4

Ianto woke slowly, rising to a sitting position on a bed of soft moss.

He rubbed his burning eyes and looked around and took in the panoramic view surrounding him.

After letting the wind carry him far away, he'd cried himself to sleep and come to rest halfway up a hillside that looked down on a low, green valley with a large barn that dwarfed the dot of a home below, making it quite clear what the family that lived there prioritized. They took care of what mattered most for the livelihood of the entire unit.

It was exactly what his father and he had argued about the last time they'd spoken. With the future in mind, he had tried to convince the King that they needed to forge a peace treaty and trade agreements with the kingdom of Saxon.

His father had argued that they couldn't be trusted, and that he would never sign a treaty with the rulers. Ianto hadn't pushed any further. He hadn't questioned his wisdom. So, the senseless cold war had continued, and Ianto had been sent on missions to assassinate key political opponents.

He had been good at his job, and he had killed Mages and warlocks for his father, dying a little inside each time until one particular mission was too much.

He had been asked to kill the child of a high-level official close to Queen Anna of Saxon. Ianto couldn't do it. He'd been in place, spell at the ready, and when he saw the target, he'd frozen, unable to believe that his father had sent him to kill a child.

It was the final time he would ever follow orders again. That night, he'd gone to his father, determined to make this stop by any means necessary, but as he'd stood over his sleeping form, he hadn't been able to reconcile the man who had raised him with honour would have sent him to kill a child. It was unfathomable, and he'd wanted to confront him and get the answers he needed. But he'd run instead. He'd run away, and he'd known it was just a matter of time until they found him, so he hadn't stopped until he'd reached the dimensional portal hidden in the Mountain of Souls.

Before she'd disappeared mysteriously, his mother had shown him the portal and explained its use. With only the slightest hesitation, Ianto had crossed the portal and ended up in this realm. Now his father was dead, and he would never get the answers he wanted… unless he found the book.

His tears had dried up, and it was time to step up his search. More than ever before, the urgent need for the spell book he'd been pursuing was undeniable. If he could find that book, he could go back in time. The question was whether he went back to the night he'd run away or to the night the King had been murdered to try to save him and identify the real killer.

It was time to finish what he'd started.

Decided on his plan of action, Ianto stood and dusted the forest debris from his clothes. He reached for his backpack on the ground where his head had lain. He had used it as a makeshift pillow. Now, he needed to pool all his resources and do what needed to be done.

Ianto started down the hill on alert. This wouldn't be easy, especially not now that he had a hunter on his trail. He had to stay vigilant, and he needed to act quickly. And if things got too problematic, he knew how to run.

He was just so tired of running.

.

.

.

He'd lost him. He'd gotten away without a trace and left him confused. Jack hadn't expected his reaction to the news of his father's death. He had seemed genuinely upset. It wasn't how he expected a murderer to react. Either his acting skills were highly evolved, or he really hadn't known his father was dead.

If he'd killed him, how could that be possible? He needed answers, and if he couldn't get them from Ianto, he needed to get them from someone close to him.

Jack approached the petite woman whom he'd last seen with Ianto. He hoped she could tell him where the Prince could have gone. He'd run after the miniature tornado, casting large distances with his spells as quickly as he could, until he could no longer see Ianto above the clouds.

Once Ianto was out of sight, he could no longer cast beneath him. Casting was a useful spell that Jack had learned during his training as a hunter. It had taken him a while to get used to the disorientation it produced, and it had its limits. Before casting, a hunter had to be able to see the destination, either the actual visual location or an image in the mind as a result of visiting before, but as he'd found out, it wasn't a perfect way to chase after a Mage in the air. Now, he had to rely on finding him through his other honed hunter skills, including using those who were close to the target.

"Excuse me. Toshiko, is it? Can we talk?"

She turned quickly and faced him, eyes wide, lips slightly parted. He'd surprised her, but he knew how to put her at ease, to get her on his side. He saw her tense, ready to run, but he needed to stop her before she tried to getaway.

"I don't want to hurt you, and I don't want to hurt Ianto."

Then, she surprised him. She didn't run. Instead, she took a step toward him and pushed her finger into his chest as she made her points. "What did you do with him? Did you hurt him already? Where is he?"

Instinctively, he put his hands up in a gesture to show he meant no harm. "I don't know where he is. I was hoping you could tell me."

She stepped back and crossed her arms. "I'm not telling you shit, you jerk."

"Look, I know this will be hard to understand, but Ianto is not who you think he is. He's dangerous, and I need to find him before someone else gets hurt." Jack tried to be stern.

"I don't believe you. I know Ianto, and he wouldn't hurt anyone."

"Toshiko, he murdered his own father. He's a trained assassin and won't hesitate to kill anyone who gets in his way."

He was encouraged by her silence as she absorbed the information. She hadn't immediately dismissed him. Obviously, she'd had her own doubts about Ianto. He needed to capitalize on the opportunity. "Now, I've been sent to bring him back to the dimension from which he came so that he can stand trial for the murder of his father, King Ifan."

"Even if what you say is true, why should I help you?"

He almost had her, and frankly, he was a little surprised she wasn't more skeptical. Maybe she had ties to magic somehow. "Look, I won't be the only hunter sent to retrieve him, but I was sent by his father himself before I received the news that he'd been murdered. He had wanted him returned to Torchwood, the kingdom in the realm from which we come. I will treat him with respect and give him the benefit of the doubt. I can't promise that others will do the same."

"I have lived here all my life. I've seen some crazy things here, but I have no doubt that Ianto can handle himself with you and anyone else that comes his way. Sorry, but you're on your own, sport. I wouldn't help you even if you promised to treat him with kid gloves. As his best friend, I'm rooting for him to beat your arse and anyone else's who comes along."

He had done some research, and he knew one thing he hoped Toshiko couldn't resist. She turned to go but stopped when he asked, "What if I threw in something for you?"

"You don't have anything I want."

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out something he knew she couldn't resist. "On this piece of paper is the deed to your grandmother's home. I have paid it off, and I will give it to you free and clear if you promise to help me find Ianto. I know the bank was ready to foreclose the loan, and I had the means to cover the remaining balance."

He tipped it toward her but pulled it back when she reached for it. "It's yours if you tell me where he might be."

The struggle played across her face as she grappled with the deal. He saw the moment she decided as her eyes dipped to the paper in his hand, and her lips pursed tightly. She crossed her arms again and shifted her feet a couple of times before giving a sharp nod.

Her tilted gaze met his as she said, "he's looking for some book. It's an old one, and he'd convinced it's in an antique shop. We've scoured the ones in town already with no sign of it."

"Where will he go next?"

She uncrossed her arms and ran a hand over her face before explaining, "he mentioned a place in eastern Kentucky. An antique shop called Wayward Objects in a town called Nowhere. It's a sister city where a few paranormal folks have established themselves."

He reached for her arm, gently gripping her in his hand.

"Hey! I told you what you wanted to know. What are you doing?"

"You'll get the deed once we find him. Until then, we're staying together. That way you can't warn him before I get there."

The look on her face said that was exactly what she had planned to do. "What about my grandmother? Don't you think she'd like to know the house is hers?"

"Yes. And the sooner you take me to Ianto, the sooner you can rest your grandmother's mind at ease."

"You're a real arsehole, you know that?"

"So I've been told. But nothing will get in the way of my mission. Now, take me to Ianto."

She looked like she had more to say, but instead, her gaze dropped to the piece of paper he was now putting back into his pocket.

"Face it. Your best option is to help me, and my best option is to let you. Now, let's go."