Chapter 7

David finished the song and was surprised to hear Crystal whisper. "That was beautiful. Sad, but beautiful."

"You were awake?"

"Yes." Crystal opened her eyes. Her green eyes somehow remained bright though she was fading.

A normal person would be dead by now, he thought, recalling the accident. David suddenly wanted to know everything about her and about her world, before it was too late. "Tell me about your world, your family."

"Well . . . my father's the King and we live in a castle surrounded by a vast Labyrinth with many different sections, some eerie, some beautiful, but all deadly. Created by a dark past that one can only imagine, but my mother brought light into the Labyrinth and into my father. Now it all has changed for the better -" She started coughing. "Pretty unbelievable, huh?" she coughed.

"Shhh." His fingers brushed her lips then tangled in her hair. "Don't talk anymore." He helped her to take a sip of water. "I'm sorry about this, what happened to you. I'm sorry about everything." His thumb stroked her cheek. She shook her head about to protest, but his thumb now over her lips stopped her. He traced her lips for a moment.

"David?"

"What is it?" His voice sounded soft and distant.

"Would you give me one last kiss?"

His brows furrowed at her request. She sounded as if she were asking him to cut out his very heart and give it to her, which she knew was impossible. When now he would do anything she asked, and this was something he would gladly give and take, and he vowed it would not be the last.

He leaned down and kissed her. Her lips seemed so soft compared to his and in this kiss he felt there was some kind of relief to his madness. She tasted like rain, but it was tainted with the coppery taste of blood, reminding him of why he was kissing her in the first place.

His hard mouth against hers sent lightning through Crystal's body. It made her feel so alive. His long brown hair tickled her neck as it fell over his shoulders. She could almost fool herself into believing that he wanted to kiss her, but either way she felt she could die more at peace now.

"Don't look at me as if by kissing you, I had made some major sacrifice."

"But I know you don't like me. You're just trying to help someone whose been injured."

"I was a idiot before. I was just afraid to find out it wasn't real, and more than ever before in my life I wished it was, that you were real. Now I know the truth, but you're still going to leave me. Only it will be my own fault."

"Don't say that. It's not your fault. And I'm not going anywhere . . . You have to go back to the park and find my nephew, Reineth."

"How is a little boy going to help?"

"He's not a little boy. He's the same age as me. It's a long story. Just tell him what happened and tell him to get my father."

"Are you going to be alright while I'm gone?"

"I can hold on, just hurry."

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Reineth took the form of a hawk and flew to the park from the Underground. Flying took less energy and magic than turning yourself into matter, disappearing completely and skipping right through time and space then rematerializing on the other side, but it was impossible to do that with someone else with you.

He arrived and looked around the whole park, but Crystal wasn't there. He headed to the streets, to the school, even knocked on doors looking for her. He asked at the hospital, though he was sure she wouldn't go there willingly. No one had seen her and they'd all been very angry at being disturbed this early in the morning. It was hard to find people to ask this early or late depending on how you looked at it. He even had to fend off some angry guys in an alley, which wasn't hard with his powers. He wished that Crystal had told him the name of the guy she had come here to get. Then he could have asked people if they knew where he lived.

It was starting to feel hopeless and he was starting to get tired. His limbs started to feel heavy and he stumbled to the ground. Now the air seemed thick and hard to breathe. Fear suddenly struck him as he realized what was happening. He had stayed here too long. He tried to transport himself back to the Labyrinth or even the park, but it wouldn't work. He started dragging himself back to the park. His parents would have to realize he and Crystal were gone and would think to look Aboveground. They knew about Crystal's obsession with this place. He just hoped they weren't too late.

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Jareth suddenly felt like something was missing. He didn't understand where these feelings were coming from or what they meant, but he had more important things to worry about right now.

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David arrived at the park. "Reineth! Reineth!" he called, but he didn't see anyone. He would wait a bit, but he didn't want to leave Crystal alone. He headed for a bench, but tripped over something. He looked down to see what it was and saw an arm sticking out from under the bushes. He was afraid to find out who it belonged to, and if the person was alive or dead, but he had to. He peered around the bushes and saw a guy about Crystal's age with features that could only be described as beautiful. He definitely didn't belong here. "Reineth?" He knelt down beside him. "Reineth?"

