Title: Voices in the Wind, Part Four of Four

Author: Emma

Characters: Canonical Torchwood Three members… sort of.

Rating: Some chapters definitely not safe for work.

Disclaimer: Oh, please. If I owned them, would I let some of those idiots write the scripts? And if I were making any money off them, would I be where they could find me?

Summary: A betrayal in Toshiko’s past pushes her into a dangerous liaison…
Author's Note: Here there be Harpies
Author's Note: I fell in love with this Mary, so I kept her. Sue me!

            The hounds were not happy.

            It was the first thing Tosh noticed that morning. Where they would usually come close enough to be petted – she had done it some days when there wasn’t anyone around to notice – now they paced at a distance, baring their teeth and growling. She knew Mary could see them; she was nervous and tried to keep Tosh between herself and them. It upset Tosh to have them misbehaving so much.

            It was still dark when they got to the Hub. They used the lift, rather than set off the cog door alarms. As they passed Myfanwy’s nest the dragon, who had stuck out its head to say hello, hissed and pulled back into its space. Tosh was mortified by its bad behavior, and turned to apologize to Mary, but was stuck silent by the panic in her lover’s eyes.

            The Hub was in darkness, with only the soft glow of the Rift monitors and the greenhouse window providing light, but it was enough. Tosh knew Jack had left the anemone box on what they called the diagnostic table, a lab bench fitted with all sorts of scanners and testing equipment. He had mentioned as she was leaving that he wanted to work on it a little while longer. She pointed it out to Mary and was happy to see the glow that replaced the panic in Mary’s eyes. As soon as the lift stopped they jumped off and hurried to the table.  

            And the lights came on.

            “You should have told me you were bringing a guest, Toshiko,” Jack said softly from the doorway to his office. “We would have made more of an effort.”

            Tosh started to run, then froze as the rest of the team appeared: Owen at the archway to the Medical area, Ianto on the steps leading down to Archives, Gwen from behind the fountain column, and Andy high up on the walkway to Myfanwy’s nest.  They all carried guns, and they all looked grim.

            Jack walked down the steps to stand near Tosh’s own workstation. “Who is this, Toshiko?”

            “Mary. Meddha Ocypete. She was Torchwood London before Canary Wharf. She’s…”

            “Yes, Tosh? Who is she?”

            She looked at him and suddenly could see her father’s contempt in his face. “I love her!”

            `”I see. Would you repeat that without wearing that pendant?”

            Tosh clenched her fist around the moonstone. “No! I won’t take it off!”

            “Why not? If your love is real, then you don’t need it.”  He smiled at Mary. “Don’t you agree?”

            Mary’s growl made Tosh cringe. Mary was very angry. “Jack, don’t. Please.”

            “Don’t what, Tosh? Tell you what. Don’t take off the pendant. Just come here and stand next to me.”

            Mary grabbed Tosh’s arm and pulled her tight. “No!”

            “Why not?” Jack’s smile never wavered. “What does it matter, if you truly love each other?”

            The grip on Tosh’s arm tightened painfully and she whimpered. There was something wrong… something was trying to push through into her mind. She looked at each of the people surrounding her and as she did, she felt the stabbing pain again, and suddenly her vision was clear for a moment. And she could see that all the things she thought she had seen were just the everyday misshapen pieces of the human soul, the very human failings and desires everyone kept hidden, grown to monstrous proportions by the voices in her head…

            Mary started to move towards the lift, dragging her along. At the same time Tosh heard the sounds of three guns being cocked. She waited until they were near the pool and then, suddenly, she threw herself sideways, yanking her arm out of Mary’s grip. Tearing the pendant from around her neck, she tossed it towards Jack. He caught it in midair.  

            “Thank you, Tosh.” Jack held out his hand. “Come here, aijin.”

            She walked to him, ignoring Mary’s hoarse call. He had called her sweetheart, as he had done years ago when she had seen him for the first time, and something in the word made Tosh remember what Jack really meant to her.

