Thanks again to everyone who's reviewed! I just hope that I can continue to match your expectations, and leave you satisfied (or better yet, thirsting for more) at the end of each chapter.
Never Again
Ariman stepped around her, his voice close to her ear. "You have it in you, don't you?" he whispered. "The passion, the fury, the blood lust. I watched you, Sarah, a few weeks back, when you found little Jessica. You raised your weapon and fired, killing him… and you didn't give a second thought about it." His hand snaked down her arm to retrieve the crystal held limply in her grasp. Slowly he moved it into her sight, and smiled when he watched her jaw tighten.
"Can you see it Sarah? Can you see the surprise on his face when you go back? He'll be so happy to see you again, to know that you solved his little puzzle. He has missed you so. It will be a great pleasure for him to challenge you once again. And then when he thinks he's won…" Ariman paused to press something pointed into her stomach. "Then you'll run him through."
Sarah's eyes fell to the sheathed blade held against her. His meaning was all too clear.
"To return to him would be such a bittersweet surprise." The white haired guest gripped her chin lightly, lifting her eyes to meet his. "Don't you agree?"
For a moment, her gaze left his and focused again on the crystal. It was a taunt, a mockery of her and her dreams. She had been offered her dreams not just once, but twice, the second time when she had finally overcome him. And what had happened to those dreams? They shattered. Just like her life, just like her heart when she lost Toby. Then the first six children disappeared and died. Another game, another taunt. Her world had been turned upside down, and now he was trying to do it again.
It was time for her to return the favor.
Looking away from the crystal, she straightened herself to full height and granted Ariman a level gaze. "The children are in the castle?"
"Without a doubt. And where they are, Jareth will surely be."
"How do I get there?"
Ariman rolled the crystal from his right hand to his left and held it on five elegantly long fingers. "I will send you there through his own magic left here in his gift."
…I have brought you a gift…
Something solid slipped into Sarah's hand, and upon inspection she realized it was the dagger he had pressed into her. "That," Ariman pressed, "is what you must use to kill him. The blade is made of iron, the one thing that will destroy a Fae creature." His stormy eyes suddenly pierced hers with a strange intensity, causing a powerful emotion to fill her. For a moment, she felt like she was drowning in a sea of pure insanity, flooding her veins with rage and torment.
"We are all depending on you." The crystal extended to her, a soft glow illuminating from inside.
She covered the light with her hand, felt fingers of warmth caress up her arm, and the world faded around her.
Trees.
Night. Screams.
Running.
Being captured, held, struggling.
Screaming.
Blood spilling, red like a crayon scribble.
Panting. Weak. Despair.
Dying.
Intense pleasure.
"HELP ME! MOMMY!"
Sarah leapt up, her body crying out for air and taking it in big gulps. Everything around her was blurred and moving slow like she was surrounded by water, and screams echoed in her head, making her ears ringing. After a minute, when everything cleared, Sarah glanced at her surroundings.
It was the Escher room. She was in his castle.
…he's there, in my castle…
Sarah stood, took a breath to regain her equilibrium, and choose the first door at the stop of the stairs. She walked out into a blackened, windowless hall, lit only by torches. Keeping her hand near the dagger, she continued onward, driven by instinct alone. He would be in his throne room. Now she just had to find him.
Do you really think you can find it?
Her progression stopped and she turned to look behind her. Nothing was there, down the long hallway of torches. Nothing was in front of her either. But someone had whispered in her ear… With a shake of her head, she continued forward, ignoring the sinking feeling in her stomach and the chill that touched her bones. The only sounds in the castle were her footfalls upon the stone floors. The place was lifeless, confining, a corpse of the castle she remembered. What had happened to all of the Goblins? Not a single creature crossed her path.
The hallway seemed to stretch on for hours, but Sarah knew time was always distorted in tense moments. The hallway had to end; it couldn't go on forever… unless it was like the outside wall of the labyrinth. Was there an illusion passage somewhere around here? Just as she was beginning to doubt, she came to a door. With care, she opened it and found herself in a room cloaked by thick curtains of black. There were only a few candles lit, casting dancing shadows upon the floors.
One of the curtains moved. Tensing for attack and breath held, Sarah moved forward, her hand reached for the curtain, her other hand hovered by the dagger, and she wrenched the thick cloth to the side. The brightness blinded her, forcing her to retreat to the shadows while her eyes adjusted. Blinking away the pain, she looked out the open window.
"My God."
The once intricate and elaborate Labyrinth lay in ruins. Few walls remained standing, but most had been reduced to piles of rubble. The ground was charred black and giant gashes in the earth made the land appear broken and torn. Dust swept across the wind in waves, blinding her from fully seeing the devastation before her. This wasn't how the Labyrinth was supposed to be.
Sarah shivered. The air felt wrong. She felt wrong. While her journey through the labyrinth had been difficult and tenacious, it had never felt threatening. Now, the dangers untold and hardships unnumbered seemed to ooze up from the cracked, dusty earth, sending Sarah silent signals that began to form a cold drop of fear in her stomach.
He turned on us, the labyrinth whispered to her, he turned on his kingdom and his people, leaving them to rot. His heart is stone and no longer beats with any kind of warmth. He turned on us. He will turn on you. Leave us, or die with us. And then, the winds died, the sands settled, and she realized that the ground wasn't charred.
