The Ties That Bind (29/34 + epilogue)
Title: The Ties That Bind 29
Beta:Blackcat1000
Characters/Pairings: Jack/Ianto, Donna, John Hart, Owen and James Harper, Mickey/Martha, Toshiko/Tommy, Claudia, Phillip, Suzie, Saxon, Rhiannon, OCs
Rating: NC-17
WordCount: 75K+
Warnings/Contains: Explicit sex (does that need a warning?), witchcraft, horror, supernatural themes, minor 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: Rhiannon turns up but it’s not a happy reunion. Another family member shows up, too, but it is not all it seems.
Chapter Twenty Nine
Ianto gasped, and Rhiannon’s voice came through the door. “Please let me in, Ianto. I need…I need to talk to you.”
“Open the door,” Ianto told Jack, praying he wasn’t making a mistake.
Jack’s gaze was dark with suspicion as he allowed Rhiannon to enter the room. She moved in a stiff, shuffling gait, a dark blanket wrapped tight around her shoulders.
Closing the door, Jack asked, “How did you get here?”
“Portal,” she gasped, nearly stumbling.
Ianto put his arm around Rhiannon’s waist, planning to help her to the sofa, instead his sister’s body crumpled to the floor. Going to his knees beside her, Ianto cried, “Rhiannon? What’s wro-”
“There’s blood on the floor,” Jack rasped, cutting him off. Ianto lifted his head, seeing the smears of blood on the tiles, the air becoming thick with the scent of it. “Get that damn blanket off her,” he barked, kneeling down on Rhiannon’s other side.
Rhiannon seemed to have lost consciousness, her eyes closed as they unwrapped the blanket from her frail body. Ianto had to choke back a sob when he saw the blood that covered Rhiannon’s torn gown. “Do you think the Master did this?” he asked as Jack grabbed one of the towels they’d tossed on the foot of the bed and pressed it against Rhiannon’s shredded stomach.
“It looks like the bastard clawed her,” Jack growled, checking the wounds on Rhiannon’s thigh.
Rhiannon gave a low groan, and he added, “I think she’s coming to.”
“Rhiannon,” Ianto crooned, keeping his voice soft. “Can you hear me, cariad? Can you open your eyes?”
Rhiannon lifted her lashes, revealing a pain-filled gaze. “Ianto, I’m so sorry,” she gasped reaching for his hand. “Was just…trying to do the right thing for my family.” She fell back, her face convulsing with pain, while tears leaked from the corners of his eyes. “I needed the Master to go-”
“Shh,” Ianto whispered. “It’s okay. I know why you made the deal. You don’t have to explain.”
Rhiannon clutched Ianto’s hand. “Once I had Johnny back, I knew he’d find a way to get Mica for me. Even if we had to sneak into Heaven and steal her away, I knew he’d find a way. Then I’d have them back.”
“Oh, cariad.”
“But I was wrong,” she moaned, squeezing her eyes shut. “I was so stupid. Johnny wouldn’t even recognise me now. He’d be so ashamed. He probably hates me.”
“Don’t,” Ianto rasped, brushing the dark strands of hair back from Rhiannon’s brow. “Don’t talk like that. Johnny has always loved you.”
“I just wanted him back,” Rhiannon sobbed, a fresh wash of blood seeping through the towel Jack was holding against her stomach as she was gripped in a violent coughing fit. “I just...”
“Rhiannon, you need to calm down,” Ianto said, keeping his voice firm. “Everything’s going to be okay. We’re going to get you to a hospital.”
“No time.” Rhiannon’s eyes popped open, wide with panic. “I have to tell you now, before it’s too late.”
Ianto shook his head. “No more confessions, Rhiannon. I love you. Donna and Brandon love you. This is going to be okay.”
Rhiannon sounded frantic, her cold fingers clenching around Ianto’s hand so tightly it hurt. “Shut up, Ianto, and listen to me. There’s…there’s a dark spell that I’ve learned.”
