Our story thus far: Lord Marshal Riddick, for reasons we have not explored but likely were nihilistic and perhaps a tiny bit oppositionally defiant, ordered the entire Necromonger fleet into the Threshold of the Underverse. Subsequently, our Riddick woke, naked, in a young lady's parlor. In another universe. Susan, the young lady in question, was not pleased, as Riddick's presence signaled that her grandfather, the anthropomorphic embodiment of Death, had gone on walk abouts, leaving the family business – represented by The Pale Horse and The Scythe – to her. Mounting the Pale Horse, Binky, she brought Riddick, clothed, to Death's realm in an effort to investigate. Riddick discovers he likes Binky, who, he learns has the ability to go anywhere. Anywhere. Dramatic voice drop.

As Susan is researching her Riddick troubles in Death's Dark Study, Lobsang, Susan's boyfriend and the son of the anthropomorphic embodiment of Time arrived with grave news that Riddick's attempt to give the Necromongers what they want may be shredding the multiverse. He also lets slip that the Underverse is a real place where Necromongers go when they die. Realizing that Jack might in fact be subject to rescue, Riddick decides to ride forth and save her. After mysteriously agreeing on "nine minutes," Susan slays Riddick with Death's own scythe. Our tale then took us to the Underverse, where we learn Jack was in fact reborn in the Underverse after dying saving Riddick's life, and has sadly fallen into the hands of people who are not overly solicitous of her welfare. We returned to Death's study. Time has rolled back nine minutes. Riddick is not dead – yet – and instead is given dinner and a comfy bed.

The next day, Riddick and Susan visit a village that has suffered an attack of dragon. Riddick pulls two children from the wreckage and accompanies our Susan first to Sto Helit, which smells like cabbages, and then to a confrontation with the dragon. There, he meets a young police woman, who asks him to help with her inquiries, in exchange for beer. Riddick thinks that a fine idea. Our story continues . . .

Chapter 10. In Which There Are More Dragons.

"Well," Susan said, from above the shredded remains of the multiverse, "that didn't work."

"No," Lobsang replied, seriously. "It didn't."

"Ready to try again?"

0o0

Angua was mounted on Binky, urging him on. Binky was blinking with benign disinterest. Riddick sauntered up.

"Hey."

"I need your horse."

"Do you."

The raven from the bar landed on Riddick's shoulder. He glanced at it. It had a green olive in its beak and a rat on its back. He looked away quickly.

"Squeak!"

"Mumble mumble mumble," said the bird.

The rat swung the scythe and came away with the olive. "Thought it was an eyeball," the raven said grumpily into Riddick's ear. "The rat says you're supposed to go with the werewolf."

Riddick took a halfhearted swipe at the raven. It flew to Binky's saddle with much affronted flapping. "Just sayin'"

Angua snapped, "I heard the bird. Come on."

Riddick stroked Binky's neck. The horse nickered at him. "Lady, I don't know who you think I am, but I don't usually take orders from rats." Even if they are trying to dislodge olives from scythes.

Angua's look softened slightly. "Please?"

What the fuck. Not like I have anything better to do. He gave Angua a wink. "You owe me another beer." He swung himself up onto the pale horse behind her. Binky clearly knew where he was going. He took two more or less horse-like strides then launched himself into the sky.

They flew away from the stink of the city, away from the stone hippos, away from riot of people seething beneath them. Some of the people very short. Some of them didn't seem quite human themselves.

Angua was gripping the reins tightly. "Quite the horse you've got. Most are terrified of me."

Riddick laughed. It surprised him how good it felt. Not much to laugh at, as a Necromonger. "Lady, I'm dead certain you are not the scariest thing this horse has carried."

Angua turned to look at him. "This really is The Pale Horse I'm riding, isn't it?"

"Yeah."

"I thought his rider was Death."

"He seems to like me."

There was a thoughtful silence. She changed the subject. "You ever fought a dragon before?"

"Huh?"

"Given the direction and the shrillness, that's where I think we're going."

