Artemis Fowl and the Feud of the Faeries

Rated T

Sequel to Artemis Fowl and the Green Lake Vigilantes. Two years after the events of CGL, Artemis Fowl has returned to the United States to take part in the magical uprising occurring between the fairies he had dealt with since he was twelve years old, called Groundlings, and the Fay—the above ground faeries. Where he would have once sided with Captain Holly Short and her people, he isn't so sure any more, especially after they made a deal with a particular faerie, Edan, to have the Fowl boy killed.

The war has come about because at about the same time Artemis was dealing with magic in the south, the North was facing a magical catastrophe. Every year now, on Halloween, the above ground faeries roam free, causing chaos for the humans who cross them. The groundling fairies, who long since moved below ground, feel that they must step in to save human lives. For the Fay this means either being caged up or death.

((Notes: It would probably be incredibly helpful to have read the first one. However, if you are a Holly Black fan and don't care about the first one because her faerie world isn't involved, then there is no need. Yes, Ricky Fey is Zigzag from the book/movie Holes. This story should be readable even without reading the first one. I will try to explain everything the best I can for those who won't be reading the first.))

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Prologue

This city was so different from the ones in the south. Sure it was bigger than plenty he had been in, but it was just so cramped. Clearly it had not been devised with a plan for rapid growth, like, for example, Huston or Dallas had been. He had never cared for cities as a kid, preferring his ranch home with his mother and father instead. Now that he had neither of his parents though, it only made sense to leave and start anew.

After Ronald and Ann signed their divorce papers, the former Mrs. Fey fell ill. There was no cure; it was so rare that only one other woman had ever had it—some Irish woman. While finishing up Cyber School, he had taken care of her until the day she had died about eight months ago. He would never forget the scent of lilies that filled the area around his mother, even though she never kept real flowers in the house. He wanted to get away from all of that.

He had just bought an apartment in New York City, using the money his mother had left him in her will. It was time for him to start someplace where people wouldn't know him. Someplace that would allow him to put his knowledge and experience to good use. After all, there weren't many faeries in Texas, save for the occasional phoenix. New York and New Jersey, she had said on one of her rare visits, those were the places he needed to be if he wanted to be involved.

Ricky Fey, aka Zigzag, shoved his hands into his suede jacket's pockets and turned up his iPod. It was the start of October and chilly—not something a Texan such as him was used to. He had to admit though; he was a little excited to see snow for the first time. The thought of the ice and bitter wind made Fey shiver, reminding him that he had left his warm house to find something hot to drink.

There were fifty gazillion Star Bucks around, but he wasn't in the mood for anything they had to offer, especially since he had stopped at so many on his trips from home to the city. It really seemed to limit his options since it seemed that the mega chain had put many other small cafés out of business. There weren't many other options if he wanted something half decent to drink.

After walking for a few more minutes, down a few more blocks away from his apartment in the lower East End, Zigzag felt a prickling working its way up his neck. He turned around abruptly, only to see a blonde Asian girl walk into a café. Strange, he thought to himself. He had sworn that . . . no. He was right. He felt that same energy that he felt when the Phoenix was around. That feeling that something was there that he wasn't seeing. He looked up at the sign of carved wood hanging above the front door. "Moon in a Cup," Fey said thoughtfully. He would have passed it right up too. He took a few steps forwards and placed his hand on the door. The moment he started to open it, a rush of warmth greeted him. Oddly, it wasn't from any heater.

It reeked of magic—but in a good way. His eyes wandered around, noticing a few things. Everything was wood. The only metal was from the appliances, and those were clearly stainless steel. No iron. A faerie hangout. "Can I get you something?" Fey was pulled from his thoughts by a worker at the counter. She had incredibly short, ginger colored hair that looked like it might have still been recovering from a shave or something.

"Espresso?"

"You've never been here before, have you?" The worker at the counter asked him as he clanked at her name tag. It read Val with iant added on in sharpie.

"Nope. How could you tell?" The blonde boy with crazy hair asked, pulling his ear phones out.

"People who come here don't usually ask for something so normal. We sell the most exotic herbal teas and some of the strangest coffee blends you've ever seen, but you ask for an espresso," she said smiling.

"So. . ." Zigzag started slowly, "do you not sell it?"

"No, we do, I was just making an observation. What size?" She started plugging away at her resister as he ordered a large. She also made a comment about how it was nice that did didn't say Venti like most people who came in. "Three dollars and seventy five cents, please." As he counted out four dollar bills from his pocket, she made his drink.

"Thank you Valiant," he replied and took his drink to go sit down in a corner a warm up a bit. As he sat down, the bell at the entrance rang. Two guys, probably just a year or two older than himself, walked in and went to Valiant. They ordered but did not pay. Instead, they took another table. Zigzag suddenly started feeling paranoid—a feeling he didn't care to remember. He tried not to look at the two newcomers, but curiosity got the better of him and he glanced up.

The one was staring at him. Just staring. It was unnerving since his one eye was glazed over and rather lazy. He had long dark hair with dread locks and he was incredibly thin. He glared at Ricky and then scowled, whispering something to the guy across from him, who probably said something back, but Zigzag couldn't see. After a few moments, they both stood and puffed themselves up, walking back to him. The blonde boy couldn't help but tense up, wondering if he would end up in a fight. He may not have looked like it, but being almost twenty and sending so many months at Camp Green Lake made him a formidable opponent of need be.

"Hey," the taller one with short, dyed black hair called to Zigzag, "I think you need to leave."

"What?" Fey asked, shocked. He hadn't been expecting them to just try to kick him out. "I haven't done anything. I'm just drinking my espresso!"

"Kaye's going to be pissed if you're here," the same one who spoke to him added, "she'd probably prefer it if you left."

"Who is Kaye? I don't even know a Kaye," Zigzag stated and frowned, looking passed the two guys to see Valiant watching. She shrugged, but didn't seem worried. She probably knew them, especially since she let them get away without paying.

"He's human, so he could be lying," the dreaded boy stated, as if it were totally casual, "she sent you, didn't she? If you have a message, just tell us and leave."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"I can see the magic around you. Flames. The Phoenix is protecting you, so you must be one of her messengers or something." Zigzag just looked at him, trying not to stare at his messed up eyes. He could see the magic around him? He may not have had any special abilities, but Fey could feel magic sometimes. Seeing was totally different.

"Phoenix. . ?" He said slowly, "you don't mean. . . Edan, do you?"

"So you do know her? Yeah, you need to leave," the taller one snapped, looking at him with an almost maniac expression in his eyes.

"I know her, yeah, but—" Zigzag was cut off by the sudden slam of the door that presumably led to the back. The blonde Asian stood there, looking like she was ready to explode. He could only guess that this was Kaye, since she seemed to be incredibly pissed that he was there.

"What do you want? Have a message from your Lady?" She asked, stomping forward, "well tell her that I don't want to hear from her. She can't have Roiben; I'm already his consort, and even she can't break those traditions! So get out!"

Consort? His Lady? And this was about Edan? "Woah, woah, woah, hold up there," Zigzag said loudly, holding up his hands in his defense, "I think there's been a big mistake."

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t.b.p.: yes, that's right, I finally got around to writing this. I bet you weren't expecting it! I know, I know, Dead as Dead Can Be still isn't completed, but I just can't get into it and stay into it, which is terrible with TrueBlood's growing popularity. But, yeah, this is probably what I will be working on for a little while since I just reread all of the Holly Black Faerie Tale books this weekend.

Well, lemme know what you thought, and REVIEW!