To Take Back the Child
* By Eerie *
*~*~*~*~* Chapter Two *~*~*~*~*
Seconds spiraled into eternity and still their eyes remained locked in a sort of peculiar battle of wits. Jareth's ivory teeth glittered malignantly in the glow of the cool room as he gazed in adoration at the trapped doe look in the other's eyes. The candles sputtered and smoked before he spoke again.
"You've grown quite well."
"How do you know me?" the youth asked and drew his brows close in confusion. His blue eyes shimmered with tears born of fear.
"My dear boy, how could I forget one who was very near to becoming my own?" the Goblin King asked and reached a slender hand to turn the child's face fully into the light, unhindered by shadows, by the chin. "They called you Toby, didn't they? I still think Jareth suits you better."
"Jareth?" The faint dawning of realization seemed to seep into the mortal's countenance as he was forced to face his admirer. Or perhaps his scrutinizer.
Jareth's face lit up. "Ah, you remember now do you?" His long-nailed hand released his captive and he stepped back.
Toby's eyes followed him uncertainly as he spoke in a matching voice, "The book. Yes . . . I think I remember. I was reading it before I fell asleep."
The youth exhaled as if he had held his breath from the moment he first opened his eyes to find he was no longer in the sanctity of his own room. Suddenly, his eyes shut and a fine sheen of sweat broke out on his forehead as he strained in concentration.
"Wake up, Toby; wake up," he whispered earnestly.
With the grace of a feline pouncing upon its prey, the Goblin Lord leapt on the bed and slammed his hands down on either side of Toby's head, shocking the youth's lids back open and his neck stiff like a surprised mouse. Jareth's lean body emanated the depths of its power as it hovered over the reclining one. His eyes narrowed darkly.
"That's the greetings I get after all these years? Begging for escape?" He leaned in closer and a shadow fell into the hollows of his face. "Well let me tell you, child, this is no dream you've unwittingly stumbled into," he paused to let the weight of his revelation sink in. "I'll be most disappointed if you tell me that you simply mumbled those damnable words in your sleep."
Toby was paralyzed with terror yet unable to tear his gaze from the deep shadow that concealed the Goblin King's eyes. The strange scents of newly decaying jasmine and roses lingered over him like an enchantment from the body of the man oppressing him.
"Well?" Jareth provoked.
"Please, I don't understand. I've never seen you before in my life," Toby pleaded and shook his head, on the verge of tears.
The Goblin King drew away fluidly to sit on his haunches over the youth's legs. The shadow lifted from his pale face just as the candlelight dimmed considerably, like a subtle warning of impending danger.
He stared incredulously at the boy. "She didn't tell you," he said so softly that Toby barely heard him.
Suddenly Jareth threw his head back and convulsed in wretched laughter. The flames on every wall sizzled and changed hue, casting the room in sickly green, making the Goblin Lord appear like a terrible emission from the seething depths of the night. His throaty laughter did not last long, and soon melted into a sort of deep feral growling. He spun from the bed and stalked to the window, resting his hands wide apart on the sill and staring out as if the boy was no longer there.
Toby watched in confusion as Jareth occupied himself with the scenery outside, an occasional bitter chuckle escaping the tall man's lips. Slowly, with painstaking care, the youth sat up and slid from the massive bed, stars of dizziness blurring his sight. He wavered momentarily and caught a tall wooden bedpost to steady himself, looking to see that the dark man's back was still turned to him. Cautiously, once his vision had cleared, he edged toward the door, hoping that his weakness would not cause him to stumble. The exit drew closer with each step and he eyed it longingly. The door looked heavy and old, and would surely give him away once opened. He braced himself, ready to spend the remainder of his strength to pull it ajar and bolt. His hand trembled as it reached for the iron handle.
Instead of the sensation of cold metal in his palm came a sudden jarring from behind as inhumanly strong arms crossed over his chest and yanked him back with toppling force, ripping the breath from his lungs. His jaw dropped to cry his astonishment but an icy hand stopped that intention as it clamped uncomfortably tight over his mouth. Toby's back landed hard against the Goblin King's chest and he was dismayed to find that he was held impossibly firm. The sweet scent of dead flowers, intoxicating to the point of nauseating, filled his senses until it consumed him. His pupils dilated with fear when a warm breath swirled teasingly over his left ear.
"You seem to think that you can escape, poor child. Really, that's very rude of you; after all, you only just arrived. You would have gone without a word?" The whisper was dark and rich as unsweetened chocolate, sending electric tremors up Toby's spine.
The warm breath moved away slowly and returned to pay homage to his other ear, hotter this time. "And just when the fun was about to begin."
Jareth smiled in satisfaction when a tear kissed his restraining hand. Sliding the other up Toby's throat, he stopped and squeezed the trembling jaw in what he knew to be a painful force. A heartbeat so urgent that it nearly felt as though it would break from the other's chest greeted him in return; he could feel it quicken even through the child's back, pulsing like a rapid drum against his fingertips. The sensation made his blood heat.
"Your timing is truly exceptional. I was becoming intolerably bored," the Goblin King stated and rested his chin on the crown of Toby's head. His grip on the boy's jaw loosened and he scraped his sharp nails along the soft flesh of his captive's throat, leaving dull red trails in their wake. He paused to press more firmly against the pulse that hammered through delicate veins.
The body in his arms suddenly went heavily limp and would have fallen to the floor if not for Jareth's closeness. The Goblin King gathered the unconscious summoner up like a ragdoll, thoroughly disappointed that his game had to end so abruptly. The screaming he had so desired would have to wait.
A cold breeze blew in through the window as he carried Toby back to rest upon his generous bed. Any trace of blood within the child's body was impossible to detect as he was laid out. Jareth stood and donned the look of one contemplating a piece of art as his eyes roved the deathly pale intruder. It was quickly diminished, however, when he pinpointed exactly where in that face laid bearings of the likeness of the young man's sister. It was mingled in the youth's marvelously full lips, the shapely curve of his chin, even in his soft hairline. Jareth sneered in contempt when he saw them, but more from the fact that he still found them irresistible than from spite.
He drew a bit closer and silently bade the windows closed to ease the mortal's shivers. He could not do much if the young man was deliriously ill. It might be worth it to allow the creature to revive, he thought. The game was so much more enjoyable when the players' senses and minds were fully able to comprehend its attributes. But the stakes had yet to be set.
Tilting his head to the side, Jareth pondered further on this. Perhaps, not entirely for the sake of relieving his current state of insipidity, he could find some use in the boy. Broken visions of his earlier fantasies fueled from past defeat and unfulfilled gratification provoked his lips to curve. Perhaps.
