Harry Potter and Artemis Fowl: Evil Awakens Chapter Eight
Disclaimer: I don't own Artemis Fowl or Harry Potter, blah blah blah.
For Beckett and Myles age, I got confused on how old they should be now, but I think it would be eleven. If I'm wrong, please correct me.
Also, sorry it's taken so long to update. Here are my lists of excuses: I was sick, the dishes needed doing (no matter how much I do them, they just keep reappearing), I was updating other short stories in my collection, and I started reading Keys to the Kingdom Series and have fallen in love with the series again. Yippee.
Now we get to find out what Holly's surprise is! I used to wonder why they didn't just make one in Haven, so everyone didn't have to the surface once a month or so. Can you guess what the surprise is?
Holly gasped at what she seen before her.
There was a pile of white rocks, about six feet tall, with water trickling down them into a small man made river that curved around and was about twenty feet long. The end of the river fed into a small pond, with flowers planted around the edge. In the curve of the river, was an oak tree.
"I made you your own spot to perform the Ritual," said Artemis, smiling at her.
"Artemis," said Holly, in awe that her future husband had actually made a river and got an oak tree put in.
"Now, you don't have to fly off somewhere away when you want to top up," said Artemis. "Since it says in the Fairy Book, the Ritual must be performed at an oak tree in the bend of a river."
Holly went to the oak tree and took an acorn off a low hanging branch. She performed the Ritual right then and there, and her magic replenished, sparks dancing around her and steam coming from her pores as it purged impurities from her body.
"Well, it works," said Artemis.
"Oh, Artemis, thank you!" said Holly reaching for him. Artemis bent over a bit so she could fling her arms around his neck and he lifted her up and they kissed.
"I figured it'd make it things easier for you," said Artemis, setting her back down.
The bottom and sides of the river and pond were lined with white stones and the water fed into the pond which had a drain in the middle.
"The water feeds into the pond," explained Artemis. "And it goes down the drain so the pond doesn't overflow and goes into a filter under the ground and back into the little waterfall, so the water is kept clean."
"It's beautiful," said Holly, dabbling the tips of her fingers into the water.
There was even a little stone bench on the other side of the river, opposite the oak tree. They sat on it.
"Now you can replenish here too," said Holly. "Much easier, especially when we do the fairy marriage."
"I put a camera there," said Artemis, pointing at the pile of rocks. "Butler insisted, just in case something ever happens."
"Have you practiced your magic?" asked Holly.
"Not since I healed that scrape James had," replied Artemis.
"His booboo," grinned Holly.
Artemis laughed. "I need to practice."
"You could practice mesmerizing," said Holly. "Ask someone to be your guinea pig."
They went inside. Beckett and Myles were in the living room. Harry was sitting on the couch with James in his lap.
"Toy Tory," said James, pointing at the TV.
"Let Myles finish watching his show," said Harry. "It's almost over.
There was some kind show talking about Astrophysics. Myles was watching raptly, no doubt sucking up every bit of info he could into his brain. Beckett was playing his Nintendo 3DS. Artemis could hear Pokémon music playing.
"Myles, can't you ever watch something normal?" asked Beckett.
"This is normal," muttered Myles.
Myles and Beckett were homeschooled. After remembering how much Artemis hated going to St. Bartleby's, Angeline had opted to have the twin's homeschooled, so they could learn at their own pace, since regular school would be boring. They went to a couple of groups each week in town, for gifted kids, so they would have socialization, and not grow up without friends, like Artemis. Myles was already at a high school level, while Beckett was currently at an eighth grade level, not being quite as nerdy as his brother. He was smart, but he didn't spend as much time in the pursuit of knowledge like Myles did. Even when they weren't doing schoolwork, Myles liked to find educational things to watch on TV or would go tinker with his experiments.
"I need someone to practice my mesmer on," said Artemis. "Any takers?"
"Harry's got a strong brain, try him," said Holly.
"No thank you," said Harry. "Do it on James, so he'll pick up his toys."
"Come on," said Artemis. "You got a tough brain."
Harry sighed and set James on the floor who ran to the basket of toys in the corner and began pulling toys out, adding them to the ones already on the floor. "All right, don't make me do anything embarrassing."
Harry and Artemis locked eyes. Artemis began to speak, layering on the mesmer.
"Harry, say that you love My Little Pony."
Holly snorted quietly.
Harry, mesmerized, thought how nice Artemis's voice sounded.
"I love My Little Pony," he told Artemis, although something in the back of his said he did not like My Little Pony.
Beckett and Myles giggled slightly.
"Get up and walk around the couch once and sit back down," said Artemis.
Harry walked around the couch once and then sat down.
"Now, say the Itsy Bitsy Spider rhyme."
