Predator

Chapter 47

“Did you know that Alex created Duncan’s race?” Kyra asked as she scrolled through the text on her terminal. “After the catastrophe of the Olympian Gods, it seems like she kept trying to make a race in her image.”

“I thought the Olympians were made in her image.” Ronon said as he went through the chronicles of his mother’s time with Tristan. The archives had been restored after the family had suffered through their recent tragedies. Alex’s romance with Rhade and Ronon’s birth had appeared as soon as their existence was discovered. “They were as close to Alex in power as any being could possibly be.”

“The Olympians never tired of their immortality. They kept to themselves but played games with mortal lives so they had nothing to lose. They made no ties with a being that could lose their life therefore they knew nothing of loss.”

She paged down the screen of the next terminal that referenced Alex’s time with the Olympians. “That is until the day she reduced Zeus to a pile of smoking ash as he sat on his throne.” She swiveled her seat to face Ronon and shook her head in shock. “The only thing the Gods feared was losing the worship of the mortals. At some point in history, their faith drifted from the Olympians and focused on a single deity…God.”

“Yes, I remember reading about this once a long time ago when I researched old Earth.” Ronon said. “I read about the age of this God and the faith Earth people put in him.”

“Yeah, well the Olympians couldn’t stomach that idea and begged a very confused and awkward Alex to help them. You see your mother took human form just recently after creating the Olympians and, with her enhanced strength and telepathy; she had a difficult time blending in with humans. She felt alone.”

“I can imagine she felt quite out of place.” Ronon said as he looked at Kyra with a thoughtful expression. “She spent a majority of her time with the Gods, correct?”

“Yes but she still denied the Olympians’ request for help. She told them that the mortals had the right to decide who to believe in and where to place their faith. Needless to say, that pissed them off and they decided to turn against their Creator. She slapped them aside like insects and they came crawling back to Daddy for guidance. As Zeus made a stirring speech about how they could overcome her with their sheer numbers, she struck him down.”

“Ronon, picture this if you can.” Kyra placed her elbows on her knees and held her hands up. “They argued amongst themselves. Ares and a number of the others believed it was pointless to fight her. She was the Creator and her power was immeasurable.” She lowered her voice as she glanced around the antechamber. “Athena accused him of being in love with Alex and that was his reason for not wanting to engage her in warfare.”

“Well we know that is true.” Ronon responded as he pointed at the terminal with the age of the Olympians on it. “Ares fell in love with my mother the day he met her. He tried for years to win her favor through acts of war and strength.”

“True but that was not his only reason for being unwilling to join the battle. He knew they could not win and wanted to spare his family but they wouldn’t listen.” She tapped the button on the console to scroll down a few pages. “Over half of the Olympians followed Athena into battle against Alex and Ares felt the passing of every one of his siblings. It broke your mother’s heart to kill them. She had never done it before and it hurt more because they were her creation. She thought of them as her children…close to equals and they forced her hand.”

“She broke down when she returned Athena and Hades’ beaten bodies to Mount Olympus. Ares assured her that she had no choice but it still broke her heart to destroy her creations.” She turned her chair back to the terminal that held the text of the Immortals. “Since the Olympians could not fathom the concept of loss, Alex tried again with the creation of the Immortal race. She desperately needed to find beings in this existence that she could identify with.”

“And Duncan’s race of Immortals were those beings?”

“They were as close to it as she could get but they did not have the power that she did. The Immortals had no birth parents. They were placed with parents as infants and grew up none the wiser until their first death triggered their rebirth as Immortals. The trick of it was they had to suffer a violent death for the transformation to begin. If they died of human natural causes, they would never make the transition.”

“They were placed as infants with people who would raise them.” Ronon thought on the matter for a moment and tapped his fingers on the table in reflection. “She did it. She placed each baby with its foster parents at least at the beginning. After a while, she would’ve been too busy to do it.” He pivoted his chair towards the doorway and yelled for the Archivist. “Athena!”

She appeared in a flash of light with her head bowed. “Yes, my Lord.”

“Who was in charge of placing the infant Immortals with their parents after my mother was occupied by other matters?”

“Aphrodite was responsible for those young charges when the Creator was involved with other matters. She placed them with families according to Alexandra’s standards and was told not to interfere or look in on them after doing so.” She waited patiently as they absorbed that information and finally asked. “Is there anything else you wish to know, my Lord?”

“Besides Duncan, did my mother take a personal interest in any other Immortal?”

