Part Six
"In war, there are no unwounded soldiers."
"Master?" Erlar's gravelly voice broke through the images of Sarah shimmering on the enchanted wall, and Jareth watched him wave an irate hand, changing the image from the dark woman to the darker man.
"Yes?"
"Master, I have completed my conquest, but the woman and many of my new subjects are evading me somehow. Please, master, please tell me where they are."
"Now, Erlar," the voice had gone soft and gentle, "Why do you think I would either know or care?"
"But...master, you are wise and great and you know all!"
"Really? That's a nice sentiment, my little foolish slave. A very nice sentiment. And I'm glad you have at least that much intelligence, to recognize greatness when you see it." A hand shot out and wrapped tightly around Erlar's throat, as if the man were standing there in the dark room instead of merely an image on the wall-but mere image or not-Erlar was still turning an odd shade of purple...
"Yes, Erlar, I know where the woman and her little subjects are. However, I have no intention of gift-wrapping them for you and your beasts. Prove your worth and find them yourself, Erlar, else I shall think I placed a ninny on the throne. Paint this kingdom in blood, Erlar, and bring me the woman in chains, and then I shall reward you beyond your limited, greedy dreams."
The hand loosened, Erlar made an odd choking noise, and the image faded away.
"There. That should keep the fool busy for a while. Now then, on to business. As much as I enjoy watching this little game, I have other things in mind."
~Bastard.~ Jareth mentally spat, breaking his silence (not literally-the metal band was still firmly in place over his mouth).
"Oh, so you are speaking to me after all. Excellent. Pouting really doesn't become you, my dear fae."
~Stop calling me that.~
"My, my, Jareth, calm yourself! Do you hate me that much?"
~I will kill you with my bare hands.~
"Trust me, my boy, I've lost no love on you either. But let's leave the past be for now, shall we? I've a much more entertaining idea." He turned, and made a small, almost imperceptible gesture with his hand.
The wall focused on Sarah again...but different this time. She was standing in a dark hallway, a little fairy perched on her shoulder, glowing nervously. Jareth's eyebrows rose in surprise. How in the Underground had she convinced one of the annoying little pests to actually cooperate with her?
Cooperate with her it did, though. It was lending her its body light to show Sarah the way down the tunnel - the latter pausing every now and again to let the fairy flit ahead for a brief look around, then flying back to give her some kind of all-clear sign. She was still dressed in the green and leather clothes, but a heavy black cape engulfed her body and his her face in a deep hood, and when she lifted a hand to make some signal to the fairy, he saw the brief glint of light on the sword hanging at her hip.
The image swiveled to look behind her, and in the dark Jareth could see several shifting shapes carefully moving from shadow to shadow-Nightmares, following their queen.
"Well, well. It looks like she's found a way in. At least she's stopped wishing for you to come and make everything right. The chains would never allow it." He gestured lazily to the bindings still holding Jareth as tightly as ever. "Poor, stupid Erlar. He's in for a rather nasty shock, don't you agree?"
Jareth ignored the man, eyes fixed on the cloaked figure moving silently through the tunnel.
"I wonder what's she going to do about the wyrms?"
As if she had heard him, Sarah froze, reaching up a hand to mask the fairy's glowing body. The little creature slipped into the hood of her cloak; effectively hiding it's light from anything that might be coming down the hallway.
But Sarah wasn't looking at the tunnel, she was staring up at the ceiling-and as the silence of the corridor lengthened, Jareth heard it too, the faint sounds of screams and bellows.
"Set the goblins on them," the voice murmured. "Alone? That's suicide. I expected better." The image brightened as it left the dark tunnel and traveled up to the surface, right to the castle courtyards. Jareth could see Erlar standing dumbstruck, staring out of the gaping hole in the throne room, watching his wyrms...burn?
"Ah ha! So that is what she's done! Brilliant."
The goblins were launching large balls of what looked like pure fire at the wyrms, the flames caught the oily residues on their scabby skin (which had been further enhanced by their long wallows in the Bog of Eternal Stench) and was setting the beasts instantly alight. They writhed, on the ground, in the air, bellowing and rolling, but to no avail, their own putrescence was fuel to the raging fire, and one by one, the twitching bodies stopped their madcap, grotesque dance and fell still. Goblins ran between the burning bodies, avoiding those still moving as best they could, trying to kill those still left in the air and at the same time douse the fires the beasts' struggles had begun on the houses. It looked, to Jareth's eyes, as if the whole Labyrinth was burning.
The image darkened again, and Sarah was no longer in a dark corridor but stealthily making her way up the stairs that Jareth knew led to the throne room. Behind her came the horrific Nightmares, and even in his state of shock, Jareth had to grin a little. Erlar thought the wyrms were suffering? He hadn't come face to face with the Queen of Goblins. He hadn't seen anything yet.
