The Ties That Bind (23/34 + epilogue)
Title: The Ties That Bind - Part 23
Beta: Blackcat1000
Characters/Pairings: Jack/Ianto, Donna, John Hart, Owen and James Harper, Mickey/Martha, Toshiko/Tommy, Claudia, Phillip, Saxon, Rhiannon, OCs
Rating: NC-17
Word Count: 75K+
Warnings/Contains: Explicit sex (does that need a warning?), witchcraft, horror, supernatural themes, character death.
Summary: Ianto is a powerful magical warrior, one which Jack Harkness has never been able to resist. Once enemies, then almost lovers, he broke his heart. Years later, Jack must return to his hometown and seek help before it is too late. Jack and Ianto must now put aside their past and work together to defeat an evil threatening to overwhelm and take control of Jack because of his unique bloodline. Secrets and foretold prophecies will plague them and in this paranormal battle, they will need more than magic to survive.
A/N: The group make a grisly discovery and must then fight their way out again if they are to join up with the rest of the group. And Jack gets some bad news from back home.
Chapter Twenty Three
Phillip stood guard near the entrance, while Ianto and Jack followed the direction of John’s voice. They found him standing in a narrow hallway, his shoulder propped against the wall outside an open door. He was pale, the strain on his face an expression that Ianto had rarely seen on the demon. It usually meant that something horrific had happened-something he was powerless to do anything about.
As they made their way down the hallway, John jerked his chin toward the open door. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” he scraped out, running a shaky hand roughly over his mouth.
With his heart lodged in his throat, Ianto peered into the room, his own curse drowned out by Jack’s guttural one. Inside were the mutilated bodies of a young bride and groom, their flesh ripped and torn, as if something with powerful jaws had fed on them. The groom had wrapped his bride in his arms, and it was clear he had taken the brunt of the attack.
“He was trying to protect her,” Ianto said shakily. “Those bastards!”
Jack came up close behind him and squeezed his shoulders, his deep voice soft in his ear. “At least they weren’t infected.”
Ianto nodded, knowing what he meant. As if the Wraiths weren’t bad enough on their own, they could use their bites to infect their human victims, turning the humans into Skins, as the group had named them. The infected humans became little more than the walking dead, living only to consume flesh, and forced to obey the orders of those who’d made them.
John shut the door to the room, and Ianto pulled away from Jack, well aware that he didn’t have time to comfort him. John told them that he’d found more bodies in a few of the other rooms, and Ianto pressed his hand to his stomach, sickened by the senseless loss of life.
“Do you think there are any Skins left in the town?” Ianto asked, walking beside Jack as they headed back to the nave. He could hear John walking behind them.
“I don’t know,” Jack answered, reaching up with one hand to rub the muscles at the back of his neck. “I think maybe they tore through this place on an eating frenzy. I’ll call in the local Guardians unit and have them contain the area. I’m sure there are a helluva lot more bodies to be found.”
Shivering at the thought, Ianto rubbed his eyes, feeling more exhausted than he had in years. Physically. Emotionally. He was drained. And Jack looked the same, the bruise-coloured shadows under his eyes darker than ever. He was just about to say something to Ianto when the window above the altar shattered, sending stained glass showering down on their heads. Ianto got a quick glimpse of the pale, yellow-eyed creatures, their cadaverous bodies covered in festering wounds, as they swarmed in through the broken window-and then he was being propelled into John’s arms.
“You two, get the hell out of here!” Jack roared, and the demon immediately grabbed Ianto’s hand and started running. Ianto had no idea where John was taking him as they travelled deeper down the long hallway, his mind locked on the sounds of fighting he could hear coming from the nave. John dragged him into a darkened room that smelled of paper and ink, slammed and locked the door behind them, then set him on his feet and flipped on a light switch.
