Chapter Forty-Three: Prophecy
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Oh, no, I've said too much
I haven't said enough
- "Losing My Religion" by R.E.M.
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"I don't understand."
Devnos flinched at the expression Sanar wore: lost and completely confused, like an animal that had just been betrayed and cornered by a beast it had thought safe. "Well, you weren't the only one who got visions," he told her, trying to sound blasé.
"Visions?" Her voice squeaked, and Devnos almost cried out as the sound drilled his ears.
"Yeah," he croaked. "Crazy, huh."
"But…but…I'm the seer!" she insisted childishly, and he blinked, bringing cool relief to his eyes, at her sudden mood swing. "You're the normal one. I'm special."
Oh, yes, he thought, the Strings definitely orchestrated her forgiveness earlier… Despite his exasperation, he was surprised to hear himself voice his opinion of her behaviour.
"I am not a brat!" she retorted. "You…you…non-vision-haver!"
Devnos rolled his eyes, but even that small movement seemed a strain. "Sorry to disappoint."
"They chose me," she whispered, and he realized that she had accepted his words as quickly as she had denied them. "They did. I was special. Wasn't I?"
"You're in your twenties, Brownie," he said, exasperated. "Could you stave off the tantrum until later?"
Sanar ducked behind the curtain of her hair, appearing abashed, then threw the brown locks out of her face vehemently. "I can't believe this."
"You already do," he countered, needling her.
She made a face at him. "Loser."
He'd missed this so kriffing much.
The galaxy isn't fair.
As if to accentuate the thought, he felt the Strings shriek in his mind, ordering him to hurry, and the undertow of the River dragged at his soul. For a second, the Force let him drown in that sensation – almost in death, but not quite – but then it released him.
He'd only get one warning, and then it would all be wrenched from his throat, against his will, and said in a way that he wouldn't tell it for the galaxy.
"Sanar," he began, but then a coughing fit hit him, until tears escaped his eyes. A hard, thin object was pressed against his lips, and he drank down the water Sanar had offered. "I don't have time to avoid it anymore." It was an apology and a warning, and Devnos wished he could believe it would make up for his message.
Nah, nah, the Strings crooned, more sympathetic now that they knew their messenger would talk. You bring good news. Hope. You bring her loved one.
If I ever find a representation of you, it won't survive two seconds, Devnos growled back.
Sanar's chin dropped in resignation. "Fine. So…my—your stories…are true."
"Yes."
"Give me proof. Has one of the stories come true yet?"
He chuckled. "You were present for one. "'Jane and Mek, Part One: Jane's Sacrifice'. Didn't you recognize your own role?"
Sanar's brow furrowed as she brought up her memories of the story. Because Jaina had already made the connection, Sanar understood more quickly than she might have otherwise. "Solo and her boyfriend – that's what it's about: how she turned him back." Sanar looked remarkably pale. "You knew that? How?"
"I told you."
"Visions," she snapped. "Yeah. I heard. But…that detailed, that early, and about someone you'd never met?" She shook her head. "The Strings barely told me anything – just warnings about us, or…sometimes…a little premonition about Daddy's— of course, I didn't know it then…
"How?"
Devnos borrowed more energy from the Force, and shrugged. "I never really worried…about that. It happened; that's all that matters."
"Why didn't I get them?"
"Some involved you, and if you had consciously known what would happen… The visions were what should happen; they weren't set in stone. If anything interfered, they could crash and burn." He paused, rubbing his eyes wearily.
"So, not only do I have no free will," Sanar snapped, "but now I'm expected to be a hero, too? Larifx."
He shuddered as black crept into his vision, but he took her hand, squeezing it gently. "Do you remember the Kavishka?"
"Duh," she sneered, rolling her eyes. "It was my favourite story; the Kavishka is the ultimate hero. Wait," she realized, her eyes brightening. "He's real, isn't he? Mujir – when? When does that happen?"
"You'll know," he sighed.
Eyes widening, she fought hope. "You mean…I'm part of that story?" She laughed freely. "Then I don't mind so much at all."
Stars, you should.
"Who is he? He's Na'Lein'yhpaon's saviour, right? Have I met him yet? Is he still on Na'Lein'yhpaon? No, wait, he's a stranger, right? So is he a friend of Solo's? Is that why I met up with her?"
"Can't tell you, yes, kind of, no, right, yes, sort of," he answered rapidly. Trying to smile but producing only a crooked mockery of a grin, Devnos added, "You'll never guess who it is."
"Who?" she pleaded, and he remembered that she had adored the Kavishka as well as the story.
Death clawed at his soul, trying to drag it into the River; Devnos couldn't find the strength to answer Sanar.
The truth is too twisted to be anything but real. "You'll find out soon enough." A thought struck him, and he dragged the words out into the open, putting as much urgency into them as he could. "Jane—Jaina…is going to ask you to do something, Brownie, and no matter how you feel about it, or…who it's about…you have to do it."
"Prophecy stuff?" she asked dryly, picking at nonexistent fluff on his blanket. She hesitated. "Is it…the Kavishka?"
Instead of answering her second question, he said, "Father was the first Kavishka, Brownie."
She blinked, then stared, bug-eyed.
"I only found out a few days ago, when the Force identified the to-be Kavishka. You'll understand the connection between Father and Mr. New later…but the important thing is, Father had the Sildar with him when he died, and the Sildar can't be alive without the Kavishka."
