Artemis Fowl: The Vampire Conspiration, chapter 4
I'm in Paris right now for my cousin's wedding (he's two years older than me, which makes me feel quite weird when I think of what will happen to me when I reach that age...), and using my grandmother's computer to post this.
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.
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
On fanfiction.net
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.
“Your masters would let a newborn out of the castle?” she asked, incredulous.
“Apparently,” Artemis answered. He hated when people underestimated him.
“It is true you seem very controlled for a newborn,” she noted. “When are we supposed to start, then?”
Chapter 4: Preparation
It had been grueling for Artemis. Irina had managed to steal a car, and they had driven through a crowd of humans, with their beating hearts and pulsing blood. Even if he hadn’t breathed once-so uncomfortable, Artemis recalled with distaste-it had been torture. He wasn’t sure he ever wanted to do something like that ever again.
“It gets easier with time,” Irina had reassured him, correctly interpreting his expression. Artemis’ frowned deepened: he hated letting people guessing what he was thinking. Where was his impassible face when he needed it?
“You did fine-more than fine, actually, and in no time your eyes will turn golden just like mine,” Irina continued. “I have never seen so much self control in my life, apart from Carlisle …”
The vampire winced, her expression pained, before returning to resolute indifference. Artemis would question her about it later, when he had more leverage. He didn’t doubt for a second that he would forget it, but right now, there were more pressing matters. Aside from controlling his irrepressible bloodlust, he had to figure a way to save the People from the Volturi.
How, how, how would he do this? Aro would be a fool not check his thoughts at least once a day. There could be no scheming, because he wouldn’t be able to hide anything from his new master.
He had to convince him to leave the People in peace. How was he to convince a power-hungry three thousand year old vampire to leave such a golden opportunity alone? He hadn’t even managed to convince his ten year old self that there were things more important than money and power.
Of course, there was that option Aro had proposed. Help the Volturi in taking control over the People, and save Holly. A fair bargain, when you thought of it-and the most perfect way to control him.
Holly would hate him for this. Her previous hostile feelings for him-from when he had kidnapped her, when he had made her do things she did not want to do, when he had lied to her, when he had made her believe she had made his mother deathly sick-would be nothing, nothing at all compared to what they would be if he betrayed the People to save her.
How was he to save her, then? How was he to save the fairies?
Bring on the trolls, Artemis thought. Even if he only had human strength, he’d much rather face them than the Volturi.
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The trip in the civilian shuttle had been pure torture, but Holly had been expecting it. She should get used to it, because if she ever came out of this alive, there was absolutely no way she wouldn’t be sacked from the LEP.
Fowl didn’t deserve it, he really didn’t. She had a nagging feeling that she wouldn’t be able to sleep at night until he she had made sure he was safe, though.
When would things ever be simple with the Mud Boy?
The shuttle doors opened and Holly followed the crowd that was slowly filing towards the big oak tree a few feet away from the chute. She needed as much magic as she could get, and Tara was the best place, even if one had to spend time with a bunch of hippies.
Fowl really didn’t deserve it.
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Even though it was Aro that had allowed Artemis to go outside the castle, he still surprised the whole expedition went without a hitch. Artemis was becoming annoyed by his constant expressions of wonder. If someone was to be insincere, he might as well not be so exuberant.
“You are truly amazing, my dear boy,” Aro was saying, to Artemis’ great irritation.
“I know,” he answered crossly. “I’m smart enough to have noticed it before.”
Aro smiled dangerously.
“It would do you good to learn how to show proper respect to your masters, Artemis.” He laughed when he saw Artemis’ disgusted expression. “Indeed, boy, we are your masters. Even if you do not like it, you must understand that you would not last a day without exposing yourself if you left our protection. You are still far too young.”
“Point taken,” Artemis noted. “Though you know as well as I do that I’ll leave you the instant I don’t need you anymore.”
“The question, Artemis, is not if you will leave us when you don’t need us, it is wether you would leave us when she still needs you to stay.”
Artemis gritted his teeth.
“As pleasant as this talk is right now,” Aro said with the brightest-and most threatening-smile ever, “we have more urging matters at present. I believe you were told what happened to the Cullens, weren’t you?” He barely waited for Artemis’ nod before continuing. “We are now preparing to go deal with the problem as soon as we can.”
“We?”
For once, Aro’s smile was grim.
“The Cullens are powerful. Very, very powerful. It would be too dangerous to go in restricted numbers, and foolish to leave our wives here unprotected.”
“We are all going to Washington?”
How powerful were these Cullens? From what he had heard, it seemed like they were only eight. Why was Aro so afraid of them?
“It pains me to do this to Carlisle. I was so fond of him. However, they’ve become too dangerous, and with the creation of an immortal child…” Aro’s smile brightened suddenly. “I believe you have never been to Seattle?”
Artemis sighed.
“You don’t have to ask, master. You already know.”
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Somehow, Artemis got used to living with the Volturi. Strangely, he noticed how reluctant to leave them he became over the days. The only thing that seemed to reduce this feeling was thinking of Holly. It was quite a paradox, since Holly was supposed to be the very reason he should stay with the Volturi.
