The School of Fear Page 8

  Reymet if he'd seen him, but Reymet hadn't, either.

  Ferus had disappeared.

  Anakin could not believe it. Security had not been violated. No one

  had seen Ferus, not even Reymet. It was just like Gillam's disappearance.

  If Ferus hadn't shown up for class, it would have been reported. Soon the

  school would be involved. Security would tighten even further.

  He would have to contact Obi-Wan. The disappearance of a Jedi was a

  matter for the whole Council, not merely his Master.

  Still, Anakin hesitated. It was hard to be certain that Ferus had

  truly disappeared. What if he was chasing a lead and hadn't told Anakin?

  Anakin knew it would be out of character for Ferus not to fill him in, but

  Ferus might be teaching him a lesson after Anakin hadn't asked his opinion

  about going off with the squad.

  Yet if Anakin violated comm silence, he risked the whole school being

  put into lockdown. How would the secret squad be able to get out then?

  Marit found him in the library during his free mod period, still

  debating the issue in his mind.

  "We've moved up the mission," she whispered. "We're leaving now. We

  all signed out for leave. If you're coming, you'd better do it, too. I'll

  come with you. We made up a research trip to the library in Utare and got

  Professor Totem to sign a pass for us."

  Anakin hesitated.

  "Aren't you coming?" Marit asked. She frowned. "Did you change your

  mind? I know the mission sounds dangerous."

  Anakin felt the conflict inside him as though he was being physically

  torn apart. He knew his duty as a Jedi. He had to inform Obi-Wan about

  Ferus. But if his suspicions were correct and the answers were on leria,

  that meant he could find out answers about Ferus's disappearance as well.

  If he broke comm silence he could jeopardize everything. His only chance to

  find Ferus and possibly Gillam was to maintain his cover.

  "I didn't change my mind," Anakin said. "Let's go."

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Obi-Wan landed his starship on the main public landing platform in

  Utare. He completed his postflight check and activated the landing ramp. As

  he strode down it, he saw Siri waiting at the bottom. Her hands were on her

  hips and her blue eyes sparked fire.

  He guessed that she did not have good news.

  She spoke when he was still only halfway down the ramp. "How could you

  withhold this from me, Obi-Wan? Did you think you could solve it by

  yourself and I'd never have to know? Were you afraid of how I'd react?" She

  put one booted foot on the ramp as though she were ready to charge at him.

  "Well, you were right to be afraid!"

  "Nice to see you, too, Siri," Obi-Wan said, coming up to her. He had

  been friends with Siri for over ten years now, and she could still nettle

  him like no one else. He wondered what minor infraction he was guilty of.

  "Now, do you mind filling me in on what you're talking about?"

  "Ferus is missing!" she exclaimed. "Don't tell me you didn't know."

  Obi-Wan's mild amusement faded immediately. "No, I didn't."

  "Didn't Anakin contact you?"

  "Our next scheduled communication isn't until tonight, and I received

  no emergency signal. Are you sure about this?"

  "Ferus contacted me via the emergency channel. I was on a mission and

  couldn't answer for an hour. When I tried to reach him, he didn't answer."

  "He never sent me a signal," Obi-Wan said.

  "I think something happened before he could," Siri said. "His message

  was cut off. But he did say that Anakin was taking off on a mission with

  the secret squad. They're going to conduct an air strike on the Andaran

  security transport landing platform."

  Obi-Wan stopped short. "What?"

  "You didn't know?"

  "Of course not." Obi-Wan was staggered by this news. He couldn't

  absorb it. A Jedi was missing, and Anakin had not informed him? Anakin had

  agreed to take part in an air strike against a nonhostile planet? It seemed

  inconceivable.

  "I don't understand," he said. "Was Anakin captured, or forced to

  leave with the squad?"

  "No," Siri said. "It was his own free will. Ferus was clear about

  that. He sounded worried about Anakin."

  Ferus was often worried about Anakin, Obi-Wan thought. He had noted

  that already. Ferus was concerned that Anakin would let down the Order in

  some way.

  And so he had. Obi-Wan felt the betrayal like a hard blow to his

  stomach. He had trouble getting air. He struggled with his own emotions,

  surprised at the depth of them. He felt betrayed, he realized. Why hadn't

  Anakin trusted him?

  He swallowed. "Did Ferus know where Anakin was headed?"

  "To leria. That's all. And it's a big planet."

  He wished Siri would look away. Her eyes had not left his face. Her

  gaze scorched him.

  He had promised to watch over Ferus like his own Padawan. He had

  failed.

  He had lost both Padawans. It was unthinkable. Yet here he was.

  He did not know what to do. Whatever step he took could be the wrong

  one. And if he took the wrong one, he could lose one of them. Or both.

