Wow, 25 cahpters already!! And were not done yet. So anyway...chapter 25. Not all was as it seemed. Keep reading and reviewing please. Luv you all. xxx

Jareth's wing felt stiff and sore. The patch of missing feathers where the arrow had stuck dragged in the air, reducing his aerodynamics. He beat his wings a few times experimentally and then tried banking first to the left, and then the right, compensating slightly for the reduction in efficiency. He furled his wings in to dive towards the ground and a stab of pain shot through him, nearly causing him to roll in the air and lose control. He spun round, flapping hard, pulling upwards as he spread his wing again, the aching intensifying. Shutting his mind to the pain as well he could, he tried again. This time he plummeted towards the ground, without his usual finesse it was true, but without the fear of falling. Satisfied with the level of control he maintained, he spiralled high into the air, setting off in the direction of Raemon's country house.

Sarah's face pressed into the ground and she screwed her eyes tight shut, trying to block out what was happening. Raemon's finger stroked down her again, teasing at her back entrance before moving further down, between her legs, pushing underneath her to tease at her clit. She gritted her teeth, trying desperately to think of the solution to her predicament. How did she get out of this? Raemon's finger touched her again, and this time he was pushing in, the top half of his finger buried within her. Sarah was so tense that the pain was that of tearing, forcing itself against her muscles. He moved his finger and she let out a whimper.

"Want more Sarah?" Raemon asked, his hot breath on her ear as he pressed himself onto her, crushing her body as bent his head to speak to her. "Want me inside you? You're impatient Sarah. Remember, I control the speed."

He pushed until the full length of his finger was inside her, before withdrawing slightly and forcing her to take another. His other hand delved down to trace the opening of her sex, entering her as far as the cylinder would allow. Sarah tried to detach her mind from her body. She thought of Jareth and wondered if he was well enough to know she was missing. She doubted it. Iron poisoning lead to delirium, even if removed, and if not...She tried to think of something else again. And then suddenly, as it does to dreamers, the solution came to her. She was dreaming. This wasn't real. She had to wake up, she realised. She shut her eyes and breathed deeply, schooling her mind to the idea of the dream. She opened her eyes wide. Soil. She tried again. Still soil. And then she thought of something. If Raemon was feeding her this dream then surely she would not be able to break it while he was touching her. And he had his fingers buried inside her. She groaned and prepared herself for what she knew she had to do.

Concentrating her mind solely on Jareth, trying to convince herself that it was him that was touching her, she relaxed each muscle one by one. The hardest to let go were the internal muscles currently trying to force Raemon's fingers out of her, but with a great effort of mind she achieved it. Raemon immediately felt the difference and grinned cruelly. She was his now, she had admitted it to herself. Taking a chance, he loosened the hold on her enough to allow her to talk. Her voice was muffled against the grass, but he understood everything she said.

"You're right Raemon," Sarah lied, "you are better than Jareth. I do want you. Raemon, I want you now."

The words tasted bitter in Sarah's mouth and she hated herself for having resorted to uttering them. She cringed as she felt Raemon's lips press into the back of her neck and for some reason it suddenly struck her as ironic that this fae, who was so attractive by human terms, should be so repulsive when she compared him to her only love. She was brought back to the present situation abruptly as she felt Raemon's fingers pump hard into her. He set a steady rhythm that made Sarah want to scream in pain.

"Need you now, Raemon," she managed to gasp.

It had the desired effect. He stilled his hands and shut his eyes, revelling in her words. That she should think him better than Jareth...He leant down to speak hotly in her ear.

"You really are a little slut aren't you?" he whispered. "Like it hard from behind..."

He pressed his lips into her neck again and Sarah forced herself not to try to move as he slowly withdrew his hands. As soon as his hands were busy with the fastenings of his riding breeches, Sarah took her chance. Shutting her eyes tight and willing her real eyes to obey her, she opened her eyes wide.

Pain in her arms. Stone wall. Open dressing gown. She was awake. And she was shaking. Wet tears covered her cheeks and a dull ache in her shoulder told of how she had come to be unconscious in the first place. Carefully, she sought the ground with her toes, taking some of the weight off her wrists as she stood up. As she did so she became aware of heavy breathing right behind her, and remembered that Raemon too would have been forced from the dream. And he wasn't happy.