As the strange feeling intensified, he started suspecting a manipulation of some sort from the Volturi, which had greatly frustrated him greatly. Artemis Fowl the second did not fall for simple mind tricks!
Because of that, he was quite unwilling to admit his new weakness to anyone, but he had to know. One day when they were hunting, he finally questioned Irina about what was happening.
“You should ask Demetri,” was all the answer Artemis could get. It was strange how frightened Irina seemed all the time. By all accounts, she should feel at ease for having done precisely what the Volturi wanted her to do.
It had taken some time to get the answer from Demetri. He had even had to use the crudest type of bargain (helping the other vampire with his astounding brainpower in some stupid task he’d rather forget, but couldn’t, annoying vampire memory). When he finally got what he wanted, he wasn’t sure he was quite satisfied with the result.
There was a vampire in the Volturi coven, Chelsea, who could tighten or break bonds between people. Apparently, she was attaching Artemis to the Volturi.
He was indignant at first; for people that liked to pretend they were polite and tolerant, it was a remarkably rude thing to do. Though, after a few minutes of reflection, it became obvious how completely expected a move it was. Aro truly was a slippery character.
Somehow, however, Artemis’ feelings towards Holly, however undefined, were helping him resist against Chelsea. In an attempt to ward off her influence, he thought about Holly as much as he could. With his new vampire abilities, it was relatively easy to always keep a corner of his mind thinking of the elfin captain.
Unfortunately, his thoughts remembered more often than not the time when she had been younger and him older, when she had called him Arty in panic, and how, relieved that he was alive, she had …
Oh, how Aro would laugh next time he probed Artemis’ thoughts.
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Down in Haven, Foaly was cursing. Stupid, stupid move from Holly there. There was no way she could ever escape sanctions. All of this was for nothing, really. After all, the threat that Artemis would expose them was great enough for the LEP to take care of this. Trouble Kelp was already readying his Retrieval team.
The LEP could use Holly’s fine reckoning, for Ford’s sake!
But no, she had to go illegally-a faster method, according to her. He understood that sometimes it took time to organize a Retrieval, after all it would have taken them two days to be operational in the John Spiro episode, but still! Now, he’d feel lucky if she had thought to bring even an unsecured communicator with her. With all the tracking technology he put into LEP equipment, he could be certain Holly would avoid it. D’Arvit!
All this for a Mud Boy. Granted, Fowl was gifted. Even Foaly sometimes admitted to himself (when he was certain that nobody was around) that the boy might be smarter than him.
Still.
Foaly also had this nagging suspicion that Holly harbored feelings for the boy. He clearly remembered how hard it had been for her when they had had to wipe his memories. How touchy she had become on that particular subject since the whole time traveling episode.
Just what he needed. A lovesick and impulsive Recon officer, with no official field permit.
Was she expecting that he clean up the mess after her?
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If Artemis had ever thought that vampires traveled light, he was wrong. It was a little off-putting to see how much preparation it took for the Volturi. Perhaps that came with old age. After all, Aro and his brothers were well over three thousand years old, if his calculations were exact.
Artemis’ main occupations during the preparations were answering Aro’s numerous organizational queries-that was the way his prodigious intelligence was being used these days, apparently-and hunting with Irina.
He had started to develop a tentative friendship with the vegetarian vampire. Of course, Irina still seemed terrified that Artemis would inform the Volturi if she ever did or said something wrong, but he was slowly managing to earn her trust.
Also, he was slowly learning to control his thirst.
It seemed he was the only one who wasn’t surprised that he had a modicum of self-control. Apparently, newborns were wild for years before they managed to overcome their bloodlust. Aro said the reason Artemis was different was that his exceptional mind somehow could overcome his instincts, even this young in vampire existence.
True, he could now somewhat breathe through his mouth when they were humans were around, and Irina hadn’t needed to restrain him once. Even Felix looked at him in wonder when he heard that.
Artemis, however, was incredibly frustrated that the mere thought of a pumping heart still made him salivate.
How on earth could human physiology be so appealing?
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How had aboveground missions actually succeeded when the People didn’t have technology? Holly often wondered as she was bounced around in a cattle truck. With her fairy powers, she had managed to calm the cows down, but it still wasn’t an agreeable trip. What she wouldn’t give for her wings, her ever-so-informative helmet …
At least, she had smuggled her Neutrino through.
After sneaking into the Eurotunnel to reach France, she had managed to find various means of transportation to get all the way to Italy. Her last host was an unsuspecting truck driver. She had mesmerized him into making a “sightseeing” detour in Volterra. Of all the illegal things she had done during this trip, this probably was the least of them-the People didn’t care much about mesmerized Mud Men-but Holly didn’t like it much. She didn’t feel guilty very long though, even though the truck driver already was in a hurry, when she thought of Artemis waiting for her in Volterra-or rather, hoping she wouldn’t come, if she had to be honest with herself.
Besides, if the brochures were correct, Volterra was superb. Well worth the detour, as the driver would later explain his outraged boss.
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“So you informed the Volturi about the Cullens’ immortal child?” Artemis asked Irina on one of their hunting trips. Questioning her so straightforwardly was a testament of how more sure of himself he had become in this new environment. “Even though they were your friends?”
