I am SO sorry for not updating sooner; I got so busy you wouldn't believe. But that's no excuse. I am going to TRY to update much more frequently. We'll see how that goes, haha. ;)

And I know it is way past, but Merry Christmas! If you don't celebrate Christmas, then Happy Holidays!

And before I forget: Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day!

Disclaimer:

Rosy: I still don't own the books. Big surprise.

Artemis: You know, I'm starting to wish we didn't have to do these.

Rosy: Whatever for?

Artemis: I inevitably end up humiliated.

Rosy: Wimp.

Artemis: I am NOT.

Rosy: Whatever.

Artemis: *grumbles*

Rosy: Get over yourself.

Artemis: *ignores last comment* Where's Holly?

Rosy: I think she's chasing Minerva with a can of bug spray.

Artemis: …

Rosy: What? Pests are pests.

Chapter 8

There was a noticeable intake of breath from the centaur.

Artemis almost groaned. For the love of God, how many more complications could they possibly have? "An eclipse. Why is that significant?"

Foaly, despite the circumstances, slipped happily into lecture mode. "Well, you already know how closely related fairies, especially elves and demons, and the moon are. For this reason, they are particularly susceptible to any drastic disturbance. A lunar eclipse, for example. Underground, it doesn't affect them much. A little lethargy, an unusually short temper, no big deal. But aboveground, it renders them basically helpless. No energy, and no magic. The really bad news is that each total lunar eclipse can last more than an hour. There shouldn't be any negative effects, though. You guys were just unlucky."

Artemis was unconvinced. "You're saying this is a coincidence? That we just happened to walk right into the first eclipse in Ireland for who knows how long?"

Foaly sounded sulky. "Not everything is a conspiracy, you know."

Artemis rubbed his forehead. Since when?


Artemis focused on the moon. By his calculations, they still had at least another sixty-two minutes to wait. And the wings didn't work during an eclipse. Something about it disturbed the solar batteries. Nuclear power wasn't an option, either, because there had evidently been more budget cuts and the LEP was unable to afford the newest nuclear batteries, with a charge that could take you all over the world before running out, for every single wing set.

Holly was resting with her back against a tree, her forehead pressed against her knees. They would need a miracle to get out of here in under an hour.

Artemis checked his watch. Fifty-eight minutes to go. He wasn't quite sure why he was so tense. Butler would have called it "gut feeling." Artemis preferred the term "informed instinct".

Fifty-six minutes.

Maybe this was just a coincidence. They did happen occasionally. Not to him, but still. There was a first time for everything.

Fifty-three minutes.

Why was time going so slowly? If he didn't know better, he would have sworn his watch was broken.

Fifty-one minutes.

Artemis gave up. This could not possibly be a coincidence, but he would figure it out later. In the meantime, they were sitting ducks out here, and would be for almost an hour more. He forced himself not to glance at his watch again.

Suddenly, there was movement in the shadowy trees. Artemis stood, carefully. He glanced at Holly. Her eyes were also fixed on the forest. A shape moved again, pushing through the clinging foliage of the surround forest.

"D'Arvit," Holly breathed. "Not again."

A thin man stepped forward, his hair dyed all the garish colors of the rainbow. He was almost spitting with rage. "I found you, demon. But you're going to wish I hadn't. I wish Eric was here to see this."

He paced in a circle, mumbling. "Eric. They killed him. He told me they would, but I didn't believe him. I didn't believe him, but now it doesn't matter. Everything will be all right." He pulled a gun from a holster strapped to his leg.

"Eric's going to forgive me now." Kong's eyes were wide, fevered. "He will."

Holly was scared. Embarrassed to admit it, but scared. How did you reason with a man who had lost his reason?

Artemis was analyzing the situation. Checking for options. Not many, really. It came down to two choices: 1) Get killed by Kong, or 2) Do something about it. He glanced at Holly, but she shook her head. Very well. Any plan he attempted could not include her; she had evidently not regained her strength. He checked his watch. They still had more than half an hour before the eclipse was over. Maybe he could keep Kong talking, just until Foaly managed to send help. Surely, he had realized something was wrong. Otherwise… Artemis shook his head vigorously. Never mind that. He had to believe someone was coming to help, or risk losing all control of his thought facilities.

