Chapter Sixteen: Something in the Air

The help that Delaine had predicted did indeed arrive over the course of the following days. Under normal circumstances Sarah would have been delighted by the array of fantastic beings that arrived at the castle. Some were inhabitants of the Underground, others came from realms that opposed Khazad and were willing to aid the Goblin King. Elves and Fairies - of different sizes, depending on where they came from - mingled with Centaurs, Satyrs and creatures that neither Sarah nor Toby could name. A small squad of dwarves arrived, all with the same craggy, weather-beaten faces as Hoggle.

The atmosphere in the castle had changed: Sarah had not realised how the air was always filled with laughter and snatches of song, until it stopped. Now the dominant sound was a low rumbling: the armouries - in caverns below the castle and stretching out beneath the Goblin City - had been working night and day and even the Goblins whose normal duties did not include military training had dutifully trooped down to clad themselves in breastplates and helmets. They were volunteers, not conscripts. Some of them were pathetically small; the sight of their determined faces was heartbreaking. Despite Jareth's strengthening of the castle's magical defences, the psychic assaults had continued: Jareth and Delaine had borne the brunt of them, but all the occupants of the castle had found their sleep disrupted by terrifying and frequently incomprehensible nightmares.

'If I thought wishes would help...'

'What would you wish?'

She had requested a meeting with Jareth - requested, as she had barely seen him for the past couple of days. They met in the conservatory, the only place in the castle where the grumblings of the war machine could be neither heard nor felt.

'I'd wish that none of this was happening,' Sarah answered. 'I'd wish that Khazad would say "Hey, you know what? The Underground is fine the way it is; let's just leave it alone". But I guess it doesn't work like that, does it?'

'Sadly not.' He joined her at one of the lookout points and they stared across the Labyrinth together. 'You and Toby should go home.'

'We talked about that.' She noticed his wry expression. 'Well, everyone keeps telling me that he has a right to know what's going on and a right to make his own decisions. He is a very bright kid. You were right - and you have no idea how much it pains me to say that.'

She was glad to see the stern set of his features relax a little. 'My, my. I do believe that was very nearly a compliment.'

Sarah smiled and then grew more serious. 'We've decided to stay.'

'Are you sure that's wise?'

'I don't know. I do know that I'm a part of this now and I can't just walk away from that, even if a part of me wants to. And Toby threatened to wish himself back here if I take him home, anyway, so...' She shrugged. 'He thinks we can help. He's having delusions of grandeur if he thinks for one moment that he's going to ride out to battle at the head of a Goblin army. I knew I shouldn't have given him The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe to read.'

'Hmm, yes,' Jareth said thoughtfully. 'The last thing we need is someone quoting a talking lion.'

Sarah stared at him. 'You've read it?'

His eyes flashed with amusement and for a moment he looked like himself again. 'Delaine thinks it a good idea for me to read mortals' literature. You find this funny?'

Sarah wiped her eyes and raised them to meet his questioning gaze. 'I'm sorry. I'm just having a hard time trying to picture you curled up on your throne tucking into the latest Grisham.'

Another blank look.

'You obviously haven't reached late twentieth century fiction yet. John Grisham, he writes legal thrillers and stuff like that. My dad... My dad was a big fan.' Her voice was wistful more than sad and she saw her own emotion mirrored in his face. 'Can't you ... can't you just turn back time, or freeze it or something? Then this won't be happening.'

'Keep us all in one giant crystal, you mean?'

'Something like that.' She could feel her throat tightening and gripped her hands together until her nails dug into her own flesh. She wanted him to see her strong.

'Your faith in my omnipotence is flattering.' His voice had acquired a strangely husky note. 'That would be a wonderful idea, but I would have to alter time in every realm and every world for that to work - and I'm not powerful enough for that.'

The pressure behind her eyes was becoming unbearable. All the things she had wanted to say to him seemed pointless now. 'This is so...' She choked on the words, half-laughing at herself. 'So unfair. You don't deserve for any of this to be happening. None of you do.' He remained silent. She studied his face, aware that such an undertaking was unnecessary - she already knew every line of his features by heart.

'You know, I made a promise to myself a long time ago that I'd stop acting like a drama queen. These last few days haven't exactly been my finest hour - I seem to have done nothing but yell at you since I got here.'

'Understandable,' he said; his gaze lingered on her. 'Kidnapped, drugged, in fear of your life...' He paused. 'Goblins. It's enough to try even my temper.'

Everything inside her was slowly being squeezed until she felt as though she was barely inhabiting her own body. 'It wasn't supposed to be like this. Seeing you again... It wasn't supposed to happen like this.'

