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Jareth rose sinuously from the throne. He started up one of the slanting stairways and Xander decided to follow. He hoped he wasn't making a mistake by leaving the site of the portal or whatever had brought him here, but the walls seemed to shimmer and the stairs moved or changed or something and he figured it would be better to stick close to the Goblin King.
Jareth was the only inhabitant that Xander had seen so far who looked remotely human. Besides, he spoke English, and the creepy little goblins seemed to mostly hiss, growl and scamper away when he looked directly at them.
After transversing several revolving staircases, they arrived at a large balcony with a spectacular view of the Labyrinth that stretched for miles. Xander gulped. How would Anya ever be able to find her way through that? A nervous sweat broke out on his forehead and he jumped when Jareth spoke to him.
“I said, are you hungry? I could have luncheon brought up here—it's such a lovely view, isn't it?”
At the mention of food, Xander's stomach growled and he realized how thirsty he was.
“Lunch! Yeah, that would be—wait!”
He remembered tales about mortals being taken to other worlds and if they ate or drank anything they could never leave, or a hundred years would pass on earth during a single day in Fairyland. Or something about thunder and bowling, but that didn't seem currently relevant.
“Are you trying to trick me? Isn't there some rule about eating or drinking anything?”
Jareth sighed. “I thought we'd cleared up that misconception about the Fairies. Or perhaps, you see yourself as Persephone with me in the role of Hades? Once more from the top: I am not a Fairy. I am not a Greek god; not a Roman or Norse one, either, if your mind was heading in that direction. I am not a demon. I am not an alien from outer space. I am the Goblin King. Got it? Goblin King. King of the Goblins. Are we clear now? Eat or not. I don't care. In 11 ˝ hours you'll belong to me whether or not you starve yourself. So. Do you want lunch or not?”
“Uh. Okay.” Since he seemed to be stuck here for the time being, Xander decided he might as well be comfortable.
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Anya straightened her shoulders. If D'Hoffryn wasn't going to help, she'd have to do it herself.
She e-mailed a goblin she knew of in Denmark, whom she had occasionally used as a supplier for the Magic Box, to ask for directions to the Labyrinth.
Dragging out Xander's old high school backpack, she packed it with a light-weight, but warm, blanket, nylon rope, a Swiss Army knife, Mag-Lite flashlight, box of wooden matches, bottles of water, energy bars, two apples and several cans of Red Bull. Like a Boy Scout, she was going in prepared! No, not like a Boy Scout—like those Mountain Rescue people! Unfortunately, she didn't have a dog. But she had never been especially fond of dogs, anyway.
A ding from the computer announced 'You've got mail!' without the actual annoying vocalization. Anya opened the e-mail, crossing her fingers as she did so.
Crossing your fingers meant 'I'm expecting good luck', didn't it? It was either that or 'I'm lying out of my ass'—she could never keep them straight.
Success! The Labyrinth, naturally, resided in a dimensional hub with hundreds of access points all over and . . . surprise, surprise! There was one right here in Sunnydale. Of course there was! Anya had been counting on it. Anything weird on this entire planet would eventually find its way to Sunnydale. That was pretty much a given. The entrance to the hub was accessed by the Bogglesworth mausoleum. Even the name sounded goblin-y.
Slipping the backpack over her shoulders, Anya put on a hat and sunglasses. Locking the door behind her, Anya smiled. The mausoleum was close enough that she wouldn't even have to take the car. Piece of cake! She'd have Xander back in no time.
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