Chapter 7

As they came to a stop, Jareth erected a barrier to shield their presence from spying eyes, both physical and magical. His shoulder slumped in exhaustion when he finished. He took several deep breaths, fighting to control himself and remain on his feet at the same time. The threat to Sarah had him nearly losing control, and he didn't want to do that. He glanced over to see Sarah also breathing heavily, but otherwise unharmed. His heart sounded loud in his ears as he gazed at her. No, he needed to remain in control. He would not lose himself. Not in front of Sarah.

The shadowy figure stepped into the hidden room at the castle, his reactivated golems keeping guard. Running a finger over the discarded teddy bear with a snort, he threw it back towards the giant stone sentries, who ground the stuffed animal to fluffy shreds in their mouths.

Glancing towards the escape route used by the King and the Champion, he whistled faintly. A few goblins appeared in answer to his summons. He raised a dark eyebrow, his black skin tone and mass of navy hair the epitome of impatience. "Where are they?" He ground out.

They said nothing, simply staring.

His lips thinning, he squeezed down on the heart in his hand and the creatures screamed, then simply turned into a fine dust that scattered to the floor.

Turning back to the golems, he snarled. "Guard the borders. No one escapes. Take hostages." He smiled cruelly. "Use some of their friends. If they try and escape, kill the hostages...painfully."

The golems left to do their master's bidding.

"Jareth…" he looked up to find Sarah watching him once more, the ancient book clutched protectively against her chest.

He raised an eyebrow but said nothing, still struggling to recover from the use of so much of his own personal magic. Sarah held out the book. "What does this all mean, Jareth?"

He sighed and was about to answer her when the pain roared through him. Sarah gasped as he fell to one knee with a deep grunt. He clenched his teeth, fighting the pain that ripped through his chest as the dark fae mercilessly squeezed the Heart of the Labyrinth. He was deeply connected to all of the beings in his kingdom. It was another unspoken aspect of being bound to the Labyrinth. He felt the pain of her denizens as his own. As the goblins were destroyed by the dark fae, Jareth felt each and every tiny explosion that turned them into dust as though it was happening to him. Eventually he could no longer remain silent. The barrier around them fell as he howled in agony, the sounds emerging from his chest half human and half avain.

Beside him, Sarah also cried out. Doubling over as some of the pain was transferred to her through their newly forged connection. Dimly he was aware that her newly acquired affinity for the Labyrinth was also to blame for the fact that she was sharing in this torment, but he was suddenly too enraged to think clearly. She should not have to feel this pain.

He clutched his heart and fury exploded out of him, tears stinging his eyes. He gasped, seething, as the torture continued. "You will pay for this destruction," he ground out through gritted teeth, his voice guttural. "For every single thing you destroy and every being you kill I will visit the fires of hell upon you."

He howled again, his voice crescendoing in a screaming bellow as the wind whipped around his body and his eyes glowed brightly. "For every moment of pain you visit on us, I will rain it back down on you a thousand fold! For everything that you have broken, I will visit such torment upon you that you will beg for the release of death! I will pour my very essence into your body and tear you to pieces from the inside out!"

His voice rose into the sky and thunder crashed above their heads. Beside him, Sarah sobbed in fear and pain. She covered her ears against his booming voice as she fought to block the pain that washed over her.

Jareth lurched to his feet, screaming incoherently, so blinded by rage that he was no longer capable of speech. He was beyond control now. His face began to elongate and his teeth grew larger and sharper, no longer concealed behind human looking lips. His nails became razor sharp talons, ripping through his gloves as his body grew thicker, his natural musculature shredding parts of his clothing. His chest grew broad as a curious down of hairlike feathers grew over his skin. He now looked more animal than fae.

The dark figure was now close enough to hear the faint roars of Jareth's rage with his own ears rather than hearing the echoes through the Heart of the Labyrinth. He paused in his pursuit, grinning as he closed his eyes to relish the anger in Jareth's voice. He began to chuckle and then to laugh, his perverse amusement filling the stone tunnel as he opened his eyes and looked toward the light at the far end.

Jareth's sensitive ears picked up the sound of a sinister laugh echoing down the corridor that they had fled through to get here. He swung his head toward the opening, growling as his muzzle was flooded with the scent of their pursuer.

He dark figure began to stalk forward, the Heart held close to his face. He spoke softly, but his cold voice boomed out over the entire Labyrinth. "Idle threats from a weak King with a weak heart," he mocked. "I can feel your love for your pathetic mortal bitch. When I get my hands on her, I'm going to rip her heart out and eat it while you watch."

