Co-written by me and That Lovely Bad One.
Disclaimer: We, unfortunately, do not own Twilight, Artemis Fowl, Inheritance, Harry Potter, or any of the other recognizable books/characters in this fiction.
Chapter One.
The home of the Pageturners was a lush place, filled with unpredictable climate, and harsh beauty. There were oceans so vast that they lead to nowhere and forests with trees tall enough to touch the sky. Bottomless chasms stretched across the lands, and steep cliffs tumbled into the seas. Centered in the pitch black sky were thirteen lustering moons.
The main city was in the center of the plowed and fertile farmlands, with silver, bronze, and gold towers. The great terra-cota colored walls that surrounded the city protected it from elemental invasion of the beasts that called this place home as well. Time seemed to stand still there, and festivals were a priority.
As of now, the festival going on in the city was the Coming of the Sun. it began thirteen days before, and ended when the sun rose for the second half of the year.
Jai shook her head, clearing her fantasies of the Sun coming Festival. But she couldn't shake the feeling that she should be there, dancing with everyone else, not here in some godforsaken book. She knew that some where in the underbrush sat her friends, and comrades, Felix, Kai, Vedlemez, and Maxx. The rest had sat this one out. The pale girl was standing in the meadow, looking stricken. Someone whistled, long and long. Jai shifted. That was her cue. Laurent was coming.
It was Jai's and Maxx's job to make sure that the girl didn't die while Felix and Vedlemez herded the wolves to them. Kai was lookout.
She didn't pay much attention to the conversation that the vampire was having with the human girl, until the vampire sprang.
No. This wasn't supposed to happen. The wolves should have arrived by now. The girl's, Bella, screams became excruciatingly clear. Then Maxx and Jai broke the most sacred law of all.
They showed themselves.
Or rather, only Jai showed herself. Maxx jumped the vampire while she was invisible. Bella screamed when she saw Jai, who walked calmly towards her, and grabbed her arm. She knew what the girl would see wasn't pretty. She would probably think that Jai was just another vampire. She could pass for one, with her short black hair and pale skin. The eyes were a dead giveaway though. Not gold, or red for that matter, at all.
Jai closed her eyes and willed the poison to be flushed from Bella's veins. The girl quieted, and Jai touched her forehead. Bella fell into painless sleep. Maxx waited for Jai to come over and do the same to Laurent before she released her hold and became visible again. Maxx could be Bella's twin, albeit the sarcastic look that constantly hovered around her eyes.
Felix, his fair hair shining like silver, his green eyes looking around in horror. Vedlemez followed him, his black hair a helmet of black steel, looked grimly around at the mess. Time seemed to stop when Felix twitched his fingers, which, in truth, it actually did. That was his power, Timestop. Jai's was Neverending sleep, and Healing. Felix shook his head, his eyes trained on Jai.
"Why," he asked her. "Must you always break the rules?"
"I don't always-" he raised a hand.
"Inkheart, you killed Mo, and Elis had to bring him back. Every Little Bird that Sings, Comfort and Peach had a funeral planned for them. Once again, Elis saved your butt. The Mortal Instruments Trilogy, I think we all know what happened then," He added in a softer tone. "I can't save you from Exile a second time." He turned to the rest of them, Kai popped out of the woods. Her shoulder length red curls bouncing when she turned her head. Her blue eyes glinted, the color of the Pageturner's sky during the time between the coming of the sun and the going of the sun.
"What did I miss?" then she saw everyone, and the sleeping characters. "Oh. That."
Felix sighed. "Lets get them back in position. And quickly, I can't hold time back for long without collapsing the world." This was directed at everyone but Jai. She ran back to the trees, feeling a growing fury, and punched a tree. She doubled over, gasping in pain. She took a look at it. It was bleeding, and a piece of bone was sticking out of the skin. Jai swore softly, and healed her hand.
A twig cracked behind her, and she spun to see Felix, who was staring at her broken hand, a look of horror, anger, and despair in his eyes.
"Please don't hurt yourself again," he said softly. He made a grab for her newly healed hand, but she pulled it away.
"Don't Felix. Please don't," She looked around. "Are we done here?"
"Yes but-"
"Good. I'm sick and tired of this place. If we leave quickly, we may be able to see the sun rise," she looked to the swirling mass of leave only a few yards away, and ran to it.
She was gone in a breath.
At the Spire, the home for all active Pageturners, Jai could see everything. Down in the streets lanterns hung over the heads of thousands. The river that snaked through the city was dotted with lights, boats, keeping kissing lovers afloat.
A small smile teased the edges of Jai's lip. Pageturners were allowed to lead a romance, but most chose not to. It was easier to not allow yourself to love instead of having your heart broken when your love never came home from a mission. The horizon began to glow red.
The sun was rising.
As the molten gold ball began to inch up, Jai squinted and covered her eyes while they adjusted. The light chased light across the ocean, then the cliffs, then the Abysses, then the farmlands, and finally the city. Cries of joy rose from the streets.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" a steel cold voice broke in. Dareon. He smiled. "Hate to tell you, but we have another mission."
"Who's coming?"
"You, me, Elis, and Terra." He smiled, and his eyes glinted like pieces of flint. She suppressed a shudder as he tore through her mind. "Don't mess up like last time."
"Where to?"
"Ever heard of the Artemis Fowl books? We leave in an hour." he turned on his heel and left, probably to pack. His gray hair was combed back, unlike his normal mess of a head. He straightened his suit.
"We never sleep, do we?"
"The life of a Pageturner is never easy," he replied over his shoulder. "Get used to it."
Jai sighed, and went to pack as well.
She didn't have very many belongings. You didn't need them if you were active. Jai sighed. Her entire wardrobe could fit inside a tiny handbag. She also brought some of her favorite tools, a stainless steel switchblade, and a small locket. It had a picture of the San Fransisco skyline. On the opposite side there was a picture of a man and a woman, both completely and utterly normal. There had been a severe lack of that for Jai since the car crash, and since the Pageturners found her. Behind that was a little worn slip of paper, the ink having smeared long ago. Only a thin, spidery signature was still visible. She slipped the paper back behind her parents, and hefted the bag over her shoulder.
This was all she needed.
There was an elevator that ran down the side of the Spire, a massive thing that could carry dozens of Pageturners at a time. That was a long while ago, now, there were only around a hundred Pageturners left. The rooms in the Spire remained empty and cold, gathering inches of dust.
The world outside was a beautiful thing in sunlight. The colors richened, and the sky was a blue that bore most resemblance to a robin's egg. The soil was a deep coffee brown, and the grass was greener then anywhere else.
The portal was in the fountain of the Plaza. The spray of water gave rainbows to the eyes of the masses. A large pool sat in the center of the arcs of water, and little children splashed through it. A swirl of color showed where the portal was. Dareon was standing next to Elis, Felix's twin sister. She shared his eyes, though her hair was extreme silver. Terra came from the other street, looking shyly from under the cover of the dirty blonde curtain of hair. When they were all gathered in front of the fountain, Dareon took a step forward into the light, and disappeared. Elis went next, then Terra. When it was finally Jai's turn, she was horribly aware of the silence in the Plaza.
She took one step forward, and drowned in the wave of light and comfort.
Thanks for reading! Please review.
~ResonatingLight666 & That Lovely Bad One~