Free Death's Shadow by Darren Shan

and faster. In this instance that is important.”
    “I don’t like that other universe,” Meera mutters.
    “Neither do I. Believe me, I would not send you there lightly.”
    “You really think this is necessary?”
    Sharmila nods slowly. Meera sighs and agrees reluctantly.
    “Shark?” Sharmila asks.
    “You want me to place my life on the line without knowing the reason why?” he scowls.
    “Yes.”
    His scowl disappears and he shrugs. “Fair enough.”
    “You understand how time works in that other universe?” Sharmila asks me. “It can pass quicker or slower than it does here. They might find him in a matter of minutes as we experience time or it could be several months.”
    “I know. But we don’t have a choice. I’d go myself, except if it’s a trap . . .”
    “. . . demons might be lying in ambush for you. Very well. Let us not waste any more time. I will stay with Dervish. Shark and Meera will accompany you to the cellar.” She smiles tightly at Shark. “You have been to hell in a bucket before, my old friend. Now it is time to go there without the bucket.”
    In the cellar. I’m working on a spell to create a window to the demon universe. It’s an area Beranabus goes to frequently — his father took his mother there when he abducted her. Because Beranabus has opened a window to that realm many times, it’s a relatively quick and easy procedure, though it still takes me an hour.
    As I complete it, a thin lilac window forms in the cellar. I get a shiver down my spine. I never saw a window like this in my own time, but Beranabus has been through thousands of them. He acts like it’s no big thing, but he loathes these demonic passageways. He always expects to die when he steps through, having no real way of knowing what’s lurking on the other side.
    “Will you be all right staying here with Sharmila?” Meera asks.
    “Yes.”
    “We should come with you and enter the demon universe later,” Shark says. “If the Lambs attack you on the way to hospital . . .”
    “I might not be able to open a window there,” I explain. “It’s easier if I’m in an area of magic.”
    “Even if Beranabus doesn’t come with us, we’ll return,” Meera says.
    “He’ll come.” I smile confidently.
    “Because you’re part of the Kah-Gash?”
    “Yes. But also because we’re old friends.”
    “I didn’t think Beranabus had any friends,” Shark grunts.
    “Maybe not now. But he was a boy called Bran once and I was his friend then. He’d do anything for me.”
    “You’re sure of that?” Meera asks.
    I think about the night I sat with Beranabus and absorbed his memories. He always wears a flower in a buttonhole, in memory of me. “I’m certain.”
    “Right,” Shark says, rubbing his hands together. “Keep a light burning — we’ll be back in time for supper.”
    Shark steps through the window. Meera smiles wryly, then moves to hug me. I take a step backwards.
    “I’d rather not touch. I don’t want to steal any more memories from you.”
    “Don’t be silly,” Meera says, wrapping her arms around me. “If things go badly over there, you can remember my life for me.”
    We grin shakily at each other, then Meera slips through the window after Shark. I wait a couple of minutes in case they run into trouble and need to make a quick retreat. Then, as the window breaks apart, I douse the lights and climb the steps to help Sharmila escort Dervish to the hospital.

SNAPSHOTS OF BERANABUS II
    A FTER
the death of the Minotaur, the years of wandering began. Beranabus had no difficulty finding his way out of the Labyrinth. He had explored every last alley of the maze. It had been home to him and he knew it intimately.
    Sunlight disturbed the boy. Having grown up in darkness, the world of light seemed unbearably bright. He tried to brave the glare, but the pain was too great. Weeping, he retreated. Not knowing about the outside world, he assumed it would always be this bright, the way the Labyrinth