In the Shadows

The hot water eased the soreness from Sarah's muscles as she sunk into the tub. She shooed Smith from the room as soon as the bath was prepared and aroma salts were produced. She hadn't had a bath in ten years. She sighed as the water rose to her shoulders and stared down at her body. She was skinny. Very, very skinny.

Her ribs stuck out from her abdomen and her hip bones jutted from her pelvis. Her body hadn't truly been hers in a very long time, and she was lucky that she was so pumped full of sedatives that the few times an orderly got the nerve to grope someone, it wasn't her. She didn't have anything to offer mentally or physically. She was a ghost. A shell.

She sat there for a long while thinking about her lost life. About Alonzo Betancourt from Drama and his dark curly hair and his brown eyes. How they always got into arguments, but really she was just trying to hog his attention. He used to draw little hearts on her hands and leave notes on her scripts. She thought about the one time he kissed her behind a large set piece they'd been painting together.

That was two weeks before the Labyrinth.

She thought about her friends from school. About Lizzie and Sharon promising to come over every day once summer started. They wanted to go to the beach. They wanted to have sleepovers and volunteer at the Senior Center putting on one act plays.

She had wanted to be a theater major. She wanted to be on Broadway. Like her mom. Her breath hitched then and she stood and quickly dried herself off.

After her bath Smith showed Sarah to her room and tells her to come down to eat when she's ready.

She's not sure if she wants to be around him the rest of the night. Not with all the decisions she still had to make. How was she going to get to hoggle again? And, Jareth! The last time she saw him he was so… empty. Not that he wasn't before. He was just a projection of her memories, but this time. He was warped and faded. He felt weak. Almost as if he was being pulled from her. Severed.

She couldn't let that happen. Not until she had more clues. Not until she figured out what on earth was going on with these creatures. How were they coming through from Underground? Where were they coming from? Who did they belong to? Or really who did they answer to? That was probably the most terrifying thing about them. She had no idea where they were coming from or whom they were being sent by.

It could be anyone. She hadn't really made enemies in Underground. The only one would have been Jareth, but he was… Well…

A wet dream. Something inside her chuckled darkly.

"Stop that," she snapped.

Right then a soft knock sounded on her door, "Sarah? Are you hungry?"

She pulled the towel from her hair and sat on the foot of the bed, "Yes, I was almost done. Come in."

The door opened slowly and Smith popped his head in, "Who were you talking to just now?"

"Myself," Sarah wrapped the towel tightly around the end of her hair and squeezed. Not bothering to look up at Smith. Even with the awkward silence that stretched between them.

"I guess that's kind of a normal habit. I shouldn't really be surprised."

"No, probably not," she turned to him then and felt a small part of her heart skip. He was standing in the doorway twisting his fingers together and looking at her. His brows swept together with concern and he was nibbling the inside of his cheek. She smiled then.

"I do that too," she pointed at him and then to her own cheek.

"What?" he froze for a second and she chuckled.

"You cheek," she waved vaguely before wrapping the towel around her arm and standing, "you were nibbling it. I do that, too. When I'm nervous or upset."

"Oh, yes," he smiled sheepishly, "It's a terrible habit, but I can't seem to break it."

"Not so great a doctor, then, are you?" she teased.

"Yes, well," he smiled down at her. Warm and inviting. The intense feeling earlier - the desperation - seemed almost like Sarah had been making it up. He was very different from the man she knew earlier today. Or yesterday. Or a few hours ago for that matter. It actually made him more of an outlier now in her thought process. He was all over the place. Different things all at once.

No.

She narrowed her eyes at him for a moment.

"Sarah?"

It couldn't be.

"Sarah, is something wrong?"

It wasn't possible.

She stepped closer to him and looked into his face. Into his eyes. Everything was different. His nose. His eyes. His lips. He smelled like trees and sky. Not the dark tang of magick and peaches and other like Jareth had. But, it wouldn't be the first time that he'd changed himself entirely in front of her. Disguised himself to get closer. To be right next to her without her even knowing.

