On the other side of the stands, a roiling mass of shadows hovered above the floor. It was approximately the shape of Lord Malveen and half again as large.
"That's him," whispered Darrow. Talbot nodded and walked down the aisle to the edge of the ring. Darrow followed him.
Feena crossed over to the next aisle, opening her fingers to shine her daylight toward the shadowy figure. The radiance failed to dispel the shadows, but it did reveal another occupant in the room. Radu Malveen stood motionless near the door to the cells below. His reptilian eyes watched the intruders while his face remained impassive. Darrow shuddered to imagine what he was thinking.
Stannis Malveen's wheezy laughter emanated from the shadowy mass.
"You must have brought me quite a tale, dear boy. Did our friend the Huntmaster bite off more than he could swallow?"
Talbot stepped away from Darrow, fresh suspicion apparent in his face. He tried to keep his eyes on Darrow, Radu, and Stannis all at once. Darrow tried to reassure him with a quick shake of his head, but he could hardly blame the man for being careful.
Stannis seemed to be reading his mind. "How hard it must be for you to make new friends, you fickle lad, and how wicked of you to lead them back here without permission."
The shadow floated out over the ring but remained safely out of range of their weapons.
"We've come for Maelin," said Feena. "Release her, and we'll go."
"Be silent, you smelly little drudge!" spat Stannis.
Barrow had never heard such incivility from his former master. The shadows swirled, and an arm-shaped branch reached out to point at Feena. A black bolt of energy shot forth to strike her holy symbol. It smothered the daylight and plunged the room back into eerie green darkness.
Barrow's intuition told him to move the moment the light vanished. "Look out!" he cried, throwing himself over the seats into the next aisle.
The big man did not need the warning. His big sword had already caught Radu's blade as it licked toward him. He struck back with astounding speed, destroying the chair where his attacker had stood an instant earlier. Radu had already slipped away to attack from another direction.
Barrow took advantage of the fight to make a run for the cell entrance. Miraculously, it remained unlocked. He rushed down the stairs and found the portcullis closed. Cursing himself, he realized Stannis or Radu must have kept the key. He ran back up to the arena.
Talbot and Radu fought near the edge of the baiting pit, retreating and attacking by turns. Talbot bore a long slash along his face and another on his sword arm. His shirt clung to his body, sodden with perspiration. Barrow saw no wounds on Radu, who fenced with cool precision.
Feena and Stannis both hurled magic, the vampire casting forth his shadows while the cleric invoked the name of her goddess. Black tentacles erupted from the arena floor to encircle Feena's legs, pulling her inexorably down. She slashed at them with a radiant blade of moonlight, but it was a losing battle.
Stannis floated toward the struggling cleric, his armor of shadows still cloaking his bloated body. Barrow feared many things in the world, but few of them as much as the touch of the vampire's hand. He thought of what would become of Maelin should he fail, gripped his sword tightly, and ran to help Feena hack at the wriggling tentacles. With two quick chops of his blade, he freed one of her legs as she cut away another inky limb that encircled her waist.
"My sweet^ reckless, feckless boy," hissed Stannis. "What a disappointment you have become. Is this how you repay my generosity?"
The vampire whispered arcane words and made a gripping gesture. Pain lanced through Barrow's body. His back jerked in uncontrollable spasms, and the sword fell uselessly from his hand.
"If only a mild lesson would suffice to correct such behavior," mourned Stannis. "It pains me to rebuke you, my dear boy. You do believe me, don't you?"
The pain became blindingly powerful, and Barrow felt he could rip Stannis's arms from his body, if only he could control his own. The spasms gripped him from head to foot, twisting every nerve and bending every sinew against his will. His own screams were deafening inside his brain, but they escaped his lips as a weak gasp.
Stannis shrieked suddenly, and through the red veil of pain Barrow saw Chaney stab again through the shadows around Lord Malveen. He had crept unseen along the inner railing, attacking from beneath as the sorcerer levitated above him.
The railing offered no protection from the sorcerer's dark magic. With a sibilant string of incantations and another violent gesture, Stannis wracked Chaney's body with waves of agony. The little man arched his back and writhed, no words escaping his gaping mouth.
"Get away from him, you revolting thing!" Free at last from the groping tendrils, Feena leaped to Chaney's defense.
Her blade cut effortlessly through the vampire's shadow armor. The flesh beneath boiled away with a sickening stench, spraying ribbons of vile ichor across the floor and down onto the sandy pit below.
"Brother!" cried Stannis. "Defend me!"
Radu did not even glance in his brother's direction. Instead, he pressed Talbot with a series of attacks to his arms and face. He was only slightly quicker than the big man, but his sword was far lighter than Perivel's war blade. Talbot used reach and retreats more than parries to defend himself. Soon he ran out of room to withdraw without stepping on Chancy, who struggled to his feet.
With his friend at his back, Chancy set his teeth against the pain and thrust again at Stannis, whose attention was fixed on Feena and her devastating blade. Chaney's blade sank deep into the vampire's flesh and evoked another shriek of pain.
The shadow sorcerer lashed his heavy tail once, then again, slamming Chaney hard enough to knock the sword from his hand. Each blow slapped the blush from his face, leaving him as colorless as rain. The last blow threw him against Talbot's back, where Chaney sank to the floor.
"No!" yelled Feena, slashing again at the monstrous vampire. "Face me!"
Talbot looked down at his fallen friend. It was the opening Radu needed. He thrust past Talbot's open guard and ran his long sword through the swordmaster's chest. The red point emerged just an inch to the left of Talbot's spine.
The big man gasped at his foe, who tried twisting the blade. The sword would not turn, and Talbot grabbed Radu's hand, holding it fast to the grip. Dropping his own weapon, Talbot grabbed Malveen's jacket and pulled him close.
Darrow saw the big man's shoulders swell and the fur sprout on his arms. For a moment he thought Radu had met his match at last, but then he remembered the real danger.
"The knife!" he cried, cursing himself silently for not thinking of it earlier. "Look out!"
The bone blade flashed at Radu's hip, striking up toward Tal's exposed stomach. Before it touched flesh, Chaney's hands closed on Radu's wrist. He mustered all of his strength to pull the weapon down, away from his friend.
Instead of struggling against him, Radu turned the point down and thrust the dagger at Chaney, who was unprepared for the sudden reversal. The slender dagger sank deeply into Chaney's throat. Hateful white light shot from the little man's eyes and mouth, showing a red skull beneath his flesh.
"No!" roared Talbot, releasing his grip on Radu's clothing to grab the hand that held the dagger.
Darrow heard the bones of Radu's arm grind and crack as Talbot squeeze his wrist and pulled the blade out of Chaney's throat.
It was far too late for Chaney. His flesh withered and collapsed, leaving only a ragged skeleton behind. Those meager remains survived only a moment longer before dispersing to the finest dust.