Tymora's Luck - Kate Novak [64]
"We can bring you back with us to Brightwater," Joel said to Holly. "I need to talk to Finder about what we've discovered."
Holly seemed to think a moment, then said, "Then we'll go your way."
The alu-fiend prisoner declared, "You will never make it out of here alive."
"I don't recall anyone asking your opinion," Jas said.
"Then perhaps you should ask," a woman's voice said.
Out of the shadows behind them stepped five more alu-fiends. Eight more appeared in the doorway through which they'd been spying.
Jas and Holly whirled back to back with their swords drawn. Joel slapped himself in the forehead. "How could I forget? Alu-fiends communicate telepathically. All this time our prisoner has been screaming for help."
Their former alu-fiend captive smiled at Joel and said, "Perhaps we will let you live a little while longer."
Holly grabbed the alu-fiend around the neck and, using her as a shield, advanced on the line of fiends blocking their exit.
Joel put his hand on Jas's arm. "The wish," he reminded her.
Jas nodded. She held out the sword Winnie had given her and announced, "I wish Holly, Joel, Emilo, and I were back in Tymora's garden in Brightwater."
The alu-fiends and the dark halls of the Blood Tor faded around them, to be replaced by flowers and sunshine. Holly found herself without an alu-fiend for a shield and her sword pointed at Finder's nose. Joel's god sat on a wooden bench beside the uprooted birch tree. Finder's eyebrow rose in amusement.
"Finder!" the paladin gasped.
"Welcome to Brightwater, Holly Harrowslough," Finder greeted her, "but I don't really need a shave," he joked, carefully pushing the paladin's curved blade away from his face.
Holly lowered her weapon, bowed her head, and said, "Excuse me, Lord Finder."
"One day in Morning Glory and suddenly I'm 'Lord' Finder. Just call me Finder, Holly," the god said.
The paladin looked up at Joel's god. "Not all gods are as informal as you," she pointed out.
"Not all gods are as reckless as I am," Finder replied, reminding the paladin of how she had chided him on her god's behalf the last time they had met.
"None of the gods are as reckless as you," Selune reprimanded. "Stop taunting the girl for having good manners, Finder. We have more important things to discuss."
Holly whirled to address the speaker, but when she beheld Selune, she fell speechless.
"Yes," the goddess said, as if in answer to Holly's unspoken question. "I am Selune. Sit down, paladin. We need to decide what is to be done next."
Selune sat on the bench beside Finder and Holly. Joel and Jas sat on the ground at the gods' feet. Emilo paced behind them.
"Beshaba wasn't at the Blood Tor," the kender reported excitedly. "The winged lady said she went to-"
"Gehenna. Yes, we know," Finder said. "Just as Selune said we would be, she and I were aware of everything occurring in the Blood Tor as soon as Joel arrived. Including what was going on in Beshaba's court."
"That's a really neat trick," Emilo said. "You never need to get a letter to know what's going on in your friends' lives, do you? But it must make it hard for them to surprise you. For birthdays and such."
"I am constantly surprised by what's in their hearts," Finder said, smiling at Joel.
"We don't know if the alu-fiend was telling the truth about the attack," Jas said.
"She was," Finder replied. "We sensed the attack on Beshaba."
"Where's Tymora?" Jas asked, having suddenly noticed that the goddess was not in the garden.
"Her minions have taken her someplace to keep her safe. It is probably best that you do not know where for now," Selune explained.
Jas looked down at the ground. "It's because I have the dark stalker in me, isn't it?" she asked.
"No," Finder said, lifting Jas's chin in the cup of his hand so that she was forced to meet his eyes. "It's because if you choose to travel to Gehenna, Iyachtu's minions might be able to read it inside your mind."
"So you're sure the hydroloths that attacked Beshaba were sent by Iyachtu Xvim?" Joel asked.
"That isn't something we could really tell," Finder explained.