“So immortality is his goal,” I guessed.
“Yes. When I told him there was no way I could fix him — he seemed to think I was keeping some big secret from him — he started experimenting on his own.”
I thought about the lab. “He had vampire blood in his lab. One of Julian’s people identified it. I have a sample if you want to see it. Was it yours?”
“Possibly. He attacked me once in an effort to drink my blood. He thought it would fix his problem. I disavowed him of that quickly, but he did get a sample of my blood.”
I pressed my lips together, thinking. “Did you know he was killing people on the island?”
“Not at first.” Jareth’s expression turned dark. “He was careful. He made his test subjects disappear at the start. Nobody knew anyone was dying. He grew angrier and angrier as the process moved forward. He wanted to put what he was doing on display. He was desperate to strike fear in the hearts of the masses.”
“How did his disappearance come about?”
“You already know part of the story.” Jareth gave me a sad look. “He went after young Lilac. I knew then that she would grow up to be something special. She would not be trapped by her birthright.”
“So you went after him,” I guessed.
“We had a standoff in the woods. He hit me with magic I wasn’t expecting and I was knocked out. Thankfully in the shade. I thought that would be the end of me. I woke when darkness fell, and he was gone.”
“You never saw him again?”
“No.”
“Did you assume he was dead?”
Jareth hesitated now, then shook his head. “I knew he was still out there. I assumed he had gotten off the island somehow and prepared for him to return. All his wealth and standing were here after all.”
“He was on a different plane,” I said, looking at the ornate rug. “He was on a different plane and now he’s trying to lure me into his web. What does he want from me?”
There was no hesitation when Jareth responded. “Your magic. He must think you’re powerful enough for him to not only return, but to also enslave the island. For all we know, he wants to pretend to be you.”
I gulped. “Can he do that?”
“He’s a powerful being, Hadley. I’m certain he’s learned a few tricks during his exile. He might well be more powerful than me now.”
“Someone on this side must be helping him.” That was the only thing I was certain of. “If he could move between planes he would have come back a long time ago.”
“I agree with you there.”
“Any idea who he was close to back when he disappeared?”
“I don’t believe he was close with anyone.”
“Then you have no idea who’s working with him now.” My shoulders slumped when he shook his head.
“I’m sorry,” he offered. “I have no idea who it could be.”
“That’s okay.” I forced a smile I didn’t feel. “You’ve given me a lot that I wasn’t expecting to get. You’ve been a great help.”
“Not great enough.” Jareth was grim. “Declan is my responsibility.”
“He’s your brother’s responsibility,” I corrected.
“My brother doesn’t bear responsibility. He refuses. Declan is mine to deal with.”
“Well, we have to find a way to safely cross to get rid of him.” And get Wesley back, I silently added. “At least we have more to go on now.”
“I wish I could have been more help.”
