The Dark Rival(24)

Obi-Wan lunged forward fiercely. He leaped onto a mining cart, which rolled toward Xanatos. At the last moment, Obi-Wan sprang off. He flew over Xanatos’ head, striking down with his lightsaber as he did so.

Qui-Gon heard the flesh on Xanatos’ hand sizzle. Howling, Xanatos almost dropped hid lightsaber, but caught it with his other hand.

Obi-Wan landed safely behind Xanatos. “Don’t call me clumsy,” he said.

Whirling so quickly Qui-Gon barely caught the movement, Xanatos sprang at Obi-Wan. The boy leaped back, slashing with his lightsaber at the same time.

Xanatos’ attack missed him by a whisper. Qui-Gon was already charging forward, and Xanatos turned to parry the thrust. Their lightsabers tangled and locked, sputtering. Smoke rose in the tunnel.

Xanatos withdrew, leaping past Obi-Wan, and the two Jedi pursued him down the tunnel. As they ran, the floor beneath them sloped sharply. Qui-Gon realized that they were descending to a lower level.

Turning a corner, they just had time to see Xanatos disappear into a smaller corridor that led off the shaft. They hurried forward. The crosscut tunnel was narrow and dark. The glow lights here were set at a fainter setting. The ground dropped sharply downward. Xanatos was gone.

“Wait, Qui-Gon,” Obi-Wan panted. “Are you certain we should follow?”

“Why not?” Qui-Gon asked impatiently. His lightsaber pulsed hot in his hand.

“Because he wants us to,” Obi-Wan said simply.

“It’s too late now,” Qui-Gon said. He has chosen the field of battle, true.

But we can defeat him.”

Qui-Gon turned and ran down the tunnel after Xanatos. Obi-Wan followed. He would stand by Qui-Gon’s side until his very last breath.

They were deep in the planet’s crust by now, close to the core. The heat was intense. Qui-Gon saw a faint sign glowing ahead. Core 5.

VeerTa had lied to him. Or else she had not known this tunnel existed.

The tunnel opened out into a slightly wider one. The glow lights were brighter here. Immediately after they left the smaller tunnel, a hidden panel slid shut behind them.

They were trapped.

Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan slowly circled, their lightsabers held at the ready. There was no sign of Xanatos.

Then the lights went out.

The mocking voice came from out of the void. “I hope the two of you have time for a Temple exercise.” Suddenly, in the darkness, the red glow of a lightsaber extended.

Qui-Gon didn’t wait for Xanatos to strike. He moved through the blackness toward the glow. He could not see, he let the Force guide him. He could feel his opponent, feel the dark tremors of his evil. He struck.

“Missed me,” Xanatos said. “I was always best at the blindfold test.

Remember?”

Obi-Wan moved off to the right, hoping that between them, he and qui-Gon could catch Xanatos in a classic pincer movement. But suddenly the lightsaber was moving through the air, slashing toward him. He jumped back just in time. He smelled the lightning in the air from the close call.

It was hard fighting now, driven by instinct and with only the Force to help them. Xanatos was a cunning, powerful adversary. He attacked and retreated in a furious rhythm, faster than any fighter Obi-Wan had met. Qui-Gon’s grace and power were astounding as time and time again he met Xanatos with his thrusting lightsaber, protecting himself and Obi-Wan from blows.

Obi-Wan dived to the floor, hoping to slash at Xanatos’ legs and get him down.

But Xanatos sidestepped and somersaulted over him. He felt the brush of air as he went by.

Obi-Wan tried to push away his own anger and use the white light of the Force.

His mind had been too clouded by anger. He needed to get clear. It was their only hope. He drew on the living Force to guide him.

Suddenly, he saw Qui-Gon take a step back. His lightsaber flickered for a moment. Had he felt Obi-Wan’s shift?

Obi-Wan felt Qui-Gon’s Force energy suddenly flow into his, melding and pulsing in a white heat. Qui-Gon’s lightsaber glowed green again, so bright it illuminated the shaft. Together, they sliced through the air, never stopping, moving, sliding, swerving. Xanatos was driven back, back, until they had him cornered against a tunnel wall. But suddenly the wall turned transparent, and a door opened. Xanatos sprang inside.

“It’s a lift tube!” Qui-Gon cried, rushing forward. But the transparent door closed. Qui-Gon struck at it with his lightsaber, but the light only sputtered.

Xanatos’ voice echoed through the cavern through some sort of amplification device. “It doesn’t matter what you do now. The mine is about to blow. I’ve created the same conditions for explosion as I did last time. Except more so.

Gases are mixing wand will combust. I have enough time to get to the surface.