Brothers to the Death (The Saga of Larten Crepsley) by Darren Shan Read Free Book Online Page A

pledge ourselves to the clan. You’ll come to understand that when you spend more time among us.”
    Gavner stared at the vampires with disbelief. Then his face hardened. “And if Randel Chayne gets to them before we do?” he asked.
    “Then I will loathe myself for the rest of my life,” Larten answered coolly. “But we are not human. We put the needs of the clan before all else. It took me a long time to accept that, but now I do. We surrender many liberties when we become Generals, but without that core allegiance our clan would be a tribe of Tanish Euls.
    “We will get as much rest as we can,” Larten said. “When it is safe to leave, we will start for Paris. We will move swiftly, but let the Nazis stay in touch with us. We are not that far from the city. We can be there within a fortnight. Less if we are lucky.”
    “That’s a long time to leave Alicia and Sylva unprotected,” Gavner muttered.
    “We will send a telegram on our way,” Lartensaid, “telling them to move out of Paris and hide. With the luck of the vampires, that will be enough.”
    “And if luck isn’t with us?” Gavner asked, but Larten ignored the question.
    Wester and Larten clasped hands briefly, then Wester left without any words of farewell—there was nothing he could say to put Larten at his ease. The guard ran down the mountain and disappeared when he hit flitting speed. Larten wasn’t watching when Wester vanished. He had already curled up into a ball and shut his eyes. If he felt guilty or scared, he kept his emotions hidden from the distraught Gavner Purl. A General of good standing was never supposed to betray what he felt inside.

Chapter
Seven
    The pair of vampires crossed Europe quickly, pushing the pace as much as they dared. Although Larten never gave Gavner any hint that he was thinking such things, he longed to give the Nazis the slip. He wanted to flit, ignore his promise to Mika, make sure Alicia and Sylva were safe. He thought about stealing away and leaving Gavner to deal with the Nazis by himself. He could be back in two or three nights and the Germans might never even be aware of his absence.
    But if his plan backfired and they captured Gavner…
    Larten trusted his assistant, but Gavner was young and inexperienced. The General had to stay withhim, not only because of his duty to the clan, but because of Alicia’s love for her adopted son. She would curse him if he abandoned his charge and the once lonely, orphaned boy came to harm. Alicia would rather lose her own life than risk Gavner’s.
    Larten knew that he was doing the right thing. The
only
thing. But he played with alternative options every night while they jogged across the countryside, and every day as he struggled to get even a couple of hours of sleep. This was the only route open to them, yet he tried to find a way around it, a loophole that he could exploit. But there wasn’t one.
    They sent three telegrams to Alicia, from different towns, but they didn’t dare wait for a reply, so they were not sure if she had received them. Larten didn’t know much about telegrams and he mistrusted the modern technology, but Gavner assured him that they were reliable. If Alicia was safe, their messages would be delivered to her.
    If…
    Larten worried about leading the Nazis to the woman he loved, but Randel Chayne was a more ominous, pressing threat. Once Alicia and Sylva were clear of imminent danger, they could move to another country, out of reach of the Germans. Alicia wouldn’tlike moving, but Larten would convince her. She knew he wouldn’t ask it of her if it wasn’t essential.
    Gavner didn’t say much while they traveled. He still thought that Larten had made the wrong call. Alicia had been a mother to him and Sylva was like a sister. He felt that the General should not have put the clan’s well-being before theirs. If anything happened to them, he didn’t know if he’d ever be able to forgive the orange-haired vampire.
    They hit the outskirts of