Crimson Eyes ~ Sequel to: The Valkyrie, An Obi-Wan Story (completed)

Chapter 41: Wrath of the Phoenix

"I would like to see you try."

A heartbeat passed in silence. Maul's eyes widened vague interest as if surprised at the resistance. After our first encounter he'd probably have thought this would've been an easy fight.

His eyes went over me, scanning me from head to toe, assessing the stance of my feet and my grip on the weapon. They noticed the armor especially, together with the multiple weapons attached to my belt. No scalpel this time.

"Hmm." He chuckled, picking up a slow pace that had him circling around me. "It seems you've followed my advice."

I cringed at the careful way he talked, the way he assessed each word before he spoke them. His voice was deep as gravel, the low hum resonating through the dark halls. This was his territory. The heart of the temple, the darkness that resided there, it was all too familiar to him. To me it was still a new feeling. Not foreign, but more like a thought that I could barely cling onto. I knew that if I stayed here too long I'd grow mad by the voices whispering in the dark.

It put me at a disadvantage, which meant that I'd have to finish this as soon as possible. "And what advice would that be?" My fingers tightened their grip on the hilt of the sword.

"Your anger is..." He closed his eyes as he walked, breathing in deeply, contently. Savouring the emotion as if it was the sweetest thing he'd ever tasted. It left me gritting my teeth as I followed his every step. "- burning, so fiercely. Raw, untamed." His eyes flared when they opened them again. He looked as if he could taste it himself and feel the unending power running through him.

There was a desire so evident on his features I almost wanted to revel in that emotion too. For a long time I'd thought that the anger was something to be feared, to be hidden. He seemed to think the exact opposite.

He snapped out of his trance and turned his gaze back to mine abruptly. "You would've made a good apprentice."

"Yours, you mean?" I lifted my brow, unimpressed. "Why would I follow you? A nobody, one who was discarded by his old master, who now roams the galaxy alone and forgotten without any true purpose aside from vengeance while endlessly obsessing over a simple jedi whom he will never defeat."

My feet started in the same dance he'd engaged in. It is time to fight back. My eyes dragged over his figure, the black rags he'd dressed in, the metal legs that clanged on the ground. My lip pulled up on one side in disgust. "I will never stoop that low."

Maul snarled in response and halted in his tracks, grasping for his lightsaber threatingly. "Careful, doctor."

My anger flared at the title. "It's 'your majesty' for you."

"Oh, yes." Another vicious smile appeared, gladdened at the new topic that arose. As if it was a snack he'd found, he snatched it. "Chosen queen of Valeria, saviour of Eagle's Fall, the last Phoenix and the Valkyrie. All magnificent titles." His voice turned mocking as he lowered his head. "All gone now, I hear."

My heart stilled as my feet did the same. He knew who I was and where I'd come from. I knew that it wouldn't take him long to find out, but it still scared me. It meant he knew about my people, which put them in danger. I'd have to finish him.

"All for one simple jedi." He used my own words against me. "One who doesn't even bother to protect you."

I huffed, glaring at him, waving away the red cape as it fell over my shoulder. "I don't need anyone to protect me." My anger was boiling. I could feel it coursing through me, awakening the power.

Maul laughed as if it was the most ridiculous thing he'd ever heard. My eyes narrowed at the sound, flames circling in my eyes. "Why is he not here?" He continued, pestering. He was trying to drive me over the edge, leave me unbalanced. I knew what he was planning but couldn't help but feel the fury rising within me. "Why leave you to me, alone, abandoned?"