The ship approaching them looked familiar. Elegant. Powerful. Whimsical. It positioned itself gracefully beside them. Signaled. With a shrug, Riddick accepted the hail.

It was Aereon. "Hail, Lord Marshal," she said, her lips twitching.

"Aereon. You finally get away and you waste it to come to rescue me?" He could not keep the amusement out of his voice.

She smiled. "You're the best of many bad options, child."

He smiled, almost goofily glad to see her. "Did Jack get away?"

Aereon looked down. "No."

"Is she alive?"

"Yes. She made a deal with Toal for our freedom."

Fuck. That kid's gonna be the death of me. "Huh."

"Do you need a ride?"

"I need a fast ship."

She smiled. "Rhea is fast. Come aboard, sire."

After an agonizingly long transfer, they were all in the small cockpit of the Rhea, hyperspace sleeting past them. "Tell me about Jack's deal."

"As I understand it, she agreed to stand with Toal during the investiture in exchange for the freedom of your," she smiled, slightly, "pets."

"That's all they wanted?"

"Symbol of an orderly succession," Vaako said, bitterly. "Since you did not name him, and he did not defeat you, her standing beside him will comfort the people. Also --" He stopped abruptly.

"What?" Riddick felt something twist deep down.

Vaako gazed at the still stars outside. "When a new Lord Marshal is called, we kill a girl to renew our connection to the Underverse. You never did that. Jack would make sense."

Aereon shook her head, vigorously. "No. There'd have to be blood. There's no blood that ties you two . . ." she trailed off at his dark look.

"There is."

She's not . . . your sister is she?"

He glowered at her. "Of course not."

"Then how?"

"It was a stupid thing. But she wanted to. Cut our hands, pressed them together. My blood in her veins. Her blood in mine. Years ago. I'd almost forgotten."

That was a lie. He'd thought about it often. That little piece of her, in his veins. That little bit of him, inside her.

"You have a living woman's blood in you?" Vaako was shocked.

Living woman? "Yeah. What do you fuckers have against women anyway?"

"They bleed."

"Men bleed."

"Not like women do."

"Huh?"

"Their blood brings the abomination."

"There's that word again. What abomination?" Riddick's voice was a threat. A lesser man would have flinched.

"Life," Vaako whispered.

They're gonna kill her because she bleeds? Fuck. I'll show them blood. Should have killed all those fuckers when I had the chance.

Aereon's voice cut through his rising fury. "If they knew Riddick's blood was in her veins . . . what else would they do with her?"

Vaako passed a hand over his eyes. "They'll use her. Really use her. Not just symbolically. Use her to do what Riddick never did; complete the rituals that bind the souls of the newly taken to the Underverse." He took a deep breath. "And then they'd sacrifice her on the rock. If they can find it. It's been missing."

Aereon's eyes were sharp on Riddick. The kid told her, he realized grimly. Fuck. Does she have the sense to keep her mouth shut?