She moved carefully through the abandoned castle hallways, racking her brains and hoping against hope she was going the right way. The castle was huge, and despite all the time she'd spent it in it, it was still a very easy place to get lost in. Behind her, the small band of Nightmares she'd assembled for this task were shifting and hissing in anticipation. They could hear the battle outside as well as she - perhaps better - and being so close to carnage was making them edgy. It was making her ill, personally. She didn't even want to imagine what the grounds must look like outside.
The idea had hit her as she'd watched the fireys' wild party. She'd been drawn to the large bonfire they'd built in the center of the cave, and suddenly the image she'd seen in her mind when she'd wished the wyrms all dead (the picture of them all bursting into flame) had sprung back to her eye.
The wyrms had harsh, twisted bodies that resembled pus covered stone rather than flesh.
But then, if the fire was hot enough, even stone could burn.
She'd formulated her plan carefully, had summoned some of the most ingenious creatures she had (the dryads had been the most helpful with their intimate knowledge of how mechanical things such as dams and watermills worked, after all, most of them had lived in or under one at some point). It had taken all the rest of that day and most of that night, but every creature with enough brains and ability to even grasp the simplest idea had pitched in, and by dawn, twelve sturdy fire launchers had been assembled. She'd provided an unending supply of special black pitch balls for ammunition, all it took was the slightest hint of fire and the balls would flame hot enough to char wyrm flesh. Which of course was the whole point.
It sounded like her little army was putting the weapon to good use. With any luck, they'd down every wyrm and not lose one soldier themselves. She hadn't dared to wish for their safety, not with Erlar still alive.
Erlar.
The enemy. The reason she was here.
A Nightmare grunted behind her, and she realized they had come to the heavy iron and wood doors that led to the throne room. Sarah took a deep breath, gulping hard, as she raised her hand to halt the little procession. *Here we go. We're almost there, Jareth.*
"Go," she whispered, and at her word, the Nightmares erupted into a screaming, rampaging mass. They flew at the large doors, and with inhuman strength had burst through the entrance and were plunging into the throne room.
Erlar was on the opposite side, watching the battle outside with wide eyes. He turned as the door shattered and the screaming demons came pouring in- Sarah turned away just before the first one reached him. There was a brief flash of light - he had tried one of his spells to warp Sarah's creatures to his own benefit - but it was no use. "You can't twist them into nightmares," she whispered over the gurgling cry of the doomed man. "They already are."
Long chains of goblins were attached to the wall, looking gaunt and bloody from their imprisonment. She moved toward them, intent on releasing them, when something caught her eye. She swung around immediately.
"Jareth!"
"In war, there are no unwounded soldiers."
"Master?" Erlar's gravelly voice broke through the images of Sarah shimmering on the enchanted wall, and Jareth watched him wave an irate hand, changing the image from the dark woman to the darker man.
"Yes?"
"Master, I have completed my conquest, but the woman and many of my new subjects are evading me somehow. Please, master, please tell me where they are."
"Now, Erlar," the voice had gone soft and gentle, "Why do you think I would either know or care?"
"But...master, you are wise and great and you know all!"
"Really? That's a nice sentiment, my little foolish slave. A very nice sentiment. And I'm glad you have at least that much intelligence, to recognize greatness when you see it." A hand shot out and wrapped tightly around Erlar's throat, as if the man were standing there in the dark room instead of merely an image on the wall-but mere image or not-Erlar was still turning an odd shade of purple...
"Yes, Erlar, I know where the woman and her little subjects are. However, I have no intention of gift-wrapping them for you and your beasts. Prove your worth and find them yourself, Erlar, else I shall think I placed a ninny on the throne. Paint this kingdom in blood, Erlar, and bring me the woman in chains, and then I shall reward you beyond your limited, greedy dreams."
The hand loosened, Erlar made an odd choking noise, and the image faded away.
"There. That should keep the fool busy for a while. Now then, on to business. As much as I enjoy watching this little game, I have other things in mind."
~Bastard.~ Jareth mentally spat, breaking his silence (not literally-the metal band was still firmly in place over his mouth).
"Oh, so you are speaking to me after all. Excellent. Pouting really doesn't become you, my dear fae."
~Stop calling me that.~
"My, my, Jareth, calm yourself! Do you hate me that much?"
~I will kill you with my bare hands.~
"Trust me, my boy, I've lost no love on you either. But let's leave the past be for now, shall we? I've a much more entertaining idea." He turned, and made a small, almost imperceptible gesture with his hand.
The wall focused on Sarah again...but different this time. She was standing in a dark hallway, a little fairy perched on her shoulder, glowing nervously. Jareth's eyebrows rose in surprise. How in the Underground had she convinced one of the annoying little pests to actually cooperate with her?
Cooperate with her it did, though. It was lending her its body light to show Sarah the way down the tunnel - the latter pausing every now and again to let the fairy flit ahead for a brief look around, then flying back to give her some kind of all-clear sign. She was still dressed in the green and leather clothes, but a heavy black cape engulfed her body and his her face in a deep hood, and when she lifted a hand to make some signal to the fairy, he saw the brief glint of light on the sword hanging at her hip.
