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Quietly, she lowered her head. She had no idea where it was going to come from. And she only had forty-eight hours to find it. Slowly, she paced the length of the tiny room. She ran a hand through her hair and sighed. Yes, she loved Moonlight more than anything else in the world but she also had no idea where the remainder of the money was going to come from. 

She couldn’t let him die, not at the hands of Jareth. As she turned at the end of the room, she saw the computer. Dionne picked up the phone. The modem was still on-line. Before becoming a vampire, she had designed websites. 

She also knew something about hacking but breaking into a bank wasn’t going to be easy. It was also going to be highly illegal. Slowly she pulled up a chair and sat at the computer. Hours came and went. The sun came up but Dionne just closed the curtains. 

She battled with tiredness and hunger but she knew she had to do this for Moonlight. She tried everything she knew, every password, every code but nothing was working. Every bank she tried rejected everything. It was no good. Obviously she wasn’t as good as she thought she was. Eventually, she gave up. She had to, for her own sanity. 

Darkness was falling and she only had twenty-four hours to find the money. Suddenly, the phone rang, jolting her from her thoughts of the beautiful Moonlight. She snatched it up. 

‘Hello?’ she said tiredly. 
‘Hello Dionne,’ said Jareth, ‘Have you got the money yet?’ 
‘I have all of it but thirty two thousand guilders. Can’t you let me off?’ 
‘No,’ said the voice at the other end of the phone, ‘all of it.’ 
Dionne changed the subject. ‘Let me talk to Moonlight,’ she demanded. 
‘Why?’ Jareth asked. ‘Because I love him and he’s my companion and you know it.’ There was satellite silence as the phone changed hands. 

‘Dionne,’ said the voice. ‘Moonlight?’
‘Yeah it’s me.’ 
‘How are you?’ she asked. 
‘Starving,’ he whispered. 
‘He hasn’t fed you?’ 
‘No,’ came the reply. 
‘Put Jareth back on,’ said Dionne. Satellite silence again. 
‘What?’ said Jareth. 
‘You haven’t fed him, have you?’ demanded Dionne. 
‘No, I haven’t,’ said Jareth. 
‘You do realise that he’s undead, just like you and me. He needs blood. I’m giving you a hell of a lot of money, you can at least feed him.’ 
‘Ok,’ said Jareth, ‘I’ll make sure he gets fed.’ 
‘You do that otherwise I’ll kill you.’ 
‘We’ll see about it,’ was Jareth’s last remark before he hung up. 

Dionne hung up. She sighed and rested her head against a nearby wall. Dionne knew that she had very little time to find the money so she headed into the city. She quietly walked along the packed street, surveying people over the rims of her sunglasses.

There seemed no one suitable and she was desperately hungry. But Dionne didn’t want just anyone. She had a plan and she was going to carry it out to the end. A dark corner loomed beside her and she slipped into it. Here she was going to wait. 

Reaching into a pocket, she pulled out a cigarette and lit it. She inhaled deeply and let out a breath of smoke, her eyes constantly searching the streets. And then she saw him. A business man, wealthy and alone. Dionne slid out of the darkness and quietly followed him. He walked along and Dionne followed, keeping to the shadows. 

Eventually, he turned into a bar and Dionne followed. The man walked up to the bar, ordered a drink and sat down. Dionne sat a few feet away and looked at him. She slid her sunglasses from her eyes and slowly began her seduction. The man sensed her presence and turned to look at her, his eyes locked into hers. Dionne pulled him into her web before looking away. 

She stood up and began to leave. At the door, she turned. The man was settling his bill before following her. Dionne walked along, checking every few seconds for the businessman. Slowly, she turned up an alley, pausing to if the man was there. He followed her before grabbing her and pushing her against a wall. ‘What are you?’ he asked. 

Dionne smiled and her fangs extended. The man was fascinated and scared at the same time. She stepped forward and kissed his throat. The man screamed as her fangs entered his flesh. Dionne drank and drank and drank, not caring; she wanted to kill him. 

