Out of Bounds and Beneath Dreams

Out of Bounds and Beneath Dreams
Part five…

I. Good luck, Hiei
The Lords of Luz were a diverse people-- if the word people can apply. Some of them were nearly man-like, save for the odd degenerate feature such as an extra or missing body part. Others looked to be more insect than man with armored skin and faceted eyes. Whilst others were definitely more squid-like in appearance, soft and boneless. And of course there were numerous overlaps and crosses between. The only single feature that seemed to be shared by the entire population was the over all air of unnatural wrongness.

“Tell me you have a plan,” Ianto whispered in Hiei’s ear.

Hiei didn’t respond, but continued to look down from the high ledge where they hid in the shadows and evaluated this new foe. There were a lot more of them than the ghoul had led him to believe, however it was evident that their settlement was a fledgling one. Most of the buildings were small hovels made from stacking stones and mud. He could see the beginnings of more ambitious projects. But at the centre of things was massive black block of a ruin that jutted up from the raw rock, a cathedral maybe. It was much older than anything else. It was perhaps the Luz’s reason for settling there. But more than that, it seemed to be the most secure location in the town, therefore the most likely place to keep prisoners.

“Check the compass,” Hiei ordered. Ianto did so and pointed, just as Hiei suspected, toward the black cathedral. It was not good news, not only was the cathedral at the geographic center of town, it also seemed to be the social center of the town. Though few seemed to go inside, many of myriad monstrosities congregated around the thing. There were also a number of them who stood near the door with an air propose; guards, Hiei assumed.

“If I had the ability to summon my dragon, this would be a lot easier,” Hiei groused.

“Yes, and you would be doing all of Dreams a favor,” Ianto responded dryly. “How do you plan on getting us down there?”

“I don’t plan on getting US anywhere,” Hiei told him sternly as he snatched the enchanted compass out of his hands and tucked it into his belt, “You’re staying here, out of sight where you won’t get in the way. As for me, that’s my way in.” Hiei point up to the top of the towering block. It looked to almost touch the ragged domed ceiling over the city. Hiei could tell that the blond wanted to argue with him, but knew it would do no good. Hiei turned to find a good place to start his accent.

“Wait,” Ianto stopped him for a second and surprised the demon by pressing his lips gently to his own. Ianto whispered into his mouth, “Good luck, Hiei.”

Hiei was off, climbing the wall up to the ceiling. The town below as scantly lit by braziers and luminous fungi, but the outreaches of the cavern was painted with shadows to which Hiei clung to. This made it more difficult to traverse, needing to find hand and footholds by touch alone. But it was better than risking the alterative and being spotted by the mutated populace below. He was vulnerable where he clung to the open wall. A barrage of arrows would finish him.

He was on the ceiling now, hanging upside down and working against his own weight. Part way across he was really starting feel how much his demonic stamina had been compromised. His arms and legs burned from the strain, and he could only hope that his nails wouldn’t break off. It was painful, but if he let his pain and fatigue get to him the only way he had to go was straight down. He was used to working through pain, anyway.

At last he reached the apex of the dome, looked down and saw the cathedral rearing up beneath him. It was about thirty foot drop to the rooftop, more than enough to break a normal man’s legs. Hiei let go of the ceiling, twisting his body as he fell to put himself upright. He landed as swiftly and as silently as a cat. That done, Hiei dusted himself off and consulted the compass again. This time it wasn’t pointing, but spinning at a constant pace. Hiei frowned. He must be right on top of it now. All he had to do was find an entrance.

Hiei picked his way among the strange gargoyles in search of a way inside. Little did he know that not all of the gargoyles were stone. Out of nowhere an armored tentacle shot out and grabbed his ankle, tripping him.

“What?” Hiei spat as he whipped around and drew his sword. In the next moment he’d severed the limb. The creature screamed, a horrible sound akin to glass scrapping a chalkboard, as foul green fluid spilled from the stump where its tentacle had been.

No sooner did Hiei regain his feet did another of the monstrosities lunge out at him from the shadows. This one had long grasping arms that closed on Hiei like a bear trap and pulled him toward its great gapping tooth filled maw set vertically in the middle of its body. Hiei quickly brought his sword up, stabbing into the mouth through the throat and out the back of the thing. But even then it still gasped him and pulled him toward those munching teeth. Hiei twisted the sword in the creature and slashed up, cutting the thing in two. That did it. But it was a minor victory and there was no time to savor it as Hiei could all ready see more monstrous shapes moving among the gargoyles. He gripped his sword and readied himself for battle.

