4.

"I guess Master Ikrit won't be coming with us," Tahiri said.

"We're on our own," Anakin added softly. "Whatever happens, we're on

our own."

Anakin turned back to the jungles and let the sweet scent fill him.

He

thought about his dream, and what it meant. It was the second time he had

dreamed about the follower of Exar Kun. The second time he'd defeated Kun's

follower by using the Force to control his inner self and make the evil

figure's threats useless.

Anakin only hoped he'd be able to do the same in the Palace of the

Woolamander. There was no doubt in his mind that the spirits of Kun's evil

followers would be there for real, attempting to stop them from breaking

the curse and freeing the globe's children, trying to turn Tahiri and him

to the dark side.

And what about entering the globe? Anakin wondered. Had his dream been

right? Was it a matter of enduring the pain of the powerful field until it

lost its strength and let Anakin inside the sphere? Anakin turned to Tahiri

to tell her about his dream, and to try to figure out how they were going

to lead the Massassi children to freedom. They were in this together, and

they would succeed together, or never leave the palace alive.

They knew the way. Hidden by darkness, Tahiri and Anakin raced through

the jungles of Yavin 4. The first time they'd snuck out of the Great Temple

to raft the river, they hadn't known where they were going. This time, they

were guided by their memories and their convictions. They felt the weight

of the Palace of the Woolamander before it loomed above them, a crumbling

site of darkness and buried evil. Neither spoke as they entered an opening

that had once been a majestic portal, or when they saw the familiar

Massassi symbols carved along the walls of the palace.

The time for talk or solving riddles was long past. The time for

action was at hand. Anakin flashed his light beam toward a broken wall that

hid the crumbling stairway they'd descended a month before. Several large

woolamanders scurried out of the hole and into the darkness. Neither Anakin

nor Tahiri jumped in surprise. There were bigger things to be afraid of.

"Ready?" Anakin asked Tahiri.

She moved forward and climbed through a hole in the crumbling wall.

Anakin followed. Hand in hand, they began to descend the spiral stairway.

The voices began.

"Go back," they called as the Jedi candidates climbed down the stairs.

"This is a dark place; you are not welcome here," they rumbled.

"We've been here, and heard that before," Tahiri shot into the

darkness. "It didn't work the first time, so just give it a rest."

"Orphan child, you cannot break the curse," a voice said from the

darkness.

"Now that's new," Tahiri murmured under her breath. She and Anakin

continued to descend.

"Orphan child, you are a sister of the darkness," the voice hissed to

Tahiri. "We are your family; your home is with us. Leave the boy. He is not

one of us. He doesn't care about you."

Anakin recognized the voice from his dreams. He felt Tahiri's anger

growing.

"Tahiri, that's what they want," he whispered urgently. "They want you

to strike out against them, to use the Force in aggression. Remember, a

Jedi never acts from anger, hatred, or aggression."

"Your mother, Cassa, was one of us. So was your father, Tryst,"

the

voice lied. "Join them and finally understand who you really are."

"I am Tahiri Veila, daughter of Cassa and Tryst," Tahiri began softly

as she and Anakin continued to descend. "I'm Tahiri, chosen daughter of

Sliven of the Tusken Raiders. My path is one of light. I am a Jedi

candidate."

Anakin felt Tahiri's anger ebbing. Her hand, which had moments before

clung tightly to his, relaxed.

"Boy," a familiar voice called from the gloom. "You aren't like your

little friend. You are part of the history of the dark side.

Your

grandfather, Anakin Skywalker, served Emperor Palpatine well. The seed of

evil is planted within you. It is your birthright-don't fight it,"

the

voice insisted.

Anakin felt the words slither around his body like snakes. All the

fear he had about who he was, and the burden of carrying the name

"Anakin,"

fought to rise to the surface. He felt an overwhelming need to strike out

against the evil follower of Kun. But instead, he laughed. It was a small

laugh at first, but it grew stronger as Tahiri joined in. And the louder

the Jedi students laughed, the weaker the voice became, until it went out,

like a flame before a hearty wind. Anakin and Tahiri reached the base of

the stairs and walked toward the doorway they'd entered before to discover

the globe.

