My mind blanked out.
Without a thought for the consequences, I leapt straight out the window.
A roll, a rise into a fighting stance—my body ran through the drills hammered into it automatically, and instinct told me exactly where to aim to make sure the shot killed.
A shot, and one soldier dropped with his head blown open—his helmet hadn’t held.
The rest hadn’t even registered what was happening yet.
Another shot, another body crumpled.
Everything in me screamed danger!
A jump, a roll, another shot.
My mind coldly tallied twenty targets left.
Sidestep, squeeze the trigger.
Nineteen.
My senses warned me again—more trouble incoming.
I started to rise, but a sharp pain tore through my body.
Too late.
A blaster bolt punched through my right shoulder.
The pistol slipped from my numb fingers.
I saw the leader aim the muzzle of his weapon straight at my head.
A burning sensation on my forehead told me exactly where the killing shot would land.
Everything seemed to slow down, but not enough for me to dodge.
The black emptiness of that barrel stared back at me, waiting for one bright flash before the world went dark for good.
“Noooo!
He’s my son!
Spare him!
I’ll do anything, just let him go!”
I couldn’t see it, but I could feel it—confusion rolling off the figure in the cloak.
Then, fast, it curdled into something feral, something no longer human.
His voice, distorted by the mask, carried across the empty square.
Even through the distortion, you could hear the hysterical swings in his tone.
“You whore!
Everything I did to be with you, to pull you out of that filthy den!
And this is what I get for my trouble!”
The mask hit the ground.
A young face—almost handsome, if not for the massive scar cutting across half of it and down his throat.
A hole through his cheek gave his words a hissing, snake-like edge.
I remembered that old conversation, back when someone had tried to claim my mother for himself, and the Boss had nearly killed him for it.
“A weak mercenary wasn’t good enough for you.
Your filthy…
Boss”—he practically spat the word—”showed me exactly what I was worth.
Now I’m worth more than him.
Soon the entire criminal underworld of this planet is going to fall at my feet.
Then the whole system.
We could have lived like kings!”
His eyes gleamed with a mad, obsessive light.
His arms flew out in every direction, like the wings of some enormous bird of prey.
“Soon they’ll bring me his head on a platter.” He closed his eyes, almost dreamily.
“I’ll make a cup out of it, set it right next to my second most prized trophy—right after this one.”
His hand drew out a long, slender object.
A quiet, almost inaudible click, and the street lit up in blue.
A low hum followed every movement of his hand.
“The rumors weren’t lying—we really did kill a Jedi.
That’s when the truth opened up to me.
Nothing can stand against a well-placed explosion.
You just have to calculate it right…”
He brought his thumb to his mouth and started gnawing at it savagely, muttering something under his breath.
Then he flung his arms wide and screamed loud enough to fill the whole street.
“Yes, exactly!
The right math, the right timer, the right spot, the right reagents.
It’s an art form.
After I killed that unkillable thing, the truth hit me.
Nothing can stand against my genius.
And your Boss’s head is going to prove it all over again.”
He dropped to his knees, letting the blade fall from his hand.
He cradled my mother’s face with both hands, smiling.
“We’re going to be together now, right!?
Look how much I’ve done, I’m the best, aren’t I!?
You love me, don’t you!?
Remember how you used to brush my hair, back when we were together, all those soft words you’d whisper to me.
‘Malik, don’t worry, you’re good, it’s just circumstances.’ ‘Malik, you’re going to make it, you’re so wonderful.’ I remember every word.
I poured everything I had into you, and finally built my own organization.
But when I came for you, you turned me away.” He touched the scar.
“But that’s because of this, isn’t it, not because of you.
And this boy—he’s not really your son.
You just want to save him, right?”
I looked at my mother, and everything inside me clenched.
Please lie, please!
But her gaze was steadier than I’d ever seen it.
“He’s my son.
My flesh and blood.”
“Noooooo!”
Malik convulsed like a madman, his whole body shaking.
Then, abruptly, he sagged to the ground.
A low, hissing voice came from under his hood.
“You’re going to be with me.”
“No.”
Everything after that happened like it was underwater.
With a feral scream, Malik ignited the lightsaber and lunged at me.