They came on him in mass. Hiei slashed kicked and punched at what seemed to be an endless wave of wild limbs. Claws slashed at him, armored fists pummeled him and elastic limbs whipped him. His enemies shapes were so varied that that he could not really tell which, or if any, of his blows were fatal.
“Take this you bastard!” Hiei yelled and sliced the head of his assailant, a bug-like thing with a Medusa’s nest of tentacles for legs. It died with a small mew and then Hiei was alone on the roof top with a pile of misshapen bodies.

“Damn,” Hiei muttered to himself, “I wonder what the odds are my cover isn’t blown yet. Not good I bet.”

After that he found the roof access door, he was loath to walk though it, thinking that there could a welcoming party waiting for him on the other side. But then, if his presence was already known, he didn’t really have the time to look for another way in. So without farther ado, he kicked in the door, sword drawn, and rushed in ready to kill whatever was stupid enough to enter his sight. There was nothing.

Hiei sheathed his sword and relaxed his stance. Carefully walking down the dark narrow corridor he mused, “I could have sworn there’d be something--” Just then the floor dropped out from under him. With a small yelp of surprise he struck solid stone, but by no means did he stop moving. It was a tube or more property a slide, the stone was polished and slick. No matter how hard he tried to grip the sides, Hiei couldn’t build up enough friction to slow his descent. The tube bent and twisted as he plummeted down. Then all of the sudden he saw light coming up on him fast. It blinded him and in the next second he was deposited none too gently in a steal cage. The door clanked shut above him.

“Shit.”
* * *
II. That Thing in the Pit
“Ground rules; no dirty underwear on the floor, no leaving food in the sink, we take turns carrying out the trash every other Thursday, and I get the top bunk,” Hiei’s sardonic cell mate said to him the moment after the Lords of Luz threw him into the dank cell. He was tall, broad in the shoulder, slim in the hip, and human, with a handsome face and thick mop of yellow hair.

“Just what I need, another smart blond,” Hiei groused. Hiei was so angry with himself for getting captured. He paced the small room, no windows, only the one ceil door. It was solid iron grate which wouldn’t have been a problem if he could summon his true power. He could have melted those bars like they were made of chocolate. But he couldn’t, so the point was mute. The walls were several feet think and made of dense stone. If he had his full power….

“Where’d they get you from, by the way?” His cellmate asked, half interested, as he scanned Hiei’s form. Since he didn’t comment on Hiei’s height, the demon decided to let the man keep his eyes.

“None of your business,” Hiei grunted irritably.

“Chatty much,” he smirked, “I’m Hero by the way, David Hero. Not that you asked--”

“You’re Hero?” Hiei whirled on the man.

“I am,” Hero said a little startled, “You’ve heard of me? Well, of course you have. I‘m quite well know in these parts of Dreams--”

“Where’s your partner Eldin?” Hiei asked shortly.

“Eldin? Uh why, he didn’t like get your sister pregnant or nothing did he?” Hero asked warily.

“Uh… no.”

“Your cousin?”

“No.”

“Mother?”

“No!”

“Dog?”

“Dear god no!” Hiei shouted, “Now you tell me where he is or I swear I’ll rip your balls off with my bare hands!”

The sound of robust laughing came from outside the cell and down the corridor, “I think he’s serious about finding me, Hero.”

Hiei couldn‘t see the man from his cell. He could barely dare to hope as he called out, “Eldin the Wanderer?”

“That’s what they call me-- among other things I don’t care to repeat!” The big voice chuckled.

“You wouldn’t believe what I’ve been though to find you,” Hiei said.

“I might, some of it, considering where we are right now,” Eldin responded.

Moving right along, Hiei asked, “Eldin is it true you can read ancient Dreamlands script?”

“The ancient scribbles of the First Ones? Aye, I can make some sense out of those,” he said as if it wasn’t a big deal.

“Great,” Hiei said enthusiastically, but then in a less hopeful tone, “Great.” He found Eldin the Wander, at last, but he was locked up. He couldn’t show him the inscription Varvara had printed on his arm. And even if he could, what than? He was still locked up.

“What’s all this noise in here?” On of creatures came into the cell block and growled in a voice that sounded like boiling slime. It wasn’t naked like the ones that put him in there, but wearing a long black robe and hood. After a number of threats it flowed out of sight.

