Chapter 4: Fear
Fear stared coldly down at the girl. She lay in a heap, twisted uncomfortably against the edge of the book case. He exhaled slowly, his breath seeping out of the hood in a long, chilling hiss. She must be dead. From the talk he'd heard he had been certain she would put up more of a fight than that. It was a bit disappointing, really. The rock had fallen, and with a shriek, no less.
Ah, well. He didn't have time for this. He had a job to do, and it would simply have to be done without her. Turning away from the girl's body he began to search the office. The thunder and lightning outside continued, blasting mercilessly at the house. Fear spread his thin white lips into a tight smile. What a drama queen that man could be, he thought. If only Jareth knew what a help he was being by sending that blessed mess. Of course, if he knew that, he would likely realize a number of things that Fear did not want him to know, and that would just make things difficult. It was better that he thought the silly little girl was ignoring his orders.
He wasn't overly worried that Jareth would come looking for Tabitha. If she ignored him for long enough he would most likely turn his back on her and withdraw his power. She wasn't overly important to him, and he was far too wrapped up in his own troubles to worry about her disobedience. With any luck he would never learn of her death, or pause to wonder about the map she kept until it was too late for him to do anything about it.
He took his time searching. With the slightest wave of his hand, he turned over every last piece of furniture, opened and dumped every drawer, relentlessly combed over every last inch of the house, leaving a trail of destruction in his wake. He found nothing. His anger mounting, he went back to the office and violently stirred up the area near the girl's body. Nothing. There was only one place left to look.
Furious now, he thrust his hands at her torso. They passed completely through her to the floor below, leaving no mark. It was as if he were nothing more than a ghost. Spreading his fingers, he raked his hands through her in search of the one item he could make physical contact with. As his hands passed through her heart she flinched, jerking herself sharply against the book case. He paused, surprised. So, she was still alive. How very interesting.
He finished his search, finding nothing in the end. Damn it all, he was running out of time! He whirled about and ran down the hallway, stopping in front of the full length mirror. Instead of his reflection he saw a long winding path lined with stones leading up to a squat little stone house on a hill. Glancing at the clock on the wall, he grimaced and stepped through the glass, leaving the destruction behind him.