Chapter Eleven

The wise woman was back but this time she was dressed in formal Native American garb. Her deerskin vest was brightly decorated with beads and embroidery, tassels hanging from her sleeves. She had a skirt on of the same material as the vest and similarly decorated. Her arm was lifted and on it rested a tawny owl with large golden eyes and a sharp hooked beak. Jareth felt uneasy, looking at the beautiful creature. Its large rolling eyes followed his every movement as if it sensed his ability to transform into a replica of the real thing; a mock image, a forgery.

"Ye stray from your path boy." The old woman croaked. "Ye stray far from your path." The voice was not the same as before nor was the speech. The wise woman turned her head to stare at him full force. "Go back before it's too late."

"Too late for what? What am I too late for?" Jareth yelled, trying to get her fading attention.

She grinned and her white hair darkened. "Too late for you to make your love known. If you wander this path of false alarms you will lose your way." The woman's face smoothed of wrinkles and the owl grew darker and thinner until a squawking raven was sitting on her shoulder.

"Squawk!" it screamed and flew off. The woman still stood there, grinning. "The path that lies ahead is full of treacherous toils. Go back before it's too late."

Jareth sat up in his bed, gasping for air and soaked to the bone in sweat. He pulled off the covered and strode to the window, throwing it open and gulping in the cool air. A movement caught his eye and the old woman from the camp stared back at him before flicking a wrist and disappearing from sight. A cackle like a raven's crow echoed hollowly in the night.

"Damn it!" he yelled. "Damn, damn, damn! The trickster…"

GOBLINKINGxGNIKNILBOG

"False alarms?" Hoggle asked the next day at school. "Those dreams were just false alarms?"

"Apparently. I didn't even know that the guide spirits existed! Why would they single me out?"

"You are the Goblin Prince in line for the throne." Hoggle stated. "Maybe this is their way of welcoming you."

Jareth groaned. "First the trickster though? I made a mess of things with Sarah." He looked over into the courtyard where Sarah was sitting with her friends. "She'll never agree to take me back."

"You never had her in the beginning," the dwarf pointed out. "You tell her you love her, then you ignore her, then you say you love her again and she has to go Underground with you then you end it all by saying she's too much of a distraction. What do you expect?"

"I don't know!" Jareth seethed. "But there had to be some way…"

"Hey Jareth, Hoggle!" Kyle called out and headed their way. "Jareth, I heard it was your birthday on the thirteenth. Pretty freaky being a Friday and all."

"Har har har." Jareth said, lowing his head to the table.

"So…" Kyle said, "are you planning a party? We could make it a costume party."

Jareth's head snapped up. "A costume party? How about a masque? Still in costumes but with an air of mystery… all masks, don't reveal anything until midnight. You know the drill…"

"A dance? Set up a dance for your party? How old are you going to be?"

Jareth shrugged. "Seventeen. Isn't that a good excuse to have a dance?"

Kyle grinned. "There will be so many girls. They love dances and this school doesn't offer nearly enough." His eyes brightened. "My father owns a community hall just on the outskirts of town. It would be perfect!"

"Yes…" Jareth said, not noticing the worried look Hoggle gave him. "Perfect!"

GOBLINKINGxGNIKNILBOG

The day passed without a single word from Sarah. Jareth, however, didn't mind. It was Tuesday, October 10th and Friday was only a few days away. He went back to his lonely house with no one there. He ordered a pizza for dinner, getting Hoggle to call it in since he had no phone and went to an early bed. Everything was looking up until he was looking down at a high winding river through a parched canyon.

This time, at least, he recognized the dreamscape and the eagle who flew beside him.

You are no warrior, son of Kendrick, but you are stubborn.

"Who are you now? First I get the wise woman, then I get the trickster… well I think she was the trickster both time… but now who am I talking to?" Jareth yelled over the rush of wind.

I am the eagle, the warrior and hunter. You hunt for the young maiden and I allow to you to see.

"I'm not hunting Sarah! I just need to convince her to come back Underground with me without alerting her parents!"

Perhaps her parents are not the ones you need to worry about alerting. The key to hunting for prey is not only watching for the next meal, but also looking back over your shoulder at the one who wishes to trap you.

"Who wishes to trap me? Who could trap me?"

One you would not expect. And suddenly Jareth stopped flying and started falling. He tried to transform into an owl but the dream wouldn't let him.

He fell with a thunk to the floor.

"Damn." He muttered before flopping his head back to the hardwood.