“They’re at it again. I can tell cuz they’re wearing those damned robes. They’re feeding that thing in the pit,” Hero muttered.

“What thing?” Hiei asked because he was sure he’d find out eventually anyway.

“Have you noticed the smell around here? It ain’t the Luz, though I bet they stink something awful anyway. It’s sulfur. It comes from a big lava pit at the center of the cathedral,” Hero explained, “And believe it or not this thing lives down there, in the molten rock. The Luz, they worship it… feed it sacrifices. They think it’ll help them take over Dreams or some shit like that. It’s been here since… forever, I guess.”

“It’s an Old One,” Eldin muttered from his cell, “Imprisoned here when Dreams were young.”

Hiei uttered, “You mean like Cthu--”

Hero sprung up and clamped his hand over Hiei’s mouth, “You wouldn’t want to say that name so close to his kind, not unless you want to provoke it.”

“Okay one thing at a time. We got to get out of here,” Hiei turned to Hero, “You’ve been in here for a while, surly you’ve noticed some weaknesses. There has to be a way out of here.”

Hero shook his head and Eldin said with humor, “It would either take a miracle or a convenient plot device to get us out of this one.”

Just then the door to their cell block swung open and a tall thing in a black hood lumbered in. It moved awkwardly as if its legs were too long for its body and weren’t jointed properly. The thing closed the door and looked around fugitively. It seemed to spot Hiei and rushed over to him.

“There you are,” it said in a familiar brassy voice and pulled back it’s hood. It was Ianto!

“How the hell?!” Hiei hissed.

“Oh, I saw all these guys showing up in black robes, so I snuck to the edge of town, pinched a robe, rigged some stilts, snuck in and conned your guard into switching swifts with me,” Ianto explained in one flippant breath.

“You really are something when you set your mind to mischief,” Hiei almost laughed.

“Thank you,” Ianto smiled and pulled out a set big iron keys. In no time Hiei, Hero and Eldin were all free. They found their weapons easily in a locked cabinet, which Ianto had the key for. And Hiei met Eldin face to face for the first time. It was an anticlimactic meeting. Eldin was at least a couple decades older than his partner Hero. He was gray headed with a matching shaggy beard. He was a little round in the middle. He had a barrel chest and long arms compared to his legs. He looked more like a semi-civilized ape than one of Dreams leading scholars.

That aside, Hiei traveled a long way to met this man and he would be damned if he’ll miss his chance. Hiei started to roll up his sleeve, “There’s something I need--”

“No time for that,” Eldin bellowed and moved past him, “Now we’re out, we need to save the girl.”

“What girl?” Ianto looked to Hiei, but he didn’t know either.

“Pickman’s daughter,” Hero supplied as he moved to follow his rash partner who was already charging out the door, “The daughter of ghoul chief.”

“What now?” Ianto turned to Hiei.

“Grr, we help save the girl,” Hiei growled, “It’s the only way we’ll get that fool to read this damned text.”

With that Hiei and Ianto dashed to catch up with the other two adventurers. Hiei half expected to find them re-captured right outside in the hall, because they did after all run out there without looking. But no, the halls were refreshingly devoid of twisted monstrosities.

“They were all headed toward the center when I came through,” Ianto told Hiei.

“They’d be going to the pit,” Hiei conjectured.

“Pit?” Ianto pressed for clarification.

“I’d wager you’ll see it soon. No doubt, its were they took this girl,” Hiei shot back, “To feed her to the Old One they keep down there.”

“What?” Ianto skidded to a stop.

“What are you doing?” Hiei snapped.

“But Hiei,” Ianto shot back.

“I know, forces we shouldn‘t trifle with, yada yada,” Hiei sneered, “Listen, I only plan to grab the damn girl and get the hell out. There are too many people counting on me to try anything stupid. Anyway, the thing is trapped in the pit, so…”

Ianto cut him off with a kiss. It was short, but deep. It left Hiei lost for breath when they parted, “We better get going then.” He pulled Hiei in the direction from which they’d came.

“But, Hero and Eldin went that way,” Hiei pointed.

“They did, but as I was trying to tell you, the center of the cathedral is this way. They’ll figure it out when they wind up in a storage room,” Ianto grinned.

“Don’t smile so much,” Hiei groaned, “The fate of my world is hanging on those idiots shoulders.”

