TPF Chapter 13

The Togruta is even stronger than Enthea realized. With incalculable speed and effortless grace, she parries blows from Enthea and Ryoke, then flips backward as a particularly aggressive wave of sand crashes into them both. She lands with a laugh, twirling her red lightsaber and pretending to brush dust from her black tunic.

Ryoke hesitates, her lightsaber in both hands.

“The Mandalorian had explosives,” she says tersely to Enthea, at her side. “I don’t know what she’s up to, but we have to stop her. Go. I’ll handle this.”

“Are you sure?” Enthea frets.

“No time to argue,” Ryoke tells her with a glare, then sweeps her saber in an arc to catch the blue lightning that the Togruta just threw at them. “Go now.”

“I’m not getting enough attention,” the Togruta says with a cackle. “Don’t ignore me!” She throws out a hand, and more lightning snaps forward, much more quickly this time. Enthea barely dodges in time.

Ryoke’s right; there isn’t time to argue.

Enthea takes off for the temple, seeing a figure vanish through the doorway at the top. She uses the **** to leap forward with great speed, then up the steps. She lands and rolls to her feet just in time to fling herself out of the way as blaster shots boom out from inside, and slugs blast bits of stone into powder where she was standing a moment ago.

Enthea leaps out and strikes with the ****. There’s an impact inside the temple, and someone crashes to the ground. Enthea hears the blaster skitter across the stones and rushes in, but Blu has already scrambled up and fled down a stairwell.

Enthea rushes after her, then stops, lightsaber held high and her free hand out and at the ready. She pauses, reaching out with her feelings and her senses. Footsteps clatter up eerily from below; Blu is hurrying. Enthea follows with a lighter step, hoping to regain the initiative.

There’s only one reason they can be bringing explosives to the temple: to destroy it. Why? That, Enthea doesn’t know. But it stands to reason that Blu wants to reach the lowest point to set the bombs.

But Blu might be making a mistake. She doesn’t know about the creature down there.

Enthea lets her lightsaber go out so its hum won’t give her away. She gathers her concentration and moves without a sound.

At the bottom of the stairs, she listens. There’s nothing but the quiet sloshing of the water. No beeping of detonators, no footsteps.

But it’s dark and she’s a Dathomirian. She’s better at seeing in the dark than a human, but her eyes don’t adjust as quickly. Enthea ventures out serenely, but her focus isn’t there. Her thoughts aren’t under control. She feels anxiety.

Something glints in the dark. Enthea dodges the blow, which was Blu attempting to strike her on the temple with the butt of a blaster. Enthea grabs her, but only then does she realize that grappling hand-to-hand with a Mandalorian is always a mistake. Before Blu can slam her to the ground, Enthea strikes out wildly with the ****, sending herself flying and Blu stumbling.

Enthea splashes into the water and so does Blu.

It’s not deep. Enthea stands up, shaking her head and wiping water out of her eyes. Blu does the same, and Enthea throws out a warning hand.

“Don’t move!” she warns. She has to stop Blu, but she doesn’t want to see her hurt.

Blu snorts, lifting her dripping blaster out of the water. She’s about to say something, but stops.

“What was that?” she says, looking down.

The tentacles erupt out of the water all around them.