Was it?

"Sarah…" his blue eyes were so dark as he stared down at her. He leaned closer to her, a smirk spreading over his full lips, "What could you possibly be thinking of while examining me so closely?"

She felt her cheeks heat, "You're… not him. Are you?"

His eyes went cold then. The smile iced over on his lips as he continued to watch her. Only this time she couldn't breathe. She was trembling, frozen under his gaze.

Wrong, wrong, wrong, her mind screamed at her then, this is wrong. He's not-

"Who, exactly, do you think I am, Sarah?"

The way he said her name made her shiver. She felt like prey. Cornered by the predator. The killer. The hunter.

"Him…" she mumbled, gaze still captured by his own, "The… Goblin…"

His smile spread wider, wickeder across his face and he leaned against the doorframe and crossed his arms over his chest.

"It seems you're more clever than I gave you credit for," he drawled.

Sarah felt the blood drain from her face. Her skin felt cold and her fingers went numb and her mouth felt stiff as it clamped down. She forced herself to keep staring at him. She forced herself not to look away. To face him. To face whatever wrath she might incur.

But, he reached for her. He took her elbows in his warm hands and pulled her close. His face dipped towards hers and he tilted it sideways. His eyes on hers as he moved closer. Closer. Until she could smell the earthy, clean smell on his skin. The deep, sweet cologne he wore. She could see each individual blonde eyelash and count the almost invisible freckles on his cheeks. And his mouth was so close to hers. She could feel his breath. Taste it.

"Ha…" he said before booping her nose, "We're supposed to be getting better, not creating wild fantasies. Remember, Sarah?"

She felt faint.

Her knees gave out and Smith gathered her up in his arms. Sweeping her up against his chest with a look of concern.

"Are you alright?" he asked sharply.

"Yes...Sorry…" she breathed, sweat beading on her chest and neck.

"I've terrified you. I'm sorry. I'm truly sorry," he cradled her to him and swept down stairs, carefully depositing her onto the stool next to the breakfast bar in his pristine kitchen. He slid a candy dish filled with chocolates towards her, "Eat these. They'll help with the adrenaline."

He laughed softly as she slowly unwrapped a chocolate and slipped it into her mouth. His finger stroked the back of her head and she felt warm and cared for. It was very new and she felt silly for panicking earlier. Very silly. She felt the corners of her lips turn upwards and this sent a wave of snickers pouring from Smith.

"I was trying to flirt with you… quite poorly, as it were," he managed finally, "Ah, Sarah. I shouldn't make fun of your fears. I am sorry."

She shook her head and felt the tiny, slip of a smile settle on her lips, "It was funny now that it's over. I really thought you were him for a second."

He giggled, "You really did."

After a few moments of Smith monitoring her while she sucked on another chocolate he seemed happy she wouldn't faint and began pulling ingredients out of his fridge.

"How does a grilled cheese sandwich sound?"

"You could feed me a can of beans and as long as it didn't come from the hospital I would think it was gourmet."

Smith laughed and turned the stove on before setting to his task.

"Prepare for the World's Best Grilled Cheese, then."

After the food was finished and greasy fingers licked clean, Sarah and Smith sat on their stools chatting about literature and music and art that Sarah had missed over the last decade. He caught her up on all the new popular plays and musicals and even pulled out a box of magazines he'd collected over the years for her to look through.

He was so accommodating. It was nice. It was easy. She didn't think about the weird feelings she got from him in the hospital or the necklace being real - magick being real. He seemed to accept it pretty easily. Or maybe he was avoiding it just like she was. Maybe he was just as confused and scared and pretending it never happened was his version of coping. Maybe that's why he was so interested in her case, because she tried to do the same. She thought it was her imagination. Or maybe a dream, but everyone around her said she had… caused Toby's accident. That it was her fault. So, it had to be. There had to be something wrong with her.