Turning his back theatrically, Jareth commanded the candles to extinguish themselves with a simple snap of his fingers before leaving the room, and the boy, to dark silence.
*~*~*~*~*
Heavy golden smog lingered low over the Labyrinth when the sun rose. The goblins were snoring from all corners of the common room, scattered about like the blankets and various articles of clothing they used for meager comforts. Jareth waded through them quietly as he approached the staircase leading to his quarters. He had not slept at all the night before, but found himself wandering about the castle like a madman when not entertaining himself with the goblins that were accustomed to staying awake until dawn. He had threaded an intricate path through the room of stairs, trying to lose himself in the tangle of steps without much success. He'd traveled them too many times to forget where each one lead.
The sunlight seemed a welcome prospect to him as he mounted the stairwell, eager to see if it had roused the youth taking up his bed. He donned white velvet this day with a matching cloak of heavy shimmering chiffon whose hem was irregular with various depths of jagged tears that followed fluidly up the stone steps, as if it had been made from the likeness of melting winter icicles. His soft leather boots, crafted from a rare mongrel breed of albino beast that could only be compared in close proximity to the thick- horned roe deer of the mortal world, carried him softly up the empty tunnel.
*~*~*~*~*
~ Toby's body ached with weariness, heavy as if his muscles had transformed to lead, when he opened his eyes. The scratchy harsh sounds of laughter from various throats that seemed so far away now bounced clearly from the cold walls that encompassed him with whatever creatures that made the noise. It was very dim and his eyes strained to see, to make out a shape that would ease or intensify his panic. Movement to his side.
He turned his head in a defensive gesture, finding that he could barely hold it steady. His eyes quickly adjusted to the ill light of the place and, to his horror, found that it was practically seething with small hairy bodies about the size of his own. A face emerged from the crowd of dancing creatures and smiled monstrously at him, its teeth crooked and spaced widely apart in a mouth too large for its head. Worse still, it reached out and fondled his hair, the pungent bitter stench of its sweat clinging to the air around it nearly making him gag.
Then he was lifted, higher and higher until the floor seemed miles away, before being settled into a pair of strong arms. The smell of his captor was unlike the terrible creatures skittering to and fro below him, spilling their glasses of questionable content over their feet in oblivious frenzy. No, the arms holding him smelled sweet and faintly musty, like wilted flowers.
He allowed his neck to collapse and his head fell into the nook of the sweetly scented being's arm. And his eyes could not help but drift. The smile that greeted him was no different from those of the monsters in nature, though far easier to look upon. But the eyes, the eyes pulled him in the way a snake paralyzes its victims and he was lost in their frighteningly endless depths when he heard the distant, desperate beckoning of his sister. ~
Toby awoke with a shudder and slid the back of his hand over his damp forehead. For a moment he lay in the afterglow of the vivid nightmare, thankful that it was not reality. He had had the dream before on many occasions; each time he had wakened ill and confused, as if he had just lived some aspect of the dream itself. But somehow this time was different. It was as though the intensity of it had been magnified threefold and his consciousness was there every moment.
The young man sat up, his clothes sticking to his body uncomfortably from sweat. His fever seemed less the fire that it was the day before and he was able to think more clearly when he realized that he was still not in his own room. His eyes fell downward first. The bed he lay in was larger than any he had ever seen, draped in luxurious ruby sheets and fine blanket. Its massive black wood posts stood like spears that nearly touched the high ceiling above. Spirals and loose knots were carved shallowly into them in undeterminable patterns.
Blue eyes traveled the things surrounding the mysterious resting place. Two high-backed chairs upholstered in thick black velvet and studded with gold furniture pins sat in the corner near the tremendous window. Before them was a redwood table with short legs that swooped and narrowed at end like upturned falcon claws. The rug beneath them was of exotically woven threads in deep reds, muted grays, and blacks. The floor itself was the same gray stone as the walls of the room, though it was difficult to say what kind. It sparkled as if made from glittery sand, giving the room a surreal quality. A massive dark mirror framed in golden whorls hung upon the wall over the chairs between two matching candelabras filled with blood red candles, whose wax descended into hardened spikes from past burnings. On the other side of the window was an angled bookcase that filled the space between and almost touched where the door was on the wall before him. Staggering amounts of books adorned its shelves, some piled on the tops of the others.
Toby hadn't realized that his mouth was hanging open in awe. The room was exquisitely beautiful.
Against the opposite wall rested another mirror similar to its companion, only it touched the floor. Next to it, a large black wardrobe with two matching skeleton hands clasped together at the front for its latch. Toby's eyes followed the great doors upward and saw the great skull resting like a sentry on the wardrobe's top, its eyes set with rubies that seemed to burn with life. The sight of it reminded him of his fear and prone state and he turned his head, praying that he still lay in the outskirts of his dream.
Just then, the door whispered open. He would not have noticed if he hadn't seen the flash of white that stood out from its surroundings like a gull in a black sea. A certain creeping dread edged up his spine as his head lifted to behold the one wearing the shining garments. The journey was slow, but his eyes finally came to rest upon the striking face he instantly recognized as that from his dream. He could no longer move. His head was a cyclone of scattered puzzle pieces. There was something more there, if only he could place it.
Jareth closed the door behind him and stopped just at its threshold, seeing his summoner awake and none too expecting. The boy was staring at him in something like tortured frustration. The Goblin King's gaze flickered between Toby's eyes as if reading a fascinating book. Then a smile graced his lips.
"Realized something?" he asked and crossed his arms. "Please share; it's not nice to keep one in suspense."
"So it was real all this time. Why would she lie to me?" Toby said softly, caught in the king's hypnotizing observation.
Jareth unfolded his arms and walked slowly toward the bed. He sat weightlessly at its edge, never breaking his gaze. There was something indignant shining in that look.
"She was a wicked girl. And wicked girls love to tell lies to their innocent brothers," he said and leaned forward. "What did she tell you, Jareth?"
Toby knit his brows in confusion at being addressed by that name and quickly forgot the insult directed at his sibling. But he continued, not wanting to provoke the man's anger. "It was the book. The storybook. She never spoke of it as anything more. But . . . I always felt there was something more anyway."
Jareth's penetrating look softened and he soothed his hand over the young man's cheek. Memories of the evening before must have returned like a lance, for Toby flinched away from his hand as if it were poisoned. Jareth yielded.
"Are you still unwell? Come, you'll want something to drink surely." The Goblin Lord stood and held a long arm out in expectancy. Seeing the youth's uncertainty, he added with the slightest hint of a spell, "You've been dreaming, child; you've nothing to fear now. Especially since a proper welcoming party is in order." He smiled broadly.
