Mother Talzin glared at the sky. She could sense that someone was near her planet, but she couldn't exactly tell who or how many. It had agitated her. She huffed as she looked around she couldn't help, but smile at a small group of Nightsisters yelling at some Nightbrothers shaming them for getting drunk at the feast last night. She looked around and watched some Nightbrothers cleaning up the remaining food. It was normal for a Nightsister to get a Nightbrother as a servant and fall in love with him, but it was every day were one of Talzin's sons found their mate. She couldn't help, but feel sad. She had lost all three of her sons to the Sith and the Dark Side of the Force. Now in having one son back, she hoped he could help her find her younger two sons. Maul had only seen them as infants only a few days before he was taken by Sidious. She than saw a ship lowering from the atmosphere.
"Count Dooku." She hissed and she called Fury over to her and told her to go warn her son of the unexpected visitor. She could sense more than Dooku on the ship though and it had angered her more.
Maul was the first of the two to wake in the new day. He purred as he watched Obi-wan sleep facing him. Maul certainly hoped he would get to have more nights like last night. Maul let a hand roam over the bare side of his mate. The morning had been chilly so Maul pulled the blanket up further on them. He knew if he was cold his mate was too. He laid there peacefully in the bed and just watched his mate breath slowly in his sleep until there was a loud banging on the door of his hut. He growled for having to leave the bed. He got out of the bed and quickly got his clothes on. Who ever was at their door didn't stop in their assault on the door.
"Who is it?" Maul growled and was surprised to see a slightly panicked Fury when he opened the door.
"Fury? What's wrong?" Maul asked his curiosity spiked.
"It's Dooku. I over heard him and Mother Talzin talking after she told me to come and warn you. Dooku is here looking for a rogue Jedi, he says he won't stop until he's found what he came for. He has droids blocking all of the ports to leave the planet." Fury quickly explained and the blood in Maul's drained.
"Grievous must on told Dooku and he's here to make sure Obi-wan isn't a threat." Maul thought out loud than he looked back into his hut to where Obi-wan was sleeping. Than he looked at Fury.
"By us as much time as you can Fury. I'll take him out near the Nightbrothers village to one of the old hunting camps in the forest." Maul said explaining his plan
"Be careful Maul, Dooku has droids scouting outside the village." Fury said than she quickly left.
Maul quickly had rushed in gathering Obi-wan's clothes. He shook his mate as he started to put his clothes on for him.
"Obi-wan wake up!" He snapped and Obi-wan groaned as he felt Maul put on his pants for him.
"What in the Force are you doing Maul? What's wrong?" Obi-wan asked sitting up.
"Dooku is here and he's looking for you." Maul said gathering his lightsaber and giving Obi-wan his.
"What! Dooku is here?!" Obi-wan was shocked to hear that he would be here so soon and he put his tunic on and placed his lightsaber on his belt. He put on his shoes slowly as the realization of reality had hit him. As soon as Obi-wan grabbed his robe to put it on, Maul had grabbed his arm and yanked him out of bed and out the front door.
"By the Force Maul! Slow down!" Obi-wan shouted as his lethargic legs stumbled and struggled to keep up with Maul. Obi-wan's body was quite caught up to being away as his mind was.
"We can't slow down! We have to get as far away from the village as possible. I won't let Dooku find you!" Maul said to him as they reached the edge of the village and Maul quickly stopped them.
"Why are we-" Obi-wan began to talk until Maul covered his mouth and they hid around the corner. Droids had marched by the building and the stopped and looked around. They had almost ran into the droids. Maul was in such a panic he forgot to survey the surrounding around.
Obi-wan could sense the fear in Maul and it had caused the fear to raise in him as well. Once they heard the droids start to move on, Maul took his hand from Obi-wan's mouth.
"If he's on Dathomir why don't we just Dathomir?" Obi-wan whispered scared if he speaks normally the droids would hear him and he quickly puts on his robe.
"Fury heard Dooku say he had droids at every port on Dathomir, I would say he's bluffing, but I'm not going to risk the chance of you being killed Obi-wan." Maul whispered back to him looking around the corners of the buildings to see that the droids were out of sight. He grabbed Obi-wan arm again and continued running.
"So if we're not leaving Dathomir than where are we going?" Obi-wan asked Maul as they ran his body still not yet caught up from its sleeping state.
"An old Nightbrother hunting camp. It's been long abandoned after the Nightbrothers nearly killed all of its surrounding wildlife many years ago. It's far enough away from all the villages so no one should think to go there." Maul explained as they kept running. Obi-wan was going to ask him how far the camp was, but he bet Maul would just repeat far enough away from all the villages again.
Half of the day had passed and Obi-wan watched as Maul looked throughout the one hut they decided to hide out in. Obi-wan had told Maul that he was hungry and Maul had gone off to look to see if there was any kind of ration bar or anything to eat around, but he couldn't find anything. Maul would go out hunting to get some food, but leaving Obi-wan alone was not something he would risk. There was no kind of wildlife they saw on their entrance to the camp and that was a sigh that discourage any hunter to leave right away.
"I couldn't find anything to eat Obi-wan." Maul said sitting down in defeat. How did he not think to grab some kind of food or water from their hut before they left? Maul growled at himself for acting in such a rush.
