The Labyrinth: Another Tale

The Sequel

II

"Somewhere there waiteth in this world of ours

For one lone soul another lonely soul,

Each choosing each through all the weary hours,

And meeting strangely at one sudden goal,

Then blend they, like green leaves with golden flowers,

Into one beautiful perfect whole;

And life's long night is ended, and the way

Lies open onward to eternal day."

----Edwin Arnold

~*~

Duncan stopped at the top of the stairs head cocked and listening thoughtfully. Nothing. There was nothing. Absolute silence.

He frowned in concern and turned around, his strides long and purposeful as he headed back to the nursery.

Malcolm should still be screaming, Duncan thought, worry forming a lump in his stomach. He should be screaming for at least half an hour more; until, finally, he exhausts himself and falls asleep. Something's wrong. Something's not right.

He stopped at the doorway, then quickly reached out and flipped the light switch on. The bulb went out in a shower of sparks. With a surprised curse, Duncan stepped back, startled, just barely avoiding getting hit with the sparks.

Once he was sure that the light bulb would produce no more sparks, Duncan stepped deeper into the nursery, accepting the darkness and blending in with it. His foots were light-footed, a lasting testimony to his ancient Celtic warrior ancestors.

"Malcolm......" he called softly, as he quietly made his way closer to his nephew's bed. "Malcolm......answer me now, damn it!"

An evil giggle greeted him as he yanked off the bed's covers to reveal that his nephew, Malcolm, was no longer there. Duncan whirled around, his hands balling into fists. "Who's there??" he yelled, his green eyes narrowing in fury. "Show yourselves to me, now!!"

The only response was another giggle, only this time, others joined in with it.

"Who are you??" Duncan yelled again, as he quickly looked around the room, searching for the gigglers. "What have you done with my nephew?"

----stupidhuman----

----you'rejustliketherest----

Duncan's eyes widened at the evil hiss. No human would ever be able to sound that evil. "What do you mean, I'm just like the rest?" he asked cautiously, finally realizing that he wasn't dealing with anything normal.

----theyallforgottheoldways----

----theystoppedbelieving----

----theywerecarelessintheirwords----

----theyregrettedtheirwords,justassoonastheywereuttered----

----justasyouwillsoonlearntoregretthem----

"What......what do you mean?" Duncan asked the hissing voices, his eyes wide, trying to find the hissing speakers.

----youwillfindoutsoonenough----

A soft breeze, unnoticed before, soon began to blow more forcefully, picking up toys and blankets and tossing them around the large room. Duncan covered his head, trying to protect his face from being hit. When the gale stopped, Duncan's arms fell to his side and he looked around, trying to see if he could finally find the speakers.

Instead, he spotted a stunning peregrine falcon resting on Malcolm's crib's bed post. It cocked it's head at him, staring at him in interest.

And it was then that Duncan noticed that the bird's eyes were not the typical golden brown normally found with birds of prey. This falcon's eyes were.........violet.

As if sensing this, the bird flew up; flapping to stay in midair. The gale-force wind returned and Duncan again covered his face. Only, this time, when he uncovered his face, the bird was gone. In it's place was......a person.

Finally, finally, Duncan figured it out. He stared at the figure, who was shrouded in darkness, in horror. "You're the Goblin King! You took my nephew away!"

A soft laugh came from the figure, and it stepped out into the open. Instead of the man Duncan was expecting, a young girl, who looked no older than sixteen, stepped out into view. She wore her hip length red-orange hair loose, letting it cascade around her. Her boots were black, and came to mid-calf. Her tights were also black, clinging to her like second skin. Her undershirt was long sleeved, large, and billowy; and was a violet the same color of her eyes. Her over-tunic was also black, and was mid-thigh length.

"Who are you?" Duncan asked, staring at her in interest. "You aren't the Goblin King."

The girl smiled, her full lips curving into a vicious smile. "No," she answered, "I'm not the Goblin King. I'm his daughter, Jade. I'm the Goblin Princess."