Thanks to Toni!

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Dancing With The Devil Part 6
by Christina and Marianne

Sipping her drink, Jasa tucked a dark curl away from
her face and set it down in order to finish her
explanation of her student. "Grace is here in town, so
I'll definitely get to see more of her."

Derek reached out and took her hand. "Having her here
means a lot to you, doesn't it?" She hadn't spoken
much of her former student, for reasons that were
purely Jasa, but it was clear that the girl meant
something to her.

"Oh yes. A lot." Jasa's fingers automatically twined
with his and her thumb rubbed against his hand. "She's
easily the best student I ever had, and probably one
of the few I still try and keep contact with. I tend
to treat her like a daughter."

Derek smiled. Children were extremely important to
Jasa. He continued with the tender touches as he
said, "I can understand that sentiment."

Grace was a bit unsure about doing this. Their lunch
yesterday at the Captain's Lady hadn't been too bad.
Riddick had even managed to not torment her as often
as he had when they first arrived. So, when he'd told
her that he'd found a bar that he really could like
and had invited her to try it, she'd agreed.

Upon entering the Hard Mock, Riddick pulled up his
goggles. It was dark enough inside that he could be
without them, and some of them women here actually
seemed attracted to the shine job.

"I can see why you like it here," she said as she
looked at his now ungoggled face.

"I can openly watch, yes. It's intriguing."

Jasa felt the other Immortal's presence and looked up.
"Speak of the Immie and in she walks." She grinned.
"And that must be the infamous Riddick. Trouble...but
then, that's nothing new for this town is it?"

Derek was about to ask what she meant when he turned
and saw the tall blonde immortal. She had stopped in
her tracks and was turning on the large man beside
her.

"Looks like I do get to meet her," Riddick said,
giving Grace a smirk.

"Riddick, I swear on everything I am that if you start
something with her, you and I will dance. And I don't
mean on the dance floor either. Don't fuck with her."

He looked down at her face and smiled before touching
her hair. "Would I do that?"

"In a heartbeat. Just don't. Got it." Inhaling
deeply, Grace turned and made her way to her teacher.
"Fancy meeting you here," she said with a smile.

Jasa grinned. "Bound to bump into each other sooner or
later." She flicked a glance over Riddick, appraising,
then turned her attention fully to her student. "This
is a good place for being left to your own devices."

Grace nodded. "I've found a few devices to get into."
She chuckled and turned to Jasa's dinner date. "And
you must be Derek. I'm Grace, this is Riddick." When
Derek stood up, Grace hugged him. "Thank you for
making her happy," she whispered in his ear.

He smiled and returned to his seat. Riddick watched
the entire exchange with held breath. She sure wasn't
shy about physical expression.

Turning back to Jasa, Grace said, "Well, we will leave
you two to your own devices."

"So soon?" The elder Immortal smiled cheerfully at her
student. "We were just talking about you actually."

Riddick raised an eyebrow and Grace replied, "Oh and
dare I ask what about? I haven't been in town long
enough to cause too much trouble, although it does
seem to follow me around." She gave the pair a wink.

"I say give you a few days." Jasa chuckled. "And I was
just telling him what a little hellion you used to
be."

That snapped Riddick's attention back to them. The
Grace he knew had always been the most upstanding of
citizens, true to a fault, and an all around good
girl. He gave a deep, low chuckle. "I figured as
much. Gotta know the bad side to be good, don't you?"
His eyes went from Grace's to Jasa's. Oh yes, there
was more going on here than what was being said.

"Something like that." Jasa said smoothly. "Have a
seat you two, my neck's getting stiff looking up." She
grinned. "I promise, I won't bite unless asked."

Grace hung her head as they sat down. She then gave
Riddick a sidelong glance and wasn't stunned to find
him staring at her teacher. What was he thinking?
"So, are you going to tell me what secrets of my past
that you were revealing?" She managed a smile.

"Well..." Jasa grinned at her then Derek. "There was
that little time we were in Paris...remember?"

Grace moaned and dropped her head to the table. "What
I can seem to remember of it from the amount of
alcohol I had, that is? Those poor men never knew
what hit them."