Raemon's house was deserted when Jareth arrived there. The smooth lawn with curving drive was devoid of gardeners, however Jareth was observed as he wheeled down to the ground, transforming into his usual shape. He bent over for a few seconds, fighting the sickness in the pit of his stomach that the exertion had caused him. Straightening, he looked round. Air on his skin caused him to glance down, realising that he still wore the bloodstained and torn shirt through which the arrow had pierced. He turned on his heal, redressing himself in an intimidating black costume of fine silk. He looked down at the effect and frowned. The throbbing pain in his arm was clearly still effecting his strength, his buttons were done up wrong. Cursing silently, and fumbling with his newly mended fingers, he corrected the simple mistake that he had not made since early childhood, before drawing himself to his full and intimidating height and setting off across the lawn. The eyes that had watched his arrival blinked and vanished, but the damage was done. Eight scuttling legs bore witness that the Goblin King was weak, and that now would be the time to strike.

Jareth paused before the tightly closed oaken front doors. He shut his eyes and concentrated hard, wondering why making magic still seemed to be somewhat of a struggle as the iron poison left his system. He opened his eyes and raised his hand. Nothing happened. Feeling suddenly nauseas, he turned from the top step and vomited into the rose bushes that framed the front door. The bile tasted metallic and bloody. He spat again, staring at his shaking hands in frustration. The surgeon had said he should rest, but this was beyond intolerable. A further bite of pain gnawed through him, originating from his right bicep. Pushing his left arm under his shirt, he felt round the top of his right arm. Something sharp snagged at his gloves. Metal. Cursing as his gloves ripped and he sliced his finger, he summoned up as much strength as he could muster through the dizziness that was threatening to engulf him. As nausea endangered to overwhelm him again, he dug his nails deep into his own skin, gritting his teeth as he felt the blood begin to run. Fumbling slightly in the slipperiness, he managed to catch hold of the iron shard, pulling it free. He raised it before his eyes. A tiny metal sculpture. Carved in perfect shape. A spider. Jareth realised why his head still felt fuzzy and shut his mind to the call of the telepathic leaches. The nausea vanished and he shook his head. How had the surgeon missed such an obvious problem...the surgeon. Jareth's eyes grew dark as he thought of the undoubted treachery of that trusted healer. Slowly, deliberately, he drew his gloves from his hands and wrapped his fingers round his medallion. Shutting his eyes, he mingled his magic with its ancient power. Together, they gained in strength.

In Jareth's bedchamber in the castle, the healer was pacing the floor. He looked nervous and fidgety, which was starting to annoy Hoggle and the goblin, who had just finished changing the bloodstained sheets. Suddenly Jareth's voice was all around them.

"Healer," it boomed, reverberating round the stone walls. "Healer, you have failed me."

"My Lord...no..." the healer had turned as white as a sheet and was trembling in fear.

"Take him goblins," sounded Jareth's danger filled voice, "hold him until my return. Healer, do not try anything rash. The wrath of the Goblin King is terrible to..."

The voice cut off suddenly. Hoggle and the goblin looked at each other for a second. The chamber door banged shut behind the fleeing surgeon. With simultaneous cries of rage, Hoggle and the goblin set of in pursuit.

On the top step of Raemon's grand house, Jareth's eyes flew open, a very real scream echoing from not too far away. Sarah. Eyes full of rage, Jareth raised his right hand, the doors blasting from their hinges, the chains clattering uselessly against the stone floor. Jareth stormed across the threshold.

Raemon's hands clawed her back, drawing blood as they tore the open dressing gown for Sarah's body. He whipped round in front of her and she caught a glimpse of his crazed eyes before he crushed his lips to hers, seizing her hair and pulling hard until her head was where he wanted it. His teeth knocked into her lips, bruising them and Sarah did the only thing she could think of, and bit down hard on his lower lip. Raemon recoiled from her, blood leaking down his chin. Oddly though, his eyes looked triumphant.

"The excuse I was looking for," he muttered. "You asked for this," he told Sarah cruelly.

He whirled round and out of her line of vision. Sarah could hear him clattering round behind her. A wave of dread flooded her at the thought of what he might be about to do. She felt his hands at her ankles, pulling her legs apart and tying them so that she could not close. Yet again, she was completely helpless.

"You know you have the power to release the cylinder. If you wish it there no longer, I can remove it. Do this now." Sarah shook her head in defiance. "Very well, you leave me no choice. Have you heard of thumb screws?" Sarah nodded, her eyes wide. "This is not a thumb screw; however it works on roughly the same principle." He produced a small metal instrument. "It fits like this."

