Star Wars_ Darth Bane 02_ Rule of Two - Drew Karpyshyn [126]
“The orbalisk toxin is melting Bane’s body from the inside. Even with Caleb’s help it will be weeks, maybe months, before he can even get out of bed.”
“So what’s to stop me from just taking Bane away as soon as he’s healed?”
“Your greatest weapon is secrecy. The Jedi think your Order is extinct. They won’t waste their time chasing shadows every time someone whispers the word Sith. That’s the only reason you’ve been able to survive so far.
“But once you send off the message drone, everything changes. They’ll know the Sith still exist. They’ll have the proof they need to drive them to action. Every Jedi Knight and Jedi Master across a million worlds will be searching for you. The Sith won’t be able to hide anymore.”
Zannah knew he was right. It was the very reason Bane had worked so hard to keep their existence nothing more than an unfounded rumor.
“Besides,” Darovit added, “Caleb won’t do anything unless we disable the ship first. If you try to run, you’ll have to drag Bane out into the desert on foot. Even if he survived the trip, you wouldn’t get very far before the Jedi arrived.”
“Sounds like the healer doesn’t trust me,” Zannah mumbled darkly.
“You did almost kill him,” her cousin pointed out.
“If I hand him over to the Jedi,” she wondered aloud, “what happens to me?”
“I don’t know,” the young man admitted. “The Jedi might arrest you, too. But I’m hoping they’ll recognize your actions as a turning point in your life. Maybe they’ll see it as an attempt to make amends.
“Maybe they’ll even take you in,” he suggested. “I’ve heard the Jedi believe in the power of redemption. And, like I said, it’s better than the alternative.”
“What about you?” she asked. “What will you do?”
“I won’t be part of this if you choose to kill Caleb and let Bane die,” he told her. “But I don’t think you will.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“I’ve told you, Zannah—we share a bond. I can tell what you’re thinking, what you’re feeling. You’re afraid of being alone … but you’re not alone. Not anymore.
“You’ll make the right choice. And when you do, I’ll be there for you.”
She weighed the offer carefully, chewing on her lip so hard her teeth drew blood. If she refused, Bane was dead and she’d have to continue the Sith Order on her own. Kill Caleb, find an apprentice … probably kill Darovit, too. If she agreed, she had to betray her Master to the Jedi, which would mark the end of the Sith and the first step in her long road of redemption and atonement.
“Bane’s time is running out,” her cousin prodded. “You have to decide.”
The two paths loomed large before her: alone into the darkness, or into the light with Darovit at her side. She spun the problem over and over in her mind until, finally, the answer came to her.
“Tell Caleb I agree to his demands.”
Bane opened his eyes slowly; his lids felt heavy, weighed down as if they were lined with metal filings. He could feel them brushing over his pupils, rubbing like sandpaper as he blinked against the harsh light streaming down on him. The brightness made him squint again as he tried to sit up.
His body refused to move. Legs, arms, and torso ignored the impulses from his brain to rise. Even his head couldn’t budge. There was sensation in his extremities: He could tell he was lying on his back, and he could feel the rough grain of a burlap sheet or a coarsely woven cloth against his skin. But he was paralyzed, unable to move.
He let his eyes flicker open once more, and the brightness began to fade as his pupils gradually contracted. He was staring up at a low, sloping ceiling of simple wooden planks. A ray of sunlight beamed through a narrow crack in the wood, shining directly on his face.
Groaning he managed to turn his head to the side so the light no longer hit his eyes. The change of angle also gave him a better view of the room he was in: small, plain, and strangely familiar. Before he could match the setting to any of his memories, a figure stepped into his line of sight.
From the fact that he was staring directly into a pair of worn leather boots, Bane deduced that