Star Wars: Force Heretic III: Reunion by Sean Williams; Shane Dix

Author:Sean Williams; Shane Dix
Language: eng
Format: azw3, mobi
Tags: Star Wars fiction, General, Science fiction, Imaginary wars and battles, Life on other planets, Fiction
ISBN: 9780345428721
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Published: 2003-07-01T07:00:00+00:00

* * *

Tahiri trembled as she felt the shadow of Jaina, lost in the prison of her mind.

Let's kill her! Riina said, her voice full of eagerness. She's vulnerable in here, and we'll take her by surprise.

No, Tahiri said simply. No, we mustn't. I mustn't. To do so would not relieve me of my grief; it would compound it. To kill her would send me to the dark side. And that's what you'd like, isn't it, Riina? That's why you clouded my sight, so I couldn't see!

The Yuuzhan Vong girl seemed infinitely smaller than she had a moment earlier.

You spoke the truth when you said we could never be separated, but you feel that if I embrace the dark side then I will become a prisoner of these shadow lands, allowing you to become the dominant personality.

Riina said nothing in return.

Tahiri shook her head. I would sooner we both stay here forever than unleash you upon my world!

Riina snarled and tried to pull away, but Tahiri held tight. Their fingers were slick with blood, but her will was strong.

It's time, she said. I'm tired of being lost.

The ragged edges of their wound sought each other and sealed as though it had never existed. Tahiri gasped at the unsettling sensation, and heard Riina do the same. She watched with alarm as their entwined fingers melted into each other, as though their skin had wrapped around both hands, binding them together. Tahiri met Riina's eyes and recognized the horror she saw there. Then the two of them stared as the lumpy knot of flesh that was their combined hands began to spread along their arms.

Tahiri could see the bones moving beneath, testing their new environment.

Then the knot began to move up their forearms, drawing them closer together.

Riina continued to try to fight it, but Tahiri refused to relent-even though she shared the Yuuzhan Vong girl's fear and revulsion for what was happening to them.

There's still time to change your mind, Riina cried as she struggled. We don't have to do this!

You're wrong, Tahiri said. We do have to do this. It's the only way.

Despite her determination, though, the words didn't ease the dread tightening in her chest. While she felt sure that this was what needed to be done, she really didn't know what the result was going to be.

The knot reached their elbows, and Tahiri felt her hand sliding under the skin to Riina's shoulder. It felt as though an outside force were at work, pulling the mirror image of herself into a tight embrace.

Tahiri met Riina's wide-eyed stare again.

We must embrace, she told her Yuuzhan Vong counterpart. Our cultures, our beliefs, our knowledge.

Some of the fear ebbed from Riina's gaze, then. We must embrace, she concurred. Our emotions, our lives, our selves.

Tahiri took a deep breath as the knot of skin reached their heads and slowly pulled them together so that their noses were almost touching.

The good and the bad, Riina said, her lips brushing lightly against Tahiri's own.

The light and the dark, Tahiri said.

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