In little time Ianto lead Hiei to the centre of the cathedral. Not shockingly it was a large imposing room with a domed ceiling and stadium-like sets, reaching half way up the walls. All was made of the same shinny black material. There were torches burning in sconces all the way around the room, but the main light emanated from the open pit in the centre. That was where the Lords of Luz gathered in their black robes. And that was where the small female ghoul was tied to an iron grate, high above the pit. She gibbered, presumably for help or mercy, in her native tongue.

All at once a horrendous croaking sound bellowed off the walls. The Lords of Luz raised their hands-- or whatever served as hands-- into the air and brayed in response. At that same moment a loud gurgling came up from the pit and room shook.

“What is that horrid noise?” Hiei clamped his hands over his ears.

“It’s a pipe organ,” Ianto tore his hands away from his ears long enough to point to a booth set high in a balcony above the room. There one of the hooded creatures abused the aforementioned instrument with limbs that it was not designed for. Ianto added, “Odd place to find one. I can’t imagine what they’d do with it.”

“From the sound, I’d say they use it to torture anything with ears and good taste,” Hiei responded, “I don’t think the thing in the pit is too fond of it either.”

The room rumbled and shook again as the gurgling sounds became more apparent. One of the hooded figures stepped out of rank to big ominous lever that was attached to the chain that held the ghoul girl aloft.

“Shit, we’re out of time,” Hiei hissed. “Give me that robe. If I’m quick they won’t notice me until it’s too late.

“There’s so many of them,” Ianto pointed out, “You’ll never be able to get her and get out unless…” Ianto looked up at the organ operator, “Give me ten seconds before you break your cover.”

Hiei didn’t stop to ask Ianto why. He didn’t have the time. He was in the robe and slipping out into the masses of creatures. In no time he had struggled his way to the edge of the pit. Morbid curiosity made him look down into it. It was deep and the lava flow beneath it was almost blinding. The pipe organ let out another deafening screech and then with out warning something shot up out of the molten rock below. It was long tentacle, twice as thick as Hiei’s entire body. It was yellow and white, and glowing as if it were made of lava itself. It shot up high, only coming a couple feet short of the iron bed the girl lay on. She shrieked in horror. The thing in the pit shrieked in hunger. And the organ just plain shrieked.

Then all at once the sound of the organ died. The thing coming from the pit stopped its groping and seemed to listen to the pregnant silence, as did the Lords of Luz. Even the ghoul girl on her sacrificial bed held her breath. Then a staggering set of sweet tones chimed in the air. As if by magic a pattern formed into a melody that was haunting, like a memory rising from the grave of consciousness. And then in came the low bass beats, slow at first, but gaining, like stopped heart starting to beat again. Then in a sudden triumphant moment, the harmony picked up and the organ sang as if in a proud and defiant voice, hear me as I was meant to be. I live again!

It was the theme from Phantom of the Opera. Hiei recognized it; Kurama had it on CD. Hiei smirked to himself, “Cute, Blondie.”

The thing in the pit mewed happily and the tentacle swayed lazily from side to side. At last, the Lords of Luz snapped out of their bewildered stupor. They hissed and howled in outrage as they charged the balcony. It would do them little good. When a number of them tried to force their way into the booth, they found the door to be jammed shut. So, the ones one the floor tried to climb over each other up the walls to the booth.

In all the fuss was Hiei’s chance. He kicked the lever, causing the grate holding the ghoul girl to drop at an alarming speed. Hiei dashed to the pit, jumped out over it, intercepting the grate. His weight and momentum forced the thing off course to clatter safely to one side of the pit. Unfortunately, it was not a quiet rescue. Hiei barely had enough time to cut ties on the girl and haul her up to her feet before the Lords of Luz turned their fury on him. He pushed the dog faced girl back behind him as he drew his sword, ready to kill to every twisted monstrosity in that place if he had to, for no other reason than the fact they were in his way.

He dispatched the ones directly in front of him with one long diagonal slash. He dashed past their bodies, not caring whether they lived still or not, pulling the ghoul girl along with him. He needed to get her out of there. Fortunately, half of the creatures were still trying to get into the organ booth to stop the music Ianto was making. But still there were a number of them standing between him and the exit.

Then, with a series bellowing roars, the Lord of Luz started to fall. There a pair of black clocked figures that had turned on the rest and were cutting a path between them and Hiei. Hiei was so shocked he almost forgot to block a set of razor sharp talons that were aimed at his throat-- almost.

