The Ties That Bind (24/34 + epilogue)
Title: The Ties That Bind - Part 24
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: We’re back with Rhiannon now and get to see more of the Master and his sadistic ways. It’s only a short chapter but it’s effective.
Chapter Twenty Four
How can a person be this tired?
Rhiannon leaned against the wall of the motel room that the Master had booked for the night, trying to find an ounce of energy. She needed to organise her thoughts. To find some way to make sense of the nightmare she was in.
How had she gotten to this point? How was it even possible that she had become this destructive, ghostlike crone who caused others pain?
The air in the room, which the Master and his men complained was too warm, seemed cold against her skin, making her bones rattle, her soul more fractured than whole. Despite the bright glow of light from the lamps, she felt lost in darkness. She knew something had to be done; there was no time for weakness. Not when Ianto needed her help if he was going to survive. But Rhiannon was locked into this damn union with the Master, having sworn in blood to carry out her half of the bargain.
At this point, taking her own life would be the best thing she could do for her brother.
The promise of death wouldn’t have scared her, had she thought she would be with her baby. Her beautiful little Mica. But there was no doubt she would be going to hell. And once there, she wouldn’t even have Johnny, the condemned human souls kept separate from those of the clans.
Closing her eyes, she tried to listen in on the Master’s conversation with his men, wondering what was being said on the other side of the room. There’d been so much to do since she’d woken up in that field the demon had blasted her to, along with the two Pharis, that they’d only just rejoined the Master. As his voice rose in anger, she could hear the Pharis leader demanding an explanation for the death of their comrade, and knew her accounting would come next. She also knew it wouldn’t be pleasant. Now that the Master had completely regained his strength, he would only push her harder to get him what he wanted.
God, Ianto. What am I going to do?
“You failed me, witch.”
She gasped at the close sound of the Master’s deep voice, and opened her eyes to find him standing only a few feet away. With a hard swallow, she said, “I couldn’t have anticipated the interference of the shape-shifters the other night. The entire situation was out of control. To take Harkness, I would have had to kill him. And I was under the impression you wanted him alive.”
“Don’t be smart with me,” he warned, coming closer, his foul breath nearly making her gag. “Why didn’t you tell me about the demon that’s helping him?” She tilted her head back, holding his stare. “Because I didn’t know about him.”
Without any warning, he backhanded her so hard the sound echoed through the room, and she felt the hot trickle of blood slipping over her chin. It wasn’t the first time he’d struck her, but she vowed it would be the last.
“And your brother?” he demanded.
Pressing the back of her hand to her throbbing lip, Rhiannon said, “How was I to know he would be with Harkness? They haven’t seen each other in years.”
“From what I hear, they seem to be making up for lost time.” He gave her a slow, calculating smile. “Which means Harkness will care about what happens to him.”
Shaking her head, she fisted her hands at her sides. “I am not involving him in this.”
The Master laughed. “He’s already involved.”
“I won’t do it,” she rasped, knowing exactly what he would ask of her. “I won’t help you hurt him.”
Before he could respond, the cell phone in his pocket rang. With a disgusted glance in her direction, he took the call, a satisfied smile spreading across his face as he listened. When he finally returned the phone to his pocket, he looked at her and murmured, “One down, two to go.”
Dear God. She knew what that meant. Despite the Guardian’s wholesale destruction of the shades in the Veil, there were many shades who had previously escaped and returned to this world, like the one who’d been killed in that field in Windermere. Though the Master preferred to keep the ones who’d escaped through the portal by his side, the other Pharis were still his to command, and his command had been simple. He wanted them watching the Harkness’.
“Where you have failed,” he said in a low voice, “others have succeeded, witch.”
“What happened?” she asked, praying that it wasn’t Jack who’d been captured. Praying that her brother was still alive.
“I’ve had a small group of Pharis keeping an eye on the compound where the Guardians took the other two Harkness brothers. This afternoon, the youngest must have decided he’d had enough of their protection. He broke out of the compound and escaped.”
She closed her eyes, feeling as if she would be ill. She knew Gray. Remembered him as an adorable boy who had blushed every time she’d looked at him. And now she was partly responsible for his death.
Grabbing his jacket from the foot of the bed, the Master pinned her with a chilling glare. “I’m going to meet them. In the meantime, I want you to go after Jack Harkness again. And this time, bring your brother, as well.”
“I already told you ‘no’,” she whispered.
His nostrils flared as he drew in a sharp breath. “That wasn’t a request, hag. It’s an order.”
She swallowed the bile in her throat, and somehow found the strength to say, “I am not one of your shades or living dead. I don’t take orders from you.”
“Is that so?” he asked in a silky rasp, tossing his jacket back on the bed.
Rhiannon scraped up every last ounce of courage she could find and lifted her chin. “My brother wasn’t part of our bargain.”
The Master stalked toward her, his gait slow and easy, as if he had all the time in the world. But the deadly look in his pale eyes told her what was coming. “You’re taking a dangerous path,” he murmured, lifting his hand to her face. He brushed his thumb across her skeletal cheek, watching her expression twist with revulsion at his touch. “Are you sure this is what you want, witch?”
Fear thickened his words. “I will not help you hurt my brother.”
“Then you’re hardly of any use to me now,” he offered softly, releasing the long, deadly claws on his right hand. She had only seconds to use the invisibility spell she’d learned, and it wasn’t enough time. His claws ripped across her abdomen, digging deep and making her scream, just before the spell took effect.
“Where are you?” he snarled, slashing again as she scrambled away from him. He caught her thigh, ripping into the muscle, and she nearly bit through her tongue to keep from crying out in agony. He kept slashing, trying to find her, but she rolled across the floor, stopping against the far wall. Pressing one hand to her mouth, Rhiannon huddled into a corner and struggled to hold in her cries, knowing he was listening for any sound that would reveal her location.
He turned over a few pieces of furniture, a heavy television set barely missing her as it crashed to the floor with a thunderous crack of sound. The Master finally gave up the game, laughing when he noticed the slick, red blood that covered his claws. Proof that he’d hit his target.
“What now?” asked one of the shades.
“If you want something done right,” he murmured, sending the Pharis a sharp smile, “sometimes you’ve got to do it yourself.”