[Junior Jedi Knights] - 01(22)

“What will be lost?” Tahiri asked. “And how do you know?”

“It’s just a feeling, a terrible feeling that if we are discovered here we will fail in whatever we are meant to do. And we will fail more beings than just ourselves,” Anakin replied. “It’s that feeling of dread, and the voice inside my head.”

“What does the voice say?” Tahiri questioned.

“It says get out of here now!” Anakin cried.

The two friends raced out of the room, with Ikrit at their heels. Tahiri and Anakin charged up the stone stairway. It was easier this time; they were covered with enough golden glitter to light their way.

Ikrit followed behind them, and every few minutes he whistled, “Ikrit, Ikrit, Ikrit.”

“We know your name already,” Anakin grumbled at the creature. Its large eyes, now the same ice blue as Anakin’s, stared at the boy.

“Ikrit, Ikrit, Ikrit,” it whistled again. But this time Anakin felt like the creature was laughing at him. On their way up the stairs Tahiri stopped to replace the old bone she had found. She held it up. Its shiny white surface was lit by golden light. It’s almost beautiful in a sad way, Tahiri thought. Anakin put his hand on her shoulder.

“We’ve got to get out of here,” he said softly. Tahiri put the bone down gently, and they began to once again race up the stairs. It hadn’t seemed such a long way down, Anakin thought as he struggled to catch his breath. The creature Ikrit didn’t even look winded.

Strange, Anakin thought. That thing had been locked up inside the room with the golden globe. Who knows how long Ikrit had been sleeping there-a year? A thousand years? Had it eaten in all that time? Now it was racing up the steps with them. And it didn’t even look tired!

Anakin heard ArtooDetoo bleeping before he saw him through the hole in the wall. He wondered if the droid had been calling to them the whole time. For a moment he felt guilty. After all, it was Artoo who had discovered the hole in the wall. saved them from drowning in the river. And it was Artoo who had discovered the hole in the wall. Maybe I’ve been too hard on the droid, Anakin thought. As Anakin climbed through the He wondered if the droid had been calling to them the whole time.

For a moment he felt guilty. After all, it was Artoo who had saved them from drowning in the river. And it was Artoo who had discovered the hole in the wall. Maybe I’ve been too hard on the droid, Anakin thought. As Anakin climbed through the hole he softly whispered an apology to the droid. For a moment Artoo was silent. But when the droid saw Ikrit bounce through the wall he immediately began his beeping and blipping.

“Ikrit, Ikrit, Ikrit,” the creature whistled. Ikrit jumped onto the rounded top of the droid. Artoo whirled in circles, trying to throw Ikrit off. But Ikrit remained calmly seated on the droid. Tahiri, Anakin, and Artoo, with Ikrit still sitting on Artoo’s head, raced toward the front hallway of the palace. Anakin heaved open the door and they stepped out into the jungle.

It was still raining softly. But the storm had ended. The winds had stopped tearing through the jungle, and the night sky was almost clear enough to allow the stars to be seen. Anakin turned to have one last look at the Palace of the Woolamander. He stared at the dark letters carved above the doorway.

“I wish I knew what those letters meant,” Anakin whispered to himself. Maybe, he thought, they had something to do with the golden globe.

“Stop staring at those symbols,” Tahiri said to her friend as she tugged on his arm. “We will never have the chance to find out what they mean if we don’t get back to the academy.”

“What’s the rush,” Anakin said. “Chances are pretty good that they’re going to be really upset we’ve been gone so long.”

Tahiri scowled at her friend. “We should at least try,” she scolded.

Quickly Anakin, Tahiri, Artoo, and Ikrit walked back into the jungle. The rain had soon soaked them. Puddles of glittering gold water pooled at Anakin’s and Tahiri’s feet. The rain was washing all the gold off their hair and jumpsuits. Neither of the friends noticed. It was dark, and they wondered if they would be able to find their way back to the Great Temple through the jungle now that they had lost their raft.

“Ikrit, Ikrit, Ikrit” the strange white creature whistled. Anakin turned and saw that Artoo was stuck in a large hole.

“Must be a runyip hole,” Anakin grumbled as he and Tahiri struggled to lift the droid.

“What are runyips?” Tahiri asked as she pushed a wet strand of blonde hair from her face.

“My brother Jacen told me about them. They’re jungle animals,” Anakin explained. “They have claws on their toes that they use to dig for food. A runyip must have dug this large hole to hide from the storm.”