[Junior Jedi Knights] - 01(25)

And the younger one, Tahiri, continued to surprise Luke. On Tatooine he had thought she was strong in the Force. But he had not imagined the extent of the strength and power that lay deep within her. There was also a strange connection between the two students. Alone they were powerful. But together they could make a stronger unit than many adult Jedi teams. Luke felt that Tahiri and Anakin were meant to train together, that perhaps in the future they would serve the Force as a team. Luke Skywalker opened his eyes and stared at his students. He could not end their chance to become Jedi because of one foolish action.

“This can never happen again,” he warned them. “Now go to your rooms and sleep. We will discuss this further tomorrow.”

Anakin, Tahiri, and Artoo moved slowly into the Temple.

“Where’s Ikrit?” Tahiri whispered to her friend. “I don’t know. I guess he ran off into the jungle,” Anakin whispered back.

That night Anakin couldn’t sleep. What did all of it mean? he wondered. What was he and Tahiri’s destiny? How could they figure out the secret of the golden globe? And what was that strange voice that spoke sometimes in his head? Why did it tell him that he couldn’t share his secrets with Uncle Luke? Anakin’s thoughts were interrupted by a scratching at the stones of his window. He turned1 and saw Ikrit.

“Hey, friend, how’d you find me?” Anakin asked the little white creature as he motioned it inside his room. Ikrit leapt onto his bed and began to snuggle under the covers. “Hey, that’s not your bed,” Anakin said to the creature. “If you want to stay that’s fine, but not in my bed!”

Ikrit snuggled down farther, its large floppy ears resting on Anakin’s pillow.

“Great, just great,” Anakin muttered. “Now I’ve lost my bed to a furry jungle creature.”

“Watch who you call a jungle creature,” a scratchy voice said. It was the same strange voice that Anakin had been hearing in his head. Only this time it came from the being in his bed.

“You spoke!” Anakin said in surprise.

“I thought you wanted to know where the strange voice in your head was coming from,” Ikrit replied, its blue eyes boring into Anakin’s. “Well, here it is.”

Anakin moved over to the edge of his bed and sat down. Tahiri is never going to believe this, he thought.

“Yes she will,” Ikrit replied.

“You read my thoughts,” Anakin cried.

“Right again,” Ikrit said with a snickering laugh.

“Who are you, and why have you been talking to me inside my head?” Anakin demanded. “And why were you sleeping by the golden globe? Do you know what the globe is?”

“If you stop asking questions I will tell you everything I know,” Ikrit replied.

Anakin fell silent.

“My name is Ikrit. I am an ancient Jedi Master. I came to Yavin 4 four hundred years ago to study the ruins of the Massassi temples. I discovered the golden globe. There is a curse that surrounds the globe. A curse that I cannot break. So I curled up at the base of the globe to wait for the people who could break it. Those people are you and your friend Tahiri.” Ikrit stopped speaking and snuggled beneath the covers of Anakin’s bed.

It seemed that he was done talking.

“I have a lot of questions,” Anakin said slowly.

“Then ask them,” Ikrit replied.

“Why Tahiri and me?” Anakin began.

“Because you are the ones who can break the curse. That is why I brought you to the Palace of the Woolamander. And I was right about you both, because together your strength in the Force allowed you to unlock the door that led to the golden globe,” Ikrit replied.

“What is the globe?” Anakin asked. “I cannot tell you that, for I do not know for certain-although I have my ideas. I can only say that the spirits of thousands depend on your finding the answer to that question,” Ikrit answered. “And I only know that because I feel it, deep within my old bones.”

“But what about the curse, then? What exactly is it?” Anakin asked.

Ikrit shook his head again. “I do not know or I would have tried to break it. That is a question you must answer for yourself.”

“Why can’t I ask my uncle Luke for help? After all, he’s a Jedi Master,” Anakin said.

“He is an adult. An adult cannot break the curse or I would have done it myself,” Ikrit said with a scowl. “If you tell Luke Skywalker, the. golden globe will explode into a million pieces of crystal and everything will be lost,” Ikrit warned. “I know this, too, only from a feeling. A deep, terrible, unmistakable feeling of dread.”

“What will be lost?” Anakin cried..