“Soon, soon, soon…”
“Soon what?” Tahiri asked as she shook her best friend awake. “Anakin, wake up, you’ve been dreaming.”
Anakin stared groggily up at Tahiri. Her green eyes were impatient, and he struggled to sit up.
“What time is it?” he asked.
“Time for us to have a serious talk,” Tahiri replied. “We’ve got a problem. I’ve been called to see Master Luke Skywalker. And I know why. I’ve been at the Jedi academy for six months, and it’s time for me to make my decision about whether or not to return to my tribe or remain here.”
“I thought you’d already decided to stay,” Anakin said. Not only was Tahiri his best friend, but they were a team. A team pledged to solve the riddle of the globe.
“I have,” Tahiri replied. “But it’s not that simple. Master Luke and I agreed with Sliven, the leader of my tribe, that I’d return to Tatooine to make my decision. I’ve got to figure out a way to persuade Master Luke not to make me return. Right?” Tahiri didn’t wait for a reply. “I mean, we’ve finally translated the ancient symbols in the Palace of the Woolamander. It’s time to enter the globe-I can’t go to Tatooine now! Aren’t you going to say something?” Tahiri asked.
“I was just waiting for you to run out of breath,” Anakin explained. He swept his long brown bangs out of his eyes and met Tahiri’s questioning look. “I don’t think it’s going to be as easy as you think,” he offered. “If you gave your word, and Uncle Luke did too, he’s going to want you to return to Tatooine.”
“I’ll take care of it,” Tahiri said. “Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere.” With that, she strode out of the room to meet Luke Skywalker in the Grand Audience Chamber.
Anakin felt a sense of unease as his friend left. His dream had left him feeling anxious. The idea that someone might know about him and Tahiri, and their plans to enter the globe, hadn’t occurred to him before. If Kun’s evil followers knew about them, it would mean that the battle in the depths of the Palace of the Woolamander would be all the more difficult. He thought about that first time he and Tahiri had found the palace, They’d snuck out of the academy and rafted the river. A storm had forced them to abandon their raft and seek shelter. They’d found the palace, its strange carvings, and then a hidden spiral stairway that led deep into the crumbling site. As they’d descended, evil had coated the stones like thick black fungi, and dark whispers and threats had streamed through the dank air.
And then they’d seen golden glitter, speckled along the walls and seeping from behind a secret doorway. Anakin shook off the memory. Tahiri’s right, I’ve got to stop daydreaming and focus on what’s happening now. Anakin hoped that Tahiri would be able to persuade Uncle Luke to let her remain on Yavin 4 while making her decision. The time had come to break the curse. A moment of worry reached out with fluttering yellow fingers and touched Anakin’s mind.
We are the ones, he thought. But are we strong enough to enter the globe?
Luke Skywalker studied the look of defiance. Green eyes flashed, and white blonde hair surrounded a stubborn nine-year-old face. Luke’s blue eyes didn’t falter as he waited for the child to speak. It would not be long. Tahiri was rarely lost for words. Luke thought about the time she and his nephew, Anakin Solo, had snuck away from the Jedi academy. They’d returned to the Great Temple in the middle of the night. Tired and dirty, Tahiri had immediately begun chattering, trying to take all the blame for the adventure, trying to keep Luke’s punishment from extending to Anakin. What Luke hadn’t told either of them was that they were two of the most promising students he’d ever seen. There was no way he would expel either student. They would make great Jedi Knights one day-if they could keep out of trouble long enough to learn to use the Force.
Trouble seemed to find Tahiri and Anakin. Only last week they’d returned bruised and battered from Yavin 8, where they’d gone to help another candidate, a Melodie named Lyric, survive her changing ceremony. While on Yavin 8, the two candidates had fought giant black rodents, vicious snakes, and a red-bristled spider that trapped its prey in thick black webs and consumed it alive. Luke Skywalker believed that experience was the best teacher in the use of the Force, but Anakin and Tahiri always rushed headlong into dangerous situations.
That worried Luke. Still, their ability to use the Force to control, alter, and manipulate the energy field generated by all living things was impressive.