[Galaxy Of Fear] - 12(22)

Zak had been standing next to Galt when he filled the bowl, and he hadn’t seen anything fall into the pot.

But how else could the ring have gotten in there?

“What is the problem?” a calm voice asked. It was Hoole.

The Shi’ido and the smugglers had just returned to the village. They were muddy and miserable, with frustrated frowns wrinkling their faces. They had spent the day looking for signs of Boba Fett but had found nothing.

Platt’s eyes brightened when she saw the cooking pot. “Hey, smells great! What’s for lunch?”

“Nothing now,” Galt said. “It’s all gone. But we could cook something else up for you.” He nodded to two of the other Children, who trotted away.

“That would be great,” Platt said. “We’re starved.”

Hoole glanced left and right. “Zak, where is Tash?”

Zak grunted. “She’s still out there with Yoda.”

The Shi’ido frowned. “You left your sister out in the swamp with a strange creature?”

“And where are my men?” Platt asked.

Quickly, Zak told them what had happened in the forest. But when he got to the part about Yoda, he did not mention that the little creature was a Jedi. Jedi Knights had been hunted down by the Empire, and Zak didn’t want to reveal this one to a group of smugglers he barely knew.

Platt wasn’t interested in Yoda anyway. “I’d better go check on Traut.”

“Tash isn’t in any danger, Uncle Hoole,” Zak said after the smuggler was gone. “Yoda is-“

“You don’t know that,” the Shi’ido said. “One person has already lost his life out there in the swamp, and another is wounded.”

“But she wanted to go with him. She had a good feeling about him, and she’s always right.”

Hoole’s face was dark. “Why didn’t you at least stay with her?”

Zak looked down at his feet. “They didn’t want me to.”

“And you allowed that to separate you from your sister?”

“But you said so yourself. She’s always right about things like-“

“Zak,” his uncle interrupted. “Tash may have some connection with the Force, but she is only thirteen years old. I expect you to look out for her.”

“Me, look out for Tash?” Zak was taken aback. “But she’s older, and she’s got the Force, and-“

“And you are quite capable of keeping her out of trouble, just as I would expect her to keep you out of trouble,” the Shi’ido said irritably. “Zak, you must stop acting as though you are nothing but a tagalong.”

Zak didn’t know what to say. He felt embarrassed that Hoole was scolding him. But he was also thrilled by what Hoole was saying. That he should take care of Tash. That he was capable. Zak was still struggling with his conflicting emotions when Platt returned to speak with Hoole. He barely heard their conversation.

“How is your companion?” Hoole asked.

“Alive, but barely,” Platt said. “These Children used some local plants to stop the bleeding, but he’s in shock. I would be too if I’d lost an arm and a leg.”

“I need your help, Platt,” Hoole said. “I need you and your men to help me find my niece. She is still out in the swamp.”

“Let’s go,” Platt said.

“Zak, stay here. Do not leave the village until I return,” Hoole ordered, then turned and strode off with Platt.

It was only as they departed that Zak realized what Platt had said.

He’s in shock. I would be too if I’d lost an arm and a leg.

An arm … and a leg?

“Ready for lunch?”

Zak hadn’t noticed Galt approach. “What?”

“Food. The smugglers asked for more food, but now they’re all gone. Do you want some more?”

A heavy weight settled into the pit of Zak’s stomach. “More stew?”

“Well, there’s more stew cooking,” Galt said. “But we have something better.”

The skeletal man licked his lips. “A nice, beefy leg.”

“A leg!” Zak shrieked.

Galt stepped back. “Yes. We found a dragonsnake nest and killed one of the young ones before the mother returned. It is cooking in my hut now. If you want some, we’ll bring it out in just a minute.”

“Um, no,” Zak said. “No thanks.”

Galt put a hand on Zak’s shoulder and squeezed. “Are you sure? You haven’t eaten since you and your friends arrived. You’ll get as thin as me if we don’t fatten you up.”

Chuckling to himself, Galt walked away.

Zak shuddered. What he was thinking couldn’t be true. But he had to find out.