He guy stirred. "Who are you?" David was instantly struck by his different coloured eyes.

"I'm David. Crystal sent me to get you. She was hit by a car. She needs help, but what happened to you?"

"I came looking for her," he gasped. "But I stayed here too long."

"What are we going to do?"

"Take me to her."

David didn't know how that would help, but he wasn't going to leave the guy here anyway. He got him to his feet and helped him to his house. Now imagine if his parents found two bodies in his room, he thought grimly.

Reineth was sure he could get Crystal to at least save herself. He wasn't sure why she hadn't already. His dad and grandpa could find them by crystal anyway, so he didn't need to stay in the park.

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Hoggle and the others had split up, carefully watching different goblins, looking and listening for anything out of place. If Hoggle had to listen to much more of their mindless drivel or watch their stupid antics he thought he would go crazy. All he'd seen so far was goblins pushing, shoving, fighting, arguing, clonking each other over the head, acting silly, name calling, laughing, not to mention tripping over one another and themselves. Finally he gave up and joined the others where they agreed to meet.

Ludo was already there and Sir Didymus was just riding in. "Well, did any of you find anything suspicious?" Sir Didymus asked.

"Nothin'" Hoggle said.

"No," Ludo groaned.

"Well these demons have to be here somewhere. And when I find them, I'll teach them a lesson they won't soon forget. I'll give them this -" He waved his staff. "Then that -" He jabbed it forward and started barking.

Ludo shook his head.

"Oh, no you don't," Hoggle interrupted. "We have to report to Jareth and Sarah. Remember?" Before Sir Didymus could reply, they heard the noise of goblins clanking towards them. "Quick, hide!" Hoggle cried.

"Come on we've got to get the girl," one goblin said.

"We'll get rid of her, then Jareth won't find out what we did," said another.

"Yeah, we should have put her in an oubliette in the first place. The Labyrinth sure didn't take care of her."

"No, just took away her memory, lucky for us at least. Now let's get this job done so that the boss will be off our backs and we won't have to worry about Jareth."

"I don't know . . . Jareth always knows stuff. He always finds out."

"Shut up! He's not gonna find out."

Sir Didymus glared at the goblins from his hiding place behind the hedges? "So those are the brutes. I will stop them. Charge!" Sir Didymus galloped off.

"Grab him?" Hoggle cried.

Ludo swooped a massive arm and knocked Sir Didymus right off his mount.

"What was that?" The goblins turned around.

Ludo held Didymus' mouth shut with one hand, so he wouldn't bark and challenge the goblins, while holding him tucked under his arm as they ran back into the Labyrinth.

The goblins looked around the hedge, but there was nothing there.

Ludo put Sir Didymus down when they were at a safe distance and Sir Didymus whacked Ludo's knee with his staff. "Ow!" Ludo howled.

"Why in heaven did you do that, Sir Ludo?" Didymus asked. "They were just about to surrender to me."

"Right." Hoggle rolled his eyes. "Remember what Sarah said? We have to report back to her first."

"Yeah," Ludo agreed.

Sir Didymus grudgingly agreed. "You are right Sir Hoggle."

Hoggle gritted his teeth. He hated being called that, but he refrained from reminding Didymus since he knew it would do no good. Someone should follow those goblins and make sure they don't attack Janine, he thought. But he didn't trust Sir Didymus to follow without attacking and he didn't think Ludo could stay out of sight. He also didn't trust either one of them to tell Sarah and Jareth what they'd overheard. So he guessed the best thing was for them all to go to the castle. He'd just have to trust Toby to keep Janine safe until then.

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Jareth, Sarah, Sireth and Jennifer gathered in the dinning hall for supper. "Where's Toby and Janine?" Sarah asked.

"Toby's showing Janine the nicer spots in the Labyrinth. They should be back shortly," Jareth replied.

"Has anyone seen Reineth?" Jennifer asked.

Jareth shook his head.

"I haven't seen him all day." Sarah thought back. "I haven't seen Crystal at all either."

"They've been hanging out together lately," Sireth added. "I tried using a crystal to locate Reineth, but it didn't work."

"You didn't tell me that," Jennifer turned to him.

"I didn't want to worry you. They're probably fine."

