Ring of Sagacity

Disclaimer: You would think I had made it clear the first five times. I
do not own any of the original plots, characters, or…other things.

Setting: Ireland (Not America! It's a miracle!)

Chapter 6: Memory Breaker Revisited

The sun glared violently off the glass panes of Fowl Manor. Vesta snuck around to the rear of it, hoping no one was watching her from the other side of those transparent squares. She hadn't known who lived here until she had come across the sign on the front gate indicating this was in fact Artemis's home.

She quickly snuck up behind another bush, crouching down. A pause. She scrambled to a tree, then plopped into a flower bed. All the precautions she took ensured she would reach the back entrance to this home. Sure enough, within a minimal stretch of time, Vesta was right up underneath a window that stood open.

The sprite peered up into the room cautiously. There were three beds in it, one of which was occupied by a girl. She appeared to be chained to it by her ankle, though she was dead to the world at the moment. Normally, Vesta would not have given this child a second though, except for the fact that light from the room glinted off of the silver necklace around her throat. This, of course, caught her attention and nearly made her let loose a gasp. It couldn't be! The Amulet? Then the girl had to be the Silent Reaper. Surveying the room again, Vesta quickly jumped through the opening.

She was sneaking up on the girl when quite suddenly the child popped up from the bed, gasping and clutching her chest. Vesta froze on the spot, horrified. What if she screamed? But her luck held out. The girl didn't scream or make a sound. After a moment of deep, calming breaths, the Silent Reaper laid her eyes on Vesta, questions lingering behind them.

"I'm Vesta, Guardian of the White Bringer. P lease, be calm, I mean you no harm. I came here in search of your sister, and yourself." Though the fire spirit had hoped to calm the girl, this seemed to alarm her more than anything.

"You're here for Huyen? Great!" She halted momentarily, cocking her head. " But you must leave now. Quickly, before anyone returns. If they find you here, they can make you tell them where the Betraying Angel is. Please, leave!" She made frantic shooing motions with her hands. Vesta furrowed her eyebrows, not understanding. How could she know about the Betraying Angel already? Her thoughts were cut short when the sound ofa door slamming reached her ears. Vesta immediately searched for somewhere she could hide, but could find none. She fled the room, still searching.

As she flew into the hall, she noticed the big human she had fought earlier. He was climbing the stairs with Vesta's charge, the White Bringer, laying in his arms. It seemed useless to run now. It appeared almost certain that he would have spotted her, but she dodged into the nearest room anyway, hoping and praying she had gone unnoticed. She snapped the door shut quietly.

Vesta turned around in the near pitch black room, viewing the place she had locked herself in. It appeared to be a guest room. There was one neatly made bed, a giant window with a great view of the backyard, and a connecting door to what she assumed must be a bathroom. It disgusted her to think of what humans did in that tiny room, but then again, they were a dirty race to begin with. She tip-toed over to the bed and threw herself down on it. What harm would it do? There was no one in the room to see her, and if they ever actually went into this room, there would be no evidence that she had been here.

Through the door, there was the sound of the man and another person passing by her. They were conferring in voices that were muffled through the wall. Vesta snuck to the door, cracking it open. She was hoping for the chance to get out of imminent danger, and this might just be it. With another pray to the gods, she began to exit the room for the hall. But her foot caught on the door, causing it to creak. The man from Huyen's home, along with another young woman, turned swiftly toward her. She noticed how alike there were, but chastised herself for such a foolish thought. Why did it matter what they looked like? She was getting ready to run for her life! But her charge…she was still in the hands of the man. She couldn't just leave the kid like that. Vesta did the first thing that popped to mind. . . and charged the man.

But he, of course, being the excellent fighter he was, avoided her. With a simple sidestep, the man was out of her way, and she was out of control. Before she knew what was happening, the girl had wrestled Vesta to the floor, pulling a knife and holding it firmly to her throat. Vesta gasped, throwing her hands out to show she meant no harm, and hoping not to be harmed in return.

"What do you want me to do with her?" the girl asked him. The mountain stared down at her, dark eyes glancing over her body. He answered in some foreign language and the girl replied. The hilt of the knife started a sudden descent toward her temple, but Vesta blocked it deftly. She twisted the girl's wrist around, applied pressure, and pulled up her knee. With her foot jammed firmly just below her own butt, Vesta pushed up and over, throwing her body to one side and shoving the human off of herself.