He was leaning against one of the pillars, the tendrils from the creepers gently toying with his hair. 'How did you picture it? In a crystal ballroom?'

Sarah brushed burning tears away impatiently. 'Yeah. Pretty stupid, huh?'

'Not at all. It was a beautiful dream. I'm glad that you enjoy the memory of it.'

A shout from somewhere below distracted both of them. A large group, marching in regimented lines, was making its way determinedly towards the castle's main portico.

'More reinforcements,' Jareth commented.

'Who are they?'

'Mountain Elves. I should go and speak with them.'

He was almost at the top of the staircase when she spoke. 'It's funny - that's the one thing I didn't think we'd ever run out of.'

'What?'

'Time.'

ooOoo

The Elven cloaks were a strange, burnished green that changed in colour as they walked, the way a field changes when the clouds scud across the sun. Their intricate breastplates and helmets glinted and the small platoon bristled with spears and quivers of arrows. Delaine was already there to meet them and they came to a thunderous halt before her, the dust churned up by their heavy boots slowly settling around them. Their leader stepped forward, greeting her with ceremonial obeisances: he was tall and dark haired, with slanted eyes of piercing green.

'Rajad. I did not think that you would come.'

A flicker that could have been a smile passed across his face. 'Did you think that because of our differences, Delaine, that we would not honour the treaty with your land?'

'I meant you personally, Rajad, not you collectively. I suppose I should have known better.'

'Yes, you should.' He paused. 'You look well. Life with the mortals must agree with you.'

'I like it. How are your family?'

'Well, thank you.' His eyes lingered on her face for a moment and then flickered past her. 'Your Majesty.'

'Lord Rajad.' Delaine stepped back as Jareth greeted his former brother-in-law; the two men gripped one another's arms. 'We meet in unhappy times.'

'The King wished me to convey his greetings and also his apologies that he could not spare more troops.'

Jareth cast an eye over the impressive, immobile array. 'I am grateful that you have come, Rajad. Billets have been prepared in the north wing, if your soldiers want to rest.'

Rajad bowed and turned to the ranks, delivering a peremptory instruction. The Elves turned with the precision born of long practise and, as one, marched in the direction indicated. Jareth offered his arm to Delaine; she accepted it gratefully. Rajad kept Jareth between himself and Delaine; the three of them proceeded up the steps and into the castle.

ooOoo

The throne room appeared to expand as needed: it was always a large room, but Sarah was certain that it could not ordinarily hold so many people and still have space to spare. Those gathered were not the regular soldiers who had arrived, but their commanders and advisers. What would have been termed the chiefs-of-staff in Sarah's world, she thought, trying to make sense of it all.

The wall behind the throne itself was draped with banners of black and purple bearing, alternately, the stylised image of a moon or a white bird - the ceremonial symbols of the Underground. The depression set into the floor of the room now held a miniature replica of the Labyrinth and its surrounding lands; as they discussed the battle strategy, it would obligingly remould itself in order to focus on the particular area in question. Her eyes wandered over the crowd until she located her brother. He had, naturally, ignored her instructions to stay by her. Equally naturally, she thought, he had gravitated toward Delaine.

Toby looked up at the Princess. Her face was sombre and the colour had drained out of her cheeks; she kept her eyes focused on the speakers, but when Toby came to a stop next to her she briefly rested her hand on his shoulder. He was silent for some moments, admiring the shifting model of the Labyrinth, but was quickly becoming bored with the interminable discussions.

'Delaine, can I ask you something?'

She glanced down at him. 'I can't really stop you, can I?' A slight smile. 'What is it, Toby?'

'How come everyone speaks English? I mean, I'd have thought that everyone would speak, y'know, like, different stuff.'

Her eyes crinkled slightly. 'But they are.'

Toby stared at her. 'Nooo, they're talking English. I know what it sounds like, and that,' he pointed to a Satyr who was discussing the logistics of troop movements in the woodlands, 'is it.'

'He is speaking his own language, Toby – you just hear it as English because that is your native tongue. If you were to speak to him, he would hear your words in his own language. It is part of the magic of the Underground. Well,' she amended, 'part of Jareth's magic, at any rate. This way everyone is able to talk to everyone else without the need for translators – and without the fear of inadvertently causing offence.'

Toby pondered this. 'That is totally awesome.'

She laughed slightly. 'I'm glad you approve.'

'Are they all going to fight?'

'Yes - they and all their troops.'

'Are you?'

'Yes.'

He gaped at her for a moment. 'Really? I thought...'

