Free Zom-B Gladiator by Darren Shan Page B

Will you fight or does Daniel have to start squeezing?’
    Dan-Dan slides his arms up and locks them round the children’s throats. The girl begins to cry. Dan-Dan smiles darkly.
    ‘It’s always sad when I have tobid a darling goodbye,’ he croaks. ‘I miss each and every one. I used to keep a list of their names, but it grew so long . . .’
    ‘You won’t do it,’ I say weakly.
    ‘As I already told you, we never bluff,’ The Prince murmurs but he sounds ashamed of his boast.
    ‘Stop,’ Barnes shouts. ‘This is sick. I won’t stand by and let you –’
    ‘You will do what you’re told!’ Vicky Wedge screechesand aims her gun at him. Lord Luca, Lady Jemima and The Prince draw weapons too. Coley curses and darts behind Barnes.

    ‘Don’t shoot!’ Coley cries. ‘I’m on your side!’
    Barnes stands firm, eyes filled with fury and contempt.
    Justin gazes serenely at Barnes. ‘There’s no need for the guns,’ he says to the others. ‘Our man Barnes is smarter than that. He knows there are guards outside. They are armed and he is not. If he threatened us, they would execute him. The children too.’
    ‘This is wrong,’ Barnessnarls. ‘You can’t use innocent children this way.’
    ‘Of course we can,’ Justin snorts. ‘We make the laws. We can do anything we want.’
    ‘If it’s any comfort to you, they’re orphans,’ Lady Jemima says. ‘We have them delivered from camps. We only pick those who have no one to worry about them. We’re not complete monsters.’
    ‘You always did have a soft heart, my lovely,’ Justin murmursand turns his back on the glaring but impotent Barnes. ‘We’re waiting for your answer, Becky.’
    ‘He’s going to kill them in the end anyway,’ I say softly.
    ‘Probably,’ Justin nods. ‘But there’s always a chance that he will take pity on these two. Or they might escape.’
    ‘Oh, they never escape,’ Dan-Dan whispers.
    ‘There are others,’ Lord Luca says.
    ‘Fourteen or fifteen the lasttime I checked,’ Vicky purrs.
    ‘If you don’t please us, he’ll kill this pair and fetch replacements,’ The Prince adds glumly.
    ‘He can be very petulant when he doesn’t get his way,’ Lady Jemima concludes.
    Both children are trying to tear free of Dan-Dan’s grip. They’re old enough to know what’s going on. Dan-Dan is sweating with delight, his muscles bulging. I think he wants me todefy him, so that he can kill openly, like a disgusting, spoilt brat who wants to show off his latest vile habit.
    ‘If I do this,’ I say hollowly, ‘I want to see the children every day, the whole group, so I can be sure that he hasn’t killed any of them.’
    ‘Hold on a minute,’ Dan-Dan yaps. ‘You’re in no position to make demands.’
    ‘Yes she is,’ Justin overrides him. ‘Agreed.’
    ‘No!’Dan-Dan howls. ‘They’re mine. I’ll do what I want with them.’
    ‘Not under my watch,’ Justin says, features darken-ing.‘This isn’t a democracy. The girl is something new, something different. If you have to stop killing for a few weeks or months, to entice her to play ball, so be it. You’re not going to spoil things for the rest of us.’
    ‘Luca . . .’ Dan-Dan whines, looking to his brotherfor support.
    Lord Luca shrugs. ‘I’m with Justin this time. I’m bored of the same old pathetic show, humans failing miserably every time we stick them in with the undead. I crave savage duels, heated action, true drama. If the girl has a reason to battle on – if she’s fighting for others, not just herself – it will be all the more interesting.’
    ‘You can have your darlings eventually,’Vicky says soothingly. ‘We’re not taking them away from you forever. You just need to be patient.’
    ‘Oh, very well,’ Dan-Dan pouts, releasing the children and pushing them aside. ‘But I won’t forget this. The next time one of you asks for a favour, don’t expect me to jump.’
    The Prince gathers the children from Dan-Dan and escorts them to