"It's alright Maul, I'm sure Fury will be here at any moment to tell us that it's safe to go back to the village." Obi-wan said rubbing Maul's back. The day was supposed to be a happy and relaxed one and now they were hiding from Count Dooku who wanted Obi-wan dead no matter what happens. Obi-wan could feel the stress Maul was in even though Maul had been cloaking their presence in the camp. Obi-wan lifted Maul's face to look at him and he kissed Maul.
"Calm down, everything is going to alright." Obi-wan said looking straight into Maul's eyes.
"Don't think about how Dooku is here." Obi-wan shifted and sat on Maul's lap. "Don't think about all the bad stuff that could happen. Think about other things like how you have me alone, in the woods, in some old hunting camp, where absolutely no one knows where we are. Think about all the stuff that you dreamt of doing once you got me alone, and look at us Maul, we're alone now." Obi-wan said stringing his arm around Maul's neck and kissing him again. Obi-wan would give anything not to see Maul stressed out. Maul was never the person to over react about something unless it came down to something about Obi-wan.
Obi-wan smiled when he heard Maul laugh and shake his head at him. It almost took them out of the reality they were in were Obi-wan was being hunted. Maul had kissed Obi-wan as he snaked his arms around his mate's waist. They were roughly yanked back into reality when they heard people entering the camp.
Maul took Obi-wan off of his lap and he quickly went over by the hut door, grabbing his lightsaber of of his belt ready to attack the first thing that enters. But Maul was quickly lifted into the air gasping for air.
"Maul!" Obi-wan shouted and when went to go and help Maul until the hut door opened up to show Dooku.
"Ah, Kenobi, so this is where you've been hiding. I must say seducing my predecessor, did you really think you could pull yourself from us just by proclaiming that you are no longer a Jedi?" Dooku asked and before Obi-wan could act, droid shot a blaster at Obi-wan that stunned him.
"I am not here to kill you Kenobi, but my master has other plans for you." Dooku said to the stunned ex-Jedi. Than looks at Maul who was still struggling in the air.
"You let your barrier down for a second." Dooku shamed him than ignited his lightsaber than stab Maul in the gut with his lightsaber.
"You are so pathetic. Letting a Jedi become the only weakness that can kill you." Dooku dropped Maul and the Zabrak coughed up blood. Maul looked at Obi-wan as he held his stomach like if he didn't his organs would fall out. Dooku watched as Maul dragged himself closer to Obi-wan's body and as a droid kicked Maul away from Obi-wan. Obi-wan tried moving his body to protect Maul. He tried screaming out Maul's name, but nothing but tears came from Obi-wan.
"Obi-wan." Maul choked out looking at his mate before the droid kicked him again. Obi-wan could do nothing but cry and watch helplessly.
"That's enough. Get Kenobi and leave Maul here to die." Dooku ordered and the droid that was kicking Maul had picked Obi-wan up, putting the ex-Jedi over its shoulder. Maul growled as he stood up. He summoned his lightsaber to him. He ignited it and cut off one of the droids legs.
"Obi-wan is going nowhere." Maul snarled with blood seeping from a corner of his mouth. The droid fell and dropped Obi-wan.
"I can tell why our master took such pride in you Maul. It is sad that your life ends here." Dooku commented and struck Maul with Force Lighting. Maul growled as he stood still as he was being assisted by the Lighting. After so many times of being hit with it, his body became somewhat resistant to it. He was only able to take a few steps until the lighting hurt him. He didn't scream. He wouldn't give Dooku that pleasure in knowing what he did really hurt him.
Another droid walked in and picked up Obi-wan. With out another word or action Dooku and his droids left Dathomir with Obi-wan.
Fury was speeding through the woods on her speeder. She saw a ship leave Dathomir and it had set her into a panic. She couldn't tell who got onto the ship, but something told her that she had to get to the camp as quickly as possible. She was all beaten and bruised. Dooku and his droids had isolated and attacked the Nightsisters one on one trying to figure out where Obi-wan was. Fury understood that Obi-wan was his enemy, but Obi-wan announced that he was no longer a threat. What made Obi-wan so important to Dooku? Once she arrived at the camp it looked how it always looked. Abandoned.
"Maul?!" She called out looking for him. After a bit she heard him straining to shout out.
"Fury!" She heard his voice and ran into the hut. She saw Maul sitting against the wall clutching his wounded stomach. The color in his face looked drained and she could see the blood running from the corner of his mouth. Electricity sparked from him mechanical legs.
"Oh my god, Maul!" Fury ran over to him and kneeled next to him trying to search for anymore damage.
"He... took... Obi-wan." Maul said trying to stand up and hold onto consciousness. Fury stood up leaning him against her.
"We have to get you back to the village." Fury stated leading Maul out of the hut to her speeder, but the first step he took he fell. His legs were still stunned by the lighting.
"Come on brother we have to go." Fury said lifting him back up. Maul leaned badly on her he couldn't feel his legs at all. When they started Fury was basically dragging Maul to her speeder. It felt like forever to get him to and on her speeder. Once she got him on he was nodding in and out of consciousness.
"You have to stay awake Maul. Stay awake." She said and she turned on her speeder and quickly made their way back to the village.
End of Book 1.