“Yes,” she answered tensely. “You don’t understand, Artemis, you are so new to this world. If anyone, if anybody is somehow involved in this mess and doesn’t cooperate with the Volturi, they will find out and will destroy them. No matter how fond I am of the Cullens, I had to do this.”
Artemis pondered her answer, before asking boldly:
“But you aren’t that fond of the Cullens, are you?”
Irina froze in her tracks, even though she had just picked up the scent of an animal.
“What makes you say that?” Her tone was carefully guarded, just like the first days of their acquaintance. Artemis tried to soother her; it wouldn’t do to upset his only ally-if she could even be called that.
“The way you talk about them, and this whole situation,” he replied calmly. “It seems to me like you resent them. I might be mistaken, though …”
“You aren’t.”
Bingo.
Irina sighed.
“What’s the point in hiding it, after all? Aro knows about how I feel. He probably won’t mind if his new protégé finds out. More tactical advantage, right?”
Artemis was glad for his vampire abilities. It seemed they had heightened his capacity to keep an impassive face no matter the circumstances. He needed it now-Irina had seen right through him.
“It’s a long story, and one you probably wouldn’t understand, seeing as you are so young, even as a human. I met another vampire, a year ago, of which I became quite fond of.”
To say the truth, Artemis hadn’t quite been expecting that.
“I will spare you the details about how wonderful he was, just know that he made me feel alive in ways that I hadn’t in a very long time. Anyway, that vampire was murdered by a pack of werewolves.”
“Werewolves?” Artemis spluttered. Nobody had told them there were werewolves! Things were getting more complicated by the minute. Not only would he have to deal with the Volturi, but he shouldn’t forget that somewhere out there were creatures that wished nothing more than to rip him to pieces, if human legends were accurate.
“Yes, werewolves,” Irina spat out. “The Cullens had made a treaty with that pack of scum and refused to let us destroy them to avenge Laurent. They even allied themselves with those disgusting creatures!”
Well, if one could ally oneself with werewolves, there was hope after all.
“And then,” Irina continued, “when I was coming to them to try and repair our friendship, despite everything, I saw their newborn playing with one of the werewolves and a child!”
“The immortal child?”
“Yes.”
Artemis didn’t know what to say. The situation seemed quite hopeless for that particular coven. Befriending werewolves and creating an immortal child. The Volturi would make mincemeat out of them.
And they would probably ask him to take part in the slaughter. Artemis shivered. He didn’t want to think about that. No matter how sorry he felt for the Cullens-and for himself, given that he was only interested in them because of their diet-he had other problems at hand. Namely, escaping the Volturi, saving the Fairy World and incidentally one Captain Holly Short.
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The same Holly Short was now stealthily creeping out of the truck, as invisible as she could. Her old LEP uniform from the academy wasn’t quite up to par with the current shielding technology. Holly recalled the first time she had used her Section Eight uniform, and managed to creep on Artemis Fowl and Butler. This suit didn’t compare; she would shimmer like crazy.
Oh, well. After all, she had always claimed she liked things old-fashioned, hadn’t she?
It was still broad daylight, which didn’t sit well with fairies, no matter how renegade they were. She didn’t want to think about what would happened if she was discovered, and hoped her shimmering wouldn’t get noticed. In the middle of winter, it wasn’t quite hot enough, even in Italy, for it to be mistaken for heat haze. She had to look for a place to hide.
A little corner in the shade where she could observe the main piazza was easily found. Now, she would observe and wait for the sun to go down. Then, she would find Artemis, and then …
She had no idea what she would do then.
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Everything was ready. Aro, in his love of theatrics, had decided the Volturi coven would leave Volterra at midnight. It had barely been beyond Artemis’ forces to refrain from rolling his eyes when he heard that decision.
In any case, it was still more prudent to depart at night. Sparkling really wasn’t the best attribute for stealth.
Aro, feeling generous, had let some vampires to run along the convoy instead of driving in the cars, and Artemis was part of them. The Volturi chief had believed it would be best for Artemis to be exposed to as many scents as he could before the trip across the Atlantic, to increase his knowledge and his already impressive self-control. Artemis knowing that Holly’s fate depended ultimately on his good behavior, wasn’t planning on doing anything foolish.
Marching with him were Felix, Demetri, and a few other vampires. Luckily, the devil twins as Artemis liked to call them, Jane and Alec, were not interested in running with them. One less thing to worry about. Jane really gave him the creeps, which he heartily resented. That was his job, not hers.
Irina was also instructed to come with them, so she could keep an eye on Artemis. Felix and Demetri, however, were probably keeping an eye on Artemis and Irina. The golden-eyed vampire may have given vital information to the Volturi, it was clear she wasn’t considered a part of them at all.
The main piazza was stunning in the moonlight. With his vampire eye, he could see every minuscule detail even in the dark. How the golden stones of the walls gleamed, complemented by the gentle brown-red of the roofs, and …
Holly.
There, spying on them in a corner, shielded from human eyes, was Captain Holly Short. The uniform didn’t look official at all, but it was her, no doubt. She had spotted him, and was frantically looking around, trying to find a way to help him escape.
Don’t move, he thought with all his might. If even the slightest sound or scent was felt by the other vampires, she would be done for.