Toby pushed himself from the bed and stood. "No, I must go back soon. There's been a mistake."
Jareth ignored him and instead roved the youth's state of disarray. "But this won't do at all." He thrust his hand out as if to strike the boy's face and was rewarded with a wince. But his hand stopped there and wavered down the length of Toby's stature.
The youth looked down, amazed to find his street clothes replaced by the finest garments he had ever seen upon himself. Lightweight velvet breeches of deep jet hugged his hips flatteringly below a loose white shirt with flared cuffs. Soft leather boots of even deeper onyx touched just below his knees and fit with surprising comfort. His long blond hair was combed back into a low ponytail with two strands let free in the front. His mouth opened in bewilderment as he studied himself.
Jareth tilted his head to the side, greatly admiring his work. "Now, that's more like it. Shall we then?"
Of course, Toby had no choice but to follow the Goblin King through the door and into the heart of the castle. As they walked down the steps, Jareth stole a glance at the fine young man at his side, seeing the soft traces of Sarah's features once again. He suddenly ached to devour that face, in more ways than one, but restrained the urge at such an inappropriate time. That in itself was an essential part of the game.
A few stray goblins were stretching their sleep-bound muscles when the pair descended the stairs. They jumped up and bowed respectfully to Jareth, but not without eyeing the newcomer suspiciously.
The Goblin Lord looked about the room of snoring creatures with annoyance. With an upraised hand he summoned a great peal of thunder that shook the foundations of the entire castle. The snoring immediately ceased and the goblins were on their feet, looking at one another with alarm.
"My minions! I bid you welcome our guest back after many long years. I trust you've not forgotten my goblin babe?" Jareth called out and waited for a general agreement around the room to meet his expectations.
The creatures all nodded in animated remembrance of the grown child at one another and to their king and his "guest", though only half of it was genuine.
Jareth smirked and placed an arm around Toby's shoulders, drawing him closer. "Shall we celebrate his pleasantly unexpected arrival?"
The word ignited a widespread roar of approval. Goblins jumped up and began to scatter in search of various items worthy of a great celebration. They clattered back and forth with large barrels, mugs, and loudly squawking black chickens.
Toby watched in mute horror as he saw the creatures from his nightmare come to life. Yet Jareth must have sensed it, for he moved his hand from the youth's shoulder and replaced it on the side of his head. Toby felt the Goblin Lord press his forehead to the other side, against his own temple.
"You came here among the goblins as a defenseless baby and went away perfectly unharmed. What could you possibly fear now that you are a man?" the king whispered sultrily in his ear. "And in my favor."
Toby listened to the words with heart. They seemed to make sense to him, for surely he could hardly comprehend anything but terror in such surroundings as a simple baby. Perhaps there really was nothing to fear. It was all very strange, but also very different from the mundane world so full of monotonous routine that he could scarcely afford to miss it. He watched the creatures' determined duties for his special honor and felt a small smile hug his lips.
Jareth grinned in satisfaction when he saw it and dropped his hand from the boy's head. His attentions joined the mortal's as the first round of ale began to flow among the goblins. Two chalices were promptly brought to them and Jareth gently tapped his against Toby's.
"To a better life," he said.
*~*~*~*~*
Nightfall was descending before Toby realized it. Several of the goblins had passed out on their backs from drinking too much liquor, their bellies swollen and tongues hanging grotesquely from open mouths. He too had drunk more than he had initially desired, but the courage and forgetfulness it instilled within his mind were much appreciated and he even found himself having fun with the lively goblins. They were filthy and crude, but had the talent for sustaining a gathering. Most of this was due to their habit of drinking a good deal of ale.
Jareth was softly weaving a song to which a group of goblins accompanied with drums, sticks, and a crooked flute that made a surprisingly fluid sound. Toby reclined on a pile of blankets in the center of the grooved circle in the floor, trying not to return the man's intent gaze as he sang. The Goblin King's voice was exquisite and low, its echo like a chorus from the walls. Toby allowed the alcohol to worm a pleasantly warm path through his veins as he slipped his lids closed. But whenever he opened them, Jareth's eyes were on him, gazing with a strange sort of fascination. They tried to pull him in the way a spider captures an insect, but Toby would look away before the spell could be completed.
The song ended and the goblins all thumped whatever was in hand against the floor in appreciation, laughing gruffly. Jareth stood and bowed deeply, baring his teeth in a fantastic smile. He strode down the shallow steps and stood before Toby, his smile transformed to a smirk.
"Have I told you how marvelous you look in my clothes, Jareth?" the king asked.
Toby looked up and fought to suppress a blush of embarrassment.
After a moment the Goblin King said more seriously, "You haven't danced with me yet tonight."
"With you?" Toby said dumbly. His blush couldn't be held back any more.
Jareth offered the youth his hand. "Come, don't insult your gracious host."
Toby took the outstretched hand to stand and was immediately pulled into Jareth's firm body before he could breathe. The Goblin King circled an arm around the small of the youth's back and forced their fingers to mesh as he led them back to the main floor. The tall man dressed in pure white began to croon once again, a different song in a different language, yet Toby could hear a note of tragedy in the melody.
Now he had no choice but to fall into those blue eyes of the Goblin Lord as they traveled the room in slow tight circles. The sounds of the goblins faded and all that the young man could hear was Jareth's soothing voice caressing his ears with its ancient lullaby. Soon the room itself followed, and Toby believed that they were the only two people in the entire universe.
The thought of being so close to Jareth, much less dancing with him, had disturbed Toby. He had never felt so strangely attracted to someone of his own gender, though Jareth seemed to defy those limits somehow. Perhaps his will was no longer under his control. The Goblin King had a way about him that seemed to acquire anything it desired. But now that no longer mattered. He was hopelessly entangled in the web.
Jareth continued his seduction upon the mortal, gently taking over the youth's senses. The wine made it so much simpler, of that much did the humans have in common on a wide basis. And he was no longer in the mood to bide his time. Though he had silently decided to put Toby in his right mind before unleashing upon him certain terrors, he could not resist the way the mortal looked this night. And it had been so long, so infernally long. He could spare just one night.
The haunting song faded from Jareth's lips and they simply stared at one another. It was Toby that broke the silence.
"Who are you?" he whispered in earnest longing, entranced.
Jareth's face revealed no emotion as he replied, "I can illustrate such things better than they are told."
