Jedi Quest 10: The Final Showdown

Chapter Eight

Auben took off. Anakin dashed after her. She had placed herself in an exposed position, her back to the blaster fire, thinking she could outrun it. She was wrong. Anakin had no choice. The Force slowed down time, and he could see the blaster bolts streaking toward her emanating from a phalanx of spider droids. He withdrew his lightsaber and leaped to deflect them.

He twisted in midair and landed on the top of a pillar, where he leaped again, this time next to Auben as he swept his lightsaber to deflect more fire.

"Who are you?" she yelled, but there was no time for Anakin to answer.

Ferus dashed forward, covering their retreat. Anakin hustled Auben into the shelter of the dark ruins. They paused a moment to catch their breath.

Auben looked at the lightsaber. "Where can I get one of those?"

Ferus ran in, already sheathing his lightsaber. "They have tracking droids. We've got to get out of here."

"We don't know which way," Anakin said to Auben.

She blew out a quick, exasperated breath, then nodded her head. "Okay, okay, seeing that you saved my life, I'll save yours. Come on."

She led the way through the ruins, twisting through narrow passageways and climbing through blasted-out holes. Anakin knew that the other Jedi were following them. He could feel them close.

The noise of the blaster fire faded, but Anakin knew the army hadn't given up. He could feel their presence, too. They were heading toward the outskirts of the spaceport now.

Auben led Anakin and Ferus out of the ruins and into a series of narrow, twisting streets. The street dwindled into a lane. The small hovels and buildings were spaced farther and farther apart until they were alone in a rocky landscape. The lane turned into a narrow dirt path that twisted and turned sharply upward. Anakin guessed that they were climbing the lip of the plateau that cradled the spaceport. Sure enough, they soon scrambled over a last obstacle of huge boulders and reached it.

Anakin looked down. Below them an ancient structure rose out of the steep mountainside and spilled out into a narrow valley. The mountain made two-thirds of the structure impenetrable. The entrance was in ruins, blocked by huge toppled columns and blocks of crumbling stone.

Anakin felt the peculiar stomach-turning wrench he experienced when faced with the tremors of the dark side of the Force. He knew what this wreck of a building was.

The ancient Sith monastery spread out below him, deserted for centuries, and still a presence of evil. Here was where thousands of Sith had once trained — and thousands of hopefuls had once disappeared forever.

"Is that where we're going?" Ferus asked.

"Creepy, huh? Don't let it bother you," Auben said. "Nobody lives there. Everyone's afraid to go inside, except for me. We won't be followed, that's for sure."

"What was it?" Ferus asked, even though Anakin knew he was perfectly aware of its history. Ferus was too good a student. He had read the same briefing material that Anakin had.

"Just an old monastery. They blasted out the side of the mountain to build it. Will you two hurry up?" Auben started down the steep path toward the monastery. It wound through the boulders and crags.

Something in Anakin suddenly revolted. He rarely felt fear, but he felt it now. A deep voice within him was warning him not to enter.

And yet another voice, deeper than fear, told him to go inside.