Feena chanted a quick orison, and her holy symbol blazed with white radiance. She cupped it in her hands to keep most of it on the ground ahead of them. They spotted the broken door, and Darrow led them through it.
Inside, the warehouse was abandoned. Tal could still smell the recent occupation of the werewolf pack, along with something salty, sour, and somehow unnatural.
'The spawn,' observed Darrow, whose own nose was wrinkled in disgust. 'They smell worse up close.'
'If you smell them coming,' said Feena, 'let me cast some wards on you before you fight with them.'
'Thanks,' said Tal, 'but once a fight begins, you stay out of the way.'
'No promises,' said Feena. She almost laughed at the shock on Tal's face. 'I'll be careful.'
'Good enough.'
They navigated the crowded warehouse and found the door to the River Hall closed.
'There's tio ward on it,' said Feena quietly, holding her talisman before her. 'At least none that I can detect.'
Tal tried the handle. Locked.
'Stand back,' he said, setting Perivel's sword aside.
'Wait,' said Chaney. 'Let me try something.' He slid a flat leather pouch from his sleeve and unfurled it to reveal a selection of lock picks.
'We're going to have another chat about how you make a living, aren't we?' said Tal.
'Don't be so judgmental,' Chaney said. 'You're the werewolf.'
'A law-abiding werewolf,' Tal responded.
Chaney snorted quietly.
'Are they always like this?' whispered Darrow amiably to Feena.
Her response was a silent, icy glare. Tal still didn't like the man, but he felt a pang of pity for Darrow. The man had done some terrible wrongs, to be sure, but he seemed to crave redemption. Tal wondered how different his life might have been if Feena had not guided him through his harrowing affliction.
'There,' said Chaney. 'Easier than I thought. Exactly the same as the lock on Thazienne's bedchamber.'
'You wish,' said Tal. 'You keep it up, and I'll tell her you said that.'
'I take it back! I take it back!' whispered Chaney.
Tal knew they should try to remain silent, but the banter soothed his nerves. The idea effacing vampires was bad enough, but it was Radu Malveen he truly dreaded facing. Not only was the man the finest swordsman in Selgaunt, but Tal was not convinced he was a willing party to his brother's crimes. He hoped it would not come to a fight between them.
'Lead on, but go slowly,' said Feena. She looked through her three extended fingers while clasping the talisman between thumb and little finger. 'I'm still watching for magic.'
Barrow walked slowly ahead. Watching the caution with which he set each foot on the floor persuaded Tal that Darrow was either a good actor or a man who truly did not know whether there were wards in place.
Darrow halted suddenly, crouching and sniffing. 'Smell that?'
'They're coming,' said Tal. Feena already had her hands on him, casting a spell that made his skin prickle all over.
'Wait,' she said. 'One more, for each of us.'
She intoned another spell, reaching out to touch Tal and Chaney on the face before pressing a hand against her own cheek. Tal felt a cool, slippery sensation. No, it was more like a thought than a physical feeling.
'What does that do?'
'If we're lucky,' said Feena, 'it will hide us from these spawn Darrow described.'
'What about him?' said Chaney, jerking a thumb toward Darrow.
'What about him?' said Feena coldly.
'Hurry,' said Darrow, hastening toward the Grand Promenade. Tal followed, with Chaney and Feena trailing behind.
The Promenade looked empty at first glance. Tal had never seen a room more beautiful nor more bizarre. The illuminated stream cast rippling shadows on the walls and ceiling, and Tal followed Darrow's example by casting his eyes up there for any sight of Lord Malveen's minions.
'How many are there?' asked Tal.
'At least two,' said Darrow, running past the inner fountains. 'Maybe more. Hurry, the gallery is on the other side.'
Tal waited long enough for Chaney and Feena to catch up with him, then followed. All four had just rounded the grand pool when Tal spotted a black figure running spider-like across the wall.
'There!' he pointed. The thing scuttled away into the shadows, but then several things happened at once.
A dark, wet figure fell onto Tal from above. Even as he heard Chaney's shout of warning, a tremendous thunderclap exploded around Tal's head. All the prickling of his skin turned to hot needles wherever the thing touched his body, and a flash of light blinded him completely for a second. Tal heard his attacker fall to the marble floor nearby and moved in to strike as his vision returned.
Blinking away the stars in his eyes, Tal saw the stunned monster writhing on the floor. Once it had been human, but its clawed hands and feet were flat paddles now, with fingers half the length of a man's. Its naked skin was the darkest purple, nearly black, glistening smooth as a slug's body. Beneath round black eyes, its face consisted of nothing but a wide, lipless jaw studded with short, sharp teeth. Its mouth moved in a weak, involuntary spasm. Whatever magic Feena had cast on him hurt the thing far more than it shocked Tal.
Without hesitation, Tal severed the creature's head from its body. Perivel's blade cut through flesh and bone effortlessly, leaving a scar in the floor.
The spawn's body melted into a puddle of oily black liquid, spreading at first into a wide circle. Within seconds, it moved intentionally toward the pool, pouring itself into the clear water. Where it filled the lighted pool, darkness covered the ceiling above.
Behind Tal, Feena shouted, 'Back! By the power of Selune, I command you!'
She held her holy symbol defiantly toward another of the spawn. The monster hissed and recoiled from its place on the wall, but the talisman caused it no visible harm. Beside Feena, Chaney stood guard, his eyes searching the upper reaches of the hall for another attack.
'Over here!' Darrow called to them from an open door. Beyond it was a dark room.
Dark hands reached down from the shadows to grasp him by the head, pulling him up. Darrow screamed and struck wildly with his sword. Tal ran to help him, leaping up to catch his flailing legs as he rose into the shadows. He fell back to the floor holding an empty boot, while Darrow's screams grew louder and more frantic.
Feena sang out another prayer, her voice steady and bold. Her talisman flared more brightly than ever, shining steady rays of sunlight in all directions. The shadows flinched like living things and fled from the holy light.
The spawn within them squealed horribly and fled from Feena. One burst into flames as it fell from the high ceiling. It grabbed futilely for a long tapestry as it plummeted, tangling itself in the thick fabric and setting it alight. Another trailed smoke as it fled the River Hall. Orange light flickered in the hall where it had fled, and Tal knew it would not be back soon.
Darrow's sword clanged on the floor near Tal. Soon after, a snarling gray wolf fell heavily beside it. The beast jerked and twisted violently, still trying to bite at an opponent who was no longer there. Its red eyes met Tal's, and its nape bristled as it growled at him.
'Calm yourself,' warned Tal, raising his massive sword.
The wolf whined and turned in a circle, lowering its head to the ground briefly before shifting form. The change came in awkward spurts, and when Darrow's human form crouched low before him, Tal saw the terrible wounds on his back and head. Deep black scars covered his head and shoulders, but the blood barely oozed from the wounds. The flesh surrounding them was already hardening and turning a dry, necrotic gray.
Darrow hissed and grimaced in pain. He looked ten years older, his features drawn and wan. He blinked away the tears of pain and said as bravely as he could muster, 'Stings a bit.'
'Feena?' asked Tal.
Before he could voice his request, she was already beside the wounded werewolf. Where she ran her fingers
