" Peckhum said uncertainly.
"Don't worry," Anakin replied. "He'll understand." He stopped, and
turned to Peckhum. "We'll be careful."
"All right," Peckhum said. "But don't get into any trouble while I'm
gone." He turned and raced back to the Lightning Rod. Moments later he shot
into the sky and disappeared from view.
Anakin ran to catch up with his friends. Barely a moment later, the
ear-shattering shriek of an avril rolled down over the group. Anakin didn't
have to ask what creature had made the sound. He felt its enormous shadow
fall across his back before he looked up to see blood red talons slashing
down toward the group. The Melodies quickly formed a circle and began to
heave stones up at the creature. Several hit, but only maddened the black
bird. Tahiri grabbed a large rock and threw it, hard. Her shot struck the
avril directly between the eyes. It shrieked in anger and dove toward her,
beak open, talons outstretched.
Tahiri dodged, but not before one of its massive wings struck and
threw her meters away from the group. Anakin raced over to protect his
friend. But he wasn't quick enough. The avril dove toward Tahiri, talons
outstretched, its scream of attack mingling with her cry of terror. Anakin
was too far away to reach her, and dread washed over him in an icy cold
wave. A split second before Tahiri was swept away in the avril's hungry
grasp, Lyric, who was closest to her, leapt forward. She threw her body
over Tahiri's to shield her friend.
The avril sank his talons into the orange academy jumpsuit Lyric wore,
and shot toward the sky. Lyric hung limply in the air. All who stood
helpless on the tundra of the moon could see the look of terror on Lyric's
face as she was borne away.
"Where is it taking her?" Tahiri cried.
Both she and Anakin whirled to face the Melodies.
"There is nothing to be done," one of the young boys said sadly. "It
will take her to its nest and she will be gone before we can ever reach it.
"
"But she's survived before," Anakin said.
"Yes, but this time she is too weak, she is ready for the changing. If
she is not in the waters of the cove before sunrise, she will die," the boy
replied.
"Where's the nest?" Anakin asked in a voice that couldn't be argued
with.
The boy pointed to a spot halfway up the mountain, and Anakin and
Tahiri immediately raced toward it.
"Be here when we return to take us to the cove," Anakin called over
his shoulder.
They'd been climbing for over an hour. Anakin could hear the rasp of
his breath, the thundering of his heart. Tahiri was right behind him. She,
too, was gasping. There was less oxygen in the air because of the altitude,
and several times Anakin had felt dizzy, felt black walls threatening to
close out his consciousness, and he'd turned around to make sure Tahiri was
still on her feet. They didn't speak as they climbed. Instead they focused
on the dark hole where the young Melodie had pointed. Believe and you
succeed, Anakin thought as he climbed.
That was part of the Jedi Code. Anakin repeated it over and over in
his head. He saw the purplish rocks beneath his scraped hands begin to
lighten as dawn threatened to cover the moon in its soft glow. Anakin
climbed faster. They stopped five meters from the entrance to the avril's
nest. Anakin could hear the creature shrieking within the shallow cave. He
and Tahiri crept forward, trying not to dislodge any rocks. They didn't
want the bird to know they were there. Carefully they moved toward the
opening, peeking around rocks until they were directly below the cave.
Anakin raised himself up slowly and peered into the dimly lit cavern.
He smelled the foul air and heard the rustling and chirping of the
creature's chicks before his eyes grew used to the cave. Then he saw Lyric.
She was alive. Her body hung over the edge of the avril's nest, ringlets of
red hair reaching down to the ground. As she had done before, she was
chirping, trying to sound like the mottled black chicks around her. Anakin
could hear Lyric struggling for the breath she needed to make the noises.
She could barely gasp out the sounds. Still, her efforts had been
enough to confuse the creature, whose black head was cocked to one side as
it towered above her. But Lyric's efforts were not enough to send the avril
out looking for more food. Anakin crouched back down and crawled over to
Tahiri.
"I've got to go in there," Anakin mouthed to his friend.
A look of alarm spread across Tahiri's features.
"I'm going to try to get the avril to leave her nest to search for
more food."
"I'm going too," Tahiri mouthed back.
"No, stay hidden in the rocks. I might need your help, or Lyric might.
It won't do us any good if the avril attacks us both," Anakin whispered
furiously.
"I don't like this," Tahiri mouthed with a scowl.
Anakin turned and crept back up to the nest. Then he let out a shriek.
