Chapter 32
Jake
I stalked through the palace corridors, searching for the missing princess. The human part of me cooperated with the tiger mind to track Amni'bel's scent from memory. It was something a normal tiger could never have done, which reinforced my belief that the abductor would be taken by surprise when I found them.
Two royal children, clad in the tell-tale metal head ornaments most of Amni'bel's blood relatives wore, chased me and tried to pet me. Distractedly, I said, (C'mon, kids, go play. I've got work to do.) When they ignored me, used to getting what they wanted and intent on playing with the strange, soft Earth creature, I turned and gave them a fierce snarl. They scampered away with a quickness that would have brought a smile to my face, had I been human.
Amni'bel's scent became stronger, telling me she was behind what appeared to be a wall crafted of solid obsidian. As I stared at it, trying to fathom how something like this could possibly be passed through, it clicked in my mind. The Taruffs were not a devious race of people. Secret passages would be simple to figure out for the much more wily mind of a human. The only thing that was odd about this part of the hallway was the beautiful statue of some long dead Taruff prince, fully clad in battle gear. Such statues were not uncommon in the palace, but they were usually placed by doorways or other portals. I mentally smiled and nudged the glittering sword out of its outstretched hand.
The sword fell out, and the smooth rock wall slid silently up into the ceiling. As I passed beneath it, I realized the wall/secret door was several feet thick. It was an engineering marvel to have it move so quietly into the recessed cavity above it. There was a medium-sized passageway dimly lit by flickering torches, and as I moved into the passage, the door slid shut behind me.
Such a feebly lit corridor would have posed a problem for most people, Taruffs and humans included, but my tiger eyes dealt with the darkness well. I saw to the end of the corridor, where an iron gate blocked most of the room at the back. I glided up to the gate as silent as an apparition and nosed the gate open as silently as I could…
…which turned out to be not very quietly at all. The ill-maintained, rusty gate shreiked as it opened, and I knew the element of surprise had been lost. I barged into the large room, ready for a fight, and saw Amni'bel. As soon as I registered her in the room, I sensed a presense in the far corner. Even my cat eyes couldn't penetrate the complete darkness the second figure was hidden in.
Amni'bel's eyes glowed faintly as they settled on my form. "Prince Jake!" she whispered hurriedly. "Come, get me out of here! The Andalite is still here!" I moved forward to comply with her request as the second figure stepped out of the shadows of the far corner.
"No, Prince Jake!" the second Amni'bel cried. "That foul creature stole my form! It is Teneel in disguise, pretending to be me!"
The first Amni'bel spoke acidly. "Stole my form, the way you stole Princess Jamei's form and tricked us all? May you rot in all the hells of Tar'noll, Teneel."
I stood there with my mind on fire. How could I be expected to keep dealing with impossible situations like this? I was pretty much a stranger to the Taruffs – how could I possibly figure out which Amni'bel was the real one and which was an imposter?
The second Amni'bel ignored the first and looked directly at me. "Prince Jake, I beg you. Please understand that it is I, Amni'bel. There is no time to waste – my people need me!"
The first opened her mouth to retort, and I silenced her. (Shut up!) I cried. (Both of you! Amni'bel…whichever one you are…I'm sorry about this. I really am. I can't tell who is who, so you'll have to serve yourself in this instance. Teneel is used to fighting with her tail, but you've killed hundreds of enemies in combat in your own form. Fight it out – whoever wins, I'll believe is the real Amni'bel.)
The first Amni'bel stuttered and grew angry. "Prince Jake, there is no time for this! I can't honestly be expected to waste lives while we fight a pointless battle that will prove nothing!"
The second canted her head and her eyes glowed fiercely in the dim light. "Perhaps you've just made your mistake. Prince Jake knows I would never back down from a challenge, so he would be inclined to believe me over you. It matters not, in any case…I will kill you and then go serve my tribe in battle," she said, drawing her sword from her belt.
The first Amni'bel also drew her sword, but with less enthusiasm. "Prince Jake, there really is no time for this. See how bloodthirsty she is? See how she's more willing to destroy me that she is to help her own people? You must understand that this cannot take place. I cannot allow this!"
(She's right,) I said to the first form, nodding my head at the second in a very un-tigerlike way. (You try to appeal to my natural aversion to bloodshed by calling her bloodthirsty, and in that, you messed up. Of course Amni'bel is bloodthirsty – she would not be the leader of her tribe unless she was. That was your mistake – you acted out of character to try and persuede me in a way you knew the real Amni'bel couldn't. You forget – I've dealt with real bad guys. Visser Three is at the top of that list, and compared to him, you're just mildly disagreeable.)
(Have it your way, human!) Teneel bellowed in thought-speak. Quickly she began to change, her stalk eyes growing rapidly as her hindquarters expanded behind her. (I'll kill you – and her – myself!)
(And that was your second mistake – not being able to hang on to the charade long enough to give yourself time to be able to fight,) I yelled, leaping at the half Taruff, half Andalite. She swung her tail, but the blade wasn't formed yet, so it did little to affect my attack. She realized that at the same time I did, and she tried to swing the sword still in her hand at me. Her die-cast Taruff muscles had already withered, however, and her weak Andalite arms weren't up to the task of putting the kind of force behind the sword she needed. The sharp blade cut my flank, but did little to really damage me. I regrouped and prepared to take her down –
-and Amni'bel, the real Amni'bel, cut in front of me as she attacked. Her blade sang, and three quick cuts later, Teneel-Protolas-Hedreish was not able to offer any more threats. "I am sorry, Prince Jake," Amni'bel said as she sheathed the sword. "She sullied my honor, your honor, and the honor of my entire tribe. I could not stand by and do nothing."
Again, I mentally smiled. (It's okay, Princess. You're safe, she's dead. That's all that matters. We've got to keep you that way, too – if anything happens to you, Crayak wins.)
She looked as if she wanted to argue, but bowed her head in submission. "I will obey," she said.
(NO!) a huge voice filled my head. (IT WILL NOT END LIKE THIS!) The dead Andalite's sword rose up into the air, as if an invisible being had snatched it up in anger, and with a speed I could not hope to content with, the sword plunged deep into my chest.
A/N – The end is nigh, folks. Within the next few chapters, you'll have your resolution. I'm excited, and to top it off, I've got hours on end to do nothing but finish this fic. My two exams today are behind me, and I don't have class until 2:30 tomorrow. I'm really thinking of finishing this up tonight! As much as I want to draw it out, I know it's not fair, and I want to finish it off while everything I want to do is still fresh in my mind. So be on the lookout and check for updates all night! Have hope, people. Have hope. Peace. Out.