Chapter Six She hiked onward, and eventually the stone walls gave way to a forest, dark from the thick canopy of trees. "Are you sure we're not lost?" She asked Conner. "Well, I 'avent been outta the tunnels in a long time, but I seem t' recall this forest. If we keep goin' this way, we should meet up with a village before long. I thought ya might want some other company for awhile, y'know, some of yer own kind t' talk to." "There are humans in the Underground? I thought Jareth was the only one." "Naw. These folks are the descendants of a bunch o' sorcerers that came 'ere a long time ago. They've been livin' in these woods ever since." "And Jareth let's them?" "Sure. They don't bother him none." The two travelers had reached a clearing in the woods. "This looks as good a place to stop for the night as any." She said, pulling things out of her bag. She sent Conner to gather some kindling, and after a while, managed to get a fire started. "Thank God for Girl Scouts." She sighed. Then she got out some bread and cheese, and the little bit of roast she had stolen from the kitchen the night before. "I suppose we should eat this before it goes bad." She rummaged in the bag some more. "I seem to have forgotten a knife." "Then by all means, let me" The mouse drew his sword, and had the meat and cheese sliced in no time. "You're pretty handy with that, Conner. Thank you." She patted him on the head. She swore that if a mouse could have blushed, he would have. They finished their meal quietly, and Amalthya set about preparing for the night. She spread out the blanket she had brought with her, and settled down in front of the fire, wishing she had a jacket. "If ya don't mind me askin', why're you runnin' away from the castle? There must've been a good reason for your bein' there in the first place. Jareth isn't big on house guests, if ya know my meaning." He Conner said, while busily cleaning his whiskers with his paws. "It's a long story, but I guess we have time. He saved my life..." "Seems like a funny way t' be repayin' him." "Well, I didn't want to be saved at the time. You see, a long time ago, he kidnapped my uncle Toby , and my mom had to beat the Labyrinth to keep Jareth from turning him into a goblin. My mom finally fought her way through..." "Sarah." "Yes, that's her name. How did you know? "It's not everyday someone beats the King's Labyrinth, and steals his heart." "Unfortunately, she didn't want his heart. She left with Toby and never came back. Then, when I was seven, I stepped into a fairy ring near my house, and ended up here." She continued to relate the talk to Conner, who listened attentively. "So that's why I'm here." "Seems to me, poor Jareth is jus' as confused as you are." He gave the equivalent of a mouse laugh, then became serious again. "I didn't mention it earlier, but the only way ya escaped that ball was 'cause he *let* you go. The question is, why?" Indeed, that was the question, and she kept herself up half the night thinking about it. ---- He had been trying to locate her from the air, but he simply couldn't locate her. The repeated flights over the Labyrinth had exhausted him, and all he wanted to do was sleep. He lay motionless on his bed for a long time, but his mind would not let him rest. On a whim, he pulled a crystal ball from the air and gazed into it. "Show me Amalthya." The center of the crystal grew cloudy, but only vague shadows flickered within. When she had been on Earth, he had always been able to see her. The magic of the Underground reacted with her own aura, making her nearly invisible to his magic. He peered deeper into the crystal and concentrated in an attempt to sharpen the image. He was able to make out trees on the edges of the image. She was in a forest. This didn't really help much, as most of his kingdom was covered in forest, but it was something. Fighting his fatigue, he set out again to scour the land. ---- The two started off early in the hopes of reaching the village by mid-day. The sun was just rising as they began the march. The going was a little slower, due to the fact that the underbrush grew thicker the deeper they went, and Conner had to climb down out of the bag to hack at it with his sword. The only other article of clothing Amalthya had brought was the purple dress she had worn a few days ago, and that further hindered their progress. Mid-day rolled around, and they had yet to find the village. The forest around them was almost black due to the abundance of leaves. Where one would expect the noises of a multitude of living things, there were none. Once, far above, Amalthya thought she heard a screech of an owl, but it did not repeat. "Why's it so quiet, Conner? Doesn't anything live in these