Chapter 15: In Which Riddick Reads Books.
After tending to Binky, Riddick stomped through Death's dark house until he found Death's dark study. There was a book on Death's dark desk. He picked it up. Read the title from the cover.
"The Chronicles of Richard Balder Riddick." Snort.
Set it back down. He had no desire to read it.
The revelation was ice cold down his spine. Because Susan told me not to. She used The Voice on me.
Fuck that. He opened the book randomly.
Johns said, "Not too big a job for you, is it?"
Riddick frowned. Okay, maybe Susan had a point. I don't need this. Flipped to the very end of the book. Words were appearing on the page, Riddick was reading the words with growing annoyance and unease. He flipped the pages backwards more carefully.
Riddick shrugged. "Had to end sometime."
He flipped forward.
"I was always with you," Kyra whispered. Her body went limp. His eyes filled with tears as he collapsed back onto the throne.
"No!" a shrill voice shrieked.
As one, the Necromongers slid gracefully to their knees.
Riddick gazed out at the crowd, half his body slumped in grief, half already settling into the ornate throne. "You keep what you kill."
He stared at the page, deeply unsettled. Maybe this is a bad idea. Self reflection is bitchier than Vaako's ex wife. But he forced himself to flip forward again, slowly. Until he found words he had no memory of ever hearing.
"And now your old king has your girl," Lobsang said slowly.
"They're both dead-- Shit. They are both in the Underverse."
"In this demon dimension of yours. The one that's bursting out all over."
"Take me there."
"No. We have no idea what would happen if we unleashed you in there."
"I'm not asking."
Susan looked at him. Then she looked at Lobsang. Then she hefted the scythe. "Nine minutes?"
Lobsang nodded. "Do it."
She swung the scythe. Riddick never had a chance. His lifeless body hit the ground hard.
He turned the page. On the next page, Lobsang walked in again. Riddick closed the book.
Those fuckers. They killed me. Just like they had me kill Susan. Time loops.
Killed me so I wouldn't know. Wouldn't know about Jack. Kyra. Who the fuck ever she was.
Who ever the fuck she is.
Where ever the fuck she is.
Riddick's hands were shaking now. Flipped back to the page where she died. Noticed that Kyra's name was glowing slightly. He touched the letters.
I loved her.
The air prickled. He looked up, expectantly.
Nothing happened.
That's wrong. I know that's wrong. Something should have happened.
Her book should have shown up.
He took a deep breath and bellowed, "ALBERT!"
His voice echoed strangely through the strange halls.
There was the sound of running feet. Albert appeared, out of breath. "Mas—oh, it's you." He scowled. "You sounded like the master there. What do you want?"
Riddick found himself stalking around the desk. Albert fell back a step, quivered slightly. "Cor," he whispered. "You even looked like him. What – what can I do for you?"
"I want her book." Riddick tapped the glowing letters. He could feel the ghostly outlines of a cape settle around his shoulders. "NOW."
Albert swallowed. "That usually does it. Lemme see." He tapped the letters too. Nothing happened.
"Okay, let's go find it." With a crablike scuttle, Albert scooted out of the office, Riddick following, feeling eerily like he was gliding over the old wooden floors.
Albert took him to a library, or something like one. There were books on shelves, shelves that reached up into the sky. "Damn," he grunted. "Look, I'm guessing she's not one of ours?"
Riddick glared at him. "She's one of mine."
"You mean she's from a round world? Okay, she's not going to be in our collection." Albert backed up fast, but not fast enough. Riddick had him by the throat, thrusting him into a shelf that clattered behind him. "Okay okay okay! Look, I'm not supposed to – okay, look, there's someone who can help. Let me go and I'll see if I can find him."
Riddick leaned very close. "Who?"
"The Librarian." Albert managed to look supercilious, even while pinned. "He's the go-to primate for navigating L-Space."
Riddick grunted. "You mean the monkey?"
Albert scowled at him. "No. He's an orangutan. No tail." At Riddick's blank look, Albert elaborated. "Orangutans are apes. Just like people. Not monkeys. Monkeys have tails. Apes don't."
"What the fuck ever man. The orangutan gave me a fruit basket. I thought he was in Ankh."
The old man snorted. "Yeah. Ever hear of interlibrary loans? All libraries are connected. Since you know him, follow me." Riddick hesitated, nodded, let him go. The man scurried away with surprising speed.