He relived the creature of its arm and shouted to the other two, “Who?”

“Who do ya think?” One threw back his hood. It was Hero.

“You think we’d let you steal all the fun away, huh?” Eldin tossed off his cloak.

“Steal, ha! More like cleaned up your mess,” Hiei said good-naturedly, “It’s about time you showed up.”

“Ha, yourself. You’re the one who’s gotten them all pissed off,” Eldin jabbed as the three came together and formed a ring facing outward toward the enraged Lords of Luz. “I’ve gotta thank you though, for grabbing the girl for us. I owe you one.”

“Good. I know exactly how you can pay me back--” Hiei was interrupted by the ghoul girl who was pulling on his arm and pointing excitingly up toward the organ booth. It was then with horror that Hiei realized that the music had stopped. Suddenly the creatures’ howls of anger sounded more like ones of victory.
* * *
III. All I ask of you.
Hiei cut down a fat thing that was obstructing his view. He saw the great tentacle falter from its rhythmic swaying as if it was waking from its musically induced trance. From there Hiei’s line of sight dropped to the edge of the pit, where the Lords of Luz were gathered around. The crowd parted to admit passage for one bulking robed figure that was dragging a limp blond headed bundle behind him.

“Oh, damn him!” Hiei cursed as he broke away from the other.

Behind him, Eldin shouted, “No boy! There’s nothing you can do for him now.”

“Like hell!” Hiei spat. He cut at the things standing in his way. They fell or fell back. Hiei realized his mistake too late. By leaving the others he let the creatures surround him. A club like fist struck him in the back, blurring his vision with pain and driving him off balance. Before he could right himself, strong rope-like appendages twined around his legs and the next thing Hiei knew he was cursing into the dirt. More closed on his arms and around his waist, pinning him tightly to the ground.

The black robed thing had reached the edge of the pit and deposited Ianto’s body there in the same manner as a light night waitress would drop a cold slice of pie in front of a hungry and half-asleep trucker. Two more serpentine appendages emerged from the pit to join the other one groping only a few feet over Ianto’s lifeless form, as if it were recognizing the offering. All at once the Lords of Luz howled in grotesque joy. Hiei’s stomach dropped. He was but a stones throw away, but the things were holding him fast. He might as well have been on the moon for all he could do. It was feeling of complete impotence, one that Hiei was far too familiar with. The tentacles fell. And in a rush of desperation Hiei yelled, “Ianto, move it!”

The blonde’s eyes snapped open as if in response to the command and barley had time to register the massive appendages falling on him before he sprang out of the way. And just in time, the thing only brushed against the breast of Ianto’s coat, but the spot it touched smothered and burned. The thing was hot, volcanic-- but of course it was, it lived in lava! The tentacles were coming back for another pass. It was no good. Ianto had the Lords of Luz to his rear. There was no escape. Ianto whimpered and covered his eyes as he felt the tremendous heat bearing down on him.

Then a voice rang out from the chaos, “No more talk of Darkness. Forget these wide eyed fears. I’m here, nothing can harm you. My words will warm and calm you. ”

Ianto opened his eyes to find the tentacles, moving back from him and swaying in rhythm to the music. Numb with terror, Ianto somehow managed to turn his head to find the source of this life saving song… it was Hiei. Hiei was singing-- and if that wasn’t shock enough, his voice was crisp and beautiful. It had charmed the Old One.

“Let me be your freedom, let daylight your tears. I’m here with you, beside you to guard and guide you,” Hiei opened his mouth to sing the next verse, but no sound came out. He’d forgotten it.

“Say you love me every waking moment,” Ianto supplied, slowly backing away from the pit. None of the Lords of Luz moved to stop him, too busy being amazed by the Old One’s hypnotic state. Ianto continued, “Turn my head with talk of summertime. Say you need me with you now and always. Promise all you say is true. That’s all I ask of you.”

“Let me--” Hiei picked up his part only to be interrupted by a loud cry followed by a grunt as Eldin strung up behind the thing that pinned Hiei to the ground and sliced its head from its body.

With that sudden move all hell broke loose. The Lords of Luz remembered their fury and leapt at the adventurers. But this resurgence was short lived because then the room gave a sudden and violent shutter. The thing in the pit roared and the room shook again, stronger, strong enough to send cracks ripping through the floors and up the walls.

