Artemis Fowl: The Vampire Conspiration, chapter 2
Here's the second chapter of my story. At this point, I think nobody is reading this journal, but this way I'll keep up to date if I somehow get some traffic on it someday!
Summary: The Volturi hear about Artemis Fowl's prodigious intelligence and decide to turn him into a vampire and make him join the guard. Artemis must not only protect the People from the Volturi's greediness, but there's also the matter of punitive expedition concerning the Cullens. Post TTP and during Breaking Dawn. A/H, canon Twilight couples.
You can find the first chapter here
Or, if you like to read on fanfiction better, you can read it here
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
“We have a long journey ahead of us-a week I’d say, if the weather stays good.” Demetri said in a soothing voice. You are free to roam on the boat wherever you like if the door from your cabin is unlocked, as long as you don’t get into trouble. We have removed any communication devices, so don’t try to look for any. As you have certainly have seen, there is all the food you will need in your cabin.”
Artemis understood he was being dismissed.
Chapter 2: Volterra
They had been sailing for a few days now. The weather was getting significantly warmer, to Artemis’ relief. He didn’t have warm clothes with him, and apparently his captors hadn’t thought of bringing any either. He had consequentially spent his days shivering constantly, or taking refuge in his bed.
He had called Holly again to give an account of his conversation with the creatures. They had confirmed that they weren’t human and that they were headed for Italy. Holly still didn’t know what they were, and the People couldn’t risk to send Retrieval in such conditions-if it ever was accepted to send the LEP to rescue Artemis Fowl.
He was resting-there wasn’t much else to do-when Demetri suddenly entered the cabin. Artemis sat up quickly, wondering what was happening. Ignoring him completely, Demetri opened a trapdoor in the floor that Artemis had never noticed. Another thing I overlooked, he thought, annoyed at himself for his carelessness.
“Get in,” Demetri ordered, with a look of disgust and faint dread on his face. Artemis wondered what the matter was. He obeyed and clambered inside. Looking up, he saw Demetri who looked now like he was positively afraid.
“I’m going to come down with you. You are not to say a word until I reopen the trapdoor. If you try to attract attention or to make a sound, I won’t kill you, but I will kill the people coming on the boat. And if you move around too much, I will kill you.” Artemis nodded, before Demetri stepped in and closed the trapdoor behind him.
The air was stuffy inside, and the swaying of the ship made Artemis feel like throwing up. Not a very wise idea, considering what the person next to him had just told him. Demetri sat as far as possible from him in the tiny space, and stopped moving. Completely. Artemis couldn’t take his eyes off of his perfect stillness.
After what seemed like hours, he heard people talking above him-in English. Suddenly he realized why he was hiding. They were passing the Strait of Gibraltar. The sound of footsteps echoed closer and closer to him. He tensed when he heard people opening the door to his cabin and looking in. A part of him was hoping that they would notice the trapdoor and open it, even if that was highly unlikely-after all, he hadn’t noticed it before Demetri had opened it, and he prided himself with his observation skills. The rational side however, told him that the people coming in on the boat, whoever they were, would probably get killed if they found out the hideaway.
Finally, they were off, and Demetri opened the trapdoor, swiftly getting out. Artemis had barely stood up by the time Demetri was out the door. Strange. He seemed like he couldn’t stand close contact. How had he managed to carry him that night? That was one other thing he should tell Holly.
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Two days later, Artemis saw the coast of Italy. Unfortunately, he saw it from the window of the cabin. He could not go outside during the day anymore: his captors locked the door. He wondered what was the reason behind this; they never offered an explanation.
It was night when they finally reached land. Artemis could make out the feeble lights of a small harbor out the porthole. Felix came to get him out of the cabin.
“Come along,” he said with a joyful smile. Artemis followed calmly, knowing it was pointless to resist. Waiting silently next to the boat was a tiny figure cloaked in dark grey. Despite the darkness, Artemis could see Felix and Demetri's lips curving into a smile.
