Chapter V: Of Blades and Tears Part II

Jack had fallen asleep against Liege's shoulder and her friend watched out over the market, watching people barter and shout for purchases and deals.

She was mesmerized by the vibrant colours of the robes and shawls that the people wore as they swayed back and forth within the crowds of traders and consumers. Women who were usually quiet by order of their culture and religion squawked and howled like animals as they bargained for a deal. The emotions that crossed the man's face as the value of his goods decreased were endlessly amusing. The arguments always ended with the woman victoriously walking away, head held high and ready for another good deal.

As the sun began to set, the orange canvas that shaded the crowds from the sun's light were almost lit to a fiery shade of red and the air was filled with sounds of last minute purchases. The bejeweled hands of the rich merchants flashed in the light of the sinking sun as they gestured wildly, jumping from one brilliant trading plan to another.

Liege was almost hypnotized by all the sights and sounds and barely noticed Jack stirring. She looked down, slightly startled, but smiled when she saw Jack's eyes were not longer teary and sad.

Jack's chocolate-coloured hair shined in the fading light as she sat up and let it tumble down to her waist. She turned her back to Liege who automatically moved forward to quickly braid the long mane. When she wrapped the elastic around the bottom, she looked up to see Jack's eyes glint laughingly.

"So I assume ye will be tellin' me what tha' little shoutin' match was for later?" Liege asked as she stood up, stretching her cramped legs.

"That I will." Jack replied, mocking Liege by copying her accent.

With a light smack from her friend, Jack walked to the edge of the roof and began to descend the ladder with Liege following. When they both hit the ground, they stood gracefully and walked through the market that was beginning to close down.

Liege stopped at one of the stalls and looked into it to see if anyone was hiding behind the flaps of canvas that covered it. Trinkets hung from a wooden support pole and shone, glittered and tinkled as the breeze flowed through them.

Jack busied herself gently pawing through a large box of rings and pendants that sat on the cloth covered purchase counter. Liege growled and was about to grab Jack and force her to leave when a familiar face came into view.

"Liege! My old friend, what are you doing here?" A cheerful voice called from the tent, startling Jack.

"Khan, you old bastard, get out here. I've been waiting for twenty minutes!" Liege raised her voice, but the humor was still there. Jack frowned but continued to look through the rings.

"Watch your mouth, you little tramp." An imposing, well-muscled man stepped out from within the tent. At least six feet tall, he towered over Jack and Liege but neither of them were bothered by it. A red sash was tied around his head, pulling his hair back and making his face easier to see.

Jack quickly took in his figure, making sure not to forget it. Riddick always told her to look out for people she might need to go to help for in the future.

What seemed to be a claw mark traveled from beneath the right side of his face down to his neck where it must've continued beneath his robe. Dark eyes glowed from their handsomely set sockets that flowed into the darkly bronzed skin. Other scars lined his arms, but they were mostly covered by leather cuffs.

As he smiled when he talked to Liege, Jack noted the few gold teeth in his otherwise flawless mouth. She immediately took notice of the scimitar that hung as his waist.

She didn't listen to his conversation with Liege, but instead kept looking through the rings and pendants. She wasn't sure why she was doing this, but she felt something she knew was in there. Either that or she was subconsciously giving herself a reason to pass the time.

"Khan, m goin' to need custom-made leather cuffs for the summer. 'm going away and I be wanting nearby place to hold me knives." Liege said, her eyes making contact with Khans, as if sending him a second silent message.

"Of course. Are you in need of any new blades? I have a new stock, you know." His business man was back in place as he gestured to the wall behind him that held different blades and weapons.

"It wouldn't hurt. I want to see that one, the seamless blade with red inlay." She described it, taking time as he turned to take the blade from the wall to see what Jack was looking at.

"Found somethin', Jack?" She asked, glancing over at the ring Jack was holding.

"Yeah, I have. Can I get it?" She asked, looking up at her taller friend. Jack was intrigued by the way the light glinted off Liege's eyes. They were a copper golden colour and were usually dark, but now they seemed to lighten with the setting sun.

"Of course ye can. Do ye have money on ye?" Liege asked, looking with amusement as she watched Khan wrestle the cord that attached the blade to the wall.

"I left it back in the room, sorry. Can you…" Jack trailed off, holding the ring tightly in her hand.

"If it means that much to ye, course I'll buy it. Consider it…a belated birthday gift of sorts." Liege mused, her spirits lifted by the smile that lightened Jack's face.

"Finally! I am too good for my own wellbeing. At tying blades to a wall, that is." Khan approached the pair, looking slightly disheveled.

Jack watched as Liege casually took the offered blade and tested its weight. She knew Liege was talented with blades, considering she had picked almost every old lock in the school with one.

"Where is it from? The ring, that is." She asked, twisting the blade through her hand, than stopping it to feel how sharp it was.

"Ah yes…the man who gave it to me said it was an artifact from a distant planet…yet I cannot remember the name…I think it started with an 'F'." Khan supplied, looking very thoughtful as he tried hard to remember its origin.

Liege began to count the money for Jack's ring when she heard Khan give a triumphant 'Ahha' from the depths of the tent, where he had gone looking for more information.