He bent down in front of her and closed it round her clit. For some reason, the irony of the situation again hit her. In many ways, Jareth and his cousin were very alike, especially when it came to a slightly perverted sexual appetite. The difference was that she knew she trusted Jareth with her life. She loved him and loved to be ruled by him. She was scared of Raemon. She hated him.

"If you deny me, it tightens. If you flinch, it tightens. If I feel like tightening it, it tightens. Do you understand?" Sarah nodded her head, not trusting her voice to conceal her fear.

Raemon reached down and tightened the screw. The pressure was intense, but not uncomfortable and Sarah was assailed by the inappropriate idea of how good it would feel to make love to Jareth while wearing this screw. Raemon smiled cruelly, guessing what she was thinking.

"Not for long Sarah," he taunted, running his hands down over her breasts. Involuntarily, she flinched away from his touch. Raemon leered. "Was that a flinch Sarah?"

Raemon's hand dropped to the screw and gave it another turn. Still the pressure was not unpleasant. Raemon's breath was coming faster now, his eyes bright with desire. His tongue flicked over his lower lip, catching at the blood that clung there. His hair fell in a dishevelled muss over his forehead, upon which beads of perspiration were starting to form as he watched Sarah's torment. Raemon reached round her and pushed his fingers deep into her back entrance. Sarah's eyes flew open but she managed to hold still. Raemon shook his head at her.

"Not good enough Sarah. You are trying to keep me out." He tightened the screw again. It was starting to get uncomfortable, although Sarah did not let it show. "Will you let me in Sarah?" Raemon asked again.

Again Sarah shook her head. Raemon reached down and turned the screw twice more. Sarah gasped in pain as she felt her nerve endings being crushed in metal.

"That's not fair!" she cried out and Raemon merely laughed at her, turning the screw yet again. His hand drifted to his crotch and he took hold of himself, rubbing slowly. His eyes flickered shut and his head rolled back on his shoulders, his breath becoming ragged. He opened his eyes to slits and observed her watching him. Raemon smiled nastily. He brought his lips to her ear.

"Life isn't fair," he whispered before lowering his head to her breasts and sucking hard. Sarah convulsed her body, trying to draw her knees up to her chest and throw him off.

"Uh uh," Raemon scolded and turned the screw again.

Sarah screamed. There was a crash somewhere above. Raemon pushed past her and stared up at the ceiling, cursing the interruption. He shut his eyes and an expression of concentration swam over his features. He was muttering something, some sort of calling. He opened his eyes. Raemon was crossing to the door when it exploded into the room, catching him down the length of his body and hurling him into the wall. For a moment he seemed to hang there, haloed by the white light emanating from through the doorway, blood starting to gurgle from between his lips, before he slipped down to the floor, landing with a sickening crunch in an unnatural tangle of limbs.

Jareth strode across the threshold, the powerful light around him fading as he lowered his hand. Sarah was hanging from the ceiling with her back to him, spread-eagled in midair. He reached into the air and took produced a crystal, which he caressed with his pale, ungloved fingers, before throwing it at her feet. The restraints and screw that Raemon had placed on her vanished, and she collapsed to the floor, Jareth crossing the room smoothly to catch her as she touched the ground. He looked down into her eyes. She looked dazed and disorientated. He stroked the column of her neck reassuringly.

Sarah heard the crash of the door and the crunch as Raemon hit the floor. She had had to screw up her eyes against the brilliant light that filled the room. And then suddenly she was falling as the restraints vanished and she failed to catch herself on her feet. Strong arms wrapped round her, lowering her down so that her head rested on something soft. Someone's lap. She pulled her knees up to her stomach, curling in on herself in a defensive position against all that she had been through. As she did so she became aware of another sensation. Overpowering and needful. The blood rushing back to her clit, swelling it and stimulating the nerve endings almost beyond endurance. She gasped, her body writhing in shock. Her eyes flew open and she looked up to see Jareth gazing down at her, concern etched on his beautiful features.

"Jareth, help me," she managed to moan.

Jareth held her in his arms, searching her eyes for what Raemon had done to her. Her legs shifted and he caught a glimpse of her engorged clit, throbbing and swollen. He was puzzled as to she had come to this state, but it was clear that she needed release from it. He reached down and pressed his ungloved finger to her, the naked rawness of his magic against her hot flesh sending her screaming over the edge as he held her in his lap, arms wrapped round her shoulders as he guided her down from her high.

"Pleased to see me I take it?" he quipped gently.

He kissed her lips tenderly, putting his relief at finding her, and his pain of their separation into it, letting her know what she meant to him. She kissed him back briefly, and fainted in his arms.