"How pleasant of you to invite me here." A strong voice echoed from the
main hall, and Rebecca, Jill and Sanders looked up from their hands from
which they had been staring for the past 5 minutes. Sirius narrowed his
eyes, and Blancha turned into an owl, craning her head to listen to
whatever was going on. Jill and Rebecca looked at each other, both
knowing who was outside with General Cooper.
"Artemis Fowl." murmured Sirius, clenching his fists. "What on earth is that no gooder doing here?" Blancha was a cat, purring somewhat aggressively.
"Calm down, Sirius," said Sanders, his bushy beard quivering slightly, "He's probably here because he wants to know about the zombies."
"And what good will that do us?" Jill interrupted. She was silenced by Rebecca as the double doors swung open and a boy of 19 walked in, his tailored suit hardly creasing as he walked over to the table and sat, checking his manicured nails. His Daemon, a fine bird of which Jill couldn't recognize, sat on his shoulder, grooming herself imperiously.
"General Cooper tells me there have been." he paused, the smallest of smiles playing on his pale face, "zombies roaming this mansion." He looked around the table, to see the 8 STARS members transfixed by his calm way of staring.
Jill stared defiantly at the man who had before kidnapped her grandmother, Holly Short. Artemis' eyes flickered on her for a second, the blue eyes cold and hard, then swept past to crack his knuckles.
"Now, I have been informed that a bear named Iorek Byrinson is currently protecting the mansion?" the STARS recruits nodded mutely. "Pardon me for saying, but I feel that-"
"Iorek Byrinson is one of the bravest creatures I know, Fowl. I don't know why you are here or what you are intending to do, but Iorek is perfectly capable to look after us." Jill spat, standing up. *those green eyes.they look so much like Holly.* Artemis thought, then shook it out of his head and replied, with a hint of annoyance in his voice,
"I know that, Valentine. I have absolutely no intention of taking over him; I simply came here because I thought you may want my help in the weapons and security department." Artemis steepled his fingers, still looking at Jill, who had sat down, annoyance burning in her eyes. General Cooper coughed slightly.
"Fowl, I apologize for this incorrect behavior. Jill, you will assist Artemis in the rigging and setting up of the CCTV cameras. No doubt a certain Mulch Diggums will assist in tunneling below the mansion."
"Butler is already on it, Sir. Thank you for the assistant, I'm sure she will prove very useful." Sirius' daemon suddenly growled and snapped at Daikah, Artemis' mocking bird soul. Daikah was taken by surprise and Artemis held a finger out for her to perch on.
"Sirius." Artemis looked at the older man, a taunting grin on his face. "I must insist that you keep your feelings under control. Do you have something you wish to tell us?" Sirius balled up his hands, shaking slightly. How he hated this man! Jill gave him a questioning glance and he shook his head slightly. General Cooper looked both embarrassed and ashamed of his employees. Bustling to sit down, he cleared his throat and said,
"Now, I know that Ms Valentine and Mr. Black have been searching in the corridor beyond this door," He said, frowning. Jill wondered vaguely if the would be punished. "Iorek Byrinson was keeping a close watch, and has said that there were two zombies seen. Do you recognize the two?"
"Sir, I recognized one as Mr. Yamauchi." The stunned silence confirmed the fact. Mr. Yamauchi was the ex-president of Nintendo Japan, and had been missing ever since he came to clear the area for the spoof off game, Resident Evil Zero. Rebecca sighed. How embarrassing! Her character wasn't even wearing the right clothes. Jill nudged her as she began to giggle, thinking about Billy.
"Two people; one male, one female, were savagely attacked and dragged into the forest by the pack of dogs. We pray for their families, and hope that they are still alive, though the chances are slim." The 10 people surrounding the table bowed their heads slightly.