His voice is like bells, Harry thought. I should do the rhyme.
Harry said the rhyme, while Holly snorted some more.
"Now get up and do the chicken dance."
Holly clapped a hand over her mouth, to stop from busting out in laughter.
I should do the chicken dance like he says, Harry thought. No, that would be stupid.
Harry stood up and started too, but he paused.
"Do the chicken dance," Artemis told him, layering it on more thickly.
Harry started to again, but suddenly he blurted out, "You said nothing embarrassing!"
Harry had broken the mesmer.
"Ah, sorry, but I just had to try," said Artemis, while Harry glared at him.
"Harry is too strong for the mesmer to last really," said Holly.
"Try me!" said Beckett, jumping up.
A minute later, Artemis had Beckett doing the chicken dance and then made him run around the room mooing. Myles rolled around the floor laughing.
Artemis broke the mesmer off. "All right, enough of making people do embarrassing stuff."
Seattle, Washington
Mulch was in his recliner in his apartment, watching Peter Pan.
He was laughing, watching Tinker Bell flit across the screen in her too short green dress. "I can't believe Mud Men think that's how fairies look!" He was laughing so hard, he almost choked on his burrito.
The doorbell rang. Mulch paused the TV and went to go look out the peephole set at his level. All he could see was someone's jean clad knees. Really, why did he bother having the peephole at his level?
Thinking it was the pizza man, Mulch opened the door.
A woman with bright red hair and amber eyes was standing there.
"Mulch Diggums," she said.
"Wrong apartment," said Mulch, trying to shut the door. She didn't have a pizza box in her hands, so he didn't want to talk to her.
The woman put her hand on the door and forced it back open again.
"I know who you are," she said.
"I'm Matt Digger," said Mulch. "You got the wrong apartment lady, now let go of my door."
Instead, the woman forced it open more. Apparently, she had a considerable amount of strength.
"What a stupid alias."
Mulch's beard hairs were curling.
Trust the beard hairs Mulch. His grandmother had always told him this.
The woman pushed the door open a little further and barged her way in.
"HEY!" yelled Mulch. "I'll call 911! You're breaking and entering!"
The woman slammed the door and bent down.
"And don't try to eat and swallow me," said the lady.
Mulch cast a look about, wondering how she knew about his abilities. She must be a witch or something. He needed to get out. She was in front of the door. Outside it was daylight and he would get sunburned. Plus, he was too high up to jump out. He'd be a dwarf pancake when he hit the ground. He wasn't dried out enough to use his pores to climb down. And there was no dirt to dig through.
Mulch did the next best thing.
"Please, don't hurt me!" he wailed, sucking in a gasp of air, and making his bottom lip tremble.
He took in another great shuddering gasp. If he could get enough air into him, he could blast the intruder with air from his bottom.
"Please, just take whatever you want!" Mulch gasped in, pretending to shiver in fear. "The TV, my wallet, my burritos! Just d-don't hurt me!"
The woman grabbed his beard and yanked him closer.
"Ow! OW! Watch it!"
"Stop trying to suck in air so you can fart, you disgusting creature!" snarled the woman. "I know your little tricks!"
Mulch stopped the sissy act. "What do you want then, lady?"
"The name is Uallach."
"What do you do you want then, Uallaaachhh?" Mulch made a sound at the end of her name, like he was coughing up a wad of phlegm.
Uallach tightened her grip and twisted his hairs a little more. "You're coming with me."
"I ain't going anywhere!"
Uallach opened her mouth and Mulch's eyes widened a bit when he saw four of her teeth grow into fangs. "I'd listen, Mulch, and I'd listen well, otherwise I might decide I need a snack." Her eyes looked a bit red now. She suddenly grabbed his wrist and clamped something on.
"What the heck?"
"If you try to dig underground, I electrocute you, got it!?"
Mulch nodded, wondering how to get the thing off. It looked like a steal bracelet. There was a small screw in the middle.
"And, in case you decided to try and escape, let me show you what else to expect."
Mulch, liberally coated in sun block, had to follow Uallach outside to a part of town where one would not normally want to be found at night. Mulch wanted nothing more than to dig under the ground and get away, but he knew Uallach would electrocute him.
They walked for a bit. The sun was setting slowly and it was getting darker. Mulch thought they must look like an odd couple. A short hairy man with a lady, beautiful enough to be in a fashion magazine. Uallach seemed to be looking for something, but he couldn't tell what. She cast her reddish eyes down to Mulch for a moment and patted her pocket, where she kept a little button. If she pushed it, Mulch would get zapped.
"Just reminding you," she told him.
Mulch scowled. "I'm not going anywhere."
