Chapter 1: A Drain on Society
Tara Shuttle Port, Ireland, Present Day
"Our top story tonight: the body of a 157 year old sprite, identified by LEPRecon as one Sidfrey Milx, was discovered in the early hours of this morning in a field near the entrance to the E7 shuttle port in Southern Italy. The police are apparently treating his death as suspicious, however no one from within the LEP has yet commented on speculation that this latest death may be linked to the recent spree of murders that have so far claimed the lives of five fairies in the vicinity of multiple shuttle ports around the world. With the dead now including an elf, a dwarf, a gnome, a goblin, a gremlin and now most recently a sprite, it is thought that the serial killer, whoever he or she may be, is working their way through each of the fairy families. If this is the case" finished the news reader portentously, and clearly relishing the dramatic nature of his news segment, "no centaur, pixie or demon is safe".
The demon warlock, seated in one of the many bars to be found in the arrivals lounge of the sprawling complex situated beneath the Hill of Tara, wasn't listening to the excited news reader speaking from a large plasma screen television mounted on the wall behind him. Instead he was entirely occupied by his own gloomy thoughts. Being a warlock be had naturally failed to warp and so merely resembled an overgrown imp. His hard leathery skin was a shade of pale green, his eyes dark orange rather than the usual gold, and both his horns and ears were unusually small for his kind. At the time of the return of the eighth fairy family from Limbo, and for a while afterwards, there were only two warlocks at the Demon Warlock Academy; one teacher and one student, Qwan and N°1 respectively. However this state of affairs could not last forever and over time several imps began to show aptitude for magic. Qwan took them in and taught them how to control their powers, the history of the use of magic amongst the People and what it truly meant to be a warlock. None of which was of much interest to this particular demon. As an imp on Hybras he had dreamed of the day when he would warp and become the most impressive, terrifying, feared and respected demon warlord that the Pride had ever seen. But it was not to be; a few months after the destruction of Hybras and the return of the demon race to Earth he had accidently cast his first gargoyle's touch spell. Soon afterwards he found himself undergoing a kind of metamorphoses, but unlike the warp he had longed for it was not his body that changed but his mind. After the period of transformation, during which lightning bolts had erupted from the young imp's fingertips and...elsewhere, he had been given by Qwan a traditional Qw name, Qwayoc, and he had joined the academy.
The bloodlust, rage and longing to rip the entrails of his enemies from their broken bodies had left Qwayoc; in their place was a sense of disappointment, frustration and inferiority. He was by no means a weak warlock, far from it, his powers were almost a match for those of the star pupil N°1 and he was a quick learner. But he could not pass a towering demon in the street without a pang of loss. Qwayoc knew that these feelings of inadequacy were illogical; he was now more powerful than even the strongest of warriors. With a single bolt of lightning he could fry a fully warped bull demon to a crisp or with his little finger turn him into a helpless statue. And yet...to be a demon, a real demon, was so much more than just muscles and razor edged claws. It represented an ideal; strength, freedom, pride and honour. Many demons had already chosen to join the LEP and were working their way through the Lower Elements Police Academy; whilst some were already on active duty. When Qwayoc had passed a demon he recognized as a former imp from his dormitory back on Hybras, wearing the black jumpsuit of an LEP Retrieval commando and a custom built helmet to accommodate his great curved horns, he had nearly screamed with gut-wrenching jealously.
When it all became too much for him Qwayoc liked to play truant, escaping for a few short hours from his endless classes and lectures. At first he had fled to bars and pubs in Haven itself, but soon Qwan discovered all his favourite haunts and would always seem to quickly find him and frogmarch his missing charge unceremoniously back to the academy. Therefore Qwayoc had this time decided that he would make certain that his zealous tutor would not discover him. He had applied for a surface visa and, after a long and maddening wait, had at last been told that he had been granted one. Without a moment's hesitation Qwayoc had jumped onto the first shuttle to the surface he could find and sworn that he would not return until he saw fit.