"Well, if that clears it up." drawled Artemis, straightening his caftan, "then I will start building straightaway." Jill looked up in annoyance at the pale boy. "Jill?" she nodded and followed him, giving a pained look at Sirius as she did so. ******* The sunshine beamed in from the stained glass window, though it was still strangely dark outside. Sirius pulled out his handgun and jacked in the new magazine, this time combining the bullets. He then walked over to Sanders' door, and knocked. Blancha, as a wildcat, stalked after him.
"I cant believe Jill agreed, Sirius." She said, annoyed.
"She didn't.it was that creep Fowl that made her come," he knocked three times on the door, "I wish she could've said no."
The door opened and Sanders appeared, his hound of a daemon sniffing suspiciously at Blancha. She hissed at him (Sanders daemon was the rare kind that was the same sex as its human) and he accepted the fact that she was stronger. Sirius paused to look at the bearded man whom he had helped the night before, then nodded.
"Was there anything of use in my studies?" he asked, as they climbed down the huge oak staircase. Sirius nodded and said,
"The leeches can be cured if we find some bitter herbs. Then we have to mix that with the larvae of the unhatched leeches and apply it on the wound-"
"And leave it for two minutes, then wash off with water." Sanders finished. Sirius nodded and frowned.
"Where are we going to find that? I still have some herbs left over, but-" Sirius almost tripped over Sanders who was knelt on the floor and knocking on various skirting boards. Blancha spat and stopped, and Sirius looked in curiosity as he tore back a piece of rotting wood and a small pile of larvae poured out. Sirius fumbled in his pocket for a jar and collected two, then watched as Nairus rolled on the larvae and scratched at the wooden floor.
"Doesn't he get infected?" asked Sirius, frowning as Sanders replaced the wood board.
"No- You see this pendant?" he pointed at Nairus, who sat on the floor and lifted his head so that a small crystal was shown, "it keeps him from being harmed. It protects me, too, since I am him and he is me." Sirius nodded as if in understanding and rattled the two clear alien like pods.
"Shall we?"
Artemis clipped the last EC in place and switched on the tower, his fingers clicking and typing fast. Jill sighed. *Its as I'm not even here* she thought, watching the younger boy's face light up as he gained access to the site he was looking for.
"Where do I come in on all this, Fowl?" asked Jill, crossing her arms.
"Ah, yes. Phone Butler," he gestured lazily to the smallest mobile phone she had seen on the table, "and ask him to bring Mr. Diggums straight here." Jill nodded, annoyed. She walked over and flipped it open, squinting in the dim glow of the three computer screens to see the number. Then she held it up to her slightly pointed ear and waited. Three rings, and:
"Hello, Artemis?"
"No, this is Jill Valentine."
"Ah, yes. Artemis told me about you. Miss hot-shot zombie investigator, hmm?"
"Listen, Mr. Butler, all I want is for you to get Mulch Diggums over here, now."
"What if I don't?"
Jill frowned. Then she concentrated more, feigning a cough. "Just do it, Butler." Jill's voice was dripping with the mesmer, and Artemis looked around in surprise.
*so she is related to Holly*, he thought, stroking his chin. If he had a beard he would be probably twirling it right now. Jill turned and caught his eye, and he turned around quickly and busied himself with typing.
Butler nodded blankly and hung up. Jill Valentine? She sounded like Trouble. And indeed, that was her father. ***** Sirius carefully mashed the larvae into a pulp and poured it into the chipped bowl, along with three leaves of herb. Sanders handed him a pestle and he ground it together, until it was a thin paste. Then he put some on his finger and tested the consistency between his forefinger and thumb.
"Shall we go and find water?" asked Blancha, uncurling from her snow leopard state. Sirius nodded and watched her disappear with Naika. Since they only had a little bit to go, as the bathroom was just across the hall, it didn't hurt Sirius too much. Sanders looked at him sympathetically.
"Your daemon hasn't settled on a form yet?" he murmured gently. Sirius shook his head. He knew that until Blancha did settle on a form they would not be able to part for long distances. Even now it wrenched at his heart when the snow leopard crossed the large landing.
