Author's Note: Welcome to "The Angel Conundrum", I am so happy that you are here. This story is set after "The Arctic Incident", which means that Root is alive and Butler hasn't died and Artemis' father has just been rescued. Enjoy!
Many thanks to my beta readers Skavim and notxreal for the incredible help and taking the time to dig through my shortcomings!
Disclaimer: Eoin Colfer owns all the characters from Artemis Fowl, I only own my imagination.
Prologue
Sand whirled up under his feet as he tore away from his hiding place. The scorching air burned in his lungs with every breath he took. A constant cloud of soot had formed streaky smudges on his face, ever since he had stopped wiping it away. The Major had no time for such nonsense. Every second he wasn't vigilant meant his immediate demise.
Any other person would have given up by now, accepting their fate. In fact, the human brain shuts down in desperate situations, filling the body with happy hormones and making the end less stressful. Not the Major's brain. The Major's brain refused to surrender, feeding off a seemingly never-ending will to survive.
He zoomed past the hunched creatures, shuffling around aimlessly. He left them to their fate. The wind howled in his ears. Ignoring it, together with the burning sensation in his legs, he fixed his gaze on the object in the distance, blurry in the shimmering air.
The Major hadn't slept or eaten for at least a month. This should have given him some indication that something was off. But he refused to dwell on such details. All they needed was one moment of inattentiveness. One misstep and he would end in their clutches.
He focused on avoiding the inhabitants of this place. Always on the run. Away from those animals, the kind he had never seen before in his life. Monstrous creatures as big as tigers with unblinking, ruthless eyes and lethal claws. If stopped on the street and asked to describe them, he would have chosen expressions like humanoid predators or colossal beasts of prey. He didn't allow himself to think about such facts, though. He ran, he jumped, he rolled, and he hid. And he kept alive as best as possible. He had lost his pistol, but he couldn't remember where or when. Irrelevant. He couldn't engage in a fight with them. He wouldn't.
The scratching of claws over the ground became louder. They were catching up with him. The Major gritted his teeth, forcing himself to go faster. Sweat was running down his weather-beaten forehead, but he kept his eyes trained on the massive rock in front of him. Despite his immense size, the man sprinted the last few feet and leapt on to the boulder with surprising agility. Not a second later, he felt the impact of the monster slamming into the rock.
Not allowing himself a moment of rest, he jumped off the boulder and got back on his feet in an instant. Ready for the next trap.
Someone lazily clapped. Instinctively, the Major ducked before glancing back. A bearded man in a leather jacket had appeared out of nowhere and was now sitting on the boulder with crossed legs. No, the Major corrected himself. It was not a man, but another odd creature with snow-white wings.
Peeling his gaze from the angel-like wings, the Major shot a glance around. By now, the monster should have recovered.
"Please," the man held up his hands. "I am not here to harm you. Quite the opposite. Look."
The monster, unsteady on its feet after slamming into the rock, came swaying towards the Major. Before it could charge once more, however, the winged man waved his hand at the creature. It turned to dust, carried away by the never-ending gust of wind. The Major whipped his head around, expecting the monster to materialise again behind him. When it didn't, he turned to the gaunt man. It took the Major a few moments to find the right words. "Who are you?"
"Good question," the angel grinned. "I am the ruler of this realm. I am the King of Hell."
The Major kept a blank expression as the meaning of the words sank in. This… was Hell.
"I am Lucifer," the angel offered.
Pretending to be unfazed by this revelation, the Major asked, "What do you want from me?"
Lucifer's smile became strained. He nodded towards the creatures that cowered in a distance, watching. "I am impressed by the way you dodged the yalayi for such a long time. Well done."
Lucifer wondered if the man was too far gone when the Major didn't react. The mortal was huge and muscular, yes, but he must have already been very old when he had died, judging by the short grey hair. Maybe his soul was already damaged beyond repair.
"I have a job for you. You are a bodyguard. Protect someone for me," Lucifer finally said.
The Major shook his head. "I can't leave. I…," he hesitated. He hadn't said it out loud. He knew it. Deep down, he knew he hadn't made it out of the exploding ship. But saying it… saying it was accepting it.
Lucifer sighed, casting his eyes to the cloudy sky and wiping soot from his leather jacket. "Yes, you are dead. Haven't you been paying any attention?"
The Major tried to focus his thoughts. It was hard, but it got easier once Lucifer had said it. Dead. He had died.
"You can revive me?"
"No, I can't revive you. But I can make your existence bearable. How does that sound?"
The Major looked around with unfeeling eyes. Anything was better than this.
"Who do you want me to protect?"
Lucifer's grin widened. "A scholar. Shouldn't be too hard for a man of your calibre. There will be limitations, though. You are still dead, of course. You can only go among the living during the hours of the dead. The rest of the time, you'll have to stay here."
He pulled a stone from his pocket, breaking it in two and handing one half to the dead man. It radiated with a faint blue hue.
"This will protect you from the yalayi. As long as you wear it."
The man nodded and pocketed the stone. "What happens, when the job is over?"
Lucifer considered it for a moment, scratching his ginger beard. "Tell you what, I am in a good mood today. If you succeed, I don't see why you shouldn't be able to move up from here."
"What if I fail?"
"Let's not find out, my friend," Lucifer said and patted the bodyguard jovially on the shoulder. "Just focus on the job."
A/N: And that's a wrap. Thanks for reading. Comments are always appreciated and will cause this author to break out in spontaneous expressive dance. 😊