"I'll try." Jareth produced a crystal. Reineth was nowhere to bee seen, but he could see Crystal. Her image wasn't clear and he couldn't tell where she was, but he saw blood on her. Fear flickered in his eyes, but that was his only show of emotion. Now he knew the reason for his feeling of unease and the loss he felt.

He quickly hardened his gaze, but Sarah had caught it. She could read him well now. "What's wrong, Jareth?"

"I can see Crystal, but I can't find Reineth."

"Where is she?"

"I can't tell, but I don't think she's in the Labyrinth."

"What?"

"I think she went Aboveground."

"How?"

"Reineth must have taken her," Sireth replied.

"Yes," Jareth agreed. "And he's probably with her."

"Then why can't you see him or tell exactly where Crystal is?" Jennifer asked.

"Probably because he's been there too long and lost his powers. I'm not sure why I can't tell where Crystal is though. Sireth and I will go look for them."

"No!" Sarah and Jennifer both protested at the same time.

"It makes more sense for us to go," Sarah said. "It doesn't matter how long we stay there. We can't get trapped there if anything goes wrong. You need to stay here and watch out for Janine and her attackers."

"Sarah's right," Jennifer agreed. "They'd probably strike as soon as they knew the King was gone. Besides Sarah and I know the area better than you do."

Jareth didn't like it, but he knew better than to argue with Sarah. "Very well."

"Dad, you can't be serious," Sireth protested, then he turned to Jennifer, "You can't go."

"I have to."

"No, I won't let anything happen to you ever again."

"It's alright. I have to go. He's my son too, you know. Don't worry."

Sireth looked into her eyes and knew he had to let her go. He quickly kissed her hard. "Be careful."

"I will." She left him to stand beside Sarah.

Jareth tossed Sarah the crystal. Sarah's hidden magic was strong and Jareth had taught her how to use it, if necessary. She preferred not to unless it was an emergency. She held the crystal up. "Sarah . . ." Jareth didn't need to say anything more. Their eyes connected and they each knew how they felt. In a moment Sarah and Jennifer were gone.

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"There she is!" The goblins came to an abrupt halt.

"Let's go!" one cried.

"Just a minute," another held him back. "Toby's with her. We have to have a plan of attack."

"What can he do?" asked the dumbest goblin of the bunch.

"Well, he was almost Jareth's heir. We can't be too sure if he still has the ability to use magic."

"I've never seen him use any."

"Me either," another agreed.

"But we can't fail. The Boss would have our heads, not to mention what Jareth will do."

The others gulped. "Okay, what do we do?"

"I have a plan."

"I'm kind of glad this happened to me," Janine said.

"Why?"

"Because I got to meet you."

Before Toby could answer, suddenly rocks started flying at them form every direction.

"What's going on?" Janine yelled.

"I think we're under attack." Toby stepped in front of Janine, but with the rocks flying from all sides it didn't do much good. He tried deflecting them as much as he could with his magic. He could sure use Ludo right now. Ludo could call the rocks away so they'd have nothing to throw, or they'd just fly right back at the goblins.

Next goblins from all directions came out of the Labyrinth at them, various weapons aimed. The rocks were still flying. Toby tried to keep Janine out of the way and keep an eye on the attacking goblins, while at the same time, deflecting the flying rocks.

"They're the ones who tied me up and left me in the Labyrinth! I remember!" Janine cried. Her memory finally had returned.

One goblin charged at Toby with a spear. Toby made a shield with a crystal and deflected him, then he turned just in time to see another one, with mace raised, ready to strike Janine. Toby made a sword and knocked the mace from the goblin's hand, just as two goblins rushed them from either side. The one that was swinging a spiked ball on a chain, Toby managed to freeze him in place before he stuck, but the one carrying the sword got through and stabbed him in the side.

"Toby!" Janine cried. Toby staggered around, keeping the goblin at bay with his own sword. His concentration was slipping with the pain in his side and out of nowhere came a large flying rock. It hit Toby in the back of the head and he crumpled to the ground. "Toby!" Janine went down to him, crying, not sure what to do. She gently touched his face. Blood was pooling on the ground at his side and behind his head. She could never forgive herself if he died protecting her.

"Okay," a goblin yanked her to her feet. "Let's go."