Jareth's aim was closer to where she'd intended to land with her own doorway, Sarah noted. They ended up on the roof, near that swirling vortex of power. As he set her on her feet, both of them turned towards it, and Sarah noted that her lover's face had lost all traces of humor. He moved towards that swirl of magic, and he lifted a hand towards it as if to touch it. The air around them swelled with the scent of ozone.
"You're right about this being old magic. Some of the oldest, in fact. Chaos magic if I'm not mistaking." He flinched a bit as the magic cracked against his gloved palm. "Makes sense, given who we are dealing with. I can break it, but it's not going to be easy. We might have to see if we can just drag the fight out until my forces actually arrive."
"Toby might still have that flashbang of yours," she admitted. "So I might be able to distract them while you break the magic holding Nyx. Here's hoping this doesn't go tits up, yeah?"
"It had best not, precious. We've got a bit of unfinished business that I think it's time we officially took care of." She looked back at him, somewhat perplexed, and saw there was a smirk on his face. That helped her relax and she gave him a smile that she knew had the edge of a smirk as well. "I asked you to marry me a year ago. I think it's about time we made good on it, don't you?"
Her heart twisted in her chest, but she smiled at him and nodded in agreement. She stepped towards him and steadied herself. "Alright, if they can trace the residual human magic from my doors, how long do we have before they notice the magic from your teleports?"
"That depends if they've started tuning into faerie magic, now. You were their concern before, with good reason. If they realize that I'm involved, however, that could be quite soon." He glanced around, then headed towards a door that granted building access and she followed close behind. "So, in the meantime, let's get off the roof so that we aren't caught in the open."
She nodded her head, and caught up with him, her hand finding his own. He paused for a moment, looking at her, then at their hands and he gave hers a tight squeeze. Then, they moved at a brisk walk towards the door. They didn't talk after they entered, moving down the stairs, silent as they were able to in the tight stairwell. Jareth stopped at each floor, touching the door before he shook his head and they would move on. Then, about five floors from the roof, he nodded. She watched as he set his hand on the electric code pad and the smell of ozone filled her nose. A second later, it sparked in an unpleasant sort of way and he pushed the door open.
That was a neat trick, she thought, but she kept that to herself. The hallway was long and nondescript, but Jareth seemed to know where he was going. His fingers brushed against the wall, his concentration intense. When they reached a door, he stopped again, and turned towards her. With a gesture, a crystal rested on his fingers, and he took her hand, setting it onto her palm. When her hand closed around it, the crystal was gone and in its place was the weight of a familiar sword.
He didn't explain, and she didn't need him to. There was a chance that she'd need it, so he was making certain that she'd have it before it became necessary.
She stretched a bit, rocking her head back and forth, ignoring the soreness of her muscles. Holding the sword low and ready, she gave him a nod and he pushed the door open. The room was as dark as before, but Sarah could just make out the figure of Nyx on the far side, her hair twinkling with stars, her moonlight eyes hooded.
A mocking voice rose, breaking the silence in the room and Sarah looked towards it. "You cannot hide forever, Toby Williams."
Moros, Sarah noted, her lips pulling taut into a frown. At least this confirmed that her brother hadn't been caught, she thought. She cast her eyes around the room, as they adjusted to the darkness. She couldn't see the Keres or the members of the cult, nor could she see her brother. She could, however, see Moros pacing the dark corners.
"What do you think a human can do against me? I've trapped earth in never ending night, humankind is under my thrall. I've the Keres on my side. I am infinitely more powerful than anything you've ever dreamed. Who do you presume is going to save you, now? Your sister? She ran off and abandoned you, here. Join my side, and you'll serve in the reborn Earth."
Sarah stepped away from Jareth, feeling his hand catch her arm to stop her. She lifted hers towards him, indicating that he should stay back in the shadows. They needed a distraction, and to drag this out until reinforcements arrived. She took a deep breath, putting a cocky grin on her face that was at odds with everything going on in her heart.
"Yeah, actually," she said, drawing Moros's attention towards her as Jareth crept through the shadows, moving closer to Nyx and where she figured her brother was hiding. "I kinda figured I would."
Moros whipped around towards her, and she felt a deep gratification at the shock she saw in his eyes. "How did you get back in here?!"
"Well, when I found out you all were tracking my doorways, I realized I had to use the time honored way of traveling. I walked. That's a pain in the ass, by the way."
"A pity, then, that Bunny spoiled that method of tracing you. I'll deal with her failure on that, later. Nice trick with the crystal, by the way. They told me you had flashbangs and some sort of explosive. However, no one expected the time freeze. A gift from your lover, I suppose? Not many creatures have that particular talent."
"What can I say," she said, shrugging her shoulder and giving him a nasty grin. "I'd hate to be predictable."