Eventually, she let the man go and he slipped to the floor, dead. Dionne quickly frisked the man and found his wallet. Smiling, she opened it. Inside there was very little money but there were credit cards. Getting to her feet, she raced home. 

Dionne booted up her computer and logged it onto the Internet. Laying out the credit cards out in front of her, she began working her way through the various banks. Different screens came and went, her fingers moving like lightning across the keyboard. 

Hours came and went and as the first rays of dawn appeared on the horizon, Dionne got the break through she’d been waiting for. She managed to get into the bank account and the money sat in front of her. Dionne hadn’t done this in a long time and she felt kind of guilty. 

But then she remembered that there was a life at risk and besides, she probably needed the money more than he did. Quickly, Dionne typed in a few lines of code and hit return and within seconds the money was transferred from the man’s account to hers. 

She logged onto her account and checked that they money was there. She smiled when she saw that the money had changed hands. Switching off the computer, she phoned her bank. An operator picked up. 

‘Star Digital Bank. How can I help you?’ she asked. 
‘Hello.’ said Dionne, ‘My name’s Dionne, account number 44478964. I’d like my money, in cash, delivered to my address.’ 
‘Ok,’ said the operator, ‘there is one million and twenty thousand guilders in your account.’ 
‘Right,’ said Dionne, ‘I’d like just one million guilders please.’ 
‘Ok,’ said the operator, ‘the money will be couriered to your home. It will be with you by ten o’clock in the morning.’ 
‘Is there any chance it could be delivered during the night?’ Dionne asked. 
‘Sure. What time?’ 
‘10pm, please.’ said Dionne. 
‘Ok,’ said the operator, ‘it will be with you at 10pm tonight.’ 
‘Thank you,’ said Dionne, ‘bye.’ 
‘Bye,’ said the operator, as they hung up. 

Dionne smiled as she curled up on the couch. Just as she was drifting into sleep, the phone rang. Tiredly, Dionne answered it. 

‘Hello?’ she said. ‘Twelve hours until he dies, Dionne. Have you got the money?’ it was Jareth. 
‘Of course,’ said Dionne, ‘where do you want me to bring it?’ 
‘The old church on the edge of the city. Do you know the one?’ he asked. 
‘I know the one,’ said Dionne. ‘Be there by midnight otherwise he dies,’ Jareth threatened before hanging up. 

Dionne replaced the receiver in the cradle and slipped into a deep, disturbed sleep. While she slept, she dreamt. Horrible dreams of pain and torture and death. In her dream, she could see Moonlight and the pain he was going through. Blood ran from tiny, unhealed wounds. 

Sunlight wounds. Jareth was hurting him with sunlight and Moonlight wasn’t old enough for the wounds to heal. He needed blood and he needed it soon if he was going to live. 

Dionne was woken by the sound of the buzzer. Tiredly, she got up and answered it. ‘Yes,’ she said, wearily. 
‘Miss Dionne, this is a courier for Star Digital Bank. I have your money,’ said a voice. 
‘Ok, I’ll buzz you up.’ Dionne pressed a button and seconds later she heard footsteps on the stairs. A hand knocked at the door. Tiredly, Dionne opened it. The courier stood in the door. 
‘Have you got any I.D.?’ Dionne asked. 
‘Certainly,’ said the courier, producing a company I.D. card. 
‘Thanks,’ said Dionne, ‘I’ve had a pretty harrowing couple of days and I was just checking that you really were who you said you were.’ 

She managed to force a weak smile. The courier smiled with her. He handed her a sheet of paper and a pen. ‘If you could please sign this,’ he said. 

Leaning on the wall, Dionne quickly signed it and handed it back. The courier handed her a locked briefcase. 
‘I believe you know the code for it,’ he said. Dionne nodded. ‘Thank you,’ she said. 
‘No problem,’ said the courier, ‘have a nice night.’ 
‘You too,’ she said. The courier left and Dionne began to get ready to leave. 

She was dressed entirely in black, her long black coat brushing her ankles. The briefcase swung from her hand. She walked into the city and to the bus station. From here she could catch a bus to the edge of the city. She checked her watch. It was nearing eleven. 

