Fan Fiction ❯ Broken Wings: A Labyrinth Fic ❯ Chapter 10

Part 10

Arin paced back and forth in front of her window, looking up every once in awhile for a dark sprite to return. She rubbed one hand, massaging the muscles sore from cutting through goblin skin, not the thinnest of hides to penetrate. A good deal of dried blood under her fingernails caught her attention, and she cleaned it off in the wash basin near Jareth's...her bed.

"Goblins," she called out after the water had turned red. "Bring me clean water."

None answered. She walked to the door and flung it open, spotting a few goblins that hadn't run down the hall and out of sight quickly enough. "Stupid useless good for nothing goblins..." She grabbed the wash basin and flung it after them, screeching like a wild cat. "Cowards, all of you. Filthy things."

She slammed the door with another scream and leaned back against it, breathing hard. "Damn...low power...pests..." A hollow pounding echoed in her ears, and she stumbled towards the bed, falling face first on the lush blankets. She rolled on her back, grabbing the front of her dress and ripping it open. With her upper chest exposed, she dug her sharp nails into her skin and pulled, breaking her ribs apart with ease. In the center of her chest, next to her real heart, lay a flawless ruby as big as her fist, beating hard enough to shake her whole body. Laid open, white and red streaks of light swirled up and out of the ruby, into the air, spinning in broad spirals and dissipating into blurs and finally nothing. The ruby heart slowed its pace and returned to a soft beat to match her real heart.

"Damn," she whispered, without the strength to even raise her voice. She lay her hand on the cavity in her chest, and the wound sealed again without leaving any marks. When she sat up, no blood stained the blankets.

Arin looked over her tattered dress and giggled. Ah, the high fashion price of great power.

*

Sarah woke up with sunlight poking through the briars and hitting her face. Beside her, Jareth still slept soundlessly, his breathing less labored than it had been the night before. She lay her hand on his forehead, then his cheek, and smiled. The fever was gone. She looked around herself, checking first to make sure the faerie was still asleep under her blanket in her lantern, and then to see that the tablet was still beside them. Satisfied they were alone, she looked back at her companion.

"Your clothes are really starting to suffer," she said.

Jareth opened his eyes for a few seconds, then closed them again.

"And your hair...I wish we could stop off at a river or a waterfall or something. I mean, we could both use a good rinse. Dirt and leaves don't look too hot as hair accessories."

He didn't move.

She plucked a few crumbling leaves out of his hair. "C'mon, you said you'd be fine. Of course, you said you'd only get tired, so maybe you were lying about that, too."

Jareth turned on his side, away from her. "Be quiet...I'm trying to sleep."

Sarah smacked his shoulder and sat up, crossing her legs. "You rotten little...I thought you were unconscious."

"Congratulations...your voice woke the dead."

"'The dead'?" She leaned over him and put her fingers on his neck, checking his pulse. "You weren't dead, were you? Don't tell me I'm talking to a corpse."

He swatted her hand away. "Calm down, I'm fine."

She breathed a sigh of relief, but a moment later she heard his breathing slow again. She grabbed his shoulder and shook him awake. "Don't you fall back to sleep. It's morning, time to get up."

He only buried his face deeper in his folded arms. "Sarah, it should come as no surprise to you that I'm not a morning person."

"Is Arin?"

Silence.

He sighed. "Oh yes. Almost forgot that." He pushed himself upright, his eyes still somewhat closed. "Did we have any winged attackers while I was out?"

"Nope." She sat up straight and heaved the stone scale closer, tipping the lantern over in the process and rousing a high pitched rant from the faerie. "Whups, sorry 'bout that. Jareth, look, I got the scale you wanted."

He glanced at the slab of rock, and his eyes widened. "You actually...managed...did you have to fight him for it? Did he hurt you?"

She shook her head. "No, I just picked it up off the ground. He wouldn't have chased me if the jewels hadn't stuck to my shoes."

"The scale was on the ground?"

"Uh huh. There were a bunch of them scattered all over the place."

