Chapter Forty-One, Death by Shoe

If there was one thing Silyah had kept in mind since the beginning of the Games, it was the nightmare she had had… The fright of witnessing horrors, of injuring herself and of harming others had made her determination rise to a whole new level as soon as she had set a foot in the beautiful meadow that housed the Cornucopia. However, the thing was that she had never been determined to save herself.

Sure, she had always considered herself lucky to have a good life, but she had nothing, nor anyone to live for in particular. Her family would probably miss her if she died and perhaps a few people from her school would feel bad for her loss, but that was basically it.

Artemis, on the other hand, had everything. He had a loving family, a circle of dear and precious friends and most importantly, an opportunity to live his life in a place that seemed much better than Panem. He had way too much potential in him to let him give up on everything. Not to mention that Silyah had grown very close to the time traveling boy. In fact, the girl would have been ready to say that she had never trusted anyone as much in her entire life… Nevertheless, there was one thing Artemis had never got to know about Silyah; her ability to lie.

As a matter of fact, even though Silyah had left his sight, she had never left Artemis's side on the day during which they had decided to part ways. She had given the boy a head start and a reason to believe she had left him, but as soon as he had been far enough, with his back still turned away from her, she had begun to follow him. She had been there, hidden, invisible to the other tribute as he somehow managed to survive "on his own." She had been there when Artemis had nearly provoked a forest fire and she had been ready to extinguish its remains with the little water she carried. She had been the one who had fallen off a tree, accidentally startling Artemis the previous day and most importantly, she had always been ready to intervene was Artemis's life to be in danger.

Always except now…

When Artemis had left his camp in the morning, she had tried to follow him, but the dense fog – which could only have been created by the Gamemakers – had obscured her view of the Ice Prince when he had changed his course, only to mislead Silyah into the forest… And of course it was at this precise moment that Caskar had found him…

Through the cloudy film lurking around the woods, the only thing Silyah could rely on to find her ally was Caskar's voice, but by following it, she risked to die before saving Artemis.

Deciding to keep her worries for later, the District 3 girl focused on the sounds around her, trying as hard as she could to keep up with the others. At first it was difficult, Silyah's heartbeat being the only thing she could clearly hear, but then came a scream, which was cut short by the sound of metal slicing through thin flesh. Silyah's heart sank to the bottom of her chest as an intense rage began to boil through her veins, much like when she had thought she had witnessed Artemis's death by the icy river.

All the deceased tributes's faces flashed one by one through the girl's mind, Geneva's lingering there a little longer than the others'. Taking a deep breath, Silyah clenched her spear tightly. She could not exactly make out Caskar's outline through the fog, but she could not stand to be helpless any longer. Letting her fury get hold of her, Silyah stepped forward, swinging back the arm in which she held her weapon. Her shot would be as good as a shot in the dark, but she now had an opportunity in front of her. Trying not to make any noise, she flung her arm forward and let go of her spear.

For a moment, the girl felt numb and empty, devoid of humanity. She was so immobile that she could not even shake. Then, the moment vanished as a surprised gasp and a gush of wind filled the air.

The fog was blown away like a stage curtain, revealing the last spectacle of the Hunger Games to the Capitol audience.

Artemis Fowl was lying partly on the ground, partly against a massive fallen tree, blood slowly streaming down his throat as he fought to remain conscious.

Caskar Tristol had a spear piercing his body and a shocked expression on his face, but he was still standing up. Although gruesome, the District 3 girl's attack had not been lethal.

Silyah Natho was standing a few meters away from the pair, her fuming eyes locked in Caskar's as the wind blew her brown curls around her face.

"Killing me won't save him," breathed the Career, a faint sneer appearing on his features.

Letting go of a scream of rage, Silyah ran towards Caskar, bringing her hand to the boot in which her trusty knife was still concealed. Seeing that the distance between her and an imminent death was closing in, Silyah struggled hopelessly against the knife. It was stuck there! The girl gasped in pain as she tried to dislodge the blade from her shoe, taking in the deep scarlet cut in the palm of her right hand. Her gaze then went from her hand to the tribute who was getting closer and closer to her. Caskar was now at arm's reach. Feeling the panic rising inside of her, Silyah did the first thing she could think of. She took off her boot.

Never in a hundred years would Caskar have suspected to succumb to a death by shoe.

With a desperate strength brought to her by the adrenaline rushing through her system, Silyah bashed her boot on Caskar's head, making sure that the knife would puncture something. Not caring about the past, or the future, or her own humanity, Silyah fought until she was out of breath, creating a new gaping wound on Caskar's body with each hit.

Die! she though, surprising herself with a satisfactory smile when the Career fell to the ground.

It took exactly four seconds and then, a cannon rang to announce Caskar's passing or perhaps… Artemis's?

Oh my goodness! Artemis! Silyah did not even bother to retrieve her boot and ran straight towards the fallen tree near which Artemis was lying, as still as death. "Artemis! Can you hear me?"