“Jane,” Demetri said.
“Demetri,” the creature answered. Artemis gasped. It was a girl, a little girl speaking and the sound of her voice was the most beautiful thing he had ever heard. The girl looked up at him, and he shivered.
She was not human, but he had expected that. Her face was angelic, a Leonardo painting. She had two shockingly burgundy eyes, just like Demetri and Felix. But what shocked him the most was that her face, her expression, reminded him of himself a few years ago. Twelve years old. Confident. Arrogant. Dangerous. Except that she was probably much more dangerous than he had ever been. If not quite as arrogant.
“So this is Artemis Fowl ...” Jane said, eyeing him speculatively.
“Yes,” Felix said. “Quite exceptional for a human.” Jane looked surprised at Felix’s words. “Oh, he figured out right away that we weren’t human,” Felix explained nonchalantly. “Now, if you don’t mind, keep an eye on him while we hunt-we won’t be long.” Suddenly, they both were gone.
“Well, Artemis Fowl,” Jane said in a soft voice. “It seems we are left here to … bond.” She wrinkled her nose at the word.
“I’m not particularly keen on becoming a victim of the Stockholm syndrome,” Artemis replied. “So I’d rather we keep the bonding to a minimum. Unless you have interesting facts to relate, because your two friends there weren’t very talkative.” Artemis tried his best to sound cool and detached, but wasn’t sure he pulled it off. That girl scared him. He didn’t want to have anything to do with her. At his words, Jane scowled.
“Don’t talk to me like that. I would hurt you but Aro said I couldn’t.” An infuriated pout appeared on her angelic face at the thought of not being permitted to do what she wanted. Artemis fought back a shiver. How could someone so young like to hurt people so much?
Easily, he thought, remembering how he had been at twelve. Had he really liked to hurt people though, or had he been only unconcerned about the consequences of his actions on the lives of others? He remembered Holly’s devastated when he had made her believe she had betrayed the People. He had been ruthless, that was certain, but he just as certainly hadn’t liked witnessing Holly’s despair.
Jane didn’t talk to him anymore, and just stood next to him, watching him with her strange eyes. Artemis wondered what his chances of escaping were. Jane was young. Maybe he was stronger and faster than her. Somehow he doubted it. Besides, Felix and Demetri had not seemed concerned in the least about leaving him alone with her, so she must be powerful.
Soon, Felix and Demetri were back. Artemis gasped when he saw their eyes: they were vivid red, like … blood. A thought entered his mind, but he pushed it away forcefully. They couldn’t be that, it would be too horrible... Felix pointed at a black car that was parked a few meters away.
“Get in the car. We’re driving to Volterra.” Artemis did as he was told, while his mind was working in overdrive. Volterra. A stunning Tuscany town, an important city during the Etruscan period. Why would they want to go to Volterra? Well, at least that was an advantage of his kidnapping-he got to see gorgeous architecture.
“You should get some sleep, Artemis,” Demetri said from the front seat. “You won’t have much after tonight.” The way he said it made it sound like he was meaning something else. Artemis obeyed-it was a good idea after all. Just before he fell into unconsciousness, he heard the angelic voice next to him say:
“Had you noticed his eyes?”
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The sun was high in the sky when he woke up, but it didn’t hurt his eyes because again the glass was tinted. He looked around, trying to find his bearings. Next to him, Jane’s eyes were always watchful.
“Sleep well?” she asked with a smirk.
“Quite,” Artemis answered frostily. “The seat wasn’t as comfortable as a bed, but it was sufficient.” Jane laughed, and Artemis hated the fact that he thought it was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard. “How did you sleep?” he asked.
“I’ll tell you in three days,” Jane answered with a frightening smile.
“Jane,” Demetri chastised, but she only smirked. Three days. What did that mean? Artemis couldn’t understand what these people could want with him. What did they have to go all the way to Italy for? Soon however, they were entering Volterra, and all those thoughts left his head. Fascinated, Artemis observed the houses. It really was a beautiful town, on a hill, with the sun illuminating the stone buildings.
