Tymora's Luck - Kate Novak [126]
There was such hard fury in Finder's tone that Jas felt she should say something in Holly's defense. "Surely Lathander won't let Joel come to any harm," she said.
That is, assuming he is alive by the time the phoenix delivers Beshaba to Lord Sirrion," the god growled.
"But you can still sense him, right?" Jas asked. "With that god sense you have?"
Finder closed his eyes. "He is over Elysium, flying toward Morning Glory."
"All right," Jas said. "So he's not dead yet. We go to Elysium-"
"No!" Finder gasped. He opened his eyes. "He's gone! I can't sense him any longer!"
Fearing the absolute worst, Jas shoved Holly aside and placed herself between the god and the paladin.
"You have to be able to sense him," Jas insisted, putting her hands on Finder's arms. "Even if he's died and become a petitioner, you would sense him in Fermata."
That witch has killed him," the god screamed at Holly, "and it's your fault!"
Dark clouds filled with lightning rolled toward them.
Jas stepped backward as Finder moved toward the paladin. The god tried to push Jas aside, but the winged woman clung to his sleeves. "Finder, you're still pretty new at this god thing. You could be wrong. Don't do something you'll regret," Jas begged.
"Lord Finder," a voice called out from behind the god. "Wait, please."
Finder whirled around. Two persons stood there. One was a statuesque blonde woman wearing a white gown of sheer fabric, and the other was a tall, pale warrior with cat eyes.
"Bors! Kenda!" Holly gasped.
Finder obviously recognized the warrior, for he addressed him. "If you've come for your treacherous friend, Sensate Bors," the god growled, "you had best abandon your mission now."
"Lord Finder," Kenda Fretterstag said hastily, making a slight curtsy, "Factol Montgomery bids us inform you there is a dark region in Lathander's realm that defies all attempts to scry into it. You cannot sense your priest because he was taken inside this region. But if he still lives, you will still be able to sense the area in Elysium surrounding the dark region."
It took only a moment for Finder to take in what the Sensate wizardess was saying, but it seemed to Jas like an eternity before the god relaxed the muscles in his neck and closed his eyes to follow Kenda's suggestion.
"Yes," Finder whispered. "It is like a dark spot on my inner eye." The god looked up at the Sensates. "What is the purpose of this darkness?"
"We do not know," Bors replied.
Kenda snorted derisively and said, "But some of us suspect Lathander has imprisoned both Tymora and Beshaba. We have scried tinker gnomes moving in and out of this dark region."
"Gnomes!" Emilo said excitedly. "What were they building?"
"We cannot see," Bors said.
Finder looked at Holly. "What is it, paladin?" he demanded.
"It is a great clockwork machine," Holly explained, "which Lord Sirrion is building for Lord Lathander to help cast the spell that will right an ancient wrong. Lord Sirrion wouldn't tell me anything more, but I heard the gnomes call it a 'few chin chamber.' "
"A fusion chamber?" Emilo suggested.
"That could have been it," Holly agreed.
"Those are neat," the kender said. "I would love to see another one work."
"What does a fusion chamber do?" Finder asked.
"Well, when the gnomes make scrambled eggs for a large group of people," Emilo explained, "they beat up all the eggs with a little milk and salt and pepper, and then they cook the eggs. But there's always leftover egg mixture. They pour the leftover egg mixture in a fusion chamber, and the fusion chamber puts the eggs back into their shells so the gnomes can use them again later. I'm not sure what happens to the milk and salt and pepper. I'm not sure the gnomes know either."
"The gnomes were making omelets, not scrambled eggs," Kenda said.
Emilo shrugged. "I guess it doesn't make much difference."
"Somehow