  Obi-Wan's thoughts whirled crazily. He could not focus.

  "Let's decide how to proceed," Siri said crisply.

  That was the way of the Jedi. Accept the mistake and move on. But Obi-

  Wan's mind was a blank.

  "We need to get into the school," Siri said. "Ferus is still there. I

  feel it."

  The confusion cleared, and Obi-Wan remembered why he had come to

  Andara.

  "I think Gillam is there, too," he said. "But without Anakin and Ferus

  to help us, we can't infiltrate the campus without being detected. We can't

  come as Jedi. We can't take the chance that someone will be watching. We

  must appear as though we belong there."

  "But how?" Siri asked. "Security there is incredibly tight. And we

  don't look like students."

  "I have an idea," Obi-Wan said.

  Siri gave him a searching look. "I can tell I'm not going to like it."

  "You're going to hate it," Obi-Wan said.

  "Your excellencies," the president of the school said graciously. "How

  kind of you to consider the Leadership School for your son."

  Obi-Wan and Siri walked into the inner office. It had taken only

  minutes to contact Tyro for some fast false text docs.

  "Thank you for seeing us on such short notice," Obi-Wan said.

  "The king and queen of Cortella are always welcome," the president

  said. "Now, how old is your son?" "Thirteen," Obi-Wan said.

  "Eleven," Siri said at the same time.

  They looked at each other.

  "Two sons," Obi-Wan said quickly. "We have two. One for each of us,"

  he added heartily.

  "I see. And you wish to enroll both?"

  "No," Siri said.

  "Yes," Obi-Wan said at the same time.

  "Remember, we talked about this, uh, dear?" Siri said, her eyes

  flashing a warning at Obi-Wan.

  Obi-Wan tried not to smile. He couldn't help enjoying how much Siri

  was hating this.

  "Of course. But you agreed with me, as you always do," he said.

  Siri's gaze flashed sparks at Obi-Wan, but the president
could not

  see. Siri inclined her head haughtily. She hadn't done much to change her

  appearance, merely slicked back her hair more severely, but she looked

  suddenly regal to Obi-Wan.

  "Nevertheless, it remains to be seen whether the princes will both

  attend," she said in a distant tone. "We must be assured, of course, that

  the school is up to the highest standard."

  "It must be suitable for our royal regal sons," Obi-Wan said. Siri

  shot him a look that said, Let me handle this.

  "Of course," the president said nervously. "Shall we get started on

  our tour?"

  Obi-Wan and Siri stood. "We would prefer to tour on our own," Obi-Wan

  said.

  "We feel we will absorb the spirit of the place in that manner," Siri

  said. She indicated their traveler's tunics. "We dressed this way precisely

  so that we would not be conspicuous. We will not disturb your students."

  "Uh, ah... this is not exactly customary..." the president stammered.

  "Nevertheless, it is our wish," Obi-Wan said in a tone that implied

  that he was not used to being overruled.

  "If there is a problem, we will go elsewhere," Siri said. "There is an

  excellent school on Alderaan - "

  "No, no, no problem," the president said. He waved a hand. "You are

  free to explore. I will alert security that you are not to be disturbed."

  Siri tilted her head again. Obi-Wan nodded. They swept out the door.

  "If you ever get tired of being a Jedi, you'd make an amazing queen,"

  Obi-Wan told Siri as soon as the door had slid shut behind them.

  "And you'd make a terrible king," she said. "Royal regal sons?"

  "I was trying to sound pompous," Obi-Wan said.

  "Do you really think you need to try?" Siri asked. Her clear blue eyes

  held a mischievous glint. In the middle of any crisis, Siri was always able

  to joke. It never failed to take him by surprise. Now he realized with a

  sense of relief that her teasing was designed to tell him that she did not

  hold him responsible for the disappearance of Ferus. He was grateful to his

  old friend. He knew her so well. She would not speak of her feelings, but

  she would always manage to let him know what they were.

  "Did you notice that the president seemed nervous?" Obi-Wan asked.

  "And it wasn't just because he was meeting with a king and queen. The

  school must know Ferus is missing."

  "And they want to keep it quiet," Siri said, nodding. "That's why they

  haven't put the school in lockdown. If it's discovered that there are two

  missing students, they could lose students... and revenue."

  "Exactly. But the school must be looking for Ferus, too. They'll

  search the obvious places."

  "So we have to get to the un-obvious ones," Siri said. "Where should

  we start?"

  "I think we should try to find Reymet Autem," Obi-Wan said. "Ferus

  said several times that Reymet hinted at knowing something about Gillam's

  disappearance. And he also said he knew how to get around security. Ferus

  never found out if he really did, but..."

