A tall, thin shadow detached itself from the large maple tree in the front yard and began moving toward the car that protruded from the snowbank across the street. A pair of squirrels rooting in a clear patch watched it curiously. The shadow was more shimmery than dark, and kind of floated above the snow, leaving no prints. The squirrels quickly lost interest, finding buried seed pods much more to their liking.

Suddenly the front door of the house was flung open and Gi came barreling down the walkway. "Sarah! Are you okay? Sarah!"

The shimmery shadow hesitated, then stopped. It stood still and watched as the blue-haired girl slipped and slid across the street to the steaming car.

"Sarah!"

It was a matter of moments before the girl had liberated her friend. The shadow watched as they returned to the house. When the door had closed behind them, it glided forward.

On the ground just outside the driver's side door, a few spots of blood stood out in sharp contrast to the white, snowy road. The shadow hovered over them, and about its figure there was a suggestion of wings. It was enough to startle another squirrel into changing direction.

No one else observed it, but if they had, they might have seen a tall man, clad in shimmering feathers, brush his fingertips over the snow. He was visible for only a moment, and then he was gone.

Sarah woke to find herself on the old sofa in Gi's living room. She was still wearing her winter coat, a boon as the room was cold, and a crocheted afghan had been tossed across her legs. Someone had removed her hat, and gloves, and placed several small, soft pillows along her side. In her mouth was the metallic taste of blood, and her neck ached abominably.

"How are you feeling?" Gi was out of sight behind Sarah's head, but Sarah didn't need to see her face to hear the disgust in her voice.

"Peachy," said Sarah, declining to try and turn her head. "No...scratch that. I feel like I backed my car hard into a snowbank."

Gi stepped around to where Sarah could see her, hands resting on her hips like a fishwife, ready to scold. "Well gee, there's a reason for that, isn't there?" Her voice trembled, just a bit. "You scared me to death, Sarah. There was blood!"

Sarah reached a finger up and touched the corner of her mouth. "Well you try slamming your face into the steering wheel and not bleed. How do I look?" She winced when she tried to move her head.

"Better than you should!" Gi stalked into the kitchen, calling out over her shoulder, "You should probably have a neck brace for that whiplash. I'll take you into town if you want me to."

Sarah ignored this. "What about my car?"

Gi returned bearing mugs of tea. "What about it?" She placed the mugs on the coffee table and regarded Sarah crossly. "Can you sit?"

Sarah groaned. "I think so." She slowly pushed herself upright, keeping her neck as still as possible. "Don't we need to get it out of the snowbank?"

"Can you steer?"

"Huh?"

"The car, doofus. Can you steer it? With your neck?"

"No, but I think I can steer it with my hands." Sarah permitted herself the tiniest of smiles.

Gi frowned. "I'm glad you think this is funny. Let's go. You steer and I'll push." She headed for the door. Sarah reluctantly followed.

Everything was too bright. The mid-day sun was caught and held in every particle of snow, creating a brilliant field of light. She grimaced and wished for her sunglasses which were lost somewhere in the boxes of stuff from her dorm that sat unopened in Gi's storage corral. Squinting she peered across the street. "Is that my car? What's all the green stuff?"

Gi was ahead of her, but had stopped just shy of the curb. "You gotta see this, Sarah."

Sarah caught up, eyes still focused on the greenery draping her vehicle. "Is that...mistletoe?"

Gi nodded, too stunned to say anything else.

Sarah's car was only visible in patches. What wasn't buried in the snowbank, was covered with shiny green leaves and crystal-bright berries that sparkled like diamonds. The whole car looked like a giant disco ball that had been caught in a compromising position with the Christmas greenery.

"Hedge clippers?" ventured Gi at last.

But Sarah had finally remembered where she had seen that particular variety of mistletoe before. She shook her head. There was no way that hedge clippers were going to help.

"Let's go inside," she said at last. "There's somebody I need to call."

Hoggle's face in the antique mirror above Gi's dresser was blurry and his image flickered constantly like an old television set. But he was there.

"I did it!" Sarah rubbed her hands together and grinned at her old friend. "I could never make it work before."

Hoggle's bushy white eyebrows were half raised in surprise and pleasure. "Sarah! I knows ye still needed me." He snorted. "Goes to show what some as are too high-and-mighty -"

"Hoggle," interrupted Sarah, "I need you!"

"Huh? Well ye called me, didn't -"

"It's here, Hoggle. The mistletoe. I need you to help me get rid of it before..." her voice trailed off uncertainly. She knew without quite being sure how, that something terrible would happen if it wasn't kept in check, she just couldn't remember what that something was.

"Mistletoe?" Hoggle scratched his head. Sometimes Sarah didn't make a lot of sense, but he loved her anyway.

"Mistletoe. Mistletoe! You know, with the little crystal berrie..." Oh crap, what was it called? The sacred... Inspiration struck. "The sacred vine, Hoggle! That's what it is!"

Hoggle peered at her intently. "Not sure we got a good connection, Sarah." He tapped on the glass and smushed his bulbous nose flat against it. Despite herself, Sarah drew back. Gi tittered.

"I thought ye said The Sacred Vine was Above," Hoggle chortled. "That would be a trick, no doubt."

"No trick, Hoggle. It's here. Can you help?"

"It's a parasite, ye know," groused Hoggle. "Feeds on the magic, it does. Which is why -"

"But there's no magic here!" Not since Jareth had taken back the little he had gifted her with, anyway.

"Well there must be," said Hoggle reasonably. "Maybe ye jus' ain't seein' it."

The image in the mirror wavered and a sort of mist seemed to crawl across it. Sarah reached out and tried to blow it away, but her breath had no effect. Hoggle was saying something else, but although she could see his lips moving, no sound was reaching her.

"Hoggle! Hog-gle!"

In the mirror,the image of her friend mouthed more words she couldn't make out, then looked back over his shoulder. When he turned back to her, his expression was panicked. He waved, and the mirror became simply a mirror once more. Sarah was left staring at her own face, which given the bruising around her chin, was not a pleasant sight.

She paused. Turned to Gi. "I look terrible."

Gi nodded. "You do, but it will fade."

Sarah shook her head. "That's not the point. I look terrible. Why didn't he say something about that?"

Gi had no answer, and neither did Sarah.