There was a sudden movement, Ochi’s body jerking spasmodically, and Anaximander felt something hot in his middle. A moment later, he coughed, his heartbeat thundering in his head, in time with the pounding pain in his stomach, in time with the spurts of blood that came from his mouth, and from the abdominal wound Ochi opened up a little more with a blade Anaximander hadn’t even noticed the man was carrying.

Anaximander coughed again, the grin fixed on his face, and he took one faltering step backward, pulling the dagger out of himself. He looked down, saw the strange, lobed blade, noticed it had an inscription on it, watched as his blood, thick and red, seemed to move around the inscription, like he wasn’t just bleeding, it was being sucked out of his body by the strange weapon—the inscription of which seemed to glow as the red liquid flowed around the carved runes.

Damn. Is that dagger drinking my blood?

It was the last thought that the regent-captain of Nightside had, and it didn’t matter, because a moment later he fell to the deck. As he gasped for air, Ochi’s guard with the metal teeth walked over and reached down, taking the data card from between Anaximander’s fingers.

The regent-captain of Nightside took one more breath, and then no more.


Star Wars Shadow of The Sith Chapter 24