Soul Bound (21 page)

“Jareth!” she cries in an English-accented voice. “Is it really you?”

Jareth’s nails dig into my arm, so hard they draw pinpricks of blood. “Sarah?” he whispers.

It must be, because a moment later, the girl has thrown herself into his arms, squeezing him with wild abandon. “I can’t believe it!” she cries. “You’re here. You’re actually here! I heard the rumors but I didn’t believe it!” She buries her face in his chest and hugs him even tighter. “Oh, Jareth, it’s so good to see you at long last!”

It takes a moment for my shell-shocked ex-boyfriend to find his voice. “Sarah,” he says at last, pulling her away to look her over. “You’ve grown up.”

She giggles. “I had an extreme makeover at one of the Elysian salons down here. It’s one of the benefits of being truly dead—you can pick whatever you want to look like. Of course,
most people choose to go younger—shave off ten years or so. But after living in the body of a ten-year-old for a couple hundred years, I figured it was time to try life as a teenager.”

She turns to me, her eyes—so much like Jareth’s—shining brightly. “Oh, Rayne, thank you,” she says. “Thank you for bringing my brother back to me. And for taking such good care of him.”

“I try,” I say with a small smirk. “It’s not always easy, let me tell you. That brother of yours is one stubborn vampire.”

“Don’t I know it,” Sarah replies, looking lovingly at her older brother. “Now come on! David’s out playing baseball—he’s a complete sports addict these days—but Mom and Dad are inside! We’re just about to have dinner. You have to join us. Dad grills a mean porterhouse steak.”

“See? I didn’t lie! We are going to dinner,” I point out to Jareth as Sarah drags him toward the castle. Somehow he manages to make his feet work, but he’s still not saying too much. I hope he’s okay. I mean, I meant to surprise him, not put him in a coma.

We step over the drawbridge and through the main gate. While on the outside the castle looks totally medieval, I’m surprised to see on the inside it’s warmly decorated like a Pottery Barn catalog and has all the modern conveniences of the twenty-first century. A woman who appears to be in her early forties, with blond hair and blue eyes, stands at the sink, washing dishes. She grins widely as she sees Jareth, yanking off her rubber gloves and walking over to give him a huge hug.

“My son,” she cries, kissing him soundly on both cheeks.
“It’s so good to see you. We were starting to worry that you wouldn’t be stopping by.” She turns to me and gives me a big hug, too. “I hope I’m not being too forward,” she apologizes. “It’s just… I’ve wanted to meet you for so long now, Rayne.”

I beam, liking her already. “I never thought I’d have the chance to meet Jareth’s parents,” I admit.

“How… did you know I was even here?” Jareth interrupts, still sounding dumbfounded by the whole scene. “And how do you know about Rayne?”

“Are you kidding? We keep very close tabs on you, my boy,” announces a deep, booming voice from the next room. A moment later, a handsome man in his early forties—who looks startlingly like an older version of my boyfriend—steps into the room. He slaps his son on the back affectionately. “We know everything you’ve been up to these last few years.”

“But how… ?”

“HADES-TV,” his sister explains, pointing to their sweet sixty-inch flatscreen hanging above the fireplace. “We started subscribing a couple years ago. It’s a closed-circuit television system that allows you to tune in to relatives you might have back on Earth.” She gives Jareth an impish look. “We know what you’re up to anytime—day or night.”

Jareth stares at the TV, then at his eager family. “And you’ve been watching me?”

“Of course!” Sarah cries. “I mean, you’re still my brother, you know. I need to keep an eye out for you—make sure you’re okay.”

“I can’t tell you how happy we were the day you met Rayne,”
his mother adds. “After all those years of being alone—finally you had someone to care for you.” She gives me an endearing look. Oh yes, I like this woman a lot!

“Hope you don’t mind, Rayne,” Sarah says. “But I always wanted a sister.”

I smile at her. “Not at all. I think it’s great.”

Jareth sinks down onto the red slip-covered sofa, rubbing his face with his hands. “I can’t believe this,” he says, half to himself. “I’m sorry. I… I need a moment.”

“Take all the time you need. We have eternity.” His mother leans down and kisses him on the top of his head, the gesture sending trills of happiness all through me. Ever since I met Jareth, he’s been such a loner. Never warming up to people, never able to relax and share with anyone except maybe me—and then only once in a while. To see him in a home setting, surrounded by people who love him as much as my family loves me—well, it’s surreal to say the least.

