Author's note: I am dreadfully sorry that its taken so long for me to update. Between college and an illness in my family I've been unable to devote any of my time to this story. I've missed it terribly and I hope that my few devoted readers haven't completely abandoned me. Thank you so much to those that reviewed and I hope you enjoy the latest chapter. As always, any and all criticism is welcome and much appreciate. I still need a beta reader, by the way. Any takers?

Disclaimer: Um, it's not mine. pout

Sarah remembered this room. This was where he had toyed with her so cruelly, leading her on, finally trying to break her spirit. It was the last place she wanted to see again. A complicated network of staircases, framed by stone arches, stretched up to infinitely high ceilings accented by narrow ledges that dropped off into nothing.

She had eventually realized where the peculiar imagery had come from, the print that had hung in her bedroom as a girl. It was impossible to navigate. It defied all logic. She knew this from experience. This was the place in which she had struggled to reach her helpless little brother, painfully aware of the gravity of her own mistakes. She knew that the responsibility for their entrapment laid with her. The childish jealousy and resentment that she'd clung hadn't allowed for love to grow inside her.

She looked around the room, seeking out the antagonist of her nightmares, but couldn't see anyone. It didn't fit with her experience. He had to be there. It was his fault she was having these dreams, after all. She knew it was true.

The silence was broken as Sarah heard an unmistakable gurgle from somewhere far below her. Looking down to the next ledge far below her, she saw a glimpse of her baby brother, crawling toward a stone staircase. He was chasing after a merrily bouncing crystal, unaware in his innocence of the danger that threatened.

"Toby!"

She took off running down the stairs before her, desperately trying to reach her charge, and quickly lost her footing. She fell hard, collapsing onto the cold stone at the base of the steps. The sudden pain and rising frustration had her crying.

"No." she sobbed. She was filled with a sense of complete helplessness. For a moment, she was truly back in that time, filled with fear for the brother she loved and had wished away. It was her fault. She had done this. She would lose him forever.

Then realization struck. It's a dream. It's not real. Not this time.

This time she was in control.

Sarah stood, impatiently wiping away the tears trailing down her cheeks with the back of her hand. If this was her dream she could control it.

She walked steadily toward the edge of the floor and peered down into the nothingness below her. There was a soft giggle from behind her, but she ignored it. It wasn't her brother. It was just a memory. A painful one. She wouldn't succumb to it. She had saved him last time and she would do it again. She was the only one who could protect him. Looking around, she searched for her challenger. He had been there last time and would show himself again. It was his creation, this nightmare. If it was a challenge he wanted, he'd get it.

"Goblin King!" She shouted, her voice echoing back to her off the walls. "You won't win. You can't have him. I beat you once," she screamed, "and I'll do it again!"

And she jumped.

Sarah was trembling when she awoke. Damp pillows informed her that she had been crying in her sleep. It had been another nightmare, but this time she had prevailed over it. He hadn't been able to hold her there and make her weak. This time had been different. Her strength was returning.

Looking around her, she remembered with frustration the scene that had transpired earlier in the afternoon. It was night now, the light had disappeared. Her room was eerily dark.

This isn't happening again, Sarah thought. I won't let it! Since when had she become so afraid of everything? Was she really so weak, so controlled by own fears that the mere mention of goblins sent her into a fit of panic? What had he done to her? The bastard.

She rose up from the bed, grasping for control of her racing mind, and reached over to turn on the bedside light. She wiped the remaining half- dried tears away and she stepped in front of her vanity mirror, critically regarding the image that stared back at her with revulsion. The woman reflected in the glass looked weak, defeated. Bloodshot, swollen eyes framed by tear stained cheeks.

The image could not be her. How had she been transformed into this pathetic, beaten girl? Sarah straightened up, squared her shoulders and glared defiantly at herself in the mirror. That's not me, She told herself. I'm not afraid anymore. I won, she thought fiercely. I played his game, and beat him. It was finished. She sighed heavily. So why isn't it over?

Her personal nightmares were one thing, she could handle her own fear, but Toby's mention of goblins had terrified her. Where had it come from? He couldn't actually remember that horrible night. It had been so long ago and neither one of them had ever spoken a word about it. Sarah always assumed that her little brother had been too young to recall anything that had happened to them.

Had Toby found the book? No, that wasn't possible.