He led the youth up the stairs as smoothly as if they had floated and flames of silver-blue were birthed in every candelabrum upon their entrance into the lavishly furnished room. The Goblin King closed the heavy door upon the outside world and fixed his attention on the object of his whims. Lifting his slender hands, Jareth worked at the shining cloak fastened at his neck and let it drop to the floor. He then slid them slowly under the youth's ears and up over the back of his head before pulling the ribbon out that bound such gloriously soft hair. The silk strand fell unheeded to the floor as Jareth closed the remaining distance, rewarding his lips with the taste they longed to know.
From somewhere in the back of Toby's mind came a faint warning bell, a weak insistence that he should fight and escape. But whatever sorcery Jareth had used to entrap him in complete and utter seduction had worked too masterfully. His mouth yielded to the Goblin Lord's without resistance.
Jareth wound his hands into the mortal's thick blond hair and pressed their bodies so close not a sliver of light could fall between them. His tongue found the other's and slid about it sensuously. A game though it may have been, his lust could no longer be tamed when he heard a low groan escape Toby's throat. Perhaps he would get his screaming sooner than he thought.
The Goblin King gently forced the youth toward the bed, his hands untying the loose white shirt at his fingertips all the while. When the antique of his destination stopped them, Jareth pushed the boy onto his back, their lips only breaking as he lifted the treacherous shirt over the boy's head before casting it carelessly to the floor, his fingers finding new distraction in the wondrously hairless chest it had contained. Their mouths reclaimed one another, hunger and passion steadily rising.
After a particularly deep swoop of his tongue, Jareth withdrew and replaced it on the youth's fragile neck. A hot trail of saliva was left from his deliberately slow ministration before a collarbone stopped him. He came back up the neglected side of Toby's throat with his sharp teeth, relishing in the mortal tremor they induced.
The youth was thoroughly aroused at this point, and from what Jareth could tell from it, he would not be disappointed. He ground his hips into those below him and purred in the human's ear, delighting in the faint trace of musk already dancing in the air.
After sliding his tongue into that ear, Jareth whispered darkly, "Welcome home."
Toby rolled his head to the side and groaned; submissively easing his legs apart to more comfortably accommodate his seducer. The latter was appreciative of this gesture and showed it by working the simple fastenings of the boy's breeches open. He sat up to draw the tall boots from the youth's feet before sliding the suddenly-too-tight pants from the sculpted legs that held them on. When the mortal lay completely prone beneath him, Jareth allowed himself a moment to admire the great work of art of whose curves and angles he should have been able to predict. For surely Sarah's body would have been just as fine as her male counterpart's.
The Goblin Lord swept his own upper garments to join the heap on the floor, recalling that if she hadn't had the marvelous luck to conquer him, he could very well be having them both right now. The thought inspired a fresh wave of molten lust in his body tinged with anger. His hands tore the fastenings of his pants open with certain ferocity and he discarded them quickly, suddenly annoyed that he had kept them on this long.
Toby stared up at him with heavily lidded eyes that spoke of lust and fearful awe alike. Jareth wasted no more time and descended on him fully, ravaging his lips like an animal. The youth squirmed when his lower lip broke and a trail of blood emerged, taken up with rapture of the dominating man's tongue in a complimentary savory manner. Their hardened sexes slid together in hot friction and Jareth's blood seemed to blaze in his veins. He couldn't wait much longer.
Pulling away, he resumed his attention on the youth's neck and chest, descending until it finally found the object it sought. Toby was hot as soon as his mouth touched him, and he stroked the young man's arousal with his serpent-like tongue. The mortal cried out in agonizing pleasure, arching his back as his victor worked him higher. It wouldn't take long for that searing heat to demanding release.
Jareth brought on that final release with one final masterful stroke of his tongue, spending just a moment to imbed the taste in his immortal memory. He lifted his head and returned to Toby's mouth, forcing him to share in the sweet memory as his hand slid firmly to rescue the wetness left behind. Fingers fell lower with their spoils, edging into the tight heat that he would fully claim all too soon.
Toby jerked in resistance against him but Jareth pinned him tight, breathing raggedly into the youth's ear. The body beneath him trembled with searing heat and fear but he would no longer be merciful. His fingers conjured maddeningly glorious images in his mind as Jareth prepared his summoner's body. The little whimpers of pain on the boy's lips were absolutely irresistible and the Goblin King flexed his fingers to hear their chorus. He could wait no more.
In a single movement of horrific grace, Jareth took the mortal. He plunged in to the hilt and shuddered in ecstasy when a scream of shock ripped from the youth's throat. But his movements were slow to start as he forced the backs of the boy's legs up against his thighs and clamped his arms up over his head. Such beauty. Such perfect submissiveness. Just the way it should be.
Jareth gazed intently at the boy whose eyes remained closed in his infernal dance of pleasure and pain. Of all the treasures and singularities he had allowed his eyes to feast upon, this was by far the most beautiful. His deep thrusts quickened.
Toby gasped and cried out again, tears spilling from the corners of his eyes. The Goblin Lord bent to retrieve them before they could grow cold and he whispered again in the mortal's ear.
"It's a shame I couldn't see you ripen to such exquisiteness."
Toby opened his eyes to meet the blue ones that nearly and strangely mirrored his own, his mouth pulling in cool air with sharp gasps. Jareth met the gaze with his own serious one and thrust harder still. His hand reclaimed what his mouth had recently tasted and the symphony of delectation began its crescendo.
Time and space and rational thought were all but shadows in those last blessed moments. Jareth tightened his grip on Toby's wrists and his ministrations were severe to the breaking point. Only when the mortal screamed out and burned his hand did he will his own release, vanishing in the glaring lights of oblivion and taking the boy with him. He held them there for as long as his power would allow and still the screaming and tremors ripped the air the way a violin string holds for a seemingly impossible series of infinite seconds. The light was searing, the closest thing to heaven he would ever touch.
He decended them slowly for fear he would shock the child into death. Collapsing on top of the boy, Jareth breathed hard, his heartbeat almost matching the race of the one beneath him. For several moments they laid entwined within one another before Jareth rolled away and pulled Toby over into his arms. The youth's flesh was pale and trembling as if he had just stepped away from the abyss adjoining Heaven and Hell. And indeed he had.
The Goblin King kissed the cool damp forehead and remembered what it was like to hold another living body in his arms. The whole of the evening was one of his finest works of art, an exotic rendering built from pain and desire. For now, he was content. The wakefulness of the day before finally caught up with him as Jareth gradually eased into the downy clutch of Morpheus' sanctuary. But he took Toby with him, crooning the ancient tragic lullaby again in the boy's ear.
The fingers wrapped around his back squeezed lightly before they two were lost in the realm of darkened dreams.
*
To be continued . . .
