Chapter 9: Into the Maze
Kaslynn watched Artemis from his own study, slumped against her fist as she watched the screen of the computer, contemplating the youth portrayed there.
Frowning, she zoomed in on his face and took a picture of it, which was, of course, perfectly clear despite the zoom. She studied it for a moment and then, concentrating, pulled the red demon magic away from her eyes, leaving them their regular blue color, with maybe a fleck or two of purple. The computer took a picture of Kaslynn as well, with the blue eyes, which disappeared in the purple a moment later. Then she promptly vanished.
A moment later a violet spark cracked in the air and she reappeared on the other side of the room, holding her computer. Opening it, she attached it to Artemis's computer terminal and downloaded the two pictures.
"Mac," she said, pulling the pictures up, "scan the bone structure of these pictures, would you? Give me a 3D rotation."
iFine,/i the text said, and a second later her own head and Artemis's were rotating in her view, fully colored and incredibly lifelike and detailed. Kaslynn sat back.
"You think there's any… resemblance?" she asked her computer.
iWhat are you, an idiot? Of course there's a resemblance. Either we're looking at some kind of odd mixing of DNA from the dimensional warp, or you two are related./i
"Must have been the dimensional warp," Kaslynn said, saving the pictures. "Relatives? No way. And no way am I related to him. We're in Ireland. I'm American, remember?"
iCould be a distant relative./i
"That my parents never told me about?"
iSure. Why not? We could at least run the scans. That's not hard. I already have your DNA codes./i
"Will it make you happy?"
iHardly. I'm a computer./i
"Fair enough. Will it make me happy?"
iHow should I know? Again, I'm a computer. Will it increase your level of endorphins or induce a chemical reaction to stimulate happiness? Probably not. Humor me; I get bored./i
Kaslynn waved a hand. "Fine, do what you like. I'll get you a sample of his hair or something like that." With that she pushed the entire idea out of her mind, at least until this business of finding N°1 and the "Keepers" Artemis had spoken of. With a quick glance up at the screen to make sure that Artemis was still in the dinning room, organizing a trip to Paris with Holly and Foaly, she said, "Mac, run a search through the LEP files, Foaly's in particular, and give me a summery on the Keepers and this inverted magic stuff."
The computer whirred in a particular way, which Kaslynn had learned to interpret as a snort. iInverted magic,/i Mac said, iwho uses that nowadays?/i
"I don't iknow/i," she replied testily. "Enlighten me."
iSuch ignorance. Fine, I'll tell you, I suppose. The Black Keepers were originally a group of demon warlocks that were… what you would call "bad". They retained the savagery of their kind, even though they had power over magic. This was not good. When the People moved underground and the demons didn't want to, these warlocks forced the others into submission using a power they referred to as "clear energy". They believed that, with its intense power, it was energy in pure form. Powerful demons can't tell when they are being corrupted by an inverted spark; their magic mingles with it slowly and it eventually totally overtakes them. When they're already evil, there's really no change. So, they used the power they got from the spark to push the demon's island into limbo. Some of their followers were regular fairies, not demons, who couldn't use the power of the spark in its full form, but managed to feed off of the energy that came off of the demons when they used it. They continued to search for inverted sparks over the years, while preserving the last one found by the demons./i
"So, what is inverted magic? I still don't get it," Kaslynn complained.
iInverted magic, as the term implies, is the exact opposite of magic. There are numerous subjects on exactly how it came about, but the most common and plausible theory is that, like antimatter for instance, it has always been around, since magic and energy were first created. It is the exact opposite of magic. Not technically evil, actually. But when it gets close to regular magic, it starts the sort of… elimination process. Tiny little sparks join together and cancel each other out, so eventually the demon using the spark is left with nothing. The demons never actually lived long enough to experience this, though. The magic terminating itself would kill them after a few years, IF they had equal amounts of inverted magic and magic./i
"Then… why use it?"
iMost of them had much more regular magic if they were going to use the spark. They made sure of it. If they had enough magic, the spark would wear itself out eventually and they would be left with their own magic. They could use the energy from the inverted spark however they wanted in the time given./i
"Hmm," Kaslynn murmured. "So, what about this spark that Artemis tried to protect? The one they got back?"
iThe Keepers were guarding the spark. It was the last one found by a demon. They were waiting for the demons to come back, so they could find one and merge him with the spark, thus creating a weapon that would allow them to wipe out the human race. I suppose they're tired of hiding. /i
"I expect you're right," Kaslynn agreed moodily. "So that's what they want N1 for, is it? To make him into a weapon?"
iYeah, probably. /i
"Great," she growled. "Anything else I should know?"
iOh, yeah. They found another spark, a slightly less powerful one, while the demons were in limbo. I don't think the Mud Boy knows. /i
Kaslynn jerked. "You mean Fowl? Well… should we tell him? Is that what they took Qwan for?"