This sudden reminder of Sarah's presence brought Jareth up short. He was filled with panic as he realized that he had completely lost control. Gripping the edge of his cloak in his taloned hand, he shielded his face from her view, turning away with a despairing cry. His glamour was shattered and he tried to regain his sense of self in vain.

"Please, Sarah. Don't look at me. I- I don't want to frighten you." He couldn't face her. Couldn't bear to see the look of horror on her face as she was confronted, for the first time, with the monster that always lurked just under the surface.

The dark fae heard Jareth's despairing cry and stroked the Heart in his hand. His self satisfied smirk grew wider as he felt the cracks in the Heart grow wider with Jareth's pain and desolation. His smirk twisted into an evil snarl as he dug his own sharp talons into the cracks. Another roar filled the void, this time one of pain.

Sarah stilled, feeling the harsh spike of Jareth's temper like a living thing, staggering back for a moment. She swallowed, her eyes wide as she watched Jareth growl like a wild thing, attempting to gain control of himself.

When he screamed in pain once again, Sarah's own voice joined his. She clutched at her chest as a sharp pain stabbed between her ribs. Tears streamed down her face as the pain continued, worming it's way through her as it sought her heart. Dropping the book, she collapsed on the ground, one hand holding her chest in a vain attempt to block the pain and the other reaching out, trembling, for Jareth.

She'd heard him warn her, but she was beyond caring what he looked like. She was far more terrified of the being that was hunting them than she could ever be of him, no matter what he looked like. She needed him; needed his support and his comforting presence in the face of the agony that flared in her chest.

When he did not take her outstretched hand, Sarah looked up at him, her every movement painful, only to gasp in fear at the sight of the Goblin King.

Sarah sobbed, watching as Jareth once again let out a tormented roar. He slowly crumpled to his knees and then fell forward onto all fours, his head hanging, what was left of his hair hiding his face from her view for a moment. The crunching of his bones as he reverted to a more primitive form startled her. He lurched to his feet, staggering around as his form continued to shift with horrific sluggishness.

Despite her pain, she scrambled away from him with a small cry, not sure whether he would turn on her the moment he was fully transformed. She staggered to her feet, her fear lending her the strength she needed to repel the magical attack on her person. She backed slowly away from Jareth, her eyes never leaving his tortured form as she watched the last traces of fae glamour fade away.

There was no buffer now, nothing to lessen the shock of seeing his feral looking features but Jareth was almost beyond caring. Almost all of his magic was slipping away from him. Although he was still standing on two legs, he was more beast than man. He staggered around, disoriented and in pain as an armor of feathers and bones formed on his body. Vines grew over it all, sprouting from his skin and wrapping themselves around his limbs and torso. He had been part of the Labyrinth for so long that his body now mirrored it's craggy walls.

Jareth knew he looked horrific, and he turned away from Sarah. He did not wanting to see the look of disgust and terror in her eyes as she beheld the monster that lurked within him. His heart broke again and again that she had to endure the sight of him this way. His shoulders slumped as he whimpered in despair, wondering why she hadn't fled from him. He knew she was still there, staring at him. He could hear her rapidly beating heart and her gasping breaths. He could smell her sweet scent, overlayed with the bitterly sharp smell of fear.

Another forlorn whimper escaped him. If she would not run from him, then he would go. He started to stagger away from her, only to stop short as the scent of their enemy once again flooded his senses. If he left her now, she would be helpless against the dark fae that stalked them.

He threw back his head and roared angrily. When he turned to face her, he saw the color drain from her face as she flinched back from him. He took two steps toward her and was shocked when she held her ground, despite the smell of dread that rolled off her in waves. Hoping to scare her into fleeing, he stared directly at her, growling. "You should run, Sarah. Don't look, just go."

She didn't even waver. "I- I can't go. He's coming." she glanced beyond him, toward the tunnel where the shadows were writhing, growing closer and closer by the second.

Jareth spoke again, his voice now raw and guttural; far deeper than it had been before. Loss and anger edged his tone as he spoke the most painful words he had ever uttered. "This is what I really am Sarah. There is nothing pretty about this." He turned away from her, no longer willing to watch the emotions that chased each other across her features as she watched him.

"I am nothing more than a villain...a monster. It's why I asked you if you trusted me. I don't expect you to do so now. Now that you- that you've seen me as I truly am." His voice grew softer and the anger began to bleed out of his voice, leaving only pain and heartbreak. "You don't live as part- as part of the Labyrinth without- without… becoming…"

He hid his face in his gnarled hands as his voice trailed off. He began to move away from her, toward the tunnel, toward the danger. "Go, Sarah. I will stop him here."