Amulet of Quietus
Disclaimer: Fine, fine! I don't own it! Just everything not owned by the original author!
Setting: Russia
Chapter 8: Beginning of a Nightmare
"I hate the cold." Deidra shivered out, trudging through three feet of the fluffy white mass. They were in the middle of some Russian frost land, the only thing they could see was a city several hundred meters up ahead.
"Keep walking." Butler replied. Must hate the cold too, Dei thought to herself.
When they finally did make it to the city, the streets were almost deserted. A woman or two walked down the street, sometimes with a child's hand clasped in her own, but when they saw these foreign people, the Russians hurried into the nearest building to them.
"Geeze, these people act like they've never seen foreigners." Dei murmured.
"They act like rabbits, afraid that they'll be caught doing something they aren't suppose to be doing." Artemis said quietly.
"And what aren't they suppose to be doing?" Deidra asked sarcastically. "Walking? Breathing?"
"The woman aren't suppose to be out in the street when other people come to their city. The men deal with us, not women." Deidra was awestruck. What kind of a country was this, where men were still superior to women?
Artemis, seemingly able to read her mind, answered her thoughts.
"This portion of Russia is still a third world area. Little food, bad living conditions, almost no work." He turned to her, his face ever so blank. "I suggest you play mute here. American's don't last long, and we wouldn't want the Russian mafia kidnapping you from us."
"Oh, no, that would surely be a great tragedy." Dei replied snidely.
"At least with us, you know you'll be alive tomorrow." He said, which silenced her. Now that was interesting threat and promise, all wrapped into one. He wouldn't kill her, that was for sure. At least, not until she wasn't useful. But would he let her go if she escaped? Or would he pursue her?
Artemis surveyed his surroundings, taking in the trashy street, dark windows, and any other possible hiding places. They had, as far as they could tell, taken the city by surprise.
"Sir, that's the pub my contact said they'd be in." Butler interrupted his thoughts.
They had talked with another of his friends, gaining information on the usual hang out places of these Russian pigs, and this seemed to be where most of them had been seen last.
"And so it begins." Artemis said smugly as he stepped inside the bar.
Anya blinked furiously at the sudden contrast in light. The white snow had made her almost wonder if she'd gone blind, but this small wooden building had added a bit of color to her sight.
She walked behind Deidra, making sure no one attempted to hurt her, and acting like she'd stop the kid from running. She wouldn't. If anything, she'd "fall over", giving the girl more room to run past her if she needed it.
A sudden burst of blabber came from the front of their procession, and she realized it was Artemis, speaking some foreign tongue. It was graceful, but sounded complex.
Moments later, several large men burst to their feet, pulling out long metal sticks, like the one Butler had used. She had heard them call it a gun, but the word seemed so foreign…
"You'll pay for that insult, boy!" One of the men shouted. Deidra could only guess at what Artemis had said to make him so mad. She only knew a word or two in Russian, but by where they were, she was sure it was the native tongue.
Artemis swiveled around, looking at Deidra.
"Use your power, Silent Reaper. Kill them." His cold eyes matched his heartless voice.
Dei starred at him in horror. He expected her to kill these innocent men? Ok, well, scratch the innocent part, but they were still human!
Before she could protest, an odd sensation arose from the collar. She realized it was allowing her to use magic.
With the restraints lifted, Dei could feel the icy necklace. Its insidious powers pulled at her, clouding her conscious. They begged to be let go. Blackness shrouded her sight, until all she saw was a man before here, angry, big, and holding a gun.
A gasp of breathe released her power. She felt it seeking them out, snuffing their hearts until they stopped altogether. Three men fell to the floor, cold as the winter raging outside.
Her knees thumped as the hit the wooden floor. How could she just let it do that? She had just killed men. Living, breathing humans! Not me, not me. The power, the power did it!
Artemis's clapping hands interrupted her thoughts.
"Bravo, Reaper, Bravo. A great job, I must admit. You killed those men in three seconds. Conrad-" Her fist smashed his jaw, knocking him down to the ground. Butler was on her in seconds, pinning her to the ground and pulling out a sedative.
"You're insane, Fowl! This world will never prosper under your hand! It will wither and die! And you, Artemis, you will be at blame!"
Throbbing jaw, stomach and nose. This just wasn't his week. Artemis regained his feet, grunting with the effort. Deidra lay on the floor, sedative in her system. Butler was tying her hands with a rope.
The boy genius went to her collar, readjusting it so her magic was limited again. Though he could use a voice command, his aching jaw restricted too much movement.
"Sir, should I keep her under the chemical?" Butler asked. Artemis nodded and left the room, looking for a package of ice to place on his injury.
Butler finished tying the girls hands and stood up. The cold frost land outside starred at him, begging him to come and play. He glanced to where Artemis had vanished.
