Star Wars_ Fate of the Jedi 05_ Allies - Christie Golden [132]
He had instructed them all to follow the crackling violet light that appeared as they “awoke,” for want of a better term, in Beyond Shadows, and had given them a very detailed description of the site at which they needed to appear.
He was the first to arrive, no doubt because of his familiarity with the technique, and looked around at the Lake of Apparitions. He stood again on the shore in front of the narrow lake, bathed in blue sunlight. The surface was as still and dark as it had been the last time he had come here. On one shore was the granite face, on the other, the boulder-strewn meadow, with knee-high hummocks of moss and small streams winding their way between them.
And ahead, at the far end of the Lake of Apparitions, was swirling silver mist. The Mists of Forgetfulness. This time, though, Luke saw no hovering female figure beckoning him onward.
They appeared one by one. First was Taalon, lurching into existence as if stumbling, but then recovering quickly. A second later, Khai and Leeha Faal appeared. They looked around curiously.
“What is this place?” Faal demanded.
“My guide called it the Lake of Apparitions,” Luke said. “This end is known as the Mirror of Remembrance. If you want to get from one end to the other, you have to follow a tricky path or else you’ll fall into the Depths of Eternity.”
Gavar Khai snorted. “Such pompous names,” he said.
“I actually have to agree with you on that,” Luke said, “but that’s what I know them as.”
“Apparitions,” said Khai slowly, looking into the water. “I see nothing.”
Luke shrugged. “I don’t know how a lot of this works,” he said honestly. “I saw several people I recognized. Perhaps it is different for each individual.”
Khai shot him a searching look. “Really? I’d be very interested to know the sort of people Master Skywalker saw.”
“If I see them again, I’ll let you know,” Luke said.
“Are they hostile?” Taalon asked.
Luke felt a tug at his heart. “No,” he said. “No, no one I saw here was hostile.” Not even Jacen, not anymore. He shook off the remembrance, even as he was forced to acknowledge that he did hope that one beloved face, at least, would again rise to the surface. He thought of the comfort Mara had provided the last few days, coming to him in dreams, that comforting female presence aboard the Jade Shadow.
Not even death could truly separate two so deeply bonded. Gently, he pushed thoughts of his late wife aside and focused on the present.
“It was there that I saw Abeloth,” he said, pointing to the mists. “She was hovering there, wanting me to come to her. The Mists of Forgetfulness.”
“You did not go to her then?” Khai asked.
“I was heading in that direction. I received many warnings not to. Warnings I’m glad I heeded.”
Taalon regarded the mists steadily. “I see nothing there now.”
“No,” Luke agreed. “But simply because we do not see her doesn’t mean she isn’t there.”
Faal said, “You wish to go to a place called the Mists of Forgetfulness?”
“If there are answers, I believe they will lie there,” Luke said.
“In the Mists of Forgetfulness?” Faal asked, slightly incredulous. “The answers might be there, but how will you remember the question?”
Taalon shot her a look and Faal fell silent. “If you are certain, Master Skywalker, then let us go investigate.” He smiled coldly. “Since you’re familiar with this place, you may take the lead.”
“Thanks,” Luke said dryly, although he would have insisted on leading regardless. He trusted the Sith not to jump him from the rear—not when he was the only one who knew how to get them there. “The path is close to the shore and is shallow. Do not go too far out into the Lake. I don’t know a lot about the Depths of Eternity, but I was informed that once you stumble into them, no one can pull you back. You’ll be lost. Forever. It could be a lie; it could be true. I