Mac seemed to pause before answering. iThe demon Qwan isn't powerful enough to except the spark. They'll figure that out soon enough. /i
Kaslynn frowned. "What about the other warlock? The one that came back as well, who has the warriors body?"
iNot nearly powerful enough. /i
The girl sighed in relief. "Good. That's it. There are no other demons. We just have to rescue N°1. Artemis doesn't even need to know about the other spark. They can't use it on anything."
Mac whirred nervously. iThat's not… technically… true. /i
"What do you mean?" Kaslynn said with a frown. "Of course that's true. There are no other warlocks."
iNot as such. But there is someone else who's powerful enough to accept the spark, though it would be fatal. /i
"Who?" Kaslynn demanded, not prepared at all for the answer.
iYou. /i
"Alright then," Artemis said briskly, "it's settled. We'll meet at the entrance tonight, at ten o'clock p.m. Sharp. I have an updated map from the Keeper's databanks, which I am sending to you now," he said, sending the said file.
Foaly, on the computer screen, made a face at the file as he brought it up. "Really? This looks like a goblin's kid drew it with a fork."
"Crude, yes, but effective. They give it to their interns, if I'm not mistaken. Some of them are goblins."
"Naturally," Foaly said with a grimace, saving the file. After Holly had a quick laugh over it, she became serious again.
"So," she said, "got any major plan as to how this is going to go, Arty?"
"Of course," Artemis replied vaguely. "Anyways, this is just a scouting mission, essentially. If N°1 is not there, then we will simply move to the next target. We probably have a few weeks before they try to introduce the spark to N°1. From what I've read, there is a very long process involved in preparation."
"Hmm," Holly said, leaning on Foaly's chair to get a better look at the screen. "How do we know that they're not expecting us?"
Artemis thought about Kaslynn, sitting upstairs, invisible in case Foaly was watching. "They could be, but I'm sure they're not quite ready for everything I have in mind."
Paris, France, unknown entrance to the Catacombs
At ten o'clock, a ghostly shadow of a figure wafted up to the edge of a street in Paris, France. A slim hand darted out of the shadows and waved through the air, sweeping across the lines of lamp posts shinning light onto the glistening street. Each flickered for a moment before fading to black. Kaslynn slipped back into the shadows even as Artemis stepped out into the streets. They had a muted exchange in passing.
"I can just shield…" Kaslynn muttered to him.
"Stay in the dark and save your power," Artemis ordered back, hardly speaking. "We may need all of it later."
"Right. I'll meet you there," she said with a sigh, her eyes fading as she drew her magic away from them. The black clothes that she wore made her completely invisible. Her boots darted silently over the ground, making no sound.
It was cold this time of year in Paris. A chilly wind bit at her cheek, and she resisted the urge to raise her own body heat to counter it. Artemis had been very clear in what she was to do. Follow him, use no magic, don't show herself. Simple instructions, not nearly as easy to follow.
She kept her internal eyes on him as she slipped noiselessly through the dark, a ghost to ghosts. Her purple diamond was concealed in his shirt, guiding her to him. He was slightly behind her, heading the same way.
Paris was one of her favorite places to be, no matter what the situation was. The architecture was beautiful, and music and culture seemed imbedded in everything. Kaslynn slipped through the darkened alleys that she knew so well; she'd used this catacomb entrance before. By the time she reached the entrance, a flowering garden that was beginning to wither now, she was well ahead of Artemis. If he was in trouble, she could be at his side in an instant to help, so distance didn't matter. Kaslynn took out her cell phone.
She pulled up a program on the touch screen that no other phone could possibly have, even fairy ones. Mac connected to her phone over the internet easily, giving her access to everything he had to offer.
"Mac," she said softly, in a voice so quiet that no human or fairy ears could possibly hear it, layered with only a tinge of magic.
iAre we in Paris?/i he asked. iWait don't answer that, I already have your position. What's the plan?/i
"Go in, find out whether N°1 is there, get out, with or without him. If he's not there, we'll have to try the next place, which Artemis still won't tell me."
iIceland./i
"Right… Okay then. You read minds now, or something?"
