Disclaimer: The usual stuff here. I don't own anything but the plot. But I want Jareth, and this version of Sarah is rather appealing.
Author's Note: Yes, I should be working on my other stories, but after listening to Marilyn Manson's album The Golden Age of Grotesque far too many times, I had to put this down. Several chapters to come for this one. Not your usual Laby story. Comments and criticisms are welcome, but flames are just mean. R&R please. Enjoy!
Twilight had long past dwindled into a night dominated by a moon just two days past first quarter. The moon's bright face peeked out from behind a stray cloud to illuminate the dry field below. Recent small scatterings of rain had done little to perk up the dying grass, and the brown stubs of ground cover were pervasively crowding out the little green that was left. In one little corner of this field, was a warm, amber circle of light cast by a small fire. Beside the fire, a wide strip of heavy purple velvet had been laid out on the ground, a small athame (dagger), four small bowls—one each filled with dirt, crushed herbs, powdered magnesium, and water—and a lancet, all arranged on top of the material. Crouching low in front of the fire was a young woman, her appearance dark as she was wearing all black from her snug, low rider jeans, Rolling Stones tank top, and combat boots to her leather jacket. Surrounding the girl and the fire was a circle outlined on the ground in salt and lit by four flickering candles placed at the four quarters of North, East, South, and West.
Having already cast the circle for her spell, the young woman drew a deep breath, trying to center herself again as the enormity of what she was attempting began to settle upon her. Finally ready, she reached into her hair and pulled forward a small lock from the underside, knotting it once about three inches from the end. As she began to braid this short section, she recited her carefully memorized spell, tying a second knot in her hair at the end of the braid then cutting it off just above the top knot, placing it on the cloth along with the dagger. The young woman gave the elemental offerings in the bowls to the god she was petitioning, tossing their contents into the fire before she picked up the braid of hair with her left hand, clutching it in a white-knuckled grip, and extended it over the fire. She retrieved the lancet with her free hand and said in a firm voice, "Janus, I beseech you! With these words and this offering of myself I do bind you to my will that you should open a gateway for me to the Underground. I wish to return to the Labyrinth. Right now!" As she spoke the final words, the young witch used the lancet to prick the middle finger on her left hand, letting three drops of blood fall into the flames, followed by the braid. "So mote it be," she intoned, placing the lancet back on the velvet with the other instruments.
The wind suddenly picked up, rushing into the circle like a whirlwind, whipping her dark hair around her face, blowing out the center fire but leaving the quarter candles still burning steadily. Just as quickly as it arrived, the gale was gone, and in its place, a shimmering wall of air filled the circle, reminding her of the heat haze that settles over the land during the scorchingly hot days of summer. Nervous anticipation coursed through her as she crouched down once more, hastily rolling her tools back up in the cloth and slipping the athame in its sheath, her fingers clumsy and shaking with adrenaline. She unceremoniously stuffed the bundle into the backpack that was resting just behind her and shrugged the bag across her shoulders while the air crackled increasingly with magick. Not quite having settled the pack comfortably, the young woman started as she was enveloped in a burst of cold white light akin to the resultant reaction of introducing magnesium to fire. In that infinitesimal amount of time that doesn't even qualify as a split second, she was gone, utterly disappearing from the face of the earth.
And that was how Sarah Williams found herself back in the Underground, standing on the hill overlooking the Labyrinth, seemingly unchanged since her last visit.
Shaking off the last of the magick, Sarah hurried down the slope to the outer wall of the Labyrinth. She studied it for a minute then, in an authoritative voice, told the stonework, "I want to get in here." Promptly, the doors appeared and swung open for her to enter, slamming shut again once she was inside. Sarah jumped at the loud noise then turned to the right and began heading the way she had gone previously, musing to herself that she shouldn't have been surprised like that—if the outside of the Labyrinth didn't appear to have changed, why should anything else. Having taken a little over seventeen years to consider her previous journey there, she had decided that some things would need to be done differently on this second trip. And the first thing she wanted to do was have another chat with that little worm. After retracing her first sprinting steps in a more dignified leisurely stroll, Sarah stopped where she thought she remembered the worm being and gently tapped the wall to her left with one finger. "Hello?" she queried hopefully.