A few minutes later, Blancha and Nairus appeared, holding a container of water. Nairus dropped it on the floor near his humans feet and said,
"Blancha and I are concerned. There seems to be a strange scuttling noise coming from the bath tub, and we can't identify it." Sirius held out his arms for the little lion cub who felt so timid and afraid, and felt Blancha's little claws sink into his shirt. Sanders watched them for a minute, and then placed a hand on Nairus' head. The daemon gave an affectionate growl then Sanders said gently,
"Sirius, we must apply it now." Sirius looked up and nodded. *****
Over dinner that night, many things were discussed. Now that there were more people at the large, long table, things were slightly more relaxed, because of the absences of awkward silences. Mulch Diggums, the dwarf convict, sat next to Iorek and Butler, sucking down carrots as if there was no tomorrow. Artemis was deep in conversation with General Cooper, and Rebecca, Jill, Sirius and Sanders were talking about what they should try and find tomorrow. Genevra was quiet and still, as always. She ate her dinner politely and kept out of the way most of the time, and Jill watched her out of the corner of her eye. Her daemon, a rabbit, lay in the corner, away from the other daemons who were talking amongst themselves.
"Genevra?" Jill asked, turning from the three others.
"Y-yes, Jill?" she looked shocked and smiled.
"Are you ok? You seem a little quiet tonight."
"Oh.I'm fine, don't you worry about me, Jill."
"Listen, after dinner, we'll talk, ok? I can tell something's wrong." Jill smiled kindly and Genevra nodded, smiling.
"Thank you, Jill."
Artemis sipped on his class of cheap claret. Swirling it in the glass as best as he could, he nodded and talked to General Cooper. He was watching Draco out of the corner of his eye, noticing how the youngest member of STARS was using the silverware and glasses correctly. Artemis snapped back to attention when General Cooper used the word 'foaly'.
"Foaly?" Artemis said, bewildered. He bit his tongue. If he said that he had connections with the masterminded centaur, he could be disconnected from this mission.
"Yes, Foaly. He's been in touch with me ever since Wormtail escaped and joined Sauruman in Middle Earth." the old man sighed and looked extremely old, his wrinkles almost dissolving his silvery eyebrows.
"Middle earth?" Artemis laced his long fingers, setting down the knife and fork. "What would that be?" he pretended to be ignorant of this world, to test the General's knowledge.
"I believe you know, Master Fowl." The General laughed heartily and set down the wine glass. "This claret is a tad stale, do you not think, my son." Artemis' eyes flashed with regret at the word son. His own father had come home 6 years ago, only to have become ill three years later. Before guilt could get the better of him, he coughed and nodded.
"Indeed." Artemis faked the tiniest of smiles.
"Diggums. Unhand my broccoli or get your neck broken." Said Butler, a pink tinge on his chiseled face. Mulch Diggums stopped what he was doing and dropped the broccoli back onto the bodyguard's plate. Iorek, though he showed no emotion, gave out a small rumble that could have been laughter.
"Here.have my carrot, midget."
"I am NOT a midget!" huffed Mulch, though he ate the carrot anyway.
"Yeah well. Don't disagree, both of us can break your neck in an instant." Butler gripped the wine glass' stem unnaturally hard. Mulch gulped. *it's like eating with death* he thought.
Rebecca was, once again, sleeping under the mesmer. Saratham seemed to be in a bit of a bad mood with her tonight so when he curled up under her blanket, he didn't quite get so close to her. Leaning over, Jill picked up her diary.
Artemis Fowl has entered the building. That snotty little brat had better not interfere with anything that goes on around here. Protection my pointy ears! The damned hacker just wants to steal the limelight from the true heroes, I'm sure. I spoke with Genevra after dinner and she got so worked up about everything she was about to cry. Poor girl, she's one of the most skilled and clever people here and yet her husband, Aragorn, was killed yesterday. I'm slowly beginning to doubt my safety in this room, and the bathroom is making strange noises. I don't know if it's an insect in there, or even more leeches, but it seems to be happening in everyone's rooms. I have to take more precautions. Once again, my handgun is in bed with me.