Riddick made no comment, simply watched, which was his
specialty.

"We had some of the best times in Paris," she
finished.

"We did." The Egyptian agreed with a decided purr to
her voice. "And those men were quite...appreciative,
alcohol or no."

Riddick couldn't help but snort at that. "My dear,
Gracie. This does seem to be a pattern."

She turned to Riddick and said, "Well, the rest of the
story goes that at that time, I had also just captured
a child killer, so the respite was earned, I think. I
had years of practice before you came along."

"Indeed," her teacher agreed. "with the stress around
that one...we needed a little steam let off."

Riddick picked up a pretzel and held it in his hand as
he asked, "Gracie, have you ever NOT chased down the
bad guy and brought him to justice?"

Grace nodded. "You know it's been pretty much all
I've done."

"And yet now you've bonded yourself to one, made one
your charge. Interesting? I guess change is
inevitable for everyone, sooner or later." The last
was said as he shifted his gaze from Grace to Jasa.

"Change keeps things interesting," The Egyptian rested
her chin in the palm of her free hand, gazing at them
calmly. "Afterall, after a century or two things can
get...dull."

"Ah," Riddick said, leaning forward in his seat. "So,
zebras really do change their stripes, but our Gracie
has worn hers for over nine centuries. Not that I'm
complaining. I get to reap the benefits."

"Oh, I'm willing to believe there are a few things
about my girl that would surprise even you." Jasa's
gaze didn't waver.

He gave her a smile as he said, "There is little that
surprises me. I believe that there is a killer in all
of us. Some just hide it better than others, don't
they?"

"Quite." Jasa agreed. "And some of those killers are
best left undisturbed."

His eyes bored into hers, almost as if they were
probing her. Grace watched on wondering what was
going on between the two of them. It was almost like
an unspoken challenge. It was what she was afraid of.

Riddick, for his part, had learned more about Grace's
teacher than what he was going to let on to Grace, at
least for now. "It's like a sleeping beast inside of
you. One that claws and claws and tries to get out.
The key, if you wish to indulge in it, is to keep it
caged." Oh yes, she knows about that, he thought to
himself. *She* was someone who could identify with
him. Whether or not she did, he found himself liking
her.

A veiled glint appeared in Jasa's eyes. She knew full
well what he was up to. Very well, if Riddick wished
to play with fire, she'd let him, however he should
have remembered those who play with fire end up with
serious burns. "Some do not need caging. Some
understand the need for subtle movement. Boundaries."

Riddick leaned back in his seat and put a hand on
Grace's shoulder. He was very momentarily stunned
when she didn't tense. His full attention went back
to the teacher. "Boundaries, huh? Now that is an
interesting concept indeed. I've spent so much time
living outside of boundaries, outside of society, that
the concept is astounding to me." Yet, *she* was
living in them. "How did you define yours?"

"Oh quite simple...I abide by whatever laws are in
existence, save when it comes to others of my kind,
unless pushed too far...I behave myself." Jasa knew
Grace might be surprised by some of the things she
might say. The elder Immortal had never tried to hide
her past from her student but she hadn't gone out of
her way to talk about it either.

Grace's attention was equally divided between her
charge and her teacher. Something was going on here.
During this convo, Riddick had figured something out
about Jasa, something he was thinking on, deciding
what to do with the information. What hadn't Jasa
shared with her?

He looked to Grace and still speaking to Jasa, he
said, "So your boundaries are only crossed when
dealing with your own kind. That would be immortals,
I'm assuming. Even Gracie here has thought about
killing in cold blood. Or was I mistaken on that
occasion?"

Grace sighed. She still remembered that night
clearly... when she had that man pinned against the
wall... her knife to his neck. And what had he done?
Wrong place at the wrong time. "But I didn't indulge
in it, did I? *I* put the knife away. *You* don't."

"I didn't always kill and I have functioned in a
society. I'm doing so now, aren't I? Drinking,
conversing. And the urge to kill is barely even
minimal." The last was said with a laugh.