But nothing could have prepared them for what they saw and heard.

Nothing.

The children were crying. Anakin could hear their strangled sobs the

moment lie stepped inside the room. Countless ghostlike hands were pressed

against the inside of the globe, torn away by the madly swirling sands,

only to reappear moments later in silent pleas for help.

"The followers of Exar Kun are trying to destroy the children before

we can free them," Anakin said in horror.

Tahiri ran toward the globe before Anakin could stop her, and struck

it with her fists. The field repelled her efforts, tossing her through the

air. Her body somersaulted once, then struck the stone wall. Anakin raced

over to his friend, who lay crumpled on the floor. He helped her to sit up,

and watched as she shook her head slowly from side to side to clear it from

the blow. Tahiri looked up at Anakin with agonized green eyes.

"They're dying in there!" she cried. "Anakin, we've got to do

something!"

The pain that extended from the globe through Anakin's right palm and

across his chest was sheer agony. He fought to remain standing, to absorb

the field as it coursed through his body like white lightning, to make it

harmless. His legs buckled from the torture, and he fell to his knees.

Tahiri leapt forward and tore her friend from the field's stranglehold.

They both fell back, Anakin breathing in rattled gasps as the pain slowly

subsided.

"There's got to be another way!" Tahiri said. "What if we both focus

on using the Force to weaken the field," Tahiri thought out loud.

"Anakin,

you did it when you weakened the reel on Yavin 8," she continued. "Once the

field is weak enough, we can both enter the globe and find the children."

"You're right, Tahiri," Anakin replied, rising to his feet. "But I

don't think we should go inside together. We have no idea what it's like

inside the globe. If one of us fails, the other needs to be able to help,

or to go get help if there's no other choice."

Tahiri nodded.

"I want to go in first," Anakin said softly. The hard glint in his

eyes told Tahiri there could be no arguing. Anakin moved toward the globe.

Tahiri stood by his side. There were no more words. Both knew what had to

be done. They closed their eyes and reached out to the field with the

Force. The field sparked and flared as their minds tried to weaken it.

Anakin felt sweat roll down his forehead. His back cramped with effort.

And, just when he almost began to lose hope, he felt a tiny weakening in

the field.

"It's working," Anakin said through clenched teeth.

Tahiri squeezed his hand. She could feel it, too. Moments later, the

field's strength flickered, then faded to a soft buzz in Anakin's mind.

Without pausing, he reached toward the smooth sphere. He felt his hands

pass through the crystal, felt the stinging of the golden sands on his

flesh.

It's now or never, Anakin thought. He plunged forward, his body

entering the globe, then disappearing from view in the swirling sands.

He

felt a sharp bolt of pain as his right foot slid inside the sphere.

The

field had regained its power. It's like swimming through sand, Anakin

thought as he fought his way through the whirlpool of golden particles.

The

sands stung and blinded him, and he covered his nose and mouth with the

sleeve of his jumpsuit so that he could breathe. Then he began to search

for the children.

Strange, Anakin thought; from the outside, the globe is no more than

four meters across, but inside it's huge. Anakin blindly struggled to find

his way through the globe. His body was tossed and tumbled in the mad

whirls of sand until he no longer knew up from down. He cried out to the

children, but there was no answer.

And then there they were, crowding around him, their small hands

reaching out, grasping the folds of his jumpsuit, touching his face, his

hair. There were so many of them, Anakin wondered how he could lead them

all out of the globe.

"Grab hands!" he called out. "All of you, grab hands."

They understood, and he felt two small hands slide into his.

Anakin

battled through the storm as the sands filled his nose and mouth and

threatened to choke him. He had to lead them to the edge of the crystal,

through the field, he thought, his legs struggling as the sands thickened.

"Help me, Tahiri!" Anakin cried into the deafening churn and the sea

of frightened cries. He fell, and the sands tossed him in a dizzying rush.