“There was one. He was a kinsman of Lord Duncan that was born before his time. His name was Connor Macleod. The Majestrix was very close to this man and I am positive his death still haunts her and Lord Duncan until this very day.”

“Thank you.” He dismissed the Goddess and she vanished from the room when he turned back to Kyra. “Look up everything you can find on Connor Macleod.”

“I’m way ahead of you.” Kyra said as she typed furiously into the database. “Okay, here he is. Connor Macleod was born in Glenfinnan, Scotland in 1518 and died his first death in 1536 during a battle with another Immortal called The Kurgan. Duncan Macleod was born in the Highlands of Scotland in 1592. He suffered his first death in 1622 in a border dispute with a neighboring Clan. Connor is the Immortal who found Duncan and trained him to prepare for the Gathering.”

“That is when all the Immortals began to hunt each other down in search of some mystery prize that awaited the last of their kind, right?”

“Yeah. Alex kept in close contact with Connor throughout his whole life and especially took an interest in his teachings of Duncan.” Kyra smiled and shook her head. “I read how she came across Duncan while he was in combat with another Immortal. To the casual reader, it would seem like it was an accident but I tend to believe she specifically chose him.”

“If my mother was observing him since he turned, then it is most definite that she found something she needed in him. It says there that she gave him encouragement during his fight with the other Immortal. He was on the verge of losing when she yelled out to him. Her beauty distracted him until she told him he was pathetic if he lost his battle just because of her. He won and took the Quickening while she watched. The pain of the transference broke her heart.”

“Yeah.” Kyra responded as she continued to read. “She went to his side and eased his suffering until it passed. When they looked at each other, they saw all the pain and loneliness of a long solitary existence reflected in each other’s eyes. Duncan was a vital discovery for Alex. Even though Ares had already lived for a couple of thousand years by then, he never knew loss. Duncan felt it in every bone of his body. He helplessly watched people he cared about die of old age or human illness for years. He was a perfect mate for her.”

“I agree. Ares was too far removed from the human race to feel the pain of isolationism but Duncan felt it to the core of his being. What happened between my mother and Connor? Did they stay in touch?”

“Definitely. She loved Connor.” She met Ronon’s shocked gaze and smiled. “She loved him immensely but Connor tended to close himself off emotionally to maintain his sanity during his extended life. She might have mated with him if he managed to show his emotion instead of concealing it. His kinsman did not have that problem at all. Duncan is a very emotional creature and he drew Alexandra to him like a magnet.”

"The texts mention something of an instance when Duncan had a Dark Quickening. This is odd.” She tried to access that part of the logs but it wouldn't open. "It won't let me into the file but it does say that Duncan did something to Alex that should have been unforgivable. He wasn't himself until Alex and Methos cured him but Alex never cut him out of her life."

“Alex refers to Duncan as her heart. The two of them have been happily in love for centuries. I doubt he could do anything that she wouldn’t forgive.” He smiled at the thought that his mother found someone to bring her peace at such a desolate time of her life. “What happened to Connor?”

Kyra did a search to determine the whereabouts or fate of Connor Macleod and sighed heavily when she read over the results. “In the year 2000, an Immortal by the name of Jacob Kell killed Connor’s adopted daughter, Rachel. He had a past with Connor and apparently a blood debt was owed. He intended to hunt down and kill everyone that Connor held dear. That included Duncan and Alex.”

“We know he couldn’t kill my mother. Did he try?”

“No, he went after Duncan first. Connor had gone into seclusion in an effort to stay out of the Gathering. The death of Rachel weighed on him heavily and he couldn’t face his life anymore. Duncan barely survived his meeting with Kell and had to be saved by his Watcher, Joe Dawson, and the oldest Immortal on record, Methos. The near death of his kinsman was enough to drive Connor out of hiding.”

“The records show at that time, Connor had 262 confirmed kills and Duncan had 174 confirmed kills.” She glanced at Ronon for a moment and explained. “When an Immortal takes another’s Quickening, he gains all of the skills and power of said Immortal. Jacob Kell had 661 confirmed kills. Neither one of the Macleods could possibly take him alone and it is forbidden for another Immortal to interfere in a challenge.”

“So what did they do?”

“Connor came up with the bright idea that if Duncan was to take his Quickening, he would at least have a fighting chance against Kell. Duncan refused to fight him, but Connor gave him no choice. Alex tried to stop Connor but, with a single glance from him, he told her that she had to choose between them. She hesitated and he attacked Duncan.” Kyra sniffled as she read the text off of the screen and Ronon put a comforting hand on her thigh. “Duncan got the upper hand and had Connor in a position to finish the fight.”

