Star Wars_ The Old Republic_ Revan - Drew Karpyshyn [48]
As expected, Darth Xedrix hadn’t come alone. A pair of Sith acolytes—humans, one male, one female—preceded him, striding into the cave, lightsabers drawn. They wore light armor under robes of blue and gold, the colors of their liege.
The circular cavern was only ten meters in diameter and dark. The only illumination came from their blades and the glowing fungus that clung to the rough rock walls. Scourge crouched in the shadows, wrapped in a cloak of the dark side that both made him invisible to the Force and helped to ward off the chill of the subterranean air. He remained motionless as the pair passed within a few meters of his hiding place, patiently waiting.
Darth Xedrix trailed his escort by several paces. Unlike his acolytes, he had not drawn his weapon, and he wore no visible armor beneath his robes. He was several centimeters taller than Scourge, but much thinner. He had thick, shoulder-length white hair, but no beard. His face was lined, though not as extensively or deeply as Nyriss’s, and there was a hint of a stoop to his shoulders and a cautious frailty about the way he moved.
His appearance recalled Nyriss’s words: He is human—they are a lesser species. Over the decades, the dark side has exacted too great a toll on his body. He is a hollow shell of what he once was.
Yet Scourge could sense the Councilor’s enormous power. Darth Xedrix was still a member of the Dark Council, and underestimating him would be a fatal mistake.
The moment the tall human passed Scourge’s hiding place, Scourge leapt, igniting his lightsaber as he flew through the air. For a moment he thought his first strike would find its mark, and he was almost disappointed at the thought of ending Xedrix’s life so easily. But at the last instant the human’s own blade materialized seemingly out of nowhere to intercept the blow.
They exchanged a quick flurry of thrusts and parries. Scourge tried and failed to draw on his foe’s fear and anger—Xedrix was too controlled, and it felt more like fighting a droid. Scourge forcibly thrust his own fears away and reached deep inside himself to find the fury he needed.
He had maneuvered himself so that he was behind Xedrix, blocking the passage that was the only route into and out of the cave. The two acolytes had already spun around and rushed in to join the fray, and he prepared himself to deal with them, too.
But suddenly he had only those two to deal with as Xedrix backed away. He seemed to be more obsessed with preserving his own life than killing his enemy—a weakness that left him content to let his two underlings face this unknown foe while he stayed at a safe distance.
The two apprentices launched themselves at Scourge, unleashing their rage as they drew on the power of the dark side, unaware that their anger was feeding their opponent, as well.
The female came in high, her lightsaber slashing at Scourge’s head. At the same time the human male came in low, looking to chop at his enemy’s legs.
Scourge ducked under the woman’s blows, spinning to the side as he parried the lightsaber at his knees. The pair came at him again, once more coordinating their attacks, this time trying to flank him on either side. Scourge lunged forward, splitting the attack by diving into a forward roll that took him between his two opponents.
For an instant he was vulnerable; one quick cut from either foe could have ended his life. But they were inexperienced, and they hadn’t expected him to move toward them. By the time the woman reacted with a backhand swipe of her weapon, the moment had been lost. The lightsaber hummed by his cheek as he tumbled between them, but he emerged unscathed.
The man was slower to react. By the time Scourge was back on his feet, the acolyte was only just starting to turn around. The Sith Lord delivered a quick kick to the back of the man’s knee; the man pin-wheeled his arms as he fought to regain his balance.
Scourge saw the