Chosen One - Chapter 15
Title: Chosen One - Chapter 15
Summary: Our favourite tortured boys are back in this third and final instalment in which they try to outrun Hell.
Notes: See chapter 1 for disclaimer warnings and related info.
15
Portent
*~*
JACK
Ianto strides across the room with only a cursory glance in our direction. His eyes scan the table before he looks at John. “Let me see the Udjat. There’s a way I can tell if it’s one of His originals.”
“It’s there,” John answers, jutting his chin in Ianto’s direction.
“It’s not,” Ianto says, alarm in his expression.
And I can feel his alarm pulling at my chest, a raw, sucking feeling bordering on panic. When John mentioned the pendant, for a split second, a piece of me hated him for taking it from me.
That same piece wants it back.
John stands and crosses to the table with a sense of urgency. “I didn’t touch it.” He looks up at Ianto with wide eyes. “I can’t.”
My heart kicks as I realise, just at that instant, that I can feel the weight of it in my pocket, pressing against my thigh. My pulse pounds in my temples as I try to make sense of this.
Ianto and John exchange a wary glance and I feel goose bumps prick my skin.
“It seemed solid, though I couldn’t actually touch it. But the strap was leather. Could it just vanish?” John asks.
Ianto’s head nods pensively. “Maybe … if He called it back.” He rubs his chin, still thinking. Then he turns to me. “Where did it come from, Jack?” His voice is insistent, and I can’t look at him, because I know now. With it on me, in my possession, I can see him-the boy who gave it to me.
“I don’t know,” I lie.
“Keep me out,” John says, and I know this is more than a training exercise. He knows I’m lying and he wants an excuse to go in looking for my green-eyed angel.
But I’m not ready to share him.
I feel John rooting through my head and I try to do what he said: focus on my body, the physical world. I imagine a wall in my mind; rough dark stone with a thick iron core, rising high and surrounding me, protecting me.
After a minute, he sighs. “That was better,” he says, and I’m instantly relieved. But then I catch the edge to his words as he adds, “But that wall looked a little too familiar.”
Both his gaze and his voice are hard and I don’t know what to think.
“What do you mean?” I ask cautiously.
He turns his sharp gaze on Ianto. “He’s using the Walls of Hell to defend his mind.”
The only sound in the silence that follows is the beginnings of a summer shower, tapping on the roof-then a knock at the front door. And that’s when I remember Hope.
I leap from the couch, thankful for the interruption. “That’s Hope.” I run to my room as John moves to the door. “Tell her I’ll be ready in a second.”
I duck into my room and stand with my back against the door for a minute, trying to catch my breath. When I can think, I rifle through my stuff and pull out some track pants. Not perfect for judo but I didn’t bring my workout stuff. When I come out of my room, Hope is standing in the family room with John.
“… not letting him out of my sight,” John finishes, his voice raised.
“You said I could go, John,” I say, trying to forget the only reason he said it in the first place was ’cause I accidentally Swayed him.
“He can only find him while he’s sleeping, right? I can guarantee you he won’t be sleeping.” Hope shoots a smirk at me. “It’s impossible to sleep when you’re getting your butt kicked.”
“Dream on,” I say, feeling lighter already.
“He needs this. Let him go.” Ianto’s voice comes from the table where he’s leaning, his arms crossed over his chest.
John looks me over, then Hope. “Fine. I’ll go with you,” he says.
Hope lifts her eyebrow at John in a challenge, as one corner of her mouth pulls into an amused smile. “You come, you better be ready to fight.”
He leans onto the back of a chair and folds his arms, and I can tell he’s not giving in.
So I do it again.
It will be fine. I push the thought with my mind and watch John’s face.
“You can work out on the beach,” he says, demonstrating just how useless my Sway is when I’m trying to use it on purpose.
“He needs a real workout,” Hope argues.
Let me go. I’ll be fine, I push again.
John looks hard at me for a long minute, fighting some internal battle. “One hour,” he finally concedes. “But any sign of Lucifer’s crew and you’re out of there.”