It would have worked, had the man not interfered. Right as she was regaining her feet, she felt his iron leg sweep them out from under her. Her head connected with the wooden floor, making a hollow sound before a sudden and cold darkness overtook her.

Butler was beginning to have bad feelings about this mission. He was shocked, to say the least, when the sprite had shown up in Fowl Manor. And he was more shocked when he realized the he was beginning to doubt Artemis. He could keep pretending everything was okay, but the "What if" was still nagging at him. He pushed those thoughts aside, yet again.

"Pick her up," he commanded Juliet. When she complied, he twitched his head, indicating she should follow him. He proceeded into the room where Deidra was sleeping, and placed Huyen on the bed closest to the door. There was an empty bed between the two girls, but that wouldn't remain for long. Butler quickly handcuffed her leg to the bed post and turned from the room. He had noted that Deidra was pretending to sleep, but decided to let her remain conscious for the moment. He had other things to do.

Juliet followed him to the room containing the device known as the Memory Breaker, and tossed the girl onto the table. She strapped her down and attached a collar similar to Anya's. They both left the room and the girl . Juliet would go back to the Sister's room and re-sedate Deidra while Butler found Artemis and Anya. No doubt the boy would like to know about this recent development and would like nothing better than to gloat in Anya's face.

He ran into Artemis in the kitchen. Mulch was here as well, stuffing his gruesome face yet again with food from the refrigerator. "I've found an intruder, Sir. It was the newest sister's guardian. The one I fought at-"
"Her home, yes I know. You have attached her to the Memory Breaker?" Butler nodded. "Good. Let's go see what she knows." He began the short trek back to the room, Butler in tow.

Artemis set up his system and nodded to his companion. The manservant clicked on the device about the young fire spirit's neck and resumed his position behind Artemis. Though the sprite was out cold, she was wincing and yelping in her unconsciousness.

The monitor showed something that was amazing and completely unexpected. It showed a place that was all too familiar to the both of them. It was a city that held several people they knew, though these people would be more of acquaintances than friends. It was Haven, the last refuge for the elven type on the planet.

"Well, I do hope that our dear friend Captain Holly isn't the third guardian. I wouldn't want to have to kill her, especially not right after we were just beginning to get along," Artemis stated emotionlessly. Butler glanced at him briefly, but decided not to fret over it. When his employer had finished, he detached the girl from the machine and carried her from the room. His orders were to take her to where Anya was and leave her so the two could "get along," as Artemis put it.

Butler slid open the building's door and stepped in. He had left Anya in his personal training area, the dojo that the Fowl's had allowed to build for their bodyguards' work-outs. She sat, huddled and shivering (though it was a moderately hot day in midsummer) on the hard floor. He dropped the newer sprite down next to her, and then squatted down so his face was eye-level with Anya's. Tipping her head back with his hand, the bulky man gazed into her eyes.

"What does it mean, the insanity in him? Will it really take over? I sincerely hope that he's okay, because I could never raise a hand against him. He's my charge, my employer, and my friend. I couldn't hurt him." Butler's voice sounded weak, even to him. What was he doing? The naiad certainly wasn't going to answer his questions. Her mind was gone!

He stood with a heavy heart and turned to leave. "His insanity…it's part of the circle. Every time the generations are restarted, another like him will be born." He swiveled around. Anya's face was not turned toward him, but he could see her mouth move, and heard the words coming from them. " He will die, as will my sisters and I. Even you might die. But one of us will always remain."

"Who?" he asked, his voice tense.

"The Mercenary," was the weak reply. Butler fled the dojo quickly, leaving the two girls together.

Anya looked over to the young fire sprite next to her. She seemed unharmed, but one could never be sure. Anya nudged her, trying to wake up the girl. Though she moaned several times, she refused to be awoken.

"You cannot stay like this forever, young one. I know they used that device on you as well, but it cannot destroy your mind, just as it couldn't obliterate mine. Wake up, child." She lightly tapped her face. The whites of the others eyes vanished and were replaced by a violent shade of green. "Ah, there you are. Come now, wake up. We have much planning to do, you and I."

"Who-who are you? Where am I?" her voice was slow, her words slurred.