It was covered in corpses.
For miles ahead she could make out bodies of every size, shape, and color lying in a frozen picture of death. Stacked at least three deep, the decaying forms were blood covered and severed, tossed aside and trampled. It was a gruesome picture of heroism gone awry. Many of the bodies were blackened, like they had been overcome by a great wave of flame. It must have been a powerful fire to have taken out so many. Surely there were thousands lying dead before the castle walls!
... he has caused the deaths of worthy and selfless soldiers on the battle field…
As her eyes continued to sweep closer to the castle, she could make out the remains of the Goblin City. It was a mirror image to the destruction beyond the castle gates. Houses were destroyed or crumbling, the landscape cracked and devastated by fire. And like before, bodies littered the ground in reeking piles, all posed in a common position: that of escape. Arms frozen by rigor mortis, hands out stretched to the gates, they silently pleaded for freedom. The scene was heart breaking and infuriating.
"He took out everyone…" Even his own people…
Suddenly Sarah felt ill as her imagination played out the massacre before her. She could hear the cackling of the fire, the screams of those slain, the cries for justice and revenge. The blood flowed like a river, down the winding walkways of the castle, flooding into the Goblin City and out into the Labyrinth, decaying everything it touched. Nothing escaped the wrath of the King.
That's when she remembered Toby, her fear of losing him, and her joy of bringing him home. The two of them had come to this land, and had left unharmed. Now there were six more children that would do the same. She tensed when, from inside the castle, she thought she could hear a child's wail. Deep inside the flame of anger began to rekindle.
"Never again, you son of a bitch," she hissed and stepped away from the window. There were two other doors in the room, and she took the left one. Upon crossing there was another hallway, but this one was open with windows. Passing them, she could still see the devastation out of the corner of her eye, and her anger slowly continued to boil.
…You were the one who started this destruction, now you must be the one to finish it…
Ariman's words echoed in her head, and she felt new guilt sweep over her. She was the one at fault for this. She had driven the King to insanity with her victory, and thousands suffered for it.
Everything I've done, I've done for you…
Images filled her head. Creatures were charging the castle, and were wiped out with the flick of a wrist. Innocents tired to flee the castle walls, but were cut down from behind. No one stood a chance. Children screamed for their dead parents, women cried for their lost husbands, men mourned their dying families. The sounds of battle, of pain and death filled her ears, and for a moment she felt like she was there in the moment. It was so real she was overwhelmed. And when she looked again, she was still walking through the castle halls, still searching for the throne room. But the images didn't leave her. They were too vivid, and cut her deep with grief and hatred. Ariman was right, she did owe it to them, to all the ones who died.
Like Miller and Alise and the other four I stole from you three years ago?
Sarah froze when the voice filled her head.
Yes, you certainly owe it to them, because you were too slow to save them. Really, Sarah, I thought you actually cared about those young ones.
Her breathing became erratic; her eyes narrowed to slits and her hands clenched at her sides.
I guess you just didn't care enough.
Don't let him get under the skin. Keep moving, find the throne room, end it all. But a voice inside her cried out to be heard, to defend herself. "No," she hissed, "I won't play his games anymore."
Such a pity. Just like Toby.
Sarah picked up the pace, urging herself forward.
Running away like the child that you are.
I'm not running! She thought angrily. Not from you! No, I'm going to find you-
Just like you found Toby? Oh, wait, you never did find him. Not the second time, at least.
Sarah could feel herself cracking. Don't let him get to you. But she wouldn't listen to reason. The pain and the guilt were welling up again, driving her to distraction, fogging her head and making her reckless, feral. Her clarity was leaving her, it could distort her perception of things, make her vulnerable to his attacks-
I know where Toby is.
Don't listen to him! Sarah broke out into a run. Doors and various turns to new passages passed her, but she knew they weren't the way to go. Something was pulling her forward, driving her toward him, and she followed without doubt.
He's with all the other children.
Dead.
Sick laughter filled her ears, making her stop and grip at her head, trying to block out the sounds. Toby was standing in front of her, as well as twelve more children who she instantly recognized. They pointed and hissed at her, blaming her for their demise. But it wasn't my fault, she argued silently, I tried everything I could!
Not good enough! Not ever enough! They screamed and hissed and spat and clawed at her, demanding repayment, demanding revenge. Let us go! Let us GO! We want to go home! FREE US!
Something shattered. When Sarah opened her eyes, she was standing in the hall, alone, in silence. Her body was relaxed and her mind clear. Everything was clear. She understood now.
Sarah…
The whispers on the wind called to her, and she had to answer. Suddenly calm and collected, her heart frozen and her disposition just as cold, she looked up at the set of stairs before her. He was up there. She could feel him. Pushing forward, she began to ascend, slowly, one step at a time. There was no rush. It would all be over soon enough.
The stairs wound around like a coil, and continued up, deeper into the dark, empty castle, until she was at the door to the throne room. It opened silently at her touch, swinging in a wide arc to allow her eyes full access to the room. There, draped across the throne in a casual and utterly bored demeanor, sat her ultimate rival. Slowly he looked over when he noticed the door open, and his mismatched eyes met hers for the first time in 17 years. A cruel, mocking smile crossed her lips, and she broke the silence with her bitter, sarcastic tone.
"Hello, Your Highness."