Moments later, a little blue worm with a beige belly, a fluffy top of blue hair, and great goggling red eyes appeared through a tiny crack in the masonry. "Oh, 'allo," he said cheerfully. "Didn't expect to see you 'ere again."
Squatting down so she was nearly at eye level with him, Sarah told the worm, "Something happened to me when I was here before. I had to come back to get answers." She sighed and added, "I figured the best way to do that would be to go to the Goblin King himself."
"Sounds like you have a good plan," replied the worm, nodding sagely. "You'll be lookin' to reach the castle, then."
"Yes, I am," Sarah affirmed. "I wanted to ask you a couple of questions, if I could." When he inclined his head in her direction, she asked, "Is that opening still in the wall across from us?"
Smiling, the little blue worm bobbed his head enthusiastically. "'Course it is."
Sarah smiled in return. "Last time, you told me not to go left. Should I still go right this time?"
"Oh no," the worm replied, aghast at such a suggestion. "This time you should go left."
"Why's that?" she questioned him, brushing a stray lock of hair out of her eyes.
"'Cause if you go left, it'll take you straight to the castle," the worm told her gravely.
Eyes widening in surprise, she asked, "Did it lead to the castle before?"
"'Course! It's one of the shortcuts here." He shook his head to emphasize his next words, "That path never changes."
Chuckling to herself, Sarah politely thanked the worm and, walking through the opening in the opposite wall, she turned left and headed toward the castle beyond the Goblin city.
A content smile on his little blue face, the worm said to the Labyrinth, "Cor, she finally figured it out. Not taking things for granted anymore." With one last nod of satisfaction, he wriggled back into the chink in the wall, intent on a nice, hot cup of tea.
Sarah walked along, noticing the offshoots from the corridor she was following. Her path alone had many twists and turns, but as long as she was careful, it wasn't too difficult to tell the branches from the main path. It was nearly two hours later when Sarah stopped to pull out a bottle of water she'd put in her backpack, letting the heavy bag rest on the ground next to her while she sat and drank. Noticing a patch of lichen growing from the wall next to her shoulder, she tilted her head and watched it watch her for a while before telling it conversationally, "Ya know, you're kinda cute in a disturbing, creepy sort of way. I guess you're just an offshoot of his royal highness's stalker-like tendencies." The eye lichen blinked at her and made a little babbling sound in reply. Sarah grinned and had just capped off her bottle, intent on returning it to her pack, when an inhuman screech filled the air. Looking up, Sarah scanned the maze around her, not seeing anything out of the ordinary. A second angry cry brought her gaze skyward where, not one or two, but five creatures were flying in her direction at an alarming rate.
They were fairly humanoid in form, having flesh in shades of tan, brown, and red with mottled stripes or spots occasionally marking them. Fingers and toes ended in long, sharp claws, and two horns of varying lengths and shapes erupting from their temples. Spiky protrusions ran along their spines, culminating in a long whipcord tail that was tipped with a conical spade. Perhaps the most striking features of all, though, were the large bat-like wings that they used to speed toward her.
Sarah scrambled quickly to her feet, snatching her athame out of the pack as she stood. At that moment, she was absurdly happy that she'd been so anal retentive about keeping her daggers obscenely sharp, even if they were only for display or magickal use. The first of the creatures to reach her took that moment to dive in for an attack, and Sarah raised the athame just in time to nick the creature on the shin as it flew past, barely ducking the lethal claws extended in her direction.