I braced to roll sideways, but something blue flashed in front of me—it looked like Mama’s dress.
Then the blue blade swept through an arc right in front of my eyes, missing me by nothing.
A light rain started falling, the quiet hum of the lightsaber hissing against every drop that touched it.
The prisoners stared at the scene in disbelief and terror.
The soldiers in black armor stood impassive.
The man in the black cloak, blue lightsaber in hand, stared at what he’d just done.
And my mother’s body, lying in front of me, still warm.
I just had to shake her shoulder and she’d get up, right?
But the charred wound edges, the wide gash across her chest, left no room for that illusion.
I could feel that her life had already left her.
“No, I didn’t mean to, not her…”
What was he even saying?
It didn’t matter.
Why was everything so quiet?
I reached out and closed Mama’s eyes—she shouldn’t have to see what came next.
The light of her clear eyes wouldn’t hold back the Darkness anymore.
Rage tangled with pitch-black darkness and swallowed my mind whole.
The lightsaber tore itself from the killer’s hands and flew straight into mine.
A feral snarl tore out of me, from some hidden corner of my own being I hadn’t even known existed.
One step forward, and a soldier dropped dead, cut clean in half.
Another swing, and the body in the blue dress fell behind me.
A swing—the light in Mama’s kind eyes went dark.
A swing—the warmth of her hands vanished from my shoulders.
A swing—
“Seth, sweetheart, you’ll protect your mama, won’t you?”
The voice faded into the distance.
A swing—a kiss on my forehead washed away by the rain.
Somewhere in the back of my mind, I registered that six seconds had passed.
A body a second—not bad output.
Maybe I had a future as an executioner.
Laughter tore out of me, unnatural, horrible.
I was going to destroy every last one of these pathetic bugs who’d dared stand in my way.
That sense of danger warned me of shots incoming.
Slowly, I pulled the nearest soldier toward me and used him as a living shield.
No second chances for any of you, boys.
I squeezed—three muffled cracks sounded in unison, and the bodies slumped, no longer held up by the Force.
Ten left.
How unfair—for them, of course.
I could feel the fear radiating off them.
I switched off the saber.
“Well, boys.
Shall we dance?
You’ve got three seconds.”
They snapped their blasters up.
“One.”
Ten muzzle flashes lit up at once from every direction.
I bent every bolt skyward with a thought.
“You should aim better.
Two.”
Fear and despair had all but drowned out whatever was left of their minds.
“Time’s up.”
A burst forward, and my fist crumpled a helmet like cardboard.
Ugh.
Wouldn’t recommend taking that one off, if you’re squeamish.
Threat—behind me!
A jump.
The Force carried me, and I landed square on the shooter’s shoulders.
One synchronized twist of my hands, and the body dropped with a snapped neck.
I spotted two grenades on the dead man’s belt.
Thoughtful of him, thanks.
I closed a fist around each and armed them both.
Five seconds, more than enough.
A burst forward, cracking straight through a chest plate—too easy.
Here’s a little present, no need to give it back.
A spin—oh, and here’s the second one lined up to die—I slammed the other grenade straight into his helmet.
Leaping into the air, I watched two flowers of fire bloom below me.
Beautiful.
The music of death had never sounded so sweet.
I couldn’t be bothered dealing with the rest one at a time.
I gripped all six of the remaining soldiers with the Force and started choking them—slowly, no rush.
We had all the time in the world, my dears.
Wait.
Something’s wrong.
One, two…
twenty—WHERE’S THE LEADER!?
My fists clenched in helpless fury, and six more lives snapped out.
Up in the sky, a ship was shrinking into the distance, slipping further and further out of my reach.
“AAAAAAAAAAAA!”
A scream of pure fury tore out of me.
A wave of pain, grief, hatred, and fear rolled off my body, grinding everything in its path to dust.
Within three meters of me, absolutely nothing was left.
My strength gave out.
My knees buckled, gravity did the rest, and I hit the ground face-first.
Through my fading consciousness, I could see Mama lying a short distance away, her lips curved into the faintest smile, her face perfectly at peace.
“I’ll avenge you.”
A blood-red sun was rising over the horizon.
A crowd of people came running toward us—something about them felt familiar.
I didn’t want to think about it.
I was so tired…