[Jedi Quest] - 10(27)

Zan Arbor hurried toward him.

Anakin wrenched his attention back to Tru. Because Ferus was watching Tru’s back, he was the only one in Omega’s path. The Jedi Masters had all been at the fore of the fight. Ferus’s lightsaber flickered in the dark.

Seeing that he was in trouble, Darra Force-leaped toward Ferus, her lightsaber held high, determined to save him.

Anakin saw the smile on Omega’s face when he fired.

The bolts hit Darra straight in the chest. She fell, still keeping her body between Omega and Ferus.

Soara cried out. Anakin felt the moment spin out into impossible time, time that froze everything, even his heart.

He saw the blue shimmersilk move like a breeze as Zan Arbor took advantage of the distraction to dash for the entrance. Blue Force-lightning erupted in the darkness, a barrier shielding her from the others, giving her space to run.

He saw Tru’s mouth open in a howl. He saw Ferus drop to his knees and crawl toward Darra, saw him take a blaster bolt in the shoulder and keep on going. He saw Siri leap forward to defend all of them, saw Soara fly through the air in a great Force-leap to be near her Padawan. Saw Darra’s head turn toward him, her cheek against the dirt. Saw the cloudy film in Darra’s eyes, the shock of catching the blow. He saw, as if it were a physical struggle, her gathering her courage to accept the blow.

He saw all this, and still he didn’t move.

And then Omega moved, reversing course once again, quickly retreating away from the tomb.

Anguish on his face, Obi-Wan turned away from the Jedi and followed him.

Real time came rushing back, and there was not enough of it.

Anakin turned away from Darra and raced after his Master.





CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE


The tomb narrowed at the rear. The stench almost made Anakin gag. It was as though everything foul was concentrated back here. He could barely make out Obi-Wan ahead, running, attacking the undead that guarded Omega, circling him constantly like a cloud of rotting flesh.

Anakin put on a burst of speed. His Master was battling with incredible speed and accuracy. Anakin could feel the Force like a great pulsing, speeding, enveloping wave that barreled Obi-Wan toward his opponent. Toward his destiny.

My destiny, Anakin thought. Mine!

He focused so much on his Master, on his need to catch him, that he blundered into an energy trap.

Anakin was caught. He couldn’t move. Frustrated, enraged, he slashed at the invisible cage with his lightsaber. He could not free himself. He kicked. He hammered. Caught.

He had met a power greater than his. Impossible!

“Master!” he called, but Obi-Wan didn’t hear him. The energy trap sucked his voice out of the air and imprisoned it.

I just need the Force. Obi-Wan said a Master can summon the Force and fight this. I am as good as a Master. I can do this.

Strange, though. He could reach out for the Force, but visions got in the way. And not visions from the dark side. Visions of what had just happened. Tru’s mouth, open in a howl of anguish and disbelief. Darra, falling, eyes wide with the shock.

Darra, her head turned toward him, her cheek in the dust of the tomb.

He had seen her like this before, when she’d been wounded on Haariden. He had felt her wounding then was his fault. Unsure of her abilities, sure of his own, he had leaped to protect her and crashed into her instead. He had thought himself the better fighter, and because of that, he had pushed her into blaster fire.

She had never held it against him.

He saw her face again, so pale. The bright ribbon she always wove through her braid, trailing in the dust of the tomb.

He knew she was badly wounded. He felt it choke him. He had not gone to help Ferus. Darra had. She was lying on the ground. He tried to put those facts together to have them make sense.

Tru’s lightsaber had slipped to half-power.

Anakin had never offered to check the flux aperture, just in case. He had meant to.

What is happening to me? Anakin wondered. His mind felt suddenly clear, sharp. Why didn’t I help my friends? Have I changed? Am I changing? What am I becoming?

When he had first become a Padawan, he would not have hesitated. His first loyalty had been to them.

Things were more complicated now. There was more at stake.

Maybe he was changing for the better.

Control rule supremacy greatness…

Was he more mature now? A better fighter? Better able to assess a situation, move toward the goal? Was that why he had raced to confront Omega? Or had his own jealousy propelled him? How could he separate those things? Why did he have to?

Power rules by results…

Anakin shook his head. The voices would not leave him.

He thought of Darra. Tenderness filled him, and the voices went away.

Years ago, he had gone to see Darra in the med clinic, filled with remorse. She had shaken him out of his guilt with a grin. Now I have something to impress the younglings with. I’ve been wounded in battle.