“What the hell,” Hero exclaimed.

“Someone killed the music and it’s pissed!” Hiei shouted over the roar.

“Then sing again, boy,” Eldin suggested.

“No, look it’s attacking the Lords of Luz too,” Hiei pointed out, “You two take the girl and make a break for it while they’re distracted.”

“What about you?” Hero asked.

“I’ll see you back at that old wizard’s tower,” Hiei told him, “And you’d better be there or I swear I’ll hunt you down and sting you up by your--” Hiei was cut off when he had to dodge a thing that was fleeing the raging Old One.

There were five or six tentacles emerging from the pit now, lashing and grabbing at anything that came within reach. It roared and the floor shook and edges of the pit crumbled to allow even more of the dreadful appendages to escape the pit. All the while black foul smelling smoke belched from the hole, which could only mean one thing. There was another jolt and fire shot out from the pit.

“Ianto?!” Hiei looked around for the blond, hoping he hadn‘t been too close to the pit. He found him quickly, soot smudged and coughing on the gasses. Hiei almost breathed a sigh of relief, but the out of nowhere a flaming tentacle exploded from the floor behind his companion. His heart stopped… or at least slowed. Everything seemed to slow as his feet conveyed him into the heart of the chaos. He numbly zipped past creatures and dodged certain death as he hurtled toward the helpless blond. He felt the immense heat of the appendage licking at his back as he passed but a hairs width beneath it, scooping up Ianto along the way. Hiei didn’t stop as he fled the black cathedral, and the humble city of the Luz. Only once he was high above the city did a massive jolt force him to stumble and stop. He looked back at where the city stood. It was now a bowl filling with lava.
* * *
IV. What the Hell just Happened?
“Come on,” Hiei said, grabbing Ianto by the hand and turning from the lava filled cavern to one of the many passages that pitted the rock. It sloped slightly upward and Hiei could only hope that it lead to the surface. They sure as hell couldn’t go back the way they came, nor could they stay there with the rising lava and toxic gases. They ran down that tunnel for some time, it came to a dead end. Hiei cursed his luck, while Ianto was busy turning a large leaf of parchment over in his hands. Then without warning, he darted back the way they came.

“Where are you going?” Hiei pursued the blond. He rounded a bend to find Ianto had vanished-- No, he hadn’t. Hiei spotted the glow from the magic light that accompanied the blond in dark places, shinning from a hole in the ceiling that they hadn’t noticed the first time they had passed.

In the next second Ianto’s head popped out of the hole. “I found it! It was on the map the ghouls gave us, a chimney. It goes all the way to the surface. I think we can climb it.”

Hiei didn’t argue. He could smell sulfur wafting into the tunnel and knew it wouldn’t be long before it would be filled with lava. He took Ianto’s outstretched hand and mounted the chimney.

“Oh no,” Ianto gasped when they’d finally reached the top. “It’s blocked.”

Hiei touched the stone. “It’s a slab. Hold on, I’ll try to move it.”

It moved readily enough under his strength. They pulled themselves out of the hole only to come face to face with an unearthly beautiful, half naked woman with porcelain fair shin, blood red lips and pitch black ropes for hair, lounging on a stone couch in the middle of a place that looked to be half garden and half graveyard. Both quickly realized that they somehow surfaced in Zura and they were before the princess Zura. Ianto stiffened next to Hiei as the proverbial man who fell out of the frying pan and into the fryer.

Hiei just smirked and addressed the princess of the dead, “So, did you burn the grub-bitch’s kingdom to the ground?”

She smiled, almost warmly, “I did sufficient damage, thank you.”

“You can thank me by allowing me and my companion to walk out of here without trouble,” Hiei told her, “I’m in a hurry and I’d hate to waste my time having to cut my way past your pathetic army.”

“Your threats are neither appreciated nor necessary,” she said curtly rising from her seat, “I do owe you a dept and besides, why would I want to keep YOU here. I prefer my men tall and helpless at my feet. In fact, not only will I let you leave my land, but I shall convey you to my boarders in my sky-ship, if you just give me a moment to rouse my crew.”

Hiei nodded his approval and she walked off to attend to things. Ianto stood there stunned wondering, “What the hell just happened?”
* * *
TBC…
A/N: Sorry, I know it’s been a while. I had to send my computer out for repairs. But I’m back to work now. Expect a juicy lemon in the next chapter. Reviews are always appreciated. See you next time!