“Peckhum always believed in you, too,” Jaina said in a gentle voice.
Zekk put a muddy hand to his matted hair, and a wild look came over him. “But he’s dead, too—he must be. I saw the Lightning Rod go down.”
Jaina felt as if she had been rammed in the stomach by a mad herdbeast. The Lightning Rod had crashed? Then Jacen could be badly injured.
“I failed my teacher, Brakiss, and he’s dead,” Zekk said. He gestured as he spoke. “I led the Shadow Academy into battle, and all of my comrades were killed or captured. And if Peckhum’s dead, then that’s my fault too.” Zekk’s eyes looked glassy and feverish; his breathing was fast and shallow.
Jaina set her jaw in stubborn determination. “Well, Zekk, I don’t want to see any more people die because of you. Just let me into the temple so we can take care of our wounded.”
Zekk stopped pacing and whirled to look at her. “No! Stay back.”
Jaina took a step forward. “Zekk, there’s nothing left to fight about. What can you possibly hope to gain?”
Zekk shook his head. “You never did listen to my advice. You always thought you knew better” Despite his obvious agitation, Zekk’s movements were eerily smooth as he drew his lightsaber from his belt and ignited the glowing red blade with a snap-hiss.
Then, in a move so instinctive that a moment later she couldn’t even remember it, Jaina found her own lightsaber in her hand, its electric-violet beam humming and pulsating.
A feral grin spread across Zekk’s face, almost as if he was glad that it had come to this.
“You see, Jaina,” he said, taking a step toward her and twitching his energy blade from side to side, “once you let it in, the dark side is like a disease for which there’s no cure.” He lunged toward her, and their two blades met in a sizzling struggle of red against violet. “And the only way to remove the disease”—he lunged again and again and Jaina parried—“is to”—thrust—“cut”—thrust—“it”—thrust—“out!”
Jaina spun away and kept a wary eye on Zekk while she circled, waiting for his next move. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Luke watching the battle with calm acceptance.
At that moment Jaina realized that she had been trying to force Zekk to turn to the light side. She had been trying to fix him. But she couldn’t. It had to be his choice. She drew a deep breath, letting the Force flow through her, and backed away from Zekk.
“I won’t fight you anymore, Zekk,” she said, switching off her lightsaber and tossing it to the ground. “There’s still good in you, but you’ll have to decide which direction you want to go—starting now. It’s your choice, so make the right one for you.”
Surprise and anger and confusion chased each other across Zekk’s face. “How do you know I won’t kill you?”
From the corner of her eye, Jaina saw Lowie step forward as if to protect her, but Luke put a restraining hand on the Wookiee’s shoulder.
Jaina shrugged. “I don’t know that. But I won’t fight you. Make your choice.” Jaina pushed back her straight brown hair and looked directly into Zekk’s eyes with calm assurance—not assurance that he wouldn’t harm her, but assurance that she had done the right thing.
“Well, what are you waiting for?” she whispered.
With slow deliberation, Zekk raised his glowing red lightsaber over Jaina’s head.
23
Imperial commando Orvak finally awoke, feeling thickheaded and groggy. He fought away nightmares that were filled with serpent fangs and invisible predators slipping out of cracks in the wall. When he shook his head, a wave of dizziness and nausea pounded through his skull.
Orvak couldn’t remember where he was or what he was doing. The stone floor felt hard beneath his sprawled body. He had fallen in an uncomfortable position and apparently slept there for some time. His hand throbbed, and he saw two small wounds there—punctures—before his vision blurred and lost focus again.
He must have taken his gloves off, and his helmet. What had he been doing? Where was he?
He heard no other sounds of combat around the Jedi academy. What could be happening?
Then Orvak remembered creeping into the ancient temple, his important mission for the Second Imperium … and the invisible glistening snake that had struck at his hand. For some reason, its venom had knocked him unconscious.
He brought his hand close to his eyes, but clarity of focus continued to evade him. Some kind of poison … he had been drugged, but now he was coming out of it. Was he a captive of the Jedi sorcerers?
Orvak heaved himself to a sitting position, and the universe turned in giddy circles around his head. He clutched at the cool, smooth floor for support. He had come here to the temple to plant explosives, to wipe out the great stone pyramid. Then everyone would see the weakness of the Rebellion and its Jedi, and they would make room for the Second Imperium.
But something had gone wrong.
Now he heard something. A clicking. Shaking his head again, he looked in the direction of the strange sound. It came from the timing device across the stone platform from him—
Timing device!
He blinked and finally managed to bring his vision into focus. His eyes burned, but he could see the string of descending numbers on the clock display.
Twelve … eleven … ten …
He launched himself to his feet—but too quickly. Dizziness swept through him again and he fell into black oblivion.
Nine … eight …
24
The buzzing hum of Zekk’s lightsaber filled Jaina’s ears as her former friend brought it slowly down toward her neck. “You never understood, Jaina…. You can’t understand. You’ve always been so protected. The dark side is like a scar that’s on the inside.”
Zekk’s eyes locked with hers. His hand remained steady, and he began speaking in a low voice, his words barely audible. “But these are scars that can’t be healed,” he went on. “You can try to cover them up”—hum; buzz—“but they’re still there … underneath.”
A swarm of angry insects buzzed near Jaina’s right ear—but it was only the lightsaber, no longer above her head but continuing its excruciatingly slow descent.
Then, as if from a distance, Jaina heard new sounds: a crackle of static, and then a booming voice coming from a comlink.
“This is the Lightning Rod, callin’ anyone who can hear me. Better clear everyone from the landing field real quick. We’re comin’ in. Oh, and if you got any of those energy shields back up, you better put ’em down now—we’ve had more’n our share of problems already today. My arm’s broken, so the young Solo kid is flying—but our wings’re clipped, and I’m not sure how maneuverable this baby is.”
In that moment of delight and surprise, Zekk’s lightsaber wavered and lifted away from her. A droning sound caught his attention, and Jaina glanced back over her shoulder to see the Lightning Rod coming into view above the treetops, sputtering and wheezing.
“Come on in, Lightning Rod,” Jaina heard Luke say into his comlink. “You’re clear to land.”
Zekk stared in amazement to see the battered old ship still intact, then shook his head. He reached out his free hand toward her. “Jaina, I didn’t mean to—”
Just then, a concussive boom split the air, obliterating all other sounds. The ground vibrated beneath Jaina’s feet, lurching with tremors and shock waves.
“Get down!” Zekk shouted.