“Like what you see?” Demetri asked. Artemis nodded silently, totally engrossed in the spectacle outside the car. Of course, he had seen pictures-even extremely high definition shots he had stolen from the People’s database-but nothing compared to the original. He heard a chuckle but didn’t pay any attention to it. After a week on a boat with Felix and Demetri, he knew it was no use trying to question them, so he didn’t feel the need to play politeness with his captors.
Unexpectedly, he had to fight back the urge to cry, because he thought of his parents. Mother, he thought longingly. Father. Myles and Beckett. Would he ever see them again? There wasn’t only his family: there were other people he cared for, Butler and Holly especially. He swallowed back a sob. He couldn’t let his kidnappers know the effect they had on him. Artemis Fowl would never make such a spectacle of himself in front of known enemies.
The car sped through the narrow streets, but Artemis wasn’t scared. Butler had driven faster in more crowded areas. These people, whatever they were, seemed to know what they were doing. They passed under an arch, and parked in a small courtyard. The three creatures were out before Artemis had the time to react, and Felix was opening the door for him.
“Out you go,” he said with a playful smile. Artemis clambered down, his legs stiff from the long ride. He felt Felix tense as he almost fell over, loosing balance. “Be careful!” he hissed, his smile now completely gone. Demetri was by his side the next second, holding Felix’s arm in a calming gesture.
“Let’s get him inside, and get this over with,” he said softly. Artemis felt his blood go cold at those words. What were they going to do? What if they were going to kill him? That’s ridiculous, his rational-and hopeful-side protested. They wouldn’t bring him all the way to Italy to kill him like that. His enemies, whoever they were, still had a modicum of common sense.
They entered a stone house through a small door. Inside, everything was dark. Artemis almost tripped again, but Demetri caught him. “This is ridiculous,” he thought he heard from behind him. They continued walking in the darkness for what seemed like hours, before they arrived in a brightly lit lobby. Sitting on top of the front desk were signs indicating that they were in the Volterra castle. Artemis frowned. How come his kidnappers were bringing him in such a public place?
“Jane, Felix, Demetri, welcome back.” Artemis eyes snapped to the woman who had talked. She was standing behind the front desk, looking at them with a professional smile-and she was human, he noted with surprise. From the corner of his eye he saw Jane and Demetri nod to the woman, but Felix looked at her with a bright smile.
“Hello Gianna!”
Artemis observed the woman closely. She didn’t seem surprised about anything-the fact that his kidnappers looked inhumanly beautiful, that they were bringing a fifteen year old human-and he realized that she knew. She knew what was going on. Now he noticed how tense her smile was, and how she hid extremely well her fear. Why was she afraid? She was working here, surely his kidnappers wouldn’t hurt her?
Looking back at the three creatures though, he got the definite feeling they could.
He was ushered through another door, and again in another corridor-this was getting boring. Finally Felix opened a door and motioned Artemis to go through.
Inside was a bedroom, with a large four-poster bed. Turning, Artemis saw that Felix and Jane were waiting at the threshold. They were both watching Demetri, who had followed Artemis inside.
“Well, I hope you don’t mess up,” Felix said, and Artemis fought back a shiver. Demetri nodded and murmured:
“Thank you.”
Artemis looked at him questioningly. He couldn’t repress the dread he was feeling as he saw Demetri silently close the door. When Demetri looked back towards him, Artemis nearly gasped in terror.
He hadn’t seen many people about to reluctantly murder somebody, but he expected they had the same look that was in Demetri’s eyes.
Something bad was going to happen, something awful, he knew it. Demetri sensed Artemis’ tenseness and gave him a soothing smile, but it didn’t help much.
“I’m sorry Artemis, but this is going to be very, very painful. Know that all will be well in the end.” Artemis didn’t have the time to react, it all went so fast. One second, Demetri was at the other end of the room and the second after, he was biting hard into Artemis’ neck. Artemis yelled in pain and in shock. He dimly noted Demetri licking his wound and pulling back with a hungry look on his face.
