Read Online Blood Beast by Darren Shan - Free Book Online

angrily. “OK.”
    “And we don’t tell anybody, not until we figure out what our rights are,” Loch adds. “There’s no point doing all the hard work and not being able to reap the rewards. If we find treasure, we keep our mouths shut and check the law. We might have to wait till we’re eighteen to declare our find. Or maybe we can never declare it. Maybe we’ll have to sell it on the black market.” He grins. “The gold and diamond market!”
    “I’m not so sure about that,” Bill-E says. “Not revealing a find like this could land us in a lot of trouble.”
    “We can buy our way out of it with the money we make from the treasure.” Loch laughs. “Either way, we don’t say anything until we know, right?” Bill-E and I share a glance, then nod. “Great. It’s settled.” He hauls himself out of the hole and lays his shovel aside. “I don’t know about you two, but I plan to be back here first thing after school tomorrow, and every day this week, and the week after, and the week after that, until we get to the bottom of this damn hole. You with me?”
    “I’ll come,” Bill-E agrees. “Not every day — Gran and Grandad would get suspicious if I was late coming home every evening — but most of the time it shouldn’t be a problem.”
    “Grubbs?” Loch asks.
    “I’ll be here,” I promise, glad to have something to distract me from my recent fears. I look up at the darkening sky and add a proviso. “But only until dusk. I’m not staying out here nights. Not when the moon’s up.”
    Home. Waiting for Dervish. He should have returned by now. I call his cell, to check that everything’s OK, but only get his voice mail. Sitting in the TV room, TV switched off, no lights on. In my guts and bones I can feel the moon rising. Concentrating on my breathing, willing myself not to change, trying to stay human.
    Without any sound of a motorcycle, the doors open at about ten o’clock and Dervish stumbles in. “My head,” he groans, slumping on the couch next to me, a hand thrown over his eyes.
    “What’s wrong?” I ask, thinking he’s been in a crash. Then I catch the stench of alcohol. “You’re drunk!”
    “I forgot how much Meera can drink when she puts her mind to it,” he mumbles. “And unlike normal people, she doesn’t get a hangover the next morning. She was at it again first thing when she got up, and she made me join in.” He puts his hands over his ears and moans. “The bells, the bells!”
    “Tell me you didn’t drive home in this state,” I snap.
    “You think I’m crazy?” Dervish huffs. “I cast a sobering spell.”
    “You’re full of it!”
    “No, really, it works perfectly. Except it’s very short-term. It ran out when I got near Carcery Vale. I had to stop and walk the rest of the way. And the worst thing is, when it wears off, the hangover kicks in with twice as much venom as before.” Dervish doubles over, head cradled between his hands, whining like a kicked dog.
    “Serves you right,” I sniff. “You should have more sense at your age.”
    “Please, Grubbs, don’t play mother,” Dervish groans. He staggers to his feet and heads for the kitchen. “I’m going to make an absolutely huge cup of hot chocolate, then retire to my room for the night. I don’t want to be disturbed unless the house is burning.” He pauses. “Strike that. I don’t want to be disturbed even then. Let me burn — I’d be better off.”
    I think about calling him back, making him sit down and listen to me. But it wouldn’t be fair. Better to let him get a good night’s sleep, then tell him about it tomorrow. Besides, I don’t feel too sick at the moment, not as bad as I felt last night. I don’t want to jinx myself, but I think I might be over the worst.
    Dervish’s snores rock the house to its foundations. I don’t want to sleep. I want to keep a vigil, stay focused on my breathing, alert to any hint of a change. But I’m exhausted. All the energy that went into the