Chapter 4

Simon did not expect himself to be carrying back rocks from his grandmother Diona's house. Correction, dirt, dust, little rocks, in short, a small part of the clearing that screamed of home to him, crazy as it sounded. A small part of his heart had ached at the thought of leaving the clearing. So he would happily carry as much as he grandmother wanted. But after the fifth bucket of dirt, Simon was ready to stop. He almost stumbled as he finished dumping the latest bucket of dirt in the back of the wagon that was at the back of the house. But he caught himself and walked weary back to his grandmother Diona's house.

He found his mother and grandmother Diona putting some of the plants in pots for transfer to their manor. His grandmother and mother after a fierce argument came to a compromise. Grandmother Diona would stay at the manor to ease River to her house, it would be good to start her in a familiar setting.

Simon was nudged from his sitting position as he opened his eyes. When did he sit down and why was it dark out? His mother was leaning against the wagon with it's horses, a small smile on her face as her grandmother grabbed his hand and hauled him to his feet.

Thirty minutes later, Simon was regretting volunteering to sit in the back of the wagon as it went over another pothole in the dusty road. His mother and grandmother chatted happily in the well cushioned front.

"Time to go grandson." Diona's grin was a little scary, in fact like a bit like River's when she had a trick up her sleeve.

Simon was aroused out of his slowly glum thoughts of never getting off of this wagon to see his mother walking to a hover cart that had three out of the five buckets in it already. How long has his thoughts been wandering? He finished helping his mother put the remainder of the plants, mini-trees and the dirt buckets in the hover cart.

"Now what? This isn't magic run or that electricity thing that's starting up." Simon sat confused and then gasped in pain when his grandmother grabbed his hand and slammed it down on the driving wheel. It light up like a sparkly tree at dusk and the hover cart started with a low purr of a hum.

Diona's grin widened into a satisfied smirk as she happily drove, quickly from her house. Simon found himself hoping she was a better driver the Mal. "What was that?!" He asked after he recovered enough to get angry.

"Your Furyan blood. It was wiped out by the People of Death because we are stronger than them, and we tend to wipe out technology by our blood. Not many can though. You and River are the last of our people. There is no others." Diona waved off Simon's look of horror. "it's not like we slit throats to get our blood on things, or in this, it's a jump start. Myth says we came from the stars and our island, our country was a planet that crashed landed here long ago. The island has been lost for centuries, the clearing is all I have collected throughout the years." Her tone of voice was sad and Simon could feel the loss as it was his own.

Simon's sigh of relief was short-lived by three things. His mother's gasp of something she found on her personal comm, Grandma Diona's explanation of her, no their heritage, which after a few minutes made his a little queasy, but River would be happily be soaking up the knowledge, all the gory details and more.

The third was when his father's voice came out of his mother's comm sounding a bit sheepish. "Grandmother can you please stop talking. Gabriel what exacting did you say?"

Regan was torn between many things, mostly at her husband on the purchase of a dangerous beast for a companion for River and the horror that say beast deliberate bit her enough to draw blood.

That was just from the written comm message, the spoken words that followed and the camera shot that came with it almost caused an accident. Simon caught himself from being seriously hurt when Diona slammed on the brakes when she saw to her eyes, the charming picture of River and her companion. That must be River, it looked like a younger her and, Diona's breath caught. It was impossible, it just had to be.

"Gabriel where did you find a Furyan Alpha?!" Her question was pure command.

"A what?" A confused Gabriel said. Diona sighed impatiently, as her granddaughter explained things in simple terms as they drove like Reavers were behind them the coordinates light up like a hot brand on the dash. Regan married a little beneath her, just a little.

"Where are you? We'll be there ASAP."

Diona found herself shaking as she stepped on the Tam's private island, 120 miles from the nearest land. Her blood hummed within her until she stepped onto the private living acre which a magic ward kept out the rest of the island.

She was crying and laughing so hard Diona didn't see the young woman until she was right in front of her. A low growl interrupted her, while everyone besides River was confused.

"Welcome home grandmother. I have a lot to learn with the Riddle King."

Diona snorted. "That's an understatement my dear." She said dryly. "Well start in the morning."

Riddick or the beast didn't care too much for the older looking woman who reminded him of an older River. But she was family so the beast nipped gently at River and took off leaving the humans behind. The beast was overwhelmed.