Finder's Bane - Kate Novak [88]
Joel's eyes narrowed with anger. He recalled Grypht's parting words that Jedidiah could be reckless and thoughtless. He remembered, too, the saurial wizard's advice to use his influence to make the god show moderation and consideration.
"Joel!" Jedidiah snapped, his voice rough with warning.
"I'm not moving," Joel retorted.
Jedidiah's face clouded with anger.
Joel could picture the scene woven into a tableau someday on a tapestry in the Singing Cave-Jas lying in the sand, Holly poised with her cutlass raised between the winged woman and Walinda with her goad, the banelich standing on the spelljammer with his hands burning, and in the middle, Joel silently begging his angry god to do the right thing-assuming, of course, they lived through the next few moments to tell the tale to Copperbloom.
"I'm calling on you, Jedidiah, to protect us," the young priest announced.
Then Jedidiah's face flushed with shame, and Joel understood more than he wanted to about the god's feelings. Copperbloom had been Finder's first priestess, but Joel was his chosen priest. The god couldn't bring himself to refuse the young bard's prayer. On the other hand, without his power, he was vulnerable. He could lose face just as easily by trying to protect Joel and failing.
Jedidiah, though weak, was not without the resources of his wits. "Bane," the older priest barked, "end this now, or you will regret it."
"I do as I wish," the banelich retorted, his normally low voice rising in amazement. "Your arrogance is remarkable." He held his finger to the finder's stone embedded in his forehead. "I can crumble your precious stone with a touch. Or have you forgotten?"
"Then you will have nothing to bargain with when I retrieve the Hand of Bane."
"The hand for the stone… that was our agreement," the banelich said. "That does not leave you anything to barter for the lives of these vermin." He pointed his hands in Holly's direction.
"I will snap one finger off the Hand of Bane for every death you cause here," Jedidiah threatened.
The banelich hesitated. Joel could feel his heart pounding in his chest. Five beats later the banelich lowered his hands, and the eldritch flames about them died. "The deaths of these vermin do not concern me," he said. He looked at Walinda. "Keep a watchful eye on them, slave," he ordered. He muttered a short, sharp chant and drifted over the railing of the spelljammer and down to the pillars of the gate.
Walinda held her goad at the ready as Jedidiah moved to Jas's side. The winged woman's skin was gray and covered with frost. The black flame had obviously been a coldfire missile.
"Keep an eye on her, Joel," Holly ordered the bard as she hurried to join Jedidiah.
Joel stood before the priestess. He nodded at her injured arm. "Bear do that?" he asked.
"Bear?" the priestess asked.
"The dark stalker you have chained to your bow," Joel said.
Walinda nodded. "Yes."
"I could heal it for you," the bard offered.
The priestess glared at the priest and backed away with a look of feral fear. "My god does not wish the injury healed," she growled.
"Why not?" Joel demanded angrily.
"This was not the first attack on my god that I failed to prevent. I was not sufficiently watchful. The dark stalker sneaked aboard while I slept and attacked Bane. I wear my wounds as punishment, but they are nothing compared to the loss of my god's love and approval. I will earn his forgiveness, though. Then he will grant me my spells again and I can heal myself."
Joel's stomach churned with disgust and anger. 'That thing is a monster!" he said. "How can you remain by its side, let alone worship it?"
Walinda looked at him coolly. "You still do not understand what it means to truly serve your god. You learned nothing in the Lost Vale, did you?" Joel fought back the urge to correct the priestess. It wouldn't be wise to let her know that he, too, traveled beside his god, that his god had been prepared to risk his power arguing for the life of his disobedient priest. "Maybe not," Joel answered the priestess, "but I suspect that Finder would