“Connor told him to do it and Duncan said he couldn’t. He reminded him of times past and told him their bonds are all that hold them in this world. He begged him not to break this one but Connor said it was too late. Duncan tried to walk away but Connor rushed him from behind as Alex watched in shocked horror. In a surprise twist, Duncan caught Connor in a move that he once taught his younger kinsman. He told Duncan that if properly executed it was an indefensible move.”

“The older Macleod begged his cousin. He said one of them had to die and that someone was Connor. With a last glimpse at Alex, he unleashed all his pent up feelings and emotions. She finally knew how deeply he really loved her but she loved her Immortal husband with all of her newfound heart. Connor said goodbye to Duncan and called him his true brother with love and admiration in his eyes. Duncan told Connor he loved him and executed the move taking his head, his Quickening, and all his feelings for himself and Alex.”

“When he recovered from his Quickening, he crawled to the sobbing form of his wife and held her. He gave her the comfort of 2 men she loved as she suffered from the transference of power and emotion. Alex stayed around long enough to ensure her husband’s survival of the battle with Kell. She even loosed Connor’s consciousness in Duncan to throw the powerful Immortal off balance enough for Duncan to behead him. After that, she disappeared for a while.”

“Where did she go?”

“Duncan found her in Scotland. She was in mourning for a lost love…another of her children. The two of them lived unnaturally long lives and knew loss. If it wasn’t for Duncan, she probably wouldn’t have recovered from Connor’s death.” Kyra openly sobbed as she finished reading the screen. Ronon pulled her into his embrace and comforted her until she calmed. “The sorrow and heartache they lived through was so immense. Only two people deeply in love with each other could have survived that.”

“Was Duncan the last of his kind? Did he win this mysterious prize?” Ronon asked quietly.

“He was the last Immortal but he won the prize long before the Gathering was concluded.”

“What was it?”

“Your mother.” She looked deep into his hazel eyes hoping he would understand. “She wanted to find a worthy mate amongst her Immortals so she devised the Game. As fate would have it, she didn’t need to wait for the end to make her choice. She had her eye on both of the Macleods but Duncan is the one who won her heart. He won the prize the Immortals had fought centuries for. After he killed the rest of them, he had all their power and could rule the Earth if he chose to, but he left with her.”

“I have learned about her time after Dean was born.” Ronon turned to his terminal and pulled up the images of Velusia and Boria. “These 2 planets had been at war for ages. Boria loosed a biochemical agent on the Velusians that threatened to kill every life on the planet. Their government learned of Dean’s power and kidnapped him in an attempt to cure their people. After they performed their tests on him, they were left with no cure but caused him considerable pain. As you probably know, Alex can feel every injury her family feels and Dean’s suffering almost drove her mad.”

“She was so crazed from the pain that, when they flew to this system to secure his rescue, she flew into the center of this planet and reduced it to ash. The only thing left in Velusia’s space was Alex carrying Dean back to the carrier. She destroyed Boria as an afterthought for being the cause of the whole affair. She did it to defend her child but I know in my heart, that it must have killed her to destroy things she was meant to protect.”

“I know, Ronon.” She placed her hand on his and gave it a gentle squeeze. “She has been through a lot in all her years and we have more ground to cover to get a full grasp on it. We still have a couple thousand years to go before we even get close to the end.”

“I do. You have to get to Riddick and check up on him.” He cut off her protests by pulling her in to a kiss. “Don’t argue with me, woman. The man is your friend and my mother’s mate. He asked you to come to him and I’m sure that isn’t an easy thing for a man like him to do. Now go.” He pulled her up out of her seat and swatted her behind. “Move it. I’ll be here when you get back.”

“Okay. I’m going but you better not unlock the secrets of the universe without me.” She laughed as he hustled her out into the main chamber.

“Athena!”

“Yes, my Lord.” She said as she appeared before them.

“Will you please transport Kyra to the palace for me? The front entrance will suffice.”

“As you wish, my Lord.”

He kissed her softly on her lips and rested his forehead against hers. “I’ll see you soon.”

“I’ll be back as quick as possible.” They parted and Athena teleported Kyra away.

~*~

Rhade had Ian check up on Riddick a couple of hours after he had retired to his quarters. He was looking better after he had eaten and his color returned to his face just being near her. When Ian reported that Riddick had fallen asleep the instant he hit his bed, Rhade let out a sigh of relief.