The boy's head was still resting against the log, the bent angle of his neck widening his wound, making the dark stream of blood dripping from it flow faster than it should have. The scarlet liquid had already soaked the front of the boy's jacket. From his looks, it was clear that at this point, his magic had been rendered useless. Nevertheless, Artemis's eyes were still opened… Seemingly frozen and dead…

"Artemis!" Silyah crouched beside the boy, taking him in her arms; not even wanting to consider thinking about the fact that he might already be dead. The boy's blood had already started to saturate Silyah's shirt like a blooming red flower.

"Thank… goodness…" murmured the boy very faintly. "I thought… Caskar had… killed you… already…"

A chill crawled on the girl's skin as she took in the words. She had heard that before. The arena seemed to constantly plunge her back into her nightmare.

Artemis's dull eyes moved to find Silyah's. "Is… something… wrong?" he asked through shallow breaths. "We both… knew… it would… come down… to this."

Silyah's hands tensed. That last sentence had stung. "No, this was not supposed to happen." She should have kept Artemis in sight more carefully and attacked Caskar before he could have done him any harm. Then, she could have found a way to let him win.

The boy coughed, a small amount of blood escaping from his lips. "Silyah," he began.

"Shush…" requested the girl, clearly seeing that speaking was taking a lot out of Artemis. She wanted to reach into her pocket to fetch her first aid kid, but she was afraid to let go of him. To hell with the Hunger Games, she had to save Artemis! "We're going to find a solution and heal you…"

"Don't… bother… I'm already… dead…"

"You should have lived your life in the first place! You have to go live your life!" exclaimed the girl in Gnommish. "I can't let you go," she said, switching back to English. One of her shaky hands had started to dig through her back pocket while the other one still held Artemis's head. "Not yet."

"Silyah…" The boy coughed again, making his throat gurgle with the thick red liquid. "Whatever you are… trying to do… won't… help me…" He took a raspy breath. "And… you… have to… let me go."

"I can't," said the girl stubbornly as she gently set Artemis's head on her lap. She tore away a strip of her bed sheet and tried to bandage the boy's wound. "You have to live." She brushed away a few strands of hair away from his forehead. "You will be missed way more than me," she added.

Artemis gave her a weak smile. His blood was already drenching the improvised bandage. "I… am already lost… Silyah… accept it… and go on… with your life… I could never… have been part of it… anyway…"

Silyah rolled her eyes. "I don't care about myself." The girl was getting frantic. Was Artemis really willing to let the whole universe fall in paradoxes? "Besides, I worked too hard on your case to let you die," she frowned.

"I know…" replied Artemis. It clearly took him a lot of effort to keep the conversation going. "I… saw you…"

Silyah smiled through her frown. "So, my hiding skills can't get past you?" She lightly shook her head, taking Artemis's hand between her fingers. The boy's skin was colder than how she remembered it to be.

The raven-haired boy smiled again… A strange smile; so hard to describe in all of its complexity… Slowly, his eyes closed and his hand began to feel limp in Silyah's.

"No! Don't you give up on me like that! This Game is not over!" Despite the mild anger she felt, she attempted to shake the boy as gently as she could. "Artemis." Silyah's throat tightened. "Artemis!" There had not been a cannon yet, so at least the girl knew he had not died. "You have to keep your eyes opened…"

"Why… do you… keep on clinging?" The boy's voice was so faint that it was barely audible. His lips had not even seemed to move.

"You're Artemis Fowl! You can't let yourself die; everybody here knew it!"

The teenager tried to laugh, but the sound quickly turned into a painful cough, which did not help his hemorrhage. "Seems… they were wrong…" he said, his eyes losing the last of their brightness as his eyelids were getting heavier. His irregular breathing was coming in strenuous gasps between his parted lips. Life was creeping out of his features.

Silyah could not feel Artemis's grip on her hand anymore and her own pulse was so high that she could not even check on the boy's. It's over, she thought, not wanting to admit it. "There must be a way…" she murmured.

Artemis's chest was painfully rising and lowering; the sun reflecting on the golden coin he wore around his neck every time he moved.

Silyah's eyes brightened.

"Please! If you really do exist and are still out there, tell me that there is something I can do to save Artemis!" She looked up to the sky, thankful that Artemis had partially taught her the precious language of the People.

Three minutes had passed. Three excruciatingly long minutes during which Artemis agonizingly held on to life as Silyah tried to do the best she could to help him. Which was not much, really. She had been holding the boy's head, cleaning the blood that had been drying on his chin, stroking his hair every now and then… She had also tried to give him reasons to stay alive instead of her, but most of them seemed pointless to the half comatose boy and were mostly meant to ease Silyah's conscience.

"I became a murderer for you, Fowl. If I had planned to let you die, I would have never killed Caskar." The girl's gaze had traveled from Artemis's exhausted face to the remains of her kill, not exactly because she had wanted to, but because a morbid curiosity had taken hold of her.

As quickly as possible, the girl shut her eyes, wanting to erase the past day from her memory, especially now that she had seen her victim. The flesh on his face was nearly turned inside out and the spear was still poking through his back. On a dark, yet humorous note, Silyah had gotten the opportunity to notice that Caskar had indeed owned a brain.

