Chapter 53. Blood on her hands

Doctor Daniels sensed her presence long before he could see the woman's approach. "How nice of you to accept my invitation," he said solicitously pouring a glass of wine matching the one in his own hand. "Join me," he said invitingly, "Sarah."

"I have no liking for that vintage," she announced coming into the light. Her head we held high and she moved with poise that royalty would have envied. Her garments, while just slightly unusual in the Underground, were completely out of place here on the mortal plane. Out of place, but totally Sarah.

The man looked at her. "Interesting choice of attire," he stared at the revealing garments. "I'm flattered."

"This," she announced darkly, "Is not for you."

"Surely it's not for that fool Lilith," he mused. "When last I saw her she was languishing in a padded cell, ranting and raving about being abandoned by some silly mythological Goddess~ Circe~ I believe, she claimed."

'Circe,' Sarah stored the name, knowing that when this business here was over she'd have to confront the Fae woman. "No," she said with more ease, "This is not for Lilith either." She looked at where her brother lay still on a stone slab, "If you've harmed him…"

"I've not touched him~ yet," Daniels announced coldly.

"And you won't," Sarah said with conviction. "I'm here to see to that."

The man sipped his wine, lamenting the unaccepted glass that contained a good dose of Rohypnol or "roofies". He was unaffected by her outright threat. "Think of the boy as a means to an end, my dear." He studied her, now with a physician's eye. "You're leaner, more toned, and a bit more edgy than I recall."

"I've lived a very different life of late," Sarah stated without much emotion. She moved closer to where Toby lay, not trusting his statement of not having harmed the boy.

"He's fine, I assure," Daniels snickered. "It was a very mild sedative, and he should be coming around soon enough, I should think."

"You shouldn't have taken him. You shouldn't have brought him here of all places," Sarah glanced over her shoulder back toward Daniels. "This is a place of death and destruction," already there were goblins and night creatures filling in the dark places that mortals could not or would not see. "This boy belongs to…"

"Your precious mother and father, yes… I know," he mocked her.

Pity filled Sarah's eyes for a moment before the fires of hate returned. "Fool, this boy belongs to a power beyond that of mortal man. This child was marked years ago by a king who gives his protection to this child." She laughed at the shocked expression on the doctor's face. "You didn't think it was merely misfortune that caused the problems with your~ spies, did you now?" She turned her back to the child who was still unconscious. "Equipment failures, little accidents, and I'll bet they even reported being attacked by unearthly creatures."

Daniels frowned, "How do you know this?"

"You men of science," she mocked him further, "Always have to have an explanation for everything. Well, some things defy explaining. Some things are not within your~ control." Sarah felt a surge of power as she spoke.

Having lived in the Underground Kingdom of Labyrinthia, Sarah recognized the surge at once. It was the energy force of the living planet itself. 'The Ley lines,' she thought quickly. 'I have to plug myself into that source. Just like Jareth did,' she smiled cryptically at the man. "There are more things in heaven and earth," she quoted.

"Everything can be explained," he argued. "Your psychosis, for instance," he ridiculed, "Could have been explained, even treated in time, and how different your life would be."

"My psychosis," laughed Sarah sarcastically, "You have no idea of what the root of my dreamless state is or was!" She now placed herself between the man and the child on the slab. She moved forward slightly, seeking a spot on the floor where the power of the Ley lines would surge through her full force. Something told her, some inner sense, that the changes that had occurred during her time in the Labyrinth were changes that she could use. "Still think you know it all, don't you Doctor Daniels."

"I know that a spoiled girl came to my Clinic and had no desire to be cured," he accused. "You enjoyed the novelty of being ill."

"Did being pumped full of drugs teach you nothing?" Sarah scoffed. "No one enjoys the kind of torture you put us through. I was on herbs and homeopathic compounds that helped to keep me stable, but you, in your ultimate wisdom, took me off them, leaving me defenseless~ you thought." She didn't hide her distaste of his methods, nor her open hate for him personally. "You abused your position. You raped the very girls you were supposed to help."

"Rape is such a dirty term," laughed the man sipping his goblet of wine. "I simply allowed those girls to play out their fantasies. Purely in the name of science and in an effort to ground them to reality." His eyes were glazing over slightly, and his words slowed.

"You raped them," Sarah accused with clear and sound words. "You raped Bryn and you raped poor misguided Lilith."