“From who?”
Rhiannon shuddered. “You don’t want to know. Just listen. I need to tell you how to find the Master. The spell will help.”
Another knock came at the door, and Ianto looked up, his worried gaze locking with Jack’s. After instructing him to keep pressure on the wound, Jack moved to his feet. Ianto started to tell him to be careful, but he held his finger in front of his lips, signalling him to be quiet.
Jack’s steps were silent as he padded to the door and peered through the peephole, then Ianto heard his low gasp. “What the hell?” he growled. “It’s Gray!”
“Jack!” Rhiannon called out, trying to warn him. But she was too late. He’d already ripped open the door…and the Master walked into the room.
Ianto knew it was the Master inside Gray Harkness’ body the instant he saw his eyes. They were cold and cruel as they glanced down at Rhiannon’s bleeding body, then settled slowly on Ianto’s face. “Jack,” Ianto whispered, “it’s him. It’s the Master.”
Ianto saw the horrible truth register on Jack’s face as the Master turned toward him, and then the Pharis lifted his palm toward Jack, and Jack’s body flew across the room, slamming against the far wall. He struggled to move, but his arms and legs were locked in place, as if some invisible force was holding him there.
“How are you doing that?” Ianto cried, surging to his feet.
The Master smiled. “Why don’t you ask your sister?”
“He forced me to show him my spells,” Rhiannon whispered, blood bubbling on her lips as she struggled to say the words. “He has enough power inside him to fuel the spell, because he’s Pharis. It’s my fault. I’m so...sorry.”
Jack shouted Ianto’s name, his deep voice vibrating with fury. “Get the fuck out of here! Now!”
A fresh wave of terror gripped Ianto when he realised he couldn’t move his arms or legs. It wasn’t that he wanted to run. He wasn’t leaving Jack alone with this monster. But he’d left the Lumtae on the bedside table, and he needed it to kill this son of a bitch.
“Ianto!” Jack roared. “Get your ass out of here!”
“I can’t,” he whispered. “It’s affecting me, too.”
The Master gave a husky laugh as he lowered his arm and crouched down beside Rhiannon, studying her ghostly face, while Jack and Ianto remained locked in place. The fact that he could hold the two of them like this without even putting any effort into it meant he was even more powerful than Ianto had feared.
Rage darkened Jack’s face, the tendons in his neck straining as he fought to break free. “I thought this spell didn’t work against others of your kind.”
“That’s only when it’s performed with other’s like us,” Ianto explained. “He’s using Rhiannon’s spell, but he isn’t a warlock.”
Watching the Master with a deadly glare, he snarled, “How the hell did you get inside my brother?”
The Master looked over his shoulder, flicking his gaze over the leather charm hanging around Jack’s neck. Then he smiled, saying, “I’m afraid your baby brother wasn’t too impressed with your little protection token. I found it in his bag. He hadn’t even bothered to put it on.”
“I’m so sorry, Jack.” Rhiannon’s voice was barely a thread of sound. “I didn’t stop him. I waited too long.”
Still looking at Jack, the Master said, “I was going to take you first, but baby brother made it so easy for me when he ran away from his guard dogs.”
“Fuck you, you fucking psycho” Jack snarled.
With another gritty laugh, the Master pushed to his feet and straightened his clothes. “You know,” he said conversationally, “now that I’m in this body, I’ll probably be able to stroll right into the Guardians compound in New York and take over that other brother of yours next. Save you for last, so that you’ll get the chance to see the show. After all, I plan on having a lot of fun with that feisty little wife of his.”
“You son of a bitch!” Jack roared, straining against the force of the spell so violently that a blood vessel burst in his eye.
“And when that gets boring,” the Master drawled, “I can always play daddy with his precious baby girl.”
“Monster,” Rhiannon rasped, the quiet word barely audible over Jack’s shouting. Searing hatred burned in her eyes as she lifted a shaky hand and pointed it at the Master. “Go to Hell, you bastard!”
