I'm so sorry that this has taken so long! Recently, things have been kinda hectic with my job and my house-life, and my computer has been freaking out on me, and I recently had finals... so yeah. Here's a lame attempt at thanking you faithful (and ever-patient) readers! I own nothing that belongs to Stephanie Meyer or Eoin Colfer...
Chapter Six
"I'm afraid my first words to you will be quite cliché," Artemis said to the young couple in front of him. He hid the taser behind his knee and tried to appear perfectly within control. "Welcome, I have been expecting you." The blonde man before him smiled as if relieved.
"I hope that our good will has also proceeded us," he said. "May we talk, Master Fowl?"
Artemis nodded and motioned to the couch. "Please sit."
They did, the calm woman first, then the man. The boy studied them both for a moment. "May I hazard a guess at your identities?"
Carlisle nodded. "Please." A smile graced the woman's features, and Artemis had to fight for control of his cognitive systems.
"You are Carlisle Cullen, leader of the coven. The woman beside you is Esme Cullen, your wife." They both nodded, equally serene. Artemis swallowed and turned to his desk – he pressed a button and several screens came to life. "…" He pointed at the kitchen. "I suspected you would have Alice Cullen and Jasper Hale take care of Butler, but I'm afraid you chose the wrong day." The manservant was braced to attack the duo, shouting obscenities at them. "Today was your victim's funeral."
"Victim?" Esme gasped – her first word, and Artemis was blown away by the beauty of it. Holly had warned him that they were a charismatic people, but now he was cursing every gland in his body that secreted teenage hormones. "Who, when?"
He frowned. "Juliet Butler, my bodyguard's little sister."
The woman and the man looked saddened. He hadn't expected that. "We're sorry for your loss," Carlisle said empathetically. His expression was open and honest sorrow. "Perhaps my family and I will visit her grave when we leave."
Artemis fought to keep his cool – he had suspected that they would track him to Fowl Manor in such a way, but it still shook him a bit. "… Indeed… By your reaction, though, it seems that you were unaware of how Juliet died?"
Carlisle nodded, serious. "We had no idea. I wish to assure you, though; her death was not of our doing. My family abstains from human blood – the guilt that would have been on my children's heads, had they done such a thing, would have been too great for them to bear."
The heartfelt words stung Artemis. He watched as Esme leaned against her husband's arm, butterfly-ing words into his ear, her voice softer than he could hear. These people – his eyes flickered to the screens – were not monsters. They were a family, coming here in peace to protect what they held dear. The scheming, distrusting part of Artemis was silent, and the human part of him was screaming in his head. He looked at them coolly.
"Then why have I been asked by the Volturi to annihilate you?"
Their eyes widened and they stiffened. "Aro," Carlisle breathed.
"What betrayal is this?" Esme murmured, looking at her beautiful hands sadly. "They have finally moved against us?"
Alice held up her hands as Butler ran out of breath. "Whoah, please, slow down, sir, stop breaking things," she tried to sooth, but he shot again, and Jasper gently nudged her out of the way.
"You bloodthirsty monsters killed my baby sister and you expect me to be calm?" he growled, still fighting the reign that Jasper had on his emotions. So far, they had unsettled him enough to keep him from being able to properly aim.
The girl blinked. "Baby sister?" she asked sadly in her bell-like voice. "Was she the one you buried toda-"
"Yes, she was," he said gruffly, trying to keep his hands from shaking. Sorrow was washing over him now, reminiscent of the night they had found her lifeless body in the theatre. Agony swept through his veins and he forced his knees to resist the temptation of buckling. Alice looked at her blonde mate and touched his arm.
"Stop tormenting him," she said, her eyes welling with tears. "We both get it, Jasper, it hurts."
"He's tormenting himself," Jasper replied, looking at her. "I'm simply channeling it to the both of us so he doesn't burst. I don't see how one man can feel that much pain. She meant a lot to him, Alice."
"Of course she meant a lot to me," Butler snarled, repressing his grief with rage. "Juliet was my only family."
"We're sorry for your loss, but-"
"But you couldn't resist the pull of blood and flesh?!" he demanded, advancing forward a step. Jasper moved to stand in front of Alice, but she gently moved him out of the way.
"We don't drink human blood, Mr. Butler," she said calmly. "The-"
"You're lying!"
She finished above his shouting. "-The ones who killed your sister were the Volturi. They did this to fully convince you."
He paused, and Jasper took the chance. "You were hesitant about joining the fight. You didn't want to. The Volturi knew what would shove you into all of this, and they took that opportunity, with no regards to anything but their own goals. Please, we're not asking for forgiveness-"
"We're asking for you to believe us," Alice finished, hugging Jasper's arm now. "You can hate us until kingdom come, but we want you to know the truth. Stop all of this madness before more people dear to your heart get hurt."
Holly was a bit pissed that she was tricked that easily. Edward guarded the door, and Bella guarded the window – the only other option would be the wall, and the only piece of defense equipment she had with her was a pulse ray that could maybe kill an ant if it really tried. It was used for briefly stopping the hearts of criminals during chases, but it was no use to her in this situation. Her Neutrino wasn't any good either, according to Foaly. Apparently vampire skin was very, very tough.
"We're sorry to startle you, miss," said the girl, tossing some black hair over her shoulder. "But we really needed to talk to you alone."
"Don't be cheeky," the elf hissed. "What do you want?"
The model-like boy smiled as charmingly as he could – the expression was threatening to Holly, like a dog baring its teeth. "We really don't want to hurt you. We just want to talk. Sort things out, as it were."
"Sort what out, pray-tell?" she spat, running through the various things she could do. Wish them to bits? Not likely. They'd have HER in pieces before she could open her Book. Or pull the Neutrino to escape. Speaking of which, she thought as she glanced at her woefully empty holster, it was gone. She snarled and looked down at Edward's hand, where he gently held the gun. He must have taken it when he had catapulted from the ceiling and chased her into the room.
He shrugged and pocketed it. "I promise, you will have this back before this is all over," he murmured.
Mesmer. Duh. Holly concentrated on his eyes, which soulfully looked back. "Please step away from the door…"
The girl coughed uncomfortably behind her. "Sorry, Miss Short, but, um… your mesmer doesn't work on us either."
"Why the Volturi thought you could stop us in the first place, I have no idea," the redhead grumbled, and the black-haired vampire hissed at him. He smiled back at her sheepishly. "Anyway…"
"So, you two must be Bella and Edward," Holly noted, glancing between them. If ever she felt trapped and helpless, it was now… Scratch that, she felt more helpless in that den of trolls. At least with this, she had a chance to negotiate a humane death with sentient beings.
Again, thank you all of you who left glowing reviews that made me crawl through this. I LOVE READER INVOLVEMENT: if you have ANY ideas for the future plot of this story, I'd love it if you shared with me! I may or may not use it, but having plot bunnies multiplying in my brain will speed updates.
Also: All of you who are the praying type, I'd appreciate prayers for my brother. He is a civilian in Iraq, and he recently was caught in a firefight, which made me realize how mortal he was. Your prayers and good wishes are appreciated. Because of my close attatchment to my brother, I'd also appreciate it if you DID NOT flame the war or anything connected to it. I just take it really personally. Thank you for your time, prayers, good wishes, and (in some cases) silence.
