As we came to the mouth of the tunnel, a vampet swung a short length of chain at Vancha. The vampire grabbed the chain, yanked the vampet in, caught him by the head, and made to twist it sharply to the right, meaning to snap his neck and kill him.
"Enough!" Gannen Harst bellowed and the vampaneze and vampets closing upon us instantly stopped fighting and dropped back two paces.
Vancha relaxed his lock, but didn't release the vampet, and glared around suspiciously. "What now?" he muttered.
"I do not know," Mr. Crepsley said, wiping sweat and blood from his brow. "But they fight most bizarrely. Nothing they do would surprise me."
Gannen Harst pushed through the vampaneze until he was standing in front of his brother. The two didn't look alike - where Vancha was burly, gruff and rough, Gannen was slim, cultured and smooth - but there was a certain way they had of standing and inclining their heads that was very similar.
"Vancha," Gannen greeted his estranged brother.
"Gannen," Vancha replied, not letting go of the vampet, watching the other vampaneze like a hawk in case they made any sudden moves.
Gannen looked at Mr. Crepsley, Harkat and me. "We meet again," he said, "as was destined. Last time, you had the beating of me. Now the tables have turned." He paused and gazed around the room at the silent vampaneze and vampets, then at their dead and dying colleagues. Then he glanced at the tunnel behind us. "We could kill you here, in this tunnel, but you would take many of us with you," he sighed. "I tire of needless bloodshed. Shall we strike a deal?"
"What sort of a deal?" Vancha grunted, trying to hide his bewilderment.
"It would be easier for us to slaughter you in the larger tunnels beyond this one. We could pick you off, in our own time, possibly without losing more of our men."
"You want us to make your job easier for you?" Vancha laughed.
"Let me finish," Gannen continued. "As things stand, you have no hope of making it back to the surface alive. If we attack you here, our losses will be great, but all four of you will certainly die. If, on the other hand, we were to give you a head start..." He trailed off into silence, then spoke again. "Fifteen minutes, Vancha. Leave your hostages - you can move more quickly without them - and flee. For fifteen minutes, nobody will follow. You have my word."
"This is a trick," Vancha snarled. "You wouldn't let us go, not like this."
"I don't lie," Gannen said stiffly. "The odds are still in our favour - we know these tunnels better than you do, and will probably catch you before you make it to freedom. But this way you have hope - and I won't have to bury any more of my friends."
Vancha exchanged a furtive glance with Mr. Crepsley.
"What about Debbie?" I shouted before either vampire could speak. "I want to take her too!"
Gannen Harst shook his head. "I command those in this room," he said, "but not he of the hooks. She is his now."
"Not good enough," I snorted. "If Debbie doesn't leave, I don't either. I'll stay here and kill as many of you as I can."
"Darren-" Vancha began to protest.
"Do not argue," Mr. Crepsley intervened. "I know Darren - your words would be wasted. He will not leave without her. And if he will not leave, nor will I."
Vancha cursed, then looked his brother clean in the eye. "There you have it. If they won't go, I won't either."
Harkat cleared his throat. "These fools don't speak... for me. I'll go." Then he smiled to show he was joking.
Gannen spat between his feet, disgusted. In my arms, Steve stirred and groaned. Gannen studied him for a moment, then looked at his brother again. "Let's try this then," Gannen said. "R.V. and Steve Leonard are close friends. Leonard designed R.V.'s hooks and persuaded us to blood him. I don't think R.V. would kill the woman if it meant Leonard's death, despite his threats. When you leave, you can take Leonard with you. If you escape, perhaps you'll be able to use him to bargain for the woman's life at a later time." He squinted at me warningly. "That is the best I can do - and it's more than you have a right to expect."
I thought it over, realized this was Debbie's only real hope, and nodded imperceptibly.
"Is that a yes?" Gannen asked.
"Yes," I croaked.
"Then go now!" he snapped. "From the moment you start to walk, the clock begins to tick. In fifteen minutes, we come - and if we catch you, you die."
At a signal from Gannen, the vampaneze and vampets drew back and regrouped around him. Gannen stood in front of them all, hands folded across his chest, waiting for us to leave.
I shuffled forward to my three friends, pushing Steve ahead of me. Vancha still had hold of his captured vampet and was gripping him as I gripped Steve. "Is he serious?" I asked in a whisper.
"It seems so," Vancha replied, though I could tell he hardly believed it either.
"Why is he doing this?" Mr. Crepsley asked. "He knows it is our mission to kill the Lord of the Vampaneze. By offering us this opportunity, he frees us to perhaps recover and strike again."
"It's crazy," Vancha agreed, "but we'd be just as crazy to look this gift horse in the mouth. Let's get out before he changes his mind. We can debate it later - if we survive."
Keeping his vampet in front of him, as a shield, Vancha retreated. I followed, an arm wrapped around Steve, who was fully conscious now, but too groggy to make a break for freedom. Mr. Crepsley and Harkat came after us. The vampaneze and vampets watched us leave. Many of the red or red-rimmed eyes were filled with loathing and disgust - but none pursued us.
We backed up through the tunnel for a while, until we were certain we weren't being followed. Then we stopped and exchanged uncertain looks. I opened my mouth to say something, but Vancha silenced me before I spoke. "Let's not waste time." Turning, he pushed his vampet ahead of him and began jogging. Harkat took off after him, shrugging helplessly at me as he passed. Mr. Crepsley pointed at me to go next, with Steve. Shoving Steve in front, I poked him in the back with the tip of my sword, and roughly encouraged him forward at a brisk pace.
Up through the long, dark tunnels we padded, the hunters and their prisoners, beaten, bloodied, bruised and bewildered. I thought about the Vampaneze Lord, the insane R.V. and his hapless prisoner - Debbie. It tore me up inside to leave her behind, but I had no choice. Later, if I lived, I'd return for her. Right now I had to think only of my own life. With a great effort, I thrust all thoughts of Debbie from my head and concentrated on the path ahead. At the back of my mind, unbidden, a clock formed, and with every footstep I could hear the hands ticking down the seconds, cutting away at our period of grace, bringing us relentlessly closer to the moment when Gannen Harst would set the vampaneze and vampets after us - freeing the hounds of hell.