Still transfixed by his foe's blade, Talbot gripped Radu by wrist and throat, lifting the slender man off the floor. The motion would have seemed effortless except for the stream of blood that ran from both sides of the sword wound. With an inarticulate scream, Talbot hurled the swordsman over the edge of the baiting pit, onto the hard sand twenty feet below.
"Brother!" cried Stannis, retreating from Feena's glowing blade.
The cleric spared only one brief glance for the slain Chaney before pursuing the fleeing vampire. Stannis flew down to Radu, still dripping black ichor. Darrow looked down to see that the cell gates were open. Maelin was the only occupant, and she crouched behind the shelter of her cot when she saw Stannis arrive.
With furious abandon, Talbot grasped the sword in his chest and pushed it out in two painful thrusts, each one punctuated by a mournful howl. His face was a twisted cross between man and wolf, curved fangs protruding over a short snout, his blood-red eyes blazing furiously.
"Help him!" he cried to Feena. He scooped two big hand-fuls of the dust that was his friend.
Torn between rage and sympathy, Feena simply shook her head. "I can't," she said.
Talbot crouched over Chaney*s remains, letting the dust sift through his bestial hands. A low growl grew in his chest, and he reached for PerivePs sword.
Darrow was afraid to speak and turn the werewolf's anger on himself, but his fear for Maelin was even greater. "Stannis has the key to Maelin's cell," he said.
Talbot's blazing eyes fell upon him, and the werewolf leaped up onto the edge of the pit. Darrow craned his neck to see the Malveen brothers below.
Stannis curled protectively around Radu, who struggled to regain his feet. The fall had finished the work that Talbot had begun. Radu's left arm turned at an impossible angle, hanging awkward and useless at his side. The bone blade lay on the sand beside him.
"Malveen!" roared Talbot in a voice that only the Nine Hells could lend him.
He leaped down into the pit and landed squarely on two feet, bending slightly to absorb the shock. His black torso gleamed with blood, but the wound had begun to close. He took one step toward the brothers, raising his massive sword.
"No!" squealed Stannis. "Spare us, I beg you! It isn't us you want."
"Be silent!" hissed Radu.
Clutching his horrid brother's chain veil, Radu pulled himself up. His left leg trailed as uselessly as his broken arm.
"Pietro!" shrieked Stannis. "Laskar! They are the ones you want. Spare me, and I will give you what you want."
"Liar!" shouted Radu. It was the first time Darrow had ever seen his former master impassioned.
"It's no good, dear brother," said Stannis. "We must make amends as best we can, even if it means acknowledging our brothers' misdeeds. Perhaps we can earn some clemency for our incidental-brother! What are you doing?"
Radu released the golden veil and snatched up the bone blade.
Talbot took a cautious step back, but Radu did not even look at him. Instead, he thrust the bone blade into his brother's wide flank.
An explosion of light dispelled the remaining shadows that cloaked Stannis. His golden veil flew away, leaving bloody wounds where the rings had pierced his face, revealing a round, gasping mouth filled with row upon row of triangular teeth. The radiance that surged from his body was tainted with wriggling strands of liquid black and red.
Still holding the bone blade, Radu was galvanized by the magical feedback. His body trembled and rose from the floor as the dark energies of his brother mingled with the life-draining magic of the dagger.
The vampire's body did not wither but flushed with power, glowing blindingly as it shook.
"Get down!" cried Feena from the rail.
Darrow heeded her warning just as an explosion shook the arena. Sand and wet matter fell all around them. The bright light was gone, leaving the baiting pit illuminated only by the flickering green flames of the braziers.
Darrow picked himself up carefully. Feena was already at the edge of the pit, leaning over to see what was below.
"Tal!" She ran her thumb across her holy symbol and spoke a word. Light shone from the talisman, revealing the aftermath of the vampire's destruction.
Radu Malveen lay on his back beside the pit. The explosion had reduced his right hand to a withered black branch. His face was also ruined, burned to the bone in some places, in others spotted with raw, weeping red wounds.
There was no sign of Stannis Malveen except for the nasty black and red stains covering every surface.
Talbot sat propped against the bars of Maelin's cell, where the blast had thrown him. Everywhere his exposed skin was burned and peeling, his hair singed and smoking.
Feena gasped and thrust her fist against her mouth, staring down at his motionless body. At last, Maelin emerged from the shelter of her overturned cot, cautiously approaching Tal. She placed a tentative hand on his neck, and he flinched at the pain.
"Oh, thank you!" cried Feena from the other side of the bars. She closed her eyes and clutched her glowing talisman. "Thank you, Lady."
Darrow ran to fetch the key from the veil. The chains were still hot, but the keys were relatively undamaged. Despite the slight bend in the shaft, the key did its job. After a few fumbling moments, Darrow let Feena into the baiting pit before releasing Maelin.
The cleric channeled the last of her power into healing Talbot's burns. The worst of them had vanished, but he still appeared groggy and weak. His burned hair stank worse than the foul odor left by the demise of Stannis Malveen.
"You're free," he told her as he opened her cell door. He mustered a weak smile, wondering whether she would throw herself into his arms or simply weep with gratitude.
She did neither. Instead, she moved into the hall, making every effort not to touch him as she slipped by. He followed her into the baiting pit. There, Maelin stood behind Feena, who knelt beside Talbot.
"Get Radu," said Tal. "Make sure he's alive. We need the Scepters to get the truth out of him."
Darrow turned to obey. First he would throw that sword into the pit, and-
But Radu Malveen was gone. Darrow searched for some trail in the sand, but there was none. He peered into the dark pit, but there was nothing but darkness as far as he could see.
"Where in the Nine Hells did he go?" thundered Talbot.
"I-I don't know," said Darrow, staring into the fanged pit.
"Where does that hole go?"
" 'Somewhere worse…' " quoted Darrow, remembering Lord Malveen's words.
"I smell smoke," said Feena.
Darrow didn't yet, but he trusted the cleric's sense of smell. He remembered the dry timbers of the second floor and could only imagine the inferno they had ignited above.
"Dark and empty," said Maelin. "What did you do? Set fire to the place before coming down?" When she saw Feena wince, she cursed again. "Some rescue this is."
"Ill check the door." Feena ran out of the baiting pit and up the stairs.
"Where does that hole lead?" demanded Talbot, his voice thundering like that of a battlefield commander. He pushed himself up and painfully got to his feet. He looked like the walking dead.
"I really don't know!" said Darrow. Now he smelled the smoke, too. They all did. Suddenly he remembered, "The troughs!"
Maelin ran back into the hall between the cells. Darrow and Tal followed, finding her lifting the stone slabs that bordered the running water. Beneath them the trough was just wide enough for a big man to crawl through. At its end, it slanted sharply down, its bottom surface black and green with slime.
"This has to empty out somewhere, doesn't it?" Maelin said. "Probably the sewers."
"Probably," agreed Tal. He knelt down and squirmed his head and shoulders into the chute, then pulled himself back out. "It's a tight fit, but it's slippery enough."