Ten: Out of ConTroll
Butler had to duck his head to enter the lift and remained slouched once inside, his head brushing the ceiling. Artemis inspected the gnomish symbols and pressed the down button, taking them to abandoned shuttle port below.
When the lift doors opened, they emerged into a wide gallery, lit only by emergency strip lighting. Dusty advertisements hung on the walls: 'Guided cave tours and limited surface expeditions available year-round. Not recommended for children under twenty-five.' Under other circumstances, Artemis would have been fascinated, but the choked sound of Holly's breathing drowned out everything but the need to reach the fairy well as quickly as possible.
For a moment he fiddled with the locator which was not entirely clear about how to reach the passage leading to the well. He glanced up again, scanning the room through the emerald tint of his night vision goggles. There. Another poster. 'Real fairy spring water. Take a dip and feel the centuries wash away.'
He pointed. "There." Butler nodded and they made their way across the gallery, hopping over a row of fairy-sized turnstiles (or clambering over in Artemis's case) toward a pair of double doors. An electronic signboard, almost blinding with the goggles on, hung on the door.
"What does it say?" Butler asked, peering at the Gnommish symbols.
"'Area off limits,'" Artemis replied. "'Beware of trolls.'"
"Ah," Butler said. "Looks like we're in the right place then."
Artemis tried the lock but to no avail. "We'll need to burn through the doors."
Butler nodded and then turned to Artemis, holding Holly out for him to take. Artemis accepted the burden, cradling his injured friend close against him. She was so tiny. He had never fully realized it until now. When awake, the force of her personality made her slightness of frame seem incidental. But now, like this...
Butler removed the clip of darts from the Neutrino and turned up the setting in order to burn through the metal doors. It took several minutes to carve out an opening large enough for them to pass through and by then Artemis's arms ached from her weight, slight or not. Finally, a metal square clanged to the floor, echoing through the gallery. Butler replaced the darts into the Neutrino and then took Holly back from Artemis.
For a moment they stood before the doorway. They had between them, one Neutrino, a clip of anti-gravity darts, and two high-powered flashlights. "Once more unto the breach, dear friend," Artemis said and then stepped into the darkness.
ooo
The chamber beyond the shuttleport's main gallery was cavernous, the ceiling too far above in the darkness to be seen. Cliffs and crags riddled the walls, and bulky shapes could be seen moving between them. A bellow sounded in the darkness, the echo rising and falling, surrounding Artemis and Butler like an army of bull trolls. They ploughed on regardless.
A stairway had been carved directly into the sandstone. The steps had been made for small fairy feet and were narrow beneath the sizable soles of human shoes. Artemis gripped the railing as they ventured downward, ignoring the sound, somewhere above and to his right, of claws scraping against stone. He would brave worse than trolls to reach that well. Though what precisely was worse than trolls, Artemis could not say at that moment.
He checked the locator. "There should be a passageway at the bottom of the stairs," he said in low tone.
The sound of trickling water caught his attention. It was difficult to locate here, where sound rebounded off the sandstone walls, but finally he glimpsed a slight cascade of water tumbling down the side of one of the walls and pooling on a high crag. He paused in his descent to watch a pair of trolls clawing their way upward towards the cascade, snapping and snarling at each other all the way up. The slightly larger of the two reached the top first and bent to lap at the water. It paused to take a swipe at its fellow as it tried to climb up as well. The second troll was relegated to dangling on the cliff face until the other was finished drinking.
"D'Arvit!"
Butler froze as the word echoed through the cavern. "It's all right," Artemis assured. "It's only a swear toad." He could see the creature at the bottom of the stairway. It croaked out another string of Gnommish words and Butler titled his head to one side.
"What is it saying?"
Artemis grimaced. "You're better off not knowing."
