Chapter 65: Prey

When battles were not raging across its surface and the sandstorms calmed, Korriban was silent and still. It had been a world of graves since long before the Exiles had laid claim to both it and the primitive people that eeked out a living on its desolate surface.

In such silence, the pitter-patter of liquid dripping against stone felt like something strange and foreign. But spilling blood on Korriban was as natural as breathing to its inhabitants.

...

The cave we now found ourselves in was one of the many boltholes that I had established in the Valley of the Dark Lords over my nine-month tenure as an Acolyte. 

Most were little more than what they appeared to be as I simply did not have the ability or equipment to create more elaborate hideouts.

This one in particular was no different. It was little more than a hole in the wall where I had hidden several packs of non-perishable supplies in among a pile of loose stones, the entrance marked with a simple "X" to denote its location. 

Just a place where I could take shelter and rest…or use as a last-ditch effort to hide.

But now, it served as neither. It was merely the most convenient location due to proximity at the time of our hunt. After all, I didn't want to drag a Tu'kata corpse all the way back to the academy nor did I wish observers for what I was about to do.

It had taken longer than I would have liked to find a beast of the appropriate size, much less one separated from a pack…but find it we did. As lightsabers were not conducive to creating bleeding wounds, I had to borrow Gaarurra's blade when it came time to start.

With Gaarurra's strength and my alchemical knowledge, it was simple to subdue the monster without killing it. With the Force, I created a mutation within its spinal column that served to paralyze it from the neck down.

One of the creature's muscled limbs was removed from its body and the wound cauterized, the ragged stump used as an improvised brush as I was lacking one of that size. My smaller brushes were used for the finer work.

I knew that Gaarurra was disturbed by the macabre display. His loyalty to me was strong enough that he did not speak of his opinion on the matter, though I could clearly sense his emotions and discern his thoughts easily.

I did not enjoy what I was doing to the creature. In fact, I disliked cruelty for cruelty's sake on principle. Inflicting pain and fear must be for a purpose beyond one's own pleasure. Anything less, and there was no worthwhile justification.

The creature was afraid and that fear was a vital component of the ritual. Without it, the spell would either fail and do nothing…or fail and do something else.

For that reason alone, I tolerated this as a necessity and took some small consolation from the fact that it wasn't in any pain.

Once the runes were painted, three stone bowls were placed around the circle in an equidistant triangle. In the absence of finer materials or purpose made objects, the crudely carved things would serve as my braziers. 

There was no wood on Korriban save for that which was imported, so the fuel was oil soaked cloth.

Raising a hand, I shot out three bolts of lightning, igniting the oil and sparking the beginnings of a flame in each improvised brazier. Lighting fires inside of a cave was normally a poor decision, but there was a reason I was doing this.

The oil burned quickly, releasing thin clouds of black smoke. That was my cue to begin.

"Woyunoks hadzuska koshûjontû."

The first line of the spell left my lips with difficulty, as though my own body was rebelling against my actions. It was only through discipline and repeated practice that I kept myself from stumbling and mispronouncing the words.

The smoke still hanging in the air stilled for a moment before beginning to lazily swirl around the rough circle, growing darker and darker with each repetition as more smoke was produced and added to the cloud.

With each line of the spell I uttered, the more I felt the pull of something against my senses. The flames in the braziers flickered as the energy in them and my own power were drawn towards the center of the circle.

The sacrifice of blood and fear were but lures used to gain the target's attention. A mere sample, to whet their appetite.

Smoke began to swirl faster and faster until it resembled a small black tornado, drawing all the air in the cave into the center of the circle. Then, with a loud tearing sound and a scream, it appeared.

To say it had a body was inaccurate, but not entirely wrong. 

The hazy smoke had coalesced into a form that could be considered vaguely humanoid in that there were clearly identifiable arm and leg analogues with human-like proportions, though it was more of an outline of a humanoid than a solid being.

In sharp contrast to the pitch-black darkness of its body, a pair of blazing orange-red orbs served as its eyes.

As those fiery pits stared into my eyes, its body started to shift and change. At the same time, my heart began to beat faster and faster as my pupils dilated.

Before it could complete its transformation or Gaarurra could take a single step towards it, its wispy form was slammed down onto the floor hard enough to crack the stone beneath. Though it was obviously pained, it did not make a sound.

"I am not that easily cowed, creature." I informed it coldly as I lowered my hand, having used it to unleash a Force Slam, "I am here to bargain for your services, not become your meal. If you cannot restrain yourself, I will negotiate with another of your kind."

I allowed the blunt threat to hang in the air as it came to a decision.

I had been studying this spell off and on for nearly five months, ever since Thanaton had inadvertently made me aware of its existence. I had been well-prepared for this.

Though it had no face with which to make expressions, the creature had little difficulty expressing its sudden wariness of me as it slowly rose from its position on the floor. It was now well-aware that I had the knowledge to destroy it utterly and the power to back up my threat.

It had no mouth with which to speak, but its question filtered into my mind regardless. It was like a whisper carried on the wind, spoken as though from far away. It was impossible to tell if it was male or female.

'What is your wish of me?'

"I want you to hunt my enemies at my command. Kill them in whatever manner you see fit, so long as the deed is done and you leave no evidence of my involvement."

A simple enough arrangement. Kill who I wanted killed, but don't let me be implicated.

'And my prize?'

I gestured to the paralyzed Tu'kata.

If it had a face, I imagined it would have been drawn up in a snarl, 'The fear of an animal. Weak. Unfulfilling.'

"And yet, you answered the call regardless of how pathetic the offering was." I pointed out, "When was the last time someone summoned one of your kind? A thousand years? Two?"

The creature did not answer, but its wispy form became less cohesive and more frayed at the edges. I presumed that was its version of bristling with indignation.

"You have little choice if you wish to feed." I reminded the monster, "But I will not leave you to starve either. Serve me faithfully and you will have all the fear you can stomach. I assure you, I will have many enemies in the near future."

Practically a guarantee, given who my future Sith master was.

Its form stilled as it considered my words, giving no indication of what it was thinking one way or the other. After a few moments of silence, it replied, the tone of its mental voice grudging.

'Your offer is…acceptable, Sorcerer.'

"Excellent," I smiled, ignoring the twinge as my cybernetics pulled at the remaining tissue of my face. Stepping to one side, I gestured to the Tu'kata, "Now, I believe our conversation has interrupted your meal?"

Without a word, the creature breezed past me. The Tu'kata's eyes widened as its struggles increased. Whatever my newest servant was doing, it wasn't something either I or Gaarurra could see.

Its form disincorporated, transforming once more into a cloud of smoke and pouring itself into the beast's nose and mouth. 

The Tu'kata stilled before it began to convulse, now completely dead to the world. Slowly, flakes of skin began to fall from its body, glowing like embers before dissolving into nothingness. Layer by layer this continued, stripping flesh from muscle, then muscle from bone.

Finally, the skeleton was all that was left. Then it too collapsed into ashes.

The black cloud emerged from the remains, reforming itself into the vaguely humanoid form I had been bargaining with.

'Who is to be my prey this day?'

Plucking my datapad from my bag, I keyed up an image on the screen and showed it to the creature.

"Her name is Kalista. And I wish her dead by sunset tomorrow, with her heart in my hand."

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