The farther down that trail she went the more she felt her brow furrow and her mouth grimace. She was a very ruined person. She wasn't sure she would ever truly smile or feel again. Not the right way. Not the way young women who fell in love did. Not the way people who became mother's and fathers did. She still felt like a ghost. Like a freak.

She felt fingertips on her cheek and jumped.

"Just me," said Smith in his honeyed voice. It was deeper - richer somehow.

Sarah exhaled, not sure when she had started holding her breath.

"You're always so tense. As if you need to be ready to run at any second."

"If you finally believe me, then you understand why."

"I do."

She turned fully towards him, curious as to what his motivations were. She had no money. She wasn't powerful. She wasn't beautiful. She was rugged and cross and proud and careful. She held everything at arm's length and waited for the other shoe to drop. She wasn't anyone worth anything. All she had were her words and her hands and her spirit, and even that was questionable these days. She was compromised. Tarnished.

"What do you want from me?" she asked, she was looking into his eyes but she was looking deeper. Looking for his thoughts, for a tiny glimpse of what was behind that mask he had so firmly set in place.

The question must have caught him off guard because he blinked slowly at her.

And then he kissed her.

Sarah went completely rigid. Her eyes snapped open fully and she pressed her fingertips firmly against his chest. Her palms connected finally and he moved back, giving her space.

"This is really, really unprofessional, but I want to know you. I have since I was in my residency and saw you standing there with your wild hair and your green eyes. You looked lost, and then I figured out why. And, I didn't think you were crazy like the rest. I thought you were spirited and misunderstood. You had a story and no one was listening. I knew there was something different about you… It called to me."

Sarah felt her breath hitch with every word that washed over her.

"I care for you, Sarah. No matter how briefly we've known each other. I want to be with you," he sighed placing his hand at the base of her neck. And it felt safe and comfortable and… His thumb caressed the base of her neck where the muscles and tendons gathered in the front. Her pulse racketed against his palm and she was sure he knew she was starting to panick. He moved his hand quickly and her breathing calmed right away. His palms were large and warm and reassuring. Comfortable.

"Um… I don't… think I'm ready, yet," Sarah said trying to look up at him, but as hard as she tried she could look not farther than his mouth, which was set at an odd angle. Not a smile, but not a grimace. Sarah chewed the inside of his cheek.

"We do have similar habits don't we?" he said.

"Huh?" she watched as he poked her cheek affectionately, "Oh, yes."

"I said I'd wait," he booped her nose, and she rubbed it quickly, "I meant that. I have all the time in the world."

"I doubt that," she rolled her eyes.

"I do," he smiled handsomely.

"Five years."

"A nap."

"Ten."

"A walk in the park."

"Eighty. Eighty years."

"I could read a book."

"That's some book," she intoned.

He laughed and scratched the back of his head and her heart pattered. What a nice laugh he had.

Sarah tossed in her bed as thoughts swirled around and around in her head. She tried. She really tried to sleep. She wanted to. She was exhausted, but something kept her awake. Something tugged at her, deep in her bones. Pulled her her from the bed and out into the house. Out into the darkness where the Shades could be. Where she won't dare to go alone.

She wondered idly if Smith was still awake, if he was listening for her to get up and escape into the night like the mad woman she was. She had thought about it already as she settled in for the night, but her body was sore, and the place where the shade ripped into her leg felt hot. It itched. Maybe she was healing.

When she was seven years old she fell onto a pile of scrap wood in the garage and cut her thigh deep enough to require stitches. They had itched when they healed, but Sarah knew she was reaching. Magical wounds probably healed differently than normal ones, especially the dark ones. She shuddered thinking of the yellow putrid teeth digging into her flesh and tearing it open, of bleeding out. Of being swallowed whole like that girl in the hospital.

"Enough of that," she snipped. Sarah sighed once more and rolled over to face the window. The night was cloudy and the moon cast hazy shadows over the floor and the wall. The bed was too comfortable. That had to be it. The pillows too soft. The sheets too warm. She was in house with an unknown man. At least if they had met she didn't remember him. And, yet when he smiled she felt that tug of familiarity. When he laughed it made her heart sing only just a little. What was it about him that was speaking to her? Something in him was calling to her and they were resonating, but it didn't feel right. And, it did.

