepsley stress about the upcoming Trials I had to face.

They kept asking me questions like 'can you swim?'-well yeah, but I was the only kid in the class not to get a swimming badge in year 2, and 'how well do you fare when it comes to fire?'-erm I put my hand in a bunsen burner once, if that helps?, and I couldn't help but think that they weren't really helping.

I was apprehensive about my trials, it was true, but I couldn't help hearing this little voice in the back of my head saying 'at least if you fail, you won't have to face your destiny.' I tried to put that to the back of my mind though, and concentrated on actually passing the trials and winning the respect of the vampires. It kinda made me laugh how if I hadn't met Crepsley I would be concentrating on passing exams not trials of death. I had been told that I had to go to the Hall of Princes next day to select my first trial, and had nothing to do until then but wait.

Eager to change the subject, I asked Seba if there was anywhere I could get some new clothes, seeing as mine were a bit worse for wear, and he said that he would take us (myself, Mr Crepsley and Harkat, who had just arrived, or rather, escaped from the many vampires questioning him about what he was.) to one of the store rooms. The luminous lichen guided our way as we followed Seba down a steep tunnel and into a cave filled with various objects. In the corner there was a pile of clothes and boxes, and as I made to look through them I heard a voice call out

“Who's there?”

I jumped back.

“Is that you, Larten?”

“Yes it is I.”

“Oh, phew.” From behind the boxes a tall, blond vampire peered out.

“What in the gods name are you doing Kurda?” Mr Crepsley asked.

“I was hiding.”

“From who?” Seba asked.

“From everyone who's been pestering me with questions about what I'm going to do when I get made into a prince. They don't ever leave me in peace. Oh, hello.” He held out a hand.

“I'm Kurda Smahlt. Pleased to meet you. Tell me, what are your views on the vampaneze?”

“Kurda, stop recruiting.” Mr Crepsley said.

“No, no I don't mind. Erm, well I am not really a fan, but they can't be all bad. In fact, I bet most of them are actually quite nice. There'll only be a few bad ones, but I guess that's true of vampires as well.”

“I like your way of thinking. Its Sophia, isnt it?”

“Yup. Its the map guy, isn't it?”

“Ah, the day has finally come where I am known by all vampires as 'the map guy'.” I laughed.

“Speaking of maps,” Seba cut in, “Sophia has not yet had a chance to tour our mountain.”

“I'll take you on a tour, if you like.”

“That'd be great. What about all the people you were hiding from though?”

“Ill tell them its official soon to be prince business. Or I could just tell them I'm going to map the region, they all find mapping incredibly dull.” Aww.

“Fair enough. But wait hang on, let me get some stuff first. Where's all the red clothes?”

*Ash*

I listened as Mrs McDonald called the register which signified the end of the day. But it was not Mrs McDonald who I was listening to, it was the underlying conversation between Kerry and her former cronies.

“There's a guy waiting.” Kerry said casually to Leah. Leah point blank ignored her and went on doodling flowers on a scrap bit of paper. Kerry prodded her in the shoulder.

“Did you see the guy? There's a guy waiting.”

Leah turned round angrily. “What?” That was the type of anger she usually only reserved for me and my twins friends.

“There's a guy waiting.”

“You've said that about ten times. What are you telling me this for?” Kerry lowered her voice, but it was still really loud and the sound carried across the room.

“There's a guy waiting for Sophia. He asked me to tell her he was waiting. He was called Steeeveee.” She said the word Steve so drawn out that it lasted about ten seconds. Sadie looked up at the word Steve. She opened her mouth as if to say something but then looked as if she thought better of it and closed it again. I hoped she had not put two and two together.

When Mrs McDonald finished calling the register and announced we could all go home, Kerry tapped me on the shoulder. I couldn't be dealing with her, it was the end of the day and I needed to go and meet Steve. Although I guessed Steve was exactly what she wanted to talk about.

“Who's Steve?”

“No-one.” I pushed past her just as she once did to me on my first day of being Sophia, but she dug her nails deep into my arm.

“He's obviously someone if he was asking about you. He was round the gates. Round the gates he was. Lurking. Why is someone lurking for you?”

“He was just waiting for me.”

“Is he going to kill me too?”

“No?”

“You know. I thought you couldn't get any worse, hanging around with two faced silly little girls, and backstabbers, and freaks. But now...”

“But now I gotta go.”I interrupted her, uninterested in whatever issues she had with me. But she refused to let go of my arm and dug her nails in even deeper.

“Not before I tell you how you've ruined my life. You've ruined my life. Life. Ruined. My life, was ruined, by you. You've ruined my life. Wait, I already said it that way?” I took advantage of the fact that she had confused herself to pull my arm free of her. She had left a five deep scratches on my arm which was bleeding slightly, but I dabbed it with my jumper and it went away. I would have normally just have licked the blood off my arm but that would have reminded me of Sophia. No thank you. Ree was waiting for me at the corner, I hastily rolled my sleeve down so she couldn't see the marks. I knew she would want to ask about them, where there was more important things at stake, namely

the guy at the gates, who could only be...Steve Leonard.