"Artemis Fowl." murmured Sirius, clenching his fists. "What on earth is that no gooder doing here?" Blancha was a cat, purring somewhat aggressively.
"Calm down, Sirius," said Sanders, his bushy beard quivering slightly, "He's probably here because he wants to know about the zombies."
"And what good will that do us?" Jill interrupted. She was silenced by Rebecca as the double doors swung open and a boy of 19 walked in, his tailored suit hardly creasing as he walked over to the table and sat, checking his manicured nails. His Daemon, a fine bird of which Jill couldn't recognize, sat on his shoulder, grooming herself imperiously.
"General Cooper tells me there have been." he paused, the smallest of smiles playing on his pale face, "zombies roaming this mansion." He looked around the table, to see the 8 STARS members transfixed by his calm way of staring.
Jill stared defiantly at the man who had before kidnapped her grandmother, Holly Short. Artemis' eyes flickered on her for a second, the blue eyes cold and hard, then swept past to crack his knuckles.
"Now, I have been informed that a bear named Iorek Byrinson is currently protecting the mansion?" the STARS recruits nodded mutely. "Pardon me for saying, but I feel that-"
"Iorek Byrinson is one of the bravest creatures I know, Fowl. I don't know why you are here or what you are intending to do, but Iorek is perfectly capable to look after us." Jill spat, standing up. *those green eyes.they look so much like Holly.* Artemis thought, then shook it out of his head and replied, with a hint of annoyance in his voice,
"I know that, Valentine. I have absolutely no intention of taking over him; I simply came here because I thought you may want my help in the weapons and security department." Artemis steepled his fingers, still looking at Jill, who had sat down, annoyance burning in her eyes. General Cooper coughed slightly.
"Fowl, I apologize for this incorrect behavior. Jill, you will assist Artemis in the rigging and setting up of the CCTV cameras. No doubt a certain Mulch Diggums will assist in tunneling below the mansion."
"Butler is already on it, Sir. Thank you for the assistant, I'm sure she will prove very useful." Sirius' daemon suddenly growled and snapped at Daikah, Artemis' mocking bird soul. Daikah was taken by surprise and Artemis held a finger out for her to perch on.
"Sirius." Artemis looked at the older man, a taunting grin on his face. "I must insist that you keep your feelings under control. Do you have something you wish to tell us?" Sirius balled up his hands, shaking slightly. How he hated this man! Jill gave him a questioning glance and he shook his head slightly. General Cooper looked both embarrassed and ashamed of his employees. Bustling to sit down, he cleared his throat and said,
"Now, I know that Ms Valentine and Mr. Black have been searching in the corridor beyond this door," He said, frowning. Jill wondered vaguely if the would be punished. "Iorek Byrinson was keeping a close watch, and has said that there were two zombies seen. Do you recognize the two?"
"Sir, I recognized one as Mr. Yamauchi." The stunned silence confirmed the fact. Mr. Yamauchi was the ex-president of Nintendo Japan, and had been missing ever since he came to clear the area for the spoof off game, Resident Evil Zero. Rebecca sighed. How embarrassing! Her character wasn't even wearing the right clothes. Jill nudged her as she began to giggle, thinking about Billy.
"Two people; one male, one female, were savagely attacked and dragged into the forest by the pack of dogs. We pray for their families, and hope that they are still alive, though the chances are slim." The 10 people surrounding the table bowed their heads slightly.
"Well, if that clears it up." drawled Artemis, straightening his caftan, "then I will start building straightaway." Jill looked up in annoyance at the pale boy. "Jill?" she nodded and followed him, giving a pained look at Sirius as she did so. ******* The sunshine beamed in from the stained glass window, though it was still strangely dark outside. Sirius pulled out his handgun and jacked in the new magazine, this time combining the bullets. He then walked over to Sanders' door, and knocked. Blancha, as a wildcat, stalked after him.