"'Alive'?"
He ignored Sanar's squeak. "Subsequently, the Sildar must be on the other side of the River."
"Great," she muttered, distracted from her previous question. "So, where do I fit into all of this? I am a part, right?" she demanded.
"Of course." You probably wouldn't have adored it so much if you weren't, he added cynically, in his thoughts. "You'll know when – " He gulped as Death stopped his heart, then he shuddered when the Strings pushed it back. "You'll know when you have to back to Na'Lein'yhpaon."
"What's my job?" she asked, surprisingly eager for someone who usually sneered at heroics.
"The Kavishka will need a…companion. He's a stranger; you need to help him however possible – guide him, introduce him to the right people…" Mostly, it was the truth; he was only lying by omission. "Read my notebooks – they'll…explain some more."
The word "more" had barely left his lips before the Grim Reaper snatched him, the Strings surrendering him freely now that Devnos had played his part. But Devnos clung. Just a second longer.
Soul screaming, screeching like nails against metal, trying to stay a bit longer even though the Strings had deemed his task complete, Devnos squeezed Sanar's hand tightly. "Don't—believe—the love story… Please, Brownie."
Then his heart stopped, his head lolled to the side, and his grip on Sanar's hand relaxed.
The messenger was dead.
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Sanar screamed until she broke her eardrums, until she thought the windows would break, until the nurses ran to see what had happened. The medics tried to reach her – probably to sedate her – and Sanar threw a tray at them. "Go away!" she shrieked. "Leave me alone!"
But they kept coming, and she pushed everything away, barely aware of her use of the Force. Her hair whipped about her face, making her close her eyes defensively, but still Devnos' face exploded before her, glued to her eyelids. She tried to scrub his image away with the heels of her hands, but it still wouldn't disappear.
Surprising her, Sanar felt something sharp pierce the skin of her upper arm. Flailing out, she hit the nurse and her sedative away, shuddering as the needle scraped along her arm. Smothering the wound with her hand, Sanar stumbled backwards, trying to remain upright as the drugs set in.
A mother's embrace caught her, steadying her. "Shhh…" a voice crooned.
Sanar fought for a moment, struggling to escape, but all paths led across Devnos'—his—bed, where he had—had——
"Hush." The mother's arms brought her down, holding her close, rocking her gently. "Let it out, dear. Just cry."
Until the drugs took over completely, Sanar sobbed in Leia Organa Solo's arms, and didn't care that it was weak.
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Jaina felt the break first, the pain of loss; it smothered her as she tried to stand. Zekk caught her, but she barely noticed; he tried to soothe her, but this was something he couldn't understand. Devnos had not been her brother, but he had. Jaina possessed all the memories, all the tangled up feelings, that Sanar nursed in her heart.
"I have to…" Her mumble trailed off, and she didn't even know if Zekk had heard her; she pulled away before he could react.
Her legs were jelly as she crossed – alternately walking, dragging, slumping – the ward, trying to find Devnos' room. Sanar, she thought. Sanar would…need her.
That was when the screams began. Jaina shuddered and fell against the wall as the wails shattered her ears, clawing their way down her throat and into her heart, keening in unison with the echo in her own soul. Her strength gave out, and she slid down the wall, wrapping her arms around her knees as she bawled.
Devnos reading her the story of the Kavishka.
Vaguely, Jaina was aware of Zekk approaching, but she couldn't stop rocking back and forth, sobbing, as she lost another brother.
Devnos holding her back, keeping her out of sight, when the soldiers came for Daddy.
She had never been able to grieve Jacen properly, and Anakin's death had been dealt with in denial; maybe her reaction to Devnos' death was mixed with those of her real brothers.
Devnos tucking her in at the Centre, telling her everything would be okay; he wouldn't let anything happen to her.
Zekk's hand hovered over her shoulder, and she knew he wanted to take her in and hold her until the hurt was gone. He wouldn't, though; he recognized this grief. On Bob she had wept for her twin; Zekk's comfort had never been accepted for that.
Devnos scribbling something down on a cloth napkin when inspiration struck, and winking at her when he saw her stare.
"Kriff it," she heard her boyfriend mutter, and then she was swept away into the haven of his embrace. The words he murmured into her ear never computed, but the sounds nonetheless soothed her. Still, she cried.
Mother would be furious when she saw his script all over her good napkins, but that was what happened when she took away his notebook.
Another brother gone. Jaina wanted to run to comfort Sanar, but her legs were too weak to carry her, and she knew she'd be useless.
Devnos throwing an arm around her shoulders, grinning freely. "You know what, Brownie? You aren't so bad."
"Make it stop," she begged, pulling back just enough to look into Zekk's eyes. Blurred with tears as her gaze was, she could still make out the electricity of his emerald eyes.
Devnos pushing the bully away. "Stay away from my sister!" Turning back to her. "Are you okay, brat?"
Zekk carried her back into Kip's room, then to the far corner. He didn't lie to her; there was nothing he could do –
Devnos mussing her hair. "Don't you know, kiddo? You're stuck with me."
"Just stay, then, please?"
Devnos, taking her hand, trying to hide his pain. "I'm so sorry, Brownie."
Zekk stayed.
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Please R&R :)
.Tjz