"Where is it from, Khan?" She asked again, this time handing money over for Jacks ring.

"Furya."

Riddick had prowled the streets that night, hoping to find a victim that could be knocked off and no one would notice, but as luck would have it, he was almost alone the entire night.

He wanted to get back to Helion Prime to see Jack. He knew Jack was able to take care of herself and it seemed like this Liege had an eye on her as well.

He was stretched out on the bed that Imam had let him sleep in and realized there was no way he could get rest with his blood pumping the way it was. Getting up, he treaded to an exercise room that Imam used mostly for meditation.

In less then fifteen minutes sweat glistened and shined as he went through every defense and offense movement he knew. He continued this until he felt the heat of the rising sun coming through the window.

Riddick became annoyed with himself for losing track of time like that and decided he should shower before Imam woke and began to start the day. Moving down the hallway he made note to check Imam's computer, to see if Jack had sent another message.

Ten minutes later he stood refreshed and damp in front of the holy man's computer. Sitting down he looked through the desktop to find a little flag at a folder.

Opening the folder, he found it to be full of messages from Jack and there was a new one at the top. Smirking, he opened it and before he even read it, sent it to be printed.

As he waited, he heard Imam at the door and he was standing and tense before the other man even got a foot over the threshold.

"I see you went looking for more messages from Jack." He noted, hearing the printer at work.

"Wasn't too hard to find." He replied, moving to the printer to pick up the message. He folded it up without glancing at it and slipped it into his pocket next to the previous one.

"Good morning to you, Mr. Riddick." Imam said as the goggled man slipped out the door of the study.

Riddick went the balcony of his room and sat in a comfortable chair and propped his legs up on the railing. Opening the message he leaned back into the chair to read.

Dear Imam,

I hope all is well with you. Thank you for replying so quickly. I'm a little sad to hear that you haven't heard from Riddick, but I've come to expect disappointment.

I am doing quite well myself and my first year away at boarding school has gone very well. I'm sure you will be receiving my grades soon, and you should be pleased by them. Well, you better be, I didn't get sent to this school for nothing.

There is a policy at school that if a friend of yours does not have a place to go during the summer she can stay with a friend of hers. Liege has no family to return to and she does not want to stay another summer in the school grounds, I mean hey, I wouldn't either. The food here sucks compared to yours. Sorry for the bad language, Imam.

Back to the point, I was hoping she could stay with us during the summer. She is more then capable of taking care of herself and if you want us to work she will be more then glad to work for her keep.

Please consider this before you say no. I would like her to come too because I'll be lonely during the day when you're away teaching religion classes.

Have you watched the news recently? I was in the city with Liege when I heard about the new string of murders. And I'm sure you can guess who was accused of being behind them. Yep, Big Bad, Dark and Evil. It's complete bullshit, Imam. Do not believe any of it. He would never harm a woman or child, and that's exactly what they're accusing him of.

He is a good man, Imam and he would never do that. He never once threatened me before he left. I hope he knows this. I know he isn't the one behind these murders. Besides, he wants the bounties off his head, not to be drowned in them. That and I don't know how well he would deal with another Johns.

When I went into the city, Liege stopped in a marketplace to specifically talk to one merchant. They were talking about knives, but I think something else was going on. There was too much eye contact for a normal purchase. Sure, it was someone she knew from a while ago, but something seemed off. Don't jump to conclusions, Imam, I'm sure Liege isn't a bad person. Or criminal. Or thief. Or mass murderer…don't think I missed any categories.

I also bought a very interesting ring. I will show it to you when I arrive home, but it is a plan silver ring but it is what is inscribed on the inside of it that made me buy it. It says "Possession of R.B.R." Now I'm sure there are thousands of people in the universe with those initials, but the merchant, whose name was Khan, said it was an artifact from a planet called Furya.

If it did belong to him, then why would it have been in this place called Furya? Is that where he is from? Did he ever tell you what planet he was from? It was tested as holding dust from the planet Furya, so maybe some was left from when he took it with him from that place.

Maybe it will be clearer if I explain it in person. I will be looking into this planet in the school library. Maybe I can find some information there.

I would like it if you could give me some dates so I can book tickets for a transport from here to home. Hope to talk to you soon.

Sincerely,

Jack

Riddick's head spun as he read the message, partially from the fierce defense Jack showed of him, and from this ring with his initials on the inside.

Growling, he was tempted to smash his fist into the stone wall next to him, but he would have to explain it to Imam, so he decided against it.

He had possessed a ring like that in Butcher Bay. During his escape it had slipped off his finger. He wasn't risking his freedom for a ring so he had left it there. Riddick wasn't even going to begin to wonder how it had gotten into this merchants hands and by some fate land in Jack's hands.

So, there were tests claiming it was from Furya. He hoped Jack would do thorough research. It had to be either her or Imam because he had no patience to look for a book, much less look through it for a piece of information. Nor did he even have enough patience to search for it on a search engine.

Sitting back, he read the description of Khan again. A spark of familiarity went off in his mind and he decided that a little investigation couldn't hurt.

He became anxious for sundown, when he could more easily move through the streets. It was a short window of time where he could catch merchants before they packed up their stalls. He sat in the chair and began to sharpen his knives again, hoping it would pass the time away quickly.