"I cant believe Jill agreed, Sirius." She said, annoyed.
"She didn't.it was that creep Fowl that made her come," he knocked three times on the door, "I wish she could've said no."
The door opened and Sanders appeared, his hound of a daemon sniffing suspiciously at Blancha. She hissed at him (Sanders daemon was the rare kind that was the same sex as its human) and he accepted the fact that she was stronger. Sirius paused to look at the bearded man whom he had helped the night before, then nodded.
"Was there anything of use in my studies?" he asked, as they climbed down the huge oak staircase. Sirius nodded and said,
"The leeches can be cured if we find some bitter herbs. Then we have to mix that with the larvae of the unhatched leeches and apply it on the wound-"
"And leave it for two minutes, then wash off with water." Sanders finished. Sirius nodded and frowned.
"Where are we going to find that? I still have some herbs left over, but-" Sirius almost tripped over Sanders who was knelt on the floor and knocking on various skirting boards. Blancha spat and stopped, and Sirius looked in curiosity as he tore back a piece of rotting wood and a small pile of larvae poured out. Sirius fumbled in his pocket for a jar and collected two, then watched as Nairus rolled on the larvae and scratched at the wooden floor.
"Doesn't he get infected?" asked Sirius, frowning as Sanders replaced the wood board.
"No- You see this pendant?" he pointed at Nairus, who sat on the floor and lifted his head so that a small crystal was shown, "it keeps him from being harmed. It protects me, too, since I am him and he is me." Sirius nodded as if in understanding and rattled the two clear alien like pods.
"Shall we?"
Artemis clipped the last EC in place and switched on the tower, his fingers clicking and typing fast. Jill sighed. *Its as I'm not even here* she thought, watching the younger boy's face light up as he gained access to the site he was looking for.
"Where do I come in on all this, Fowl?" asked Jill, crossing her arms.
"Ah, yes. Phone Butler," he gestured lazily to the smallest mobile phone she had seen on the table, "and ask him to bring Mr. Diggums straight here." Jill nodded, annoyed. She walked over and flipped it open, squinting in the dim glow of the three computer screens to see the number. Then she held it up to her slightly pointed ear and waited. Three rings, and:
"Hello, Artemis?"
"No, this is Jill Valentine."
"Ah, yes. Artemis told me about you. Miss hot-shot zombie investigator, hmm?"
"Listen, Mr. Butler, all I want is for you to get Mulch Diggums over here, now."
"What if I don't?"
Jill frowned. Then she concentrated more, feigning a cough. "Just do it, Butler." Jill's voice was dripping with the mesmer, and Artemis looked around in surprise.
*so she is related to Holly*, he thought, stroking his chin. If he had a beard he would be probably twirling it right now. Jill turned and caught his eye, and he turned around quickly and busied himself with typing.
Butler nodded blankly and hung up. Jill Valentine? She sounded like Trouble. And indeed, that was her father. ***** Sirius carefully mashed the larvae into a pulp and poured it into the chipped bowl, along with three leaves of herb. Sanders handed him a pestle and he ground it together, until it was a thin paste. Then he put some on his finger and tested the consistency between his forefinger and thumb.
"Shall we go and find water?" asked Blancha, uncurling from her snow leopard state. Sirius nodded and watched her disappear with Naika. Since they only had a little bit to go, as the bathroom was just across the hall, it didn't hurt Sirius too much. Sanders looked at him sympathetically.
"Your daemon hasn't settled on a form yet?" he murmured gently. Sirius shook his head. He knew that until Blancha did settle on a form they would not be able to part for long distances. Even now it wrenched at his heart when the snow leopard crossed the large landing.