'That I'd be like a princess in a story book, waiting in a tower while her menfolk go off to war? The women in my family have always fought for what we believe in.'

Any thoughts that Toby may have had about emulating the child-warriors of fiction had been dispelled by the sight of the battle-hardened troops who had arrived at the castle. Even so, he kicked disconsolately at a loose piece of stone on the floor. 'I guess staying behind is easier than fighting, huh?'

Delaine glanced over to where Sarah was standing. 'No,' she said softly. 'Sometimes having to be the one doing the waiting is far worse.'

As each line of their defence was decided upon, the leaders of the respective armies would leave to instruct their troops and take up their positions. The room slowly emptied, until only Jareth, Delaine, Ambrosius and Sarah's other friends remained. Jareth stared at the image of his Labyrinth, the vista altering according to his thoughts. Ambrosius stood behind him - a tall stern figure, made even more severe by the heavy grey robes he wore.

'There is one thing you have overlooked, Jareth. One place where our defences must be strong.'

What little colour there had been in Jareth's face drained until he looked ashen. Delaine lowered her head. The image in the depression changed once more: an ugly, ruined place that even in its diminutive form seemed to envelope everything else in its desolate harshness. The Bog of Eternal Stench.

'The portal was sealed,' Jareth said quietly.

'No. The portal was buried - it is still unstable.'

Sir Didymus, his whiskers bristling, sprang forward and pulled his feathered cap from his head. 'Your Majesty, I will return forthwith to the bridge and my sworn duty to guard thy realm against all comers.'

Jareth towered over the little fox; the difference in their heights was laughable - the idea of Sir Didymus fending off an unearthly army single-handed, ridiculous. The Goblin King did not laugh; he accepted Sir Didymus' vow graciously. 'I know that you will do all you can, Didymus - and that is a great deal, by anyone's standards. But Ambrosius is correct: we need to strengthen our fortifications.'

'I'll stand with him.' That wholly unexpected voice was Hoggle's. Jareth stared at him and for long moments the two beings - the Goblin King and the Dwarf - faced one another, their eyes locked. Finally, Jareth nodded slightly and Hoggle responded with what was almost a bow.

'As will I.'

Jareth started slightly. 'Ambrosius-'

The old man waved his objections away. 'There is no point in arguing, Jareth. Should the old portal become active again, one of us must be there to stop it. And your place is here, at the castle.'

The younger man sighed. 'You are right. I know it.' He looked intently into his old friend's face. 'Ambrosius, if we lose you-'

'You can have my gold watch,' Ambrosius informed him. He gripped Jareth's shoulder and then turned to Delaine. Her eyes were bright and hard; he took hold of her chin gently and looked into her face until she smiled slightly. 'Lead on, Sir Didymus.'

The fox bowed low to them all, making a special point of acknowledging Sarah and Toby.

'You know what you have to do?'

Delaine nodded at her brother. 'Yes. No need to worry about me.'

'I wasn't.' He almost managed to smile. Almost.

'What can I do?' Toby demanded, wriggling impatiently on the spot.

Jareth considered this and then finally said, 'I need you to look after your sister.'

Toby grimaced. 'That's like one of those things grown-ups say to kids 'cos they think we don't realise it's not important.' He glared at Jareth. 'You've never done that to me before.'

'Do you think that guarding Sarah is not important?'

A heavy sigh. 'Guess not.'

'And you are aware of how much trouble she is capable of getting herself into, are you not?'

From under lowered lashes Toby glanced at Sarah, who adopted an appropriately indignant expression. 'Yeah.'

'Very well.' Jareth straightened up and looked down at the child. 'Keeping her out of mischief will not be an easy task, Toby. You must keep her here in the throne room and you must remain at her side. Yes?'

'Okay. I can do that,' he replied resolutely, his shoulders squared.

Sarah felt a piece of her heart breaking.

Jareth glanced over at her and then addressed the rest of the group. 'Will you give us a moment?'

Delaine steered Toby out, Ludo's great shaggy form looming behind them like a moving mountain. Once they had left and the doors swung closed behind them, the silence rang in Sarah's ears. Jareth had returned to contemplating the living miniature and, after a letting out a long breath, dismissed it. His clothes were almost entirely black, his torso covered by some sort of armour that reflected the light in its highly polished surface; his gloves had been replaced by heavy leather gauntlets. The ensemble made him look much older, harder - very different from the rather romantic figure he normally cut. Jareth wore his battle dress with ease, but it was an adopted persona that did not entirely suit him; he preferred subtlety and the simple elegance of magic over direct confrontation.