After an eternity, they reached a place where the books changed, the shelves grew shorter, and there was a distinct smell of bananas.
"Ook?" came a cautious hail.
"Hey, old chum," Albert's voice was soft, unthreatening. "Got a request."
"Ook ook?" The smell of bananas got stronger.
An orangutan shuffled down the hall. He saw Riddick and his face lit up. "Ook OOK ook ook!"
Despite himself Riddick smiled. "Yeah. Same to you." He opened his book up and pointed to Jack's name, glowing on the page. "Old guy thought you could help me find her?"
The Librarian took the book cautiously. "Ook?" His voice was soft and gentle, his gaze so compassionate that Riddick's eyes started to prickle.
Albert grunted. "Not the girl, just her book."
That cheered the orangutan immensely. "Ook ook!" The librarian loped off with surprising speed. He was back almost immediately. He patted Riddick's head with a leathery hand, and wandered away, his eyes full of understanding.
Riddick held the book in his hands, gazed at the cover.
"The Chronicles of Audrey Parnell
a/k/a Jack al-Walid
a/k/a Kyra Riddick."
Kyra Riddick. She took my name. Jesus. Some Death I am. I'm gonna start bawling. He pocketed the book and followed Albert back to Death's dark realm. Sat in the den. Opened up the book at random, nearly half way through.
"Never had a doubt!"
He did not want to read the rest of the words on that page. Did not want to know if she knew how close he came to leaving her to die that day. He flipped forward.
"Lotta questions, whoever we run into. Could even be a merc ship. So what the hell do we tell them about you?"
"Tell them – tell them Riddick's dead. He died somewhere back on that planet." Riddick took her hand with a small smile, and she was the happiest she had been for years and years.
He flipped forward.
The bounty hunter took her by the hand, walked her onto his ship.
He closed his eyes. Opened them. Flipped forward more quickly.
The mercs held her down. Started cutting off her clothes.
He stared sightlessly at rest of that page. Flipped forward again.
"Death by tea cup. Why didn't I think of that?"
Flipped forward again. The tentacles swarmed over her, squirmed their way inside her, muffling her screams.
He closed the book with a snap. Stared at it. With a sense of foreboding, he opened it to the last page.
It was empty.
He paged back. Found the last page with writing on it.
Kyra hung on the tree, a spear through her heart.
The ink looked new.
As he watched, words began to appear further down the page. Irgun had pulled the spear out of her heart during the night. Her body had collapsed on the ground. With the rising sun, her eyes opened.
"Oh fuck, you're still here?" The words kept spilling down the page as he read.
Riddick wrenched his eyes away from the book. Fuck. This is now. This is happening to her right now.
Irgun. I killed him.
She's alive.
Or whatever passes for alive, locked in a demon dimension with a man who's torturing her.
I'm a royal fucking idiot. She's in the Underverse.
I have to go get her.
He opened her book again. There were more words on the last page already.
"The Lord Marshal wants you back in your cage, little monkey."
"Oh, goody. You gonna cut off my fingers and toes again?"
"They grow back, don't they? Eventually? Don't worry. I'm sure he'll get bored of you. Eventually. Especially if you stop escaping. Just give in girl. There is nowhere to go."
No where to go.
He stared frozen into the permanent twilight of death's dream kingdom. After a moment, he slipped both books into his pocket. They fit easily, though they should have been far too big. Then he started collecting weapons.
Suitably armed, he went to the stable. Saddled Binky, filled the saddlebags with food, water, supplies. Mounted up. Pulled Kyra's book out of his pocket. Leaned over the horse's neck. "Can you find this one?"
Binky whickered softly.
"Squeak!" The rat was back, scrambling up the horse. He scowled at it.
"You're leaving the Discworld?" croaked the Raven.
"Yeah."
"You're not supposed to do that."
He shrugged. "Got something I gotta do."
"Squeak!"
"Why don't you two be Death for a while."
"He wants to go with you," the Raven sighed. "And he wants me to translate. He says you're gonna need him."
Riddick started to snort. Then he pulled out his own book and read Riddick needed the Death of Rats. Closed the book. "Come on."
"Will there be eyeballs?"
Despite it all he could feel his lips twitching into a smile, maybe his first real smile since Jack died. "Generally."