            “Now. Mary…”

            “How did you know?” She interrupted, sounding like a Queen speaking to one of her subjects. “What gave me away?”

            “What gave you away…” He laughed. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but what gave you away was your smell.”

            “What?”

            “Tosh, what did the pendant show you about Andy?”

            “That he had a great deal of power but chose to keep it contained. That was all.”

            “Couldn’t figure him out, could you, Mary? What is your real name, by the way?”

            Mary kept silent but Tosh spoke up. “She says her name is Meddha Ocypete.”

            “Ah.” He bowed. “It is an honor to meet you, Madame. To continue. Andy suffers from a particularly rare form of synesthesia. He can smell magic.”

            “A witch-finder?”

            “Nothing so common. He can smell magic itself, and describe it in detail, much like a perfumer smells a perfume and tells you the ingredients down to the smallest amounts. The moment he walked into that pub he knew there had been very ancient magic in the place. And Tosh reeked of it. He told me as soon as they got back to the Hub.”

            “And you knew what I wanted.”

            “It was obvious.”

            “Not to me!” Tosh slammed her hand down on her desk. “I’d like to know what is going on since I seem to be the goat in all of this.”

            Mary started to move towards Tosh, hands outstretched, but a sound behind her stopped her cold. She looked over her shoulder to see Gwen standing in a shooting stance, with a two-handed grip on her gun, pointing steadily at her.

            “Ah. The little storm-petrel thinks she’s a hawk.”

            “You hurt my friend. I won’t give you any more chances.”

            Mary turned to face Tosh. “I told you the truth. The casket holds my sisters’ ashes. It was stolen long ago from our family home. I am old and alone and I wanted to have it nearby as I passed, so I set out to find it. I’ve been looking for centuries.”

            “Jack…” Tosh’s said, knowing he would understand what she wanted. “Please. I need to know.”

            “In the Tigris Valley there’s an old legend of three goddesses, daughters of a sea god, who rode the wind faster than any bird. Their duty was to carry away the souls of those who did not wish to depart the Earth, and to punish cowards and apostates. They were exquisitely beautiful, with glossy black hair and wings tipped with silver.” His arms went around Tosh as she started to crumple. “Later on the Greeks got them confused with the Sirens and so they entered their mythology as a monstrous bird with a woman’s head and torso.”

            “Harpies?” Owen said in disbelief. “She’s a harpy?”

            “No. She’s a goddess. She’s Ocypete, the Swift-Wing, faster than any creature, faster than a storm at sea. And her first name is actually her title, Meddha, wisdom.”

            As Jack spoke Mary’s aspect changed until the goddess stood before them in all her terrible attributes. Tosh could see none of the softness and gentleness of Mary in this glorious being, and she shrank back into Jack’s arms.

            “You should have asked for your property back,” Jack said softly.

            “Perhaps. Would you have given it to me?”

            Her grinned fiercely. “Perhaps.”

            “I want to go home,” Tosh said. “I need to get away.”

            Owen put away his gun. “I’ll take you. I need to check you out anyway. Goddess or no goddess, we don’t know what diseases she could be carrying,” he said in his most insulting tone. “Come on.”

            Taking her hand, he led her out of the Hub. They all watched them go silently.

            “It was the first thing our Mother told us,” Mary said softly. At Jack’s inquiring look, she explained. “Never fall in love with a mortal. They will break your heart. I never learned my lesson.” Taking a deep breath she changed back into a mortal woman. “Can I have my family’s ashes, Captain?”

            “You may.” He handed over the casket. “My condolences on your losses, Madame.”

            She nodded regally and stepped into the Hub. “Captain…”

            “Don’t say goodbye quite yet.” He said gently. “There’s always hope.”

            “Another of my sisters, and perhaps the most cruel.”

            “Perhaps. But she sustains. Don’t say goodbye,” he repeated. “Say until we meet again instead.”

            “Yes. Until we meet again, Captain. Listen to the voices in the wind, and call my name if she… if you… ever need me.”

            He bowed and watched silently as the lift bore her away.