*~*~*~*~*
* By Eerie *
*~*~*~*~* Chapter Two *~*~*~*~*
Seconds spiraled into eternity and still their eyes remained locked in a sort of peculiar battle of wits. Jareth's ivory teeth glittered malignantly in the glow of the cool room as he gazed in adoration at the trapped doe look in the other's eyes. The candles sputtered and smoked before he spoke again.
"You've grown quite well."
"How do you know me?" the youth asked and drew his brows close in confusion. His blue eyes shimmered with tears born of fear.
"My dear boy, how could I forget one who was very near to becoming my own?" the Goblin King asked and reached a slender hand to turn the child's face fully into the light, unhindered by shadows, by the chin. "They called you Toby, didn't they? I still think Jareth suits you better."
"Jareth?" The faint dawning of realization seemed to seep into the mortal's countenance as he was forced to face his admirer. Or perhaps his scrutinizer.
Jareth's face lit up. "Ah, you remember now do you?" His long-nailed hand released his captive and he stepped back.
Toby's eyes followed him uncertainly as he spoke in a matching voice, "The book. Yes . . . I think I remember. I was reading it before I fell asleep."
The youth exhaled as if he had held his breath from the moment he first opened his eyes to find he was no longer in the sanctity of his own room. Suddenly, his eyes shut and a fine sheen of sweat broke out on his forehead as he strained in concentration.
"Wake up, Toby; wake up," he whispered earnestly.
With the grace of a feline pouncing upon its prey, the Goblin Lord leapt on the bed and slammed his hands down on either side of Toby's head, shocking the youth's lids back open and his neck stiff like a surprised mouse. Jareth's lean body emanated the depths of its power as it hovered over the reclining one. His eyes narrowed darkly.
"That's the greetings I get after all these years? Begging for escape?" He leaned in closer and a shadow fell into the hollows of his face. "Well let me tell you, child, this is no dream you've unwittingly stumbled into," he paused to let the weight of his revelation sink in. "I'll be most disappointed if you tell me that you simply mumbled those damnable words in your sleep."
Toby was paralyzed with terror yet unable to tear his gaze from the deep shadow that concealed the Goblin King's eyes. The strange scents of newly decaying jasmine and roses lingered over him like an enchantment from the body of the man oppressing him.
"Well?" Jareth provoked.
"Please, I don't understand. I've never seen you before in my life," Toby pleaded and shook his head, on the verge of tears.
The Goblin King drew away fluidly to sit on his haunches over the youth's legs. The shadow lifted from his pale face just as the candlelight dimmed considerably, like a subtle warning of impending danger.
He stared incredulously at the boy. "She didn't tell you," he said so softly that Toby barely heard him.
Suddenly Jareth threw his head back and convulsed in wretched laughter. The flames on every wall sizzled and changed hue, casting the room in sickly green, making the Goblin Lord appear like a terrible emission from the seething depths of the night. His throaty laughter did not last long, and soon melted into a sort of deep feral growling. He spun from the bed and stalked to the window, resting his hands wide apart on the sill and staring out as if the boy was no longer there.
Toby watched in confusion as Jareth occupied himself with the scenery outside, an occasional bitter chuckle escaping the tall man's lips. Slowly, with painstaking care, the youth sat up and slid from the massive bed, stars of dizziness blurring his sight. He wavered momentarily and caught a tall wooden bedpost to steady himself, looking to see that the dark man's back was still turned to him. Cautiously, once his vision had cleared, he edged toward the door, hoping that his weakness would not cause him to stumble. The exit drew closer with each step and he eyed it longingly. The door looked heavy and old, and would surely give him away once opened. He braced himself, ready to spend the remainder of his strength to pull it ajar and bolt. His hand trembled as it reached for the iron handle.
Instead of the sensation of cold metal in his palm came a sudden jarring from behind as inhumanly strong arms crossed over his chest and yanked him back with toppling force, ripping the breath from his lungs. His jaw dropped to cry his astonishment but an icy hand stopped that intention as it clamped uncomfortably tight over his mouth. Toby's back landed hard against the Goblin King's chest and he was dismayed to find that he was held impossibly firm. The sweet scent of dead flowers, intoxicating to the point of nauseating, filled his senses until it consumed him. His pupils dilated with fear when a warm breath swirled teasingly over his left ear.
"You seem to think that you can escape, poor child. Really, that's very rude of you; after all, you only just arrived. You would have gone without a word?" The whisper was dark and rich as unsweetened chocolate, sending electric tremors up Toby's spine.
The warm breath moved away slowly and returned to pay homage to his other ear, hotter this time. "And just when the fun was about to begin."
Jareth smiled in satisfaction when a tear kissed his restraining hand. Sliding the other up Toby's throat, he stopped and squeezed the trembling jaw in what he knew to be a painful force. A heartbeat so urgent that it nearly felt as though it would break from the other's chest greeted him in return; he could feel it quicken even through the child's back, pulsing like a rapid drum against his fingertips. The sensation made his blood heat.
"Your timing is truly exceptional. I was becoming intolerably bored," the Goblin King stated and rested his chin on the crown of Toby's head. His grip on the boy's jaw loosened and he scraped his sharp nails along the soft flesh of his captive's throat, leaving dull red trails in their wake. He paused to press more firmly against the pulse that hammered through delicate veins.
The body in his arms suddenly went heavily limp and would have fallen to the floor if not for Jareth's closeness. The Goblin King gathered the unconscious summoner up like a ragdoll, thoroughly disappointed that his game had to end so abruptly. The screaming he had so desired would have to wait.
A cold breeze blew in through the window as he carried Toby back to rest upon his generous bed. Any trace of blood within the child's body was impossible to detect as he was laid out. Jareth stood and donned the look of one contemplating a piece of art as his eyes roved the deathly pale intruder. It was quickly diminished, however, when he pinpointed exactly where in that face laid bearings of the likeness of the young man's sister. It was mingled in the youth's marvelously full lips, the shapely curve of his chin, even in his soft hairline. Jareth sneered in contempt when he saw them, but more from the fact that he still found them irresistible than from spite.
He drew a bit closer and silently bade the windows closed to ease the mortal's shivers. He could not do much if the young man was deliriously ill. It might be worth it to allow the creature to revive, he thought. The game was so much more enjoyable when the players' senses and minds were fully able to comprehend its attributes. But the stakes had yet to be set.
Tilting his head to the side, Jareth pondered further on this. Perhaps, not entirely for the sake of relieving his current state of insipidity, he could find some use in the boy. Broken visions of his earlier fantasies fueled from past defeat and unfulfilled gratification provoked his lips to curve. Perhaps.