"Thought your hero boy had him tamed."

Angua shrugged, eloquently. "Given time, I'm sure they'd get on like a house on fire."

Riddick snorted. Then remembered the burned village. Scowled. Said nothing.

Then they were there. And Susan had been right – it was worse.

Not one dragon but three.

And a giant swirly thing behind them. Binky pulled back so they were hovering.

"Squeak squeak SQUEAK squeak squeak!"

Riddick looked at him blankly. "Bollocks," the raven muttered. "He says we have to get him to the threshold."

There's that word again. I'm gettin' real sick of that word. "And what, exactly, does this have to do with me?"

"Squeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaakkkkk!"

"He says he can close it with the scythe before any more dragons come out!"

Riddick skewed his eye towards the swirly thing.

"And, again, that has what to do with me?"

"You've got to fly us there!"

"You've got wings."

"Right. There's a little too much wind for my little wings. And oh yeah, I'm a coward."

Riddick took a deep breath, surveyed the battlefield. The tamed dragon had taken up position between the other two and the city. It was screaming defiance. The other two were screaming defiance back. The tame dragon was more or less hemming in his flying counterpart, but the worm clearly had designs on the city. The swirly thing – the threshold – swirled balefully behind them. The orangutan was screaming, probably defiance. Angua's hero-boy was bleeding. Well, that's something good.

Other than that, they were the only ones who had arrived at the scene. He could see people running towards them, from a long way away. Damn. Just us.

Okay, figure this out. Guessin' that's a threshold. Except things come out of that one. Like dragons.

Angua was screaming at him. Probably defiance. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close. He whispered into Angua's ear. "You know how to kill dragons?"

"Not ones this big. But I'm thinking rippin' its throat out might do it."

He nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah. Okay. I like that. Two on one or split up?"

She shot one agonized look at hero boy. "I'll take the grounded one. Carrot and the Librarian can concentrate on the other flying thing. You close the portal, then come back and help out, okay?"

With her lupine eyes boring into him, he nodded. I'm going soft, he thought, followed quickly by "librarian?"

Before he could follow up on that second thought, Angua smiled and started wriggling around in a distracting fashion. She got her sword belt off and looped it awkwardly over his neck. "Here. You can use this more than me."

"How's that?" And then he wasn't soft at all.

Because Angua was taking off her clothes.

0o0

"Not that I mind," Riddick drawled after a moment or two. "But what are you doing?"

She swung around so she was sitting, precariously, side saddle. Automatically, he snaked an arm around her. "Thanks," she grunted, and started unlacing her boots. "Get us closer to the worm."

"No problem," he said thickly, beginning, again, to wonder what it would be like to mate with a werewolf. Binky seemed to have a better idea of what she wanted and started taking purposeful strides through the air downwards.

He forced himself away from the fantasy. Well, from that fantasy. There are dragons down there. I don't believe in dragons. But they are right there. And there's a nearly naked cop nearly in my lap. Right there. And I'm on a horse. Right here.

With one final distracting, if highly professional wriggle she was naked and tying her clothes and a prodigious amount of miscellaneous weaponry into a neat bundle. "Okay. Close enough." She twisted slightly and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Good luck. Thanks. Don't watch me change."

"A little late, don't you think?" But she had already dropped the bundle, stood in the stirrup, and launched herself from the horse.

He watched. There was a naked woman flying through the air. Would I do something about this if I was a good person?

"Uh, gov – we gotta deal with the threshold," the raven muttered. Riddick nodded, still distracted.

And then he knew why she told him not to watch. She changed. It wasn't the sort of smooth change of a soul ripped from its body and dissolved into nothingness. It wasn't any sort of smooth. Riddick had never heard the term "morphic uncertainty," but suddenly, deep down, he knew what it was. Wished he didn't.

At the end was a wolf. She landed on the worm and ripped out a big chunk of flesh. It screamed.

The rat seemed to be having a quiet word with the horse. Binky turned towards the threshold.

"Rip its throat out," Riddick thought, impressed. She meant that literally.