The image swiveled to look behind her, and in the dark Jareth could see several shifting shapes carefully moving from shadow to shadow-Nightmares, following their queen.
"Well, well. It looks like she's found a way in. At least she's stopped wishing for you to come and make everything right. The chains would never allow it." He gestured lazily to the bindings still holding Jareth as tightly as ever. "Poor, stupid Erlar. He's in for a rather nasty shock, don't you agree?"
Jareth ignored the man, eyes fixed on the cloaked figure moving silently through the tunnel.
"I wonder what's she going to do about the wyrms?"
As if she had heard him, Sarah froze, reaching up a hand to mask the fairy's glowing body. The little creature slipped into the hood of her cloak; effectively hiding it's light from anything that might be coming down the hallway.
But Sarah wasn't looking at the tunnel, she was staring up at the ceiling-and as the silence of the corridor lengthened, Jareth heard it too, the faint sounds of screams and bellows.
"Set the goblins on them," the voice murmured. "Alone? That's suicide. I expected better." The image brightened as it left the dark tunnel and traveled up to the surface, right to the castle courtyards. Jareth could see Erlar standing dumbstruck, staring out of the gaping hole in the throne room, watching his wyrms...burn?
"Ah ha! So that is what she's done! Brilliant."
The goblins were launching large balls of what looked like pure fire at the wyrms, the flames caught the oily residues on their scabby skin (which had been further enhanced by their long wallows in the Bog of Eternal Stench) and was setting the beasts instantly alight. They writhed, on the ground, in the air, bellowing and rolling, but to no avail, their own putrescence was fuel to the raging fire, and one by one, the twitching bodies stopped their madcap, grotesque dance and fell still. Goblins ran between the burning bodies, avoiding those still moving as best they could, trying to kill those still left in the air and at the same time douse the fires the beasts' struggles had begun on the houses. It looked, to Jareth's eyes, as if the whole Labyrinth was burning.
The image darkened again, and Sarah was no longer in a dark corridor but stealthily making her way up the stairs that Jareth knew led to the throne room. Behind her came the horrific Nightmares, and even in his state of shock, Jareth had to grin a little. Erlar thought the wyrms were suffering? He hadn't come face to face with the Queen of Goblins. He hadn't seen anything yet.
She moved carefully through the abandoned castle hallways, racking her brains and hoping against hope she was going the right way. The castle was huge, and despite all the time she'd spent it in it, it was still a very easy place to get lost in. Behind her, the small band of Nightmares she'd assembled for this task were shifting and hissing in anticipation. They could hear the battle outside as well as she - perhaps better - and being so close to carnage was making them edgy. It was making her ill, personally. She didn't even want to imagine what the grounds must look like outside.
The idea had hit her as she'd watched the fireys' wild party. She'd been drawn to the large bonfire they'd built in the center of the cave, and suddenly the image she'd seen in her mind when she'd wished the wyrms all dead (the picture of them all bursting into flame) had sprung back to her eye.
The wyrms had harsh, twisted bodies that resembled pus covered stone rather than flesh.
But then, if the fire was hot enough, even stone could burn.
She'd formulated her plan carefully, had summoned some of the most ingenious creatures she had (the dryads had been the most helpful with their intimate knowledge of how mechanical things such as dams and watermills worked, after all, most of them had lived in or under one at some point). It had taken all the rest of that day and most of that night, but every creature with enough brains and ability to even grasp the simplest idea had pitched in, and by dawn, twelve sturdy fire launchers had been assembled. She'd provided an unending supply of special black pitch balls for ammunition, all it took was the slightest hint of fire and the balls would flame hot enough to char wyrm flesh. Which of course was the whole point.
It sounded like her little army was putting the weapon to good use. With any luck, they'd down every wyrm and not lose one soldier themselves. She hadn't dared to wish for their safety, not with Erlar still alive.
Erlar.
The enemy. The reason she was here.
A Nightmare grunted behind her, and she realized they had come to the heavy iron and wood doors that led to the throne room. Sarah took a deep breath, gulping hard, as she raised her hand to halt the little procession. *Here we go. We're almost there, Jareth.*
"Go," she whispered, and at her word, the Nightmares erupted into a screaming, rampaging mass. They flew at the large doors, and with inhuman strength had burst through the entrance and were plunging into the throne room.
Erlar was on the opposite side, watching the battle outside with wide eyes. He turned as the door shattered and the screaming demons came pouring in- Sarah turned away just before the first one reached him. There was a brief flash of light - he had tried one of his spells to warp Sarah's creatures to his own benefit - but it was no use. "You can't twist them into nightmares," she whispered over the gurgling cry of the doomed man. "They already are."
Long chains of goblins were attached to the wall, looking gaunt and bloody from their imprisonment. She moved toward them, intent on releasing them, when something caught her eye. She swung around immediately.
"Jareth!"