The Killing Moor

Part 13
**********
The tale of Riddick's clan, of in fact, the very moor he stood upon came to its natural end wrapped into a sordid and wild story that had been told and retold to generations of moor clans. Riddick's line, the folly of it all being pointed out, cast doubt from where Duncan's part had begun and ended in the whole of the sordid mess. Now, as Riddick stood surrounded by the crumbling ruins of the clan's keep the words rang true. There was a deep seeded need to believe that there had been something beyond a mother and her abandonment, beyond the cold steel of a dumpster. That his blood ran deeper than those fateful moments, when a choice was made and a life was lost. His life..

"Dunno think it ends there, Riddick. It's not just some tale of the fancy minded. There's a lesson to be learned in all this old woman's ramblings, to be sure." The old crone's voice drew him back to her haggard face, a face that seemed to be part of the very fire that rose in front of her.

Stepping closer his silvery orbs pinned her with a questioning stare. "Oh you want to know the rest don't you, boy? Want to know the fate of the rest of the Laird's line." Her cackle sounded like dried leaves crushed under foot. "It's said by those who would know that this creature, this beast born of the darkest soul, bides his time waiting for that girl child. He lays in wait until the strength and honor of the Riddick line appears again." The wisp of a woman was serious, her eyes darting around them as if the very walls had grown ears.

"You're crazy as..." He began, turning to leave, finding her story stretching the boundaries of what he was willing to accept.

Her voice grew clear and wispy, almost melodic in its tone. "He's here, my lord, he's here for her. Here for Jack, and you're the only one that can save her. Hurry, Riddick, before it's too late."

Whipping back to the voice he was greeted with nothing but a bed of coals, no fire and no wizened old woman. It was then that the icy fingers of fear traveled his skin, settling in a gripping pressure in his chest. In that moment a war wagged within him, the truth or a lie. Was Jack in danger? And, like xth xth sense he felt the danger permeated the air, a heavy ink that touched him and then withdrew. Without a second thought he was sprinting to where he had left the aging driver, left his only means of getting back to her, of intervening. The Cab.



From the crumbling walls amused eyes watched the man run, amused at his attempt to step between fate and its mistress. But all had gone well and Riddick would be exactly where he should, and fate had nothing to do with that.

* * * * *

Long since home from the pub, Jennifer sat in the soft but tattered oversized chair, bare legs tucked under her and a warm woolen blanket bundled tightly around her torso. The soothing flicker of the oil lamp mimicked the roaring fire in the hearth. She preferred firelight to electricity at times like these … it helped ease the nervous tension inside her. Finally giving n thn the book she wasn't really reading anyway, she dropped it on a nearby table and stood, wrapping her hands around her waist for warmth. Her eyes cut toward the large bed, downy comforter still in disarray. It had seemed like forever since he'd left her at the pub. Even longer since he'd left her bed.

Turning her head, she moved toward the window and slowly pushed away the curtain. The mists swallowed the landscape, as they often did, and she shivered. Pulling her heavy sweater closer to her body, her fingers slid under the hem absently stroking the small scar on her flat abdomen. "Talk nice to her, Riddick," she said quietly to the walls. "She needs a gentle touch."

* * * * *

Riddick stepped from the cab, the ride back having taken what seemed like eons, and he sprinted up the single road. There was a deepening sense of being not only watched but stalked as he passed a cottage after cottage, his eyes scanning ahead. Then dual shadows detached from the alleyway beside the Pub, stepping close to the road as Riddick passed. He ped ped his head around and came to a skidding halt, some ancient part of him was screaming for him to heed the two strangers, to confront them. He turned, staring hard at the two that had wide smiles plastered on their faces, twin sets of blue eyes mirroring those smiles. There was something familiar about the two rusty headed men, odd looking in their long black trench coats.

"Aye, bout time ya showed up. We thought we'd have to come a lookin for ya," the shorter of the two piped up.

"Who the hell..." Riddick began only to be cut short by the other of the duo. "And him actin like he don't know us from a mule's arse." A clucking sound came from the man. "I'm Damon and this here.." He hitched his thumb to the man beside him. "This is Daniel. We've gotta a little something for ya, Laird Riddick."

"I'm no goddamn..." Again he was cut off.

