Finder's Bane - Kate Novak [106]
Joel couldn't see where he was or where they were going. He was having trouble breathing and only wished that the go-zu-oni would set him down again soon. Joel passed out.
He regained consciousness to the sensation of ice-cold lingers stroking his face. He was lying on the ground. Someone holding a lantern hovered over him. Joel squinted in the light, trying to make out the someone's face.
"Yes. This is the one," a familiar voice said.
Joel's eyes widened. It was the banelich who held the lantern. The undead creature's lipless smile, which exposed its brown teeth and yellow tongue, was horrible to see. The young bard shuddered.
The banelich set the lamp on the ground and turned away from Joel to address the go-zu-oni who stood behind him. "You've done well."
"Now you will pay me what you promised," the go-zu-oni demanded.
"Accept your reward," the banelich whispered and reached out to touch the giant creature.
The go-zu-oni gasped and fell to the ground, its face very near Joel's. The creature's eyes were open but unblinking. Blood ran from its mouth, nose, and ears, The banelich had killed it with a touch.
The undead creature bent over Joel again and grabbed a fistful of his hair. Joel tried to wriggle away, but the banelich held him fast. "Now we will see what sort of fool your master is," it said. "I believe he will do anything to purchase your worthless life."
The banelich whispered an unknown word, and a black aura surrounded the fingers of its free hand. It brushed aside Joel's shirt and lay its hand on the bard's chest near his heart.
A searing cold tingled over Joel's flesh, and an agonizing pain shot through his lungs and heart. Joel's scream was stifled by the rag in his mouth.
"I need you alive," the banelich said, "but you must pay for your master's insolence.
Unable to respond, Joel glared up at the undead monster with hatred.
"Yes," the banelich said, removing its hand. "You think you are strong. Torturing you will be delightful. Then I will trade you for the Hand of Bane and still keep your master's stone." The banelich stood up. "I must write your precious Jedidiah a note. When I return, we will journey to the astral plane."
The banelich picked up the lantern and strode $ leaving Joel in the dark. Joel heard the clang of a metal door, then silence.
The chill in Joel's chest was unbearable. He laid his bound hands over his heart, desperate for warmth. He couldn't let the banelich use him to force Jedidiah's surrender of the Hand of Bane. He had to escape, but how? What could he do?
It took him several moments to gather his wits, but finally it occurred to him that first he needed to escape the pain, and to do that he had to cast a spell. That, in turn, meant he must be able to speak. It took him what seemed like an interminably long time to push the rag out of his mouth with his tongue, but he finally succeeded.
He gasped for air, then hastily murmured a healing prayer. Warmth spread across his chest and the pain subsided. Now he was able to think more clearly.
He needed to free himself from his bonds. He wriggled over beside the go-zu-oni's body and, in the dark, began feeling around the creature for a weapon. Joel could find no sharp-edged weapon on the monster. Its body was colder than its armor.
Metal armor can be heated, Joel thought, remembering the spell Jedidiah had taught him. Concentrating on the go-zu-oni's spiked helmet, Joel whispered the words that would warm the metal to a searing red heat.
The stench from the go-zu-oni's hair was awful, but Joel managed to burn away the sisal rope at his wrists and ankles without burning his own flesh too badly. Then he crawled in the direction of the door.
He found the door in the dark. There was no light coining from under or over the door or through the keyhole. Joel put his ear to the door. No sound came from beyond. With no clue to guide him, the bard's only choice was to risk it.
Joel stood up and turned the door handle. The handle turned easily. The door opened