Returning his attention to the task at hand, Artemis made his way down the last few stairs. On a crag not fifty feet above, a troll was snuffling, its shaggy head raised, serrated tusks slicing the air. Its head snapped around and Artemis saw the pair of bright eyes – turned emerald by his goggles – focus on him and Butler.
"They know we're here," Butler noted.
"We've nearly reached the well," Artemis said.
"I'm more concerned about the getting back part."
The troll had begun to make its ways down, leaping from one rocky outcropping to another. Several of its nearby fellows, eager for a taste of whatever it had spotted, began to make their way downward as well. The air was rent by the grating of claws on stone.
At the bottom of the steps a worn pathway in the rock disappeared into a narrow passage. "It's this way," Artemis said, after verifying with the locator.
Though the trolls were not, as a rule, fond of climbing, these had adapted to it and managed to navigate the crags and cliffs with deftness. Butler tracked their movements, his eyes fixed on the beasts even as he spoke. "Take Holly, get to the well. I'll hold them here until you're done."
Artemis nodded. It made sense. The passage was narrow enough that the trolls would only be able to come at Butler one at a time and since trolls were not known for their cooperative spirit, they would likely to get in each other's way as they competed for a chance at him. Once again Artemis took Holly in his arms. He handed Butler the second flashlight so that the bodyguard was holding the two flashlights in one hand and the Neutrino 4500, loaded with a clip of anti-gravity darts, in the other.
"I'll see you shortly," Artemis said. And then he sprinted down the passageway to the well, his footfalls echoing on the stone walls.
It wasn't for a full minute that Artemis realized that he could no longer hear the sound of Holly's laboured breathing.
ooo
Butler had no illusions about his situation: he was about to do battle, though it would be a rather unconventional sort of battle. Once it began there would be no time for reflections or regrets, but in the moments before the trolls came, Butler found he was sorry that he had never properly thanked Holly. He had thanked her for saving his life when he'd been shot, of course, but it occurred to him that he had never thanked her for everything she had done for Artemis.
She had put herself at great risk both personally and professionally to help him, and Artemis was the better for it. He hoped he would have the chance to tell her so.
The first troll to reach Butler was a burly male, the largest there, its tusks caked with gore. Its matted dreadlocks swung behind it as it charged toward him on knuckles and hindquarters, its pelt a verdant green to Butler's night vision goggles. Averting his eyes, Butler simultaneously switched on both flashlights and pointed the beams directly into the face of the oncoming troll. The troll bellowed, raising its hands to cover its eyes and stumbled, its momentum disrupted. It landed in a heap a few metres from the passageway opening where Butler stood. Two more fell back as well, screeching as Butler shone the light in their direction.
At the edge his vision he noticed a blur of movement – a younger, craftier troll moving in from the side. While keeping the flashlights directed towards the snarling mass of fur and flesh ahead, he pointed the Neutrino and fired. No sooner had the anti-gravity dart lodged itself in the troll's shoulder than the now yowling beast began to hover over the ground, limbs flailing, claws scything the air, like a puppet with its strings in a tangle.
The effect was almost comical.
A nearby troll had to duck out of the way as the floating one's claws struck out in every direction, sending it bobbing to the left and right, throwing the surrounding group into disorder. The knot of burly males directly in front of Butler was very little distracted; the scent of fresh meat wafting into their nostrils occupied the foremost part of their tiny brains. When the younger one floated near, the closest male knocked him away with a casual thrust of its massive fist, sending the young one bobbing upwards only to crash into a crag to which it clutched with all its might, its howls redoubled and redoubled into a wild cacophony.
The other trolls alternately skittered back or lunged forward. Butler flashed the lights around and fired the darts, setting three more trolls bobbing into the air.
One of the lead bull trolls continued to thrash about even while howling and clutching at its burnt retinas, causing chaos among the lead group. The distraction it caused was enough to give Butler a moment to scan the cavern surroundings. Dozens of pairs of bright eyes shone through the darkness. His attention focussed on one that had scrambled to an outcrop to one side and was lifting something. A boulder, roughly the size of Butler's head. It raised the stone with one arm and tossed it like a basketball throw. The stone arced through the air and Butler had to dodge to one side as it smashed to the floor where he'd been standing.
