Sons of Destiny
 First edition | |
| Author | Darren Shan |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Series | The Saga of Darren Shan |
| Genre | Young adult, Horror novel |
| Publisher |
Collins (UK) Little, Brown (US) |
Publication date |
31 March 2004 (UK) 5 September 2006 (US) |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| Pages | 208 |
| ISBN | 0-00-715921-8 |
| Preceded by | Lord of the Shadows |
Sons of Destiny is the twelfth and final book in The Saga of Darren Shan by Darren Shan.
Synopsis
After Darren learns that Darius is his nephew, he refuses to kill the boy. While Harkat and Debbie help Evra take his dead son Shancus to the Cirque du Freak, Darren, Vancha, Alice, Evanna and Darius return to Darren's family home. He reveals his survival to Annie, tells her of his life since his presumed death, and that Darius will have to kill when he drinks blood. To save Darius, Darren rebloods him, only to learn that the Cirque du Freak has been surrounded by police. After bidding goodbye to his family, Darren decides that Steve has set another trap, and heads for the Circus to kill his nemesis.
While the vampirites engage the police outside, Darren and Vancha enter and fight the vampaneze with the help of the Cirque du Freak. When the battle turns in the vampires' favour, Steve and Gannen flee, pursued by Darren and Vancha to a bridge. Darren's weakness from his purge and Darius' reblooding leaves them at a disadvantage, until Vancha is wounded. Gannen is knocked out cold by R. V., who has realized the insanity of his master following the death of the innocent Shancus Von. He is subsequently killed by Steve. Finally Darren and Steve duel alone, and although Steve badly wounds Darren during a fit from the reblooding, he is surprised and knocked down, before being stabbed in the heart.
Mr. Tiny then congratulates Darren, telling him to accept his destiny as the Lord of the Shadows. When Evanna points out that Darren will never consort with him willingly, Tiny reveals that Darren and Steve are his children, created to plunge the world back into war and conflict. While Evanna is outraged, Darren realizes that he can avert this fate if he is dead, and taunts Steve into stabbing him. Both fall into the river and succumb to their injuries.
Darren's soul then enters the Lake of Souls. He almost goes mad until he is rescued by Evanna. She explains that Darren has been trapped for millennia and they are now in the far future, in which dragons rule the Earth; humanity's fate is uncertain. This is only one of many possible futures; in the present, the War of the Scars is still being waged, although Harkat, Vancha and Gannen Harst are striving for peace. This outcome is repugnant to Mr. Tiny; Evanna explains that their father engineered vampires and vampaneze to end humanity's steps towards peace. Since Darren's sacrifice, Mr. Tiny has tried to persuade Evanna to conceive the child of a vampire or vampaneze to throw the races into renewed conflict. Evanna eventually agreed on the condition that Darren be released; she believed that Darren did not deserve his fate, and was a victim of Mr. Tiny's scheming.
However, Evanna, inspired by Darren's rejection of his destiny, has double-crossed their father; she is pregnant with twins, one from Vancha and the other from Gannen Harst, and has also allowed the bloodlines to mix, so the children will be able to breed with vampires and vampaneze, and will eventually erase all division between the two clans.
Darren and Evanna then arrive at Mr. Tiny's home, where Darren is painfully converted into a Little Person to escape the Lake of Souls. As per the deal between father and daughter, Darren is sent back to the night he first saw the Cirque du Freak, and scares his younger self away, ensuring the boy will never become a vampire. The person who will take Darren's place will not be responsible for their actions, and will be free to enter Paradise.
However, Evanna has one last weapon - she gives Darren the diaries he has been keeping for most of his life, updated to include his history since his death. Darren gives these to Mr Tall, with instructions to eventually pass them to the man he will become. The stories will be written and released when the vampires and vampaneze are nearing a truce, and will reveal to the world at large how they have been manipulated, ensuring lasting peace.
With his work done, Darren retreats to the top of the theatre, quietly watching his body unravel, before his spirit heads to Paradise.