"I am Anya, water naiad, and Guardian of the Silent Reaper. We are at the human boy's house, Artemis I think it was. Can you stand? No? Don't worry about that then, just try to sit up." She supported the youthful girl as she rose to a sitting position. "Now, who are you?"

"I am Vesta Marcellus. I too am a Guardian. My charge is- oh no! They have her!" She struggled to her feet, but toppled over as a brief nausea overcame her. "I have to reach Huyen. They'll go after the Betraying Angel next, and we have to stop them!"

"I know, child, I know. We will. But you must relax for now, Vesta. We will have our chance to help them. We always do."

"What?" she asked incredulously.

Any a breathed out slowly once, and then told her. "My mother visits mein my dreams. She was a Guardian before, and the only to never have been killed. I'm not sure why, but the Mercenary left her alive. Oh, yes, the Mercenary is am immortal boy. He destroys us guardians every time we fail our job. We have yet to find another way.
"But we will have our chance, don't you worry about that. And we will fail, as we always do. You and I, at least. I have seen the other Guardian. If you thought yourself to be a fighter, the only word that fully explains her is murderer. Adamina Brandt, that's her name. She was raised to be brutal. She's an Earthen fairy who dwells in Haven. Unlike us, she has the power to destroy the sister she was ordered to."

"But how do you know that?" Vesta questioned.

"I have seen it. Adamina hunts down the Angel when she can find free time from her home. Not many others pay attention to her, except one. A fairy by the name of Captain Holly Short. Miss Short is the friend and neighbor of Adamina, and has noticed an increase in her absences. She will hunt down her friend and find out what is wrong."

Vesta broke into a broad grin. "That's great! She can stop that elf from killing an innocent human." She stopped short as she peered at Anya.

"You don't understand. We have to help her. We're going to help her kill the Sisters of Doom."

Huyen stumbled backward from him, eyes wide in horror. "I can't be the end of this world! Everything I do is for the better! My only goal is to help this planet, not destroy it! I would never do what you say! You lie!"

The Mercenary's dark eyes followed her from the folds of his clothing. "You think I know nothing? I have been alive from the beginning, since the real Sisters were first born. I have watched you three grow into young women again and again." His voice was low. He was moving closer to her, taking his time in doing so, and she attempted to back away. Her body refused to respond. "I have tried countless times to find different ways of ending the circle. Nothing works. I even attempted to end my own life, but I stand still to this day. And…" he hesitated, his hand reaching out to touch her. His cold fingernails brushed up on her skin, tracing a light line across her cheek. "I have fallen in love with you every time. But I must do as the old power commands. I have killed you thousands of times. And I will continue to." He pulled back suddenly, as if a snake had appeared and bared its teeth at him.

"I…I'm sorry. I did not mean to be the cause of so much hurt. But maybe, together, we can find an end to this curse." She grasped his hand between her small palms and gave it a tight squeeze. She didn't expect him to turn and give her a light kiss on the cheek. His lips were soft, like the feathers of a dove.

"I can not be pulled into this again, I am sorry. We have tried countless times, you and I, to end it. But not again. Not ever again. Good-bye my dear White Bringer. When we meet again, it will be the end of you for this time era."

Huyen felt a tear trickle down her face as he turned and walked away. His body faded to black, vanishing from the realm in which she momentarily resided. The kiss had allowed her into his mind. He lied to her, though it was more of him trying to convince himself that he was over her. His mind was a puzzle, the pieces strewn all about and disordered. But one thing was for sure: he loved her, and didn't want to hurt her.

But he would, because it was what he had to do. It was in his nature. "I can't be the end of this world. And I won't be," she called softly into the barren land. "I refuse to be the end of this world!"

Author's Note

Ok. So, that's done now. How'd I do? Guess what? One more chapter to go! And then we move onto The Bracelet of Mentality. For those who might be wondering, Huyen means black or jet black, and Dur means strong or persevering. Also, Vesta is 'guardian of sacred fire", and Marcellus is Mars, the God of War. It can also mean warlike.

Oh, hey, I graduated junior high this week! Woo! Onto high school for me! Thanks again to Heather for being my beta. And no, I haven't started on the next chapter yet. But you can't threaten me with a closet now! Ha ha ha ha ha!

Well, reviews are greatly appreciated to those who do! Thanks!
Finelley