Hope gives me a knuckle-bump.
“Kick some arse,” Ianto says, pushing away from the table.
A smile tugs at his lips and my heart flutters, remembering our judo lessons and where they usually led. I almost ask him if he wants to come, wanting the excuse to touch him, but decide that would probably be a bad idea. “Okay. See you later.”
He smiles at me again and nods once.
“Be safe,” John says as I collect Hope on the way out the door. “And drive carefully!” he calls after us as the door slams.
*~*
IANTO
I watch him go as John blinks at the door then looks at me.
I move to the window and watch after Jack and Hope as they pull out. “His Sway is getting stronger.”
I hear him sigh. “A double-edged sword.”
I bark out a laugh. “Be careful what you wish for.”
When I turn back to face him, his expression is strained. “Tell me more about the Udjat. How does it work?” he says.
Acid churns in my gut at the thought of Jack with an Udjat. “Lucifer forged six Udjat in the Lake of Fire, one for Himself and one for each of the five archangels who fell with Him. Each one is bound to its owner. Once given to its intended owner, if lost or removed, it will always return.” I walk to the kitchen and lower myself into a chair. “The story goes, Lucifer did it to reward the archangels’ loyalty by enhancing their power.” I can’t stop the mirthless laugh that escapes my chest. “But He’s a control freak. I think He did it to keep them in line-to control them. He didn’t create the archangels after all, so they missed out on His special loyalty perks programming.”
“So, if He brought it through the Shadowlands, then it’s able to cross planes,” John says. “If He called it back, it’s possible that it could have, what … grown legs?”
I lean into the table. “Each Udjat contains a sliver of His essence. They’re alive, for all practical purposes.”
He drops into a chair across from me head in hands, thinking.
“You can’t be serious about using Jack to lure Lucifer here.”
He jerks his head up and glares. “I’m dead serious.”
“I’m not going to let you do that.” I want to rip him out of the chair and shake some sense into him, but seeing as the cherub has had issues controlling his temper lately, that would likely be counterproductive. Instead, I stand and walk back to the window as rain starts to pelt the glass. “There has to be another way.”
“You know this won’t end until either Jack is dead and one side has his soul or Lucifer is gone. I prefer the second option, and the only way I can figure to get that is to bring Him here where I can handle Him.”
I turn back to him. “But therein lies the problem, John. You can’t handle Him. In the end you won’t get either option. What you’ll get is Jack in Lucifer’s grasp and you, me, and most of humanity dead and burning in the Inferno. So, if that’s what you’re going for…”
He’s on me in a flash, slamming me back into the wall.
“He can do this. He has to!”
I shove him back. “If he had months to learn to use his Sway, maybe. But even then it would be a long shot. We’re talking about Lucifer.”
“You just said it. His Sway is getting stronger. He’ll be ready.” He pushes me again and spins toward the kitchen.
“He won’t, and neither will you.”
He sends up a roar and the wood splinters as he puts his fist through the cupboard door next to the sink.
“What the Hell is wrong with you?”
He turns back slowly and stares at me for a long moment before storming past me to the door. He flings it open and, as it slams behind him, I catch his parting growl.
I sink into the couch and try to sort this out. If I hadn’t seen the Udjat with my own eyes, I wouldn’t believe it. But the fact that he had it confirms that he’s been found. Not only that, but in order to deliver it, either the Mage or Lucifer Himself has found his way into the corporeal world.
Our world.
Which means time is running out.
I head to my room and change into shorts. I need to run. Since I’ve been mortal I’ve discovered it’s the only time I can think clearly. I push out the door into the storm and launch myself up the beach. I run-and think.
John is insane. He’s going to get Jack killed. I can’t let that happen.
I run faster, feeling the driving rain sting my face.
I have to get Jack out of here.
We’re leaving. Tonight. Leaving is dangerous, but not as dangerous as staying. It’s the only thing I can think to do to protect him from John. I never thought it would come to this, but he can’t be trusted.
I need to distract Hope and slip Jack past John. When he gets home I’ll tell him. He’ll trust me.
