City of the Dead Page 5

  Outnumbered, Pylum could do nothing. But he threw Zak an angry glare that

  said, You haven't heard the last of me.

  Hoole led his niece and nephew away from the cemetery. A solemn crowd

  followed them, carrying the bodies of Dr. Evazan and Kairn.

  Tash Arranda worried all the way home, and stayed worried even after

  Hoole and Deevee had seen her and her brother to their rooms. Zak hadn't said

  a word, and he was silent all the way back to his room, where he locked the

  door behind him.

  The next morning, Zak stayed in his room during breakfast. For Zak, who

  usually ate anything and everything in sight, that was a sure sign something

  was wrong.

  Tash decided to tease him out of his sullen mood and knocked on his door.

  He opened it with a scowl.

  "Hey, rancor breath," she said.

  "Hey."

  "What's this? No comebacks? No insults? You're slowing down on me,

  blaster brain."

  Zak's face darkened. "I'm not in the mood, Tash, so leave me alone."

  She tried her best to sound cheery. "Nope. Can't do it. You're my

  brother, and it's my job to see that you get insulted as often as possible."

  Zak slapped a button on the wall, and the door shut in Tash's face.

  Wrong approach, Tash decided.

  She wondered whether he was simply in shock from the death of his new

  friend. She could understand if he was upset about Kairn. It was terrible when

  anyone died, but to have it happen to such a happy, friendly person was even

  worse. And he was Zak's first real friend in awhile. It made sense. Still, it

  wasn't like Zak to shut himself away when he was upset, even at something like

  that.

  Maybe he was angry that no one believed his story about the zombies. But

  how could anyone believe him? Who had ever heard of the dead coming back to

  life? Besides, even if Zak believed his own story, he was too stubborn and

  independent to let someone else's opinion depress him. He'd just ignore them.

  It had to be something else about his adventure in the cemetery. But

  what?

  Deevee came out of Uncle Hoole's room and stopped beside Tash. "Still no

  luck in exhuming our buried young Zak?"

  "Exhume," Tash said, ignoring Deevee's poor taste in jokes. "That means

  to dig up, right?"

  "Ah, I see our lessons are paying off at last," Deevee replied.

  "This is no time for jokes, Deevee."

  The droid gave his mechanical version of a shrug. "Not to worry. Before

  you know it, Zak will rise up like the dead of the Necropolitan legends. Now

  if you'll excuse me, I have to continue Master Hoole's search for a suitable

  ship."

  Tash repeated Deevee's words to herself "Like the dead of the

  Necropolitan legends." Like Zak, Tash had heard the stories about people who

  visited the Crypt of the Ancients, hoping to bring people back from the dead.

  Is that what Zak had wanted to do?

  "I guess it didn't work, did it?" she called through the door. "Trying to

  bring Mom and Dad back, I mean."

  There was a pause. Then the door opened and Zak let her in. "You didn't

  go into that cemetery just because someone dared you, did you?" Tash guessed.

  "You went in because you thought there was some way to bring Mom and Dad back.

  "

  Zak reddened. "Yeah. Pretty stupid, huh?"

  "I don't know," she said. "If I thought there was some way to get them

  back, I'd try it, too. But, Zak, even Kairn said that story's just a legend."

  It's not a legend, Zak thought. I saw it happen. The dead can come back!

  However, he knew Tash wouldn't believe him. She and Deevee and Uncle

  Hoole thought he was imagining things. Out loud, he said, "Maybe you're right,

  Tash."

  Tash grinned. "Hey, I'm always right!"

  Tash left Zak's room feeling like she'd helped him-at least a little. He

  was obviously very bothered. What had started as one scary nightmare had

  turned into a series of delusions about walking corpses. But she was confident

  that he would snap out of it.

  Tash headed for her room down the hall. As she did, she passed by Uncle

  Hoole's room. The door was closed, but the sound of conversation leaked

  through.

  Conversation? Hadn't Deevee gone off to look at starships? Who would

  Uncle Hoole be talking to?

  Curious, Tash listened closely, and her eyes grew wide with surprise.

  "In any case, that is my proposal," came the voice of Uncle Hoole.

  "I'll consider it," replied another voice.

  The voice of Boba Fett.

  CHAPTER 9

  By midday Tash was kicking herself for not opening Uncle Hoole's door

  right then and there. But she had been too surprised. Why was a respectable

  scientist like Uncle Hoole talking to a notorious bounty hunter like Boba

  Fett?

  By the time she had recovered her wits, the voices were approaching the

  door, and Tash had barely scrambled around a corner before Hoole's door slid

  open. She caught only a glimpse of the armored assassin striding out of

  Hoole's quarters.

