The Courtship of Princess Leia: Star Wars Legends (Star Wars - Legends) by Dave Wolverton

Author:Dave Wolverton [Wolverton, Dave]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Random House Worlds
Published: 2011-06-28T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 16

That evening, flames flickered in the cooking fire and juice sizzled and popped over the coals as men carved the beast and heaped it on earthenware platters with tubers, nuts, and uncooked shoots. Han sat on leather cushions on the floor with Chewbacca, Leia, and Threepio in the fortress of the Singing Mountain clan. Han found that his weariness, the coming dark, and a full stomach made it hard to keep his eyes open. Yet Chewie fed hungrily, bandages wrapped over his ribs. The Wookiee’s marvelous regenerative powers let him heal more in a day than a human would in two weeks.

Outside, through the open portals, Han could see fierce storm clouds in the distance, flashing lightning. The stars here burned fiercely above the tree-covered mountains.

Around him, the witches laughed and taught their daughters spells in the shadows. The young girls wore shirts and pants of simple hides, not the elaborate costumes of the fully trained witches. Yet the witches seemed more casual, more cozy around their children. They removed their headdresses and let their hair down. Without their full attire, they weren’t so intimidating, and reminded Han only of rugged peasants.

The witches’ husbands worked silently, dressed in tunics of woven plant fibers, serving meals to the women so quietly that Han almost felt as if they must be communicating telepathically.

Augwynne sat nearby so that she could speak softly to Han and Leia. She noticed how Han frequently eyed the distant storm. “Do not worry yourself,” she said. “That is only Gethzerion, thrashing in impotent fury. But she is too far away. There will be no Force storm tonight.”

“Gethzerion is making that lightning?” Threepio asked, his eyes suddenly bright. “Why, I wonder how much power output she can produce.”

Augwynne looked at the distant clouds, unconcerned, and a brilliant branch of orange lightning with many tongues arced up into the sky, as if expressly for her to see. “Oh, she’s very powerful, and very angry. But for tonight, she will not come. She’s gathering the sisters of her clan and won’t move against us until they are all safely together.

“So,” she said, as if to change the subject, “this deed to Dathomir that you own. Is it really worth anything?”

Leia said, “It will be when the New Republic wins back this sector.”

“And how soon will that be?” Augwynne asked.

“That’s hard to say,” Han answered, nervously eyeing the sky. “It could be three months, it could be three decades. But it’s a pretty sure thing. Zsinj is a great warrior, but he’s not a good governor. The more we whittle away at his fleets, the faster his worlds will slip from his grasp. As soon as his commanders see him falter, they’ll be at his throat.”

Chewbacca roared a confident agreement.

“Chewie believes Zsinj will fall within a year,” Threepio said. “But my programs indicate that at the current rate, he could hold on to his power for considerably longer than that. I estimate that he’ll fall in fourteen point three years.”

“I think Chewie’s guess is closer,” Han said.

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