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"As long as you fear your memories, you'll be at his mercy. I have to take you back into that pain, to that night, in order to free you of the chains that bind you to Dredge." He stood up. "Are you strong enough to withstand the journey? Can you give yourself to me and let me break you down so we can put the pieces back together?"
"I thought that's what the OIA did when I managed to get home," I said, wanting to find some way out. "They spent a year working to bring me back to sanity. Can't you just tell me what I need to know about Dredge?"
Jareth motioned for me to walk with him. We made our way through a winding corridor back into the great hall. "The OIA merely slapped a bandage on your wounds. They taught you how to cope with the memories but not to overcome them. I'm a shaman. I can teach you how to rise above all of this, to take control over what happened. Only then can you face Dredge and hope to win."
He paused. "What do you think will happen if you and your sisters go up against him, and you suddenly turn to his side? As much as you hate him, he can make you his puppet."
I stopped cold. "You're telling me that he can control me, even if I don't want him to?"
"For all of your ability to mesmerize others, you don't think his is far greater? Dredge is eight hundred years old, Menolly. He's a greater vampire, and before that, while he lived, he was a high priest of Jakaris even though he's not Svartan. He should have been cast into the Subterranean Realms centuries ago, but he always managed to outwit those seeking him."
A high priest of Jakaris. A priest of the Svartan god of vice and torture. No wonder he enjoyed inflicting pain so much. It had been his path in life, and he'd kept up the practice in death. I pressed my hand against my stomach, queasy. "Kind of makes Dracula look like a boy toy, I guess."
"You could put it that way," Jareth said. "But Vlad has some ethics, regardless of how ruthless he seems on the outside. Dredge is devoid of conscience. If he's truly after you, he'll systematically destroy every single person you care about in the most horrible way possible before coming for you. He doesn't want to kill, he wants to rain fear and pain down on his enemies."
Shit. I didn't have a choice. "Do you know an incubus named Rozurial? He's after Dredge, too."
Jareth nodded. "He wanted to study with me, but I don't work with incubi and he was denied access to the city. He went Earthside, then, to find Dredge?"
I nodded. "He's been helping me."
"Very good, then. You can trust him, as far as this matter goes. Like many others, he has a longstanding grudge against the Elwing Blood Clan. Now there's no time to waste. Will you put yourself in my hands? Queen Asteria sent you. I can help you, but you have to surrender yourself to me."
The thought of handing over control was terrifying. My trust no one instincts were screaming like I'd set them on fire. "Can I have an hour or so to think it over? I want to talk to my sister first."
"Of course. I'll be here. But mind you, if you refuse, then don't bother returning to the temple. Ever. This is the only time I will make this offer." He guided me through the larger-than-life statues toward the door.
"May I ask… who is she? You mentioned Mother Dayinye earlier. Are those statues of her?" I nodded to the stone figures.
"She is our goddess. Great Mother Dayinye is the guardian of souls, the keeper of conscience. We pursue truth through her. She divines the path of our destiny. If we stray, she reminds us gently the first time. The second, a sharper reprimand. The third and she destroys us with the violet fire of reckoning."
He turned away as I opened the door, but over his shoulder he called out, "I won't hurt you, Menolly. No more than I have to in order to make you an opponent capable of meeting—and destroying—your enemy."
I found Camille and Morio in the park, holding hands under the Moon Mother as she slowly progressed into the darkness of her cycle. They were working magic of some sort, probably shielding themselves. I silently glided up behind them.
Without a beat, Camille said, "I know you're there. Come out of the shadows, Menolly."
She was getting better, I thought. Delilah and I could sense when people snuck up on us. Camille wasn't quite as good, but she'd been practicing. I sat down beside her.
"We need to talk. Can we find an inn?" I knew better than to touch her right after she'd been working a spell—sometimes the exchange of energies sparked off more than we bargained for.
She shivered. "Sounds good. I'd like to get off the ground and onto something soft. Any luck finding Jareth? Who is he? What is he like?"
I glanced over at Morio. "I don't want to talk out here in the open, even in this city. Protected or not, I'd feel safer indoors."
He held out his hand to Camille and helped her up. When he proffered me his hand, I snorted. "You know I don't need the help… but thanks anyway. I appreciate the offer."
We headed out of the park the way we'd come. Inns and rooming houses were in the main part of the city. We'd only walked for about ten minutes before we came to the Mussels and Ale Pub.
"Looks promising enough," Camille said, opening the door. And she was right. Except for the difference in decor and lighting, it could have been any good hotel back Earthside. The walls were bathed in a rich teal and rose color scheme. The registration desk was manned by an elf. I blinked. We hadn't seen many races here besides whatever race the seers hearkened from.
"May I help you?" the clerk asked us. Polite, but as with every other person in this place, reserved.
"We need a room," Camille said, pulling out a purse from between her boobs. I grinned. Leave it to my sister to find a handy hiding place for her money.
"How many beds?" the clerk asked.
"Two. We're just here for a bit of a rest and a meal. We'll need food, for two, sent up to our room. Something with protein in it." Camille placed three coins in his hand.
