Tymora's Luck - Kate Novak [136]
"That power is not for you!" Lathander shouted, grabbing at Xvim's arm.
The god of hatred slammed Lathander in the face with the heel of his hand. Stunned, the Morninglord dropped the blue crystal sphere and fell backward. Xvim spun about to leave the tent, but he tripped over the black cat, which howled in outrage. Both power keys flew from the evil god's hands. Joel caught the rose and Jas caught the coin.
"Lucky catches?" Jas wondered aloud.
"And an unlucky trip," Joel said, pointing to the portal leading into the fusion chamber where Beshaba and Tymora stood side by side. The goddesses had cast their magic out of the fusion chamber, protecting their power keys even though they themselves could not escape.
Lathander leapt upon Xvim and held him down on the floor of the tent. Holly retrieved the blue crystal sphere.
"Put Tyche's power key back on the altar, Holly Harrowslough," Lathander ordered.
Holly stood up with the power key of the goddess her lord intended to resurrect and walked toward the altar.
"So, knowing this isn't really Sirrion doesn't change your mind?" Emilo asked Lathander with surprise. "Even though he's an evil god who lied to you?"
Lathander glared at the kender, but then his face grew thoughtful. His head snapped around just in time to see Holly toss Tyche's power key into the fusion chamber.
Lathander's eyes widened in surprise. In a shocked voice, he demanded of his paladin, "What have you done?"
"Now Tymora and Beshaba can use Tyche's power key to escape the fusion chamber," Holly explained.
"What compels you to disobey me?" Lathander asked in an amazed tone. "How dare you risk falling from my grace?"
Tears flowed freely from Holly's eyes. "It would be evil to join the goddesses against their will, my lord," she said.
In the fusion chamber, Tymora snatched up the blue sphere. The shimmering portal flashed with a bright light as the two goddesses flew out of the fusion chamber.
Like hawks swooping down upon their prey, Tymora and Beshaba landed before Lathander and Xvim, who still lay locked together. Tymora slammed Tyche's power key to the ground near Xvim's head. The crystal blue sphere splintered into a thousand pieces, spraying both Xvim and Lathander with the shards.
Offstage
In the Prime Material Plane on the world known as Toril in Realmspace, Amber Wyvernspur cried out with surprise and then delight at the sudden appearance of her great-granduncle, Drone Wyvernspur, who carried a lantern and a picnic basket. He arrived by dimensional doorway some time after the children's torches had burned out, but before panic had set in. Amber and the children had been in the dark long enough to sing fourteen rounds of a silly halfling song Gory had taught them.
"You found us!" Amber cried out in relief. "I knew you would."
"I didn't know I had lost you," the shaggy old wizard retorted. He looked around at the collapsed ceiling disapprovingly. "What a mess you children have made," he muttered. "You'll be cleaning this up until you're old enough to leave home. Of course, you could get out of the work if you want to leave home now," he added with a dark look at Tavan, Toran, and Cory. Uncle Drone had an uncanny understanding of who was responsible for any mishaps that occurred in the family.
"Are you going to take us home now, Uncle Drone?" Olivia asked.
"Do I look like a pack mule?" the old wizard retorted. "I brought you something to eat," he said, handing the basket to Cory.
As her younger kin began to devour the sandwiches and fruit in the basket, Amber sat patiently while Uncle Drone examined her wounds. He spread some healing salve on them and then made her down a potion that tasted like peppermint.
"Are our parents worried?" Tavan asked as he sipped a cup of tea.
"Not really," Drone said. "We've known something like this would happen for days now."
"What