"Oh no," he argued, laughing lightly. "I may have had to persuade your friend Bryn, but Lilith… she was already a little sex kitten before she came into my care. Sex was at her suggestion, not mine."

"Even so," Sarah contended, "You were the adult, and you took advantage of her neurosis and her fixation on sex. You didn't help her, you only helped yourself."

"That," he mused intriguingly, "Is so very true." He laughed again, remembering how playful Lilith was compared to the other girls. "Shall I tell you about Lilith, Sarah?" He sauntered smugly toward her. "Shall I describe the sessions I had with her, how she actively sought new ways to explore, until you came along." His eyes darkened. "You became her obsession, and I was no longer of interest to her," he sneered. "Outside of your stunning body, I don't see why she was interested in you."

"None so blind as he who will not see," Sarah quoted again.

"Interesting," Daniels huffed sardonically. "You've become a philosopher." He turned his back on her and returned to the bottle of wine for one more drink. He was getting tired of this banter and would present her with his proposition of compromise in a few moments. "So tell me, just what is it I did not, and still don't, see."

"Doctor Daniels," the address was formal. "When you look at me you see an ordinary girl. One who took care of a screaming baby. One who had a problem holding her temper." Daniels nodded, and Sarah continued. "What you didn't see and still don't is that I am not just Sarah Williams, the girl who was sent here for anger management. I was, and am, far more."

"Still working as a striper?" he inquired snidely and he laughed. "I knew about that, you little tramp. Is this a new get up for stripping on stage?" he pointed to her unusual state of dress.

"No," Sarah answered politely. "My stripper days are well and good behind me." 'Make your move fool,' her mind challenged, what humanity she had left insisted that he had to make the first move. "I've left those days behind me."

"Of course you have," he said placating, but the look in his eyes said something else. "However, we never did get to spend any quality time together, and I unfortunately missed all of your performances." He took a seat upon some rubble and looked at her lustfully. "I'll tell you what~ you give me a private show, and I'll let the boy go."

Placing her hands on her hips and grounding herself into the Ley lines completely, she tossed back her head and laughed at him. "You're going to let the boy go anyway, willingly or not."

His hand moved down into his pocket, making sure the syringe he'd placed there was within his grip. "What makes you say that, my dear?"

Shrugging her shoulders, the girl stood in a challenging stance. "Because I'm going to order you to," her tone was that of one reasoning with a child.

"Strip for me and he's yours," Daniels lied.

"He's not mine," Sarah answered sadly. "Although I have already paid the price for him to the one who has claim on him." Sarah's foot tingled, and she knew she'd found the active line. "He's not mine, and he's not yours to offer."

"Strip for me, Sarah." Daniels goaded. "Unburden yourself, and I shall show you what Lilith found so fascinating and your friend Bryn could not bear."

"Do you actually think that's inviting?" Sarah inquired with a marked irritation in her tone. "There is nothing attractive, appealing, or even the slightest bit alluring about you." She watched the doctor's face twist in anger. The tingle moved up her feet into her legs. "You're a frog. I've had a king. I'm not about to lower myself to do a frog."

"We'll see about that," he growled as he rushed forward, hand pulling out the needle full of sedatives.

He'd taken only a few steps when Sarah brought her arms upward, palms upraised. He was hit with the full force of the energy she'd plugged into. "Still the same old stunts. Can't get your way, drug em," she watched the man struggle as the web of energy tangled about him.

"How are you doing that?" he snapped. "That's impossible."

"None so blind," a chorus of voices in the darkness chimed in.

Daniels face contorted with pain as the web tightened. "Where are those voices coming from?" he demanded.

"You hear voices?" Sarah asked teasingly. "How odd, do you see anyone here with us?" The man of science was dropped back into his seat as the girl lowered her arms. "I see no one." The tingling went all through her now. "I see only you, the boy, and me."

The doctor still held the syringe in his hand, now dangling limply at his side. "I'll give you the boy," he promised in what sounded like a composed and forthright manner. "I shall allow you to take him back to your parents." His eyes glowed with fire that gave him away. "Won't that be nice, Sarah? uniting with your family again?" He rose from his seat, shakily and moved toward her slowly, syringe in his hand and ready. "I can give all that to you…" He suddenly lunged toward her with an inhuman cry.

