Read Star Wars: The Last of the Jedi, Volume 3 for Free Online Page B

away.
    They did not run away.
    Youth, age, the sick, the weak…they do not enter into the Sith’s calculations. They simply go after what they want.
    Don’t think of it. If you think of it now, it might break you.
    He walked slowly to the window. It felt as though he was kicking through ashes. The toys were still scattered about, the climbing apparatus the younglings had used, the practice lightsabers, the
lasertoys, all broken now.
    What kind of monster would be capable of this?
    Trever lurked behind a fallen column, keeping well out of sight as he spied out the window. “They’re closing down the landing platform,” he said. “Must be a security
measure.”
    Shaking off the dark memories in the room, Ferus joined him. While they’d been inside the Temple, dusk had fallen. Lights were blinking on all over the levels below them. “Look at
that officer, arguing. The code is yellow, not red. See the light at the side of the platform? So my guess is that they let him go.”
    The Force surged. It was a warning. Ferus was startled at its directness. Much of the time he felt he was groping for the Force through a fog. He realized that his Force connection was stronger
while he was here. Something in him still responded to this place, still gained strength from it.
    Malorum was close.
    He looked around the room. He had seconds. There had to be something here he could use. His mind was working fast. He needed something to distract the pilot below. All he needed was an
instant.
    He scooped up one of the youngling’s toys. It was used for Force practice. In the beginning, the lasertoy would fly in a straight line. As the child grew in expertise, he or she would use
the Force to make it dip and roll. The more it cavorted, the more laserlights blinked on and off. Ferus checked it. A few lights blinked at him. It still worked. This little toy had made it through
the destruction all around it.
    He stood by the broken window. The officer below had been cleared to take off. Ferus let the laser-toy fly.
    Now all he needed was the Force.
    He felt it flow effortlessly between him and the toy. He sent the toy spinning and diving. The lights blinked and flashed, faster and faster, the colors penetrating the gloom.
    The guards below pointed and raised their blaster rifles. He could see that they were puzzled, not knowing what the object could be. Was it a weapon? The pilot hesitated, unsure of what to
do.
    “Hang onto me like a monkey-lizard,” he told Trever.
    Trever leaped on his back, winding his long arms and legs around him. Ferus positioned himself on the ledge. Everyone below was looking at the lasertoy. He jumped. The Force helped him slow and
guide his descent.
    The speeder was still hovering near the guards. Obviously the officer wanted the protection of their weaponry before he took off. Ferus kept the lasertoy spinning even as he guided his leap.
    It all happened in less than an instant. He landed on the back of the speeder. Trever slithered off his back and into the backseat.
    Ferus picked up the officer under the arms. The officer was too startled to struggle. “I need a ride,” Ferus said.
    He tossed him from the vehicle. They were still hovering only meters from the platform; the officer wasn’t hurt, but he wasn’t very happy about his rough landing. He, too, drew his
blaster and began firing furiously.
    “Time to go,” Trever said, ducking under the seat.
    Blaster fire streaked around them as the guards realized what had happened. Ferus pushed the engines and they zoomed off.

What now?
Trever wondered. With every new idea Ferus had, he found himself spinning in atmospheric storms, dangling from towers, and stealing Imperial speeders. He
didn’t know if he was having the time of his life or if he was simply crazy for sticking around.
    He wondered for the thousandth time why he was here. Every time he had a chance to bolt, he said no.
    The truth was, the galaxy became such a big place when you had