“Have you felt something?” he asked. Anakin shrugged with one shoulder.
“I couldn’t really say. I just have this feeling inside my gut, like she’s here. Waiting to attack again. I’ll keep my eyes open for her if she is here on Coruscant,” Anakin promised. Obi-Wan nodded and left the council chambers. Anakin glanced over his shoulder at the large building north of the Temple and shuddered. She was here. And she would stop at nothing to take his master down.
* * *
“He knows I’m here,” Dirae said suddenly. Maul looked over at her from his place at the windows.
“Who?” he asked curiously. Dirae stood and rushed to his side. Her hands gripped his muscular arms as she spoke.
“The boy! I felt him searching for my Force just now. Maybe I should go there now, get rid of him early.”
Maul turned to face her and placed his hands on her shoulders. “Dirae, don’t do anything rash. We’ll go after them together, not alone. If you died again, I wouldn’t know what to do.” The honesty and sincerity in his tone touched Dirae. She threw herself into his arms and kissed his ebony neck many times. Maul closed his eyes against the sensation and held her closer to him. Always in times of truth and desperation, Dirae seeked to become one with Maul. She never wanted to think of life without him again, to not be able to reach out and feel his touch on her skin or his lips on her’s.
“Love me, mi laa. Now,” Dirae commanded in a husky tone. Maul growled deep in his throat and flipped her around to press her against the windows. His lips trailed down her silver neck as his hands ruthlessly ripped her tunic down and around her shoulders. Once her torso was exposed, he slid one hand over her thigh, tugging on the clinging fabric at her waist. She glided her hands over his neck, down his back, and into the collar of his tunic. The taut muscles on his back strained under her fingertips, exciting her all the more. He was the finest example of a male of her race in her mind. Strong and pantherlike, he was fear and desire in one man. No one could look into her soul like he could.
Moments later, after their passion had been sated, they lay together on the large bed they shared. The black sheets had been drawn up under Dirae’s arms to conceal her breasts from prying eyes. Maul traced his fingers over her cheek, gazing into her eyes. In contrast to his ebony flesh, her silver skin was like the moons of their homeworld against the night sky.
“Better, my master?” Dirae teased lightly. Maul smiled at her and playfully reached around her waist to slap her bottom. She squealed slightly and laughed. “Behave. There is still much we have to do. The boy knows I’m here. We should devise a plan.”
“I know, Dirae. I’m just not too thrilled about the idea of you going there alone. You may not be as strong in the Dark Side as I am but they will be able to sense you. Don’t go out there alone. If we have to be found out, we’ll be found out together,” Maul told her. Dirae nodded reluctantly. “I know it’s hard for you to not want to kill the Jedi. It’s hard for me to not kill him. I am beginning to understand my master’s words about patience. I was very impatient to capture the queen and kill the two Jedi, but he kept me away from them long enough. I was too eager, too confident in my own abilities.”
“But you are a great Sith,” Dirae insisted. “They shouldn’t have been any match for you.” Maul looked at her with saddened eyes.
“Yet, he killed me.”
Dirae’s hope fizzled like Bantha spit on the hot desert. “Yes...he did.” she admitted sadly. Even then, though their bond wasn’t half as strong as it was now, she had felt the searing hot pain across her middle. Thinking about it now, she recalled the pain and held her stomach tenderly with one hand. Maul noticed her gesture and pulled her into his arms.
“I didn’t know you had felt that, Dirae,” he whispered. “My own foolishness cost me my life and your spirit. I thought I could kill the apprentice because he was the apprentice. In my mind, the Jedi have weaker students compared to the Sith. I was wrong. Don’t make the same mistake.”
“Yes, my lord,” Dirae replied obediently. Maul kissed her forehead.
“Thank you. We’ll do it together.”
* * *
Obi-Wan stood before the same twin windows he and Qui-Gon had gazed out of and sighed heavily. As much as he liked Anakin he sensed the trouble welling within him. He firmly believed the masters words about him yet he also believed Qui-Gon’s. The boy was indeed the Chosen One and he would someday bring balance to the Force. Only..which side would be balanced? He feared the answer more than anything.
“Is something troubling you, young Obi-Wan?” a gentle voice sounded behind him. Obi-Wan turned to find the Zabrakian Jedi Master, Eeth Koth, smiling serenely are him. He nodded, knowing it was better than to try and hide his true thoughts from a Zabrakian. Especially this one. Eeth approached him slowly, his hands hidden inside of his sleeves.
“Hello Master Eeth,” Obi-Wan greeted formally and bowed. “What brings you from the council chambers?” Eeth smiled at him patiently.
“I was just walking around while the others prepared for dinner. Why are you out here, young one?” he asked, coming to a stop beside Obi-Wan.
“I’m wondering about what my master would always say about Anakin...do you think he’s the one?” Obi-Wan looked at the elder master intently. Eeth smiled slightly.
“Your master was always the impulsive one, Obi-Wan. He wanted very much to be the one to apprentice the Chosen One. As you recall, you yourself had a lot of trouble becoming his apprentice.”
“Yes, I remember well. But..do you think Anakin is the one?” he repeated. Eeth sighed heavily and gazed out of the twin windows.
“My feelings do not tell me otherwise. I can feel the anger inside of your padawan; it is dangerous. I trust you have been telling him to control his emotions better?”
“Yes, I have been. He is very, very eager. I admire that in him but he does not think before he acts. Just the other day he mentioned the Sith who had been following us for three years; he appears to be taken by her regardless of who she is. What should I do?” Obi-Wan’s face was etched in concern. Eeth laid a hand on his shoulder.
“You must tell him it’s dangerous to him to admire one such as she. You rarely ever spoke of those encounters; why did she follow you?”
“Apparently, she had been connected with the one who killed my master. I could feel her pain. But how could anyone feel anything for a monster like him? He served for the Dark Side, killed my master, and was a cruel creature. How could anyone feel something like love for one such as that? I just can’t believe it,” Obi-Wan protested, shaking his head. Eeth watched the young master carefully, reading his emotions.
“I understand your disbelief, Obi-Wan. But anyone can feel love for another regardless of what they serve. She simply had the power to change him. She was very saddened by his death, as you say, and in the nature of her kind, set out to kill the one who did it. It was a blood debt. If she still lives, I’m sure she still wishes you dead. You must be on your guard during these times. Anakin has told Master Yoda of his feelings,” he told him. Obi-Wan’s head jerked around in shock.
“What does Master Yoda think?” he asked quickly. Eeth inclined his horned head slightly as if weighing the consequences of telling Obi-Wan.
“He suggests you be careful. Master Windu has sensed something as well. Keep your padawan close by you, always. If she is here as Anakin believes, she might come for you both. These are dangerous times for the Jedi.”
Obi-Wan nodded slowly, absorbing the information. “Yes. Now that I think about it, I can feel her here too. Her presence is masked somehow. You don’t think...?” He looked at the Jedi Master fearfully.
“It is possible,” Eeth replied, reading his fears. Obi-Wan turned sharply and left the closed-in balcony. Eeth remained where he was, his eyes closed in deep thought. Qui-Gon’s own brashness had seeped into his apprentice’s mind and now it would affect young Skywalker.