He walked into his bedchambers and smiled at Alex as she reclined against the headboard. “You are definitely looking better.” He sat beside her and kissed her quickly on the cheek. “How are you feeling?”

“Since you turned me in to the pregnancy police and the big ape forced me to eat, I guess I’m feeling okay.” She turned into his waiting arms and snuggled into his warmth. “Thank you for calling Richard.” She whispered. “I really needed to be with him.”

“I know. That is why I called him. After all this time, do you think I am clueless about your needs?”

“Of course not but it is an intrusion on your time with me. I didn’t think…”

“Alex, he is your mate and father of the child within you. I know when a woman needs her male. Your baby binds the two of you together and he is going to have to be with you everyday. I accept that and the others have no choice if they care about your well-being.”

“You are a good man, Telemachus Rhade.”

“I mated a good woman, Alexandra Rhade.” He enjoyed the feeling of her in his arms while he thought on the conversation he, Ian, and Riddick had earlier. He didn’t feel like it was his place to interject questions or comments in some matters that were discussed. He wasn’t present when they occurred. It didn’t feel right to question her mates but he could ask her. It really did explain a lot of Alex’s current behavior. “Did you really lose a child recently to your ex mate? It was Anasazi’s child, right?”

“Yes.” She tensed in his embrace and he ran his hands over her back to calm her. “Tristan killed my baby. He almost cost me Dorian first and then he robbed me of Tyr’s child.”

“I’m sorry, my love.” He pulled her deep into his body and kissed the top of her head. “I didn’t know until recently that had occurred or I would have expressed my sympathies to you and Tyr earlier.”

“You found out from them.” It wasn’t a question. He hadn’t had the opportunity to revisit the archives to catch up on the time they had been apart. “They told you of my shame.” She sobbed into his chest.

“My love, there is no shame on your behalf of this travesty. You have extreme responsibilities on your hands and you did the best you could.” He cupped her quivering chin and lifted her face to look into her eyes. “You were overtaxed and a being who knew your weaknesses took advantage of them. He had control of your dark side and could not force you to kill your own child. You beat him and don’t forget that…ever.”

He held his crying mate in his arms and rocked her gently to comfort her.

~*~

“My Lord Ronon, are you well?” Athena asked as she entered the antechamber.

Ronon had just read the section of the archives that detailed Tristan’s attack on the Royal Family. He laid his head down on the table and wept openly after watching the murder of his mother’s unborn child. “He killed her baby.” He sobbed. “The agony she felt must have been excruciating. The horror of feeling her child’s light fade…must have killed a part of her soul.”

He choked on the last of his words and the Goddess of War did something completely out of character that she had never done before.

She walked cautiously up to her grieving Lord and placed a tentative hand on his shoulder. “She will recover, my Lord. She always does. Now that she has you back in her life, it will be an even easier road to travel.”

She comforted a mortal.

~*~

“Riddick.” Kyra knocked on the door again waiting for a response. “Are you in there?” The door swung open as she raised her hand to knock again. “Shit!” She clutched her hand to her chest and drew in a deep breath. “You scared the hell out of me.”

“Sorry.” He rubbed his eyes and moved aside for her to enter. “I just got to sleep a couple of hours ago.”

“Ronon and I have been at the temple almost all day and you just got to sleep?” She asked as he closed the door and joined her on the couch.

“Rhade called me. He said Alex needed me.”

“Is she okay?” Kyra asked in a concerned voice.

“Yeah. She wasn’t eating and Rhade was worried about her health. I got her to eat with me and we talked about the things that are scaring her until she calmed down.” He rubbed his eyes and Kyra could have sworn she saw a tear in his eye. “She’s scared about the morning sickness thing. She’s never been sick before and it’s freaking her out.”

“That isn’t all she’s afraid of, is it?”

He looked up into her eyes and knew she knew. “No. She lost a baby recently and she’s terrified that it will happen again. The fact that she is carrying Dawn inside of her makes her feel even more vulnerable.”

“Dawn?” She asked and looked at him with a gentle smile that reminded him of the girl he once knew. “You guys have named her already?”

He nodded. “I picked her name. It seemed appropriate for a child of the sun.”

“Riddick, I do believe you’ve gone soft on me.” He practically blushed at her little joke and she nudged him with her shoulder. “I think it is a beautiful name and, if your son is anything to go by in comparison, she is going to be gorgeous.”

“Thanks and quit staring at my son. You already have a guy in your life.”