Turning his back theatrically, Jareth commanded the candles to extinguish themselves with a simple snap of his fingers before leaving the room, and the boy, to dark silence.
*~*~*~*~*
Heavy golden smog lingered low over the Labyrinth when the sun rose. The goblins were snoring from all corners of the common room, scattered about like the blankets and various articles of clothing they used for meager comforts. Jareth waded through them quietly as he approached the staircase leading to his quarters. He had not slept at all the night before, but found himself wandering about the castle like a madman when not entertaining himself with the goblins that were accustomed to staying awake until dawn. He had threaded an intricate path through the room of stairs, trying to lose himself in the tangle of steps without much success. He'd traveled them too many times to forget where each one lead.
The sunlight seemed a welcome prospect to him as he mounted the stairwell, eager to see if it had roused the youth taking up his bed. He donned white velvet this day with a matching cloak of heavy shimmering chiffon whose hem was irregular with various depths of jagged tears that followed fluidly up the stone steps, as if it had been made from the likeness of melting winter icicles. His soft leather boots, crafted from a rare mongrel breed of albino beast that could only be compared in close proximity to the thick- horned roe deer of the mortal world, carried him softly up the empty tunnel.
*~*~*~*~*
~ Toby's body ached with weariness, heavy as if his muscles had transformed to lead, when he opened his eyes. The scratchy harsh sounds of laughter from various throats that seemed so far away now bounced clearly from the cold walls that encompassed him with whatever creatures that made the noise. It was very dim and his eyes strained to see, to make out a shape that would ease or intensify his panic. Movement to his side.
He turned his head in a defensive gesture, finding that he could barely hold it steady. His eyes quickly adjusted to the ill light of the place and, to his horror, found that it was practically seething with small hairy bodies about the size of his own. A face emerged from the crowd of dancing creatures and smiled monstrously at him, its teeth crooked and spaced widely apart in a mouth too large for its head. Worse still, it reached out and fondled his hair, the pungent bitter stench of its sweat clinging to the air around it nearly making him gag.
Then he was lifted, higher and higher until the floor seemed miles away, before being settled into a pair of strong arms. The smell of his captor was unlike the terrible creatures skittering to and fro below him, spilling their glasses of questionable content over their feet in oblivious frenzy. No, the arms holding him smelled sweet and faintly musty, like wilted flowers.
He allowed his neck to collapse and his head fell into the nook of the sweetly scented being's arm. And his eyes could not help but drift. The smile that greeted him was no different from those of the monsters in nature, though far easier to look upon. But the eyes, the eyes pulled him in the way a snake paralyzes its victims and he was lost in their frighteningly endless depths when he heard the distant, desperate beckoning of his sister. ~
Toby awoke with a shudder and slid the back of his hand over his damp forehead. For a moment he lay in the afterglow of the vivid nightmare, thankful that it was not reality. He had had the dream before on many occasions; each time he had wakened ill and confused, as if he had just lived some aspect of the dream itself. But somehow this time was different. It was as though the intensity of it had been magnified threefold and his consciousness was there every moment.
The young man sat up, his clothes sticking to his body uncomfortably from sweat. His fever seemed less the fire that it was the day before and he was able to think more clearly when he realized that he was still not in his own room. His eyes fell downward first. The bed he lay in was larger than any he had ever seen, draped in luxurious ruby sheets and fine blanket. Its massive black wood posts stood like spears that nearly touched the high ceiling above. Spirals and loose knots were carved shallowly into them in undeterminable patterns.
Blue eyes traveled the things surrounding the mysterious resting place. Two high-backed chairs upholstered in thick black velvet and studded with gold furniture pins sat in the corner near the tremendous window. Before them was a redwood table with short legs that swooped and narrowed at end like upturned falcon claws. The rug beneath them was of exotically woven threads in deep reds, muted grays, and blacks. The floor itself was the same gray stone as the walls of the room, though it was difficult to say what kind. It sparkled as if made from glittery sand, giving the room a surreal quality. A massive dark mirror framed in golden whorls hung upon the wall over the chairs between two matching candelabras filled with blood red candles, whose wax descended into hardened spikes from past burnings. On the other side of the window was an angled bookcase that filled the space between and almost touched where the door was on the wall before him. Staggering amounts of books adorned its shelves, some piled on the tops of the others.
Toby hadn't realized that his mouth was hanging open in awe. The room was exquisitely beautiful.
Against the opposite wall rested another mirror similar to its companion, only it touched the floor. Next to it, a large black wardrobe with two matching skeleton hands clasped together at the front for its latch. Toby's eyes followed the great doors upward and saw the great skull resting like a sentry on the wardrobe's top, its eyes set with rubies that seemed to burn with life. The sight of it reminded him of his fear and prone state and he turned his head, praying that he still lay in the outskirts of his dream.
Just then, the door whispered open. He would not have noticed if he hadn't seen the flash of white that stood out from its surroundings like a gull in a black sea. A certain creeping dread edged up his spine as his head lifted to behold the one wearing the shining garments. The journey was slow, but his eyes finally came to rest upon the striking face he instantly recognized as that from his dream. He could no longer move. His head was a cyclone of scattered puzzle pieces. There was something more there, if only he could place it.
Jareth closed the door behind him and stopped just at its threshold, seeing his summoner awake and none too expecting. The boy was staring at him in something like tortured frustration. The Goblin King's gaze flickered between Toby's eyes as if reading a fascinating book. Then a smile graced his lips.
"Realized something?" he asked and crossed his arms. "Please share; it's not nice to keep one in suspense."
"So it was real all this time. Why would she lie to me?" Toby said softly, caught in the king's hypnotizing observation.
Jareth unfolded his arms and walked slowly toward the bed. He sat weightlessly at its edge, never breaking his gaze. There was something indignant shining in that look.
"She was a wicked girl. And wicked girls love to tell lies to their innocent brothers," he said and leaned forward. "What did she tell you, Jareth?"
Toby knit his brows in confusion at being addressed by that name and quickly forgot the insult directed at his sibling. But he continued, not wanting to provoke the man's anger. "It was the book. The storybook. She never spoke of it as anything more. But . . . I always felt there was something more anyway."
Jareth's penetrating look softened and he soothed his hand over the young man's cheek. Memories of the evening before must have returned like a lance, for Toby flinched away from his hand as if it were poisoned. Jareth yielded.
"Are you still unwell? Come, you'll want something to drink surely." The Goblin Lord stood and held a long arm out in expectancy. Seeing the youth's uncertainty, he added with the slightest hint of a spell, "You've been dreaming, child; you've nothing to fear now. Especially since a proper welcoming party is in order." He smiled broadly.