The avril burst out of the cave and loomed above him, her beak open wide in
an ear-shattering cry. Anakin stood fast and shrieked again, in what he
hoped was the sound of one of the creature's chicks. He saw the bird's
beady eyes boring down on him. And when the avril rushed forward, he was
struck by foul, sour air. With a swift motion, the bird grasped him in its
beak and flung him into her nest. Anakin curled into a ball next to the
chicks and continued to shriek. The avril began to hop from foot to foot,
wings flapping in distress.
That's right, Anakin thought, I'm not dinner. Go out and find some
food for your hungry babies. Lyric continued to chirp and attempted a
shriek, but her lungs couldn't sustain the effort. Then, with a sudden
burst, the avril left her nest and soared away from the mountain.
"Anakin, are you all right?" Tahiri called as she scrambled to the
opening of the cave.
"I'm fine," Anakin replied. "But Lyric's in bad shape. We've got to
get her out of here."
Tahiri wrinkled her nose as the thick, dank smell of the cave struck
her. Then she climbed into the nest and began to help Anakin lift Lyric.
"Leave me," Lyric gasped. "It's too late. Save yourselves. The avril
will be back soon."
"There is no try, only do," Tahiri muttered under her breath as she
hoisted one of Lyric's arms over her shoulders. Anakin lifted the other
one. As they dragged their friend from the avril's nest, both Anakin and
Tahiri saw the symbols carved in the purple rocks.
"This is the same place she was taken before," Tahiri gasped in
surprise.
"We'd better hurry," Anakin said. They quickly left the cave and began
the journey down the mountain. At times Lyric tried to take a step or two,
but her efforts didn't last long. Any movement made it too difficult for
her to breathe. Finally, Anakin hoisted Lyric onto his back. He listened to
her wheezing breaths in his ear as he carried her. Tahiri scrambled down
the rocks in front of him, then helped him keep his balance as he climbed
down. T
hey were running out of time. Suddenly they heard the maddened
scream of the avril overhead.
"Over here," a boy's voice called. Anakin saw the young Melodie he'd
told to wait. With renewed energy, he moved quickly over to the boy.
Several more Melodies were waiting, and they lifted Lyric off Anakin's back
and carried her through a small hole in the rocks. The avril landed by the
hole and shrieked angrily. It was too small for her to follow her prey.
Anakin, Tahiri, and the Melodies heard the creature scraping at the rocks
with her talons. Her scrapes and cries faded into the distance as the group
raced through a tunnel in the mountain. Anakin and Tahiri followed the
Melodies. The tunnel within the purple mountain of Sistra wound deep, and
just when Anakin began to fear that Lyric would run out of time before they
reached the cove, the afternoon light began to pour over the group.
They reached an opening, and before them was a circular area, roughly
ten meters round, filled with water that was blanketed with blue-green
algae. The Melodies who carried Lyric moved toward the edge of the pool and
gently slid Lyric in. She floated on the bed of algae for a moment, then
slowly sank beneath it and disappeared from view. Tahiri and Anakin stared
at the blue-green pool of water. It rippled with movement from beneath its
surface. Anakin turned and studied the cove. It was set deep within the
mountain, but the jagged rocks that ringed it did not close out the sky.
The entire cove was open to a shaft of thick sunlight. Perched on the
rocks surrounding the pool were young Melodies with bagfuls of stones.
"She'll be all right now," one of the Melodies said in a voice that
sounded like the soft patter of water falling on dry sand. "You brought her
in time."
Anakin took the bag of stones and sharp spear that one of the Melodies
held out to him. Then he moved to a flat rock next to the spot where Lyric
had disappeared and crouched, ready to defend his friend. Anakin hoped that
he could help protect Lyric and the other changelings by using the Force,
but if not, he'd use the weapons that rested at his feet. Tahiri, too, was
given a sack of stones and a spear. Anakin looked at his friend. Her orange
jumpsuit was covered with purplish smudges of dirt from the mountains, and
dust streaked her white blonde hair. Tahiri met Anakin's ice blue eyes. Her
own green ones flashed. She, too, was determined to protect their friend.
Suddenly a young girl raced into the sunlight of the cove.
"The eggs!" the girl cried. "They're attacking the eggs!"
Anakin felt the terror of the girl's voice cut through him like a
lightsaber. He jumped to his feet.
"Stay here and watch out for Lyric," he called to Tahiri. Then he
raced to the tunnel behind two Melodies. They tore through the dark
passageways. Anakin felt the raiths before he saw them. He sensed their
hunger, their frenzied aggression. The group rounded a corner, rocks
poised. Before them was a large cavern stacked with pure white eggs. And in
its center were three enormous black rodents, their thick, hairless, green
tails lashing madly as they faced the two young female Melodies who stood
between them and the eggs. The girls stood, rocks ready to throw. The
Melodies beside Anakin didn't budge. They were frozen by their own fear.
