HE CROSSED ABOVE THE OPENING where the stream came tumbling out of the mountain. The noise was deafening, especially for supersensitive vampire ears, so we hurried on as quickly as possible. The rocks were slippery, and in some spots we had to form a chain. At one extra-icy patch, Gavner and me both slipped. I was in front, holding on to Mr. Crepsley, but the force of the fall broke our grip. Luckily, Harkat held on to Gavner and pulled the two of us up.
We reached the mouth of a tunnel a quarter of an hour later. We hadn't climbed very far up the mountain, but it was a steep drop when I looked down. I was glad we weren't climbing any higher.
Mr. Crepsley entered first. I went in after him. It was dark inside the tunnel. I was going to ask Mr. Crepsley if we should stop to set torches, but I realized that the farther in we crept, the brighter the tunnel became.
"Where's the light coming from?" I asked.
"Luminous lichen," Mr. Crepsley replied.
"Is that a tongue twister or an answer?" I grumbled.
"It's a form of fungus that gives off light," Gavner explained. "It grows in certain caves and on the floors of some oceans."
"Oh, right. Does it grow all over the mountain?"
"Not everywhere. We use torches where it doesn't." Ahead of us, Mr. Crepsley stopped and cursed. "What's wrong?" Gavner asked.
"Cave-in," he sighed. "There is no way through."
"Does that mean we can't get in?" I asked, alarmed at the thought of having trekked all this way for nothing, only to have to turn back at the very end.
"There are other ways," Gavner said, "The mountain's riddled with tunnels. We'll just have to backtrack and find another."
"We had better hurry," Mr. Crepsley said. "Dawn is fast approaching."
We shuffled back the way we'd come, Harkat in the lead this time. Outside, we moved as quickly as we could - which wasn't very fast, given the treacherous footing - and made it to the mouth of the next tunnel a few minutes after the sun had started to rise. This new tunnel wasn't as large as the other and the two full vampires had to walk bent double. Harkat and me just had to duck our heads. The luminous lichen didn't grow strongly here, though there was enough of it for our extra-sharp eyes to see by.
After a while I noticed that we were sloping downward instead of up. I asked Gavner about this. "It's just the way the tunnel goes," he said. "It'll lead upward eventually."
About half an hour later, we cut up. At one stage the tunnel veered upward almost vertically and we faced a difficult climb. The walls pressed tightly around us, and I'm sure I wasn't the only one whose mouth dried up with nerves. A little after the tunnel leveled out, it opened onto a small cave, where we stopped to rest. I could hear the stream we had crossed earlier churning along not far underneath our feet.
There were four tunnels leading out of the cave. I asked Gavner how Mr. Crepsley knew which one to take. "The correct tunnel's marked," he said, leading me over to them and pointing to a tiny arrow that had been scratched into the wall at the bottom of one tunnel.
"Where do the others lead?" I asked.
"Dead ends, other tunnels, or up to the Halls."
The Halls were what they called the parts of the mountain where the vampires lived. "Many of the tunnels haven't been explored and there are no maps. Never wander off by yourself," he warned. "You could get lost very easily."
While the others were resting, I checked on Madam Octa, to see if she was hungry. She'd slept through most of the journey - she didn't like the cold - but woke every once in a while to eat. As I was taking the cloth off her cage, I saw a spider creeping toward us. It wasn't as large as Madam Octa, but it looked dangerous.
"Gavner!" I called, stepping away from the cage.
"What's wrong?"
"A spider."
"Oh." He grinned. "Don't worry - the mountain's full of them."
"Are they poisonous?" I asked, bending down to study the spider, which was examining the cage with great interest.
"No," he answered. "Their bite's no worse than a bee sting."
I removed the cloth, curious to see what Madam Octa would do when she spotted the strange spider. She took no notice of it, just sat where she was, while the other spider crawled over the cage. I knew a lot about spiders - I'd read a lot of books about arachnids and watched wildlife TV shows when I was younger - but hadn't seen any quite like this one before. It was hairier than most, and a weird yellow color.
Once the spider left, I fed Madam Octa a couple of insects and replaced the cloth. I lay down with the others and napped for a few hours. At one stage I thought I heard children giggling in one of the tunnels. I sat up, ears strained, but the sound didn't come to me again.
"What's wrong?" Gavner groaned softly, half opening an eye.
"Nothing," I said uncertainly, then asked Gavner if any vampire children lived in the mountain.
"No," he said, closing his eye. "You're the only blooded kid, as far as I know."
"Then I must have been imagining things." I yawned, and lay down again, although I kept one ear cocked while I dozed.
Later we got up and proceeded farther up the mountain, taking the tunnels marked with arrows. After what seemed like ages we came to a large wooden door blocking the tunnel. Mr. Crepsley made himself presentable, then knocked loudly with his bare knuckles. There was no immediate answer, so he knocked again, then again.
Finally there were sounds of life on the other side of the door and it opened. Torchlight flared from within. It was blinding to us after so long in the tunnels, and we shielded our eyes until they adjusted.
A lean vampire in dark green clothes emerged and cast an eye over us. He frowned when he saw Harkat and me, and took a firmer grip on the long spear he was holding. I could see others behind him, dressed in green as well, none without a weapon.
"Address yourselves to the gate," the guard barked. The vampires had told me this was how newcomers were greeted.
"I am Larten Crepsley, come to seek Council," Mr. Crepsley said. It was the standard reply.
"I am Gavner Purl, come to seek Council," Gavner said.
"I am Darren Shan, come to seek Council," I told the guard.
"I... Harkat Mulds. Come... seek Council," Harkat wheezed.
"Larten Crepsley is recognized by the gate," the guard said. "And Gavner Purl is recognized. But these other two..." He pointed his spear at us and shook his head.
"They are our traveling companions," Mr. Crepsley said. "The boy is my assistant, a half-vampire."
"Do you vouch for him?" the guard asked.
"I do."
"Then Darren Shan is recognized by the gate." The tip of his spear pointed firmly at Harkat now. "But this is no vampire. What business has he at Council?"
"His name is Harkat Mulds. He is a Little Person. He-"
"A Little Person!" The guard gasped, lowering his spear. He crouched and made a rude study of Harkat's face (Harkat had removed his hood soon after we entered the tunnels, so he could see better). "He's an ugly specimen, isn't he?" the guard remarked. If he hadn't been carrying a spear, I'd have told him off for speaking so inconsiderately. "I thought the Little People couldn't speak."
"We all thought that," Mr. Crepsley said. "But they can. At least, this one can. He has a message for the Princes, to be delivered in person."
"A message?" The guard scratched his chin with the tip of the spear. "From who?"
"Desmond Tiny," Mr. Crepsley replied.
The guard blanched, stood to attention, and said quickly, "The Little Person known as Harkat Mulds is recognized by the gate. The Halls are open to all of you. Enter and fare well."
He stepped aside and let us pass. A couple of seconds later the door closed behind us and our journey to the Halls of Vampire Mountain was at an end.