The Goblin King lounged wearily on his throne, watching the antics of his goblins and pondering the consequences of decreasing the amount of ale they had access to. His thoughts were interrupted by the unexpected thread of magick that wrapped around him, demanding his attention. Someone was calling on him, wanting entrance to the Labyrinth, and using powerful magick to accomplish the crossing. It was done correctly so there was nothing for it but to open the doorway and see who or what stepped through. With a simple thought, Jareth activated a portal and created a scrying crystal, curious as to who had the ability to successfully utilize such old rituals. Laughter was his first response at seeing Sarah standing outside his Labyrinth, surprised and delighted at this turn of events.
Relaxing back in his throne, he watched in amusement as she easily swept the doors open and entered the giant maze. Sarah was most definitely older than the previous time she'd been there, and there was a much edgier feel to her appearance. When she stopped to talk to the little blue worm, he chuckled, admitting to himself that the Labyrinth would indeed be a piece of cake for her this time. Jareth was startled out of his reverie when a distinctively uncomfortable pop jolted through him as the boundaries of his kingdom were breeched rather forcibly. His attention quickly returned to the crystal as he saw the invaders heading straight for Sarah. Realizing that she was about to get torn to shreds, Jareth released the crystal and transported himself a few yards from where Sarah was readying to defend herself.
The scene he was met with was not quite what he'd been expecting. Just as he materialized, Sarah grabbed the ankle of the male creature flying at her, yanking it down a couple of feet so it was closer. Without hesitation, she brought her athame up and stabbed it high into the beast's belly, dragging down on the dagger until she hit what she assumed was its pubic bone. Giving the blade a flip upwards, she jerked it free, watching intestines and blood spill out of the creature as it shrieked in agony and fell to the ground, dying quickly. Sarah deftly stepped over the body and slashed at the furious female who lunged at her upon seeing her comrade fallen.
For his part, Jareth was astounded, not only had Sarah just killed an Incubus like it was child's play, she had done it without batting an eye. His contemplation of the woman before him was cut short as another of the Incubi spotted him and readied to attack. He made a grab for it, using his left hand as a direction for his magick. The thing was too fast, and Jareth spent several precious moments trying to snatch it out of the air as it bobbed and weaved around him, laughing at his misses. Tired of the creature's insolence, the Goblin King narrowed his concentration, tracked, and caught him easily. Reaching out with his right arm, Jareth slowly opened his hand then made a quick fist while twisting it at the wrist. The sound of the Incubus' neck snapping was accompanied by a frightened shout of indignation from Sarah.
Sarah had been doing a fair job of utilizing her athame to fend off a female and another of the males. But the female managed to slip past her guard and grabbed her by the collar of her leather jacket, claws scraping her neck in the process. She was swiftly lifted off of the ground and found herself hovering a good two hundred feet in the air. Letting out a cry of frustration, Sarah yelled, "Let go of me, you fucking bitch!" as she wiggled desperately to get loose, dropping her blade as she twisted. Seeing their prize captured, the two remaining creatures began to fall back, disengaging from the Goblin King who was furiously watching from below. Rapidly realizing that the creature wasn't going to let go of her and was about to carry her off, Sarah decided it was time for desperate measures. After a bit of squirming and contorting, she managed to get her right arm out of her jacket, quickly reaching up to clutch the left lapel tightly with her right hand, then freed her left arm as well, took a deep breath, and let go of the leather.
Jareth gasped as she released her hold on the jacket, frantically trying to prepare a crystal to catch her fall. His worry was quickly replaced by shock as almost immediately large, black wings sprouted from Sarah's back, spreading out to catch the air and slow her fall. They were enormous and covered with feathers as black as a raven's, turning into iridescent rainbows when the sun hit them just right. Along with the wings, two dark, twisting horns erupted from her temples, curling up and back over her head. Her hands also seemed to elongate, and Jareth belatedly realized that they had grown hard, cruel talons. Unable to move, he stared as she transformed before him.