A few minutes later, Blancha and Nairus appeared, holding a container of water. Nairus dropped it on the floor near his humans feet and said,
"Blancha and I are concerned. There seems to be a strange scuttling noise coming from the bath tub, and we can't identify it." Sirius held out his arms for the little lion cub who felt so timid and afraid, and felt Blancha's little claws sink into his shirt. Sanders watched them for a minute, and then placed a hand on Nairus' head. The daemon gave an affectionate growl then Sanders said gently,
"Sirius, we must apply it now." Sirius looked up and nodded. *****
Over dinner that night, many things were discussed. Now that there were more people at the large, long table, things were slightly more relaxed, because of the absences of awkward silences. Mulch Diggums, the dwarf convict, sat next to Iorek and Butler, sucking down carrots as if there was no tomorrow. Artemis was deep in conversation with General Cooper, and Rebecca, Jill, Sirius and Sanders were talking about what they should try and find tomorrow. Genevra was quiet and still, as always. She ate her dinner politely and kept out of the way most of the time, and Jill watched her out of the corner of her eye. Her daemon, a rabbit, lay in the corner, away from the other daemons who were talking amongst themselves.
"Genevra?" Jill asked, turning from the three others.
"Y-yes, Jill?" she looked shocked and smiled.
"Are you ok? You seem a little quiet tonight."
"Oh.I'm fine, don't you worry about me, Jill."
"Listen, after dinner, we'll talk, ok? I can tell something's wrong." Jill smiled kindly and Genevra nodded, smiling.
"Thank you, Jill."
Artemis sipped on his class of cheap claret. Swirling it in the glass as best as he could, he nodded and talked to General Cooper. He was watching Draco out of the corner of his eye, noticing how the youngest member of STARS was using the silverware and glasses correctly. Artemis snapped back to attention when General Cooper used the word 'foaly'.
"Foaly?" Artemis said, bewildered. He bit his tongue. If he said that he had connections with the masterminded centaur, he could be disconnected from this mission.
"Yes, Foaly. He's been in touch with me ever since Wormtail escaped and joined Sauruman in Middle Earth." the old man sighed and looked extremely old, his wrinkles almost dissolving his silvery eyebrows.
"Middle earth?" Artemis laced his long fingers, setting down the knife and fork. "What would that be?" he pretended to be ignorant of this world, to test the General's knowledge.
"I believe you know, Master Fowl." The General laughed heartily and set down the wine glass. "This claret is a tad stale, do you not think, my son." Artemis' eyes flashed with regret at the word son. His own father had come home 6 years ago, only to have become ill three years later. Before guilt could get the better of him, he coughed and nodded.
"Indeed." Artemis faked the tiniest of smiles.
"Diggums. Unhand my broccoli or get your neck broken." Said Butler, a pink tinge on his chiseled face. Mulch Diggums stopped what he was doing and dropped the broccoli back onto the bodyguard's plate. Iorek, though he showed no emotion, gave out a small rumble that could have been laughter.
"Here.have my carrot, midget."
"I am NOT a midget!" huffed Mulch, though he ate the carrot anyway.
"Yeah well. Don't disagree, both of us can break your neck in an instant." Butler gripped the wine glass' stem unnaturally hard. Mulch gulped. *it's like eating with death* he thought.
Rebecca was, once again, sleeping under the mesmer. Saratham seemed to be in a bit of a bad mood with her tonight so when he curled up under her blanket, he didn't quite get so close to her. Leaning over, Jill picked up her diary.
Artemis Fowl has entered the building. That snotty little brat had better not interfere with anything that goes on around here. Protection my pointy ears! The damned hacker just wants to steal the limelight from the true heroes, I'm sure. I spoke with Genevra after dinner and she got so worked up about everything she was about to cry. Poor girl, she's one of the most skilled and clever people here and yet her husband, Aragorn, was killed yesterday. I'm slowly beginning to doubt my safety in this room, and the bathroom is making strange noises. I don't know if it's an insect in there, or even more leeches, but it seems to be happening in everyone's rooms. I have to take more precautions. Once again, my handgun is in bed with me.