"Anakin, where are you!" Tahiri screamed as her friend's fear reached

out from the globe and filled her senses. There was was no answer.

"This is not the way it's going to end!" she cried into the darkness.

"Anakin!" Tahiri called over and over with her voice and the Force.

A

glimpse of his orange jumpsuit appeared, then disappeared as the sands

violently whirled. "Anakin, I'm here!" Tahiri cried.

Anakin heard Tahiri's voice through the sands, and struggled toward

it, his hands still firmly clenching the small hands of two Massassi

children. He pressed forward, toward Tahiri's cries, until he ran headlong

into the crystal. Anakin pressed the backs of his hands against the globe,

letting the pain of the field course down his arms until he was certain

that Tahiri had seen him.

Then he focused on the field, once again using the Force to weaken it.

He sensed Tahiri joining her strength with his. Sands wrapped around

Anakin's legs like the tentacles of the creature on Tatooine and tried to

draw him back into the center of the globe. Anakin fought to keep his

footing, to concentrate on weakening the field. But he was growing tired,

and the current was close to toppling him and breaking his resolve.

Before

him the field's strength began to flicker and falter.

There was no more time to wait. Anakin reached forward, ignoring the

ripples of pain that ran down his arms and made him cry out. He thrust his

fists through the field, feeling the dank air of the chamber beyond.

Anakin

forged ahead, pushing through the field with the last of his strength,

absorbing its weakened power in dull aches and hot flashes. Suddenly he was

through, his hands drawing the children behind him in a steady stream.

Anakin forced his mind back to the field, joining Tahiri in a last

effort to weaken its power as the children streamed from the globe, hand in

hand. Minutes later it was over, the last child emerging from the globe's

cursed grasp. Anakin sank to the stone floor.

"You're free," Tahiri said softly to the countless children who

crowded the chamber. Their small, spiritlike forms were almost transparent.

Cloaked in white robes outlined in shimmering blue, they stood silently

before the Jedi candidates.

"Do you think they understand?" Tahiri asked as she sat down beside

Anakin.

"They understand," Anakin answered, sensing the children's growing

wonderment and joy. One of them walked toward the Jedi candidates.

He

reached out a small hand and gently touched both of their faces.

Anakin

felt the brush of a feather across his cheek at the touch. Then the

Massassi child bowed and moved back to the other children. Slowly they all

began to fade from sight, until the last glimmering blue outline

disappeared. They had finally returned to their people.

The curse was broken; the children were freed from their imprisonment.

"Do you feel it?" Anakin asked Tahiri.

Tahiri nodded. "Peace to all," she replied softly.

As Tahiri and Anakin moved to leave the chamber, they heard a sharp

sound behind them, and whirled. The golden globe was cracking, its surface

lined with running veins of white. Then, in an instant, the sphere broke

into a thousand shards of crystal, and the golden glitter which had once

filled it spilled out into the chamber, now just lifeless yellow sand.

Anakin and Tahiri left the Palace of the Woolamander. Their eyes

quickly adjusted from the gloom to the soft morning light of the jungle.

And to the figure of Jedi Master Luke Skywalker as he stood on the

crumbling stone steps of the palace,

Master Ikrit by his side. Luke Skywalker studied Anakin and Tahiri.

His face conveyed relief at seeing the two Jedi candidates safe.

"The curse is broken?" Luke asked softly.

"Yes," Anakin answered his uncle.

"You have both done well," Ikrit rasped, his big brown eyes gleaming

in pride at Tahiri and Anakin.

"You know everything?" Anakin asked his uncle, gesturing toward Ikrit.

Luke Skywalker nodded. He wrapped his arms around Anakin's and

Tahiri's shoulders.

"I am very proud," Luke said, his eyes meeting theirs.

Slowly the group walked back toward the Jedi academy. For the first

time in a long time, Anakin and Tahiri were not heading toward danger, but

simply toward the future-adventure, the Force, and their ultimate goal: to

become Jedi Knights.