"And I would advise it stay that way." The tone Jasa
chose was quiet and full of a thousand different
meanings. "There are those here...well let's just say
they make you look like a naive child...cross the line
and you'll be put into their hands. Even I wouldn't
wish that on my worst enemy."

Riddick stared at her. Now, this was interesting.
She knew literally nothing about him, his past, what
he'd lived through, yet she'd just called him a 'naive
child'. From the way Grace tensed, he could feel that
she was expecting him to respond outright. Well, it
was time that he proved to everyone that they didn't
know him quite like they thought they did. Let them
believe the naivete. It would work for him. So,
instead of a verbal response, he gave the immortal a
nod and continued to watch her.

Grace was the one to break the silence. To Derek, she
said, "So, is it me, or is it extremely warm in here?"

Jasa laughed. "Quite." She leaned back and surveyed
the newcomer out of calm eyes. She couldn't help but
chuckle inwardly. This was fun. It was easy to tell by
the look in his eyes that Riddick had taken the line
she'd put forward and read it the wrong way. Oh
well...no one was perfect but he did have promise. If
he behaved himself.

Riddick watched Grace's teacher and as was his usual,
thought constantly. It was when he caught a slight
sparkle in her eyes that his head tilted back and he
gave a full laugh. "Gracie, dear, your teacher is an
enigma." His hand returned to her back in a motion of
possession.

Grace inhaled again. "Most people who are in my life
are enigmatic. You are amongst the headliners."

"Keeps her on her toes." Jasa said with a grin at
Derek. "Makes her more perceptive than most."

Grace sighed. "Why is it that I feel like the naive
one here? Like I'm not as perceptive as I should be,
like there's a whole other conversation going on that
I'm missing." Looking at Riddick, she said, "I know
you won't clue me in." She then turned her attention
to Jasa and raised her eyebrow in question.

The Egyptian reclined in her chair. "We can discuss
that later."

Grace took the opportunity to order herself a shot of
vodka. She could feel the hand on her back and when
he moved, it scorched her like a fire brand.

The object of her discomfort knew exactly what he was
doing. "I can excuse myself if you'd like. I'm sure
there's something I can do. Maybe MacLeod is at that
bar."

"Steer clear of him," Grace hissed. Oh she knew he
did that for the sheer joy of her reaction, and she
rose to it easily. After all, she was quick to react.
"And you aren't going anywhere."

He leaned in. "I hadn't really planned on it anyway."
He turned his attention back to Jasa. "From what I
can gather, there are several of your kind here. I've
heard talk that the oldest is 5000 years old. Gracie
tells me she's about 900. Where would you fit in that
scheme? I find the concept of immortality
fascinating."

Smirking, Jasa lifted her shoulder in a shrug. "Lets
say I'm not as old as five thousand but I'm a slight
bit older than 900."

Grace groaned. She wasn't sure how much more of this
she could take.

He took in the older woman's features and her body
language and her bearing. "More than a slight bit, I
believe."

Grace's hand went to his leg. It was meant as a
warning but she could easily feel his body heat and it
gave her an unexpected thrill. "There are some things
a woman never tells and her age is one of them. I
only divulged it because I had a rare moment of
insanity. I've been known to have those from time to
time."

"Like when you decided to bring me here," his voice
caught only for a second.

"I've had no cause to doubt that decision."

"Yet."

"I didn't say that, you did. But if I did, all bets
would be off and we'd leave. You know that."

He said nothing, just merely nodded. He didn't know
what he wanted from her. He knew she believed in him
more than most, he knew she was taking the chance of a
lifetime on him, but it wasn't enough. Maybe all she
could give would never be enough. But she was trying.
She was trying more than most.

"Well, I doubt we'll need to boot him out just yet."
Jasa noted, her hand twining with Derek's once more.
"Yet."

And that was his proof. Just then the lights on the
dance floor kicked on and he was forced to lower his
goggles. He didn't like these emotions he was
starting to feel for Grace, but her teacher's words
spoke everything he had thought. "Not trusting is a
good thing. Fewer surprises that way."

"Ah but it also means you don't get much in return."
Jasa noted quietly, her eyes now on Derek. "Trusting
is scary as hell but the rewards...they're
incomparable."