She looked up at the black sky but she couldn’t see the stars because of the city lights. Soon her bus pulled up and she boarded. The driver looked at her. ‘You shouldn’t be out alone at this time of night,’ he said. ‘Don’t worry about me,’ said Dionne, ‘I’ll be fine.’ 

The driver shrugged and drove off. Dionne was the only passenger on the bus but she wasn’t afraid. She had no need to be. The bus carried on its round of the city, through the suburbs and finally out into the country. All the time the stars became clearer and clearer. 

Dionne looked at them and smiled. They reminded her of the person she was going to rescue. Unfortunately, they also reminded her of Orion. She sighed and lowered her eyes, looking at the briefcase that lay in her lap. Suddenly, the bus driver’s voice jolted her from her thoughts. 

‘Hey lady,’ he yelled, ‘this is your stop.’ ‘Thanks,’ whispered Dionne, as she stepped out of the bus. She watched as the doors hissed shut and the bus drove off into the night. Dionne stood for a second, scared. There was no noise. It was the dead of night, all was silent. 

Slowly, she looked up. Orion twinkled down at her. She smiled, took a deep breath and carried on the final leg of her journey. The church wasn’t far from where the bus driver had left her. In the dark quietness of the country Dionne’s every footstep sounded like a ton of bricks crashing down. 

Her heartbeat sounded louder. As she neared the church, her breathing became faster. Suddenly, there it was, its abandoned spire silhouetted against the city lights a few miles away. Slowly she walked through the graveyard, over fallen headstones and under overhanging branches. 

Eventually, she reached the door of the church. She stood for a second, taking deep breaths. Slowly, she pushed the heavy wooden door open. It creaked loudly as it swung open. Inside, she was met with a sight that took her breath away. Hundreds of candles adorned every possible space. 

The roof arched away above her, angels watching from the heavens of the ceiling. There were cracks and holes in the roof from years of ill maintenance. As she looked through the cracks, Dionne realised that she could see the stars. And, at the front of the church, stood a high stone altar. Jareth stood before it, his arms folded across his chest, looking at her. 

He wore a long black robe, which swept the floor behind him. As she walked towards him, he stepped forward. ‘Dionne, darling,’ he said. ‘I’m not your ‘darling’,’ she snapped, ‘where’s Moonlight?’ ‘Follow me,’ he stepped towards her and wrapped an arm around her waist. 

Dionne knew that it was useless to try and struggle free. Jareth led her through what seemed like miles of winding corridors. Looking down at her feet, Dionne realised that she was walking on sand. Every few yards, they would pass an alcove which held the candles that lit their path. Dionne knew that they were going further underground. 

Eventually, they arrived in a crypt. Again, there were hundreds of candles, their soft light almost comforting Dionne. Then she saw him. ‘Moonlight,’ she said, moving towards him. Jareth pulled her to him. ‘It’s not that easy,’ he said. Dionne felt tears spring to her eyes. 

Moonlight was chained to a stone altar in the centre of the crypt. He sat looking at her. As Dionne had seen in her dream, Moonlight was covered in tiny sunlight wounds. His hair was matted and unkept, his eyes listless and dull. Dionne swung around and handed the briefcase to Jareth. 

‘One million guilders. It’s all in there.’ Jareth snapped it open and surveyed the contents. He smiled and closed it. ‘But there’s one last thing you have to do,’ he said. 
‘What?’ said Dionne. Jareth carried on looking at her, his eyes evil. The instant Dionne saw the look in his eyes, she knew that whatever he wanted her to do was either going to be painful or sexual. ‘You have to let me f#&k him,’ said Jareth. 

Dionne looked at him, her eyes wide. ‘OVER MY DEAD F#&KING BODY!’ she screamed. She lashed out at Jareth, knocking him away from her. He stumbled and fell to his knees. Dionne ran over to Moonlight. He looked at her hopefully. Panicking, Dionne pulled at the chains but they were made from something that wasn’t of this world. Quickly, she looked over her shoulder. Jareth was on his feet and heading towards them. 

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