Bad Blood

Chapter 26 - Fractured Lies, Broken Minds.

She wanted to scream.

Could she scream?

Would he let her?

The clamp on her mind tightened.

She could not scream. Could not grieve. Could not even cry. Maul's hold on her mind was too tight.

Astéri would've slapped herself if she still had control of her arms. What had she been thinking? Just getting within a ten metre radius of a Sith as a bad idea, even if you didn't communicate.

Gradually, the darkness caged in around them as Maul led Astéri deeper into the catacombs. It felt as if tendrils of black were creeping through her hair, between her fingers, circling her legs.

We will split up soon. You will take the path on the right. The urge knifed into Astéri's consciousness, compelling her to turn to the right.

Maul continued to speak through her mind.

Olena, as you may have guessed, has done nothing to slight Crimson Dawn. What she does have is information. A holocron, to be precise. You will reach Olena first. You will hold her until I arrive.

Astéri fumed from the cramped crevice of her mind where her soul had been crammed. This had been Maul's plan all along. He just wanted someone to draw Olena's attention while he got what he needed. She had never been anything more to him than a distraction. And now Boba was lying unconscious, probably inhaling smoke from the forest fire that-

That she'd helped start.

This was all her fault.

Now. Go. Bring me my prize.

Astéri found her legs turning. She could see nothing through the blackness, and without Maul's Force-heightened senses to guide her, it was all she could do not to trip on the slick floor of the tunnels. Testing the boundaries of Maul's control, Astéri managed to lift an arm to place a steadying hand on the wall.

Shivering, her legs carried her deeper into the catacombs.

Astéri had become so accustomed to the darkness that it took her a while to realise that she could see her hand as it traced the hewn wall. A drop of water fell from a stalactite to a pool of water below, and to Astéri's surprise, light glimmered off it.

Pausing slightly, Astéri peered into the blue-ish glow.

Blue?

The last she'd seen, Olena's lightsaber had turned red. So what was making the light?

Creeping along the wall, Astéri's ears strained to hear a male voice.

"-Jedi master Obi-Wan Kenobi. I regret to inform you that both-"

What was it? It sounded like a recorded message.

As Astéri rounded a corner, the full scene came into view. Olena sat upright with her eyes closed, back ramrod straight, legs crossed. In front of her floated a ball of blue light. Images swam through the light, each one disappearing just as quickly as the next. A map. A man in Jedi robes speaking. That same man standing with a younger one, demonstrating lightsaber techniques, both of them smiling. A young Togruta girl, in traditional Mandalorian clothing, strangely enough. A list of names. Sets of co-ordinates. What looked like a war map.

Against her will, Astéri's arm raised a blaster. Boba's blaster, that she had borrowed for the mission. Olena's sharp features swam into the sights, just as she snapped her moon-bright eyes open.

"You've come to kill me."

"I have to."

The silver-haired woman bared her teeth. "They all say that."