The beach was empty except for a slight figure in the distance. Qui-Gon had been right: Drenna was running now, jogging easily down the beach toward the end of the far curve.
“Does she realize now that she’s being followed?” Obi-Wan asked as they picked up their pace. They kept in the shadow of the cliff in case she turned around.
Suddenly, Qui-Gon stopped short. He looked up at the cliff, then back at the churning sea.
“She always knew she was being followed,” he said. “We must go back.”
Taroon looked behind them. “Look at that. The path is already cut off.”
Waves now thundered against the cliff wall. If they tried to return, they would be trapped. The tide was strong enough to batter them against the sharp rocks.
Water suddenly foamed around their ankles.
“The tide is coming in,” Obi-Wan said.
“The tides are famous on Senali,” Qui-Gon said, his eyes now moving over the cliff face. “The four moons make them swift and extreme.”
Drenna had disappeared around the cliff face at the far end of the beach. Obi-Wan calculated the distance, then stepped back as a wave of alarming force hit him at the knees.
They would not make it, he realized.
Taroon came to the same conclusion as he glanced at the faces of the Jedi.
“She led us into a trap!” he cried.
7
Qui-Gon was already calculating their next move. “We can run to the end of the cove that way. The tide will catch up with us, so we’ll have to swim around the cliff. At least there are no rocks on that end. We can make it.”
“But I can’t swim!” Taroon cried. “No Rutanian can. Swimming is for primitives.”
“Right now, swimming is for survival,” Qui-Gon said dryly. He scanned the sea. He saw roiling eddies and a tidal pattern that was extremely treacherous. He and Obi-Wan could make it—they were Jedi. But he could not risk Taroon’s life. He would not want to endanger Obi-Wan, either.
They quickly backed up as the next wave hit them waist-high. The strength of it was astonishing. Taroon almost fell, and Qui-Gon caught him by the arm and steadied him.
“I hate the sea,” Taroon muttered. He wiped his wet hair out of his eyes.
“How do you feel about climbing?” Qui-Gon asked.
Taroon eyed the cliff. “You’ve got to be kidding!” he exclaimed. “There’s no way to climb that cliff.”
Qui-Gon did not answer. He knew there was no time to waste. He slipped his electrobinoculars from his utility belt and scanned the cliff, looking for handholds and footholds. There weren’t many. And the cliff was so high that their liquid cable launchers wouldn’t reach the top. There was nothing to hook them around on the cliff face, either.
The water foamed around his knees and tried to suck him backward. Taroon clutched Obi-Wan for support.
“How could you have gotten us into this?” he asked the Jedi. “That female has made fools of us!”
Qui-Gon focused the electrobinoculars. He saw a tiny fissure in the rock, just enough for the spike tip of his liquid cable launcher to find purchase. It would have to do.
He replaced the electrobinoculars and withdrew the launcher, motioning for Obi-Wan to do the same.
“Wait until mine hooks, then launch yours,” he directed.
Qui-Gon got it in one try, which was fortunate, for the next wave was up to the Jedi’s shoulders. Obi-Wan got his launcher anchored on the second try, at the next ebb. They tested the line, and it held.
“Go,” Qui-Gon said tersely. He motioned to Taroon to take hold of the cable. He would stay behind the prince in order to protect him from falling.
He only hoped the launchers would raise them high enough to escape the tide. The form of vegetation clinging to the wall told him that most of the cliff went underwater at high tide. Qui-Gon did not look forward to hanging in midair and watching the sea rise ever closer to them.
He watched as his Padawan zoomed ahead, pulled by the cable. He dangled above their heads.
“Hold on,” Qui-Gon instructed Taroon. The cable retracted, bringing them high above the beach. They hung suspended near the cliff face.
“Do you think the water will reach us?” Taroon asked, beginning to turn around.
“Don’t look down,” Qui-Gon said sharply, but it was too late. Taroon had seen how high they were. He flinched, and his knee banged against the cliff. He let out a hoarse cry and closed his eyes.
“I am right behind you, Taroon,” Qui-Gon told him. “We can get through this if you don’t panic. The cable is holding our weight. Don’t look down.”
Taroon took a deep breath. “I’ll be all right,” he said. “I was just surprised, that’s all.”
Qui-Gon admired his composure. He knew Taroon was afraid.
“See if you can find a foothold,” Qui-Gon directed. “That will take the weight off your arms. You can’t fall. You’re fastened to the cable.”
Qui-Gon searched the cliff area overhead. He could not see another fissure. They would have to hang here and hope the sea wouldn’t rise to drown them. He knew that he and Obi-Wan could hang here for hours if they had to. But he was not sure about Taroon.
“The tide is still rising,” Obi-Wan said to him quietly. “The waves could break over our heads. Maybe we should put on our breathers.”
Qui-Gon nodded. It was a good suggestion. “In a minute.” He did not want to panic Taroon until he had to.
“Can’t we go higher?” Taroon asked nervously. “I can feel the spray of the waves.”
“We are all right for now,” Qui-Gon said. But he could see that within moments the crashing waves could hit them.
Suddenly, he saw another cable shoot down from the overhang a hundred meters up. It dangled between Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan.
“Take it!” someone shouted. “It will hold all of you! The sea is rising!”
Qui-Gon reached out and tested it. He exchanged a glance with Obi-Wan.
Should we do it? Obi-Wan asked silently.
We have no choice, Qui-Gon answered him.
Obi-Wan nodded. He grasped the cable first. Taroon came next. Then Qui-Gon. The three of them now hung on a cable and had to trust whoever was overhead.
The cable retracted slowly, bringing them smoothly up the face of the cliff toward the top. Obi-Wan clambered over, then Taroon. Qui-Gon was last to tumble over the edge. He shot to his feet immediately.
A tall, sturdy local stood before them. A necklace of pink coral was hung around his neck and circled his wrist. He grinned at them.
“Glad you could make it.”
Taroon gasped. “Leed!”
8
Leed joyfully rushed toward his brother. They threw their arms around each other.
“My brother!” Leed cried.
“My brother!” Taroon answered.
“How it pleases me to have your company,” Leed said. “You’ve grown almost as tall as I am.”
“Taller,” Taroon said with a smile.
They stepped back. Leed turned to the Jedi. “And you must be the Jedi, sent to bring me back to Rutan.”
“I am Qui-Gon Jinn and this is Obi-Wan Kenobi,” Qui-Gon said. “We are here to ensure that you are not being forced to remain or manipulated.”
“You can see I am neither,” Leed said.
“I have not had time to see much of anything yet,” Qui-Gon responded in a friendly way. Leed turned to his brother. “I must apologize for Drenna. She wasn’t trying to kill you, just to protect me.”
“She may not have meant to, but she almost did kill me,” Taroon said darkly. “I could have drowned!”
“Yet you did not,” Leed said. “Come out, Drenna. You see they will not harm me.”
Leaves rustled, and Drenna emerged from the blue-green shadows of the overgrown trees. She had blended into the shades and shadows perfectly. Taroon was surprised to see her, but Obi-Wan saw from Qui-Gon’s expression that he had sensed her presence.