Finder's Bane - Kate Novak [38]
"The creatures that devour people's brains?" Holly asked.
Jas nodded. "The illithids destroyed the hull of my dragonfly ship, so my crew and I took one of the illithids' miniature nautiloid hulls as payment. The illithids weren't keen on making reparations, though, so they fired on us as we were leaving. That's why the ship's hull is so busted up. It's still spaceworthy, though. We landed here to take on supplies." Having finished examining the walls to no effect, Jas dusted off her hands.
"We were headed for Shadowdale," Jas continued, "but just over the Spiderhaunt Woods, something attacked Gildstar while he was at the helm. The ship came crashing down in the trees. That's when we got into a fight with the Banites. Like I said, that priestess used magic to bring us down. There was also something else with her-something powerful and evil that kept to the shadows."
Holly was reminded of the evil she'd sensed in Daggerdale when the nautiloid ship had floated past her.
"Well, I can't find a way out of this cell," Jas announced. "I hope you've got some ideas. Otherwise we're going to be food for this baby god of Bane's."
"Iyachtu Xvim." Holly supplied the name.
"Sounds like the noise Arandes made when he was clearing his throat," Jas commented scornfully, without a trace of humor. "So do you have some way out of here with your dawn-god powers?"
"I have a plan," Holly explained, "but if it works, I still have to search for Joel."
"All right," Jas said, "but if it takes too long, I'm blowing this mud ball without you."
"Fine," Holly agreed. Jas, she suspected, would not run from a fight, but she was the sort to get antsy if the search lasted the whole night.
It took Holly five minutes of shrieking and frantic shaking of the bars before one of the cultists came to the cell door.
"She's not moving," Holly cried hysterically, waving at the cloak-covered figure lying in the straw. "She puked up all this black stuff, and now she's not moving."
The cultist, obviously roused from a solid sleep, stared wordlessly into the cell. The paladin spent another three minutes of desperate weeping and terror-filled shouting before the guard turned and left the cell door. Holly screamed after him until he returned with two more cultists. All three were armed with drawn swords.
Holly gave an inward sigh of relief. It was unfortunate that the cultist was cautious enough to go for reinforcements, but at least he wasn't about to risk the displeasure of the Xvimist by letting their chosen sacrifice die unattended.
Motioning with his sword, one cultist ordered Holly, "Stay back."
The paladin backed into the rear left corner of the cell, trying to appear as unthreatening as possible. The cultists unlocked and opened the barred door. One of them stood in the doorway, yawning, while the other two stepped into the cell. One stepped up to Holly with his sword pointed at her chest. The other approached the pile of straw and poked at the caped figure with his sword When there was no response, he kicked at the figure.
"What the-" he growled, reaching down and yanking Jas's cloak from the straw. "There's nobody here!" he shouted.
The cultist guarding Holly turned his head, and in that moment, Holly lunged forward. With both hands, she grabbed at his wrist, forcing his blade out and downward, then slammed her right foot into the inside of his right knee. With a howl, the cultist crashed to the ground.
The cultist at the door moved into the cell with his sword aimed at Holly, not realizing the threat to him came from above. Jas dropped down from the gargoyle-like perch on the ledge above the door and rammed into his head with both feet, sending him reeling into the opposite wall.
The cultist beside the straw wheeled about just in time for Jas to smack him in the head with the water bucket. Before he could recover, the winged woman had closed in, jammed the bucket on his head and kneed him hard in the groin. He didn't put up a struggle as she wrenched the sword from his hand. Jas thrust the blade into his throat,