A skinny, pasty faced guy was hanging out by the corner, smoking a cigarette. Uallach told Mulch to wait in the alley near the dumpster and not move.
Mulch did so, wondering what was going on. Was she going to rob the dude?
Uallach sauntered up to the man, coiling a piece of her red hair around her finger. Mulch could see she was talking to the guy, who seemed quite interested. Uallach gestured to him and the man followed her like a puppy down the alley.
Mulch felt very uncomfortable. What were they going to do? Screw each other? Mulch didn't want to watch that.
Once they were far enough in the alley, almost level with Mulch by the dumpster, Uallach suddenly turned to the man and raised her hands to the man's face as if to stroke it. Instead she grabbed his head and jerked it, snapping his neck. The man started to drop like a rag doll but Uallach held him up the shoulders and bit his neck.
Mulch watched in horror while Uallach drank his blood and then let the body drop.
Uallach wiped her mouth with a tissue and then flung it down on the man.
"Drugs," she told Mulch. "Makes the blood taste funny sometimes…"
She started to walk off. "Follow me."
Mulch did, stepping gingerly around the dead guy.
"That's what will happen to you if you disobey me," said Uallach, calmly, as if she hadn't just murdered someone in cold blood a few minutes ago.
Mulch wondered what the heck he had gotten himself into.
Fowl Mansion
Harry came back from a small job the Order sent him on. A wizard had tried to rob Gringotts at wand point the evening before, and then chickened out and ran away when the goblins refused to lead him down to the vaults. Harry had to leave in the night and spent a while tracking the guy down and finally caught him and transported him to the Ministry. He would be spending some time in prison.
"That guy was an idiot," said Harry, plopping on the couch next to Ginny and James.
"Daddeeee," cooed James, crawling into his father's lap.
"Who tries to rob Gringotts?" asked Ginny, shaking her head, trying not to laugh at the absurdity of it.
"That place is so secure, even Artemis couldn't rob it," said Harry.
"Any word on Conway?" asked Ginny.
"No," replied Harry. "People are on the lookout, but he's probably lying low, now that Uallach is dead."
Ginny shifted uncomfortably. "What if she's not dead?"
"What do you mean?" asked Harry.
"Wouldn't there be like a spell or something that could possibly revive her?" asked Ginny.
"No," said Harry. "If you get stabbed by a silver stake, or anything sharp and silver, that's it. I almost died, remember? Luckily, Holly found me."
"Yeah," said Ginny. "I don't know, it's just a funny feeling I have. Well, I'm glad your back. I hated that you got called out last night. I don't like sleeping by myself. I know you don't sleep, but at least I have someone to cuddle up to while you watch TV."
"TOY TORY!" shouted James suddenly.
"Again?" asked Harry, standing up and picking James up. "You already watched it yesterday. Let's go outside and play. We can get some fresh air."
"Toy Tory!" shrieked James, his lip quivering. He looked ready to throw a major wobbly, until Harry told him they could go look at the little mini stream Artemis had made for Holly.
Holly came out later. James had a little plastic boat that he was prodding with the stick, making it float in the pond.
"It's relaxing, isn't it?" asked Holly.
"Yeah, it is," said Harry and Ginny, sitting on the stone bench. They scooted over, so Holly could see it.
"Hollleeee!" shouted James, running up to Holly and climbing into her lap so he could tug her pointy ears.
"Ow, no," said Holly.
"James, be respectful," said Ginny. "Don't tug on people's ears-or hair." James had a handful of Holly's hair.
"I want to climb twee," said James, pointing at the oak tree. At the moment, with no warning, he upchucked all over Holly. It was milky from the special drink Ginny had given him earlier, and there chunks of carrots in it.
"Uggh," said Holly, holding James out at arm's length.
"Oh, gosh, I'm so sorry," said Ginny, grabbing James and pulling out a couple of tissues for Holly.
"It's okay, it's just, eww! What did he eat?" Holly tried to wipe it off, but it was clear she would need more than a couple of tissues.
Holly went in to take a shower, glad to get rid of the puke all over her.
She dressed in some casual clothes and went down to the kitchen, thinking to get some early lunch. Angeline had bought some kind of fake chicken for Holly.
Hermione was in there, rubbing her growing belly while she waited for noodles to boil on the stove.
"Hungry?" asked Holly.
"Yep," said Hermione. "I'm making some Mac and cheese."
Holly opened the shiny stainless steel freezer door. "Want to try some of that fake chicken stuff Angeline bought be?"
"Sure," said Hermione.
Holly removed the bag and looked it. Everyone knew that Holly was a vegetarian and wouldn't dream of letting a piece of real animal flesh go past her lips, so Angeline had stocked the fridge with tons of vegetarian options, and lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, beans, lentils, and anything else she knew Holly liked.