Jareth frowned. "Damn. That's not good."

She brought her legs up under herself and leaned forward. "What do you mean?"

He held his hand up and blew a bubble out. Both of them watched it begin to replicate. "For the rocks themselves to come falling apart...and from such a strong dragon...She doesn't need to slash and burn my labyrinth anymore. Her corruption's spreading to the whole land." He shook his head and made a move to stand. He only made it halfway, falling to one knee and panting for breath.

Sarah put her arms around his shoulders and held him still. "Jareth, you're not one hundred percent after that hit. You've got to rest."

"No time," he said. "Arin's already killing the labyrinth. Pretty soon there won't be much of anything left to save."

"And how're we gonna get there? You can't just disappear, and you're not strong enough to walk through the maze."

"No, but I can reach the card dogs." He tried to push his way up again and had to catch himself as he fell.

Sarah shook her head and put his good arm over her shoulders. "Hang on, I got ya." She stood up, bringing him with her. "Why do we have to go there?"

"One of the tunnels leads right to the castle. And at least one of us knows which one."

"You don't have to rub it in."

She helped him out of the briar patch, picking up the faerie as they went. The scale floated just behind them.

"I'm not. I never expected you to get so far as the oubliette." He laughed. "Of course, trying to use reason in the labyrinth...that was funny."

"I should just drop you," she said. "Or throw you over my shoulder."

He stared at her, his jaw dropping slightly. "You couldn't."

"Oh, I could. You're light enough. Keep up the comments and you'll be watching the trip backwards."

He raised one eyebrow. "I just might like the view," he muttered.

"Huh?"

"Nevermind," he said, looking ahead. "We're heading back in, so watch for dark sprites."

"Right," she said. What did he mean by that? Did he mean watching the labyrinth shift behind them? That certainly could be interesting.

*

The endless fountains of water that had previously spilled over the walls and fonts now only trickled or had dried up altogether. The tiles, now dingy and gray, cracked and crumbled as they walked over them. Instead of weeds and overgrowth, dust and rot now covered everything. Even the air inside the labyrinth was different than before.

"But we were only gone one night," she whispered. Her voice echoed down the corridor.

"I doubt anything is in one piece anymore."

They followed after the bubble leading them and started down a new corridor of broken yellow slabs of stone. Large chunks had crumbled off, leaving the paths strewn with jagged rocks and yellow dust. At the first boulder in the way, Jareth and Sarah both scrambled up, but Sarah had to help him down, and even then he nearly collapsed. His boots scraped on the ground and he leaned hard against her.

"Are you sure you can keep going?" she asked.

"We're almost there," he breathed. "Just a little bit further..."

They went over three more boulders and down another mile of corridors, cutting through breaks and cracks, before coming out into a clearing of cobblestones and bricks. Sarah turned around.

"That's odd," she said. "It's not moving behind us."

Jareth didn't answer, and she turned around to see why. Scraps of paper littered the area and blew around in dust devils. She watched them move and noticed three distinct colors, white, red and black. She pressed her knuckles against her mouth.

The card dogs.

Wind howled as it picked up force through the corridors, pushing the dust in with the paper. She helped Jareth lean against a wall and then stooped, drawing an arrow on a nearby brick.

"I don't think anything's going to move it," he said.

"It's worth a try." She stuck the lipstick back in her pocket and shouldered his weight again. "Jareth, when I was here before, were you watching me? The whole time?"

He smiled, only a little. "Most of the time. I had to watch your brother as well."

They walked towards the doors, and when Jareth put his hand out to open one, the rotted wood crumbled and sloughed onto the floor, the metal hinges and knocker clattering on top of the mess.

"Wait a minute," she said. "This is the door I went in before. It's the wrong one."

"They change every few minutes. The bubble says this is the right one." He inhaled and coughed a few times. "Besides, I can smell the air from the castle."

"Hm?" She breathed deep and grimaced. Sour, coppery smells...

They started down the corridor. She turned back once, just before they went too far, and looked at the ground. The arrow hadn't moved.