The computer made a clicking sound that Kaslynn thought sounded distinctly annoyed. iDon't be stupid. You connected me to his computer; I could deduce what he could from there. I doubt he knows anything I don't. /i
"Such as where in Iceland we are to go?" Kaslynn said, grinning in the darkness.
i… Maybe./i
"Alright, never mind it. Artemis is almost here, and I'm not sure I want him to know about you quite yet. Did you get that map?"
iDuh./i
"Give it to me." He pulled up an image. Kaslynn set her finger on the screen and transferred the information to her mind, a trick that N°1 had taught her. iAll the information is already in your mind, if you look at it like we're all connected. Qwan says that the universe is all connected, and everything one man knows, you know, too. So, if a computer knows something, all you have to do is open the information already there. Or something, /i he'd said with a grin. She frowned at the memory. What if he wasn't okay? How could she stand loosing her only friend?
I won't, she told herself. It won't happen.
Artemis stepped into the garden. "Kaslynn."
Kaslynn had been distracted by her thoughts, and jumped at his voice. Her magic flashed out as she spun around, yelping, "Artemis!"
He stepped back, taking a breath. She could just have easily slapped him. Cursing herself silently for forgetting about his name, she said, "Sorry. You startled me."
He grimaced, shaking his head to clear away the ringing sound of her voice. Every time she said his name, he felt a brief moment of stark self awareness, which cut through his mind for a moment, as her voice did. He mentally waved the worry away. "It's fine. I should have been more careful. Are you ready?"
Kaslynn nodded. "Let me mark the entrance, first, so we can find our way back."
She stepped forward and knelt on the ground, finding the lid to the entrance in the dark. She pulled it up, humming a low note to increase her strength for a moment. It dropped to the ground without making a sound, curtsy of her magic. She leaned forward and peered down into the murky darkness, finding the glistening rings of a ladder. She placed her hand on the side of the wall, and purple light flared briefly around it. A violet handprint stayed on the wall, glowing for a moment before fading away. She pulled herself out of the hole in time to sense someone approaching.
"Holly's coming," she said, and disappeared.
Holly arrived moments later, alone. Artemis watched the shimmering air approach, and spoke as Holly unshielded. "No one else?"
"I didn't think it would be good to take anyone," Holly replied, lifting her visor. "If these Keepers are as good as you say we are, they could have infiltrated the LEP. As much as I hate the idea, even Foaly agreed that it was possible, and you know how he is."
Artemis chuckled quietly. "Of course you're right, though. The Keepers are capable of anything." He looked down at the hole in the ground, leading into the catacombs. "Well. I presume that you are prepared?"
Holly checked her readouts for a moment and pulled her visor down. "Come on, Artemis," she said, grinning. "I'm always ready." She jumped into the hole, catching hold of the ladder and sliding down to the bottom. Kaslynn appeared for a moment to raise an eyebrow at him before blinking out again. The Irish boy frowned at the patch of air that he expected she might be in and climbed into the Catacombs. He heard a spirit climb in after him, sealing the world away behind them.
The Catacombs were totally dark, a frightening, inky blackness that threatened to choke anyone who had the madness to enter it without their own light. Kaslynn wanted to flood the corridor with light, but refrained from doing so. Artemis wouldn't be able to explain that away - or rather, he would, but Holly would remain suspicious, most likely. He couldn't afford anyone to know of her existence. It could spell disaster.
Holly's helmet light flickered on a moment later, shedding light on the bare walls. A few bones lay scattered here and there, as if some wandering skeleton had dropped them off and forgotten them. Moisture dripped down the craggy stone walls, glistening in the light. Artemis pulled out a pair of glasses and put them on, the lenses glowing blue white in the darkness. Kaslynn's eyesight had always been good, even in the dark, so she didn't complain. Not that she could.
Artemis looked around. "We need to make our way into the older parts of the Catacombs," he said to Holly softly. "The map, if I remember correctly, which I usually do, tells us that this passage opens on a larger cavern some way up." Artemis started off, Holly and the invisible Kaslynn following close behind. Soon the small passage opened into a larger room as Artemis had predicted. Their light didn't quite reach around the edges, creating dark shadows.
Here, the bones began. The walls were decorated with different types of bones, sculls and arm bones and other things that Kaslynn couldn't identify but figured Artemis could. The bones were old, worn and yellow, ancients searching them with black eyes. Holly shivered as Artemis looked between the many other passages leading out.
"This way," he said firmly. Kaslynn frowned, reviewing the map in her head. It had shown that the correct entrance was the one Artemis was indicating, but there was also a small red cross across the section. Something told her that it would be bad to head that way, and if she remembered correctly, which she had to, there was a small side entrance off to the left.
But how could she tell that to Artemis?
She couldn't pull him off and show him; that would look too strange. Finally she had to resort to tripping him, and as he stood up, she leaned down and said, "Artemis, this isn't right. There's another way…"
"Of course it's right," he muttered back, too quietly for Holly to hear. Then she couldn't talk to him again. Artemis led them into the passage, Kaslynn lagging warily behind.