They hadn’t noticed anything, Artemis ascertained quickly. Then, closing the eyelid in front of his fairy eye, he looked at Holly’s hideout.
No one was there.
He opened his eye again, and she shimmered back into sight. It took everything Artemis had not to sigh in relief. Vampires couldn’t see shielded fairies.
But she had come.
He had told, no begged her not to, and she had come anyway. How was he supposed to protect her if she threw herself headfirst into dangerous situations? This was already so complicated …
Aro would know about it, Artemis realized in panic. Of course Aro would check Artemis’ mind and would learn about the encounter, about the People’s only advantage over vampires. Artemis had to do something.
He would be in so much trouble for this, it was better not to think about the consequences. At least, nobody would make fun of his singing voice now.
He started humming under his breath an old lullaby his mother had sung
to him when he was small. All the vampires started and looked at him strangely, but Artemis continued on, a little louder.
Felix snorted.
“You see, Demetri, he got over being a vampire as fast as anyone!”
The melody had words to it, but Artemis changed them freely. Into Gnommish.
“The vampires know about you. One of them has access to all my memories. They will be coming after you. Please don’t follow me; too dangerous. Change everything.”
“What is that?” Felix asked, amused.
“It’s just an old Irish lullaby,” Artemis replied, nonplussed, before continuing to hum.
“Well, it’s not a very pretty language,” Demetri remarked disdainfully. Artemis did his best to hide his smile. On the other side of the piazza, Holly hadn’t been able to help huffing indignantly.
“We should start running now,” another vampire pointed out. “Otherwise Aro will be impatient.”
More vampires echoed the sentiment and the whole group broke into a run. Artemis didn’t look back to see if Holly had heard or understood his message. He hoped she had.
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“Foaly? Foaly?”
“Who is this?” answered the Centaur on the other line, probably already doing a scan of all the communicators on the planet to localize her.
“It’s Holly. Foaly, I-”
“Holly? Holly, you crazy elf, do you realize what you’ve done? You’ll be sacked from the LEP, and that’s probably the best case scenario. Do you have any idea of how dan-”
“I know, Foaly, stop the lecture!” Holly snapped. “This is important …”
“Oh, because what I was telling you wasn’t important, was it?” he complained.
“Listen to me, Foaly, I don’t have much time. Can you secure the line?”
“I’m working on it as we speak, what do you think?”
“Right. I found who I was looking for. He is …” Holly pause, it was so difficult to admit. “… like the others he was talking about in the message I showed you. He and a whole group are going out of town, and apparently their chief “Aro” too. I don’t have any visuals of what the vamp-”
“The line is still not secure, captain, wait a second,” Foaly interrupted. Holly waited a few instants. “There. All set. You wouldn’t imagine how complicated that was to do. Fowl would have loved this.”
“Yes, yes,” Holly said impatiently. “I don’t have any visuals of the vampires-no helmet-”
“And whose fault is that?”
“-but I saw some of them going on foot and some others using cars after Artemis passed. By the way, I planted a tracer-code 18A43#-on one of the cars. Hopefully they’re all going the same direction and we’ll be able to track them.”
“Good job. I’m on it right now.”
“Artemis spotted me, but not the other vampires. I’m hoping that’s because I was shielded and Artemis’ fairy eye is the only reason he saw me.”
“Let’s hope. I can’t believe he’s a vampire now. That can’t be good.”
“He spoke to me.”
“What?” Foaly exclaimed. “In the middle of a group of vampires?”
“He was singing a lullaby in Gnommish. If we ever get out of this, I will tease him about it until the end of his days. Anyway, he said that one of the vampires had access to all of his memories, so they know of our existence and will come after us. He also advises us to “change everything,” and that’s a quote.”
“D’Arvit.”
“You can say that again.” Holly didn’t mention Artemis’ warning. She was too far gone anyway. Who was he to think she would abandon him?
“Listen, Holly, I’ve called Trouble. After all the information you managed to get for us, I think you’ll still be on for Recon on this mission. If you can manage to get to either Florence or Sienna nearby, you’ll be able to find stashes of LEP equipment.”
“Perfect.”
Things were looking much better than she would have imagined, even hours ago. Foaly believed she wouldn’t be sacked from the LEP, and even that she would still work on this mission.
She realized guiltily that it was only because she had been the bearer of bad news. Why was she feeling relieved when she had just discovered that bloodthirsty creatures would soon be after the fairies?
At least, she would be able to follow closely what would happen to Artemis. How could he ever think she would abandon him?
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“I am … most displeased,” Aro said. It was one of the rare occasions where he wasn’t his usual bubbly self, and Artemis was going to be his victim. What would he do? Kill him? Torture him? Worst of all, kill Holly?
“I won’t kill your precious captain, Artemis,” Aro commented when he reached for Artemis’ hand again. “You should know however, that she is very, very close to suffering a terrible fate.”
“No!” Artemis couldn’t help but utter. Aro’s smile was predatory.
“What else will keep you in line, boy? If you ever, ever do anything to contradict me and my plans, you can be certain I will hunt her down, no matter where she hides, and tear her apart while you watch. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes, master,” Artemis answered, defeated.
