Chapter 1

Sarah huddled against the wall at the head of her bed, her eyes darting around the room, searching for any hint of the dark shadows that plagued her. Several lamps burned brightly, despite the late hour. It had been years since Sarah had slept with the lights off... even though the lights didn't seem to stop them.

She clutched the covers to her chest as the brightly burning lamps began to dim. They were here.

Slowly, the shadows gathered in the corners of her bedroom, oozing down the walls to pool on the floor. Her closet door clicked and Sarah jumped, a whimper escaping her lips as another shadow emerged from the closet and drifted across the room to stand at the foot of her bed.

Her limbs felt heavy and an unseen force shoved her back against the wall, crushing the breath from her body. She couldn't move, could barely breathe, but she also couldn't close her eyes. She watched, wide eyed with terror, as the inky figures gathered around her bed. They had no discernible features: no faces… no eyes.

A deep whispering, almost a chant, began. She couldn't understand the words, despite the fact that she could hear them clearly. Each and every one of the figures extended what looked like a clawed hand made of the blackest of clouds over her body as the whispering intensified.

Sarah struggled to banish them- to move, to pray, to fight back as Amanda had told her she must. Every day, Sarah felt more and more listless. Every night she got a little bit weaker.

Shadow People, Amanda had called them. Never human, and almost universally malevolent, the origins of these entities unknown. The medium had told her that they usually preyed on the weak: the young, the elderly, and the sick. As Sarah was none of those things, Amanda had been unable to explain why they tormented her.

"Sarah, there are a great many of them here," Amanda had whispered, looking round her nervously. "I've never, ever seen anything like this. I've never encountered more than one or two at a time. This is bad... really bad. You need to get out of this house, Sarah. As soon as possible."

"I can't," Sarah had shaken her head. "I'm stuck here for now. I can't afford to move, besides, they'll just follow me."

As the memories of her consultation with Amanda replayed in her mind, the chanting stopped. Between one moment and the next, the figures were gone. Sarah blinked as feeling slowly returned to her body. Only now could she sleep. It was over, for this night anyway.

"This has gone on far too long. I need help. There must be some way to deal with this! There must be somebody that can help me understand how to fight them! But who?" Sarah spoke out loud to herself in the night. "There has to be an answer! I'm sick of living like this!"

She reached for a throw pillow and punched it in frustration.

As she began to drift off to sleep, Sarah felt a pair of eyes on her. Despite her exhaustion she bolted up, looking fearfully around the room. The Shadow People rarely returned twice in a one night, but it had happened before. They seemed to delight in tormenting her, coming to her just as she was letting her guard down.

After several tense minutes of watchfulness, Sarah laid back down, her exhaustion finally taking over. She fell into a de. ep slumber, despite the feeling of being watched that persisted.

She was being watched. A pair of mismatched eyes gazed at her, full of anger and frustration, as they were every night. The shadows slowly reappeared as she slept, watching, always watching her... and there was nothing he could do until she called.

With a snarl, he threw the crystal against the wall.

"That stubborn woman! All she has to do is call for me! One wish Sarah! That's all you need to do and then I can help you! Too many nights have I watched your tormentors come to you!"

Jareth tapped his riding crop on the edge of his throne while he watched the orb floating in front of him. It killed him to see somebody else torment her. In his mind's eye, only he was allowed to make her life difficult. If only she would just think! She had to know that he would be able to help her.

Then an idea struck him. Though he could not go directly to her himself, he could use his magic to influence her world slightly. He remembered her music box, and thought perhaps if he made it turn, made her remember the night at the masquerade ball, just maybe she would think to make that wish. He produced another crystal and called up the image of her music box inside. As soon as the spell was set he cast it gently but swiftly into the air. The crystal flew off, headed for it's target.

Sarah's deep slumber had turned fitful with the return of the Shadow People. As she slept, tossing and muttering, she heard the metallic tinkling of the music box come to life. The song she hadn't bothered to listen to for years woke her. It startled her but it also comforted her a little. The tune played on.

"Jareth?" she whispered.

Menace rolled off the Shadows stationed around the room and a low growling filled air, overtaking the tinkling of the music box. Sarah screamed as the presence of her tormentors registered in her exhausted mind. All thoughts of the Goblin King fled in the face of the overwhelming terror that gripped her.

"No!" Jareth snarled in rage as he watched the Shadow People converge on her bed once again. It appeared that they were aware that he also watched their prey. Sarah's screams cut off abruptly, and Jareth was desperately afraid that they had finally taken her life.

With a twist of his wrist, he changed the angle of his view, relieved to see that Sarah still lived, although she was struggling to breathe under the weight of the Shadows' will. He continued to watch, tensely hoping that the brief flash of memory would be enough. He was tired of seeing Sarah grow old and tired before her time as the Shadows drained her life, and the magic of his kingdom, from her.

As Sarah struggled, a spark of a memory flamed in her mind. She remembered a time back when she was younger, babysitting her baby brother who had been especially difficult one night… With that memory, an awareness came to her amidst the darkness surrounding her. A phrase came to her mind from a very special old and tattered book…

"Say your right words..." The goblins said… a flame lit and she calmed her breathing.

"I wish the Goblin King would take me away! RIGHT NOW!" Sarah screamed.

From the Underground Jareth heard her words. A grin spread across his face.

"FINALLY!" He yelled.

Her awareness was fading as the Shadow People crushed the life out of her, greedily sucking it up. The world was growing dark, and Sarah simply stopped struggling. Despair filled her. There was no point. It had all been a dream... Jareth wasn't real and he wasn't coming to save her.

She didn't hear the wind pick up, moaning around the eaves of the house. The rumble of thunder that heralded the arrival the of the Goblin King went unheard as her tenuous hold on consciousness slipped briefly. She never saw Jareth step through her closet door, wreathed in a darkness of his own making as he faced down the Shadow People who arrayed themselves against him.

Authors:

AvalonBane
breejah0923
LiteraryRhapsody
Sarah198026(wattpad)