"Ah. But ya are, whether you know it or not." Damon opened the trench coat to reveal the gleam of crafted steel, of a long forgotten sword.. "Aye. It's yours all right. I see the knowing in your eyes. Go ahead, take it."

Riddick reached out and curled his fingers around the hilt, pulling it towards him, testing its weight. It felt natural, as natural as breathing, clutched in his hand. He nodded and both men erupted into a round of boisterous cheers.

"The lass, let's get to finding her." Daniel sobered and cut his eyes to Riddick.

"I'll kill the sonofbitch that lays a hand on her." Riddick growled, warning the two that there would be bloodshed in the night.

"Aye, would expect nothin less, my lord, nothing less." Damon chimed in, his eyes following Riddick as he turned and chose his bearings, breaking into a run towards the far end of the village.

His destination shined in the night like a beacon calling to him. She had to be there, he told himself. Not bothering with manners, politeness or etiquette, he stormed into Jen's home, nearly ripping the thick oak door fits its hinges. "Where is she?"

Flame red curls danced around her shoulders as she whirled toward the startling intrusion. Tightening her arms around her middle as the blof cof cold air whisked though the thick, woolen sweater, she stepped back closer to the fire, eyes wide with shock. "Wha…? Who, Jack?" Her bare ltremtrembled, cold from the weather and the look on his face competing for dominance. "She's na here. She's at her cottage, I suppose." Her eyes narrowed. "What is it?"

He crossed the room to her in less then four measured steps, his free hand going to her shoulder. "You knew who I was? You knew about the legend?" His silvery orbs pinned her forcing the answers he wanted from her.

A hint of confusion crossed her brow. "The legend of the moor?" And then her shoulders squared. She had wanted to believe. Believing in him would mean believing in her … in them…in a love that could transcend all time. But that was a fairy tale spun by the old crone. "Yes. I knew of the legend.. The whole village knows of the legend. As for who you are, I had my suspicions since we met, I suppose." She tried to pull her shoulder free of his grasp but it was trapped in the steel-like grip. Finally giving in, she leaned into his hand.. "Jack's in danger, isn't she? Why else would ya be prepared for the spillin' of blood?" Her eyes suddenly turned pleading. "What is it, man?"

He shook his head, featured wit with a hardness that only a few would recognize as worry. "Stay here..." He ordered, his voice rumbling with his authority. "Stay here, in case she shows up."

Damon and Daniel stood just inside the door, exchanging looks of wariness. This was their destiny since birth foretold as they drew their first breaths, having been named for the uncles from generations past that they so resembled, but it did nothing to banish the fear that now crept along their laframframes.

Jennifer's breath became ragged. Jack….in danger. Why in the name of all that is holy had she not realized it? She squelched the feeling of guilt as she realized the answer. She was too bloody busy thinking about how the man innt ont of her made her body feel. "No," she said roughly as she pulled away from his hand. She turned and rushed toward closet to dress. "You're not going without me, Riddick!"

"Woman, don't fight me on this. You're gonna lose," he growled lifting the sword and tossing it to his compatriots as he stalked after her.. With a hard grunt of effort Damon managed to catch the blade.

With frantic movements Jennifer reached for the denim pants that hung on a ins insthe the closet. "I don't intend to lose, and I don't intend to stay here and twiddle me thumbs either, Mi'lord." An overwhelming sense of déjà vu surrounded her. "I'm going!"

He stepped closer to Jen, towering over her, using his size to enforce his will and a not so subtle threat. "Don't make me tie you to your bed."

Her resolve stiffened. "Unless you have other reasons for that than keeping me from following you then tying me on that bed will get no no where." She moved quickly trying to side step his grasp. "I love her, too, damn your soul!" She wondered at how her mind could be so crazed with worry while her body was racing with intimate emotions.

"You're only gonna get in my way. It's enough I have to worry about her I don't need to have to watch you’re ass, too," he hissed, grasping her roughly around her arm as she tried to circumvent his girth.

As her body lifted slightly off the ground fee feet and hands began to flail clocking him in the shin and shoulder more than once. "Aye, there's the rub! I can watch me own arse, you daft ape," she cried. "It'll take you and all of your clan to get me tied to that bed!" Her heart was pounding in her throat when she thought of the danger Jack could be in … and yet there was something so familiar about all of this as she continued to fight his strength with impressive power of her own.