She huffed grumpily and sat up. There was no sleeping for her tonight, it seems. Which proved very counter productive. She needed to see Jareth. She needed more information on how to find him. Needed to know the tiny seed of him was safe inside of her until she could search on her own.

Precious thing…

She felt him purr inside her head and shivered.

Where even are you, idiot?

A dark chuckle.

Come find me, Sarah. I'm waiting.

Sarah groaned, knowing this was probably the stupidest thing she could do and still she stood up and crept towards the door of her room. She jiggled the handle softly to check if it was open. It was. She had hoped it was. She hoped beyond anything that Smith would never confine her, or lock her in like they did at the hospital. To her great relief he didn't, but she would always, always be suspicious. She would always check. She would never trust another door again. Or a human for that matter. Or anything.

Come, Sarah.

She slowly opened the door, tucking her long inky hair behind her ear as she checked the hallway for shades and Smith. Sarah felt him pull her towards the landing, towards the stairs. She moved as quietly as possible, stepping softly on the balls of her feet before gently setting the rest of her foot down. She wanted to make sure to distribute her weight properly in case any of the floorboards squeaked under her.

And she followed the tug of Jareth's power into the study that Smith had pulled her into the first day he'd brought her here.

Closer, Sarah. Closer.

The bobbles and trinkets and large swathes of cloth and wooden artifacts seemed to glow and vibrate in the broken light of the moon.

So close!

They felt familiar, the tang of magic dancing in the back of her sinuses and on her tongue as she walked around the room, letting her Goblin King guide her.

Here! Touch me, Sarah! Hold me!

She looked down onto the desk and saw Jareth's necklace replaced in it's shadow box. It glinted at her innocently from behind the glass. Such a small thing, but it kept the shades away. Kept them back from them as they escaped. They must have been reminded of the true power of the king, because the object itself felt so simple and innocuous against the soft velvet background it was pinned to.

Hurry!

She reached out and picked up the case, sliding the glass up and running her fingers over the metal amulet and the lights winked out all around her. The darkness floated up like the sea and swallowed her slowly. She opened her mouth to scream but a lambskin glove covered her mouth.

"Don't speak, I don't have much time."

As soon as his hand left her mouth she cursed, "What the fuck? You scared the shit out of me."

His edges were blurred and his eyes dimmer. He was almost see through. She could barely feel his hand on her mouth when he touched her. He was fading out. Leaving her. Being erased.

He looked tired. Exhausted.

He pinched the bridge of his nose, "As much as I enjoy our verbal foreplay, my darling, I need to to set aside your obsession with getting under my skin and kindly shut the fuck up for once. Something's happened. Our connection is nearly non-existent and I had to use the amulet to get enough power to speak with you. I'm afraid it may be the last time."

She felt the panic rise, "What? No, you can't be serious."

"I don't have the energy nor the time to tease you as I so delight in. I assure you, Precious Thing."

"What does that mean then? How am I supposed to find you?"

"The amulet, Sarah. Just as it called to you it will call to me."

"The real you?"

"Obviously," he ground out.

"You might be closer than I thought," she admits.

"If we're lucky, I will be. They're moving to find me. The shadows gather more and more each day."

"Who're they?"

"You'll know soon enough."

She glowered at him, "'Soon enough' isn't soon enough. I need to know now. What is happening to you? To me?!"

"My Labyrinth is dying, and so are all of my subjects. That's all you need to know for n-"

A crash sounded somewhere in the distant. Shattering glass and screaming, screaming, screaming.

"Go, Sarah," he pushed her in what felt like a random direction in this empty black space, "Go now."

"Where? How?!"

"You have to go!" he cried, almost desperate. If she didn't know any better she would say he was worried for her. Trying to protect her. Not for himself, but for her, "Please."