“Now, I am very sorry to say, but it is time for your punishment. Jane is on her way as we speak. Believe me, Artemis, by the middle of it, you will be begging to be human again so you can die.”
Chapter 5
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.
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
On fanfiction.net
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.
“Your masters would let a newborn out of the castle?” she asked, incredulous.
“Apparently,” Artemis answered. He hated when people underestimated him.
“It is true you seem very controlled for a newborn,” she noted. “When are we supposed to start, then?”
Chapter 4: Preparation
It had been grueling for Artemis. Irina had managed to steal a car, and they had driven through a crowd of humans, with their beating hearts and pulsing blood. Even if he hadn’t breathed once-so uncomfortable, Artemis recalled with distaste-it had been torture. He wasn’t sure he ever wanted to do something like that ever again.
“It gets easier with time,” Irina had reassured him, correctly interpreting his expression. Artemis’ frowned deepened: he hated letting people guessing what he was thinking. Where was his impassible face when he needed it?
“You did fine-more than fine, actually, and in no time your eyes will turn golden just like mine,” Irina continued. “I have never seen so much self control in my life, apart from Carlisle …”
The vampire winced, her expression pained, before returning to resolute indifference. Artemis would question her about it later, when he had more leverage. He didn’t doubt for a second that he would forget it, but right now, there were more pressing matters. Aside from controlling his irrepressible bloodlust, he had to figure a way to save the People from the Volturi.
How, how, how would he do this? Aro would be a fool not check his thoughts at least once a day. There could be no scheming, because he wouldn’t be able to hide anything from his new master.
He had to convince him to leave the People in peace. How was he to convince a power-hungry three thousand year old vampire to leave such a golden opportunity alone? He hadn’t even managed to convince his ten year old self that there were things more important than money and power.
Of course, there was that option Aro had proposed. Help the Volturi in taking control over the People, and save Holly. A fair bargain, when you thought of it-and the most perfect way to control him.
Holly would hate him for this. Her previous hostile feelings for him-from when he had kidnapped her, when he had made her do things she did not want to do, when he had lied to her, when he had made her believe she had made his mother deathly sick-would be nothing, nothing at all compared to what they would be if he betrayed the People to save her.
How was he to save her, then? How was he to save the fairies?
Bring on the trolls, Artemis thought. Even if he only had human strength, he’d much rather face them than the Volturi.
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The trip in the civilian shuttle had been pure torture, but Holly had been expecting it. She should get used to it, because if she ever came out of this alive, there was absolutely no way she wouldn’t be sacked from the LEP.
Fowl didn’t deserve it, he really didn’t. She had a nagging feeling that she wouldn’t be able to sleep at night until he she had made sure he was safe, though.
When would things ever be simple with the Mud Boy?
The shuttle doors opened and Holly followed the crowd that was slowly filing towards the big oak tree a few feet away from the chute. She needed as much magic as she could get, and Tara was the best place, even if one had to spend time with a bunch of hippies.
Fowl really didn’t deserve it.
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Even though it was Aro that had allowed Artemis to go outside the castle, he still surprised the whole expedition went without a hitch. Artemis was becoming annoyed by his constant expressions of wonder. If someone was to be insincere, he might as well not be so exuberant.
“You are truly amazing, my dear boy,” Aro was saying, to Artemis’ great irritation.
“I know,” he answered crossly. “I’m smart enough to have noticed it before.”
Aro smiled dangerously.
“It would do you good to learn how to show proper respect to your masters, Artemis.” He laughed when he saw Artemis’ disgusted expression. “Indeed, boy, we are your masters. Even if you do not like it, you must understand that you would not last a day without exposing yourself if you left our protection. You are still far too young.”
“Point taken,” Artemis noted. “Though you know as well as I do that I’ll leave you the instant I don’t need you anymore.”
“The question, Artemis, is not if you will leave us when you don’t need us, it is wether you would leave us when she still needs you to stay.”
Artemis gritted his teeth.
“As pleasant as this talk is right now,” Aro said with the brightest-and most threatening-smile ever, “we have more urging matters at present. I believe you were told what happened to the Cullens, weren’t you?” He barely waited for Artemis’ nod before continuing. “We are now preparing to go deal with the problem as soon as we can.”
“We?”
For once, Aro’s smile was grim.
“The Cullens are powerful. Very, very powerful. It would be too dangerous to go in restricted numbers, and foolish to leave our wives here unprotected.”
“We are all going to Washington?”
How powerful were these Cullens? From what he had heard, it seemed like they were only eight. Why was Aro so afraid of them?
“It pains me to do this to Carlisle. I was so fond of him. However, they’ve become too dangerous, and with the creation of an immortal child…” Aro’s smile brightened suddenly. “I believe you have never been to Seattle?”
Artemis sighed.
“You don’t have to ask, master. You already know.”
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Somehow, Artemis got used to living with the Volturi. Strangely, he noticed how reluctant to leave them he became over the days. The only thing that seemed to reduce this feeling was thinking of Holly. It was quite a paradox, since Holly was supposed to be the very reason he should stay with the Volturi.
As the strange feeling intensified, he started suspecting a manipulation of some sort from the Volturi, which had greatly frustrated him greatly. Artemis Fowl the second did not fall for simple mind tricks!