As the demon warlock's plan had worked to perfection an observer might well wonder why Qwayoc was now starring sullenly into space and occasionally shooting resentful glances towards a group of fairies a few tables away from his own. Seated there, lounging back casually in his chair, was an off-duty LEP Recon corporal. The elf was wearing his cap, a dark green beret bearing the golden acorn of the LEP, at a rakish angle and a pair of black aviator shades, whilst smoking a cheroot. On either side of the corporal sat two females; avidly listening to him telling no doubt exaggerated tales of his heroics in the line of duty and showing off his battle scars. The first girl was voluptuous elf with long flowing blonde hair and a vivacious giggle, wearing the uniform of a civilian shuttle flight attendant. The second was a curvy sprite with bobbed hair that gasped and clasped her hands over her mouth every time the Recon officer told a particularly exciting anecdote.
"But weren't you afraid that the trolls would kill you if you went back for your friend?" asked the blonde elf, her eyes round with amazement and admiration.
"No time to be scared when lives are on the line babe. Besides we never leave a man behind in the LEP" said corporal, with an air of easy confidence.
"Oh my gods you're so brave" the sprite simpered; looking as if she was on the point of swooning.
Qwayoc turned back to his drink and scowled. It was so unfair! He could obliterate a whole pack of trolls in a heartbeat with a thunderstorm in the palm of his hand. But girls didn't care about that, oh no, it wasn't 'cool'. They wanted heroics and grandstanding and...
"Hey there" the sultry, seductive voice jerked Qwayoc out of his reverie and, turning, he saw a pixie standing beside his chair. She had long cherry red hair, large almond shaped eyes, pouting lips and was wearing a black catsuit.
Taken completely by surprise Qwayoc stammered "err...um...that is to say...err...hello".
"Do you mind if I join you?" asked the pixie, indicating the chair beside the warlock.
Qwayoc at first seemed to have lost the power of speech, but at last managed to gurgle "p-please do". As the pixie sat, smiling coquettishly across the table at him, with an almost hungry look in her eyes, Qwayoc's mind tried desperately to catch up with current events. Demons were not on the whole considered to be attractive by the other fairy families; they did after all resemble a cross between leathery sheep and pigmy rhinoceroses standing up on their back legs. However, whereas warped demons were at least tall and muscle bound, imps and warlocks were well and truly short changed in the looks department, as far as most fairies were concerned. And yet here was a stunning pixie who seemed to be flirting with him. Qwayoc tried to remember what one was supposed to do under these circumstances, weren't complements supposed to be involved somehow? "Um I...err like your hair" he eventually said uncertainly.
"Thanks" replied the pixie "it's dyed actually; my natural colour is black, but I thought I'd like a change".
"Oh" said Qwayoc. It was all be could think of; demons not having much experience where hair is concerned, not having any themselves.
"By the way my names Lapo" purred the girl.
"Qwayoc" said the warlock; immediately wishing, for the thousandth time, that he was a real demon and had a real demons name like Raktar Blood Fang or Orzog the Skull Splitter. Anything would have been better than going around with a name that made you sound like a novelty cleaning product!
"So Qwayoc, you're a warlock aren't you? What are you doing up here?" asked Lapo.
Qwayoc, who took a moment to answer because he was just musing over how much he liked hearing this girl say his name, said "to tell you the truth I just came up here to get away from it all; just to relax".
Lapo smiled broadly "that's exactly why I'm up here too! How would you like to maybe go somewhere and...relax together?"
The demon warlock may not have been well experienced when it came to matters of the heart, but even a sun blinded dwarf couldn't have missed a pass that obvious. Once again Qwayoc was stunned into silence; but he nodded eagerly and followed the pixie out of the bar.
The Hill of Tara, Ireland, Present Day
Lapo led Qwayoc out of the shuttle port and into a small wood near the McGraney's farm; a homestead which had bordered the hill for centuries. The pixie, to avoid the prying eyes of humans, had employed her magical shield, but the demon, lacking this ability himself, had instead rented a sheet of Cam Foil; available from the shuttle port LEP border guards to allow fairies without the gift of making themselves invisible to leave the confines of Tara without risking detection. Lapo stood with her back to a tree and gazed at Qwayoc again with the same hungry expression. "So why didn't you just go somewhere to relax in Haven with your friends?" she asked casually.
"I...haven't really got any" answered Qwayoc feeling embarrassed and idiotic.