Sarah sighed in relief as her wings ripped from her back, unfolding to the great black span she was accustomed to. Feeling the rest of her metamorphosis finish simultaneously, she began to frantically beat her wings, effectively stopping her fall a handful of feet from the ground. She turned her gaze on the female who was still holding her jacket and felt the fury well up to the surface and burst over her in a red haze. Wasting no time, Sarah shot straight up in the air, grabbing the suddenly terrified and fleeing creature by her bat-like wings. With a vicious punch of both hands, Sarah's talons pushed through the thin wing membranes and ripped down as she tore through to the bottom of the appendages, shredding the skin between the bones and leaving the creature to flap her ravaged wings frantically, crying and screaming in pain and anger as she fell to the ground. The other two creatures caught their companion and, with one last hateful look in Sarah's direction, left as quickly as they had arrived.
Suddenly feeling drained, Sarah glided the ground, her feet touching softly in a delicate landing. She sighed heavily as she folded her wings down, not bothering to transform back yet. A dark object a few yards away caught her attention, and she walked over to investigate, stooping down to pick it up. It was her leather jacket, now adorned with four good-sized rips in the back just below the collar. "Shit. That was my favorite jacket, too," she muttered to herself. The loud clearing of a throat behind her caused her to jerk, her wings fluttering in surprise as she whirled around to see what new opponent was waiting for her. Upon seeing the Goblin King standing there, a look of utter disbelief on his face, Sarah only sighed and said dismissively, "Oh, it's just you. I thought it might have been another one of those creatures."
"No, just me, as you say," he replied, cocking his head to the side as he openly studied her.
Shrugging, Sarah bent to retrieve her athame, looking around for something to clean the blood off of it. Her eyes lit on the male that Jareth had killed, and she briskly strode to it and wiped the blade clean on its vest. "This one yours," she asked nonchalantly, pointing to it with the dagger. At his brief nod, Sarah inclined her head in turn, saying, "Thanks." Jareth simply watched as she moved back to her pack, tucking the athame inside before standing again and turning to face him. "What were those things, anyway?" she questioned him curiously.
He was silent for a few moments, not sure what to make of the woman in front of him. Ice blue eyes swept over her form, taking the time to size up the changes that were readily apparent. Just when Sarah was sure he wasn't going to answer, Jareth told her, "Incubi and Succubi." Pausing a moment, he asked in a curious tone which clearly relayed that he might already know the answer, "And what are you, Sarah?"
A self-mocking laugh escaped her, and he noticed that Sarah's teeth were small and gently pointed with the exception of her upper and lower canines which were decidedly fang-like. "That's why I'm here." Seeing his raised eyebrow, she added, "I was hoping you'd know. Though, after seeing those things, I'm starting to think I'm some kind of cousin to them."
"I do know, but we don't have the time to discuss it here and now. I will return with you to the Overground. We can discuss it there," Jareth continued as he picked up her backpack and turned to her. "Give me your hand, and we'll leave."
"Whoa! Wait a minute. I came here to get answers, not to get attacked by some frickin' Incubi then sent home like some kid," she retorted, a bit perturbed at his abruptness.
Meeting her gaze and holding it, he explained seriously, "If we do not go Overground in the next few minutes, we will find ourselves fighting off a great many more than a mere handful of those creatures. They will send an army, and they will be looking for you. The only safe place is back in your world." He waited a few moments for the words to sink in and watched her pale as realization struck. "Now, if you would be so kind," he said, holding out his hand again, "we shall leave immediately."
It was then that Sarah belatedly noticed the wetness coating her hands. She brought them up in front of her face and blanched when she saw the blood covering them, dismayed that the sticky red mess was cooling and starting to congeal on her skin. A closer inspection revealed that she had blood splattered all over her body, her hands being the worst. Looking up, Sarah saw that Jareth was watching her intently and that he appeared to be completely unfazed by her gore bedecked body. Glancing again at his still outstretched arm, she hesitated only a second before placing her hand in his. The next thing she knew, she was once again in the field where she'd performed the spell, at her feet, the smoldering ashes of the fire that had graced her circle, and the Goblin King standing beside her, their hands still firmly clasped together.