Sarah could see the lines of stress etched in his face; the fire in his eyes had been replaced by ice. For all the ten years they had been apart, she had never felt him so far away from her as now. 'Don't do this,' she blurted out, unable to stop herself. 'Don't fight him, why should you? I mean, it's not as though you're a Goblin.' She hated herself for the words as soon as she had uttered them.

'No,' he said softly. 'But they are still my people, and my lands. If I don't fight for them, who will? Besides,' that mocking, remote expression fell back into place, 'better the tyrant they know, eh?'

'Don't do that,' she said quietly. 'I'm not that sixteen-year-old you have to play a part for anymore, Jareth.'

He held her gaze for a long time, apparently struggling with some inner turmoil; he finally blew out a breath. 'I should not have allowed you and Toby to stay; it was a mistake.'

She tossed the hair back from her face. 'We know what we're doing.'

'Do you?' He shook his head. 'In many ways you're still a child, Sarah.'

'You know, that's pretty much what Delaine said about you.'

'My sister is not the greatest judge of character I have ever met,' he snapped. He pulled himself up, wondering if he and Sarah would ever get over their frustrating ability to quarrel whenever they were left alone for more than five minutes. He tried, unsuccessfully, to ignore the fact that this may be the last time he would see her. 'I need you to promise me something, Sarah.'

She watched him warily. 'What?'

'I do not know the outcome of this battle, Sarah. I will do whatever I have to do to secure the future of the Underground – however great that sacrifice might be.'

'You mean you might be killed.'

'Yes.'

She did not flinch, but he saw a muscle in her cheek twitch.

'You and Toby will be safe in here, but you will be able to see all that happens. If I fall, you must take Toby and leave.' He pointed to the far wall, in which a heavy oak door had appeared. 'That leads back to the Aboveground. Only you and Toby will be able to pass through it; once you have gone, no-one will be able to follow and you will not be able to return.'

'So you want me to promise to stand back and watch you die and then run away? Is that what you think of me?'

'It's nothing to do with what I think of you, woman! I am trying to protect you.' He grabbed hold of her arms, harder than he had intended. Hard enough to leave bruises. She didn't care. 'I swore I would keep both of you safe, Sarah, and this is the only way!' He shook her. 'You have to look after Toby.'

'You think I don't know that?'

'I have to know that you will be safe! You have to do this, Sarah! Promise me.' He almost lifted her off her feet. 'Promise me!'

Her breath came in jagged grasps. 'I promise.'

He swallowed and gently released her. She could feel his hands shaking. 'As long as you are alive and safe, Sarah, a little piece of the Underground will always remain intact. No matter what happens, it will endure. Your strength will keep it alive.'

She shook her head. 'But I'm not strong.'

'Oh? Are you not the girl who conquered my Labyrinth?'

'I was supposed to win. I only did because you helped me.'

'Perhaps. For every little nudge you were given, a far greater obstacle was put in your path – and you overcame them.'

She stared past his head, keeping her burning eyes wide in the effort to stop her tears. When she finally forced herself to look at him, she saw the expression he had worn when they had danced together. It seemed like a lifetime ago now.

'Here.' He removed his amulet and placed it around her neck; it was heavier than she had expected and as it lay against her breast she could feel its warmth from where it had lain against his. His fingers rested against its smooth surface and, impulsively, she rested one hand over his for a moment. 'It has no extraordinary magic value,' he told her. 'But it does afford the wearer a certain amount of protection.'

'It's just a loan, you know,' she replied, her voice tight. 'I'll be giving it back to you.'

A hint of a smile curved the corners of his mouth. 'Of course.' He raised his head, as though listening. The rumble of machinery had subsided; a new sound had taken its place. It was so low at first that Sarah felt it more than heard it and then it grew stronger – the regular rhythm of war drums. Each beat seemed to match that of her heart until she felt as though it would burst out of her chest. Somehow her hands were resting against his shirtfront, gripping the fabric.

'It's time, isn't it?'

'Yes. You and Toby-'

'Will be safe here. I know.'

'And your promise...'

She raised her chin, meeting his gaze determinedly. 'I promised. I'll keep my word.'

His eyes wandered over her face and for a moment he hesitated, then murmured, almost to himself, 'I would not have risked it before...'

There was nothing tender or gentle in that kiss. It was hard, demanding and Sarah responded in kind. She wrapped her arms around him and for that short time was aware only of how good the hard planes of his body felt pressed against hers.

It was over far too soon. He turned and walked away from her. He did not look back.

To be continued...