Disclaimer: Same as before...
Chapter 5:
Sitting upon the debris-littered floor in the darkness of the demolished bedroom, Jareth held Sarah's limp, battered body across his lap, cradling her to his chest. Her head was tucked into the crook of his neck, his chin resting lightly against her cheek. She had been unconscious for awhile now, but he was in no rush to wake her. He needed to rid himself of his violent anger before allowing her to regain consciousness. He did not want her to see him in his current state, his emotions raw and his mind filled with fury.
Just the thought of what had happened here tonight enraged him. Bloodlust surged through his body like fire, demanding satisfaction against the bastards who had dared to harm his beloved.
Somehow, the Dark Ones had obtained knowledge of this mortal girl and her importance to him, which made her a pawn of unlimited value. She would provide the means for them to defeat the Goblin King, something they had no hope of doing on their own.
A swirling vortex began to form before him, giving shape to a powerfully-built elf with wavy, shoulder-length black hair and dark brown eyes.
"Well?" Jareth demanded of Bram, the captain of his guard, who had led the pursuit of Sarah's attackers.
"We managed to capture one of them, Sire. The one called Farin. He has been stripped of his powers and thrown into an oubliette. The others got away, I'm afraid." He bowed his head, shamed by his failure to catch the other three.
"I want a search party formed immediately. The boy must be found."
It is already done. I placed Anlon in charge," Bram said, referring to his second in command. "I will join them as soon as we are finished here."
"Excellent."
Jareth's eyes once again studied Sarah's face, sickened by the bloody laceration that marred the smooth perfection of her forehead. Gripping the tip of his glove between his teeth, he freed his right hand, trying not to jostle her too much. With a gentle touch, he sent a wave of magical energy over her torn flesh, closing the wound completely. He repeated this action once more on her injured hand, effectively sealing the deep, jagged cut that had split her palm open at the center. It was the best he could do for the moment. She would have to be treated properly by his healers when he got her back to his castle. They would have the skill to heal her so that nary a scar remained.
Satisfied that the worst of her injuries had been dealt with, Jareth placed a loving kiss upon her brow and thanked the Gods that he'd been in time to thwart the Unseelie's attempt to take her away from him.
If only the same could be said for the boy.
"Do you know what provoked this attack on the girl, Your Majesty?" the captain asked, drawing Jareth's thoughts away from the misfortune that had befallen Sarah's young brother.
"It seems that my enemies have somehow gained knowledge of my only weakness, Bram. They thought to take her as a weapon to be used against me." Jareth used the soft material of his cuff to wipe away some of the blood from Sarah's face.
"But how did they know of her? Her identity was known to few in the Underground. You guarded her so carefully. Even I did not know her name or where she could be found."
"That is something I intend to find out. I've been so distracted lately... I haven't been as guarded as I should have been." Jareth pulled Sarah even closer. Guilt weighed on him heavily. He'd gotten so careless with his visits to her. Someone had been able to follow him unnoticed. It was the only logical answer. Was it one of the Unseelie? Or worse yet, did he have a traitor on his hands?
He could have lost everything due to his inattention, a thought that humbled him greatly.
He had arrived just a moment before she had entered the small bedroom, wounded and stumbling with fatigue. From the shadows, he'd waited to see if her attacker would follow. A scan of the house with his preternatural senses had told him that the leader, Lorcán, was awaiting back-up out in the hall, aware that the Goblin King was inside the room. Jareth had wanted nothing more than to go after the Dark Ones but his first concern had been for Sarah. Without thought, he'd moved toward her, desperate to hold her in his arms and make sure she was alright, but all he had managed to do was frighten her even more. Before he could reach her, prepare her, she'd discovered that her brother was missing. Jareth had seen the Unseelie, Drystan, vanish with the boy just as he'd arrived, a fraction of a second before Sarah had raced into the room. The realization that her brother was no longer in his bed had been the breaking point. She'd given up then, sinking to the floor in defeat.
Grabbing her from behind, he'd been just in time to throw up a protective shield as Lorcán and two of his henchmen had burst into the room, a blaze of deadly spells preceding them. A brief but intense battle had ensued, the Dark Ones trying to overcome his superior strength. Even hindered by the dead weight of Sarah in his arms, Jareth had managed to force them back, holding them off until a small contingent of his fiercest soldiers had arrived.
Outnumbered and overpowered, the Unseelie had fled, all but one managing a narrow escape.
Such a pity.
Unable to put off the inevitable any longer, Jareth ordered the captain to see to the clean-up while he began to rouse Sarah from her faint.