Author's Note: So, I'm back... The real world got in the way for a while, but I have returned to continue my story... for those of you who remember it. Anyway, let me know if you see any errors, and leave a review if you have time. Thanks!
Chapter Three
Sarah stared at the mirror until her eyes crossed, but no matter how hard she concentrated her dwarven friend refused to appear.
This is all your fault, Sarah accused herself as the candlelight played softly against her face. She wasn't even sure which part she was blaming herself for: the fact that Toby was now in the Labyrinth, or the fact that he wouldn't have any help because she had cut all ties with Hoggle and the others years ago.
After a few minutes she couldn't stand to stare into the empty mirror any longer, not with Patty's words playing over and over again in her mind.
She just vanished
He doesn't even know why he said it
The words just popped into his head like he'd heard them before
How could he have remembered them? In her distress Sarah turned away from the mirror, facing instead the dark, blank wall of Patricia's bathroom. He was an infant when she wished him away. How could he possibly remember the words that she had spoken so long ago?
He hadn't. Anger filled Sarah as she accepted that fact. There was no way that he had remembered those words on his own… Someone had to have helped him.
Someone like Jareth, master manipulator and lord of mind games. For a split second Sarah was so furious that she nearly slammed her fist into Patty's unresponsive mirror. Then thunder sounded overhead, softly, like a menacing whisper riding just under the sound of raindrops striking the roof.
Be careful Sarah…
Despite her bravado, it had been a close call that night in the Labyrinth. She had been seconds from losing Toby, seconds from offering Jareth anything if he would just let her brother stay a human baby. A few ancient words had been all that stood between her and Jareth's mercy… or lack thereof.
And now Sarah had to go out and face Patty, whose baby sister was just a few short hours away from suffering the very fate that Toby had so narrowly avoided. All because of a few words fifteen years ago, Sarah thought grimly.
When Sarah emerged from the bathroom the hall was cold and dark, and for a moment she thought that Patty had left the house. But no, she found the girl slumped at the kitchen table, a pot of untouched coffee at her elbow. She had stopped crying and was staring into space with her brow furrowed and her lower lip trembling. Feeling that she was intruding on a private moment, Sarah cleared her throat.
"Sarah!" Patty jumped out of her chair, nearly upending the coffee pot in the process. "What's going on?"
Sarah hesitated. "Nothing." She said finally. "I just used the bathroom. Where are the cups?" She nodded to the coffee.
"Right here." Patty jumped up to get them, and Sarah watched the teenage girl, wondering when she would finally work up the courage to break it to Patty that things weren't looking good. "So I've been thinking," Patty said, oblivious to Sarah's internal struggle, "and I know what he is."
"Who?"
"The guy." Patty said. "I know what he is. I can't believe I didn't realize it sooner."
"You can't believe you didn't realize it sooner…" Sarah repeated uncomprehendingly, wondering how Patty could possibly have guessed that the man she had seen was a Goblin King, of all things. She had to hand it to the girl though; Patty certainly had a way of constantly throwing her for a loop.
"Yup. I've read all about it."
"You have?" Sarah thought about the little red book in which she'd first read about Jareth. But Toby and Patty couldn't have possibly gotten ahold of it. It had been in Sarah's safe deposit box for more than six years. Perhaps there was another copy?
"Of course. He's a lycanthrope."
Sarah blinked.
"You know," Patty said impatiently. "A half breed? A shape-shifter. He's a were-owl."
Sarah wasn't sure whether to cry with frustration or just be thankful that Patty was so very far off the mark. "A were-owl. That's…. a very good theory." She conceded.
Patty didn't miss her use of the word 'theory'. "Do you have a better theory?" She asked, plunking a mug down in front of Sarah rather aggressively.
"Well, you know, I just wonder what a…. what a were-owl would want with your baby sister."
"Well, lycanthropy is contagious you know. The pack is probably trying to replenish its numbers," Patty said seriously.
"Wouldn't it be a flock?" Sarah speculated, but she fell silent at the expression on Patty's face.
"This isn't funny," Patty said, tears gathering in her eyes once more. "Some crazy man has my sister and is probably going to try to turn her into a beast."
Once again, Patty was closer to the truth than she realized.
"Patty, I don't think he's a… were-owl." Sarah said, trying to smile reassuringly. Damn she was bad at this sort of thing.
"Oh, what do you know?" Patty said, raising her voice until she was almost yelling. "Nothing, that's what! And if you do know something, you certainly haven't shared it with me!"
"Patty…"
"Your brother's missing too, you know!"
"Yes, Patty, I know," Sarah said, beginning to lose her own temper.
"Well you don't act like it! Just leave me alone!" Patty shouted as Sarah stood up. "JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!" Before Sarah could so much as blink, Patty had stormed out of the kitchen, and the slam of a door down the hall signaled that she had locked herself in the bathroom.
Sarah stared after the girl for a minute, trying to figure out who Patty reminded her of.
Oh, right. She reminded Sarah of herself.
"Wow," Sarah exhaled quietly in the empty kitchen. "Is this really what Karen had to put up with?" Maybe she should have given the woman more than just a box of chocolates and a card last Mother's Day. Beginning to feel like she was losing her mind, Sarah poured herself a cup of coffee.
The whole experience was surreal enough to be a dream, but Sarah knew better than to hope that she was just having a nightmare. It was as if her thoughts were riding a merry go 'round, and every time she thought she was getting somewhere she ended up back at the same place.
You have to do something.
What can I do from here?
Nothing, that's what.
Toby's a smart kid, very savvy and…
Oh, who are you kidding? You know he's going to need help.
"AAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!" The scream was high-pitched and positively chilling. Sarah's coffee cup slipped from her hand and shattered on the kitchen floor.
"Patty?" Sarah's heart pounded as she raced down the hall toward the sound of the girl's shrieks. "Patty?"
Patty met her in the hallway, her eyes wide with terror. "Ohmygod ohmygod ohmygod." She was halfway between sobbing and screaming.
"Patty what's wrong?"
"There's a…. We have to get out of here… I didn't see at first… you have to help me…. Oh my god!"
"Patty!" Sarah grabbed the girl by the shoulders and shook her. "What happened?"
Patty melted, dissolving into tears once more. "There's a face!"
"What?"
"I'm serious! In the bathroom. There's a little man in the mirror!"
