Кейт Новак - Finder's Bane

The shadow sailed straight toward him as if it had no trouble detecting him in the nearly dark room. Its outstretched arms ended in talons.

Just as the flying creature was nearly upon him, Joel lunged forward, wrapping his arms about the creature’s midsection. The momentum of the creature’s flight shoved the bard backward, but he didn’t release his grip. He and his assailant went tumbling across the floor.

The creature was too small and lithe to be Bear. It tried to rake at Joel’s face with its talons. The bard grabbed one arm, then another, holding them back. The arms were covered not with fur, but with small, soft feathers. As they rolled on the ground, the creature’s face came into the light.

Joel gasped. “Jas!”

The flyer butted her forehead into the bard’s face. In surprise and pain, Joel released his hold on the flyer’s arms. With one hand clutching his bleeding nose, he stepped back, but he did not draw his sword. His eyes remained fixed in horror on the winged woman.

Jas had undergone a horrible transformation. Her wings were like a gargoyle’s, the color of copper, tinged with a green patina, a change due to being in another plane. The rest of her body, though, had been malformed by some evil magic. Dark black feathers covered her skin. Her hands were twisted into razor-sharp talons. A crest of green feathers rose from her brow. Her eyes were larger and more rounded, and they glowed with a green light.

“Hello, Joel. Surprised to see me?” the woman snarled. “Thought I’d died in the desert when you abandoned me?”

“We didn’t abandon you,” Joel said, keeping his hands up to protect himself against any renewed attack. “We left you with Holly. She said you were all right.”

“Holly,” Jas whispered, her features softening for a moment. Then her eyes narrowed. “Holly was gone—you were all gone—when the priest and warriors of Xvim found me. They gave me a choice: death or transformation into a dark stalker. How could I resist the chance to take revenge on Walinda or the chance to hunt for those who betrayed me?”

“We didn’t betray you,” Joel said, his brow furrowing. “The banelich nearly killed you. We healed you and left you with Holly. She said you were safe. Something must have gone wrong. Holly wouldn’t lie. Is that why you attacked her?”

Jas looked away. “I didn’t realize it was her. I intended to attack Walinda. When Holly struck me, I turned and struck back instinctively. Walinda ran like the coward she is. I’ll never allow you take the Hand of Bane to her. I’ll kill you before I see her get what she wants.”

“Jas, you can’t be serious. I understand you want revenge on Walinda because she murdered your crew, but would your crew have wanted you to risk your life, risk your soul, to avenge them?”

Jas snarled and slashed out with a talon. Joel blocked it with his right arm. The talon sliced through his forearm, leaving a stinging cut from his wrist to his elbow.

“My soul was dead the moment I killed Holly,” the winged woman screamed. “With her death, I’m trapped inside this form forever. According to the priest of Xvim, one death seals the bargain. Now I live only for vengeance.”

“But Holly’s not dead,” Joel said.

“Liar!” Jas shouted.

“I’m not lying. She has a paladin friend who saved her. She’s with him now.”

Jas froze as if trying to take in Joel’s words. Then her expression softened. “Holly’s … not … dead,” she whispered slowly. The green glow faded from her eyes, revealing her brown irises. “She’s still alive!”

Joel nodded. “Walinda’s watching her until she recovers.”

“You left her with that witch?” Jas growled. She stepped back and lofted herself into the air.

“Jas, wait!” Joel shouted, but the winged woman ignored him. She landed on the top step of the iron staircase and disappeared into the shop.

Joel took two steps toward the stairs, then heard someone shout behind him. It was Jedidiah, still trapped by the stone idol.

Joel snatched up the finder’s stone and hurried down the stairs into the tunnel leading to the underground shrine. At the base of the stairs, he found the sledgehammer and retrieved it, then ran back to the shrine.

The idol made an effective wall standing before the passageway, blocking Jedidiah from leaving. Jedidiah stood before the creature, holding the Hand of Bane over his head. The magical stone statue had enough awareness not to damage the item it was created to guard, but neither was it going to let its thief pass by.

The creature had its back to Joel. The Rebel Bard took aim with the sledgehammer and swung it right at the statue’s left ankle. The blow sent a crack running across the stone joint. The creature started to turn around, but its foot remained frozen in place. It wobbled, trying to balance itself on one foot and the stump of the other leg. Joel raised the sledgehammer again and swung it at the idol’s opposite knee. The stone creature slammed Joel in the head with a rock fist before falling backward.

Joel dropped the sledgehammer and fell to his knees, stunned. He was just barely aware of Jedidiah slamming into the idol from behind and sending it crashing to the floor. The stone statue shattered into several pieces. The fragments did not move again.

Jedidiah stumbled forward into the passageway, still clutching the Hand of Bane. He was pale and wheezing, but grinning like a schoolboy. “Are you all right?” he asked Joel. “That was quite a blow you took.”

Joel raised his hand to his head. He could feel a lump forming already. “I’m going to have a giant-sized headache,” he replied. With Jedidiah’s help, he was able to stand.

Slowly the two men walked back down the passageway, propping each other up.

At the base of the stairs, Jedidiah pushed the Hand of Bane at Joel. “Take it,” he said.

“Why?” Joel asked, unwilling to touch the stone hand.

“I want you to make the decision of what to do with it,” Jedidiah said. “Whether you choose to destroy it or exchange it for the other half of the finder’s stone is up to you.”

“Why?” Joel asked again. “Jedidiah, is this some sort of ridiculous test?”

Jedidiah shook his head. He leaned against the passage wall. “The questions I asked the mind flayer … do you want to know what they were?”

Joel blinked with confusion, then answered, “Yes, of course.”

“My first question was ‘If I exchange the Hand of Bane for the other half of the finder’s stone, will Joel still follow me?’ You heard the answer in your head, too, didn’t you?”

Joel nodded, then lowered his eyes. The answer had been No . He hadn’t thought about what he would do if Jedidiah gave the banelich the hand. He had deliberately avoided thinking about how he felt about it since that first night in the Lost Vale. He looked back up at Jedidiah. “Ilsensine can’t know that. It can’t predict what I’m going to do.”

“Joel, before I cast the spell to protect us from Ilsensine’s probes, it was in your mind while you were unconscious, burrowing for your darkest secret. It knew what you thought. It knew what was in your heart. I knew what was in your heart, too, but I didn’t want to admit it to myself. I want all my power back. I was a selfish mortal, and godhood hasn’t changed that. If you weren’t part of the picture … but you are. I don’t want to lose you as my priest, so I’m leaving the decision up to you.”

Joel felt as if a heavy weight had settled on his heart. “What was the second question?” he asked.

“If I leave the decision up to Joel, will he act on my behalf?”

“And the answer was He does not know ,” Joel replied.

Jedidiah nodded. “The mind flayer left before I could ask it if it meant you or Ilsensine.”