CHAPTER TEN
Shadow froze. All around him, time seemed to do so as well, for Lumiya and her apprentice had suddenly stopped moving. Underneath his helmet, he felt beads of sweat tickle down his skin. Soon, his whole body was beginning to shiver. There were very few things that could prompt these feelings of fear from him.
Very, very few.
His heart began to beat heavily out of anticipation and suspense. What was he waiting for, he thought. Part of him wanted to take his blade and end his own life right then and there.
Now that just wouldn't be acceptable, would it?
Shadow tried to keep his voice steady, but his words still came out as a croak. "Hello, master..."
My, it is rare to hear such terror in your voice, Agent Shadow. Are you, dare I say, aware of a mistake you've made?
"Have I made one, master?"
Not yet, but you might be about to. If I were to unfreeze this scene right now, would you be able to swiftly kill Lumiya and her apprentice?
"I think so, master."
You 'think' so? Has the confidence you've displayed to me for so long been merely a facade?
Shadow did not know what to say. He hated himself for saying that, though he knew, deep down, that his master had subtly willed him to admit his self-doubt.
I was willing to have given you a second chance after your failure on Dxun. Was I right in doing so?
"Yes, master," Shadow said, his confidence rebuilding itself.
Then prove it.
The scene unfroze and Shadow narrowly dodged a swing from Lumiya's lightsaber. He dropped to the floor and rolled, coming up behind the two Sith. Carnor Jax leaped at him, crying out in rage. In midair, Shadow grabbed him by the leg and flipped him over his head, throwing him to the ground behind him.
Lumiya then charged towards Shadow, and behind him, Carnor was doing the same. The agent simply remained erect where he was, unmoving. The moment the two Sith's blade were about to run through his stomach, he jumped.
From above, Shadow watched gleefully as Lumiya's lightsaber pierced through Carnor Jax's chest. The shocked reactions from both of them made it even more entertaining.
Enraged, Lumiya extracted her blade from her apprentice's chest, letting his now-lifeless body collapse to the floor. As Shadow gracefully landed, she lunged at him, spinning her bladed wildly.
The moment she was within range, Shadow grabbed her by the arm, squeezing her wrist so that she lost her grip on her lightsaber. He caught the weapon as it fell and twirled it around so that it severed the arm he was holding.
Crying out in pain, Lumiya staggered back and then fell to her knees. Shadow held the scarlet lightsaber blade at her neck.
Very good, the Watcher said in his head. Quite impressive. Now, let her go.
Shadow blinked. "Master?"
You heard me. She is beaten and unarmed. She is no longer a dire threat. With her apprentice dead, her plans and schemes have been...postponed.
Shadow silently sighed. "Very well."
He deactivated the lightsaber, provoking a surprised look from Lumiya. Walking over to Carnor Jax's corpse, he picked up the fallen Sith's weapon and then headed for the crypt's exit.
As soon as he reached the doorway, he heard Lumiya speak. "Aren't you going to explore this tomb? I thought you were intrigued by the Killik Sith Lord myth."
Shadow let out a harsh laugh. "I never had an interest for such things. If I did..."
He turned to face her, his green eyes glowing balefully.
"I would be in the same position as you are right now...perhaps in a more horrific state."
With that, he strode out of the crypt, leaving behind Lumiya and whatever secrets or answers the tomb contained...if it ever had any at all.
* * *
Why is it, Jaden Korr thought, that these strange things always happen to me?
Just like on Taris: one moment, he and Starkiller were being ambushed by a bunch of Mandalorians. The next, Jaden had suddenly awoken in a dark room. This time, however, he was not alone.
"Where the heck are we?" he heard Starkiller ask, though he could not see him.
"Your guess is as good as mine," Jaden replied. "I must say though, this gives our Mandalorian conflict and 'anti-climatic' solution."
"Well, I couldn't take any chances," a third voice said. At the same time, a gold light began to illuminate the room. Jaden shielded his eyes from the sudden brightness.
"Who...who's there?" he asked.
"I am," the voice said. "That is all you need know."
"No, it's not," Starkiller growled. "Tell us why you brought us here!"
"Actually, I only wanted Jaden Korr. But two of you is no problem."
"You better start making sense soon," Jaden said. "To start off, who are you?"
The voice laughed, sending chills down the Jedi's spine. Squinting, he could make out an indiscernible shape in the center of the gold light.
"I am the Watcher."
No comments:
Post a Comment