Chapter 45: Blocked Magic
"What do you mean, 'she's all right'?" Jareth shouted at the Unicorn Queen. "If she were all right, she'd be here! If she were all right, she'd have slept in her bed last night! Instead, Lorikar tells me she never went back to her room after she left me last night, and Daxon tells me she couldn't have left the castle without him knowing. So if she's here, and if she's all right, then where the hell is she?"
Alia shook her head, an equine negation. "I cannot tell you, Jareth. I do not know. She is blocked with some sort of dark green magic and I cannot find her."
"How about Daxon, then?" Jareth turned sharply to address his host. "It's your castle, Dax. Can you find her?"
The little king shook his head and scowled. He placed a hand on his axe, fastened to his belt. "If even Alia is being blocked, then my miniscule magics are no good, Jareth. You know we dwarves are craftsmen, not magicians. I will say this, though—if she has been kidnapped or harmed in any way, I claim the attacker's life in forfeit! I extended safety to all of my guests, and I wouldn't want to be Princess Sarah's attacker when I find him!"
Jareth ran his hands through his hair in frustration. "You'll have to get in line behind me, then, as I have a prior claim on his life. I appreciate that you gave your surety to all your guests, but Sarah wears my protection around her neck."
Daxon bowed, conceding Jareth's claim.
"Jareth," Alia asked gently, "If Sarah has your protection around her neck, why has she not used it?"
"She doesn't know how," Jareth moaned. Why, oh, why hadn't he taken the time to tell Sarah how to use the crystal he'd given her? All he'd said was that it worked like his other crystals, but he'd never said exactly how the others worked! Damn him, he thought, and damn his precious sense of "mystery." If his ego and pride ended up getting Sarah hurt, he would never forgive himself. Never.
"We must start the final celebration, Jareth. We will not stop looking for Sarah, but we also cannot hold off on the final night's festivities."
"What if she's not back yet, by the time you question the rulers about their betrothals?" Jareth demanded.
Alia sighed. "Let us hope that we can find her by then. If she is not, there is nothing I can do. Not with the entire Underground gathered under this roof. I am sorry, Jareth." Alia gave him a sympathetic nudge with her muzzle, and then left.
"Daxon?"
"My people are looking for her, Jareth. As many as I can spare. But… forgive me, but I have to ask you—are you sure she isn't just avoiding you? She knows you are going to propose marriage to her this evening. What if she is not ready to give you an answer? Would she hide from you?"
Jareth shook his head, scowling. "Sarah has never been one to hide. She faces her problems head-on. Especially if her problem is me. No, Dax. I know something has happened to her."
The dwarf-king nodded up at Jareth in a surprisingly sympathetic manner for such a well-armed and scowling little man. "I'll excuse you from the festivities tonight if you want to look for her yourself."
Jareth nodded. "Thanks. I will." He strode away from Daxon, muttering as he formed a crystal and glared into it.