Chapter 10
“Master?” Obi-Wan said in
complete shock.
“You did exactly what I thought you would do.”
“What do you mean?”
“You went to find Dawit’s past.”
“I wanted to help her.” Qui-Gon sighed and looked at Dawit. He turned and
put his hands on Obi-Wan’s shoulders.
“Only Dawit can help herself. She is the only one who can fight him.”
“I just thought. . .”
“You can’t help her. You shouldn’t be falling in love with
her.”
“What?”
“You have strong feelings for her. They can cloud your thoughts. You
can’t help her if you feel those emotions.”
“I won’t let them cloud my thoughts.”
“You think that now, but when the time comes to choose.”
“Choose what?”
“If Dawit were ever to turn to the Dark Side then you might be called upon to
destroy her. If you loved her it would be even more difficult to do.”
“She won’t turn to the Dark Side.”
“Don’t talk about me as if I’m not here.” Dawit said,
interrupting their conversation. “I have no intentions of turning to the Dark
Side.” Obi-Wan continued the conversation with,
“What about Mara, Master?”
“How many files did you look at?” Qui-Gon asked suspiciously.
“Just two, Master.”
“From which planets?”
“Anyota only.”
“Whose did you look at?”
“Mara’s and Dawit’s. That’s all.” Dawit interrupted their
conversation again with,
“Who’s Mara?”
“No one.” Qui-Gon said. He again turned to Obi-Wan and said,
“We’ll discuss your discipline later. Fian and Makatosia, the same goes for you.
Now all three of you go to the dormitory and stay there.” Fian and Makatosia headed
straight for the dormitory without further persuasion. Obi-Wan stayed behind to protest
but Qui-Gon shot him a look and he reluctantly headed for the dormitory also. Dawit asked
again,
“Who’s Mara? Don’t lie to me or tell me a half-truth.” Qui-Gon
dismissed the subject with,
“Mara is of no concern to you. Go back to the council room. The stimulants we
gave you won’t last much longer. You’ll fall into a deep sleep and you’ll
need all your strength and all of Sasah’s healing powers.”
Angrily she let the subject drop for
the time being. Dawit made a promise to herself that when she awoke she would learn what
Obi-Wan had seen in the files. Her eyelids grew heavier the closer she came to the council
room. Exhaustion filled every bone of her body. She used the Force to ward it off for a
time, but it overcame her before she reached the door. Dawit fell to merciless slumber in
the arms of Nefra with Sasah kneeling next to her. The
whole academy held its breath, for what the trio of friends had learned from the files had
spread like a brushfire through the academy. The fire consumed. . .
every part of her body. The balls of fire Onxyi was shooting at her hit their mark every time. He held her in is vice grip and she couldn’t escape it. The hooded figure said,
“Good! Good! Keep shooting
straight at her.”
“Onxyi, why are you doing
this?” she pleaded.
“I am not Onxyi! I am Onyx! I told
you that!” he shouted.
“Then your name is black as your
heart!” she screamed. The burns covered her left side of her face. Her left eye was
burned shut. She shielded her face with her right arm as another barrage of flames came at
her. It charred and swelled her right arm. Puss oozed out of her cracking skin. Blisters
swelled on her face. The pain was too much.