The Cruelest Way
Prompt: "But then, maybe 'I don't believe in you' is the cruelest way to kill a monster."
"Well?" Jareth's voice was a touch strained. This was likely due to the spider demon gleefully bearing down on us.
I pulled against the webbing cocooning us, which was about as effective as pulling at cement. "Look, I just don't think I can put the necessary oomph behind it when all my senses are convincing me that this is real."
He closed his eyes briefly. "Now would be an excellent time to try."
"Look, your Demandiness, no one asked you to come barging into my subconscious and port us to some hell dimension constructed off the nightmare I was having."
"That," he said through clenched teeth, "was an accident."
"Whatever. You broke it. You fix it."
"I can't. Only you can remove the belief support structure this monstrosity relies on. You've done it before. Do it now."
"What do you mean I've done it before?"
"Where exactly do you think I've been for the last decade?"
I blinked. "I hadn't thought about it."
"Exactly. And we'll have a nice chat about the ineffable misery of being unmade and in limbo after you get us out of here."
"But-"
"Sarah. We don't have time for this."
"How the hell am I supposed to suddenly not believe in the spider demon that's about to eat us?"
"Don't think about it."
"What?"
"Forget about it. Now."
"Christ. Forgetting isn't voluntary. I can't just-"
His mouth was on top of my mine in a heated rush that left me zinging all the way down to my toes.
I blinked hard, and found us back in my bedroom. In my bed. I scrambled upright.
His smile was pure devilry as he propped himself up on an elbow. "I was hoping not to do something like that until after we'd been properly reacquainted. Desperate times, however."