Because of that, he was quite unwilling to admit his new weakness to anyone, but he had to know. One day when they were hunting, he finally questioned Irina about what was happening.
“You should ask Demetri,” was all the answer Artemis could get. It was strange how frightened Irina seemed all the time. By all accounts, she should feel at ease for having done precisely what the Volturi wanted her to do.
It had taken some time to get the answer from Demetri. He had even had to use the crudest type of bargain (helping the other vampire with his astounding brainpower in some stupid task he’d rather forget, but couldn’t, annoying vampire memory). When he finally got what he wanted, he wasn’t sure he was quite satisfied with the result.
There was a vampire in the Volturi coven, Chelsea, who could tighten or break bonds between people. Apparently, she was attaching Artemis to the Volturi.
He was indignant at first; for people that liked to pretend they were polite and tolerant, it was a remarkably rude thing to do. Though, after a few minutes of reflection, it became obvious how completely expected a move it was. Aro truly was a slippery character.
Somehow, however, Artemis’ feelings towards Holly, however undefined, were helping him resist against Chelsea. In an attempt to ward off her influence, he thought about Holly as much as he could. With his new vampire abilities, it was relatively easy to always keep a corner of his mind thinking of the elfin captain.
Unfortunately, his thoughts remembered more often than not the time when she had been younger and him older, when she had called him Arty in panic, and how, relieved that he was alive, she had …
Oh, how Aro would laugh next time he probed Artemis’ thoughts.
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Down in Haven, Foaly was cursing. Stupid, stupid move from Holly there. There was no way she could ever escape sanctions. All of this was for nothing, really. After all, the threat that Artemis would expose them was great enough for the LEP to take care of this. Trouble Kelp was already readying his Retrieval team.
The LEP could use Holly’s fine reckoning, for Ford’s sake!
But no, she had to go illegally-a faster method, according to her. He understood that sometimes it took time to organize a Retrieval, after all it would have taken them two days to be operational in the John Spiro episode, but still! Now, he’d feel lucky if she had thought to bring even an unsecured communicator with her. With all the tracking technology he put into LEP equipment, he could be certain Holly would avoid it. D’Arvit!
All this for a Mud Boy. Granted, Fowl was gifted. Even Foaly sometimes admitted to himself (when he was certain that nobody was around) that the boy might be smarter than him.
Still.
Foaly also had this nagging suspicion that Holly harbored feelings for the boy. He clearly remembered how hard it had been for her when they had had to wipe his memories. How touchy she had become on that particular subject since the whole time traveling episode.
Just what he needed. A lovesick and impulsive Recon officer, with no official field permit.
Was she expecting that he clean up the mess after her?
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If Artemis had ever thought that vampires traveled light, he was wrong. It was a little off-putting to see how much preparation it took for the Volturi. Perhaps that came with old age. After all, Aro and his brothers were well over three thousand years old, if his calculations were exact.
Artemis’ main occupations during the preparations were answering Aro’s numerous organizational queries-that was the way his prodigious intelligence was being used these days, apparently-and hunting with Irina.
He had started to develop a tentative friendship with the vegetarian vampire. Of course, Irina still seemed terrified that Artemis would inform the Volturi if she ever did or said something wrong, but he was slowly managing to earn her trust.
Also, he was slowly learning to control his thirst.
It seemed he was the only one who wasn’t surprised that he had a modicum of self-control. Apparently, newborns were wild for years before they managed to overcome their bloodlust. Aro said the reason Artemis was different was that his exceptional mind somehow could overcome his instincts, even this young in vampire existence.
True, he could now somewhat breathe through his mouth when they were humans were around, and Irina hadn’t needed to restrain him once. Even Felix looked at him in wonder when he heard that.
Artemis, however, was incredibly frustrated that the mere thought of a pumping heart still made him salivate.
How on earth could human physiology be so appealing?
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How had aboveground missions actually succeeded when the People didn’t have technology? Holly often wondered as she was bounced around in a cattle truck. With her fairy powers, she had managed to calm the cows down, but it still wasn’t an agreeable trip. What she wouldn’t give for her wings, her ever-so-informative helmet …
At least, she had smuggled her Neutrino through.
After sneaking into the Eurotunnel to reach France, she had managed to find various means of transportation to get all the way to Italy. Her last host was an unsuspecting truck driver. She had mesmerized him into making a “sightseeing” detour in Volterra. Of all the illegal things she had done during this trip, this probably was the least of them-the People didn’t care much about mesmerized Mud Men-but Holly didn’t like it much. She didn’t feel guilty very long though, even though the truck driver already was in a hurry, when she thought of Artemis waiting for her in Volterra-or rather, hoping she wouldn’t come, if she had to be honest with herself.
Besides, if the brochures were correct, Volterra was superb. Well worth the detour, as the driver would later explain his outraged boss.
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“So you informed the Volturi about the Cullens’ immortal child?” Artemis asked Irina on one of their hunting trips. Questioning her so straightforwardly was a testament of how more sure of himself he had become in this new environment. “Even though they were your friends?”
“Yes,” she answered tensely. “You don’t understand, Artemis, you are so new to this world. If anyone, if anybody is somehow involved in this mess and doesn’t cooperate with the Volturi, they will find out and will destroy them. No matter how fond I am of the Cullens, I had to do this.”