"Ja-" He placed a finger over her mouth, his eyes mournful and stricken. And then he blinked out of existence and a large gaping maw with jagged yellow teeth and grey ropes of sickly saliva snapped just beyond the tips of her fingers.

Sarah screamed and the box she was holding shattered. She blinked and the study reformed around her as the sound of thunderous steps sounded outside the room. The door flew open and Smith stood in the doorway, wild and unkempt and furious. He flicked on the light and Sarah stood shaking in the middle of the room, shattered glass around her from the shadow box or so she thought.

"Sarah, don't move. I'll get something you can walk on. Hang on."

Glass from every case in the room lay around her in jagged shattered and dusted pieces. The whole room glittered and reflected Sarah's broken image back to her and she could swear she caught the wicked smile of something blinking out of the corner of her eyes, but every time she turned to look closer it was gone.

The amulet…

"I found a runner!" Smith called from the foyer.

"Okay, I haven't moved," she bent over and scooped up the amulet, depositing it into the pocket of her pajama pants before Smith returned. He rolled the runner out towards her. His hand closed over hers as he helped her across the rug before sweeping her up into his arms and carrying her to the kitchen counter. He checked her feet for cuts, even hauled out a large first aid kit and began pulling things out onto the counter. He insisted she wait there while he checked the room to make sure it was fine.

Sarah hugged her shoulders, "I'm very tired, actually… I'd like to go back to bed."

"What were you doing in there?"

"Um, would you believe sleepwalking?

"Sarah," Smith folded his arms over his toned chest.

She sighed, "Something in that room was calling to me. I couldn't sleep and it called me and told me to go there and then the shades showed up… but only in my head this time."

Smith watched her cautiously, skepticism plain on his face, "What called you?"

"I don't know," she looked down, trying her hardest to play the broken girl card when all that ran through her veins now was raw power and adrenaline, "I was in my dream space almost as soon as I went in the room."

"And, you're not hurt?"

She shook her head.

"Okay… you should get some sleep. I'll clean up the room and head to bed."

She hopped off the stool and moved towards the stairs, but a door she hadn't noticed was opened on the other side of the kitchen and inside the room stood a grand mirror embellished with ivory and gold and intricate swirling knotted patterns in the frame. The glass was dark, but Sarah could tell even from here that she'd seen it before. A grander, more sinister version of it in her sleep that crackled like lightning and swirled with tiny little pinpoints of silver light.

It was the mirror in her dream. Or a sister to it. It gave her the same uneasy feeling.

"That mirror…" she paused turning toward him, and her breath struggled to claw it's way out of her lungs. His eyes were so dark. So alien. They looked almost black. He was watching her so intently. Waiting for her next words. She could see him calculating things in his mind. Hands gripping the sides of the sink and muscle and sinew rippling under his skin as he waited for her to finish.

Danger.

She swallowed, "That's a beautiful mirror."

The darkness that swirled around him was gone and he resumed cleaning up the first aid kit, "It's a family heirloom. My mother gave it to me." He didn't exactly emphasize any one word, but the way he said "mother" sent a chill into her very soul. It was empty and tinged with callousness. She could almost taste it. Like being packed with ice after being cut open.

"You could probably do a number at the Antique Roadshow with that thing," she shrugged, trying to play off the warning bells ringing in her ears, "It's big and old. They like that."

Smith snorted, "Noted. Go get some sleep. I'll take care of the rest."

"Night," she waved in a friendly manner before turning and darting up the stairs as fast as she could. She didn't stop until she was in her room with the thumb turn lock engaged and the covers over her head.

Sarah woke slowly the next morning. The cloudy night had turned into a cloudy day and watery sunlight streamed through the white lace curtains hanging on the wall. Sarah blinked the sleep from her eyes and stretched but the total silence of the morning sets her teeth on edge and she looks up and almost screams.