He has to.
Summary: Our favourite tortured boys are back in this third and final instalment in which they try to outrun Hell.
Notes: See chapter 1 for disclaimer warnings and related info.
15
Portent
*~*
JACK
Ianto strides across the room with only a cursory glance in our direction. His eyes scan the table before he looks at John. “Let me see the Udjat. There’s a way I can tell if it’s one of His originals.”
“It’s there,” John answers, jutting his chin in Ianto’s direction.
“It’s not,” Ianto says, alarm in his expression.
And I can feel his alarm pulling at my chest, a raw, sucking feeling bordering on panic. When John mentioned the pendant, for a split second, a piece of me hated him for taking it from me.
That same piece wants it back.
John stands and crosses to the table with a sense of urgency. “I didn’t touch it.” He looks up at Ianto with wide eyes. “I can’t.”
My heart kicks as I realise, just at that instant, that I can feel the weight of it in my pocket, pressing against my thigh. My pulse pounds in my temples as I try to make sense of this.
Ianto and John exchange a wary glance and I feel goose bumps prick my skin.
“It seemed solid, though I couldn’t actually touch it. But the strap was leather. Could it just vanish?” John asks.
Ianto’s head nods pensively. “Maybe … if He called it back.” He rubs his chin, still thinking. Then he turns to me. “Where did it come from, Jack?” His voice is insistent, and I can’t look at him, because I know now. With it on me, in my possession, I can see him-the boy who gave it to me.
“I don’t know,” I lie.
“Keep me out,” John says, and I know this is more than a training exercise. He knows I’m lying and he wants an excuse to go in looking for my green-eyed angel.
But I’m not ready to share him.
I feel John rooting through my head and I try to do what he said: focus on my body, the physical world. I imagine a wall in my mind; rough dark stone with a thick iron core, rising high and surrounding me, protecting me.
After a minute, he sighs. “That was better,” he says, and I’m instantly relieved. But then I catch the edge to his words as he adds, “But that wall looked a little too familiar.”
Both his gaze and his voice are hard and I don’t know what to think.
“What do you mean?” I ask cautiously.
He turns his sharp gaze on Ianto. “He’s using the Walls of Hell to defend his mind.”
The only sound in the silence that follows is the beginnings of a summer shower, tapping on the roof-then a knock at the front door. And that’s when I remember Hope.
I leap from the couch, thankful for the interruption. “That’s Hope.” I run to my room as John moves to the door. “Tell her I’ll be ready in a second.”
I duck into my room and stand with my back against the door for a minute, trying to catch my breath. When I can think, I rifle through my stuff and pull out some track pants. Not perfect for judo but I didn’t bring my workout stuff. When I come out of my room, Hope is standing in the family room with John.
“… not letting him out of my sight,” John finishes, his voice raised.
“You said I could go, John,” I say, trying to forget the only reason he said it in the first place was ’cause I accidentally Swayed him.
“He can only find him while he’s sleeping, right? I can guarantee you he won’t be sleeping.” Hope shoots a smirk at me. “It’s impossible to sleep when you’re getting your butt kicked.”
“Dream on,” I say, feeling lighter already.
“He needs this. Let him go.” Ianto’s voice comes from the table where he’s leaning, his arms crossed over his chest.
John looks me over, then Hope. “Fine. I’ll go with you,” he says.
Hope lifts her eyebrow at John in a challenge, as one corner of her mouth pulls into an amused smile. “You come, you better be ready to fight.”
He leans onto the back of a chair and folds his arms, and I can tell he’s not giving in.
So I do it again.
It will be fine. I push the thought with my mind and watch John’s face.
“You can work out on the beach,” he says, demonstrating just how useless my Sway is when I’m trying to use it on purpose.
“He needs a real workout,” Hope argues.
Let me go. I’ll be fine, I push again.
John looks hard at me for a long minute, fighting some internal battle. “One hour,” he finally concedes. “But any sign of Lucifer’s crew and you’re out of there.”
Hope gives me a knuckle-bump.
