Read Online Inferno by Troy Denning - Free Book Online Page A

leaves. Almost all the boughs within the circle appeared more barren than those outside it, and there were several gaps where huge limbs had snapped off and fallen away.
    Through the gaps, Jaina could catch glimpses of yellow-white splinters and sharp crooks where branches had been only partially broken, then pushed back into place. These branches tended to sag a little, creating the small bowl-shaped depression that had first drawn her attention.
    “Something definitely came down here,” Jaina observed.
    “And not very fast,” Zekk agreed. “This was a descent, not an impact.”
    “So we’ve found it?” Jag asked.
    “Maybe,” Zekk said.
    Jaina grabbed her electrobinoculars and, using the light-gathering function, peered down into the forest. For the most part she saw only leaves and branches, but when she did glimpse the ground, all she found was undergrowth and dead leaves. At the same time, she was reaching out through the Force, searching for even the tiniest hint of dark side energy. There was none. In fact, the entire area was remarkably still, almost devoid of any sort of Force presence at all.
    She lowered her electrobinoculars, then turned to find Zekk’s dark eyes staring across the fuselage at her, looking as surprised as worried.
    “Do you feel that?” he asked. “I mean, did you not feel that?”
    Jaina nodded. “It’s hiding from us.”
    “So it’s down there?” Jag sounded confused. “You’re sure?”
    “Something’s down there,” Jaina said. “And it doesn’t want to be found. It’s hiding its presence in the Force.”
    “The ship is hiding its presence?” Jag asked. “Can ships do that?”
    “This one can,” Jaina answered.
    Zekk unbuckled his crash webbing. “Hold us steady. I’ll drop through the belly hatch and disable the ship.”
    Instead of doing as Zekk suggested, Jag swung away from the hiding place and resumed their search pattern.
    “Uh, Jag, maybe you didn’t hear me?” Zekk asked. “I said I’d disable Alema’s ship.”
    “I heard you,” Jag said. “But I want to leave it alone. There’s too much about this vessel we don’t know, and if it can warn Alema that it’s been found, she’ll disappear before we have a chance to catch her.”
    “Good,” Jaina said. “The sooner we chase her off, the better. Whatever she’s doing here, I don’t want her doing it around these young ones.”
    “What makes you think you’ll chase her off?” Jag countered. “This is Alema Rar. If she gave up that easily, she would never have survived Tenupe.”
    “He’s got a point,” Zekk said. “We’d probably just set her off. We could get a lot of kids killed for no reason.”
    Jaina sighed, knowing they were right. They had picked up Alema’s trail this last time only after hearing about the turmoil she had created at Roqoo Depot, a supply base on the fringes of the Hapan Consortium. Apparently, a freighter captain had made the mistake of remarking on her deformities, and she had responded by inflicting wounds similar to her own—not only on the captain, but on his entire crew, as well. The survivors had been unable to remember much of anything about the fight or their assailant, but Zekk had managed to locate a security holo confirming that Alema had been the attacker.
    Jag seemed to interpret Jaina’s hesitation as disagreement. “We won’t get another chance like this,” he said. “If we let Alema get away, who will she target next? Your father? Your mother?”
    “My brother?” Jaina suggested hopefully. When Jag and Zekk responded with only nervous silence, she rolled her eyes and said, “Never mind—we couldn’t get that lucky.”
    “Then we’re decided,” Jag said. It wasn’t quite an order—though, as formal leader of their team, he could have made it one—just verification that they had reached a consensus. “We’ll try to trap Alema and end it here.”
    “As long as we don’t put the younglings at risk,” Jaina said. “If