Artemis pondered her answer, before asking boldly:
“But you aren’t that fond of the Cullens, are you?”
Irina froze in her tracks, even though she had just picked up the scent of an animal.
“What makes you say that?” Her tone was carefully guarded, just like the first days of their acquaintance. Artemis tried to soother her; it wouldn’t do to upset his only ally-if she could even be called that.
“The way you talk about them, and this whole situation,” he replied calmly. “It seems to me like you resent them. I might be mistaken, though …”
“You aren’t.”
Bingo.
Irina sighed.
“What’s the point in hiding it, after all? Aro knows about how I feel. He probably won’t mind if his new protégé finds out. More tactical advantage, right?”
Artemis was glad for his vampire abilities. It seemed they had heightened his capacity to keep an impassive face no matter the circumstances. He needed it now-Irina had seen right through him.
“It’s a long story, and one you probably wouldn’t understand, seeing as you are so young, even as a human. I met another vampire, a year ago, of which I became quite fond of.”
To say the truth, Artemis hadn’t quite been expecting that.
“I will spare you the details about how wonderful he was, just know that he made me feel alive in ways that I hadn’t in a very long time. Anyway, that vampire was murdered by a pack of werewolves.”
“Werewolves?” Artemis spluttered. Nobody had told them there were werewolves! Things were getting more complicated by the minute. Not only would he have to deal with the Volturi, but he shouldn’t forget that somewhere out there were creatures that wished nothing more than to rip him to pieces, if human legends were accurate.
“Yes, werewolves,” Irina spat out. “The Cullens had made a treaty with that pack of scum and refused to let us destroy them to avenge Laurent. They even allied themselves with those disgusting creatures!”
Well, if one could ally oneself with werewolves, there was hope after all.
“And then,” Irina continued, “when I was coming to them to try and repair our friendship, despite everything, I saw their newborn playing with one of the werewolves and a child!”
“The immortal child?”
“Yes.”
Artemis didn’t know what to say. The situation seemed quite hopeless for that particular coven. Befriending werewolves and creating an immortal child. The Volturi would make mincemeat out of them.
And they would probably ask him to take part in the slaughter. Artemis shivered. He didn’t want to think about that. No matter how sorry he felt for the Cullens-and for himself, given that he was only interested in them because of their diet-he had other problems at hand. Namely, escaping the Volturi, saving the Fairy World and incidentally one Captain Holly Short.
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The same Holly Short was now stealthily creeping out of the truck, as invisible as she could. Her old LEP uniform from the academy wasn’t quite up to par with the current shielding technology. Holly recalled the first time she had used her Section Eight uniform, and managed to creep on Artemis Fowl and Butler. This suit didn’t compare; she would shimmer like crazy.
Oh, well. After all, she had always claimed she liked things old-fashioned, hadn’t she?
It was still broad daylight, which didn’t sit well with fairies, no matter how renegade they were. She didn’t want to think about what would happened if she was discovered, and hoped her shimmering wouldn’t get noticed. In the middle of winter, it wasn’t quite hot enough, even in Italy, for it to be mistaken for heat haze. She had to look for a place to hide.
A little corner in the shade where she could observe the main piazza was easily found. Now, she would observe and wait for the sun to go down. Then, she would find Artemis, and then …
She had no idea what she would do then.
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Everything was ready. Aro, in his love of theatrics, had decided the Volturi coven would leave Volterra at midnight. It had barely been beyond Artemis’ forces to refrain from rolling his eyes when he heard that decision.
In any case, it was still more prudent to depart at night. Sparkling really wasn’t the best attribute for stealth.
Aro, feeling generous, had let some vampires to run along the convoy instead of driving in the cars, and Artemis was part of them. The Volturi chief had believed it would be best for Artemis to be exposed to as many scents as he could before the trip across the Atlantic, to increase his knowledge and his already impressive self-control. Artemis knowing that Holly’s fate depended ultimately on his good behavior, wasn’t planning on doing anything foolish.
Marching with him were Felix, Demetri, and a few other vampires. Luckily, the devil twins as Artemis liked to call them, Jane and Alec, were not interested in running with them. One less thing to worry about. Jane really gave him the creeps, which he heartily resented. That was his job, not hers.
Irina was also instructed to come with them, so she could keep an eye on Artemis. Felix and Demetri, however, were probably keeping an eye on Artemis and Irina. The golden-eyed vampire may have given vital information to the Volturi, it was clear she wasn’t considered a part of them at all.
The main piazza was stunning in the moonlight. With his vampire eye, he could see every minuscule detail even in the dark. How the golden stones of the walls gleamed, complemented by the gentle brown-red of the roofs, and …
Holly.
There, spying on them in a corner, shielded from human eyes, was Captain Holly Short. The uniform didn’t look official at all, but it was her, no doubt. She had spotted him, and was frantically looking around, trying to find a way to help him escape.
Don’t move, he thought with all his might. If even the slightest sound or scent was felt by the other vampires, she would be done for.
They hadn’t noticed anything, Artemis ascertained quickly. Then, closing the eyelid in front of his fairy eye, he looked at Holly’s hideout.
