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Riddick leaned over the iron slab Kyra’s body lay on with his goggles pulled down. The light in the chamber glanced off of the metal at every angle, too sharp and too real for him to appreciate without her by his side. The piercing light stabbed at his eyes and threatened to redraw the tears that fell while he sat on the throne. But he’d already shed his tears for her, for the fear in thinking he’d lost her, for the beauty of her defiant end. He was Lord Marshal now, a new beast and this beast had never loved.
Riddick pushed the slab into the wall of the chamber and closed the latch over it. He looked around at the crypt, slightly perturbed at placing her amongst a host of Necros, but burying Kyra was his first action as Lord Marshal and there was nowhere else to place her. Of course the Necromongers had catacombs on board their armada; of course they lived amongst their dead.
Our dead, he thought.
He stepped back and took a deep breath. The smell of Kyra’s freshly washed hair fought to dampen the rank aroma of death encased in the chamber. He could almost feel the line in the air where the lilac leaves she’d washed with before her purification bled into decay and rotted flesh. He took another deep breath and raised his arms in surrender and annoyance.
“You gonna stand around in dark corners for the rest of my time here Vaako? I heard you come in and you always smell…conflicted.”
“Does this ritual mean you plan to stay?” Vaako asked, stepping out and leaning against the entryway.
“I bet you’d like to see me go.”
“It’s long been a dream of mine.”
Riddick chuckled and let the sound thunder off the chamber walls before turning to face his First Among Commanders.
“I didn’t know you half-deads had a sense of humor.”
“We don’t.”
“Then tell me, how many times should I expect to move up ranks by the end of the week?”
Vaako frowned. “Allow me to be confused. Lord Marshal is the highest rank.”
“But, if say the First Among Commanders attacked me and I butcher him, does that make me Lord Marshall and First Among?”
“…I suppose it would.”
“Then answer my question.”
“Right now, the men are uneasy. They seem assured that you’ll abandon the post and leave someone more fitting in charge.”
“Like you?”
Vaako shifted his weight within the confines of his armor but he didn’t answer and no emotion reached his eyes that Riddick could sense. It could have been the Necro equivalent of a shrug.
“What happens if I decide I like it here?”
“Then there would undoubtedly be anarchy.”
“Anarchy,” Riddick rolled the word around in his mind. Anarchy meant blood. “Sounds like fun.”
“If you are not the one being butchered, perhaps it will be.”
“Are you afraid, Commander?”
“I'm hopeful, My Lord. You will find many chances to reach the Underverse.”
Riddick stepped around the commander with a smirk. He could feel his knives with every step he took; he knew the weight of them, how long each one would take to draw or throw. He was ready. He hadn’t planned on staying to become Lord Marshal at all, but what harm could a week or two of Anarchy do to a group of people who’d never known true emotion? He laughed to himself.
“It does sound like fun.”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
When the fighting did start, it was like watching stars explode, all points of energy expanding outward sending beams of destruction in every direction. There had been pressure and tension at the core of the armada as if all of his men were waiting for the word, the permission to strike, but this time Vaako preferred to watch rather than lead the charge. There was a choice to be made once the fighting started, only one choice that mattered: Which side to fight on. In any other circumstance, nothing could have made Vaako doubt his own men, but Riddick was not just any breeder. He was a Furyan and he had been strong enough to become their Lord Marshal. For almost a week now Vaako had watched the Riddick dismember his best fighters as they challenged him at the center of the Basilica or ambushed him along the halls. Foolish. Vaako knew that Riddick could hear them coming, could smell their fear before they even rounded the corners. It wouldn’t end until they accepted their fate or were all dead. Vaako wasn’t sure if the Underverse could handle so many early arrivals. Vaako caught the sound of running boots outside of his chamber and pushed away from the gilded mirror his Dame had so loved. (He hadn’t seen her since his failed attempt at glory, but she was no doubt close by seeking the attention of another with promise). Vaako stepped out of their quarters and approached the balcony that overlooked the center of the ship where the throne sat, where the young one had died, and where Zhylaw had been left to rot. Riddick merely shifted his body to the side forbidding any Necromonger to bury him as he had buried Kyra. There was a crowd forming—as best a