Suddenly, the tribute's attention was brought back to Artemis. The boy had been awfully quiet for the past seconds. A closer inspection would have revealed the lack of movement in his chest…

Once again giving in to the panic, Silyah tried to get a reaction from him. Anything, even one single blink would have relieved her at this point… Alas, there came absolutely nothing.

"Please!" she yelled at the sky. She bent over Artemis's chest, searching for a heartbeat… And it was then that something finally happened.

A distant noise had started to float around the arena, gradually getting louder as seconds ticked away.

Rising an eyebrow, Silyah looked around, her eyes going to the sponsor parachute descending from the sky. The golden piece of fabric fell on Artemis's chest without a sound. Silyah looked up to the sky again, sending an intrigued look to her audience. She picked up the odd-colored parachute, revealing a single piece of paper tied to its strings.

"From the earth thine power flows,

Given through courtesy, so thanks are owed.

Pluck though magick seed,

Where full moon, ancient oak and twisted water meet.

And bury it far from where it was found,

So return your gift into the ground."

The message had been signed with a simple "F" and was written in a detailed form of Gnommish, which gave Silyah a bit of a hard time to decipher. However, as soon as she understood the message, her attention went back to the boy lying on her lap.

"Artemis! I need you to open your eyes, please!" She squeezed his hand, hoping to get a reply from him. "Please, please, please."

The boy exhaled almost imperceptibly. "You're… squeezing… my hand…"

"Yes!" replied Silyah, kissing the boy's fingers. "Yes I am! Now, please tell me, would you happen to have a seed with you?"

Silyah did not even take the time to notice how strange her question had seemed. In fact, she had not even waited to get an answer. The girl dug her hand in every pocket of Artemis's outfit, desperately searching for a seed of some sort. She was sure Artemis had one at hand. He was always one step ahead of everyone!

"Left…" Some other lost words might have followed Artemis's simple and quiet statement, but that single word had been more than enough for the boy to be understood. Suddenly Silyah felt Artemis's feeble hand trying to reach in his left coat pocket.

The girl's pulse was resonating in her ears. She was so close to being able to save her ally! However, that also meant that she would soon have to build up enough courage to get rid of herself and let him win…

Shaking her newest thought away, the girl from 3 lead Artemis's hand in the pocket, already feeling the granular texture of earth inside of it. She closed Artemis's fingers around the small acorn the boy had once picked up. Since he had barely enough strength to keep his hold on the seed, Silyah made sure that it was secured in his palm, tightening her own fingers around his as she slid his hand out of his pocket. She then gave him a comforting smile. He was going to live!

What did the poem say again? Bury! Artemis had to bury the seed.

Silyah dug a small hole in the ground and, still guiding his hand, she made Artemis bury the acorn.

Nothing happened for a heartbeat, perhaps two… Suddenly, Artemis felt the magic rush up his arm, like a jolt of electricity running through one of Ilranor's creations. The boy's body violently jerked back a couple of times before settling back into Silyah's arms. Slowly, Artemis opened his mismatching eyes, life now clearly shining through his irises.

Silyah smiled, her hands framing Artemis's face as their eyes met. It was not too long before the gap between the two of teenagers disappeared, their lips crashing against the other's.

Taken aback, the girl was unsure of how to react. On one hand, they both tasted of the metallic flavor of blood, but both of them also felt electrified as brilliant sparks of magic flew around them. Overwhelmed with the recent circumstances the pair held their embrace, oblivious to the rest of the world as they took the time to enjoy the warm, flutter-like feeling they experienced.

There was no doubt about it anymore; Artemis Fowl could not have been more alive.

A bit too soon for Silyah, Artemis moved away, but only far enough as to be able to speak. "Don't forget me."

Silyah was about to ask him what he was speaking about, but the only thing she had the time to do was to catch a last glimpse of his smile and of his mismatching eyes…

In a flash of blue and crimson sparks, Artemis's body vanished.

Just like that.

The only things left of him were his arena clothes and the belongings he had found throughout the Games.

Of course, during that precise moment, Artemis's disappearance had not been the only thing that had occurred. In fact, a series of events had happened spontaneously, like a chain reaction leading up to an explosion…

First of all, every television in Panem was shut down. Subsequently, the spell binding Artemis in the future was dissolved… Back in the Gamemakers' room, Opal Koboi had then disappeared, leaving no memories of herself in anyone but Silyah's mind. Finally, the televisions of Panem started working again, revealing Silyah. Alone.

As the girl got to her feet, she felt a certain weight being lifted off her shoulders, but she also felt something strange… A tingle of heat at the base of her skull, a flow of energy whispering memories into her…

Her hands violently shook when she heard the last cannon of the Games being fired. As Claudius Templesmith's voice began to be heard, Silyah looked up, seeing a hovercraft approaching in the sky.

"Ladies and gentlemen, may I present the winner of the 80th Annual Hunger Games!"