woods?" "Sure, but not by day, mostly. There's dryads and other nymphs, there are elves too, but they only come out at dark. Safer for us to travel by day." They walked on in silence, for the heavy atmosphere of the forest pressed on them, stifling any words they might have shared. Presently, they came to a clearing, where a few afternoon rays shown like strands of gold. From the trees in this clearing, there hung a strange moss that seemed to shimmer in the scant illumination. "Oh, it's so beautiful, don't you think?" "It gives me the creeps." Came Conner's voice from the pack. "Let's be off again, soon as we're able." "All right, I just want to look around a little." She said dismissivly. She didn't really see any reason for alarm. Amalthya set him, and the bag, down and proceeded into the clearing. Half-way through, strung between two trees, so translucent and fine that she almost walked into it, was an immense spider's web. "Oh!" She started to back away, when she noticed part of her skirt was stuck to the sticky threads. She tugged at it in an attempt to free herself, but only succeeded in becoming more entangled. "This stuff is as strong as steel cable." No sooner had she spoken than there was a strange chittering noise above her. She looked up to see a large white spider advancing upon her at an alarming rate. "Conner, Conner, help!" She continued to struggle to detach herself, while keeping one eye on the menacing arachnid. ---- Conner watched Amalthya walk further into the clearing. It was clear she didn't really believe in the dangers the Labyrinth presented. The whole place rubbed him the wrong way, so he hoped she'd quickly decide to get moving again. "In the mean time, I might as well look for a snack. She'll be all right on her own for a bit, I guess." He headed off into the underbrush in search of some tasty berries and nuts. ---- "Conner!" Amalthya cried again. The spider was now very close to her, and it looked hungry. ---- "Conner!" The desperate plea rang through the woods. He dropped the armload of nuts he had gathered, and ran back to the clearing. There, In the middle of the break of the trees, he spotted Amalthya, caught in a large spider's web. The web's rather nasty owner was scuttling closer to it's prey every moment. He shot across the clearing and in a flash was cutting away at the web and the fabric of the dress. With a sudden jerk, Amalthya tore free, and the two dashed out of the clearing, pausing only long enough to grab the bag of supplies. In the waning light, they climbed a ridge and from the top, spotted a few lights twinkling in the dusky light, and smoke curling upward in the sky. "There it is, Conner!" She said, pointing out the lights. "Good. Let's get out of these woods. They're not safe for travelin' after dark." ---- A shock passed through him like an electric current. For a moment he could see a forest clearing, and hear a woman's pleading voice. Then it all vanished. "What?" He stood, startled. It had been Amalthya. She was in some kind of danger, in the forest. He transformed into an owl and flew off. He didn't understand the nature of his vision, but he understood it's meaning. He reached the clearing in the woods, and found no one. In the center of it, though, was a broken web, with pieces of torn fabric still clinging to it. Fabric he recognized as belonging to one of Amalthya's dresses. She had escaped then. He breathed a sigh of relief. The ghost-spiders were dangerous, and their venom deadly. Had she been bitten, she would have most certainly died. So he had some sort of connection to her, but it only seemed to work when she was in danger, if this instance hadn't been some fluke. Unfortunately, it came to late for him to be of assistance. He decided to stay in the woods anyway, just in case. ---- As if on cue, dozens of glowing red eyes appeared in the brush around them. "Conner, what are those?" Amalthya asked in a nervous voice. "Those," he gulped "are squirrels." "Squirrels? Last I checked, squirrels don't have glowing eyes. They may be a little evil but..." "Maybe *your* squirrels don't, but this is the Underground." "What do they want?" "Probably us...for dinner. I suggest we run." The two travelers took off, darting through the underbrush as fast as they could, a wave of red eyes sweeping along behind them. "They're catching up!" Amalthya cried. "Throw 'em something from the pack!" She obeyed, grabbing the hunk of cheese left over from their meal, and hurled it in the direction of the squirrels. The red-eyed rodents pounced on the food in a frenzy. "I think that distracted them, lets go!" Amalthya and Conner moved with haste toward the smoke rising above the canopy in the valley below. End Chapter Six