She searched her mind, trying to recollect what she had done with her childhood things. She had packed them all up; her toys, books, stuffed animals, everything that had once been precious to her. They had been reduced to hurtful, lingering reminders of her past indulgence in fantasy; remnants of a dangerous pastime she had given up long ago. She had hidden them in a box somewhere in the attic, as far from her and her brother as possible. It could be possible that he found them, but unlikely.

I should have burned that goddamned book when I had the chance, she thought. Was this another one of the bastard's manipulations? She had to be sure.

Sarah crept out of her bedroom door and snuck down the hallway to the door that led to the attic. She could hear her parents downstairs in the living room. Faint sounds of the television drifted up to the second floor. She was sure they were furious with her. Between school and the performance earlier at dinner, her parents probably wished their daughter had never come home.

Hoping to avoid being seen, she opened the door quickly and stepped onto the stairs, closing it silently behind her. Her hand searched for the light switch on the wall and flicked it on.

Once at the top of the stairs, Sarah surveyed the room. She could see boxes and trunks piled high, dusty cobwebs and various other forgotten items. It seemed as though no one had ventured up here in a long time. Or so she hoped.

Now, where did I put it? She asked herself. Making her way carefully to the back of the attic, tripping over a few precariously stacked items, Sarah finally saw her chosen hiding place. It was a discarded wardrobe in the furthest corner of the room, covered in a layer of thick dust. She clearly remembered putting her box on the highest shelf inside it, pushing the offending package as far back as possible.

She pulled open the doors nervously. Please God, she prayed, let it still be here. She looked up to the upper shelf and breathed a deep sigh of relief. There, shoved back all the way, was a simple, unmarked cardboard box. Sarah reached up, slid the package forward and pulled it out of its hiding place. Running her hand over the top, she discovered that the tape she had used to seal it up all those years ago was still intact, a good sign, but she had to be sure. Carrying the box under her arm, she left the attic and quickly retreated to her bedroom.

Sarah locked her door behind her, making sure she would not be disturbed. Not that her family would want to see her anyway. Refusing to feel sorry for herself, she turned her attention to the task at hand. She eased the large box onto the floor and sank down beside it, regarding it with certain wariness.

Come on, Sarah, she thought, you know it's still in there. You just have to be sure. Reluctantly, she tore the tape off the cardboard and cast it aside. Slowly, she opened the flaps and peered down into the box.

The first thing she saw, much to her delight, was a mint colored gown. A nostalgic smile appeared on the girl's face. So many joyful hours had been spent rehearsing in that costume, arranging flowers her hair and reciting lines from the stories she had loved. It had all been so innocent, those fantasies, until a malicious twist of fate had stepped in and ripped all the joy from them.

She pulled it from the box and stood up, smoothing out the fabric, finding herself absently wondering if it would still fit. She walked to her mirror and removed her top, impulsively pulled the gown over her head. She tugged it down over her jeans and spread out the skirt. Regarding herself in the mirror, Sarah laughed. The silly dress still fit her. Granted, it was a bit more snug in the chest than it had been, but it was still beautiful.

How ironic. She observed herself in the mirror. There was a woman reflected before her, and the fire was coming back into her eyes. She wasn't the same foolish, idealistic girl anymore. Now her dreams were nightmares and they were threatening her family.

Sarah was suddenly struck with a powerful urge to protect her little brother. She could not allow Toby to be put in danger again. There was no guarantee that she would be able to keep him safe this time. But she would give everything to try. This game had to end. Now.

I won't give up.

A newfound bravery, a curious protectiveness glimmered in her eyes. "You won't take him again, Goblin King," Sarah declared to the empty room. "You have no power here."

Turning back to the box that sat in the middle of her bedroom floor she proceeded to look for it, the book that had caused everything, the Labyrinth. She pulled out all the contents, stuffed animals and books, looking for the source of her nightmare. But it wasn't there. The dangerous little leather bound book was nowhere inside the box. Sarah was suddenly afraid.

But it was here! I packed it away! She thought frantically. It has to be here. She tried to reassure herself, looking through the scattered contents, silently praying she had overlooked it somehow. But found nothing.

Toby! She thought. Toby must have found it. Or... Or maybe it was Him!

She arrived at a frightening notion. What better way to take his revenge on her than by endangering her family.

The goblins. She thought. Toby read about them in the damn book. That bastard is using him to punish me. Sarah jumped up and ran toward her little brother's room.