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“And what is that?”

“I don’t know everything, Ben, I’m just an apprentice,” she snapped.

“Vestara,” he said quietly, “don’t you get tired of this? All the plotting, all the scheming, all the backstabbing? Wouldn’t it be nice to just … trust somebody? To completely let go of your suspicions?”

She lifted her eyes to him again, and there was sorrow in their dark brown depths. “It sounds lovely, Ben. But that’s not my world.”

It could be.

The words were on Ben’s lips, and he might have uttered them, had not Luke begun to stir. He turned his attention back to his father, checking the drip and making sure the transition back to his body would be an easy one.

And it was at that moment that Dyon bellowed, bolted upright, and sprang for the door.

“Vestara!” Ben cried. “Stop him!”

But the Sith girl actually took a step backward and permitted the Force-user to pass. Ben stared at her, anguished and infuriated, unable to leave his father until Luke had fully returned. Vestara turned back to Ben and folded her arms.

Luke’s blue eyes snapped open and fixed on Ben’s face. “What happened?”

“Dyon just bolted,” Ben snarled. “And Vestara let him go.”

Dyon couldn’t believe it. Not-Vestara had kept her word, letting him pass freely, and perhaps stopping Not-Ben from coming after her. He hoped that no harm would befall her for helping him. He reached out into the Force, limited as his ability to do so was, and cried out to the being who had called him here.

I come, I come! he cried silently.

He edged carefully behind the Jade Shadow and turned to regard the plants crowding the bank. He had no weapon; but through them was the only way to get to Abeloth. He took a deep breath, his heart racing, and stepped forward.

The plants did nothing. He laughed, shakily, in relief. He took another step, then another, moving confidently now. They neither helped nor hindered him, behaving like ordinary plants on other worlds.

Dyon took it as a sign, and his spirits continued to lift. Upon reaching the top of the bank he looked over the beach, at the dozen or so frigates there, then up at the volcano. He sensed her there, waiting for him, and tears stung his eyes. Dyon knew he would have to be very careful. He could not allow his enemies to follow him. He believed Not-Vestara about the Not-Sith supporting Abeloth, but even so, he would not put his mistress in danger. It was possible the Not-Jedi might come out and see him.

Slowly, although he ached to break into a run, he cleared another rise and half walked, half slid down the other side.

“You what?” Luke was sitting up now, anger in his blue eyes.

“I let him go,” Vestara said. “I convinced him that I was on his and Abeloth’s side. He was aching to go to her, and he knew where to find her. While I was assuring him that the Sith were his and Abeloth’s dear friends and supporters, I planted a tracking device on him.” She fished in the pocket of her robe, held out a small piece of equipment, and wagged it at them, smiling a little. “And it’s working beautifully. Did you get any insight Beyond Shadows?”

Ben let out a small laugh that sounded like a yelp. “You might have told us, you know.”

She shrugged. “I didn’t think you’d trust me.”

“I don’t,” Luke said, “but right now, it really is the only lead we have. We lost Faal. The spirits in the Lake of Apparitions—apparently some old enemies had a grudge to settle. She fell into the water and they dragged her down.”

Vestara shrugged again. “I never much cared for her anyway. I dare say she had accumulated quite a lot of old enemies with grudges.”

“That’s probably true of every Sith,” Luke said. He turned to Ben. “I think we may have an edge we can use against Abeloth, though. She … seems to have a particular interest in me. I’m not sure why.”

“In Jedi, or in you in particular?” Ben asked.

“Me in particular. She—have you felt any kind of a feminine presence on the ship, Ben?”

His son nodded. “Yeah … I thought it was Mom. This being her ship and all, and you and I the only ones on it for a long time. I kind