Energy encompassed Sarah like a cocoon, and she was protected from his attack. He was thrown back by the force. "You have no power over me!" Sarah roared, looking at the man who more than anything wanted her under his thumb. She heard the boy moan and looked at him over her shoulder. He was waking and there was little time left. Turning back, she moved to stand firmly on the Ley line when she noticed something in the rubble on ground. At her feet were the remains of a leather mask, the twisted feathers of a demon goblin. Stooping down, she scooped up the remains and took a deep breath. "Doctor Daniels," she looked at him as she stood, placing what was left of the mask over her face. "I stand as your judge."

"You?" he glared at her from where he'd fallen. He was bleeding and his clothes were torn from the force with which he'd been hurled into the rubble pile across what was left of the judgment chamber. "What right do you have to judge me!" he demanded.

Sarah took a step off the Ley line, but the energy was still coursing through her veins. "You are guilty of so many hateful crimes," she said in a voice that was authoritative. "Your victims are countless scores of innocents and twice now this boy…"

"You! It was you…" Daniels gasped. "You pumped me full of those poisons."

"You have abused your position." The woman in the demon mask continued, her voice cracking like a whip. She demanded his attention and had little patience for his reactions and recollections. "We let you off too easy last time. I won't make the same mistake this time," she announced.

Daniels barked at her, "You have no right to judge me!"

"I have every right," she exclaimed feeling blood race in her veins. "I am no longer of this world, foolish man. I belong to the mists and the shadows. I belong to he who has claim on this boy. I am one with the creatures who create nightmares. I am Sarah Williams, and I am the Tagaan or Rhuukarlaan of Jareth Tuatha Dé Danann Huukec Mec, Warrior King of the Goblin lands of Labyrinthia!"

Daniels became aware of the movement of the shapes in the dark. He heard the hisses, and the cackling laughter, and he smelled the strange odors. He looked over at Sarah. "What is this?"

"Justice," Sarah declared. "I thought that you were out of my life, that Toby was out of danger, and you would spend your life babbling in a padded cell. I was wrong, and I know that I have no choice but to end this here and now. Doctor Daryl Dylan Daniels, for your crimes we sentence you to death."

"We? Who is we, Sarah?" he pulled himself up to his knees. "I see only you, and the shadows playing tricks on me."

"Shadows?" she mocked. "See now what shadows hide, you fool." Snapping her fingers, she summoned the goblins out of hiding. They gathered behind her, forming a protective barrier between the deranged man and the child stirring. "We end this now," Sarah said moving forward, "Protect the child," she commanded the forces of goblins behind her.

Daniels had never believed in goblins~ he had jeered those who did. Now faced with a room full the creatures, he could not deny their existence. "Keep back!" he shouted as one looked at him with interest. "What kind of monster are you?" he shouted at Sarah.

"A monster of my own making," Sarah declared. "And one who will take your worthless life."

"I've had too much to drink," he muttered to himself, trying to rationalize this nightmare.

"You've had too much power, which you abused," corrected the girl as she moved forward. "After I've corrected the mistake I made by letting you live, I shall go after the one who set you free." She gripped the man's hair and pulled back his head before she removed the remains of her mask and tossed it aside. "Look at me you fool, and let me tell you why it was you could never treat my so called illness. I have no dreams because they were taken from me. It was the price I paid to win back the child I wished away."

"Wished away?" Daniels echoed.

"I wished that boy there away and regretted it the moment the words left my lips." Sarah hissed as her free hand gripped the man's throat. "I traversed a Labyrinth, through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered to reach the castle beyond the Goblin City; but winning comes at a price. My price was my dreams and I'd pay them again for my brother." Her eyes glowed in the dark, green and blue and gold, afire with power.

"You're insane," he gasped.

"No, Doctor," Sarah gripped the front of his shirt and ripped it open, baring his chest. "Sad to say, I'm not. Pray to whatever God you believe in for mercy, you'll get none from me." Her hand moved down from his throat to the bare chest, forming a claw shape. Her nails dug into the skin and then into muscle. "For your crimes against man and goblin, I Sarah, Tagaan or Rhuukarlaan of Jareth Tuatha Dé Danann Huukec Mec, Warrior King of the Goblin lands of Labyrinthia, do here by sentence you to death." She shoved her hand deep into the cavity of his chest. His screams filled the air, ending only as she pulled his still beating heart out of the bloody fissure. The eyes of the doctor went glassy and dead, Sarah released his hair and let him drop. She raised the beating heart upward to the cheers of the goblins surrounding her.