The crash got the trolls' attention – as did the fact that the flashlight beams were no longer driving them back. Butler raised his hands again, blinding the trolls once more and shooting off several more darts, though he knew only a few more were left in the clip. The stone thrower was out of range of the darts and already hefting another rock.
Butler dodged away with nimble grace, but several trolls had taken to the idea and began tossing stones of their own. A hail of rocks, fist-sized and larger, began to rain down from all directions, leaving Butler to retreat several paces down the passageway for cover. Nostrils flaring, one of the bull trolls charged forward, batting away a stone the size of a melon with its massive fist. The Neutrino was raised, the trigger pulled, but this time there was only a click.
The clip was empty.
He flashed the lights into the troll's sensitive eyes while flicking the switch on the Neutrino to change the setting. Two and then three trolls were snapping at each other near the entrance, vying for the chance to move in on their prey now that it was cornered. Butler fired the Neutrino, giving the lead troll a long burst of concentrated ion ray. It stumbled back and was clipped by the scythe-like claws of the nearest troll.
The scent of blood on the stone floor drove them mad.
The injured troll found itself fighting off its fellows. Butler knew this was his one window of opportunity. He needed to fetch Artemis. They needed to get out of here. Now.
Butler raced toward the fairy well, the trolls' wails chasing him down the corridor.
ooo
Artemis's stomach dropped. He stumbled. Calm yourself. There's still time. It is not too late.
His arms ached beneath the weight of Holly's limp form and his lungs burned as he raced down the passage. Behind him, he could hear the howls of the trolls, their calls distorted by the cavern walls, turned into a baying chorus worthy of one of the outer circles of Dante's inferno.
After an age, the passage opened up into a chamber through which echoed the sound of trickling water. Seen through the night vision goggles, it looked more like a lagoon than a spring, but according to the locator this was the place and these waters were teeming with fairy magic, enough magic to counter the holy water than ran through Holly's veins.
His arms clenched spasmodically around her still frame.
To the left of the entrance he noted what looked very much like a power switch. On the off chance he might be due some good luck, he opened the casing and pressed the yellow button beneath. A handful of intact power globes flickered to life around the chamber, leaving him free to tear off the night vision goggles.
The water was a dazzling turquoise, sparkling even in the dim light as it lapped at the rocky shore. The pool itself was no more than a metre deep in the centre and was fed by a thin stream tumbling along the rock wall from a crevasse above.
He approached the edge of the water and set Holly down on the ground. If she was breathing at all, he could no longer detect it. A single spark, the palest shade of blue, flickered over her bandaged hand and then died away.
Kneeling down next to her, Artemis reached into his pocket for the syringe he'd brought for this very purpose. His palms were slick as he dipped the syringe into the pool and pulled back the piston, drawing in the glittering water. Water. Only water. Yet it had the power to save Holly. It had to.
He tugged the sleeve of her Shimmer Suit up past her elbow, trying not to see her face, not to notice her cracked lips and the stillness that hung about her, a hunter waiting for the chance to claim her. With meticulous care, Artemis raised the syringe, tapping it a few times and then ejecting some of the fluid in order to rid the water of air bubbles. An air embolism was the last thing Holly's system needed right now. His hands were trembling when he finally brought the syringe to hover over the vein in Holly's arm. He drew in a shuddering breath to calm himself, willing his hands to steady themselves, and then plunged the tip of the syringe into the vein and injected its contents.
There was no immediate reaction, but this was to be expected. Her blood pressure would be sluggish now and it would take a few moments for the spring water to begin to circulate through her system. Instead, he reached for her injured hand and plunged it into the spring, his eyes straining for any sign of a magical reaction – a spark, a twitch, anything. But Holly remained unmoving... lifeless.