GOBLINKINGxGNIKNILBOG

The next morning Jareth was greeting at school by a flyer. It was a beautifully designed invitation on cheap copy paper inscribing his seventeenth birthday party at a hall on Loral Street. Every kid in the school seemed to be holding a flyer. It read:

In honour of Jareth Nilbog's seventeenth birthday, you are cordially invited to a Masque at the community hall on Loral St.

Please be aware that costume and mask are required. Drinks will be supplied as will chips and cake.

Any questions? Contact Kyle Long.

It gave the number to his cell underneath and a map was on the back. Jareth smiled and whistled his way through the day.

GOBLINKINGxGNIKNILBOG

Jareth had just completed all his assignments at a makeshift table in his abandoned house when the doorbell rang. He peaked through the curtain and cursed when he saw Kyle standing there, waiting to be let in. Jareth spun around and looked in dismay at the empty room. "Please, dad, don't let me down," he whispered and focused on the house. It suddenly bloomed with life. Furniture and carpet going on the floor of the entrance way. Jareth could feel the rest of the house respond in kind and a fridge, stove and table appeared in the kitchen along with more couches and a TV in the living room. The bedrooms filled with Beds and one was filled with books. Music, quiet and soft, floated down from one of the bedrooms which was now acting as the master bed. He looked around and saw everything in place and, hopefully, normal.

Jareth opened the door. "Hey Kyle, how's it going?" He asked. "What brings you here?"

Kyle entered the room and looked around, whistling lowly. "Nice digs," he said. "I just wanted to you want you needed for decoration? I'm getting my sister to help but she's needs a better idea of what you want. A masque could mean anything."

Jareth motioned to one of the brand new chairs in the room and Kyle sat. Jareth took a seat in the next one. "Did she have anything in mind?"

"No, not really." Kyle was looking around the room, trying, Jareth imagined, to find something out of place. "She has a bunch of streamers and confetti but I didn't think you would be interested in all that."

Jareth thought about it. "What kind of streamers?"

"I think there are some yellow and pink in there. With a couple red and.. on yeah. She has tons of black."

Jareth smirked. "Why not use the streamers to make large masks on the walls. Mostly yellow and black for the outlines but red would be a nice accent as would pink… does that work?"

Kyle thought it over. "I could see what she thinks… Are you supplying the pop and chips?"

Jareth nodded. "I could. Is there going to be drinking?"

Kyle shook his head. "My dad doesn't have a liquor licence. We wouldn't dare try and bring booze into a party within city limits with a hall filled with minors. If we were somewhere else…. Then that would be a no brainer."

"Good." Jareth said. "Wouldn't want it to be a repeat of the weekend."

Kyle shifted guiltily. "I um… wanted to say sorry for that morning. I was being really unfair. I guess I was a bit grouchy."

Jareth held up his hands. "No worries. I was the one with a hangover and not thinking straight. Bears are very dangerous."

Kyle grinned. "No hard feelings?"

"None at all."

"So," Kyle started. "Where is everyone? This house looks like it should be crawling with people."

Jareth shook his head. "It's my area rep's place. She's in bed now, listening to music." He pointed up to where the sound was coming from. "This is her and her husband's home. They need the space to take care of renegade exchange students."

He nodded. "Makes sense. See you tomorrow, Jareth."

"Night." Jareth called and closed the door. He collapsed against it as the illusions faded from sight. Maintaining one in which can be touched was very hard work, even for the few minutes Kyle was there. The house was dark and quiet once more and Jareth went off to bed.

GOBLINKINGxGNIKNILBOG

Robert watched as Karen put Toby to bed, kissing him on the head before closing the curtain over to separate the main bedroom from the corner. She crawled into bed beside Robert next and cuddled into his side.

"What a day. I don't think I've seen Sarah that angry for a long time."

"She was pretty nasty tonight wasn't she?" Karen asked.

"Yes, she was. Did you see what she had hidden away in her pocket? I couldn't get at it…"

"It was a flyer with an invitation to a party on it."

"Is that all?" Robert asked in bemusement. "I wonder why she kept it hidden?"

"It's for Jareth's birthday on Friday."

He snapped his fingers. "Oh that's right. It's the thirteenth. I'd almost forgotten…"

"Do you think she'll go?"

"If she's had a choice? Probably not. But if the whole family goes? Yes, I think we can goad her into attending…"

Karen sighed. "Oh poor Sarah."