  They had to attend Kairn's funeral that afternoon. "The funeral rites of

  Necropolis are most impressive," Deevee said on the way to the cemetery. "I

  wish I could attend! Unfortunately my search for a reliable starship dealer

  continues. Otherwise I wouldn't miss the funeral. It should be most

  interesting to watch."

  "Deevee!" Tash scolded. "This isn't a field trip. It's a solemn occasion.

  "

  That it was.

  A great many people turned out for the funeral. Zak and Tash weren't

  surprised that Kairn had so many friends.

  At the cemetery gates, the crowd gathered around an elegantly carved

  coffin. Necropolitan symbols were carved into its lid, and Zak noticed that

  although the coffin lid was shut, there was a large bolt on it that had not

  yet been locked.

  Next to the coffin, a small, closed tent had been erected. Zak could not

  see inside, but he heard someone sobbing.

  "Uncle Hoole, what's that tent for?" he asked quietly.

  Hoole replied, "Kairn's parents are in there. The Necropolitans believe

  that if the dead see the living mourn, they might come back. In order to

  prevent that, the family of the departed live in seclusion for seven days. No

  one sees them."

  A day ago Zak would have shaken his head at such superstitious nonsense.

  But he now knew the dead could come back. He had seen it.

  The muttering of the crowd stopped as Pylum, the Master of Cerements,

  stopped before the coffin. The sour-faced Necropolitan stood at the edge of

  the cemetery and delivered a long speech about the dangers of disturbing the

  dead.

  "The old ways are the true ways," Pylum intoned. "The dead must be

  respected. The dead must be left undisturbed. The alternative is disaster.

  That is the way of Necropolis."

  As Pylum talked, Zak couldn't help feeling a pang of guilt. His parents

  had had no funeral. No one had offered them a show of mourning, even in

  private. No one had done anything for them.

  No wonder they haunted his dreams.

  Pylum raised his voice, snapping Zak out of his reverie.

  "May the spirit of Sycorax rec
eive this departed being in peace. May

  Kairn, who is gone from the living, remain now forever in the city of the

  dead!"

  With that, Pylum grabbed the heavy bolt attached to the coffin, and with

  a dramatic flourish, he slammed it into place, sealing the coffin forever.

  From behind the curtains of the pavilion, Zak heard a low, sad wail.

  The crowd followed as Pylum led the coffin bearers-some of whom Zak

  recognized from the night before-into the cemetery. Zak noticed that the

  Necropolitans were very careful to stay on the paths and to avoid the ground

  near the graves.

  The caravan moved silently until they reached an open grave. It was as if

  they were frightened to speak too loudly, afraid that even a whisper might

  disturb the dead. Silently, the coffin-bearers lowered Kairn's coffin into the

  grave and slowly shoveled dirt over it.

  As the mourners walked out of the cemetery, Zak passed by a freshly dug

  grave. The gravestone was written in the Necropolitan language and in Basic,

  the common language of the galaxy. It read: "Here lies Dr. Evazan. May he find

  the peace he did not give his patients."

  That, Zak thought, is putting it lightly.

  They returned to the hostel to find Deevee waiting for them.

  "It took great effort, and I think I actually used a fraction of my

  computer brain to do it, but I've located a dealer in starships who had

  several vessels for sale," Deevee said.

  Tash and Zak soon found themselves trailing behind their Shi'ido uncle

  and his droid assistant as they wound their way through the avenues of

  Necropolis, on their way to the starship dealer.

  Although the sun was out, Necropolis was covered by the same feeling of

  darkness that had filled it at night. The old stone buildings were so tall and

  wide that very little sunlight reached the streets, and down among the

  walkways it seemed like midnight at noon.

  Tash watched Uncle Hoole as he walked in front of her. She had been

  suspicious of him for some time. He was supposed to be an anthropologist,

  devoting his scientific mind to the study of different species and cultures

  across the galaxy. But although they had lived with him for six months, he

  still had not told them anything about himself-not even his first name. And

  even though he knew an awful lot about science, he acted like no scientist

  Tash had ever heard of.

  He had no laboratory. He ran no experiments. Whenever they arrived on a

  new planet, he often went out on midnight errands and refused to tell anyone

  where he was going.

  Not long ago Tash and Zak had had a run-in with the gangster Smada the

  Hutt. The vile crime lord had somehow known Hoole. Hoole had claimed that he

  had once refused to work for the Hutt gangster, and Tash had believed him. But

  at the same time, Smada had hinted that Hoole was involved in some shadowy

  schemes-that maybe he even had ties to the Empire. And now Hoole was working

  with Boba Fett, one of the most vicious killers in the galaxy. It was too much

  of a coincidence.

  These thoughts filled Tash's mind. She was so preoccupied that before she

  knew it, they had arrived at an immense dockyard at the edge of Necropolis.