Seconds later Artemis let out an uncharacteristic yelp. He stumbled back, almost running into Holly.
"What is it?" she asked, dancing out of the way.
Artemis rubbed his arm. "Some kind of field. A bit… shocking, if you understand my meaning."
"I think I follow you," Holly said wryly. "How do we get past?"
Artemis took out a small device and scanned the walls. "The generator for it is on the other side of the force field." He sighed. "Unless the system suddenly collapses, we'll have to find an alternate way through."
Kaslynn realized that he was actually talking to her. She approached the wall, touching it lightly with her finger and receiving a nasty shock. Smothering a yelp, she sucked on her finger and knocked out the system.
Artemis portrayed the emotion of surprise so perfectly, for a second Kaslynn herself believed that it had conveniently gone out on its own. Holly passed her hand wearily through the space where the force field had been. Giving Artemis a probing look, she said, "Convenient."
"I suppose it is," he agreed. "I would say lucky, even."
"Artemis, you don't believe in luck."
Artemis almost winced, but didn't. "Perhaps my views on the subject may change."
Kaslynn grimaced to herself. If they were having any kind of luck, it wasn't good, and her gut told her that it would continue to get worse.
Of course, she was right, as she generally was. It started with the force field and continued on to include stealth cameras, invisible pits, dead ends, and a large maze that both Kaslynn and Holly were at a loss for how to navigate; it wasn't on the map. Artemis lead them out using his superb memory while knocking out cameras.
Kaslynn and Artemis were both taking out cameras, and, as they were Artemis and Kaslynn, respectively, this turned out to be a rather competitive routine. Artemis would try to take out more cameras with his technology than Kaslynn as she tried to do the same with magic, each telling themselves that it was idiotic and childish to be doing so at the time.
Kaslynn was so immersed in cutting off the cameras that she unavoidably ran into one of the traps unawares. Luckily, this was a trap that would be lethal to anyone but herself. A deep pit that had a web of silent lasers mapped out below it, ready slice apart whoever unwittingly fell into the hole. Of course, as Kaslynn stepped out over the hole, she did not fall, but instead continued to walk across the air. It was only once she was in the middle of the pit that she realized what was happening and spun around through the air, her hands flying up to her mouth as she realized that Artemis, if he'd been as distracted as she, was about to plummet into death. Her eyes darted back to the edge of the pit.
A small, inaudible sigh escaped her when she saw the two figures of Artemis and Holly standing at the other side. Artemis's blue eyes flashed in the dark, searching for something. Oh, her. A sign, of course. She held up a finger and let one tiny violet spark fall from it, something that Holly would never notice but Artemis would, because he was looking for it. The teen nodded once in the dark, standing a little behind Holly now so that she wouldn't see him communicating with Kaslynn.
Artemis had seen the pit right away. His mind had only been partly taken up with the problem of the cameras; his attention could be divided much more ways than just one. In fact, he had estimated that he could think up to about thirteen thoughts at once, as opposed to the average six. His only concern had been that his secret weapon had failed to notice the problem. He wanted to scoff at his worries as he watched the small purple spark fall into the darkness. Kaslynn probably couldn't be stopped by something so small as a mere hole in the ground.
"Alright, Arty, we've somehow made it this far," Holly said, her voice frustrated. "I'm not sure how you've done it, but I've learned not to trust coincidences. How are we going to get passed this? I can't fly us over it; this passage is too small for my wings."
Artemis let out a very small sigh as he stared vacantly at the spot he knew Kaslynn was. She wouldn't be able to help here without giving herself away. Yet this was a simple trap. There had to be a way to cross it without suffering injury or death.
The teen squatted next to the edge, an action that he deemed degrading and fairly horrific. Digging out his phone, he ran a scan over the area and was delighted to see that he had been correct. An invisible path ran through the air, probably a metal walkway coated in camfoil. A sly grin lit up his features for a moment.
"It's quite simple, Holly. We just need to find the correct path." Always one for theatrics, Artemis rechecked his scans and stepped confidently into the open air. Holly yelped in surprise and groaned when she saw him standing seemingly on nothing, smirking at her.
"Artemis, one of these days you're going to get it," she muttered, following him across.
Kaslynn laughed silently and walked through the air after them, her feet making no sound when she stepped back onto the ground. They continued on for a while, she following behind now with Artemis leading. She heard his muted curse a few minutes later and slid around Holly to the front. She contained her own curse at the dead end.
And that was before the wall shut behind them.