crowd could form when the woman hid behind pillars and the cowardly men kept ample distance back. Vaako watched Riddick step down from the throne twirling his beloved curved blades in hand. A soldier Vaako recognized as Gnaeus stood before him. Gnaeus secured his helmet over his face and drew his own long daggers from beneath the bracers on his forearms. Riddick stopped, admired them, and put his own away. Vaako almost laughed. Gnaeus had served well enough but there would be no victory for him this day. Riddick approached the soldier slightly bent at the waist and knees. They began to circle one another immediately and the atmosphere in the ship thickened. Vaako pressed forward further. Gnaeus swung out at Riddick, blades singing through the air. Riddick ducked out of the way, caught Gnaeus by the arm and flipped him bodily onto the floor. He used his knees to hold the general down and elbowed him in the throat where his armor did not cover. Blood shot out of Gnaeus’ mouth and onto Riddick’s face. It dripped off of his bottom lip and Vaako felt an unfamiliar tug in his chest. ‘Want’, his brain supplied. What he wanted, Vaako was not sure. Riddick ripped the blades from Gnaeus’ hands and stood up to weigh them. The general spluttered on the floor. “Will you not kill him, Lord Marshal?” Vaako spoke the words before he could stop himself, catching every eye on deck except Riddick’s who knew he was there from the start. The Furyan lifted his goggles and smiled his hunter’s smile. “If I kill all of you, who’s gonna run my ship?”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Riddick lay sprawled against the soft spread that adorned Zhylaw’s old bed. He hung his goggles over his head on the heavily decorated head post and looked around the room. Through the red gleam of his vision he could make out the scowling faces carved into every visible surface, the crippled figures with spears in their throats. Riddick put his goggles back on. He didn’t want to look at the room anymore let alone sleep in it.
Riddick swung his legs over the side of the bed and stopped. Aereon was standing in the corner, the normal self-assured smile playing on her thin lips barely covered by the wisps of her dress.
“Aereon, the next time you enter my chambers without invitation, I’ll kill you.”
“I’m sure you will forgive me when you see what I have accomplished in your favor.”
“Are the idiots who want to challenge me kneeling outside the door?”
“Perhaps the Commander would kneel for you, if you asked him,” She replied.
Riddick recognized the line, stolen straight from the lips of Dame Vaako and any appreciation he had for her humorous attitude melted away. He stood and approached her.
“What do you want?”
“Only to tell you, that should you remain Lord Marshal, you must do it under your own terms. The people you lead are searching for their threshold, but you have one of your own. You, Riddick, have one place that can bring you true peace and immortality.”
“Furya.” Riddick felt contentment slide over him at the mention of his home planet and a low rumble sounded outside of his door.
He inhaled deeply and rushed to thrust open the doors of the chamber. Immediately, four hounds congregated at his feet. Their plated scales were a placated blue as they nudged him and sniffed at his hands.
“How--?”
Aereon waved her hand to stop him. “Animals and men are all alike; appease them, and they will give you what you want.”
The largest of the hounds liked his chops as if to emphasis her point. Riddick frowned.
“How does a man appease a race that’s been bred not to feel?”
“Show them how.”
All traces of her presence were gone with his next breath and the hounds grumbled contentedly at his feet.
. . . . . .
“Why are you alive?”
Dame Vaako was seated in her chair where Vaako knew she would be upon her eventual return. He could see her resentment on her face perfectly through the mirror.
“Apparently, so that you have someone to annoy Selune,” he sighed.
She shot up from her chair, “You know what I mean! You seem to be the only truly worthy Necromonger soldier who has not challenged our New Lord Marshal. It is made even more shameful because you are our First Among Commanders. No man holds higher rank than you!”
“Nor does any woman, so you will watch how you speak!”
“Again?” She asked laughing. “When the other fool was Lord Marshal, we whispered our conspiracies and now you would have me silent for the breeder. You’re a coward, no better than the others.”
“Perhaps you should challenge him then.”
“Maybe I will.”
“Your head will make a lovely addition to the Basilica walls.”
She sneered. “Laugh while you can Vaako, but I will find a way to get rid of that breeder and you will have none of the glory. You will look foolish again!”
“No more foolish than the day I agreed to marry a lunatic. Hear me, Selune! Riddick will come to me, and when he does I will be ready. Till then, find yourself a new toy!”