Toby pushed himself from the bed and stood. "No, I must go back soon. There's been a mistake."
Jareth ignored him and instead roved the youth's state of disarray. "But this won't do at all." He thrust his hand out as if to strike the boy's face and was rewarded with a wince. But his hand stopped there and wavered down the length of Toby's stature.
The youth looked down, amazed to find his street clothes replaced by the finest garments he had ever seen upon himself. Lightweight velvet breeches of deep jet hugged his hips flatteringly below a loose white shirt with flared cuffs. Soft leather boots of even deeper onyx touched just below his knees and fit with surprising comfort. His long blond hair was combed back into a low ponytail with two strands let free in the front. His mouth opened in bewilderment as he studied himself.
Jareth tilted his head to the side, greatly admiring his work. "Now, that's more like it. Shall we then?"
Of course, Toby had no choice but to follow the Goblin King through the door and into the heart of the castle. As they walked down the steps, Jareth stole a glance at the fine young man at his side, seeing the soft traces of Sarah's features once again. He suddenly ached to devour that face, in more ways than one, but restrained the urge at such an inappropriate time. That in itself was an essential part of the game.
A few stray goblins were stretching their sleep-bound muscles when the pair descended the stairs. They jumped up and bowed respectfully to Jareth, but not without eyeing the newcomer suspiciously.
The Goblin Lord looked about the room of snoring creatures with annoyance. With an upraised hand he summoned a great peal of thunder that shook the foundations of the entire castle. The snoring immediately ceased and the goblins were on their feet, looking at one another with alarm.
"My minions! I bid you welcome our guest back after many long years. I trust you've not forgotten my goblin babe?" Jareth called out and waited for a general agreement around the room to meet his expectations.
The creatures all nodded in animated remembrance of the grown child at one another and to their king and his "guest", though only half of it was genuine.
Jareth smirked and placed an arm around Toby's shoulders, drawing him closer. "Shall we celebrate his pleasantly unexpected arrival?"
The word ignited a widespread roar of approval. Goblins jumped up and began to scatter in search of various items worthy of a great celebration. They clattered back and forth with large barrels, mugs, and loudly squawking black chickens.
Toby watched in mute horror as he saw the creatures from his nightmare come to life. Yet Jareth must have sensed it, for he moved his hand from the youth's shoulder and replaced it on the side of his head. Toby felt the Goblin Lord press his forehead to the other side, against his own temple.
"You came here among the goblins as a defenseless baby and went away perfectly unharmed. What could you possibly fear now that you are a man?" the king whispered sultrily in his ear. "And in my favor."
Toby listened to the words with heart. They seemed to make sense to him, for surely he could hardly comprehend anything but terror in such surroundings as a simple baby. Perhaps there really was nothing to fear. It was all very strange, but also very different from the mundane world so full of monotonous routine that he could scarcely afford to miss it. He watched the creatures' determined duties for his special honor and felt a small smile hug his lips.
Jareth grinned in satisfaction when he saw it and dropped his hand from the boy's head. His attentions joined the mortal's as the first round of ale began to flow among the goblins. Two chalices were promptly brought to them and Jareth gently tapped his against Toby's.
"To a better life," he said.
*~*~*~*~*
Nightfall was descending before Toby realized it. Several of the goblins had passed out on their backs from drinking too much liquor, their bellies swollen and tongues hanging grotesquely from open mouths. He too had drunk more than he had initially desired, but the courage and forgetfulness it instilled within his mind were much appreciated and he even found himself having fun with the lively goblins. They were filthy and crude, but had the talent for sustaining a gathering. Most of this was due to their habit of drinking a good deal of ale.
Jareth was softly weaving a song to which a group of goblins accompanied with drums, sticks, and a crooked flute that made a surprisingly fluid sound. Toby reclined on a pile of blankets in the center of the grooved circle in the floor, trying not to return the man's intent gaze as he sang. The Goblin King's voice was exquisite and low, its echo like a chorus from the walls. Toby allowed the alcohol to worm a pleasantly warm path through his veins as he slipped his lids closed. But whenever he opened them, Jareth's eyes were on him, gazing with a strange sort of fascination. They tried to pull him in the way a spider captures an insect, but Toby would look away before the spell could be completed.
The song ended and the goblins all thumped whatever was in hand against the floor in appreciation, laughing gruffly. Jareth stood and bowed deeply, baring his teeth in a fantastic smile. He strode down the shallow steps and stood before Toby, his smile transformed to a smirk.
"Have I told you how marvelous you look in my clothes, Jareth?" the king asked.
Toby looked up and fought to suppress a blush of embarrassment.
After a moment the Goblin King said more seriously, "You haven't danced with me yet tonight."
"With you?" Toby said dumbly. His blush couldn't be held back any more.
Jareth offered the youth his hand. "Come, don't insult your gracious host."
Toby took the outstretched hand to stand and was immediately pulled into Jareth's firm body before he could breathe. The Goblin King circled an arm around the small of the youth's back and forced their fingers to mesh as he led them back to the main floor. The tall man dressed in pure white began to croon once again, a different song in a different language, yet Toby could hear a note of tragedy in the melody.
Now he had no choice but to fall into those blue eyes of the Goblin Lord as they traveled the room in slow tight circles. The sounds of the goblins faded and all that the young man could hear was Jareth's soothing voice caressing his ears with its ancient lullaby. Soon the room itself followed, and Toby believed that they were the only two people in the entire universe.
The thought of being so close to Jareth, much less dancing with him, had disturbed Toby. He had never felt so strangely attracted to someone of his own gender, though Jareth seemed to defy those limits somehow. Perhaps his will was no longer under his control. The Goblin King had a way about him that seemed to acquire anything it desired. But now that no longer mattered. He was hopelessly entangled in the web.
Jareth continued his seduction upon the mortal, gently taking over the youth's senses. The wine made it so much simpler, of that much did the humans have in common on a wide basis. And he was no longer in the mood to bide his time. Though he had silently decided to put Toby in his right mind before unleashing upon him certain terrors, he could not resist the way the mortal looked this night. And it had been so long, so infernally long. He could spare just one night.
The haunting song faded from Jareth's lips and they simply stared at one another. It was Toby that broke the silence.
"Who are you?" he whispered in earnest longing, entranced.
Jareth's face revealed no emotion as he replied, "I can illustrate such things better than they are told."