“Kick some arse,” Ianto says, pushing away from the table.
A smile tugs at his lips and my heart flutters, remembering our judo lessons and where they usually led. I almost ask him if he wants to come, wanting the excuse to touch him, but decide that would probably be a bad idea. “Okay. See you later.”
He smiles at me again and nods once.
“Be safe,” John says as I collect Hope on the way out the door. “And drive carefully!” he calls after us as the door slams.
*~*
IANTO
I watch him go as John blinks at the door then looks at me.
I move to the window and watch after Jack and Hope as they pull out. “His Sway is getting stronger.”
I hear him sigh. “A double-edged sword.”
I bark out a laugh. “Be careful what you wish for.”
When I turn back to face him, his expression is strained. “Tell me more about the Udjat. How does it work?” he says.
Acid churns in my gut at the thought of Jack with an Udjat. “Lucifer forged six Udjat in the Lake of Fire, one for Himself and one for each of the five archangels who fell with Him. Each one is bound to its owner. Once given to its intended owner, if lost or removed, it will always return.” I walk to the kitchen and lower myself into a chair. “The story goes, Lucifer did it to reward the archangels’ loyalty by enhancing their power.” I can’t stop the mirthless laugh that escapes my chest. “But He’s a control freak. I think He did it to keep them in line-to control them. He didn’t create the archangels after all, so they missed out on His special loyalty perks programming.”
“So, if He brought it through the Shadowlands, then it’s able to cross planes,” John says. “If He called it back, it’s possible that it could have, what … grown legs?”
I lean into the table. “Each Udjat contains a sliver of His essence. They’re alive, for all practical purposes.”
He drops into a chair across from me head in hands, thinking.
“You can’t be serious about using Jack to lure Lucifer here.”
He jerks his head up and glares. “I’m dead serious.”
“I’m not going to let you do that.” I want to rip him out of the chair and shake some sense into him, but seeing as the cherub has had issues controlling his temper lately, that would likely be counterproductive. Instead, I stand and walk back to the window as rain starts to pelt the glass. “There has to be another way.”
“You know this won’t end until either Jack is dead and one side has his soul or Lucifer is gone. I prefer the second option, and the only way I can figure to get that is to bring Him here where I can handle Him.”
I turn back to him. “But therein lies the problem, John. You can’t handle Him. In the end you won’t get either option. What you’ll get is Jack in Lucifer’s grasp and you, me, and most of humanity dead and burning in the Inferno. So, if that’s what you’re going for…”
He’s on me in a flash, slamming me back into the wall.
“He can do this. He has to!”
I shove him back. “If he had months to learn to use his Sway, maybe. But even then it would be a long shot. We’re talking about Lucifer.”
“You just said it. His Sway is getting stronger. He’ll be ready.” He pushes me again and spins toward the kitchen.
“He won’t, and neither will you.”
He sends up a roar and the wood splinters as he puts his fist through the cupboard door next to the sink.
“What the Hell is wrong with you?”
He turns back slowly and stares at me for a long moment before storming past me to the door. He flings it open and, as it slams behind him, I catch his parting growl.
I sink into the couch and try to sort this out. If I hadn’t seen the Udjat with my own eyes, I wouldn’t believe it. But the fact that he had it confirms that he’s been found. Not only that, but in order to deliver it, either the Mage or Lucifer Himself has found his way into the corporeal world.
Our world.
Which means time is running out.
I head to my room and change into shorts. I need to run. Since I’ve been mortal I’ve discovered it’s the only time I can think clearly. I push out the door into the storm and launch myself up the beach. I run-and think.
John is insane. He’s going to get Jack killed. I can’t let that happen.
I run faster, feeling the driving rain sting my face.
I have to get Jack out of here.
We’re leaving. Tonight. Leaving is dangerous, but not as dangerous as staying. It’s the only thing I can think to do to protect him from John. I never thought it would come to this, but he can’t be trusted.
I need to distract Hope and slip Jack past John. When he gets home I’ll tell him. He’ll trust me.
He has to.