Free The Crystal Star by Vonda McIntyre Page A

said.
    Hethrir shook his sleeve. Her tooth fell on the ground. Tigris would not let her go get it.
    Hethrir picked Anakin up. Jaina's little brother did not resist. He could not resist.
    "Please let him stay with us," Jaina said.
    "He's only three--" She stopped for a second. Anakin would say, "Three and a half!" But he said nothing.
    "We'll all be good if you let him stay with us," Jaina said desperately.
    Hethrir gazed down at her. Now she knew the kindly look in his eyes was all a lie, and so was everything
    else he had said.
    "If you're good," he said, "I might let you visit with your brother. In a few days. Or a week." He turned,
    his long white robe swirling at his heels, and carried Anakin into the darkness. The last thing Jaina saw of
    her little brother was his wide, scared eyes.
    Tigris pushed Jaina and Jacen along the hallway, then around a turn. The wet cold blanket of Hethrir's
    power still surrounded Jaina.
    "It's freezing," she whispered.
    "Nonsense, it's perfectly warm," Tigris said.
    Jaina felt hurt and embarrassed, scared and mad. Even when she was little, no one had ever treated her
    like this. She always tried to use her abilities properly. To be responsible. As soon as she had understood
    what the ^w meant, she had known it would be important in her life.
    She wished she had Mama to talk to. She was never, never, never allowed to use her abilities to hurt
    someone. But what about if she had to, what if it was to keep somebody from hurting her or Jacen, what
    if it was to defend her little brother?
    She was as responsible for Anakin as she was for the right use of what she could do.
    She was supposed to use the barrier for defense. But she already knew that would not work.
    Hethrir can stop the barrier, Jaina thought.
    He wouldn't do that, if he was really our hold-father. I don't believe he knows Papa and I don't believe
    he's friends with Mama.
    Finally she thought--the thought was like the sun coming up, here in this dark hallway--And I don't
    believe Mama and Papa and Uncle Luke are dead!
    This time she really believed it.
    She tried to catch Jacen's eye, to see if he knew Mama and Papa were alive.
    She turned her head to look at Jacen.
    Tigris put his hand on the side of her face--his hand was warm, and he was not mean, but his purpose
    was clear--and made her look forward again.
    "Here we walk straight and tall," he said.
    "With our eyes straight ahead, to see what we must face." "That's silly," Jaina said. "Then you miss a lot!"
    "And we do not contradict our elders," Tigris said.
    "What's "cctradict"'?" Jacen asked.
    "Don't be impertinent," Tigris said.
    "What's "impertinent"'?" Jaina asked.
    She did not know what either ^w meant, so if Tigris was trying to tell her that they meant the same thing,
    she still did not know what he meant.
    Now he acted as if he was angry, saying nothing and urging them faster into the dark.
    Jaina wondered if she could burrow her way through the wet heavy blanket. It followed her and stayed
    wrapped around her. It was invisible, and when she touched her own arm she could not feel anything
    surrounding her.
    But all the time, she felt like Hethrir had his cold hard hand on her shoulder. She kept trying to wriggle
    out of it, like Anakin wriggling out of her arms when she carried him. Trying to get free exhausted her.
    The corridor ended in a big square stone room. The room was dim, but at least it was not all dark like
    the corridor. Faint gray light glowed from the ceiling. The ceiling was very low compared to the ceilings
    Jaina was used to. If Tigris reached up, he would be able to touch it. Hethrir would hardly have to reach
    to touch it.
    The stone room had no walls, only wooden doors. Each door touched the door on each side of it. All the
    doors were closed. There were no windows. Jaina wondered if she could find her way outside,
    somehow, back the way they had come.
    Or I'll have to try every single door, she thought. There must be at least a hundred. Maybe