Riddick released her and motioned for Daniel to deal wien, en, keep her at bay, sit on her if need be. He wanted her out of the way. "You stay."

Daniel moved across the room to her, catching her eye and winkine kne knew he should do as his laird asked but he would not try to intervene in fate no matter who asked it of him, and Jen was fate.

Jennifer nodded to Daniel in clandestine understanding but still felt a twinge of defeat. She had felt this dismissal before … but was unsure as to where, where, or from whom. "Ah, off with ya, then," she hissed to cover her disappointment. "It's not like ya have a need for me … for anyone!" She grasped the closest object, the glass from which she had been drinking, and hurled it toward ther frr frame nearby. "Time's wastin', man! Go save her if she's ingernger!"

A feral growl fell from his lips as the glass shattered into shards as he passed through the portal into the night. His destination lay up the opposite lane, a dark cottage that should have been well lit. "Jack," he hissed, nervous sweat welling from his tawny skin.

**********

Duncan kept his smile of triumph in the shadows, kept the smile away from the flickering light. There was too much to be seen in that smile, that wicked vile smile, a smile that was only a prelude to a more important moment. First blood he would claim twice that night, of that he was certain.. The lamb was left unguarded, left to the wolf, and there he was poised between her thighs, pushing into the tight untried virgin portal. The smell of an innocent's blood nearly drove him to blood lust, the point at where a body couldn't remain intact under his carnal onslaught. It wouldn't be the first time he had ripped a body to shreds but with this one was an impossibility. He needed her.

Jack had known this day would come soon. The truth was, she was growing sick and tired of being a virgin … of being curious … of the undiscovered. Yes, she kno known this would happen soon. But there was one thing that she hadn't known. She hadn't been prepared for the all-consuming need she was experiencing at this moment. As she felt his male hardness pressing into feminine folds, the pain she had expected was nothing more than a slight burning sensation … something that exc her her all the more. She widened her thighs to accommodate more of him, her feet instinctively moving to press her heels onto the smooth globes of his tightened posterior to urge him even further inside her as she arched her body upward. "Duncan," she breathed huskily.

"Aye, my beautiful. You're mine now and soon nothing will separate us, nothing of the mortal world," he hissed near her earhe lhe licked and lapped at the pulse point below the skin of her neck.

Her body craved , he, her heart pounding in throat as her fingernails dug deeply into his shoulders … her hips undulating under his as he pumped into her over and over again. The more she felt, the more she wanted as she reveled in the feel of his body thrusting into hers in conjunction with the warmth of his tongue at the sensitive throbbing along her throat. "Harder," she found herself saying. "Harder, Duncan…."

"Of course, lass." He gathered himself and thrust forward burying his lengthy member, plundering the very entrance to her woHis His elongated teeth scrapped across her sun-kissed skin, delaying his most anticipated pleasure.

Her body jolted forcefully, his body impaling into her and the feel of hard enamel on the sensitive throbbing area of her neck creating an orgasmic frenzy. This is what it was like, she mused as she rhythmically began bucking upward allowing her primal instincts to take hold of her.

Riddick stood just outside the door, listening, and what he heard made his blood run cold. Stepping back he planted his foot against the door and sent it splintering inward. He stepped through the ruble to see two forms in the throes of passion, to see Jack arched below the man. Looking again, there were things that separated this creature from a man, one just had to look carefully. "Duncan McTiernan..."

"Oh, shit!" Riddick's voice was like a splash of cold ice on Jack's over heated skin. Her head twisted to see his massive presence and she struggled to move from beneath her lover, desperate to cover her nakedness.

Daniel stood in thorwaorway thoroughly impressed with Riddick's entrance. "My arse, that's bloody perfect," he hissed, his eyes falling on the girl in the bed …his eyes falling on Jack and it was like the legendary cupid had struck an arrow straight into his heart, love at first sight. He stepped into the room, waiting for the chance to pull her away from the demon in the bed with her.

Riddick closed in on the inhuman creature ready to strike out at the first opportunity. "Get away from her you sonofabitch," he hissed low with that murderous calm to his voice.

"Nay, she's mine now, Riddick. To the winner goes the spoils." He laughed loudly, high, nearly ear splitting as he reached for Jack.