The pixie's smile broadened "a lone wolf? I like that. And what about your teachers at the academy, do they know where you've gone?"
Qwayoc, who was still smiling fatuously from the description 'lone wolf', shook his head. "Old Owan? No I gave him the slip. He always seems to find me wherever I go in Haven, but he'd never think of looking for me up here".
"A lone wolf and a rebel, and you're still single?" laughed Lapo seductively. "So no one knows you're up here then, it's just you and me?"
"Yes" answered Qwayoc, before adding hesitantly, remembering the LEP corporal and his pair of infatuated admirers "...babe".
"That's it you're mine, I'm going to have your right here and right now!" shouted Lapo and with a cry of ecstasy launched herself towards the warlock. The pixie's lips locked with the demon's in a passionate kiss, whilst one of her hands clasped the back of his head. Meanwhile Qwayoc felt her other hand fumbling with his own; although he couldn't think why until he felt something slide onto one his stubby fingers. Breaking away from their kiss Lapo smiled again; but this time it was no flirtatious grin, but instead an expression of sadistic amusement
"What..." began Qwayoc, before suddenly breaking off with a gasp. Spreading up his arm from his left hand was a feeling of ice cold numbness. Looking down in horror the warlock saw that the pixie had slipt a large metallic ring onto his index finger. He tried in vain to remove it, but the paralysis had already claimed his right hand and soon the rest of his body followed suit. Qwayoc swayed on the spot for a few seconds, before toppling over backwards and lying, frozen and helpless, upon the forest floor. Only his eyes could move and they looked up at Lapo with an expression that seemed to say "what have you done to me?"
"Paralysis Ring, my own invention" Lapo giggled, before adding "and so is this". So saying the pixie raised her hand to her face and, without the slightest warning, dug her delicate fingers into her own flesh. If Qwayoc had still been able to he would have screamed; such was his shock. Seemingly unconcerned the girl drove her nails still deeper and then ripped away a large chunk of her own face. However, as Lapo stood, clutching a fistful of flesh which included most of her right cheek and her nose, the warlock realised that there was no blood, and no exposed tendons and muscles. Instead he saw a second face beneath the first. A moment later and Lapo was gone and in her place stood a pixie that Qwayoc, and every other fairy under the Earth, recognized only too well; Opal Koboi.
"A synthetic mask: a perfect replication of a fairy face, down to the most infinitesimal details, even artificial irises to fool scanners. All my idea of course. The hair dye I can't take credit for; but I must say that I think it suits me". Looking down at the completely helpless warlock Opal laughed and said "as you've been so considerate, coming up here all alone and then agreeing to go for a little stroll with me, I suppose you deserve to know why and how you are going to die". Delving into a pocket of her cat suit Opal retrieved a pair of what appeared to be white latex gloves, covered in an intricate web of miniaturized wires and tubes. As she slipped them on she casually continued "I shall not attempt to explain to you in full how these instruments of pure genius operate, because only one such as I could possibly comprehend them, so instead I shall make it simple. These gloves allow me to drain a fairy, not only of his or her life, but also of their magical essence. Using these I have acquired the agility of a sprite, the healing powers of an elf, the firepower of a goblin and oh so many other little tricks and abilities from all those others who have been my prey. But tonight will be my greatest achievement; I shall gain all the powers of a demon! Combined with my own enhanced magic, and that of all the fairies I have absorbed, I shall be unstoppable!"
Opal paused; she looked up at the night sky and the glorious full moon, just visible between the thick branches of the tree surrounding the pixie and her victim. She sighed and then returned her attention to Qwayoc "but not here and not now. When I first found myself in this time I thought that I would focus all of my energies upon rescuing my future self, but then I decided otherwise. After all, how could I, in my perfection, have allowed myself to be captured? I must have got soft in my old age and what use would I have for a tired old woman? No, it would be much better to remain alone and trust in my own abilities. But now it doesn't seem that I can so much as blow my nose without the accursed LEP, and their maddening human ally Artemis Fowl, turning up and ruining everything! So I'm leaving, going somewhere where I can carry out my plans in peace. And oh such a plan! When I aimed for world domination I was thinking far too small. I can do so much better than that! I shall have Earth's past, present and future; all of fairy and human history will be mine to mould and change as I see fit!"