No one was there.
He opened his eye again, and she shimmered back into sight. It took everything Artemis had not to sigh in relief. Vampires couldn’t see shielded fairies.
But she had come.
He had told, no begged her not to, and she had come anyway. How was he supposed to protect her if she threw herself headfirst into dangerous situations? This was already so complicated …
Aro would know about it, Artemis realized in panic. Of course Aro would check Artemis’ mind and would learn about the encounter, about the People’s only advantage over vampires. Artemis had to do something.
He would be in so much trouble for this, it was better not to think about the consequences. At least, nobody would make fun of his singing voice now.
He started humming under his breath an old lullaby his mother had sung
to him when he was small. All the vampires started and looked at him strangely, but Artemis continued on, a little louder.
Felix snorted.
“You see, Demetri, he got over being a vampire as fast as anyone!”
The melody had words to it, but Artemis changed them freely. Into Gnommish.
“The vampires know about you. One of them has access to all my memories. They will be coming after you. Please don’t follow me; too dangerous. Change everything.”
“What is that?” Felix asked, amused.
“It’s just an old Irish lullaby,” Artemis replied, nonplussed, before continuing to hum.
“Well, it’s not a very pretty language,” Demetri remarked disdainfully. Artemis did his best to hide his smile. On the other side of the piazza, Holly hadn’t been able to help huffing indignantly.
“We should start running now,” another vampire pointed out. “Otherwise Aro will be impatient.”
More vampires echoed the sentiment and the whole group broke into a run. Artemis didn’t look back to see if Holly had heard or understood his message. He hoped she had.
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“Foaly? Foaly?”
“Who is this?” answered the Centaur on the other line, probably already doing a scan of all the communicators on the planet to localize her.
“It’s Holly. Foaly, I-”
“Holly? Holly, you crazy elf, do you realize what you’ve done? You’ll be sacked from the LEP, and that’s probably the best case scenario. Do you have any idea of how dan-”
“I know, Foaly, stop the lecture!” Holly snapped. “This is important …”
“Oh, because what I was telling you wasn’t important, was it?” he complained.
“Listen to me, Foaly, I don’t have much time. Can you secure the line?”
“I’m working on it as we speak, what do you think?”
“Right. I found who I was looking for. He is …” Holly pause, it was so difficult to admit. “… like the others he was talking about in the message I showed you. He and a whole group are going out of town, and apparently their chief “Aro” too. I don’t have any visuals of what the vamp-”
“The line is still not secure, captain, wait a second,” Foaly interrupted. Holly waited a few instants. “There. All set. You wouldn’t imagine how complicated that was to do. Fowl would have loved this.”
“Yes, yes,” Holly said impatiently. “I don’t have any visuals of the vampires-no helmet-”
“And whose fault is that?”
“-but I saw some of them going on foot and some others using cars after Artemis passed. By the way, I planted a tracer-code 18A43#-on one of the cars. Hopefully they’re all going the same direction and we’ll be able to track them.”
“Good job. I’m on it right now.”
“Artemis spotted me, but not the other vampires. I’m hoping that’s because I was shielded and Artemis’ fairy eye is the only reason he saw me.”
“Let’s hope. I can’t believe he’s a vampire now. That can’t be good.”
“He spoke to me.”
“What?” Foaly exclaimed. “In the middle of a group of vampires?”
“He was singing a lullaby in Gnommish. If we ever get out of this, I will tease him about it until the end of his days. Anyway, he said that one of the vampires had access to all of his memories, so they know of our existence and will come after us. He also advises us to “change everything,” and that’s a quote.”
“D’Arvit.”
“You can say that again.” Holly didn’t mention Artemis’ warning. She was too far gone anyway. Who was he to think she would abandon him?
“Listen, Holly, I’ve called Trouble. After all the information you managed to get for us, I think you’ll still be on for Recon on this mission. If you can manage to get to either Florence or Sienna nearby, you’ll be able to find stashes of LEP equipment.”
“Perfect.”
Things were looking much better than she would have imagined, even hours ago. Foaly believed she wouldn’t be sacked from the LEP, and even that she would still work on this mission.
She realized guiltily that it was only because she had been the bearer of bad news. Why was she feeling relieved when she had just discovered that bloodthirsty creatures would soon be after the fairies?
At least, she would be able to follow closely what would happen to Artemis. How could he ever think she would abandon him?
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“I am … most displeased,” Aro said. It was one of the rare occasions where he wasn’t his usual bubbly self, and Artemis was going to be his victim. What would he do? Kill him? Torture him? Worst of all, kill Holly?
“I won’t kill your precious captain, Artemis,” Aro commented when he reached for Artemis’ hand again. “You should know however, that she is very, very close to suffering a terrible fate.”
“No!” Artemis couldn’t help but utter. Aro’s smile was predatory.
“What else will keep you in line, boy? If you ever, ever do anything to contradict me and my plans, you can be certain I will hunt her down, no matter where she hides, and tear her apart while you watch. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes, master,” Artemis answered, defeated.
“Now, I am very sorry to say, but it is time for your punishment. Jane is on her way as we speak. Believe me, Artemis, by the middle of it, you will be begging to be human again so you can die.”
Chapter 5