Nicola stroked Aiden's hair as he stared up at her from the bed. "Mama...don't go." His eyes held a measure of pain, something that cut her deep. He had his father's face, but it was so much more expressive, none of Riddick's careful emotional control. What Aiden had been through... his sister was his idol, to have her turn on him, drag him out of bed. She sighed.
"Baby, I have to check on your sister. Daddy's going out to take care of this. I'll leave the light on, and I'm just in Jack's room. You're safe." The little boy's eyes filled with tears, but he shut them, trying to hide them. He sniffled.
"I want Puppy." The words were muffled behind his fist as he wiped furiously at his face. Nicola paused, biting off the automatic "no."
"OK, but just for tonight." She knew it was a lie before she even got to the door. She'd just lost the 'outdoor pet' battle, but she couldn't find it in her to care. She sighed again as she went to the front door. The canny cat was sitting patiently on the doorstep, anticipating her. She shook her head and stepped aside. Puppy looked at her once more, hesitating after he stuck one huge paw over the threshold.
"Oh, go on. " she muttered and the big cat padded through the room, slipping down the hall ahead of her. She heard the relieved cry of greeting from her son to his pet, and the muffled sound of weight on his bed. Great. She wondered how long it would be before Aiden started whining that the cat was hogging the bed. She could hear a steady low purr start, and shook her head as she went to Jack's door.
The doctor was applying a neuro-healer to Jack's neck. The girl was sleeping, a result of the sedative the doctor had given her to relax. The doctor looked up at her approach, and smiled reassuringly. "She'll be fine," he mouthed quietly. Nicola nodded gratefully, and went down the hall to find Riddick.
He was gearing up in their bedroom, already dressed and strapping knives to his belt. He didn't look up when she approached. She could feel the barely suppressed anger rolling off him.
"I want to go with you." She went to the wall pulling down one of the Furyan blade facsimiles she'd had made for him as an anniversary gift. It was based on text drawings, curved blade serrated and decorated with runes. Killing sharp. Made by a well known Helion craftsman, to her specifications. She went to the dresser to retrieve the sheath.
"No." She'd expected this. Anticipated it. She still had to ask. She held out the blade to him.
"I'm contacting Aereon then." He paused and looked at her as he took the knife.
"Don't like it. Can't stop you." He strapped the blade to his forearm.
"They're my children too, Richard. Don't shut me out like this." He growled low at that, then brushed past her, grabbing his goggles off the bedside table.
"Stay here and guard them then," he muttered as he strode out the door. Nicola stared at nothing for a long time, thinking about expectations, choices and actions; then went back to her daughter's room.
Nicola saw the doctor out, thanking him again for coming by so late. He was military, from Helion, so he knew who she was, who Riddick was, and hadn't asked for details on how Jack had been injured when none were volunteered. Another family might have to worry about allegations of child abuse in the morning, but between their standing, and the fact that the doctor had treated Jack for far worse self-sustained injuries in the past, Nicola wasn't worried.
She closed the door and went back to check on Aiden, who was sleeping peacefully, snuggled up against Puppy's black bulk. The cat turned to look at her as she shut off the light, but merely snuffed and lay his head back down. She glanced into Jack's room one last time, and then went down the hall to her study.
She had no idea what time it was on Helion as she opened a vid channel window and commed Kij. Didn't matter. She was using the emergency secure military channel anyway. Nicola could only hope the relay wasn't blocked by a moon or other interference.
"Nicola?! What's going on?" Kij didn't waste time on formalities.
"Something happened with the kids. Weird shit. I need to talk to Aereon."
"They're OK? Where's Riddick?" Kij was typing now, looking up the Envoy's schedule.
"They're fine, mostly. Riddick took off, he's talking to Eldar." Nicola tried to keep the anger from her voice. Kij knew about the Elemental, was one of the few who did. The General caught the catch in her tone and looked at her.
"He's still not letting you talk to him?" Nicola shook her head. Kij blew out air. The women had discussed Riddick's reticence with information, both publicly with the military, as well as with Nicola. He had rights to the land, and the military honored the no-fly-zone policy over the protected preserve he owned. There was vague orbital geologic data, but no one was allowed into that domain. Nicola didn't know why Riddick was so tight-lipped about the place the Elemental dwelt, but she'd respected his silence... until now.
"Aereon is back on Quintessa," Kij continued after a minute." Don't think I can direct link you this time of day, but you can record a message and I'll put a priority one tag on it." Nicola nodded and flipped a note doc across the connection.