"And now you return with a magic sword of Celtic origin," Moros snarled. "Full of surprises, aren't you."
She gestured with it in a grand manner, ending with the sword pointed at him. "A bequest from my grandmother. Or a burden, I suppose. I'm still learning what she meant by that. Bequest and burden. Maybe this is what she meant. Every few months, something like you shows up and needs my attention. Honestly, I'm getting pretty tired of it."
"Well, child, you could have just looked at the moon with the rest of your kind and experienced a bliss like you'd never felt before," Moros said, his voice still holding that syrupy sweetness of someone trying to coax her. "It's not too late to give up, you know?"
"Oh, I looked at it," she said. "What I saw brought no peace to me, and I promise, the bliss you're offering is nothing compared to what I felt half an hour ago."
He stopped, that surprise in his eyes once again before his gaze turned cold and calculating. "Ahh, that's right. You can't be spellbound. I wonder how true that really is."
"It's perfectly true, Moros," Jareth's voice came from across the room from her, and the creature whipped around, finding the Goblin King standing there with a patient sort of smile on his face. "She faced off against Crom Cruach and shook off his attempted spellbinding with little effort. Ensnaring Sarah Williams though her eyes is essentially impossible at this point."
Moros went still, and seemed as though he wasn't certain who he wanted to put his back towards. "The Goblin King, even. I suppose this shouldn't be a surprise, given her little crystal toys. I knew you took a greater interest than most in mortal affairs, but I never suspected that you'd taken a mortal lover. And one who is such an immense pain in the ass, no less."
A laugh left her lover, and Sarah met his gaze past the bastard between them. "I assure you, you haven't an idea of half the places she's a pain. She rather excels at finding new and surprising ways to cause injury."
Her lips twitched at the tease, the reminder that she'd kneed him in the balls. She gave him a bitingly sweet smile, baring her teeth at him. "Just returning the favor, Jareth."
They continued circling, until Moros had his back towards the door, and he gave them a smirk before turning on his heel and bolting for it quicker than Sarah could track. She and Jareth went after him, but he had disappeared through the doorway into the darkened hallway before they could catch him.
"Damn," Jareth muttered, looking out the exit. Then, he pushed the door shut, and turned towards the room. "Toby, if you're still in here, now would be a good time to show yourself."
He is here, Goblin King, Nyx's voice echoed in the room, and the shadows seemed to melt.
Sarah saw her brother standing there and her breath heaved out of her. She ran across the space, wrapping her brother in a tight hug. He gave her a grin, returning the hug and lifting her off the ground. After he set her back down, he looked up at Nyx.
"We've been talking," he said and his grin was all mischief. Then, his face was a little more serious. "Can we get her out of these chains? It seems like she's not the only one that has been trapped by Moros for this."
"Aether and Hemera?" Jareth asked, approaching them. He looked up at Nyx, stopping a short distance away from her. Sarah watched as he lifted a hand and rested it against his chest before bowing, deep and respectful. "I worried that might be the case. We couldn't locate them in the Underground."
Nyx gave them a tired smile. If I am freed, I can free them in turn. Though I admit that this is not the typical order of things with them and me.
"You know he's probably off getting reinforcements, right," Sarah said, keeping her voice quiet. "So we need to work fast, before he gets back."
Jareth gave her a broad grin that was mostly sharp humor and with a roll of his hand, a crystal appeared on his fingers. He offered it to her without a word and when she looked in, she saw goblins on the streets of New York. Some of them were tangling furiously with the Keres, incapacitating cult members and generally tearing across the city. She swallowed hard, eyes wide.
"How widespread are they?" She'd never realized how much temper and rage existed in those small creatures, before.
"You're expecting creatures who do not bend to the will of human logic to move logically. This is the centerpoint. They're spread out everywhere this is an issue, but eventually the force will arrive here. Moros will not escape retribution for what he's done, regardless of the force he is able to muster." Jareth's expression was terrible and unpleasant in the darkness, lit from the crystal in her hand. Something about that expression was a relief, even if it chilled her. "The goblins are not pleased with what was done to them as a means of testing this theory of his."
Sarah winced a bit at the darkness in his tone, but shrugged it off. The damn fool hadn't just stepped on the goblin's toes, she remembered. Many more were going to be seeking payment for this insult. For now, she had to keep her main concern where it needed to be, and that was on human matters. She could still hear the faint ticking of the clock in her bag and steadied herself.
Jareth ignored her reaction, turning back towards Nyx and Toby. He gave the primordial goddess of night a smile that was a little too bright and cheerful, and Sarah realized that Jareth probably had a bit of goblin in him, too. "Now, Toby. Let's see about freeing your new friend, hmm?