The cheers died down, and a few goblins sniffed the air. "Intruder…" one hissed as the others growled.

"Sarah," a voice with a heavy accent whispered near the opening of the ruined building and rubble.

Sarah made a clicking noise with her tongue, her goblin companions hushed. "Who's there?" she asked, still holding the beating heart above her head.

A man stepped into the light, what there was of light, and looked at her with confusion. "Sarah?"

"Yuri," she lowered the heart. "What are you doing here?" Her lips formed a hard line and her eyes were suspicious.

The Russian biker moved forward. "I felt a pull to this place~ from time to time I come here~ to be near… to your spirit." He looked at her companions. "Are you a demon now?"

Sarah looked at her goblin attendants, "No Yuri, I'm no demon. I'm a goblin." She smiled at the goblins at her side. "Does this frighten you?"

"No," he said gently, "It is a~ relief." He sighed deeply. "Lilith kept saying you were taken by goblins. We, who knew, understood and kept it to ourselves." He looked at the ruins of the temple of justice. "You cannot stay here," he said firmly. "You are dead to this world, and so you must remain."

"I would not be here now if Daniels had not gone after Toby again." She looked over her shoulder at the child who was moving groggily. "He should not be here. He must not awaken and see this." She looked back to Yuri. "Help me, old friend, " she asked with deep emotions in her voice.

The Russian sunk to his knees, paying homage to the goblin Tagaan or Rhuukarlaan, "Did you know that I loved you?" he asked humbly. "That I'd have laid my life down for you?" His voice trembled, his eyes filled with unrequited love for the girl who would forever remain just out of his reach.

Sarah closed her eyes. Had she remained on this side of the mists, there might have been a chance for her with someone. Not Yuri but someone. There might have been a life, children, and home. All the things that she'd lost making one misspoken wish, and refusing her dreams. Green eyes opened and looked at him with compassion and painful sensitivity. "Yuri, if you still feel love for me, then I ask you to dedicate your life to protecting my little brother." She swallowed the lump forming in her throat. "Keep my memory alive for him," she asked pleadingly. "Take him away from this place. Give him back to my father and watch over him."

Raising the big man nodded. "This I can do," he promised walking past her to take the stirring child up into his arms. "I will protect him with my life, and he will never forget you." He cradled the boy against his own heart. "He will remember you." He began to walk past the woman.

"Sarah," Toby uttered in a haze.

"Sleep little prince," Sarah softly whispered, placing a kiss to his forehead. "This has all been a dream," she told the child.

Blue eyes like storms at sea closed peacefully, and the child nuzzled into the Russian biker.

Sarah looked up at Yuri, "Thank you. Now~ go." She watched them leave, knowing it would be a very long time before she'd know the nearness of the little boy again. Behind Yuri were goblins that moved in unison, following the Russian and the boy in his arms. Sarah understood, they would be with him as well. Goblins sent by the King to watch over his boy. Closing her eyes to the painful vision of his exit she felt the heart in her hand, still beating, but slowing down. She looked at it with anger. "Take me home," she ordered the goblins. "I must give this to our King."

--

Yuri placed Toby on the back seat of the car he was driving, opened his cell phone, and called Snake. "I've found Sarah's brother. Call her parents."

"Where?" Snake demanded. "Who had him?"

"It matters not," Yuri said coldly. "The boy is safe. Tell them I'm bringing him home." He closed the cell phone and checked to be sure the child was tucked up in the blanket he carried in his car. "For Sarah," he whispered to the child. "Your guardian angel…." He closed the back door and opened the driver's door. Once he was in the car and gunning the engine, he added. "A goblin guardian angel," he laughed heartily. "Great cosmic joke."

--

Karen was rocking on the couch, tears staining her cheeks as she watched the officers making reports. Robert had answered the phone in his office and came rushing out. "He's been found!" he called out.

Karen sobbed loudly and moved swiftly to her husband's side. "Is he alright?"

"One of Sarah's biker friends found him," Robert nodded. "He's bringing him home." He looked at the officers. "That's all I know."

One of the officers breathed a sigh of relief; he'd feared the worst as there had been no ransom request. He looked over at another officer who was thinking the same thing and they both whispered a little prayer.

--

Yuri drove with purpose and called the police to alert them to his mission. An hour outside the Williams' home town, an escort of state officers on bikes joined him and cleared his path. 'For once,' he thought to himself humorously, 'I'm on the side of law and order. Big cosmic joke!'