"Excellent." Mr. Tiny beamed, and began to walk away. "Oh." He paused. "One last thing. Tell Larten not to leave until I've had a word with him."
"I think we're in a hurry," I said. "We might not have time to —"
"Just tell him I want a word," Mr. Tiny interrupted. "I'm sure he'll make time for me." With that, he tipped his glasses at us, waved good-bye, and moved on. I shared a worried look with Evra, found some matches and stuck them in my bag, then hurried off to wake Mr. Crepsley.
CHAPTER TWO
MR. CREPSLEY WAS GRUMPY when I woke him — he hated getting up before the sun went down — but stopped complaining when I told him why I disturbed his sleep. "Mr. Tiny." He sighed, scratching the long scar that ran down the left side of his face. "I wonder what he wants?"
"I don't know," I answered, "but he said not to leave until he had a word with you." I lowered my voice and whispered, "We could sneak away without being seen if we hurried. Dusk isn't too far away. You could handle about an hour of sunlight if we stayed in the shadows, couldn't you?"
"I could," Mr. Crepsley agreed, "were I given to fleeing like a dog with its tail between its legs. But I am not. I will face Desmond Tiny. Bring me my finest cloak — I like to look my best for visitors." That was as close to a joke as the vampire was probably going to come — he didn't have much of a sense of humor.
An hour later, with the sun setting, we made our way to Mr. Tall's caravan, where Mr. Tiny was entertaining the owner of the Cirque Du Freak with stories of what he'd seen in a recent earthquake.
"Ah, Larten!" Mr. Tiny boomed. "Prompt as ever."
"Desmond," Mr. Crepsley replied stiffly.
"Have a seat," Mr. Tiny said.
"Thank you, but I will stand." Nobody liked sitting when Mr. Tiny was around — in case they needed to make a quick getaway.