Vaako stripped the symbolic wedding band from his arm and threw it at her face. Only the people kept track of who was wed and who wasn’t. Removing the band was as good as divorce papers. Selune picked up the band and left without as much as a mumbled threat. Vaako thought he saw tears welling in her eyes and he wondered how long he had hated her that thought pleased him.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
It was a week before any more deaths were reported, but this time it wasn’t by Riddick’s hand. He’d let his youngest hound out of his sight but did not stop her when she was found chewing on Vaako’s right hand man. At the time, Vaako only assumed it was a warning, but when Riddick summoned him (by way of leg-butting hell hound) he knew he was right.
The Lord Marshal’s chamber was dimly lit, candles on all sides. As he stepped inside and shut the doors he had the feeling of being shut inside an inferno. It was warmer than he could ever remember being, but warm is a word that existed before the purification scars. Now it’s uncomfortable, stifling, within his armor.
Vaako can see the huge bed, the beasts flanking it at both sides held in place by order of their master, but he can’t make out Riddick’s form in the haze.
“You called for me Lord Marshal?”
“I did, Nikta volunteered to retrieve you.”
The hound in question flexed her scales.
“What can I do for you, my Lord?”
“Come here,” Riddick answered, and Vaako could practically here the smirk in his voice.
Vaako grit his teeth. There was nothing he hated more than being toyed with. He looked to the hounds hoping they would be of some assistance, but each one only stared back as though they understood their master’s game.
“Follow my voice,” Riddick beckoned again. The sultry sound of it caressed the atmosphere and the candles flickered toward Vaako, like a threat…or an invitation.
Vaako move to the right of the bed, slowly stepping around the largest of the four hounds. He found Riddick in the bent over the sink. The flames illuminated the hue of bare chest and back. He was scraping the flat edge of his blade over his scalp. When he turned his gaze on Vaako, the shine of his eyes seemed like a light of their own.
“There you are.”
“Tell me what you need so I can leave, my Lord.”
Riddick dropped his shiv in the sink and wiped his head on his nearby shirt. “It’s always business with you half-deads, never pleasure.”
Riddick purred the word, and Vaako had to physically balance himself. He leaned against the wall hoping he looked bored instead of overheated, but Riddick could already smell the spike of arousal in the air. He pressed into Vaako’s space and watched the muscles in his face fight to remain neutral.
“Our business is our pleasure,” Vaako finally choked out.
“No wonder I feel so fucked.”
“You could always give it up.”
“Well that’s what you’re here for,” Riddick reached in his back pocket and put his goggles over his eyes, “I want you to take it from me. If you can.”
“Just say when.”
Riddick’s fist connected with Vaako’s smirking bottom lip. He stumbled backwards into the bedroom and caught in himself on one of the four bedposts just in time to see Riddick advancing again. When Riddick swung again he ducked under it and landed a square left hook of his own. He grabbed Riddick by the shoulders and pushed him out of the chambers onto the upper deck of the ship. Vaako pressed Riddick’s back against the ledge of the balcony hoping to send him over. Riddick obliged him. He grabbed Vaako’s forearms, shoved his leg between both of the Commander’s and tilted them over the side.
Riddick landed on his feet above Vaako. “Get up. I was hoping for a real fight this time.”
Vaako rolled away and sprang to his feet. The armor had broken his fall, but now it would only be a hindrance. All of his men had fought with their armor on and they had been slow, bumbling creatures where Riddick was lithe and fluid.
“Allow me to even the playing field then.”
Vaako allowed his hands to roam the expanse of his metal chest plate before reaching underneath to undo the latches. It slipped to the floor with a clang that barely covered Riddick’s deep growl of approval.
“Interesting.”
Vaako shoved the metal from his arms and shoulders then pushed his hands lower. He removed the plate from his stomach, then, very slowly, his groin. Riddick unconsciously licked his lips. Vaako proceeded to remove his leg guards and pushed the pile aside. He felt completely exposed wearing nothing but the thin skin protector, but if he could be faster, if it would distract Riddick for a second, then it was worth any injury he might sustain.
Vaako charged, catching a kick in the chest at the same time he landed his own right hook. It went on like that for an hour, each one taking and giving blows to the other until it was hard for the surveyors to tell if the two were fighting or rehearsing practiced maneuvers. Vaako was sure one of his ribs was broken and Riddick’s eye was swollen shut. They were tired and sagging and one sharp hit from death. Neither of them would stop.