Artemis took a deep breath. He really wished Butler were here. "Mr. Kong. There is help on the way as we speak." (Hopefully.) "Your only choice is to give up." (Not exactly.) "Resistance would not help." (He better not resist, or they were all in trouble. Why was it so easy for insane people to get guns?)

Kong stopped muttering to himself. He caught sight of Artemis, and his face turned red, then white with anger. "You!" he cried. "You helped the demon escape!" He leveled the gun at Artemis this time.

Artemis swallowed. Getting shot would probably not help the situation. "I don't understand how you found Hol- the demon again."

"The stupid Paradizo girl left a copy of her notes in the safe. Not the one in the office, the one in the grounds."

Artemis considered. Of course. It would make sense for Minerva to have another copy somewhere safe outside. It was what he would have done. He refocused on the conversation. Kong was talking again.

"Then all I had to do was break into the safe and get the notes. Easy. It had everything I needed to know about demons and the moon."

Clearly, Minerva had done more research since the incident with N°1.

Holly glared up at the stubbornly empty sky. How much longer?

"But how did you know the demon would escape the warehouse in time?" What he really meant was, There is no way Billy Kong came up with this whole plan by himself.

Kong shrugged. "Lucky."

Artemis was unconvinced. In all probability, Kong and Britva were partners. Kong told anyone who would listen all about Eric; all Britva had to do was promise revenge, and Kong would help with anything the Russian boss asked him to do. No questions asked. The only question was how Kong had managed to get out of prison so quickly.

Holly was examining the sky again. Surely, time was almost up. She could just see the edge of the moon.

Kong had noticed, too. "Enough talking! The demon dies, or both of you do." It was obvious which one he thought Artemis would choose. The idea that someone might not want safety at the cost of their friend's life had never occurred to him. Billy Kong didn't have many friends. It just made it easier for people to manipulate you. Plus, as a general rule, most of them didn't appreciate having kitchen knives thrust between their ribs.

Artemis stepped toward Kong, blocking his direct shot to Holly. He was desperate now; it was obvious that no one was coming. It was getting hard for him to think. The man cocked the gun.

One last chance. Artemis stepped closer. "Drop the gun."

Kong glanced up. This kid was scary, he thought. Eyes like ice. And now he was staring at him, almost like he was trying…to hypnotize him…

The boy didn't blink. "Now sleep."

The gun was getting so heavy; just a second wouldn't hurt…No. He had to remember what he was doing. This was his chance to avenge his brother.

Artemis was exhausted. It was not enough; he did not have enough magic for this. The last spark left from the time tunnel would not be enough.

Kong's arm was shaking with the effort of fighting the mesmer.

This was it. He would die, Holly too. All his fault.

He heard a click, as if from a distance. A gun being loaded. He wondered vaguely who would be shot first. Not that it mattered, in the end. At least he had tried to protect Holly. A chivalrous criminal. He almost smiled. Laughing in the face of death. Funny, he had always thought that was an exaggeration.

The moon was now almost completely visible. Just a few more minutes, Holly thought, and we would have made it. Fate did indeed have a cruel sense of humor. At least she would die on the surface.

Another shape moved in the trees. Holly felt like shouting at the mystery visitor to leave them alone, but she was still too tired. That was all they needed, some nearby Mud Man wandering past and seeing the whole thing. Artemis, one of the few friendly (well, most of the time,) humans, killed and the whole fairy nation exposed, and all because of a damn lunar eclipse.

She wasn't scared anymore; she was pissed. She threw the first thing that came to hand, which happened to be a rock, straight at Kong. Her aim wasn't up to what it normally was, so it didn't hit him, but hewas temporarily distracted. Distracted enough for the small figure behind him to knock him over and mesmerize him. "Go to sleep," he said sternly.

Kong obliged.

The stumpy figure stood up. "Hi, everybody!" he said cheerily. "Do you guys need a rescue?"

A/N: Hmmm, who could that be? Haha :]

And I have no idea if there really was a lunar eclipse at this time, but I did do some research on the duration of lunar eclipses, so that part should at least be accurate.

Review, please! Let me know how I am doing. Your reviews encourage me more than you know! I read every one, and they really do make my day! :]

-Rosy-Fingered-Dawn