Sneak Peek

surprise batchers! 

with only a little over 3 weeks until Contingency drops, enjoy this short preview

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Sneak Peek of Contingency Chapter 1

The training room at Fortress Inquisitorious was daunting.

Made of the same black stone as the rest of the fortress, it had the feeling of being consumed by a black hole. Like all the light died as soon as it met the threshold of the room. Even with the dim red strips that glowed along the floors, it felt like they were in the deepest, most remote reaches of space.

Saedii stood obediently at Krell's side. Waiting for his order.

In her time here, she had learned the hard way that her new master liked his orders followed immediately. That he wouldn't repeat himself. Saedii did what she could to ensure his orders were followed.

This morning, Krell seemed to be in a lighter mood than usual. A dangerous little smirk hovered around his lips, and every time he looked at her, his bad eye would crinkle in anticipation.

He had something bad planned this morning.

In front of her, Saedii's hands were bound with binders. Callouses had formed along her wrists from wear and dark purple scars traced where blisters had repeatedly burst. Krell kept them intentionally tight. Made her wear them every moment of the day to remind her that, while she was here and wearing the black clothes, she was still his prisoner.

As if she could have forgotten.

Around the room, shadows moved. Other Inquisitors coming to watch. Their training sessions were usually in private. A special kind of torture designed just for Saedii. She fought to keep the unease from her face as she pretended that the sight of the other Inquisitors didn't bother her.

"Do you know what today is, Apprentice?" Krell asked her, voice deceptively calm.

The shadows along the walls whispered to each other. From behind her, the weight of one gaze in particular seemed to sear between her shoulder blades. A certain icy blue gaze that always seemed to follow her. But she was aware of only the one – the black stare that was hidden behind thick, opaque glass far above.

Saedii kept her gaze far away. Made her expression and her voice blank as she responded, "No, Master."

Master. It was how he liked to be addressed. Like he was mocking her.

Saedii hated that she had to call him that.

Traitor, a voice said in her mind. He is not your master.

Krell stepped in front of her, leaning down so she could see him. "It's nearly been a year since you've joined us."

A year.

The words echoed in Saedii's mind. One year. One year wasted. One year of my life – gone.

It didn't seem possible. Time felt different here, deep in the bowels of the Fortress. A year didn't seem long enough. It felt like she'd been here an eternity – like she'd been born and raised in darkness. Sometimes, it even felt like her life outside of these walls had all been nothing but a dream.

She resisted the urge to brush her necklace, which remained hidden under her shirt. It was the only sign that her life had been real. That this, here, was the nightmare and not the other way around. That there was something better waiting for her beyond these black walls. It was the only thing that gave her hope.

"Do you know what that means?"

"No, Master."

His smile widened. "It means it's time for your initiation."

It took all of Saedii's grit from the past year to keep the anxiety from her face. Ever since he'd first tossed her in the training pit, Krell had taunted her about her upcoming initiation. He hadn't said a word to what it might entail, but he'd implied that it would be brutal. A test of some kind.

A test he had designed for her to fail.

Krell often gave Saedii impossible tasks, but she knew this would be different. Worse.

Fail. Fight back, that voice demanded. You are not an Inquisitor. You are a Jedi. Jedi do not give up.

But she couldn't. Failure would result in her death.

And Omega's.

She waited for his instruction. In the past year, she'd learned not to speak out of turn. To not ask questions. Krell had no patience for it. In her first week, he'd beaten her for asking to remove her binders for training – so badly that she'd had to see a medical droid to save the vision in her right eye. She hadn't asked a question since.

"Did you know that you are not the only initiate that we have been training?" Krell asked lightly.

Across the room, another black clad figure was ushered forward. This one, like her, was not in the black leather of the Inquisitors, but in the same simple black shirt and pants that Saedii wore.

He was taller than her. Broader, too. Pale green skin reflected off the dome of his shaved head, following a line of black tattoos that traced down and disappeared into the neck of his shirt. A matching one dipped from beneath his wide, dark green lips and down his chin, following the line of his throat. A Mirialan male.

With a jolt, Saedii recognized him. Jek Dekkara – a Jedi Knight that had served as Padawan to Master Voolvif Monn throughout the Clone Wars. He'd been several years ahead of her at the Temple, but he'd often visited the younglings, much like Saedii and Kalth had.

If Jek recognized her, he didn't show it. His expression was eerily cold and detached. Determined.

"Initiate Dekkara has trained the past year under the First Brother's guidance," Krell explained in a sick sort of glee. "He, too, is ready to take on the mantel of the Inquisitors."

Saedii already had an idea of what they wanted. Of what was about to happen.

Refuse. Fight back.

Krell's smile widened. "The Inquisitors only have room for one of you. In order to determine the best initiate, you will participate in trial by combat. The victor will assume the mantel of our newest brother...or sister."

Jek looked Saedii over and smiled – a cruel sight.

She took a moment to look him over as well – searching for weaknesses to exploit, just like Krell had taught her. He was bigger than she, but Saedii was sure she'd be faster. He seemed to favor his left foot, as well.

While Krell had taken a sick pleasure in hurting her over the past year, he had taught her, as well. Perhaps unintentionally. Every hurt that he'd inflicted had been a lesson, and Saedii was a quick learner. Without a doubt, she knew that she was the better duelist. The more cunning of the two.

And she'd be fighting for more than her own life.