Chapter 10

Revan:

Kimno lead us from room to room. The house was beautiful, though it did seem odd that he owned such a place even though he apparently didn't have a way to pay for it.

He brought us in through the kitchen. It was fairly modest for the size of the house. The plain brown-speckled walls matched the rustic flooring tiles perfectly. Other than a few photos on one of the appliances there didn't seem to be many decorative things here. The dining room was a little larger and a little more decorated than the kitchen. The doorway was marked at many different levels with a pencil, each dated and with Kimno's name beside them. Okay, so that's how he can live here. It's his parent's house…but where are they? There was a large dining table in the center of the room. It was slightly warped and had the injuries of everyday use imbedded into its surface. Kimno ushered us into the next room.

The beige carpet of the dining room seemed to melt into the luscious brick red carpet of the large living room. The walls were trimmed with a similar color from about waist height until it touched the floor, above that was a soft rose color. Three dark red sofas were centered around a good-sized fireplace. On its mantle were several pictures of a much younger Kimno as well as a few pictures of his family. He explained a few of them,"This was taken here…" or "This happened when I was…"

Mission yawned, She must be bored stiff with this… I glanced over to see much of the crew with the same look of boredom on their visages. Even Bastilla was having a hard time trying to feign true interest.

Kimno opened the door to one of the rooms that branched off of the living room. Inside there appeared to be dozens of bookcases. He began to explain, "This is the library. These books hold just about every known demon or other monster known to Earth. There's even a few books on rituals around here but we don't normally use them…hey! What are you doing?" I looked over to see Mission pulling on books trying to get them to trigger something.

"Come on, don't you have any cool hidden rooms or secret passages or something!! This is just too boring…" She stopped and looked at Kimno, arms crossed.

I laughed, "Mission, you've been watching too many mystery holovids."

"I have to agree with the Twi'lek for once. This is a pretty tame home for a warrior." Canderous chimed in.

Kimno replaced one of the books that had fallen to the floor, "Okay," he looked up at us, "You want to see where the fun really takes place? Follow me."

He led us back out into the living room and across to another door. As he opened the door, we could hear loud music pounding upwards from the room below. Kimno slowly stepped down the stairs, as though he was just as amazed as we were at the signs that someone was down there. From our spot on the stairs, we could see several places where there were weapons, everything from daggers to firearms, hung on the walls. Kimno peered around the wall that separated us from the main room; he smiled and turned back to us. "Okay Canderous, you want to see a true warrior?" He waved for us to follow him. As we stepped forward, I saw that the floor was covered with training mats. Several practice mannequins were scattered across the room, waiting. In the middle, apparently in a meditative stance was Kahelle. She stood, still not noticing us, or maybe she was choosing to ignore us, I couldn't really tell. The words started as she picked up her sai that she had laid in front of her.

Gentlemen, our faith is wounded

And yes, we are wounded too.

They've come out from the swamp,

But we, we stand on both legs.

With a blaze of speed she began to attack the mannequins one by one. Even with the absence of the Force, I could feel the rage and hatred that flowed through her as she pummeled down on the lifeless dummies. She fought like a creature from the depths of hell. Kimno grinned as she threw a high kick at the final dummy that was left standing, decapitating it. We stood against the wall watching, in shock…amazement…respect. Kimno began slowly clapping; Kahelle whirled around to face him.

"Nice move, Hell-Cat." He grabbed a short sword off of the wall and tossed it at her. It slid to a stop in front of her feet. "How about a real opponent?"

The music had stopped. Kahelle tossed her sai, impaling them in the headless mannequin's torso. As she knelt down to pick up the sword, Kimno leapt at her. She fell backwards, blocking the attack with the sword as she fell. Kahelle quickly deflected Kimno's sword to the side and rolled to her feet. He quickly recovered and began advancing on her. The clashing of their swords grew louder and quicker the longer the fight would go on. He would parry, she would block, she would flurry, and he'd duck out of the way, almost as though they knew what the other was going to do. Kahelle was tiring, quickly it seemed. She must not have quite gotten over her chase after Amanda. She made a jab at Kimno; he stepped aside and brought the hilt of his sword down hard on her hand. She cried out and dropped her sword. He took the advantage and swiftly kicked her in the stomach, knocking her down. As she propped herself up on her elbows, he stepped forward until he was standing straddling over her and placed the blade of the sword against her neck.

"You fall for that every time…" he used the blade to lift her chin.

A mischievous smirk ran across her face, "Maybe so, but I think you do it just so you can see me like this, helpless and lying underneath you."

Canderous laughed as Kimno's face began to flush. He looked over at us, giving Kahelle the split second she needed. With a quick swat to the sword, she had moved it away from her throat. She quickly kicked Kimno in the back, sending him flying over her head. He hit the pads with a thud as she stood, brushing herself off.

"Checkmate…looks like you lose this time…" she turned to face him, grinning.

Kimno groaned, "Yeah…just this once though, I'll kick your ass next time."

"Promises, promises. Anyways, I'm going to get a shower. See you in a few." She replaced the sword on the wall and began to walk by us.

"So, do you feel better now?" Kimno stood and brushed himself off.

"Not really, but I'll deal." Kahelle shot back over her shoulder as she continued up the stairs.

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Kahelle:

I tilted my head back, letting the hot water flow over my body, taking the dirt and sweat with it.

My hip was still a little tender from when Amanda had knocked me to the ground. Yep, that'll be a lovely bruise by morning.

I wasn't lying when I told Kimno I wasn't feeling better. There was still no doubt in my mind that I could have found a way to save Amanda. Maybe I could have moved a little faster, forced my way into her mind sooner, something, anything!

Nevertheless, I didn't, and now she was gone. I watched the water fall from my fingertips, the little droplets exploding as they hit the tiles.

I shuddered as I remembered how Amanda's face had been set when she realized what she had done over these years. It had been the old Amanda who had spoken to us then, innocent, bewildered, only moments before she decided to take her own life. She was remorseful. In the end, she had redeemed herself for the past, but still. Her blood wasn't the required payment for all the horrible things that had happened. His was. Gavin was in control of it all from the beginning.

I slid down until I was sitting, knees pulled up to my chest, allowing the water to pelt the top of my head.

I couldn't forgive myself for what had happened. If I had never gone to him in the first place, she wouldn't have been sucked into that world.

No, Kahelle. He wanted her from the beginning, you know that. In the end, you were only a side step for him. A fun little "distraction." I stared at the rivulets of water that were streaming down towards the drain. He wanted her for her powers. After all, what's a better asset then having a Huntress as your right hand?

My thoughts fell on how many times he had said he loved me as I stood to turn off the water.

I swear Gavin. No matter how this little scenario plays out, I WILL be the one to kill you.