"Trusting the wrong people though, it can get friends
and loved ones killed." This comment came from Grace
as her eyes filled with tears.

In a rare moment of thoughtlessness, Riddick squeezed
her shoulder and then rubbed her neck. "We aren't any
of us perfect." If he could go back in time and kill
the right one, instead of the man she had loved, he
would have. "You can't keep track of all the baddies,
and yes, some of them hide behind badges and the
pretense of protecting others. That's just life."

"So it is," Jasa noted. "And some of those baddies end
up becoming saints...perhaps the deaths they cause
bring about even greater good in the long run."

Grace dried her eyes and downed her drink in one shot.
"Yet the guilt remains forever."

"It wasn't your fault," Riddick said.

"It's always my fault," she said, ordering another
drink.

"It is not," her teacher noted firmly. "Somethings
cannot be prevented or atoned for. Just lived with."

Riddick was forced to agree with the teacher.
"Besides, the real one to blame is generally brought
to justice. I made sure of it."

Grace nodded and stared at her drink. "I did thank
you for that one, right?"

He laughed as he said, "You did. I'm here, aren't I?"

Knowing she'd get the full story later, Jasa took
another sip of her drink and playfully rubbed her leg
against Derek's, keeping her facial expression
schooled. "Now let's see if you can't keep this good
guy streak going hmm?"

"Well, in all honesty, I make no promises. But as I
said earlier, there's only been one instant where I
had the urge, and that man is still walking around."

Grace shuddered. Downing her drink again, she said,
"He shouldn't be."

"Well if he shouldn't be, someone will eventually get
him," Jasa noted. "Things have a way of balancing
themselves out. Justice and all that..."

Grace chuckled ruefully. "Oh I guess they did.
Riddick broke his nose and crushed all the bones in
his wrist. Too bad the man was immortal."

Riddick looked at her in shock. The woman rarely
spoke so vehemently about someone. There was more to
this than what he even knew.

"One of us?" Jasa pursed her lips. "Anyone I'd know?"

Grace sighed. "I got stupid. Got deep into a
conversation and followed Riddick across the river..."

"A man named Caspian got a bit handy with her. But I
believe he understands things now. He steers clear of
me and he will of Grace too. Even immortals can feel
pain."

"Caspian?" The Egyptian shuddered slightly. "You're
lucky that's all he did. And if he doesn't...there are
people who will make sure he does." She smiled slowly.
"He'll behave."

Grace nodded. "I know he will. Seems Mr. Riddick
claimed me as his property and when he's done with me,
he may consider sharing. In retrospect, that moment
was particularly funny."

"The man understands keeping a woman as property. It
wasn't a far leap. He saw me as one of his kind.
That and I think his main goal was more to scare you
than rape you. But he knows his place now."

"If not...he will." Jasa smirked. "Caspian forgets
he's already lost his head once."

"He's dead outside?" Grace smiled at that thought.
"Who had the honor of taking his head?"

"Kid by name of Duncan MacLeod." Her teacher swirled
her finger in the remnants of her drink. "One of
Methos's pet projects I think."

"M-MacLeod," Grace said, feeling Riddick tense.

"Funny," he said, "he's one of Grace's too."

"Like I said, let it go, Riddick. Who I see is my
business." Where was the insane jealousy coming from?
If anything, MacLeod was someone she could talk to.
Good sex was an added bonus.

Raising an eyebrow, Jasa watched the interaction with
an intrigued eye. "Indeed it is. In SV its best to
share...otherwise all these nasty punishments get
dreamt up."

Riddick nodded in response. It was almost insane what
he was feeling over this. He still had to figure it
out.

"I need another drink," Grace said, wondering if she
was becoming an alcoholic.

As Grace and Riddick got into a quiet conversation on
their way to the bar, quiet but intense, Jasa surveyed
the mortal. He was dangerous no doubt there. Slit your
throat in a heartbeat dangerous...a sociopath...but he
did have potential. After all, if she had come back
from being the kind of killer she'd been....there was
always hope for Grace's latest charge.