Blinking against the harsh fluorescent glow, Ianto saw that the room was a small office, probably used by the church secretary. John stood in front of the door, ready to take down anything that came through, and he stumbled back, in shock, until he came up against the wall. Ianto sank to the floor, arms around his knees, and started to rock. He’d seen a lot of things during his time as an investigator for the clans, but this was just wrong. It shocked him to the core. John said something to him in a low voice, but he couldn’t respond. He was stunned silent, trapped in layers of fear, unable to accept what was happening. That he was on the verge, again, of losing something that mattered to him. Something that mattered more than…well, more than anything else. Even more than it had mattered twelve years ago.
If Jack survived the attack, was Ianto really going to let his fear of heartbreak keep them apart? Was he that much of a coward?
He bit his bottom lip, unable to stop the frustration of being sidelined again because of this stupid damn prophecy and spell. How long would it take Jack and the vampire to shoot those hideous monsters? He wanted to be out there fighting beside him, but knew he’d only be a distraction Jack didn’t need, his fighting skills useless against this enemy for now. He prayed they would hurry, and couldn’t hold back his relief when there was a hard rap on the door followed by the sound of Jack calling his name. He practically shoved John out of his way as he ran to the door and tore open the lock, pulling Jack into a fierce hug and holding on as if he never meant to let go.
Jack briefly hugged back, and Ianto forced himself to release his hold, knowing they needed to get out of there. Phillip joined them and they moved, keeping a sharp lookout for trouble as they made their way back to Jack’s SUV. They didn’t know for certain how many Wraiths were in the town, and Ianto knew he wouldn’t be able to take a deep breath until they were on their way.
Climbing into the backseat, he locked his door, then said quietly, “Well, that was certainly…eventful.”
With a gritty laugh, Phillip said, “I just hope we can make it to Devon before any more psychotic walking dead come after us.”
“I’ll run them down if they do,” Jack muttered, enjoying the brief smile that touched Ianto’s mouth as he turned the key in the ignition. But Ianto didn’t say anything more, and that silence deepened as the afternoon wore on. He seemed lost in his thoughts, and from the small crease between his brows, which he could see every time he glanced in the rear-view mirror, Jack didn’t think they were good ones. They finally bought food a few towns further on eating in the car as they drove.
A little over an hour later, they found the secluded farm cottages where they were supposed to meet Owen, James, and the others from their unit who had come with them. The Guardians had been held up by another Skins emergency, but Owen had gotten out ahead of the others and was waiting for them in the private cottage he’d reserved for the Guardians. He’d dropped Ianto’s name when he’d made the booking giving the caretaker his assurance that they only needed the cottage for a couple of days and that they would do their own catering.
Jack was glad to see that the cottage was set back from the main building, almost buried in the woods, making it easy for them to get in and out without attracting a lot of attention. Once they were ready to perform the Death-Spell, they could get to the site they’d chosen in about twenty minutes. On their return, the privacy of the cottage’s location meant they wouldn’t have to deal with any long explanations if they came back looking like the walking wounded.
He parked in one of the empty spaces beside the cottage, and Owen opened the door, the excited grin on his face putting a bad feeling in Jack’s gut. The Lycan’s black eyes were sparkling with anticipation as Jack introduced him to Ianto, the idiot probably looking forward to making a nuisance of himself.
“It’s nice to meet another one of the Guardians,” Ianto said to Owen, “although I probably shouldn’t call you that anymore.” With a smile, he asked, “Have you decided on a new name yet?”
“Still no name,” Owen replied as they made their way inside. “I’ve offered all kinds of great suggestions. Grim Reapers. The Death Dealers and the Arse Kickers. But they shot them down, like all the others.” He pushed out a dramatic sigh and shook his head. “I’m telling you they lack imagination.”
“Obviously,” Ianto murmured, stifling a laugh.
Jack slumped down onto one end of a sofa and leaned his head back. John took the other end, and Phillip sprawled on the chaise, while Ianto took the chair next to Owen’s. As they waited for the others to get there, Owen regaled him with stories about Jack. The bastard even blabbed about the incident at the local village back in Scotland a few months ago, which was how Jack had come by the scar on his ribs.