  "He's our only lead," Siri finished.

  They started down the halls. Most of the students were in class. The

  president must have alerted security, for they were waved through all

  checkpoints.

  But with the halls empty, they would have no luck finding Reymet.

  "We're not getting anywhere," Siri said, frustrated. "Maybe we need to go

  to registration. We can think of something in order to gain access to the

  class schedules - "

  "I don't think that's necessary," Obi-Wan said. "You're forgetting the

  best thing about classes." "What's that?"

  A soft beeping signal came over the hidden speakers.

  "They end," Obi-Wan said.

  Just then a voice was broadcast, speaking in a quiet but insistent

  tone. "End of mod six class. Five minutes to mod seven. Five minutes."

  Suddenly the doors hissed open and students spilled out into the hall.

  Obi-Wan and Siri were pushed against the walls as students ran, jostled,

  tossed data-pads at one another playfully, or wolfed down a quick snack as

  they walked. Yet both Jedi could feel the effort and bravado in the calls

  and laughter. These students were afraid.

  Obi-Wan hailed a student who appeared to be about Anakin and Ferus's

  age. "Excuse me. Do you know Reymet Autem?"

  The tall Phlog nodded. "He's in my Current Galactic Political Trends

  class."

  "Can you find him for us?" Siri asked.

  "Not a problem. He's right there." The Phlog pointed to a boy across

  the hall who was tossing a small data-pad from one hand to the other as he

  walked.

  "Thanks." It was a lucky break. Obi-Wan and Siri headed toward Reymet.

  "Are you a friend of Ferus Olin?" Siri asked him.

  Reymet nodded proudly. "We're best friends." He eyed them carefully.

  "Hey, are you his parents? You look like you could be."

  "Yes, we're his parents," Siri said. "Have you seen him this

  afternoon?"

  "No, and that's weird, because he's in three of my classes," Reymet

  said. "Is he sick?"

  "No, Reymet," Obi-Wan said. "That's why we came to you. We think Ferus

  is missing. We think it has something to do with what happened to Gillam

  Tarturi."

  "Will you help us?" Siri asked. "Ferus told us that you know secret

  things about the school."

  "I know some things," Reymet said cautiously.

  "We promise we won't tell the school officials anything you show us,"

  Siri said.

  Reymet still hesitated. "Unless you don't tell us anything, and then

  we'd be forced to go to the school officials," Obi-Wan pointed out.

  "Whoa," Reymet said. "In that case, I'd be happy to tell you

  everything I know."

  Obi-Wan noted that he sounded relieved. Maybe Reymet had a secret that

  had been a burden to keep, and that was why he kept hinting to Ferus that

  he knew something. "Follow me."

  The halls were emptying of students as Reymet quickly led them down to

  the ground level of the school.

  "Class beginning. Mod seven." The soft voice floated out from the

  speakers. "Mod seven. Class beginning."

  The hallway was empty. "Hurry," Reymet hissed. "I only have a few

  minutes before I have to check in to my next class."

  He ducked into a storage closet, and Obi-Wan and Siri quickly

  followed. They crowded in next to him.

  "Couldn't you find a bigger place for us to hide?" Obi-Wan asked as he

  bumped into a durasteel toolbox.

  "If you could just squeeze together, I can..." Reymet began to wiggle

  past them, then ducked down below them. "... okay, just a second... move

  your foot... no, the other way... thanks..."

  Reymet unscrewed a panel from the wall. A large utility shaft opened

  up.

  "In there," he said.

  "What's in there?" Obi-Wan asked, peering in.

  "When they renovated, they just built around all the old electrical

  and water systems," Reymet explained. "It was cheaper than ripping them

  out. There's a whole network of utility pipes still in place. They lead to

  the old system rooms."

  "Did you show Ferus this?" Siri asked.

  Reymet nodded.
"We were going to explore it together, during free

  time. I didn't know he was missing. I would have looked for him - "

  "Do you think he's with Gillam?" Obi-Wan asked. He kept his gaze on

  Reymet.

  Whatever reserve the young boy had crumbled. "I don't know," he said.

  "I think Gillam is still here, though. I saw him the night he disappeared.

  He knew about the old utility pipes, too."

  "Do you think Gillam is hiding?" Siri asked.

  Reymet nodded. "I don't blame him. With a father like that, I'd hide,

  too. That's why I wouldn't tell on him." He looked uneasily at them. "But

  now I'm not so sure. I can see Gillam hiding, but I can't see Ferus doing

  that. He isn't mean like Gillam."

  "Gillam is mean?" Obi-Wan asked.

  "Maybe I shouldn't have said that," Reymet said. "He's not mean, I

  guess. He's just... not nice." He shifted from one foot to the other