Vaako watched as Riddick charged him one last time. When Riddick’s body slammed into his, he allowed himself to be pushed, reached into his boot to retrieve his spare blade and drove it into Riddick’s side. At the same time, he felt a sharp pain tear through his own skin and laughed manically.
“Did you think you were clever?” Riddick asked.
Vaako wheezed. “A little.”
“So what now?”
“Now you seek a physician and let me die here, steps away from the throne.”
“Is that what they’re expecting?”
Riddick withdrew his blade and slid off the tip of Vaako’s.
“How do Necromongers deal with draws in battle?”
Dame Vaako pushed through the stunned horde. “We don’t, My Lord. You must allow Vaako to die.”
“And if I don’t?”
“It would be like sharing your rank!” She sounded horrified.
Vaako laughed on the stairs, laughed until he started coughing up blood.
“Physician!” Riddick’s voice ricocheted throughout the Basilica. Three physicians came forward and knelt to him. “If my Commander dies, I’ll blow up the ship. Do you understand me!?”
“Yes Lord Marshal!” They ran to the stair and lifted Vaako onto their shoulders.
“Wait,” Riddick called, “take Nikta with you. She likes him.”
The giant hell hound jumped down from the second level, flaring red until the crowd dispersed, and followed the trembling physicians out.
The male hounds jumped down on either side of their master and gently bore him away.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
When Vaako opened his eyes three days later, he was vaguely aware of an uncomfortable tugging just below his ribcage. ‘Stitches’ his brain supplied. The sensation was more annoying than it was painful, but he remembered the impact of the serrated blade and the tang of blood in his mouth. He reached down and ran two fingers over the patchwork the physicians had left on his skin. It was going to scar rather nicely; as Riddick no doubt intended, a constant reminder of defeat.
“But it wasn’t defeat,” he said aloud, alerting Nikta and the attending nurse. He held up his hand to stop their approach, then, sat up.
“Where is our Lord Marshal?” He asked.
The young girl laughed. “You are right here, my Lord.”
Vaako pushed off of the slab. After three days of a drug-induced sleep, the jolt sent him reeling, but Nikta was there to hold him in place. He took a few steadying breaths, then, asked his question.
“Riddick is dead?”
“No, my Lord, he has been attended to as well. At first no one would enter his rooms because of the hounds, but those of us brave enough to approach were allowed through. You are here Lord Marshal Vaako and Lord Marshal Riddick is in his chambers resting.”
“Don’t mock me, Jari!”
“No jest, my lord. You were spared by Riddick and by his order your draw in battle makes you partial sharer in Marshal responsibility.” The nurse knelt before him. “I swear it.”
Vaako pushed out of the room without another word and made his way down the corridors as fast as his body would take him. Nikta jogged beside him, the sharp edge of her nails clicking against the floor. The fact that he was shirtless and barefoot mattered less and less with every step. There was someone standing at every corner, new groups of smiling faces in every hall. Each of them knelt and hollered “Take us to the Threshold!” He was almost living a nightmare except…this was everything he’d ever wanted. This was everything he’d ever killed for, the Faith and the hope that someone would have faith in him.
Vaako willed himself to move faster. As he reached the bedroom, he thrust the doors open, then, slammed them shut behind himself. Riddick was standing between the two male hounds as though they’d all been waiting for him to arrive.
“What is this!?” Vaako demanded.
“A gift,” Riddick answered stepping forward. As he moved Vaako could see the same patchwork marring his bronzed skin.
“A gift? Why?”
“Because I don’t know how to rule a ship full of half-dead people, and for all of the Dame’s faults, she was right about you. You’re the only person I trust by my side,” Riddick explained circling behind Vaako. He nosed behind Vaako’s ear, sniffing. He waited for the air to spike with Vaako’s poorly hidden arousal, then, flattened his tongue against the purification scars on his neck. Vaako reached back immediately holding Riddick in place. He moaned so loudly, the hounds moved from their places beside the bed to a far corner of the chamber.
“When Nikta chose you, that was all I needed to be sure. When the hounds trust you, I trust you.” Riddick smiled against the tender flesh before sinking his teeth in. Vaako hardened beneath the soft fabric of his pants and pushed his hips back against Riddick’s. The teeth sank deeper, just short of breaking skin and Vaako was forced to grip a bedpost for leverage. If Riddick gave him one sharp nudge, he’d fall face first to the center of Riddick’s bed.