No matter what happens, I’m so glad we did this. It can’t help but make things better.

“I’m going to finish up dinner,” Jareth’s mom tells us, heading back around the breakfast bar. “Honey, will you check on the steaks?”

“Absolutely, dear,” Jareth’s father agrees, walking to the back of the castle and pulling open the sliding glass door. The delicious smell of barbeque wafts through the room.

I plop down on the couch next to Jareth, trying to catch his eye. “This is your chance,” I hiss at him. “You’ve waited so long
to talk to your sister. Now here she is. Don’t blow this. It’s an opportunity I’m pretty positive will never come again.”

Jareth is silent for a moment, then nods slowly. “Sarah?” he calls out. “Can I talk to you?”

“Of course!” Sarah bounces onto the seat across from him. “What’s up?”

As Jareth leans forward to take her hands in his own, I slip off the couch to try to give them some space to talk alone. Still, I can’t help but stay close enough to overhear the conversation.

“I just… I just wanted to apologize,” he says, stumbling over his words. “I’m sorry for what I did to you back at our castle, the night Slayer Inc. broke through the walls.”

Sarah squints her eyes at him, looking puzzled. “Wait, what did you do to me?”

Jareth rakes a hand through his hair, a tormented look on his face. “I failed you. I let you die. I hesitated when you needed me most and that slayer struck you through the heart.” He hangs his head. “It’s my fault you’re here. That you never got to live out your life.”

I hold my breath, waiting for Sarah’s response. Will she forgive him? Or tell him it’s too late to say sorry?

To my surprise she does neither. Instead, she bursts out laughing.

“What?” Jareth demands, looking annoyed. “What in Hades could be so funny?”

“Sorry, sorry!” she cries quickly. “It’s just—is that why you’ve been so emo all these years? You think you were responsible
for my death?” She shakes her head, looking at him with loving, clear blue eyes. “Oh, Jareth,” she murmurs. “You remember it all wrong. You told me to stay back, remember? You even had a hiding spot for me. But I wasn’t about to back down against those bastards. I may have looked like a little kid, but I was already a hundred years old. I knew exactly what I was doing when I ran out there and took on Slayer Inc.”

“But I could have stopped you…”

“No. You couldn’t have.” Sarah shakes her head. “Even if you wanted to.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I never told you my vampire power, bro. I guess I figured if you knew, you’d find a way to stop me from using it.”

“I don’t understand. What power? And how could it have made any difference?”

“Jareth, I can bend people’s wills,” she explains. “It’s something I’ve been able to do ever since I first turned into a vampire.” She shrugs sheepishly. “That night, well, I knew you’d go in there, fangs blazing, trying to take them all out yourself—even if it meant your own death. So I placed a hold on you. I suggested you stay in one place. I mean, you had all those other vampires in the Consortium to worry about. I couldn’t rightly let you sacrifice yourself for me.”

Jareth stares at her, shaking his head in disbelief. “So I didn’t leave you?”

“Not of your own free will, anyway. There was no way on Earth you could have resisted the power of my suggestion,” she
assures him. She reaches out for her brother’s hands again, finding his eyes with her own cool green ones. “Jareth, you didn’t cause my death. I saved your life.”

Her admission is too much. Jareth bursts into tears. His sister climbs over to the couch and hugs him close, rubbing a reassuring hand up and down his back. “Oh, big brother,” she murmurs. “I’m so sorry I did that without telling you. I can’t believe you’ve been walking around all these years feeling guilty over something you didn’t do.” She pulls away, giving him a rueful smile. “Can you ever forgive me?”

He swallows hard, wiping the tears from his eyes. “Only if you forgive me first.”

“It’s a deal! Shake on it?” She holds out her hand. He grabs her into another hug.

“Oh, Sarah. Thank you. Thank you so much.”

“No, big brother. Thank
you
. I’m just glad you don’t blame me for what I did. Now I don’t have to feel guilty, either.”

“I would never, ever blame you.”

As the siblings hug, I look over to the kitchen where Jareth’s mom and dad, who have come back in from outside, are both standing. Mom gives me a thumbs-up. I grin. Victory at last!

But just as I’m about to do a little dance of joy, a loud siren erupts over the chamber. What the… ? Jareth’s parents swing into action, checking the video monitors by the door then turning to us, unable to hide the panic on their faces.

