Chapter 23: The Council
"Who are you, and who are these two with you?" Asked the oldest of the Elders sharply, standing up out of his center seat and looking at Shirah, noting her mark. He was tall and slender, and though age was beginning to bend his spine he still carried himself with arrogance and authority.
"I am Shirah Gohil, I was once high priestess; before the Necromonger attack." She answered, remaining still with her hand pressed against her mark.
Murmurs rippled through the crowd that had gathered behind them in the counsel chamber. The Elders whispered amongst themselves for a moment before the Elder who had questioned her spoke again. "Come. Let me see if what you say is true." Shirah dropped her hand to her side and walked to stand before the Elder. Firmly, he pressed his hand against her mark and closed his eyes for a moment. "Yes… yes, I remember you. Priestess Shirah." He said condescendingly and withdrew his hand. "I am Declan Feore. I once knew you well."
"Elder Declan! It is an honor to see you again." Shirah exclaimed, trying to break through his haughty attitude.
He nodded and replied coolly, "I have a feeling there is much that needs to be told and much that needs to be explained. But later. Now, tell us, who are they?" He turned toward Kyra and Riddick as did the Elders and the crowd.
"This is Kyra, and Richard Riddick. And you are right, there is much to tell." Shirah answered.
Over the course of the evening Shirah told her story; beginning with the death of her infant son. As she spoke the crowd grew until the counsel chamber became quite crowded except for the front quarter of the room which held only Shirah, Kyra, Riddick and the seven Elders. Some chairs had been brought out for the three of them and Shirah readily took hers, but Kyra and Riddick remained standing for some time until Kyra finally relaxed enough to sit. Riddick, however, remained on his feet for the duration of the evening, listening to Shirah tell her story.
Finally she finished and stood. "This is the most important thing I have to tell you tonight." She said stepping towards Riddick but maintaining eye contact with the Elders. "This is the man I found. This is the man who killed the last Lord Marshall and wiped out one of the planets in the Underverse. He is the fulfillment of the prophecy for which so many of our sons died."
Again, whispers and chatter broke out throughout the room, sounding like a swarm of angry bees. Elder Declan's eyebrows shot up in sardonic disbelief as he looked between Shirah and the calm, confident man standing before him, goggles covering his eyes. "This is the man who killed the last Lord Marshal? This is the Furyan you marked?"
"Yes." Shirah answered.
Elder Declan walked up to Riddick and reached out his hand to touch Riddick's mark, like he had with Shirah. Kyra noticed that Riddick tensed very slightly, only she could see it, but she knew that he did not like people taking any liberties with him, touching him or getting into his space without his permission. Elder Declan had just walked right through Riddick's boundaries with complete contempt.
Riddick remained still, the appearance of perfect calm and self-assurance as the Elder laid his cold, pasty hand against his chest. Elder Declan closed his eyes like before, but almost instantly they popped open. A pale blue light was emanating from the mark on Riddick's chest and spreading between them. Riddick's body tensed; blood vessels standing in sharp relief against his flexed muscles.
Elder Declan gasped and jerked his hand away, stumbling backwards. Riddick relaxed as the contact was broken, and stood threateningly still; waiting to see what the Elder would do. Kyra stood abruptly and stepped to Riddick's side. "No," Elder Declan wheezed, "it is not possible!"
"Oh yes, it is." Shirah said stepping forward to Riddick and Kyra. "He is the last. The one and only alpha Furyan. He is the only one who can lead the Furyans in our revenge; the vengeance against all Necromongers for the murder of our sons. And according to our law, you owe him your loyalty!"
The room exploded with noise; exclamations, questions, and not a few cheers echoed off the walls. The seven Elders just sat there for several moments before they started to talk amongst themselves again. Riddick did not notice any of this. As soon as Shirah had finished her last sentence he spun to look at her. "What?" he asked quietly, threateningly. Shirah caught the edge in his voice and suddenly realized she had never explained this to him. She hesitated. Riddick stepped forward, his face inches from hers. "Explain." he said, deadly calm.
Shirah took a step back. "Riddick, I'm sorry, I should have told you before. I didn't know how you would take it. I know I should have told you before now…I am sorry."
Riddick lowered his voice, his eyes still cold. "What the fuck do you mean by according to your law, he owes me his loyalty?" His voice was hard, warning Shirah not to mess around.
"Warriors are the most highly respected people on the Furyan world, and alpha Furyans lead us. We don't have 'royalty'; we are not ruled, but we are led by our greatest warriors. In this way, we protect our freedom." Shirah looked up into his goggles and said gently, "I should have told you before, I know; but since you are the last alpha Furyan, and the one spoken of in the prophecy, you are our leader…or by law should be. You alone have the ability to lead us. No one else does. Riddick, please; you must accept this…If you don't…Then the Furyans –we- will be lost."
Riddick stood there face to face with Shirah for several seconds, thoughts and emotions running rampant through his head. He felt a hand firmly grasp his arm, Kyra's. Turning he glanced at Kyra then walked past her, leaving the room. The crowd parted quickly as he strode through and disappeared into the night.
"Shit." Kyra said. She looked at Shirah for a moment; then turned at followed Riddick out of the room.
It took Kyra nearly three hours to track Riddick down, finally she found him crouching on the top of the cliff they had stopped at earlier that day. He was looking over the valley and the city which sparkled in the night. His goggles were pushed up on his forehead, his mercury eyes flashing in the reflection of the moon.
"Riddick?" Kyra asked as she walked up from behind him. He didn't move, but remained poised comfortably at the edge of the cliff. "Riddick, talk to me." She said softly.
Slowly Riddick stood, tossing aside the small stick he had been fiddling with. Turning around he met Kyra's dark blue eyes. For a moment they just stood there, looking at each other, communicating without words. "So what are you going to do?" Kyra asked, stepping forward, causing Riddick to look down to meet her eyes.
For the first time since Kyra had known him, Riddick showed something other than complete certainty and self-assurance; he shook his head.
That night as he lay watching Kyra sleep, curled up next to him in a bed given to them in the capitol building's guest quarters, he thought over his options. Part of him was screaming that he should just take Kyra and leave. He couldn't let himself get wrapped up in these people; he had spent his whole life avoiding getting tied down with people, getting involved. Kyra was the only person he had ever let close to him. He didn't want to get trapped and cornered; he had been on the run for too long to be comfortable with the idea of putting down roots. Any kind of roots.
The other part of him, however, was telling him that he was already involved. This planet was where he had been born: Where his family had lived. As they had walked through the streets that afternoon and in the council chamber he had sensed no fear or hatred from these people; they were cautious like he would have been, but they did not treat him with the same terror and loathing that he had become accustomed to receiving from the people around him. These people accepted him and Kyra and had, as of yet, not threatened either of them.
He looked down again at Kyra's sleeping face and his breath caught in his throat. "Damn, she is so beautiful." He thought. She lay next to him, her face totally at peace, totally trusting in him to protect her; to not harm her. That kind of faith was all still so new to him that every time he saw that look on her face, it made his heart swell with inexpressible emotion. A small smile quirked up the corner of her mouth as she dreamed, causing a smile to spread across his.
Also…Maybe…This could be the place he could try to rejoin the human race and create a safe place for Kyra. If he agreed to lead these people, he could stay here with Kyra after he got the mercs off their necks…Here he could protect her.
Leaning down he kissed her lightly on the corner of her mouth. He lay back down and pulled her closer to him, fitting her body against his as he drifted off to sleep.