"This should do. Don't need visuals." Nicola smiled weakly. Kij was quiet a second as she coded the message and sent it on.
"So what's up?" Kij gave her full attention back to her friend.
"I don't know. Something... possessed my daughter. It's Furyan shit. Ghosts I think. Jack tried to drag Aiden out of the house at knifepoint." Kij's mouth dropped open.
"Sweetheart, I'm used to 'weird' from you, but that takes the cake."
"No," Nicola frowned, "What takes the cake is Richard somehow knew what was going on, like he had expected it. And Jack seemed to understand more than I did when it was over and he explained it to her." Kij nodded, thoughtful for a minute.
"You're tracking him now, aren't you?" Nicola nodded, flipping open a second desk window and activating the GPS program. She hated going behind Riddick's back like this, but he'd left her no choice. Trust went both ways and his stubbornness had put her babies in danger. She was done being passive about this. Kij had sent her the tracker via Ziza. Just a clear adhesive circuit strip, the size of a child's fingernail. Attached to the hilt of the knife she had given him, placed there months ago. Nicola had hoped she wouldn't have need to use it. Oh well.
She watched the green dot appear on the topographical map. He'd been gone maybe an hour. When the movement stopped for more than 20 minutes, it was set to alert her.
"Anything else you need?" Kij asked, pulling her attention back.
"No. Thanks Kij." She forced a smile.
"Hang in there mama bear. I'm sure it'll work out. But if it doesn't, call me." Kij winked and signed off. Nicola stared at the black screen for several minutes before she got up to check on the kids again.
The message that came through from Aereon was unusually simple and direct: Speak to Eldar, I will arrive in a few days. It reinforced her conviction, even as she called up Ziza to borrow Basir's land skimmer. Ziza had arrived with her baby, Abu, about an hour after dawn. A mother herself now, she understood Nicola's instinctive pain and outrage at her children's distress and her need to do everything in her power to make sure it didn't happen again. Ziza also accepted the strange explanation without question, merely vowing to guard her adopted niece and nephew from themselves as well as any outside threat. Nicola silently thanked the gods for the other woman's friendship and left immediately.
She didn't know what to think about Riddick being gone this long. It made her leaving easier, avoiding confrontation and his obvious interference, but it also filled her with trepidation that their paths would cross in the Elemental's presence. Riddick usually returned before dawn when he went out at night.
She'd accepted his restless need to hunt like she'd accepted most of his unique personality. He knew she worried and there was always an implicit agreement that he'd return to her with the sun. Or so she'd let herself believe. The belief that he wouldn't court any undue danger, place his family in jeopardy, that had all been shattered last night. She'd allowed him to keep that part of his life separate, not demand he share every detail of his nightly 'd tried to grant him some measure of privacy, believing it built trust, that he'd share when he was ready. But when that part of his life showed up at the family home, all bets were off.
She avoided the wooded route laid out on the map. The skimmer could hover fairly high off the ground, but she preferred not to make herself a visible target in uncharted territory. Furya was still wild and mostly undocumented and she gave it the due respect of any alien hostile world. She routed over the old volcanic plains, scrub desert like much of their own property, then cut west around the woods into the dark looming hills toward the more active volcanic peaks.
The cemetery was both awing as well as a frightening sight, given what she'd just been through. Nicola hadn't seen such a densely packed mortuary since the early days after the Necro War on Helion. She covered her mouth against the violent nausea and flashbacks it brought for her. Somehow it had never occurred to her to question where the people of this planet had gone, even given her own occupation in archeology. This had been a fully inhabited planet, like any other, before the Necromonger genocide. Even given her daughter's long ago description of her dreams... that didn't prepare her for the miles of white stone or the eerie energy that radiated from this place.
Feeling queasy, Nicola flipped the switch to autopilot the last few klicks over the bleak landscape. She'd attached the tracker to the navigation unit, but hadn't expected to be so stunned by the sight of her destination. She tried to clamp down on her emotional response by cataloging the architecture of the cemetery as she passed. The mausoleums on the hilltops came from several historical periods, this had been an ancestral burial place before the sudden need to pack every available space with bodies. There was probably a wealth of historical data to be leached from even the walls of the ornate tombs. Her daughter had asked of Names and Lines and Nicola imagined the answers to many of those questions could be found here, among the dead.