He led the youth up the stairs as smoothly as if they had floated and flames of silver-blue were birthed in every candelabrum upon their entrance into the lavishly furnished room. The Goblin King closed the heavy door upon the outside world and fixed his attention on the object of his whims. Lifting his slender hands, Jareth worked at the shining cloak fastened at his neck and let it drop to the floor. He then slid them slowly under the youth's ears and up over the back of his head before pulling the ribbon out that bound such gloriously soft hair. The silk strand fell unheeded to the floor as Jareth closed the remaining distance, rewarding his lips with the taste they longed to know.
From somewhere in the back of Toby's mind came a faint warning bell, a weak insistence that he should fight and escape. But whatever sorcery Jareth had used to entrap him in complete and utter seduction had worked too masterfully. His mouth yielded to the Goblin Lord's without resistance.
Jareth wound his hands into the mortal's thick blond hair and pressed their bodies so close not a sliver of light could fall between them. His tongue found the other's and slid about it sensuously. A game though it may have been, his lust could no longer be tamed when he heard a low groan escape Toby's throat. Perhaps he would get his screaming sooner than he thought.
The Goblin King gently forced the youth toward the bed, his hands untying the loose white shirt at his fingertips all the while. When the antique of his destination stopped them, Jareth pushed the boy onto his back, their lips only breaking as he lifted the treacherous shirt over the boy's head before casting it carelessly to the floor, his fingers finding new distraction in the wondrously hairless chest it had contained. Their mouths reclaimed one another, hunger and passion steadily rising.
After a particularly deep swoop of his tongue, Jareth withdrew and replaced it on the youth's fragile neck. A hot trail of saliva was left from his deliberately slow ministration before a collarbone stopped him. He came back up the neglected side of Toby's throat with his sharp teeth, relishing in the mortal tremor they induced.
The youth was thoroughly aroused at this point, and from what Jareth could tell from it, he would not be disappointed. He ground his hips into those below him and purred in the human's ear, delighting in the faint trace of musk already dancing in the air.
After sliding his tongue into that ear, Jareth whispered darkly, "Welcome home."
Toby rolled his head to the side and groaned; submissively easing his legs apart to more comfortably accommodate his seducer. The latter was appreciative of this gesture and showed it by working the simple fastenings of the boy's breeches open. He sat up to draw the tall boots from the youth's feet before sliding the suddenly-too-tight pants from the sculpted legs that held them on. When the mortal lay completely prone beneath him, Jareth allowed himself a moment to admire the great work of art of whose curves and angles he should have been able to predict. For surely Sarah's body would have been just as fine as her male counterpart's.
The Goblin Lord swept his own upper garments to join the heap on the floor, recalling that if she hadn't had the marvelous luck to conquer him, he could very well be having them both right now. The thought inspired a fresh wave of molten lust in his body tinged with anger. His hands tore the fastenings of his pants open with certain ferocity and he discarded them quickly, suddenly annoyed that he had kept them on this long.
Toby stared up at him with heavily lidded eyes that spoke of lust and fearful awe alike. Jareth wasted no more time and descended on him fully, ravaging his lips like an animal. The youth squirmed when his lower lip broke and a trail of blood emerged, taken up with rapture of the dominating man's tongue in a complimentary savory manner. Their hardened sexes slid together in hot friction and Jareth's blood seemed to blaze in his veins. He couldn't wait much longer.
Pulling away, he resumed his attention on the youth's neck and chest, descending until it finally found the object it sought. Toby was hot as soon as his mouth touched him, and he stroked the young man's arousal with his serpent-like tongue. The mortal cried out in agonizing pleasure, arching his back as his victor worked him higher. It wouldn't take long for that searing heat to demanding release.
Jareth brought on that final release with one final masterful stroke of his tongue, spending just a moment to imbed the taste in his immortal memory. He lifted his head and returned to Toby's mouth, forcing him to share in the sweet memory as his hand slid firmly to rescue the wetness left behind. Fingers fell lower with their spoils, edging into the tight heat that he would fully claim all too soon.
Toby jerked in resistance against him but Jareth pinned him tight, breathing raggedly into the youth's ear. The body beneath him trembled with searing heat and fear but he would no longer be merciful. His fingers conjured maddeningly glorious images in his mind as Jareth prepared his summoner's body. The little whimpers of pain on the boy's lips were absolutely irresistible and the Goblin King flexed his fingers to hear their chorus. He could wait no more.
In a single movement of horrific grace, Jareth took the mortal. He plunged in to the hilt and shuddered in ecstasy when a scream of shock ripped from the youth's throat. But his movements were slow to start as he forced the backs of the boy's legs up against his thighs and clamped his arms up over his head. Such beauty. Such perfect submissiveness. Just the way it should be.
Jareth gazed intently at the boy whose eyes remained closed in his infernal dance of pleasure and pain. Of all the treasures and singularities he had allowed his eyes to feast upon, this was by far the most beautiful. His deep thrusts quickened.
Toby gasped and cried out again, tears spilling from the corners of his eyes. The Goblin Lord bent to retrieve them before they could grow cold and he whispered again in the mortal's ear.
"It's a shame I couldn't see you ripen to such exquisiteness."
Toby opened his eyes to meet the blue ones that nearly and strangely mirrored his own, his mouth pulling in cool air with sharp gasps. Jareth met the gaze with his own serious one and thrust harder still. His hand reclaimed what his mouth had recently tasted and the symphony of delectation began its crescendo.
Time and space and rational thought were all but shadows in those last blessed moments. Jareth tightened his grip on Toby's wrists and his ministrations were severe to the breaking point. Only when the mortal screamed out and burned his hand did he will his own release, vanishing in the glaring lights of oblivion and taking the boy with him. He held them there for as long as his power would allow and still the screaming and tremors ripped the air the way a violin string holds for a seemingly impossible series of infinite seconds. The light was searing, the closest thing to heaven he would ever touch.
He decended them slowly for fear he would shock the child into death. Collapsing on top of the boy, Jareth breathed hard, his heartbeat almost matching the race of the one beneath him. For several moments they laid entwined within one another before Jareth rolled away and pulled Toby over into his arms. The youth's flesh was pale and trembling as if he had just stepped away from the abyss adjoining Heaven and Hell. And indeed he had.
The Goblin King kissed the cool damp forehead and remembered what it was like to hold another living body in his arms. The whole of the evening was one of his finest works of art, an exotic rendering built from pain and desire. For now, he was content. The wakefulness of the day before finally caught up with him as Jareth gradually eased into the downy clutch of Morpheus' sanctuary. But he took Toby with him, crooning the ancient tragic lullaby again in the boy's ear.
The fingers wrapped around his back squeezed lightly before they two were lost in the realm of darkened dreams.
*
To be continued . . .
*~*~*~*~*