Confusion ran rampant in Jack's mind as she struggled to understand the situation while simultaneously trying to extract herself from Duncan. "I belong to NO man," she said as her eyes darted from one to the other.

"Get out, Jack..." Riddick barked at her splitting his attention between the two, between Duncan and Jack. It was a mistake and Riddick knew it the second he cut his eyes to the girl.

Duncan gave a wild clan-like battle cry as he moved with more speed than the human eye could take in. He was on Riddick in an instant tossing him against the wall behind them with no more force than a child abusing a rag doll would use. "You're out of your element here, Riddick. I counted on that. I planned for it." He drove a hard fist into the taller man's mid section. "Now, I'm going to make you my blood sucking bitch..." he howled.

As soon as Duncan was off the bed Daniel charged in and grasped a struggling Jack from the bed, practically dragging her with him. "Please, lass, you're gonna get yourself hurt here. Laird Riddick knows what he's doing."

Down the path Damon, trailed by Riddick's woman, rushed towards the cottage. The commotion was evident stretching loudly into the night.

"What the hell is happening, Riddick!?" Jack screamed through the night as she felt her form being pulled by a powerful pair of hands. As her feet practically left the ground, she kept her eyes on Riddick's downed form and tugged at the fingers on her wrist. "STOP! I have to help him!" Her body was now trembling in fear … fear for Riddick's life.

Daniel grasped her arms and turned her to face him. "Al goo good time, beautiful, all in good time. But right this minute you have to be away from her. Aye, you have to go with me." He tried to explain, tried to gain her cooperation as he pulled her against him. He shrugged from the thick overcoat and swung it around her, pulling the edges carefully closed around her nude form.

Inside, Riddick shook his head, feeling the blood well from the split across his cheekbone and the look in Duncan's eyes as he scented the crimson fluid told Riddick he had found his ace. Wiping at the flow across his face, he brought the blood-dripping appendage out and appeared to shake it clean. Duncan's eyes followed and he stilled for the fraction of a second it took for Riddick to kick out with a booted foot. He was the one to exploit the advantage this time as he sent the vampire dancing backwards as he pounced, driving Duncan to the floor.

Jack's eyes were wide with swirling emotions but the clouded gaze slowly cleared as she stared into Daniel's confident gaze. Slowly she nodded, her hands going to the lapels of the overcoat. "But we can't just leave him here," she said, more of a question … almost a plea, than a statement..

It was then that Jennifer saw the clans men and, breaking into a run, she stopped short beside the two. Reaching for Jack, she was surprised when the girl took a step backward. "Jack … what is it, lass?" Her eyes flew to Daniel and then the cottage door. "What in the name of heaven and hell is going on in there, and you out here, man!" And she moved to rush toward the loud crashing emanating from the dwelling.

Damon shouted at her as he turned he dhe doorway. "Take another step towards this door, my lady, and I'll tie you myself." He meant every word of it as he moved into the room watching Riddick and Duncan grapple around on the floor.

Jennifer glared at the man and then returned her focus to the battle at hand. She knew he was right … and the knot in her stomach tightened … squeezed painfully, as she waited for the outcome.

Daniel smiled warmly at Jack, lovingly, appearing like a lovesick puppy. "Don't you be worrin, lass, Laid Riddick knows what to do. He'll be fine, just you mark my words."

Turning her back to Daniel, Jack pressed her back to the hardness of his chest, her fingers tugging harshly at the lapels of the coat the only sign of her nervousness. "His ass better survive this or I'll kill him.." She gained strength from the unknown man as she stared helplessly at the cottage.

Daniel shook his head. "Nay..Nay, there'll be no worrying about that. He will survive."

Damon moved closer as Duncan twisted out of Riddick's grasp, Riddick and the undead both gaining their footing in the same instant.

"Laird Riddick," Damon haled, holding up the sword he clutched in his right hand. And for the first time since the encounter began Duncan appeared frightened.

"Ya have ta cleave his head off, Riddick," Damon, relayed as he moved in close enough to toss the sword.

Duncan was quick to realize that with the sword he was in danger, it was the same sword that had ended his human life hundreds of years before.

Jennifer took a step forward stifling a scream as she realized what was being asked of Riddick. "Jesus, Mary and Joseph," she whispered to herself. "Will it never be over?"