Thought the manservant would never question his employer, he did wonder about the mental stability of the boy. He seemed a little off lately, and the glint in his eyes after those men's death had been nothing but malicious.
A scrap of a boot sounded behind him, and Butler swung toward the offending sound. It was made by a masked figure.
It was a man, he could tell my the shape of the body. Black clothing clung to him, pulling him into the shadows. A short blade hung at his hip, two more over his shoulders, and a dagger hung in his hand.
"And you are?" Butler asked impatiently.
"The Mercenary." Was his response. They glared at each other, even though the Mercenaries eyes were nearly masked by his black face cloth. It covered his nose, mouth, and most of his forehead, but two slits for his eyes remained.
"Something you need here? Or are you just intruding?" The bodyguard inquired.
The Mercenary shifted and stood. He walked up to Butler, and looked up at him. He then glanced down at Deidra, and back.
"When that boy losses all of his sanity, I'll b here to end it." Butler stiffened, thinking he'd just threatened Artemis. His next words change the story a bit.
"Should the boy continue down this path, all of the sisters shall fall into his hands. When he is insane, I shall have to kill them all, for the sake of this world and the magic world."
"Master Fowl will not want that, and I therefore can not allow that."
The Mercenary scoffed. "Will you then allow an insane little boy rule the world? I for one do not wish for a second World War." Butler laughed at him.
"There already was a second World War." He laughed out.
"No, that was a human's "World War". I mean the actual thing." His serious tone made Butler stop.
"Actual thing?" He questioned.
"The first World War was fought between the fairies and the humans, long ago. The fairies opted to have the human race enslaved by the Ring, tortured by the Bracelet, and destroyed by the Amulet. The humans, obviously, wanted the Sisters destroyed." He paused, looking at Deidra again. "When they heard the Guardians would kill them, the humans rejoiced. Not many know that they never did."
"Oh?" Artemis's voice interrupted. "Who did?" He stalked into the room, standing near Butler.
"I did. Though I let them have the credit, the Guardians never hurt the Sisters. I ended their life, and trusted their bodyguards with the items, hoping they would find a way to destroy them."
"They never did." Artemis replied. "You can't destroy magic, only nullify it. So, who are you, anyway?"
"As I told your friend, I am the Mercenary. I was created by fairies to watch over these Sisters and guarantee that, should they ever be resurrected all together, I would kill them in the end."
"The End?" It was the boys turn to scoff. "Why not the beginning, before they can harm anyone? Why not now?" A pained look must have been on the Mercenaries face, because his eyes scrunched up.
"If the Silent Reaper dies before the other two are revealed, then they shall remain hidden. I can not allow two of the Sisters to remain alive while the other waits for resurrection. All must die before the new generation can be born." He bowed his head, ashamed that he could do no more to stop this fiasco.
"Ah, I see. You have to wait on me to find the other two before you can stop my plans." Artemis nodded his head as if the whole plan had just unfolded in front of him. "Well, don't expect me to just hand over the Sisters. I have no intention whatsoever of giving them up. You should hope that I don't have the Reaper kill you."
"Ha! You missed my point, child. I said I was made to counter the threat of these girls. That means I'm immune to them. They shall die." He walked over to Artemis and knelt down in front of him.
"Should you stand in my way of them, boy, you'll go down with them, make no mistake. I may not like killing, but that doesn't mean I won't kill a child to save millions of other innocent lives." He stood erect and walked to the door. Before steeping out, he spoke over his shoulder at them.
"The End approaches rapidly. Be ready for it, for once it gains momentum, it never stops, not until it had consumed all evil doers. That means you, boy, and your tall friend."
"I'm not a boy." Artemis seethed through his teeth.
"And I'm not afraid to kill you. Just remember, anyone in my way shall die. The End of the generation comes, and I intend to help it." He pushed open the door. The swirls of ice swallowed him. The Mercenary was gone in seconds, his threat lingering in the air behind him.
The Ending would come, and there was no stopping it.
Author's Note
Ok, I know that whole part in Russia was probably wrong and totally jacked, but just flow with it, ok?
This is my story, and it ran the way I wanted. Well, that's it for Amulet. Catch the second story (Based of the second sister, so we're talking Ring), coming soon. How soon? No clue.
By the by, if any of you read my reviews, you noticed one of my friends, Heather, left one saying she was high….she forgot the word "sugar". She's just on a sugar run, not drugs! I laughed so hard when I realized what she'd written.
Well, the Ring of Sagacity will be round and about in a while. Couple weeks. I'm expecting to move anytime between now and June.( I hope we move in March or April at latest, but hey, I can't help what happens.)
Thanks for reading, and look out for the second sister some time soon.
Finelley