With a groan, Jack said, “Owen, enough already.”
“I’m only just getting started,” the Lycan rumbled. “I tried to warn you in my texts that there would be hell to pay. I made it clear that you could either tell me who your mystery guy was, or pay the price in blood, sweat and tears.”
Thankfully, the twat was forced to shut up when James and the others finally arrived, they poured into the cottage’s central sitting room in a stream of grim-looking soldiers. Buried were the lovesick smiles and easy laughter that were common among this group of warriors. These were men and women who had been through hell together in the past year, and they were ready to end it.
While the others spread around the room, Claudia propped her shoulders against one of the textured walls, waiting until all the introductions had been made, then arched a sable brow at her brother. “You lot look like you’ve seen some action.”
Phillip ran a hand over his short scrub of hair and blew out a rough breath. “We had a run-in with some Skins on our way here. And like idiots, we got caught without any ammo.”
“How’d you get away?” James asked, taking a seat in one of the other chairs.
“We found a church, filled up an empty cartridge of bullets and knocked the bastards out with Mickey’s new gun.”
Mickey gave a satisfied smile at the mention his handiwork. “Sweet.”
They talked for a moment about Mickey’s gun, and then James got things rolling. “We have news,” he said, settling his pale green gaze on Jack. “We got a call on our way here. It was from the unit in Manhattan.”
Fear gripped his insides and squeezed. “Were they attacked? What happened to my brothers?”
“There was no attack, and Thomas and his family are fine,” James explained. “But Gray is missing.”
Jack narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean by missing?”
James’s expression was grim. “He messed with the security cameras and snuck out of the compound. Took his bag with him, and stole a few weapons from the unit.”
“Are you telling me that he fucking ran?” Jack snarled, unable to believe Gray could be that stupid. “What was he thinking?”
“I don’t know what to say, mate.” James’s voice was sympathetically rough. “Sometimes we younger brothers can be a serious pain in the arse.”
“Jack, Gray’s a smart guy,” Owen said, obviously trying to make him feel better.
He shoved his hair back from his face and made a thick sound in his throat. “Christ, he couldn’t be that smart. The know-it-all is going to get himself killed.”
“The unit is searching all the surrounding areas,” James said. “They’re going to keep looking for him. If we’re lucky, it won’t be long before they pick him up again.”
“Why hasn’t he called me?” He moved to his feet and started to pace, the panic nearly suffocating him, his throat so tight it felt like choking. “Stupid question,” he ground out. “I know why. He doesn’t trust me. I’m the one who ordered them into protective custody, and now he doesn’t trust me!” He stopped and shoved the heels of his palms against his eyes, terrified he was going to lose everyone who was important to him. Everyone who mattered. “Fuck, I screwed up.”
“Jack, this isn’t your fault,” Ianto told him. “You did what you thought was right.”
“Yeah, that should have been my first clue. Every time I try to do the right thing, it turns to shit.” He paused, then slowly locked his gaze on Ianto. “So maybe I should just say to hell with it and do what I want for a change.”
His lips parted, and he watched Ianto’s eyes go wide as Ianto felt the savage force of his need slam into his. “Hold it right there,” John rasped. “You know that’s not gonna happen, Harkness.”
A low, guttural growl vibrated in Jack’s chest. “Stay out of this, demon.”
“What’s going on?” The question came from fellow Guardian Suzie Costello, the eagle-shifter’s amber-coloured eyes bright with curiosity.
John rubbed his jaw as he looked around the room. “I think this is probably a good time to tell you guys the search for a virgin is over. And before any of you say something asinine, it’s not me.”
“Who the hell is it?” demanded a rumble of voices. The demon didn’t bother to say anything in response. Instead, he just looked at Ianto…and smiled.