  The enormous yard was a weird mixture of old and new. Ancient stone buildings

  surrounded it, but the open space was filled with modern, automated

  maintenance equipment and sleek, modern starships.

  "Welcome, welcome, welcome!"

  A Necropolitan greeted them with wide-open arms and an even wider grin.

  He walked right up to Hoole and put his arm around the scientist's shoulder.

  "Welcome to Meego's Starship Emporium, where we don't bring the stars to you.

  We bring you to the stars! I'm Meego. What can I do for you?"

  Uncle Hoole opened his mouth to speak, but Meego continued. "Wait, lemme

  guess. You're looking for a family star cruiser. Something you and the kids

  can tool around in. Visit the Hologram Fun World, maybe do some sight-seeing

  in the Outer Rim. I've got just the thing. Right this way!"

  He tried to drag Hoole toward a sleek new star cruiser that looked

  expensive. Hoole stood as still as a statue. "That particular ship may be out

  of my price range."

  Meego was undaunted. "On a budget? Aren't we all? But I'm sure we can

  work out some financing. And believe me, this is the kind of ship that'll pay

  for itself in no time. Besides, with an energetic family like yours you'll-"

  "Need the room?" Tash interrupted.

  "Exactly," said Meego, still talking to Hoole. "And I can tell from your

  attitude that you're not just a tourist. You travel for a living, am I right?

  You'll need-"

  "To be comfortable," Tash ended.

  "Right again. And don't forget about-"

  "Dependability? Low cost of repairs? Style?" Tash guessed. The dealer

  looked annoyed. Tash had somehow figured out everything he was about to say.

  Zak recognized the look on the dealer's face. "Don't mind her," he said.

  "She does that a lot."

  Tash only smiled. Her little gift came easy with this ship dealer-maybe

  because his thoughts were so shallow.

  "How... delightful," the dealer sputtered. He seemed irritated that she

  had interrupted his speech and tried to get back on track. "Well, come on, it

  won't cost you anything to look..."

  The dealer's mouth ran faster than a hyperdrive engine. Zak groaned

  inwardly. He was only thirteen, and he still had a lot to learn about

  starships. But he knew enough to see that the starship the salesman was

  pushing was all looks and no power. His eyes wandered over to a ship tucked in

  an unlit corner of the dockyard.

  "Now that," Zak said aloud, "is a ship. What about that one?"

  "That looks like a used ship," Tash pointed out. The salesman winced. "We

  prefer the term 'preowned.' We just acquired it from its previous owner, who

  is, urn, deceased. I'm afraid it's not yet available for sale."

  The fast-talking salesman managed to lure Uncle Hoole over to the new

  ship, but Zak didn't follow. His feet turned automatically in the direction

  his eyes were looking. Zak recognized the "pre-owned" ship from star catalogs.

  It was an Arakyd Helix Interceptor. Even docked, the Interceptor looked like

  an angry bird of prey. Its forward hold stuck out like a wicked beak, and its

  hull curved downward like sloping wings. Black streaks ran along its side and

  bottom where it had been burned making rushed entries into the atmosphere. Its

  landing gear looked battered from landings and takeoffs that were too fast.

  But all that was meaningless. Sleek, durachrome exteriors were just candy

  for the eyes. Smart pilots looked at one thing: the engine, and the engine on

  this ship was...

  "Prime," Zak said to himself. "That's an Incom GBp-629 with a backup

  hyperdrive motivator and double-reinforced power couplings." Which meant,

  simply, that the ship could go very, very fast.

  Zak walked around the ship, examining the fittings and power cable

  connections. Most of the fine points were too technical for him, but he had

  studied enough to know that some of the modifications on that ship were

  illegal. He had seen that kind of custom fitting
on only one other ship: the

  Millennium Falcon.

  Which means this ship belonged to a smuggler... or a pirate, he decided.

  Or at least to someone who needed to make a lot of fast getaways.

  Zak wondered what the interior looked like. If it was a smuggler ship, it

  would have all sorts of modifications, maybe even a high-powered weapons

  system. He looked over his shoulder to make sure he wasn't being watched, then

  slapped the hatch controls. The portal slid open with a soft hiss. Zak stepped

  onboard.

  The first thing he noticed was the advanced computer system. The second

  thing he noticed was a long corridor leading to the cockpit.

  The third thing he noticed was Dr. Evazan, the dead Dr. Evazan, running

  down the corridor toward him.

  CHAPTER 10

  Dr. Evazan was alive!

  That was impossible. Boba Fett had shot him. Dr. Evazan had been buried.

  Zak had seen it with his own eyes.

  But if Zak was going to believe what his eyes had seen last night, he had

  to believe them now. And right now his eyes told him that a dead man had come

  back to life and was charging toward him.