“What is it?” I ask, my breath catching in my throat.

“Demon Patrol,” Jareth’s father announces grimly.

“Here?” Oh God. Not here. Not now. Not after we’re this close for a home-run-happily-ever-after ending. I glance over at Jareth, wide-eyed. How did they find us? And what are we going to do now?

“They must have followed us somehow,” Jareth says, rising to his feet, his face white and his hands clenched. “I’m sorry. We shouldn’t have come. We’ve put you all in danger.” He grabs me by the hand. “Come on, let’s go out the back door.”

“No, wait,” his father interrupts. He rushes to a nearby floor-to-ceiling built-in bookcase and pulls out a book, seemingly at random. The case swivels, revealing a small dark room beyond. “Get in,” he instructs. “You can hide there until they’re gone.”

“But—” Jareth starts to protest. But his sister cuts him off.

“You either do it of your own free will, or I’ll make you do it with my mind,” she informs him in a tight voice that leaves no room for argument.

Jareth bites his lower lip, thinking for a moment, then seems to make up his mind. “Okay,” he says, leaning down to step into the small chamber. “But I’m not staying here if things get bad.” He gestures to me. “Come on, Rayne.”

I don’t need a second invitation. As soon as I’m beyond the books, Jareth’s father replaces the tome and the bookcase slides shut again. We wait, holding our breaths in the darkness, as a loud, ugly voice echoes through the castle.

“We know you’re in there, so open up,” the demon leader demands. “Otherwise you will be charged with aiding and abetting the living, according to Edict 432543-2. You will surrender them—or
be prepared to face the consequences of your disobedience.”

I look over at Jareth with anxious eyes. Even in the darkness, I can see his distraught face. “What are we going to do?” I whisper.

T
here’s a banging on the front door—so loud it practically shakes the entire castle. “Open up!” the demon guard demands. “Or we will break this door down!”

“Oh, no need for that. Just getting my key,” Jareth’s father says quickly. We hear a click in the lock and a creak as the heavy wooden door slides open. Jareth winces at the stampede of heavy feet trafficking over his family’s beautiful carpets.

“Where are they?” the demon demands. “A neighbor reported seeing them enter this house not ten minutes ago.”

Ugh. Sold out by the neighbors. So not cool.

“Sorry,” Jareth’s sister says. “Where is who? We don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Maybe this will jog your memory.”

There’s a thud, then a squeal of pain and a loud
thump
to the ground. Jareth cringes, shooting me a look.

“Now, now,” Jareth’s father cuts in. “There’s no need for violence. We’re citizens of good standing here and we’re happy to assist you in your search. But we need more information. Who is it you’re looking for again? And why do you think they might be here?”

“Don’t play dumb with me, vampire. You’re already all in deep trouble. If I find out you’re aiding and abetting wanted fugitives, you will be charged with treason. Kicked out of your little castle here and sentenced to a thousand years in the Lake of Fire prison.”

Jareth turns to me. Even in the darkness, I can see his ashen face. “I can’t let them do this for me,” he whispers. “They already died once on my account. I can’t just sit here and let them take another punishment for my sake.” He reaches out and brushes my cheek with a soft hand, searching my face anxiously. “You understand, right? I mean, you’d do the same if it were your family?”

I nod, swallowing back my tears. As much as I don’t want him to go out there and face the demons, I know he has no choice. In his mind, this is his one last chance at redemption. I can’t stand in his way.

“I love you,” he whispers, leaning down to kiss the top of my head. “I love you so much. And I’m so sorry for everything.”

My heart aches at the agony in his voice. “I love you, too,
Jareth,” I whisper, covering his face with kisses. “And I’m so proud of you. I can’t even tell you how much.”

He gives me a sad but pleased smile, then presses his hand against the back of the bookcase, forcing it to slide halfway open, then slipping out the crack before closing it behind him. Leaving me trapped in the darkness, practically drowning in fear.

“Leave them alone,” I hear him say. “I’m the one you want. If you agree to spare my family, I will go with you without a fight.”

The pride in his voice sends chills down my spine, even as I burst into tears. While half of me wants to storm out from the hiding spot and demand they take me, too, so I can at least spend a few more minutes with the vampire I love, I know that doing so would negate his sacrifice. He’s doing it for his family, but he’s also doing it for me. So I can stay safe and rescue my sister. And, as much as it kills me, I have to let him.