Chapter 5

Another dead end. For the thousandth time, he wondered why his father had sent him on this fool's errand. In near darkness, he had explored more than half a dozen passages, supposedly searching for some crystal that awaited him, only to have to turn around and start over.

Had previous generations of Sith really wandered aimlessly through this labyrinth, the same as he?

Nelix shook his head. He doubted it. Tion had probably just sent him down here to die. He could almost picture it. His father warm and safe inside their star cruiser, grinning devilishly, as he celebrated the successful elimination of yet another disappointing successor.

Why hadn't the old man just finished the deed while they were trudging through that sandstorm?

"Probably because he didn't want to go to the trouble of cleaning my blood from his blade," answered Nelix, responding to his own unspoken question.

He despised being Sith. The hatred. The cruelty. The incessant need for more power. It was all so pointless. Why live if you could never be happy with what you had? To constantly have to try and acquire something you already possessed a thousand times over? If he managed to forestall his father's sword, yet again, he would do everything he could to outlive the old tyrant, so that he might forge a destiny, for himself and House Kyze. After all, between Lianna's great shipyards and his family's secret knowledge of Adega crystals, he had the resources to try and build something of true worth—a legacy later generations of his family could be proud of. He just needed to survive.

And right now, survival meant finding a new crystal for his sword.

But where?

The secret caverns of his family were supposed to be the richest source of Adega crystals in existence. The house archives described these tunnels as a veritable horde, where a Sith could not take a step without tripping over a gem of surpassing quality. Yet each time he stumbled, it was over a loose piece of pitted rock or another rippling lip of volcanic floor.

Where were all the crystals?

Nelix knew what he needed to do, and the thought frightened him.

Clearing his mind, Nelix began honing his focus. He needed to be careful, with what he was about to do. Even though he had yet to see a gem, from the moment he had passed through that narrow gap in the boulders outside, he could not help but be aware of the intense connection between the Force and these catacombs. In this place, if his focus faltered for even a second, and the Force's aura was malevolent, he could lose himself to the overwhelming influence of the surrounding ether.

Taking one last, steadying breath, Nelix extended his mind out into the surrounding rock. Rather than seeking for the crystals he was certain existed, he focused all of his attention on the nature of the Force, as it moved through him. To his relief, the whirling power that permeated the very air he breathed was benign. An untainted source of power, the Force cared not that he was here, or what his intentions might be. He was a gnat compared to whatever held the power's attention.

Confident it was safe to probe about, Nelix expanded his senses. He brought his mind into harmony with the rippling energy circulating through the vast network of tunnels. He flittered across the waves of power, following along as the Force sped deeper into the planet, intent on something far below. Until at last, the wave upon which his mind rode, erupted into a sea of stars, so intense, so dazzling that he could not comprehend just what he had found.

Overwhelmed by the beauty his mind had discovered, he let himself be swept up by the beauty of each individual star. One moment, he was examining a faint green dwarf, the next he was blinded by the white hot intensity of a blue giant. Then he was gazing into the depths of a small but haunting emerald, before being ripped apart by the kaleidoscopic hues of radiant sapphire.

On and on his mind sailed, jumping from one green spark to another blue flash. Occasionally, his gaze lingered, as a new color came alive before his eyes: yellow, perhaps orange, even one or two shades of violet.

He would have been content to spend the rest of his life searching every star in the sea, but a thundering crash and brief burst of wind snapped his mind back into his body.

"What was that?"

He froze in the darkness. Straining his ears for any sign of what had made such a noise. Was there something living down here? He shook his head. He had detected no lifeforms residing within the tunnels, nor had there ever been a mention of anyone or thing, living anywhere near this place in the archives.

Had a section of the caves collapsed?

Perhaps. Past Lords had made mention of routes that they once traveled, which later seemed to have vanished. One or two, had posited a theory that the Force itself opened and closed tunnels, based on the needs of each individual as he or she sought out their specific crystal. But no map had ever been kept to corroborate such outlandish claims, nor had any sane member of House Kyze ever given credence to such ludicrous theories.

Still, the area in which he stood had once been the site of a small, active volcano. It was reasonable to believe unstable areas of tunnel must exist. Maybe one such section had given way, while he was exploring the massive collection of crystals further below. Such a thing was certainly possible, and in all likelihood probable. He just hoped that if such a collapse had occurred that it had not sealed off any vital section of tunnel—such as a way down to the crystals or, just as importantly, his way back to the surface.

Silently he pleaded: "Please let one of the dead end paths be the one that got sealed."