Pain, the most unbearable pain ever was spreading from the place where Demetri had bitten. He felt Demetri picking him up and setting him on the bed, while he was thrashing around in agony.
“Stop it! Stop it please!” he begged, his usually impeccable self-control completely to pieces. “I’ll do anything! Just stop it! Make it stop, please!” He felt tears streaming down his cheeks. They prevented him from seeing properly Demetri’s desolate expression.
“I’m sorry for the pain,” he said loudly and clearly over Artemis’ screams, “but it was necessary. You asked us what we were a few days ago. It is time for your answer now: I am a vampire, Artemis Fowl, as are Felix and Jane, and many other people you will soon meet. And in three days, you will be one too.” He left Artemis alone with his pain.
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He didn’t know how long he stayed on the bed, screaming desperately in pain. Was it hours, minutes, days? He hoped it was days, because Demetri had said it would be over in three days. That was the only thing that gave him comfort now, knowing it would end at some point.
The door opened and in came Demetri, as well as another person Artemis didn’t know. He tried to refrain from screaming in front of them, but it was hard, so hard. “Please,” he whimpered, “please stop this!” He didn’t dare talking much more, because he would certainly scream again, and that hurt his already agonizing throat.
The man came closer to the bed and observed him. Artemis couldn’t pay much attention to him, the pain was too strong.
Only a few instants after the two started inspecting him, he felt something completely unexpected: the vibration of his hidden fairy transmitter. Holly was calling. He couldn’t contain his cry of pain as he moved his hand to turn on the transmitter.
He hoped he had done the right thing. Now Holly could hear everything that was said in the room. Maybe the vampires would talk, and Holly would find a way to save him. He held on to that hope as the two vampires started talking. Holly will save me, she always does.
“How long does he have until the change?” The voice was faraway, Artemis couldn’t fully grasp what was happening.
“One more day,” Demetri’s voice said.
“Still one day?” The other voice sounded disappointed.
“It would have been sooner if we didn’t have to wait until we were in Volterra to change him.” Another wave of pain hit him and Artemis couldn’t help but yell again. The two vampires looked at him briefly, and then resumed their conversation.
“It wouldn’t have been prudent or practical to change him on the way. He would have been uncontrollable around humans, it would have been to hard to bring him here.” There was a pause, only filled by Artemis’ whimpers. “This was the best solution, even though I hate waiting for the change to be complete. Still, what is one day in our life?” The man laughed.
“Please,” Artemis begged, terrorized by the prospect of another day of agony. “Please stop this or kill me!”
“It will be over soon,” Demetri said in a soothing voice. Artemis felt cold hands on his forehead, but it was hardly any help. Fire was coursing down his veins, burning every single cell down in horrible pain. It had to stop, he could never survive any more of this.
“Please!” he yelled again. The stranger looked down at his prone form thoughtfully.
“He looks too young. Didn’t Heidi say he was eighteen? He doesn’t look a day beyond sixteen, maybe less.”
Demetri shrugged.
“The boy is smart, Master. He probably faked his birthday certificate.”
“Yes, that’s a good idea,” the stranger replied. He looked at Artemis for another second, before leaving the room without another look. Demetri followed right after him.
The fire was continuing, consuming Artemis’ whole body, and would do so for another whole day. He wanted to die.
His pain-addled brain tried to figure out the best way to act: should he speak to Holly? The vampires would hear him for sure, and he didn’t want to lead them to the People. He wanted Holly to save him from this hell, but he didn’t want to hurt the fairies in the process. His confused mind couldn’t decide what course of action to take, the pain was far too consuming. Again he screamed in agony.
“I can’t do this!” he whimpered. “Oh please, stop it!” But the fire did not abate. It continued, worse than before, if that was possible. Artemis’ voice was hoarse from screaming. Every single second was complete torture.
