TWISTED FATES BOOK 1: THE FIRST TWIST Jacklyn Rogers (free children's online books .TXT) 📖

on the hard pavement as I had expected. Jareth was somehow crouched beneath me; he had broken my fall. Or at least, I think it was him.  As my hooded eyes tried to concentrate on the man cradling me in his arms, I assume my imagination must have taken over because he looked different than the Jareth I knew and loved. His once cobalt irises were now completely black.  Not to mention the piercing shriek that he made when he held me to his muscular chest. That sound was anything but human. My lids were too heavy to keep open. So I decided to appease my instincts and quit fighting the urge to keep them closed.  I was so tired and just needed to rest for a while.

Sweet, peaceful sleep.

The darkness finally came for me, and I willingly succumbed to its cold embrace.

Is this what dying feels like?

Chapter 14

3rd Person POV

One Year Ago

As Jareth hid in the shadows, he observed in silence as two young women emerged from inside Maleyna's establishment. He recognized one of them, the witch Dasha. Her presence was why he chose not to make himself known. He'd heard of her unscrupulous character amongst others of her kind, and none of it good. He was intrigued by the human that was with her. Despite her distraught appearance, she was still impeccably beautiful with her long crimson locks and powerful, dazzling green irises. Jareth could feel her pain emanating from her every aperture. He was strangely curious as to what would make such a lovely creature appear this wounded. More importantly, why was she in the company of someone the likes of Dasha of all people?

Curious...

Once the two women were far enough away for him to evade the witch's senses, Jareth ventured into Maleyna's shop, not being deterred from the original purpose of visiting her humble establishment in the first place.

Maleyna's shop was quaint enough for Jareth's liking. He appreciated that she opted to allow her décor to remain free from any of the ridiculous ornamentations that most modern establishments tend to favor. No, this witch was ancient, and as such, her preferences remained suchlike. Being several centuries old, Jareth was also inclined towards more antiquated adornments himself. Of course, he still kept with the times. How else would a vampire as old as himself manage to survive this long otherwise?

Despite his adeptness for freely moving around undetected, Jareth always announced his arrival whenever he frequented Maleyna's shop. He was sure that she could sense his presence none the less, but Jareth was still one for proprieties and felt that announcing oneself was the courteous thing to do.

As he made his way through the humble store, passing several shelves of old books and relics of the sort, Jareth located Maleyna still seated towards in the corner of her store. This area is where she reserved for tarot readings and preparing potions and elixirs for her patrons. The older woman, though normally rather sprite considering she was well over a century herself, appeared aged as if the worry that was draped across her pale, wrinkled face carried such a burden that she was disturbed by it. The old women hadn't even acknowledged Jareth until he had been standing directly in front of her when he cleared his throat so as not to frighten her. She looked up at him, surprised. "Oh, hello, Jareth, I deeply apologize for my absentmindedness. It appears that time must have gotten away from me. I hadn't even been aware that you'd arrived." She said. "I will go and gather the ingredients you requested. Please sit, and I will return shortly."

"Thank you, Maleyna, but if you don't mind, I would prefer to stand. I have never had much of an affinity for such leisurely comportments."

"As you wish." The old hag expressed dismissively as she waved her hand behind her. She began rummaging through some of the many ancient oak shelves that ran along the back wall of her shop, which contained an assortment of herbs and other accoutrements required for her craft.

As Jareth stood waiting for Maleyna to prepare the object of his request, a fertility potion for the Vampire Council's Queen, his thoughts ventured back to the beautiful crimson-haired woman he had caught sight of earlier. There was something about her that he was drawn to, and it troubled him. Never in all his existence had he exhibited the slightest propensity in the human populous other than to feed or partake in negligible professional transactions. And he'd unquestionably never felt any sort of physical attraction to one. But this woman was unique. For some reason, the sheer sight of the mysterious woman stirred a need inside Jareth to know more about her. He even felt the need to relieve her of her deep sadness.

He chuckled at himself, thinking he was behaving like quite a ninny. And, over a mere human at that.

His laughter caught the attention of Maleyna as she approached Jareth with a small, weathered pouch possessing the potion he had been charged with retrieving. "I sense something is stirring within you, vampire." She voiced with a bit of concern. "May I ask what is troubling you?"

"I could say the same for you, witch." Jareth retorted. "When I arrived, you were completely oblivious to my presence. Had I not made myself known, who knows how long I would have been standing before you. Why had I been inclined to, I could have taken advantage of your inattentiveness and partaken in a late-night nosh. Fortunately for you, I am quite appreciative of your talents and do enjoy our quick-witted banter from time to time."

Maleyna let out a small laugh at Jareth's ribbing, then sighed as if being reminded of what had been troubling her. She was well aware that her earlier patron, Samantha, had plainly caught the vampire's attention. "I sense that the object of my