18.   Elektra.

 

I’m awaken by a loud knock on the door.  Either Scarlett didn’t put “Don’t Disturb” sign on the knob or it fell off somehow, but a maid’s here to clean the room.  I slept no more than a couple of hours or so but I feel sufficiently refreshed.  I move from the bed to an armchair in the corner pulling my legs under me and idly observe the maid, who looks almost human, except for pointed ears and cat-like eyes, hurrying around with feline grace.  Apparently a slavegirl, judging by a rough metal collar on her neck.  At some other time, I’d have probably engaged her in a conversation to find out more about this Shadow, but I’ve more urgent things on my mind.

 

I’m getting more and more annoyed with all the motions I’ve to go through to just have a little talk with Bubba.  I’d much prefer to simply walk in his palace, guards or no guards, and deal with him there.  However, Bubba couldn’t be found in his palace, as I was told.  Actually no one on Tatuine knows where he could be found… or who he is.  Apparently some local sorcerers called Jedi have caused enough trouble for him to prefer to stay anonymous.  The inn desk clerk could be Bubba or even this maid – he’s rumored to be able to change his appearance at will, which, if true, leaves even less doubt that he’s a Chaos lord.  In any case, I don’t have much choice as to wait for him to find us, which brings back this water trade.

 

I think back to one of those evenings in Dad’s study, him making himself comfortable in his oversized armchair, me – on the fluffy rug by the fireplace.  “Now watch carefully, Ele.”  He was rocking back and forth rather leisurely, yet – I could not believe my eyes – various objects would just appear in front of him, then disappear replaced by other objects in a quite rapid succession.  Finally he bent forward, picking up a large snow-white teddy bear and tossing it to me.  “There sweetheart, I think you don’t have one of these yet.”

 

No sorcery whatsoever, I was explained – the principle of teleporting a Shadow object was the same as teleporting oneself from the Pattern center.  A trick is to mentally locate the object and position it exactly into the center.  That’s why not every initiate can do it – one must have an exact mind imprint of the Pattern up to every smallest detail, and even then it takes a lot of practice to master the skill.  Dad made me practice a lot.  Amorphous substances can be handled in the same way.  I could’ve easily solved the irrigation problem on Tatuine and perhaps have their first lakeshore resort named after me, but it doesn’t seem very useful for my current purpose.  Teleporting some water into the room wouldn’t do much good either, except for flooding it, and I can’t bring a large water tank first, as there’s no place to conceal it.  However the last night, while filling bottles, it occurred to me that if a small Shadow pocket of running water could be isolated and tunneled into another Shadow and then back, I’d essentially end up with a running faucet for as long as I can maintain the tunnel.  Theoretically it seemed workable; a small detail being that I’ve never heard of it being done or even tried before.

 

I start as soon as the maid bows and leaves.  I never move from the chair, just stretch my legs, staring at the blank wall, which I don’t see any longer.  I see multiple Shadows, dozens of them at once as if looking at a deck of trumps spread in front of me.  I search one after another until I find what I’m looking for – a waterfall just small enough to suit my purpose.  Now for the hard part…  I concentrate on a water jet running down a particularly large boulder while keeping the image of the room’s wall, and try to converge them in the Pattern center.  The images slip all over as if they were drops of mercury on a slick surface…  Then my vision loses clarity all together. I take a few deep breaths.  This got to work!  I must try again…

 

…And then again and again.  I don’t know how much time has passed, suddenly the images snap together in the exact center transforming into a familiar shape of a jigsaw puzzle.  I hear the ripple of running water and when I open my eyes I see the stream cascading off the wall dropping a few feet into… nothingness, disappearing before ever reaching the floor, retracting into its own Shadow.  I must have the image in the back of my mind to keep it going, but it’s somewhat easier now.  I taste blood and feel the drops are running down my chin.  I must’ve bit my lip through without even noticing.  I wash it off in the running water and release the tunnel.  So it can be done!  I wonder if I’m the first one to ever connect the Shadows in this way, but I better inform my ‘partner’ that more containers are needed… many more.

 

There is a commotion in front of the inn.  I make my way through a small crowd to the source of shrieks – a human girl, her clothes torn into shreds, thrashing in hands of two men, one in a silver suit fitted with various hoses and devices, and another one resembling rather a giant rat than a man.  Forgetting I’ve no weapons I make another step toward them but someone grabs my arm and pulls me back.  I turn abruptly to face my ‘partner’.

 

“Are you mad enough to mess with the bounty hunters, girl?  Darn, they’ll take you too!  You don’t have the bloody card, remember?  What do you care of the wench?”

 

I offer no resistance as he drags me into his cantina and then to a table in a dark corner.  I wouldn’t have had a second thought about taking on the bounty hunters but his words stopped me dead in my track.  Indeed, what do I care?  For all I know, this place might not even exist, there’re some wild theories in Amber in this respect.  Even if it does, there’re countless Shadows in which the girl’s caught anyway, and a few where she’s burned at the stake or her head cut off…  I can’t fix all the Shadows to my liking…

 

“So what d’ya think, Ele?”  I blink at him with no comprehension.  Apparently he’s been talking for quite a while, but I didn’t pay attention.

 

“I’m telling ya, girl, it’s too risky to move the water through your room.  Surveillance equipment’s everywhere…  Large barrels, heavy vehicles…  We’ll finish it up tonight!  What d’ya say?”

 

He keeps going doubtless taking my silence for a refusal.  “Damn it girl, I might look dumb, but I’ve been around and know how the water’s smuggled.  You’ve got it inside your auxiliary fuel tank in a magnetic trap, all 5,000 gallons, can’t take more than that.  We go tonight with men and vehicles and move it all.  No worry about spaceport guards, they like good water too.”   He smiles broadly, “I’ll pay you 400,000 credits in convertible units, good anywhere in the galaxy…  What d’ya say Ele?”

 

Most of his words make no sense to me, but I think I caught the main idea by now.  “Hmm, why did the bounty hunters attack the girl?”  I ask just to gain some time to think it over.

 

“Ah, just a slavegirl who tried to escape.”

 

“I thought escape was impossible, considering the cards and all that…”

 

“Of course it is, but they still try, stupid wenches.”

 

“Hmm… do you have any…uhh…slavegirls?”

 

“Of course I do.  Come on Ele!  Ya not gonna get a better price anywhere on the planet!” 

 

His plan actually plays right into my hands.  Tonight I’m going to corner the water market, although it may not go exactly the way he thinks it will.  I nod silently, my lips forming rather a grin, as I am not about to waste my charming smile.

 

“Hell, girl, knew ya’d see the light!  I’ll see ya at midnight!”  I have no desire to shake his dirty fat paw, but there appears to be no way out of it.

 

Back in the room I stretch on the bed and just lie there staring at the ceiling, waiting for Scarlett.  Bad thoughts are running through my mind as I slowly drift to sleep.  We go tonight with men and vehicles.  And how does a small-time merchant have access to all that?  And if he does, where is he going to get almost half million credits?  And if he can, how he expects such a transaction to pass unnoticed?  I have an uneasy feeling that I’m missing something…  And the slavegirl, who I could help so easily but didn’t is even more disturbing.  Every time the Pattern does my bidding it takes something in return, something perhaps much more valuable than the service has been…

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