He cupped his hand in the water and brought it to her lips, letting it trickle into her mouth, repeating the process several times. And still there was no more reaction than if it had been regular water with not a trace of magic.
"Don't you dare, Holly," Artemis said, gripping her shoulders, tears streaming down his cheeks. All he wanted at that moment was for her to open her eyes so he could meet that hazel and blue stare again, that part of himself looking right back at him from another's face. It was unfathomable to think that it could end like this. Not after everything they had been through, not when there was still so much ahead. "You are stronger than this." But there was no strength left in his voice nor in his limbs which had turned to water.
His vision blurred by tears, Artemis dismissed the first flicker as a glimmer reflected from the pool's surface. He started up when he saw it again, a spark dancing over Holly's injured hand. And then more sparks, cascading over the wound, burning away the strips of cloth that bound it. Steam hissed from her pores, enveloping her in a humid halo as the holy water was vented from her system. Her body thrashed and strained, back arching, teeth clenching, hands alternately stretching out, claw-like, and balling themselves into fists.
Artemis could only watch, holding his breath until all at once she fell still. Completely still.
He leaned over her, reaching out with a shaking hand to check for a pulse, when all at once she drew in a deep breath and then another, gulping down several lungfuls of air. Her eyes fluttered open and he found himself meeting that familiar mismatched gaze.
"Holly!" Relief was evident in his voice, even to his own ears.
Smiling up at him, she reached out and touched the moisture on his cheeks. "Artemis... It was that close, was it?"
He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. "You have no idea."
She eased herself up. "I think I do," she said and then put her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. "Thank you."
He was smiling broadly as she drew away from him. And then, confident that she couldn't be angry with him just at the moment, "No kiss this time?"
She mimed a punch to his chin, but the blow landed with no force behind it, and she let her knuckles slide over the smooth skin of his jaw... almost caressingly. "Grow some bristle, then we'll talk."
I'll hold you to that.
Her eyes widened and she leaned closer to him, staring into his eyes, brows creased. "Artemis, please tell me you're wearing an iris-cam."
Artemis carefully reached into his right eye and plucked out the iris-cam that he was indeed still wearing over his remaining blue eye. "I neglected to remove it earlier," he explained.
She sagged and emitted a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness. I don't think I can deal with swapping any more organs."
The sound of footfalls pounding down the corridor put an end to further conversation. Artemis turned to find Butler racing towards them. "We need to... get out of here," panted the bodyguard, his chest heaving as if he'd run a race rather than the distance of a single corridor. This too, Artemis knew, was his own doing, and something he would never be able to rectify.
"What's going on?" Holly asked, getting back to her feet.
"Trolls," Butler replied.
Holly rolled her eyes and turned to scowl at Artemis. "You saved my life just so we could be gored to death together. I'm touched, Artemis."
"The water," Artemis said at once.
Holly tilted her head. "What?"
"The trolls don't care for the spring water. In the outer chamber they were competing for access to a water hole. Why not simply come here? Unless the fairy magic in the water repels them. Douse yourself in the spring," he said and began splashing the spring water over his face and clothes.
"My suit is waterproof," Holly pointed out.
"Then take it off." She opened her mouth to object, but the look on her face was enough and Artemis quickly hurried on. "Or unzip it in any case."
Butler was already sitting on his haunches by the pool, cupping his huge hands in the water and pouring it over himself. Holly groaned and unzipped the front of her jumpsuit down to her belly, revealing the one-piece beneath it. She walked into the pool until she was deep enough to be able to duck beneath the surface. After a few seconds, she emerged, the dark one-piece now impressively wet and impressively clingy. Artemis took one look and then averted his eyes as if his life depended on it. Which it probably did.
"There had better be a lot of trolls out there," Holly grumbled.
"Don't worry," Butler replied. "There are."