Fan Fiction ❯ Broken Wings: A Labyrinth Fic ❯ Chapter 5

Part 5

Jareth stood back and watched the two friends reacquaint themselves, taking the time to look over Ludo's fur for signs of blood or scratches. To his relief, there were none, which meant that Arin had not yet discovered the world beneath the labyrinth. The majority of his subjects would be safe, then.

"Ludo, where's Hoggle?" Sarah asked, standing back a bit so she could look Ludo in the eye. "Where's everyone?"

Ludo pointed down the tunnel he'd come from and said in his usual lumbering voice, "far away."

"They probably went down to the shadow world," Jareth nodded knowingly. "It's a long distance from here, but if they make it, it would be worth the trip."

"If they make it?" Sarah mumbled.

"Oh, it's not that hard, just a few traps that are so old they may have forgotten not to spring open during an emergency. I'm sure they'll be fine. It's the safest place they could go." The look on Sarah's face told him his explanation didn't help reassure her any, and he shook his head. "In any case, we'd best get some sleep. We have a hard journey tomorrow."

Sarah nodded, and the three all used the half-hidden stepping stones to get to the boulder at the lake's center. She lay down beside Ludo, who allowed her to snuggle up against his warm fur. Watching with a touch of envy, Jareth settled for stretching out a few feet away at the boulder's edge, taking care not to disturb the delicate moss. He hated not being able to merely blink in and out of any spot at whim, which not only saved time but saved damage to the labyrinth as well. No unfortunate flower trampled underfoot, no wandering unicorns accidentally startled into knocking its head against a wall. He winced at that memory and kept telling himself it was the unicorn's fault for being so jittery in the first place.

"I will kill you, Arin," he promised quietly. "I'll trap you in a bubble and let it get smaller until you're crushed. Or I'll turn you into a rat and let my goblins eat you. Or I could settle for ripping that griffin's heart out of your chest." Careful not to jar his broken arm, he shifted to one side and turned to the lantern between him and Sarah, staring at the little faerie who'd fallen asleep. Her body only gave a tiny glow now that she was unconscious. "Bratty little thing," he mumbled. "To think, I'm trying to save a labyrinth full of stupid creatures who bite and scream and fight and curse...I must be a damn fool."

*****

Jareth woke to the sound of bracelets noisily jangling, and he opened his eyes to see Sarah quietly turn, pressing closer to Ludo. The furry monster snored up a storm, making Jareth wonder how he hadn't been disturbed in his sleep. Wide awake, he sat up and gave the cavern a cursory glance. There was no way to tell what time it was just by looking, so he cupped his hand and created a bubble, gazing into intently. Linked to the other bubbles left in the dead zone they'd seen before, he could use this one in his hand like a window and see through those on the surface.

"Just a little after twilight," he nodded to himself. A tiny smile crept over his face. "And looks like my bubbles have been busy." He could barely see the dead area for the thousands of bubbles floating over the ashes, dripping magick back into the soil. With a sigh he pulled the magick from the bubble back into himself, and the crystal sphere disappeared.

"Hmm...Jareth?" Sarah mumbled, slowly waking up. "What time is it?"

"Time to go," Jareth said firmly. "It's night, we'll be able to move safely now. Well, safer than during the day, at least."

"Okay, then," she responded. "C'mon, Ludo, let's go."

Ludo hesitated. "Ludo...stay."

Sarah blinked in surprise. "What? Stay?"

Jareth stood, staggering a bit since he couldn't use one arm. "He has to. If Arin comes this way, someone has to be here to know about it."

"But what can he do against her?" Sarah cried.

"Go and tell the others," he said as if it was obvious. "Look, he's not stupid. He's not going to try to fight her. But the rest of the labyrinth dwellers must know that they have to move again if she tracks them down this path."

She shook her head stubbornly, trying to find a gap in that logic. Why not let someone who could move quickly do this? Hoggle, he was fast...but then, he was also one of the brighter people in the maze, and they needed him to lead them out. Sir Didymus...no, he'd "charge!" and that would be the end of that. But his trusty steed...no, the sheepdog would just scramble off with or without his master. And the goblins were too stupid to trust with the task..."Damn."

"He'll be fine," Jareth tried to reassure her, but unused to such speech, he came off sounding cold. "Arin won't know about this for some time to come, and we should have killed her before that happens. Now let's go."

"Ludo," Sarah started, turning back to her friend, "you will be careful, won't you? I don't want to lose you."

"Ludo...careful..." he nodded, giving her one last hug. "Stones friends."

Confused, she looked around the cave. Sure enough, there were dozens of other boulders situated around the cavern that she had failed to notice before. Rocks upon rocks made up the walls and the staircase, probably even the tunnel they'd come down. Ludo would probably know if anyone came down the path hours ahead of time and call the stones down on their heads, leaving no way to escape.

Having to be satisfied with that, she picked up the lantern and followed Jareth down another tunnel out of the cave, and the inclined floor told her they were heading back up to the surface.

*****

Sitting up in the castle window, surveying her new kingdom, Arin smiled grimly as she spotted a lone bubble floating up at her. Apparently Jareth was back, and had been careless enough to lose one of his precious crystal toys. How ironic it had wandered straight to her. Flipping her red hair back behind herself, she reached a hand out and deftly caught the bubble, cradling it so it wouldn't pop.

"And do you have any pretty pictures to show me, darling?" she whispered, gazing into it. She frowned, unable to comprehend what she saw. It seemed like there were thousands of bubbles in its surface, telling her that somewhere, at the other end of this link, Jareth had created too many crystals to see through.

"I thought I didn't leave him with that much magick," she muttered. "He's trickier than I thought. But not that tricky. He left you behind, didn't he? Probably needed a guide to show him through his own maze."

She abruptly popped the bubble between two clawed fingernails. "And he's not the only one with tricks." Motioning for one of the goblins cowering in the corner to come closer, she waited patiently as the smallest one was pushed forward. It crept over to her, whimpering with every breath, and bowed as low as it could, hoping to win good favor with flattery. She smiled kindly, reached down, and picked it up, raking one nail across its throat. Blood spilled out onto the floor, drenching the stones that were turning brown from a previous victim. Tossing its body onto a heap growing outside her window, indeed growing outside every castle window, she dipped one finger in the puddle at her feet and let one perfect drop form at the tip. Instead of dripping off, though, it hung like slime and formed into a small, red faerie with wasp wings.

"Go find Jareth," she ordered it. "And tell me where he is. I want to play with him a little." As it darted away, she realized she still had the two card dogs to get rid of before she could dispose with that annoying passage straight to the castle. She would need several faeries for that. With a kind smile, she motioned for another goblin to come closer.