Kandler could even see if Levritt was all right, Sallah sprinted past them, aiming a terrible blow at the neck of the vampire about to tear Brendis apart.
Deothen bore all his weight into Tan Du. “You are all dead!” the vampire hissed as the pair hit the ground. “I’ll feast on your hearts!”
Kandler was sure the vampire was right. Even if they succeeded, what might happen to Esprл? Inwardly, he cursed the Silver Flame and all who followed it. Convinced Levritt was fine, he let the young knight slip to his knees, and he scrambled for his saddlebags.
His hands were shaking, and he had trouble untying the knot. As it finally gave, he heard Deothen chant a prayer to the Silver Flame. Kandler turned to look. The elder knight slapped his hands over the vampire’s eyes. Light stabbed forth from between the knight’s fingers, and Tan Du howled in pain.
The vampire shrugged Deothen off with his superhuman strength. “What have you done?” Tan Du said, his face glowing like the sun. “I can’t see!”
As Kandler dug around in his saddlebag, he watched Sallah thrust her sword into the side of the vampire attacking Brendis. The monster screeched in pain as the burning blade pierced its flesh. It stood, wrenching the blade it was impaled upon from the lady knight’s grasp.
“You’ll pay for that, you bitch!” the vampire snarled. He started toward the unarmed Sallah, her sword still protruding from the side of his chest. Before he got two steps, another bolt emerged from the darkness and impaled the vampire’s heart.
Kandler’s hands closed on a set of wooden stakes in his saddlebags. He knew his blade was useless against vampires, so he had packed these as well. “Catch!” Kandler shouted as he tossed one of the stakes to Deothen. The old knight snatched the length of wood out of the air and stalked after Tan Du.
Deothen drew the stake over his head with both hands and stabbed down at the vampire leader’s heart. The wooden point blunted on the thick armor plate and twisted wide of its mark, plunging into the vampire’s side instead.
Tan Du bellowed in rage and pain. He lashed out in blind anger and smashed the old knight in the chest, sending him sprawling across the half-dead grass.
Kandler hefted the other stake in his right hand and sprinted off, circling to Tan Du’s right. As he did, the vampire turned, always keeping Kandler to his front.
“I can hear you stomping around like a bull, coward,” Tan Du said. He pulled his hands from his face. The light poured from his eyes as if he was lit from within.
“I haven’t lived for over a hundred years by being foolish,” the vampire cackled. “Besides, I don’t want to kill you until you find your daughter’s body torn into bite-sized pieces.”
The very thought spurred Kandler to desperate action. He knew he only had once chance here, and he had to take it no matter what might happen to him. He dove at Tan Du in a last-ditch effort, the stake held before him.
The vampire seemed to fade, the darkness bleeding into him, and he melted into mist. Kandler hit the ground hard, wrenching his shoulder. The justicar howled, the stake still in his hands. “Come hack!” he said to the air. He got up and spun around, swinging the stake back and forth wildly. “Come back and fight! Give my daughter back!”
The mist hung in the air over Kandler for a moment, then faded into the blackness. The justicar went back on his knees and screamed. He pounded his fists against the ground until Deothen came over and patted him on the back.
Kandler stood and glared at the knight, but he bit back the venom he wanted to spit at him. Instead, he turned and strode over to where the other knights had set the bodies of the downed vampires next to one another.
Esprл was somewhere out there in the darkness, Kandler knew, but she might as well have been a thousand miles away. He’d never find her, not until the dawn. But right here in front of him there was something he could do.
Kandler picked up his own sword from where it lay and decapitated the corpses with two clean, savage cuts. Then he hacked the rest of them to pieces.
While Kandler chopped away at the bodies, Burch stole up beside him. The shifter put a hand on Kandler’s sword arm, and the justicar stopped, his chest heaving from his efforts.
“Couldn’t find her, boss,” Burch said. “Too dark, and even I can’t track mist.”
Kandler nodded at his old friend as he put an arm around him and drew him into a sidelong embrace. He hoped Burch wouldn’t realize he was shaking not with rage but fear.
Chapter 23
A chill had settled over the Mournland as the sky grew darker, and the changeling feared the girl might catch a cold. Te’oma had not packed a bag for Esprл before leaving Kandler’s house. There hadn’t been time, and the girl had only what she wore on her back.
Esprл had slept throughout most of the journey into the Mournland. Tan Du’s control over the girl’s mind had kept her in half a stupor during the few times she’d awakened. It kept her from screaming and drawing Kandler and the knights to them-or any of the other monsters that stalked this forsaken place.
The girl was awake now though. Tan Du needed her to speak to punctuate the statement he planned to deliver to the justicar and his friends. “Keep her quiet until then,” the vampire had ordered.
Te’oma had watched the vampires fade into mist then picked up her everbright lantern and raised its front shield just enough to show her the way to where the girl lay on the ground. The changeling knelt down and roused Esprл by stroking her long, blonde hair. The girl woke as if from a pleasant dream she didn’t want to leave behind.
“Mommy!” Esprл said as her mind wandered back to her. The word sent strange flutters through the changeling’s heart.
Te’oma, in the guise of the girl’s elf aunt again, clapped a hand over Esprл’s mouth and shushed her. “You must be quiet, sweetheart, or we are all doomed.”
Esprл’s eyes widened. In the light escaping from the lantern, the whites showed all the way around. “Aunt Arnaya?” she said, but the hand over her mouth muffled the rest of her words.
“Yes,” Te’oma whispered. “I’m here. You’re safe.” She glanced into the darkness. “And we’ll stay that way as long as we keep quiet.”
The girl nodded and reached up to pull Te’oma’s hand away. The changeling clamped down harder. “I can let you speak,” she said to the girl, “but only if you swear to keep it to a whisper.”
Esprл nodded seriously, and Te’oma removed her hand. “What’s happening?” she asked in whisper so soft that Te’oma had to strain to hear her.
“We’re in the Mournland,” Te’oma said. Esprл drew in a deep breath for a scream, but the changeling clamped down on her mouth again before she could let loose.
“Esprл!” Te’oma said. “This is a matter of life and death. You must be quiet.”
The girl’s eyes widened even more. After a while, she nodded, and Te’oma removed her hand again.
“Why are we here?” the girl asked in a small voice.
Te’oma reached out and felt Esprл’s soft, round cheek as she searched for the words that would comfort the girl. “These are desperate times.”
“How did we get here?” Esprл asked as she took Te’oma’s hand. “The last thing I remember is…” The girl shuddered and fell silent.
“Yes.” Te’oma nodded. “We are prisoners of those creatures now.”
Esprл sat up and glanced around. “Where are they now?”
Te’oma grimaced and wished the girl would just sit quiet and stop asking so many questions. Why couldn’t she just enjoy the illusion of an aunt and niece sitting together in the dark?
“They’ve gone off to speak with your stepfather.”
“Kandler!” Esprл’s voice started to rise, but she clamped down on it before she finished the word. “Where is
