Disclaimer: As before, Highlander and any ideas associated with the show do not belong to me. Any character you don't recognize is most likely mine. Enjoy!

Chapter Five

Her footsteps echoed as she walked along the dark and empty street. It's lonely sound was her companion. Her train of thought kept going back to Richie and wished she had not acted too impulsively. Sarah sighed as she remembered a time when she did not mind knowing she was alone. But all that changed when she took the chance of befriending Joshua. Now, after having met Richie, the idea of living a solitude life hade became less and less appealing. Come on, Sarah, she told herself. You already made the decision to break out of your solitary existence when you took on a friend after three hundred years.

Sarah slowed her pace before resigning to turn around. Richie, she thought. She felt the familiar ached in her heart as the man's face flashed before her eyes. Maybe, just maybe…She stood there for a while and made her decision. No harm came out of befriending Joshua, so what harm could I possibly get into if I get to know Richie more.

******

Richie sped along the road on his motorcycle and kept an eye out for a certain black clad woman. It was not an easy task since Sarah's outfit blended in with the night. After she left in a hurry, Richie also left a note for Joshua and went after Sarah. He just did not expect her to have covered a lot of ground that fast.

He headed for the park and wondered for the umpteenth time why he could not get her out of his head. His whole day had been spent thinking about her and feeling this urgency to get to know her. The young man chuckled and shook his head. You got it real bad, buddy, he said to himself.

Richie was circling the park for the last time when he suddenly recognized the presence of another immortal. He slowed his bike to a halt as a man stepped in front of him a few yards away. Great, just what I need, he thought sarcastically. Richie quickly got off his bike as the other immortal drew out his sword and advanced on him.

"Your head is mine," the man hissed out.

Richie scrambled for his sword and managed to block his opponent's sword in time. The man untangled his sword from Richie's, spun to his left and struck low. Richie countered the attack and executed a flawless sequence of his own. The two combatants separated and circled each other.

"So, aren't even gonna introduce yourself?" asked Richie, hoping to distract the guy and find a weak spot in him.

"What's the point? You'll be dead soon enough," came the reply.

Richie smiled without humor. "Indulge me."

"Very well. The name's Cyrus Magee." He leaped forward and aimed for Richie's neck. His sword sliced the air above Richie's head as the younger man ducked and rolled out of the way.

"Look man, I wasn't looking for any fights tonight. I was just out looking for someone." Richie grunted as he defended himself from a barrage of attacks.

"So am I," Cyrus commented as he eyed his opponent. "Looking for someone that is." He paused. "Ferrington's mine kid. I've staked my claim on him already. So back off."

Richie frowned as he heard the familiar name. "Nicholas Ferrington?" How did he get into this conversation, he wondered.

"So, you do know him. Like I said, that bastard's head is mine. Leave the chase to me and I just might spare your life. For now."

By this point, Richie was utterly confused and did not even bother to hide it. "Ferrington? I wasn't looking for … What would I want with him?"
"Don't play innocent with me. We both know about the rumor how the little cheat has aligned himself with a vampire that will do his dirty work for him."

Richie stood still. Vampire? Do does things really exist?

A snapping twig brought him out of his own thoughts and realized his mistake. He had let his guard down and now Cyrus had taken advantage of the situation. Before Richie knew what was going on, his sword flew out of his hand and he soon found himself flat on his back.

He tried to sit up, but felt the unmistakable cold tip of Cyrus's sword on his neck. He crawled backwards slowly as fear gripped his heart and then cursed when his back came up against a tree. Man, this is for real, he thought. I'm really gonna die this time.

Cyrus sneered in delight as he lifted his sword for the fatal blow. However, he did not expect something or someone to ambush him from the side.

Richie watched in surprise as someone tackled the immortal to the ground. The newcomer was so fast he did not even hear the person approach. His surprise quickly turned to shock as one of the figures got up. It seemed that he did not have to look for Sarah after all. She had found him instead.

******

Sarah was walking along the bike path as she took a shortcut across the park. All was quiet until she caught the faint sound of voices. She slowly headed in its direction and noiselessly parted the bushes that blocked her view. Usually she would have just ignored such things, but her ears picked up something familiar with one of the voices.

What she saw before her made her growl low in her throat. Rage swirled within her as she witnessed Richie being backed up against a tree with a sword. Acting on pure instinct, Sarah took off and in a blink of an eye had tackled the man to the ground before he can bring down his weapon on Richie.

She quickly unfolded her body into a fighting stance and smirked as the man dazedly looked around him. Didn't even know what hit him, she thought smugly. Behind her, she heard Richie get up and walk away from them. Without wasting any time, Sarah kicked the sword out of the man's hand. Holding back her strength a little, she backhanded the guy across the face. She did not want to have to kill someone in front of Richie so she'll just have to make-do with rendering the man unconscious. A series of punches and kicks followed - too fast for the man to block. When he did not get up from her last kick, Sarah finally relaxed and faced Richie.

"Wow, Josh wasn't kidding when he said you can take care of yourself," commented Richie.

Sarah was about to ask if he was alright, but the sword in his hand stopped her short. She glanced down at the sword her opponent had dropped then back again to Richie's. Swords? They were fighting with swords? She remembered how the man had aimed for Richie's neck and comprehension dawned on her. That could only mean…

"Come on," Richie said. He took her arm and led her towards his bike. "Let's get out of here before he wakes up."

They had only taken a few steps when Sarah pulled her arm free from Richie's grasp.

"You're one of them," she said accusingly.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" He heard the hardness in her voice and did not understand why she was glaring at him.

"Don't play dumb, Immortal. I know all about your kind."

Author's notes: Phew! I think that was the longest chapter I've written so far. Sorry if the sword fight seemed a little lacking. Anyway, hope you liked it. Don't forget to review. Again thanks to my faithful reviewer DumbOldDork.