settled back onto his heels, his hands resting on his thighs as he took slow, deep breaths.
Darovit turned on her. 'What did you do that for?' he demanded angrily.
'He refused to help us,' she said, her voice more defensive than she meant it to be.
'I will not release that monster on the galaxy a second time,' Caleb declared, his teeth still clenched against the lingering effects of Zannah's torture. 'There is nothing you can do to make me save him.'
Zannah dropped to one knee beside him. 'I can use my powers to conjure up your worst nightmares and bring them to life before your eyes,' she whispered. 'I can drive you mad with fear, shred your sanity, and leave you a raving lunatic for the rest of your life.'
Darovit just stared at her, shocked by her words. Caleb only smiled his infuriating smile.
'If you do,' the healer calmly replied, 'your Master will still die.' Zannah chewed her lip, glaring at him. Then she leapt to her feet and stormed out of the cabin, leaving Darovit and Caleb alone.
Chapter 23
Fuming, Zannah stomped her way across the sand between Caleb's shack and the edge of the camp, where her Master lay on the hover gurney
She checked the monitor attached to the gurney's side, getting a reading of his vitals. He was still alive, but fading fast. Soon he would be gone, taking all his knowledge and secrets with him.
She was standing over the gurney when Darovit emerged from the shack several minutes later. He crossed the camp to stand beside her, gazing down at Bane.
'When he goes,' he said, offering his cousin words of condolence, 'at least he'll go peacefully.'
'Peace is a lie!' Zannah snarled back. 'It doesn't matter if you die in your sleep or on the battlefield, dead is still dead.'
'At least he's not feeling any pain,' Darovit replied, tossing out another meaningless platitude.
'If you feel pain,' she answered, 'it means you're still alive. Give me pain over peace any day.'
'I never thought I'd hear you say that, Zannah,' Darovit said sadly, shaking his head, 'Can't you see what he's made you become?' He made me become a Sith, she thought. Out loud she said, 'He made me strong. He gave me power.'
'Is that all you care about now, Zannah? Power?'
'Through power I gain victory, and through victory my chains are broken.'
'Power doesn't always bring victory,' Darovit countered. 'Even with all the power you have, you couldn't make Caleb help you'
Bane would have found a way, she thought bitterly, but didn't say anything.
'I understand what happened to you' her cousin said, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder, 'You were just a kid. Scared. Alone. Bane found you and took you in. I understand your loyalty to him. I understand why you care about him.'
Zannah shook his hand off and turned to stare at him with an expression of wide-eyed disbelief. 'I'm a Sith. I don't care about anyone but myself.'
'You care about me.' Zannah didn't reply, refusing to be drawn again into the same argument they'd had on the way to Tython.
'You don't want to admit it' Darovit pressed, 'but I know you care about me. And about your Master, too. Your actions prove that, no matter what you say. But Caleb's right, you know. Bane's a monster; we can't let him go free.
'But he doesn't necessarily have to die,' he added. 'What do you mean?' Zannah said, suddenly wary. 'I spoke with Caleb. He thinks you're a monster, too. But he doesn't know you like I do. You're not a monster, Zannah… but you'll become one if you let anger and hate rule your life.'
'Now you sound like the Jedi' she said carefully. Darovit was clearly up to something, but she couldn't figure out what it was.
'I'm starting to realize they're better than the alternative,' he admitted. 'I know what's going to happen, Zannah. If Bane dies, you'll kill Caleb.'
She hesitated, then nodded. 'Probably.' There was no point in lying.
'You're balanced on the precipice' her cousin warned her, his voice suddenly urgent and intense. 'You can still turn back from this life, Zannah. But if Bane dies, I know your desire to avenge him will drive you to murder Caleb. And I'm afraid your Master's death will push you over the edge. It'll turn you into him.
'I don't want you to turn into him,' he added more softly, nodding down at Bane's motionless form on the gurney. 'I have to save you from yourself. I had to find some way to stop you from killing Caleb. So I convinced him to heal Bane. It's the only way to make you turn away from the teachings of the Sith.'
'That… that makes no sense,' Zannah said, her mind reeling as she tried to wrap her head around his logic. 'If Bane lives he'll never let me abandon my studies.' And why would I even want to? she added silently.
'Before Caleb will help,' her cousin explained, 'you have to dispatch one of the Loranda's message drones. You have to tell the Jedi where we are so they can come and arrest Bane.'
'What?' Zannah shouted, taking a half step away from him, 'That's crazy!'
'No, it's not!' he said, grabbing her by the arm with his good hand and pulling her back to face him. 'Please, Zannah, just listen to me. If you send that message to the Jedi and hand Bane over to them, it will prove you're turning your back on the ways of the Sith. It will show you want to make up for all the pain and suffering you've caused.
'And it's the only way Caleb will agree to heal him,' he added a second later, letting go of her arm.
'You saw what Bane can do,' she said. 'What's to stop him from killing the Jedi when they get here?'
'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