"Don't move," Anakin called softly to the girls. The creatures were
too large to be killed with mere stones. Once the Melodies began their
attack, the rodents would be on them. The girls wouldn't survive, Anakin
thought. Anakin moved between the Melodies and stood directly behind the
raiths, spear poised. The loathsome rodents heard him approach and turned.
They reared on massive haunches and snarled. On their hind legs, they stood
a full three meters. Anakin watched thick brown saliva drip from their
pointed teeth. A steady calm washed over Anakin, and he opened himself to
the Force. He could feel the beating of the rodents' hearts, feel the air
rustle as their black whiskers twitched.
"Did you think I was going to let you have all the fun?" a soft voice
whispered as Tahiri joined Anakin. She held her spear before her.
"Let them attack first," Tahiri said quietly. "If they're anything
like the joined Anakin. She held her spear before her.
"Let them attack first," Tahiri said quietly. "If they're anything
like the womp rats on Tatooine, you'll be able to sense which way they'll
strike a split second before they like the womp rats on Tatooine, you'll be
able to sense which way they'll strike a split second before they-"
Tahiri's explanation was cut short as one of the raiths emitted a
high-pierced whine and launched itself. She ducked sideways, keeping her
spear vertical. The raith impaled itself on the sharp tip. Tahiri hardly
noticed the thick green blood that sprang from the wound. She wrenched her
spear out of the dead creature and turned to face the other two rodents.
Anakin moved with one graceful motion as a raith leapt toward him, its
teeth gnashing. He rolled forward and met the creature with his spear
midair. It screamed in anger and pain, then fell in a crumple to the floor.
"Anakin, watch out!" Tahiri cried. Anakin lunged sideways as the third
raith flew toward him. He had not had time to pull his spear out of the one
he'd just fought. Now, weaponless, he stood facing a snarling raith, driven
mad by the death of its companions and its own hunger and frustration. He
could feel the rodent's hot, rancid breath on his face, and he crouched in
readiness to spring sideways when the beast attacked.
"Hey, big guy, over here," Tahiri called out from behind the raith. It
twisted and sprung at her in one powerful movement. Tahiri was ready, and
seconds later the rodent lay twitching at her feet. For a moment the cavern
was filled with silence. The pure white eggs almost seemed to glow around
them.
"We'd better get back to the cove," Anakin finally said.
The Melodies nodded, then led the two Jedi candidates through the
tunnels. All was quiet when they entered the light of the cove.
"How did you fight the raiths so well?" one of the Melodies asked
Anakin once he was settled on a rock by the pool.
"We have been fighting them all our lives," the girl added.
"But never like that." Anakin met her questioning gaze. "What is your
name?" he asked.
"Sannah," the girl replied.
The Melodie looked about nine years old, Anakin thought. He wondered
how old she really was. Her white forehead was furrowed in concentration as
she gazed intently at Anakin with yellow eyes ringed with thick, brown
lashes.
"Sannah, do you know what the Force is?" he began.
She shook her head.
"It's an energy field generated by all living things. It surrounds
everything, and binds the galaxy together. At the Jedi academy we learn to
feel that field, to control, sense, and alter it. The skills we develop
also help us to sense emotions. Tahiri and I used our abilities to feel the
raiths' anger, to sense their movements at the split second before they
made them. By doing t
hat, we could anticipate where they would strike."
"And if I want to learn these things?" Sannah said softly. "If I want
to learn how to fight so that I can protect my people?"
Anakin stared into the girl's yellow eyes. It was clear that she
desperately wanted to be of help. But he also sensed her anger. Sannah had
obviously lost many she loved to the predators on her planet. How could he
help her to understand?
"The Force is meant to be used for peace, knowledge, and serenity.
Using it in anger will lead to the dark side, a place where the Force is
used for evil," Anakin began. "There was once a man named Darth Vader who
used the Force to help destroy the Jedi Knights and create an Empire
designed to rule through aggression and corruption. His real name was
Anakin Skywalker, and he was my grandfather."
The young Melodie gasped.
"My uncle, the Jedi Master Luke Skywalker, created the Jedi academy to
help fill the galaxy again with Jedi Knights who are pledged to defend good
against evil," Anakin explained. "But he teaches us about Darth Vader and
all the other evil men and women who used the Force in anger and
aggression. By learning about them, we can protect ourselves from following
in their footsteps, because the lure of the dark side can be powerful."
"Does it frighten you to be named after an evil man?" Sannah asked
innocently.
"Sometimes," Anakin said softly. For a moment he could hear the dark
voices that rose from the spiral stairway in the Palace of the Woolamander.
Lyric's World Page 3