Opal, who had been enjoying her monologue to her captive audience immensely, suddenly seemed to remember that this was how so many villains had caused their own undoing. In the words of the great American author Mark Twain; "the secret of getting ahead is getting started". Reaching down towards Qwayoc she gently, almost lovingly, placed her palms on either side of the warlock's skull and closed her eyes. At first there was nothing, but then it began. Pain. Pain worse than anything the unfortunate Qwayoc had ever felt in his life, as if his very soul was on fire. Magic is a deep and fundamental part of every fairy, but none more so than demon warlocks. It is engrained in every atom of their beings; it is as much a part of them as their bones or their blood. Unable to scream only the demon's eyes indicated his suffering; until at last his body ceased to spasm and twitch, and he went limp. Releasing the husk of what remained of Qwayoc from her grasp, Opal straightened herself, removed the monstrous gloves and then looked down at her hands. She stood stock still for a few seconds and then unleashed a barrage of goblin fireballs and demon lightning bolts into the forest around her. Trees were engulfed in flames or exploded in showers of leaves and splinters. Using the reflexes of a sprite Opal's hand shot out and, using the gargoyles touch, turned a passing moth to stone. The delicate insect spiralled to earth, struck a tree root and shattered like glass.
Opal's face suddenly became deadly serious; enough fun and games, now it was time for the true test of her new abilities. Drawing upon her now almost inexhaustible supplies of magic and calling upon the knowledge and experience for casting such spells that she had acquired from the late Qwayoc, Opal extended her hands before her and created a time tunnel. It took a titanic effort and a lesser fairy would almost certainly have been destroyed by the eldritch energies cracking from the portal. Despite all her magical skill and power it nevertheless was almost Opal's undoing; but eventually the buzzing and spitting forces of the tunnel seemed to subside and stabilize. Opal managed a small smile, even under the great pressure of keeping open this fissure in time; there was nothing that her genius could not overcome if she set her mind to it. Carefully she edged forward until she stood on the very edge of the rift. She glanced once more over her shoulder at the earthly remains of Qwayoc, blew him a kiss and said in a sickly sweet voice "was it good for you too?" And then she stepped into the time tunnel and vanished; leaving Tara, Ireland and the 21st century far behind her.
The wood was silent for some twenty minutes, until the sounds of several irritated voices speaking in gnomish broke the stillness. "Come on, this way, this is where the lights were coming from!"
"D'Arvit captain; I swear whoever these jokers are who thinks it's funny setting off fireworks and dragging me away from my coffee brake at this time of night are in for a world of pain...or at the very least a stay in the most uncomfortable cell I can find!"
"I couldn't agree more corporal" said Captain Chix Verbil, striding into the clearing. "Well this was where the action happened, clearly. Looks like a miniature tornado and firestorm ripped through this place! A couple of goblins had one too many and decided to make the Mud Men think they were under attack by little green men from Mars I'll bet by wings".
The corporal was in the act of advancing towards one of the shattered tree stumps when he stumbled over something. "D'Arvit! Bloody troll dung! What..." he broke off suddenly. After a moments silence he said very quietly "Captain Verbil sir, you'd better get over here right away".
Something about the officer's tone caught Chix's attention and he quickly walked across to his subordinate to see what he had discovered. Whatever he had been expecting it wasn't what he found. Lying before him was the crumpled and broken body of what presumably had once been a demon, pre-warp. He looked as though he had been dead for centuries, possibly even millennia, and had been buried deep in the boiling sands of the desert. Skin peeling and bleached of all colour, stretched over bones, all flesh gone, eye sockets empty and mouth open in a silent scream. "Gods" breathed Chix in horror "it's another of them, it's happened again". Activating his helmet com-link the sprite contacted the LEP headquarters at Tara. "This is Captain Verbil, I need reinforcements out here right now to set up a perimeter. We've found another body, the same as the others. Also get a line open to Police Plaza ASAP. They'll want to hear about this".
Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of the story and never fear; next time there will be plenty of Artemis and Holly (and a few more laughs).Opal's false name, Lapo, was inspired by Count Dracula's alias Alucard.