“I’m not married yet.” She laughed and raised her hands when he arched an eyebrow at her. “Okay. I’ll behave but you can’t fault a girl for drooling. There are a lot of hot guys around here.”

“Yeah. She has quite a harem, huh?” He relaxed back into the sofa and swatted the side of her leg with the back of his hand. “How are you adjusting to the Royal life?”

“I think it suits me.” They both broke out laughing for a moment and Kyra gasped out. “Did you ever think in a million years that two convicts like us would become members of the Royal Family of the Shi’ar Empire? A couple of weeks ago, I was fighting for my place in the hierarchy of Slam.”

“Shit. A couple of weeks ago, I wasn’t sharing hormonal mood swings with my pregnant wife.”

“You are fucking kidding me?” She laughed hysterically and pointed at him. “Is that the reason you’ve been acting so weird lately?”

“Yeah. My darling Dawn has decided I need to share this experience with Mommy.” His deep laugh roared through the room. “I get to live through this pregnancy with Alex.”

“I wish Imam could see us now.”

Riddick’s mood sobered immediately at the mention of his name and his newfound emotions threatened to overwhelm him. “Kyra.” He waited until she stifled her laughter when she saw his serious expression before he continued. “I walked into the whole thing with Necros. I knew I would be a target of interest for the Lord Marshall because Alex told me I was destined to destroy him. I went to Helion Prime looking for him but I paid a visit to Imam.”

“How was he?”

“He told me that they knew of the prophecy too and needed me to help save their worlds. I hadn’t decided if I was interested yet but Alex was already fighting them in a different system so I gave him a chance to talk. He told me what happened to you and where you were. Before we knew it the Necros landed and began their invasion.”

“How was he?”

He ignored her question again and kept his eyes downcast. “I caught up to him and his family. I offered to get them out on my ship. We were cut off and the holy man lured off half of the squad while I took out the ones that tried to kill his wife and daughter.”

“What about Imam?”

“I secured Lajjun and Ziza before I went after Imam.” His words caught in his throat and Kyra looked at him as he began to shake. “I was too late. They killed him.” His hand rose to cover the tears that leaked from his eyes and the other warded her off when she moved towards him. “I would have left that whole world to burn if they hadn’t killed him. They sealed their fates.”

“You avenged him.” He nodded his head in response but kept his eyes covered. “Riddick, stop this.” She grabbed his hand and pried it away from his face. “Look at me!” His silver eyes pierced her green and tears of blue energy ran down his cheeks. She reached out a fingertip to trace the liquid power that flowed from his eyes. “You’ve changed quite a bit since we first met and it was all for the best. It wasn’t your fault.” She whispered with her tear-filled eyes trained on his. “You did the best you could. You saved his family and his world. He would be proud of the man you’ve become. He always knew you had it in you.”

“But I couldn’t save him. I couldn’t save Alex and Tyr’s baby after he risked his life to save Dorian.” He leaned his head against her shoulder, exhausted in his misery. “I failed, Kyra.”

She pulled his head down until he rested on her lap and stroked his shaved head. “Riddick, when I first met you I thought you were a God. I idolized you and you saved my life.” She lightly brushed the blue tears from his face and ran them between her fingertips. “You are a God now but you are still just one being. You and Alex both need to realize that you can’t save everyone or do so many things at once. That’s what you have the rest of us for.”

“You don’t hate me?” He looked up into her crying face and raised a shaking hand to touch her cheek. “I thought you hated me?”

“I could never hate you.” She burst out in sobs. “I was angry when you left. You made me feel safe and I never thought I’d feel that way again after you left. I know now why you had to go but I was twelve then and there is no reasoning with a twelve-year-old girl. You saved me again from Crematoria. I was always with you, Riddick, and I always will be.”

The both held each other as they released their grief over Imam and their own lost time. They were still getting used to the idea of family and a support group. Alex had spared them both of a solitary existence filled with pain and gave them something they never had…love and hope for a better future.

“I love you, Riddick.” She whispered in a tiny voice.

“I love you too, Kyra.” He whispered back in a hoarse voice. “I’d give anything to get rid of these mood swings. I’m acting like a fucking pussy.”

“I think the emotions suit you, big guy.” She sniffled and ran her hand over his head. “And I’m still your Jack.” He grabbed her hand that was on his chest and interlaced their fingers. She smiled down at him and watched as he drifted off into a contented sleep with a smirk on his face. “You gotta love those pregnancy symptoms.”

~*~