*****And yes, another eternity has passed since updating. How can days fly past so quickly? (sighs)

Anyway, this is a really short chap. Right now, I'm trying to get back into the story, so hopefully I'll have another update before the apocalypse. Wishful thinking I know, but enjoy!*****

"What do you mean by 'missing?'" Falnor demanded coldly.

Thak blanched and looked down at his feet. A cold sweat broke out over his forehead as he thought about what the angry lord would do to him. At the moment he wished he was anywhere else in the galaxy rather than standing in front of the self-acclaimed sith lord.

"I looked everywhere," Thak mumbled to his feet with much fascination. "She's nowhere to be found."

"I see." Thak didn't dare look up at the deceptively mild tone. "She couldn't have just disappeared."

"There was no evidence she was even admitted to the hospital!" Thak blurted. "There were no records, and the only person to recall even seeing Sha'lee there in the first place was her mother! I don't trust that woman."

A glance of fleeting amusement crossed Falnor's face. "But her mother, Ria, is our greatest supporter at the moment."

Thak's eyes widened as he made the connection. "But—"

"But nothing," Falnor snapped. "Soon, Thelan will be king and this world will be mine. These unanticipated events are only a minor setback. Nothing will stop us now. Not even the jedi themselves."

"I have to go back," Sha'lee ground out in frustration. It had taken her days tog et her strength back, but now she was filled to the point of bursting with restless energy. "We need to sort this mess out. I have ways of getting information, but I can't do it here. Besides, I need to find out what happened to Tennli."

Eaglejade and Ra'yah, who had been patiently waiting out Sha'lee's ranting, suddenly sobered. They exchanged a solemn glance. Silence roared through the room thickly coating everything with a layer of tension. It was Ra'yah who spoke first.

"Sha'lee, I'm sorry. Tennli's dead."

Sha'lee blinked in surprise, the mournful words skimming across the surface of her mind, but never actually penetrating. "I'm sorry," Sha'lee commented mildly in a steady voice. "I thought I heard you say that Tennli was dead."

Eaglejade strode over to where Sha'lee stood, body quivering. Gently, he laid a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry," he murmured softly. "There was nothing anyone could do."

A baffled look crossed Sha'lee's face. "But I thought you were a healer," she told Ra'yah with an imploring look as comprehension began to seep into her expression.

"His soul had already left his body. There was nothing left to heal," Ra'yah replied in a choked whisper. "I couldn't do anything to help him."

"No," Sha'lee groaned. Her black eyes glistened with unshed tears as she violently shook her head. "No," she repeated, louder this time. The furniture in the room began to tremble like leaves in the wind.

A look of alarm crossed Ra'yah's face as full understanding slammed into Sha'lee's consciousness. A bitter cold wind screamed through the room, scattering sheets of flimsiplast and knocking over chairs. Ra'yah had to struggle for each breath as she wrapped layers of shields around Eaglejade, Sha'lee, and herself. Eaglejade dropped to the ground covering his head with his arms.

"NO!" Sha'lee screamed as the windows shattered and the world went dark.

Falnor's eyes snapped open. Slowly, he regained his mental bearing, thoughts reeling from the psychic backlash. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes again and tasted the fluctuations in the force. He sensed raw energy unlike any he had ever felt before, but there was something else as well…

Fear. Desperation. Despair.

A satisfied smile crept across his lips. The girl was alive and well, after all. Now was time for him to set his plans into motion.

*****A yes, the evil plan. No villain is without his evil plan. Although if you're one of my friends at the lunch table you obviously have an evil plan—or at least a plan to take over the world. I know, all in a day's work.*****