The skimmer slowed suddenly, approaching the last hill as it zeroed in on the GPS coordinates. Nicola's attention was drawn back to her mission as the craft started the landing alert sequence. Still, despite being lost in professional thoughts, she wasn't prepared for the sight of the temple. The polished marble glowed orange in the combination of early sunlight and refracted illumination of the lava vents that ringed the Greco-Roman structure. There was no coincidence in the modeling after the Athenian Parthenon on Earth. This was a place of worship, meant to inspire. This was holy ground, worthy of respect, and the symbolism of that couldn't be lost even on someone as vehemently secular as her mate.
She was not surprised to see the priest waiting for her at the edge of the temple steps. Had to be Eldar. Even without the faint, wisping glow across his body, Nicola would have pegged him for an Elemental only by his carriage and gate. She was in political mode even before she stepped off the transport.
"Lady Cantaglia," Eldar's greeting was as smooth as his bow. He smiled graciously as she bowed in return, waiting deferentially for him to speak again. "You flatter me with courtesy, Lady. Here it is you who are of higher rank, mate to the Alpha, mother to the Royal Line." Nicola inhaled sharply at that. Elementals were fond of ritual and decorum and it was well known that they considered themselves above common humanity, one reason they seldom left their homeworld. They were haughty and slightly arrogant even at the best of times; to be treated reverentially by one? Shocking.
"I can see why Richard prefers you to Aereon," she managed. Eldar smiled almost humorously.
"Ah, yes... the Envoy to Helion. You have spoken to her, I presume?" Nicola cocked her head, trying hard to quash the curiosity at his amusement.
"Forgive me, Lady. Aereon and I... have a past and a future. She will be joining us, yes?" Nicola raised an eyebrow at that, but nodded.
"In a few days. She sent me to speak to you." Eldar phased a bit, getting that 'inward gazing' look Nicola knew too well. She waited.
"She will bring another with her, she is astute," he smiled tightly. "As are you, Lady."
"Please, call me Nicola." Eldar shook his head.
"As with Amadak, my liege, I find such intimate addresses unsuited to my place here as advisor and priest. You may address me by my given name but, with your political background, please understand my need for formality. " Nicola smiled tightly. She could only assume he was speaking of Riddick, but she'd never heard him addressed by that name. Eldar had a curiously open way of expression for an Elemental. That would be why Riddick trusted him, he hated verbal gaming or any sort of veiled intrigue. Eldar was rather ingratiating, even if he was keeping her outside the temple. His next comment told her he'd been following her thought process well.
"He is still here and is waiting for you. We have spoken of the situation and I empathize with what you must be feeling now, Lady. I could say that I have warned him against this eventuality, but you would not be here if you did not know that. " He sighed and shook his head.
"I am bound by code, I cannot interfere, only advise. I could not act against his wishes, even to warn you, without his express permission. As the Alpha, he is both leader and keystone in this affair and while he fights to ignore his destiny, it will not remain motionless at his inaction. " Nicola crossed her arms, stared at him blankly. That was the convoluted vagueness she expected from an Elemental. Eldar watched her eyes go hard and nodded to himself.
"I do not mean to speak in riddles, Lady. I will enlighten you further, but your mate is impatient, and, I may add, still in a less-than-agreeable mood." Nicola barked a laugh at that. Eldar was being rather polite.
"Oh, I imagine he's in a foul mood, all right, especially if he knows I'm here," Eldar wrung his hands, looking chagrined. "But you're still here," she added evenly, "So he can't be that upset." You're still alive, she added privately. She blew out a breath. "Fine, I'll take the hint and go talk to him. Where is he?" Eldar inclined his head and pointed further down the isthmus, nearer to the sluggish lava river that ran around the temple.
Nicola sighed and started over the black, rocky ground. She didn't relish the idea of confronting him here, especially when she had less information than Riddick, but that was kind of the point, wasn't it? His keeping her in the dark had led to this broken trust. Best to get it over with now, though no telling how hostile her mate would be feeling.
It was sweltering, even in the cool morning hours, this close to the molten rock. He didn't turn to greet her at her approach, merely stood, arms crossed, back to her, scowling at the rock, or the universe. He held up the small transparent tracking chip, then flicked it away towards the river.
"Dirty pool, Nicola," he growled as he turned. "Thought I could trust you."
"Trust. You don't get to use that word as defense. Not after last night." His head came up, as if she'd struck him. Sunlight flashed over his goggles. His lip curled.