There. In the corner of her room in semi-opaque, bone white shroud that covered her body was a woman about her height. She stood as still as a statue. Still as death as Sarah waited for the attack. Waited for the darkness to erupt and bring the shades down upon her, but the moment passed and only the silence remained. The kind of silence you feel in a graveyard.

Sarah doesn't move. She's not sure she's breathing either as she watches the dead, white eyes of the woman through the fabric. And, suddenly a loud death rattle sends the shroud of her breathing sends and unnatural shiver through her shroud around her gaping toothless mouth. Her hands come up from under the fabric, cupped together and mangled like gnarled tree roots. But the skin… the skin was rotting and fetid. Her hands had greyed over. The sickly pallor of death colored everything from the tips of her cracked nails to the grey flesh of her flayed palms. Wrong, dead, gone.

Nothing about this woman feels alive. Nothing about her feels human. And Sarah blanches as the thing floats towards her sucking in a breath and when she speaks it's in a hollow voice like ice and stone and finality.

"When Lavannah passes through the Umbra, red as blood and red as wine; Sad Earthly creatures are torn asunder and all existence will combine: Horn and Ivory be no more; Now Immortals rule the fading shore."

The rhyme ended and just as suddenly the woman began screeching, dead face twisted maliciously as she screamed, "Five, five, five, five!"

Sarah covered her ears and her whole body shook. Cold sweat slicked her skin and she heard the glass shatter as she covered her head.

"Five, five five!"

Covered as much of her as she could as the woman floated closer, closer, her voice now like iron nails on stone; creaking and scratching. Cutting away at the firm wall Sarah had been building in her mind, leaving great gouges and fractures in the pristine crystal surface.

"FIVE, FIVE, FIVE!"

Sarah screamed finally and…

She shot up in her bed. The room was dim and the sky a dreary grey. She spun around to turn on her lamp, yellow light barely illuminating the small room. Sarah choked a sob and wrapped her arms around her knees as she hugged them close. She wasn't sure how long she could last like this.

She needed her friends.

She needed Jareth. No matter how much as she hated to admit it.

Save Me.

I've been, walking, walking in circles.

Watching; Waiting for something.

Feel me. Touch me. Heal me.

Come take me higher.

In the Shadows; The Rasmus

A/N: I've posted faster than you thought I would, I'm sure! But, it's still been two years since I started this fic and it's nowhere near completion. I'm definitely working on trying to change that. I let my anxiety get the better of me when I'm writing and end up just doing nothing and telling myself it's okay. But I really love seeing all the comments I get. I hope you all can forgive me for being so inconsistent. I'm trying. I really am. My new goal is updating once a month, and I could use all the encouragement I can get to keep to that. I'll be starting school next week, so the BF and I are taking a vacation to Austin for a weekend just to get away before scholarly hell breaks loose. I'm also thinking about taking a creative writing course just to earn some transfer credits as I transition from community college into University next fall. All very exciting things.

I've also started a vlog/art channel on youtube and a gaming channel. If that interests any of you please feel free to check them out! I'm very proud of them ^_^. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and as always please please comment! It really does motivate me. And, of course I'll link my etsy store that I talked about in my last update so that you guys can check out what I've been up to since I'm not writing. I'll provide all those shameless plugs below. As well as let you know that I'm -drumroll- WORKING ON MY OWN NOVEL. I'm quite excited about it. ^_^!

Have a wonderful day/night my darlings and thank you so, so much for sticking with me. I love and appreciate you all.

Xo ~ Kryhs

P.S. I have a Between the Stars playlist if anyone is interested and here's a sneak preview of Chapter 11:

Sarah takes a deep breath, "You should ignore that feeling and run. Forget about it and find real happiness and not…"

She gestured vaguely at herself as she trailed off. Her breath hitches and he reaches for her. Fingers tentative on her shoulders as she turns towards him, trembling and staring at his adam's apple. His chin. Anywhere but his lips… his eyes.

"Say you'll let me kiss you," he says, and the longing in his voice aches in her bones and she finally looks up and feels the last of her resolve coming undone.