A blinding light suddenly formed behind the Master, circular in shape, the violent roar of a windstorm filling the room. A ferocious scowl twisted his face as he fought to move away from the light, but it seemed to be sucking him in, like a giant whirlpool. He snarled, releasing his fangs and claws as he struggled to reach Rhiannon, who was clearly losing her strength as she fought to control the portal, but the pull of the wind was too powerful. He turned his chilling gaze on Ianto, and he yelled as he lunged forward.
Ianto could hear Jack’s and Rhiannon’s horrified shouts as the Master’s clawed fingers wrapped around his wrist, the freezing spell he’d put on him making it impossible for him to fight back. With an evil smile, the Master yanked Ianto against him, and the portal sucked them in with a deafening, explosive blast of power.
~*~
Jack was still picking himself up off the floor when John kicked down the door and burst into the room. He took one look at Rhiannon, then cut his dark gaze toward Jack. “I felt…something. Some kind of power surge. What the hell happened?”
“The Master was here,” he grated, the after effects of the spell and the blast making him nauseous. Or maybe it was just his fear for Ianto that was twisting his insides in knots. “Rhiannon blasted him through one of her portals, but he grabbed Ianto and dragged him through with him.”
John cursed, his face turning pale with fear.
Jack made it across the room and dropped to his knees beside Rhiannon. “Rhiannon, listen to me,” he said, turning his face toward him. “I need to know where you sent him.”
“Outer Rim. Use the demon. Find him…” She swallowed, struggling to continue. “If…if something happens, tell him the key to the spell is love.”
“What spell?” Jack grunted. “The one to find the Master?”
“No. Another one. The one to save his heart,” she whispered, and then she slipped away.
Jack lifted her hand and pressed a hard kiss to the backs of her fingers, then reached down and closed her eyes. “What the hell does outer rim mean?” he asked, moving back to his feet. “The outer rim of what?”
“Of Hell,” John rasped, scrubbing his hands down his face.
Jack froze as the meaning of those chilling words sank in. “Why would she send him there?”
“Because she knows the fucker won’t be able to escape.” John lowered his hands and looked at Jack, his blue eyes burning with fury. “And she knows I’ll be able to get there.”
“How?” he demanded.
John gave him a sharp smile. “I’m a demon, dude. Getting in and out of Hell is what I do.”
A flicker of hope started to burn in Jack’s gut, but he was still wary. “If that’s true, then why didn’t Rhiannon just come to you for help? Why bother with the Master?”
“Her husband was human,” the demon explained. “His soul, if it’s even there, would have been kept in one of the lowest parts of the pit. No one goes there unless they have a death wish.”
The spark of hope flared into a roaring blaze, fuelled by fierce determination. “Every second we waste is a second Ianto’s trapped there with him,” Jack growled. “We need to go now.”
John’s eyes went wide. “Are you serious? You’re planning on coming?”
Jack locked his jaw and the demon ran his tongue over his teeth. “Shit, I can see that you are,” John grumbled, blowing out a rough breath. “Jack, you know what’s going to happen. If you show up there, the Master’s going to find a way to take you over. He’ll use Ianto for leverage against you. You should just let me go on my own, mate.”
“And if he kills you? Ianto will be trapped there with him.”
“He isn’t going to kill me.”
“He’d better not, because I need you to get him out of there once he turns his attention on me.” Jack grabbed the Lumtae off the bedside table and handed it to the demon. “When it happens, you know what to do.”
John’s stare was deep and measuring. “You sure you’re willing to give up your life for him? Because that’s really gonna piss him off. He’d want you to stay here.”
Jack narrowed his eyes. “You leave me behind, demon, and I will kill you.”
John’s tone was wry. “Believe it or not, I hear that a lot.” Then he reached down, grabbed Jack’s arm and everything went black.