"I was trying to protect you. Keep the kids out of this shit." Nicola glared back, unimpressed.
"You are so fucking stubborn and single-minded! We've been together 12 years you shit! Don't you think it's past time to let me in a little bit? Not keep me walled off from whole parts of your life?" She wished she had something to throw at him. Sweat had trickled into her eyes now, stinging, and she wiped it away, not wanting him to think she was tearing up. He was glowering at her, jaw set. "And take off those fucking goggles, you're not allowed to hide behind them when you're talking to me." Riddick made an angry noise and ripped the black lenses from his head. He was in her face a second later, fury burning in his silver eyes.
"I've been through this before, Nicola." The words were low, dangerously controlled. "I give the universe what it wants, and it fucks me. Try to do the right thing and it rips a chunk out of my ass. Every goddamn time. Took my freedom, took my sight, and then took the one person I'd let myself care about. " He grabbed her shoulders hard, shook her.
"And none of that, none of it, mattered even half as much as you and our kids matter to me." He crushed her in a strong embrace. "So no, when fate comes screaming bullshit at me again, I'm not playin' ball. I'm fucking done. This ain't some noble hero shit, this is me tellin' them I've had enough. I'm not losing you. Any of you." He relaxed his grip, bending to kiss her tenderly. His eyes were closed, but she could see the streak of tears down his face.
Once. She'd seen him cry once, at the birth of their son. To see it now, her anger softened and she hated herself for having to say what came next.
"Get over it. " He stiffened in shock. "You can't be angsty about the universe, love. It doesn't play fair. And if you think you're the only one who's had lovers and friends ripped violently out from under you..." she choked up, seizing a minute in her own sharp grief of memories, "you got another thing coming." So much she'd never told him, because he'd never asked. He didn't talk about the past and she had accepted that, for the most part. But if he was just drowning himself in emotional denial and misplaced blame - she both ached for him and wanted to hit him for being so dumb. It was emotionally stunting to wallow like that and childish. She loved him enough to give him the bitch-slap he deserved.
"You can't change the past," she managed a wry grin at his still shocked expression. "You have to deal with your pain, not ignore it. And you have to keep trusting in other people or you end up alone and hurting forever. If you don't let people in, they can't help reinforce you. And you should know by now, I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself and I'll do what I want, even if it means crossing the great Richard B. Riddick." He was wise enough to be silent, thoughtfully taking in what she said. She'd expected him to rage back, deny what he was feeling or at least how he'd been dealing with it. But she should have known the wall was already down with his confession and his tears.
"I fucked up. I know that." he said finally. "I don't do 'sorry'..."
"No" Nicola pushed against his chest, "The man I met 12 years ago didn't do 'sorry.' Stop hanging on to that. You apologize and we move on. That's how this works. Even your five year old son knows that." He looked at her critically, saw no give, and he huffed.
"Fine. I'm sorry. I fucked up. I should have told you what was going on." He made a face. Nicola wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.
"See? Not so hard. And now I don't have to cut your liver out while you sleep for nearly killing my babies." He laughed at that, the tension going out of him.
"Your babies? They're still ours, right? Lioness is just getting territorial, right?" He actually sounded worried. She scoffed and pushed him away.
"Dunno" she shrugged as she turned and started walking back to the temple. "Pretty sure a good lion protects his mate and cubs, doesn't leave them out for the universe to bat at while he broods. At least, not if he wants to keep them." She tried not to smile at the growl behind her and wasn't entirely surprised when he suddenly scooped her up into his arms.
"It won't happen again, love, I promise." He pressed his forehead to hers briefly as he carried her.
"Just remember that I'm not a passive participant in these games. If you wanted a docile woman, you wouldn't have me or your children. Hell, you wouldn't be on this planet. So don't think you have to shoulder this all yourself, Richard." He stopped, opened his mouth, but she cut him off. "And no, that doesn't mean you can put me down. Keep walking buster. You still have a lot to make up for."
So thank you to Riddicks-gurl198, FluidDegree, thekim13 , and paulmtk(my beta mistress). And everyone else who keeps commenting. I'm pretty rough on myself, it's not even perfectionism, just me thinking my wording is crappy and my muse not cooperating. And then it's easier to wander off and read other people's work than finish my own.
I gots plenty of cheese, plenty of w(h)ine; some days I just need a bitchslap more than Big Evil. ;P