The solution finally came to his mind, and if he had been in possession of all his faculties, he would have been astonished by it’s selflessness.
In a day he would be a vampire. There was nothing Holly could do for him, except put herself in danger. “Vampires!” he screamed in Gnommish-it was impossible to speak any lower, the pain was too much. “Don’t come, too dangerous!”
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Holly was frozen in horror in front of the transmitter. She could still hear Artemis shrieks on the other end, but she didn’t try talking again. There were obviously other people in the room-she had heard them-and Artemis was in so much pain it was doubtful he would have answered rationally. Holy balled her fists tightly.
And then Artemis Fowl had said-screamed, really-something incredible. Vampires. If had been anyone else, she would have thought it was a joke. If he hadn’t been screaming in agony like that, she would have doubted him. Even he wasn’t that good an actor, and he would never ever voluntarily make himself so vulnerable-that was something he despised above all. These vampires were going to pay for what they were doing to Artemis. Despite what he had said, she would find them. After all, she knew where to look.
Volterra, Italy.
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The pain had started to fade, slowly, so slowly, so excruciatingly slowly. Artemis could feel the tips of his fingers getting colder and colder, after the three-day fire. The coldness crept up his body. Am I dying? he thought, scared. He knew that it would be a release, but this coldness was frightening. The rest of his body was still hurting, every single heartbeat incredibly painful. As the coldness spread, Artemis realized his heart was going slower and slower.
I’m dying, he thought. My body couldn’t take the transformation.
Strangely, his was regaining a higher level of consciousness as the pain faded and his heart beat slower and slower. People were filing in the room silently, looking at him intently. Artemis’ thrashing got feebler as the pain receded. Are they coming here to watch me die? he wondered.
Suddenly, his heartbeat accelerated into unbearable pain-he couldn’t help his tortured shriek-before stopping entirely.
That should mean death, but he wasn’t. He was thinking, though, so he must at least be something. Was he a vampire, then? Had he survived the transformation, after all? Looking up at the people in front of him, he was amazed by how incredibly more acute his eyesight was.
“Am I a vampire?” he choked out. His voice had the same alluring quality than Felix, Demetri and Jane.
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“Foaly?” said Holly as she barged into the controller room.
“D’arvit, Holly, don’t come in like that!” protested the centaur. “I don’t even have time to notice you on the control screen! Do you want to scare me to death?”
Holly inhaled deeply. She could not get distracted.
“I don’t have time for jokes, Foaly. Artemis is in trouble-”
“As usual,” the centaur cut in, not noticing how distressed the elf captain was.
“Foaly,” she hissed. “I tried to contact him. He turned the transmitter on, but he didn’t answer. I heard him.” She winced at the memory. “Ford, it was awful-I heard him screaming as if he were being tortured.” Holly tried to fight back the tears as she remembered what she had heard. Foaly gave her shoulder a squeeze. She took a deep breath. “Apparently, he found out what they are. Vampires, Foaly, they are vampires.
Foaly’s eyes widened. Before he could comment, Holly continued:
“At least I know where to look for; I heard people talking in the
background. Apparently, they’re in Volterra, Italy. Can you find me a way to get there fast?”
“I don’t know, Holly,” Foaly answered slowly. “This sounds mighty dangerous; we know nothing of these creatures, these vampires, if your assumption is correct. I don’t see the LEP giving you permission to go save a Mud Boy from them, even-or especially-if it’s Artemis Fowl.”
“Then cover for me until I’m above ground,” Holly said determinedly. “In any case, I have the recording of the communication. Maybe you’ll be able to extract more information than me.”
Foaly hesitated, but Holly was already outside the door. He didn’t understand: since that episode with the lemur Jayjay, Fowl and Holly hadn’t seemed to get on as well as usual-not they had ever gotten along particularly well. Why was she now determined to rush aboveground to save him from what sounded like the most dangerous situation they had ever came across?
I hoped you enjoyed it. More to come soon!
Chapter 3