“Is this the price of your partnership? Bedmate?” Vaako groaned through gritted teeth.
“Only if you want to, Vaako, we’re equals now. I figured since I just handed over half the armada, I could share the bed too. Just do me one favor?”
Vaako allowed himself to be pushed to his knees. He hadn’t really wanted Riddick to stop his questing lips, but the firm grip on his braids was just as appealing. He tilted his head back and looked directly into Riddick’s eyes, challenging him even as the Furyan dominated the situation.
“Anything.”
“Say it,” Riddick ordered.
Vaako leaned in the fist gripping his hair and reached out to put his hand over Riddick’s matching stitch work. “Obedience without question, loyalty Till Underverse Come.”
Riddick growled deep in his chest and claimed Vaako’s mouth. They wrestled each other free of their clothes and into the center of the bed. Vaako trapped Riddick beneath him (though he was sure Riddick wasn’t anywhere he didn’t desire to be) both of the Furyan’s hands in one of his own.
Vaako tightened his thighs around Riddick’s hips and began to lower himself onto his erect phallus without any more preparation than the sweat running down his back could afford him. He wanted to feel it, the pain during and afterward, all of it. Riddick locked eyes with Vaako when he felt the tip of his cock brush the other man’s hole.
“Don’t hold back,” Vaako ordered before forcing himself all the way down. At first, Vaako didn’t think any title was worth the amount of pain he was in, but he found himself fully seat in Riddick’s lap something sweet inside him pressed under the intruding phallus and making his entire body jerk. He cried out and fell forward.
Riddick pulled his hands free and gripped Vaako’s hips. He thrust up gently at first to remind the trembling man of their goal, then, roughly to set the ball in motion. Vaako found his composure and began to lift his hips as Riddick dropped his own. They created a rhythm always coming together at the center. Vaako allowed himself to enjoy the ride, to revel in the breathy moans and deep groans that poured out of Riddick whenever he clenched his inner muscles around him. He could feel the bruises forming on his hip bones and rode harder.
“H-hold me tighter.” He pleaded, forgetting all hopes of maintaining dignity. Vaako wanted the bruising to prove he wasn’t dead. Pain had always been the harbinger to numbness. A stab to the throat freed you from a life of hurt. That was what all Purifiers told the converts, but Vaako knew it wasn’t true. He’d felt pain every time Zhylaw proved he was unworthy of his unbridled loyalty, every time he pressed to remember his past and failed. Vaako looked down into Riddick’s face. He’d watched him bury Kyra, watched him rub the little scar below his right eye as he touched her hair one last time. He knew Kyra had felt pain when Zhylaw killed her, felt it until her eyes closed in death. Vaako reached down, placed his fingers over the little scar and ground his hips in Riddick’s lap. “Please.”
Riddick shifted, reached up and gripped Vaako by the braids. Vaako allowed himself to be pulled and wrapped his ankles around the small of Riddick’s back as he flipped them. Riddick pounded into Vaako with all abandon. The sharp tang of blood stained the air as Vaako bit through his lips to keep from screaming. Riddick pushed forward, folding vaako’s body. He licked the blood from Vaako’s lip and moved to his ear.
“Don’t hold back,” he commanded sinking his teeth into the purification scars and thrusting perfectly against vaako’s prostate.
Vaako opened his mouth and hollered through his orgasm. Riddick hoped the entire armada could hear him; there would be no question among the people who he belonged to, whether or not he wore a traditional wedding band. Vaako clenched hard around Riddick as his release struck his chest and Riddick followed quickly with two more hard thrusts.
When he could breathe, Riddick pulled out as gently as possible, admiring the red tint Vaako’s rear had adopted. He rolled to the side and sighed contentedly.
“Are you alright?” He asked.
“I am…very tired.”
Vaako laughed. It surprised Riddick, but he liked the sound.
“Honestly, Riddick, why did you make this decision?”
“I have a planet that needs visiting, and you know more about that kind of stuff than me so…”
“We’ve never had two Lord Marshals.”
Riddick rolled on his side and nipped Vaako’s shoulder.
“Here’s to a lifetime of firsts.”
“Till Underverse Come.”
End.