The chicken was made of tofu and all you had to do was microwave it. It was covered in hot sauce and the bag promised "Tastes like REAL Chicken!"
Holly put several pieces on a plate. They were covered in red sauce. After a couple of minutes, the microwave beeped.
Hermione was mixing sauce into the pot, having drained the water. "Would you go to the cellar and get a bottle of sparkling apple juice for me?"
"Sure." Holly went down to the cellar and turned the light on. A fridge against the wall had several bottles of it, in case there a fancy occasion, the kids could drink it, since they weren't old enough to drink alcohol. Holly opened it and took out a bottle.
A shot suddenly rang out. Holly felt something graze her arm. Whatever it was kept traveling and hit the bottles in the fridge, shattering several. Holly whipped around, sparks healing the graze on harm. Something was standing by a shelf in the cellar. She couldn't see what it was in the shadows. She darted up the stairs.
"HERMIONE! RUN!" she screamed out.
She could hear footsteps behind her. Hermione ran out, shouting for help. Holly turned in the middle of the kitchen as the person who shot her emerged.
"Mulch!" she said, wielding the apple cider bottle like a weapon.
Mulch stood there, holding the pistol out, his finger on the trigger. Had he gone insane? Why was he trying to kill her?
"Don't move," Mulch said, his voice shaking. His eyes looked fearful and desperate. He kept looking at her and then at his wrist. Holly noticed a steel bracelet around his wrist. Mulch caught her eye again and raised a bushy eyebrow, as if to say, "See?"
"Mulch, what is going on?"
Mulch put a finger to his ear. Holly could see a little wire going to his clothes.
"I know," he muttered, seemingly to himself. Holly realized someone was talking to him through an earpiece.
Mulch fired again, and missed, jerking the gun at the last second so the bullet merely hit the wall. Holly ran. She could hear footsteps thundering down the steps into the foyer.
Holly ran out of the kitchen and crashed into Harry.
"Go upstairs," he ordered her, pushing her toward the stairs.
"It's Mulch! Don't hurt him!" said Holly. She suddenly heard Mulch start screaming in the kitchen, as if he was in terrible pain.
Mulch was in terrible pain. Uallach, able to see everything through a small camera, had given him a good shock.
"I told you not to screw this up!" she shouted, angrily. She had planned everything. Butler and Juliet usually went to the gym in the morning and stayed until lunch. Harry and Holly went with them a lot. Occasionally Artemis did as well, although he didn't seem to be into working out as much. The others would be in the house. Sometimes Artemis parents left for town, as they had this morning. The others would be in the house usually.
Harry, Ginny, their baby, and Holly had gone outside for a bit, and then gone back in later. Uallach had been watching them by the little stream and had chuckled to herself, seeing Holly get puked on.
With Mulch, Uallach hoped they wouldn't be inclined to attack him so easily, since he was supposed to be a friend. He would get a few shots in, kill a few of them, and the remaining ones would be forced to kill their own friend. Then she would come in and take care of the rest of them. Let them die at the hand of a friend and in turn have to a kill a friend of their own. She couldn't wait to taste fairy blood.
She loved the idea.
Except now Mulch was screwing up. He missed Holly twice, only grazing her arm the first time, and she knew it Mulch couldn't be that bad of a shot, especially not when Mulch had Holly right in front of him in a well lit kitchen the second time.
"I warned you!" she screamed at him. "You mess this up, and you die an agonizing death!"
The electric shock stopped. Mulch lay gasping in the kitchen. He shakily grasped the gun and stood up. Harry came into the kitchen, warily, eyeing the gun. Mulch knew he couldn't kill Harry with a gun.
"SHOOT HIM IN THE HEAD!" Uallach was yelling. "It won't kill him, but it might knock him down for a bit so you can go shoot the others."
"Harry, I'm so sorry," said Mulch, a plan forming in his mind. He didn't know where Artemis was in the house, but if he could find him, maybe Artemis would be able to get the bracelet off somehow.
"Mulch, what-" Harry was hesitant to attack. Mulch was supposed to be a friend. Artemis said he had actually saved their butts quite a few times back before Opal had been killed. He flown shuttles for them, gotten them into places with his tunnel digging ability, got them out of the boot of a car they'd been locked in, helped rescue Artemis from the Spiro building, plus other things.
Mulch took careful aim and squeezed the trigger twice, closing his eyes.
Harry, hesitating, heard the gun fire too late and found himself on the floor. He realized he'd just been shot in the head two times. It hurt terribly. He couldn't see anything. He moaned feebly and tried to move, but he seemed a little paralyzed. The part of his brain that could still work realized what ever part controlled his motor movements, had been shot.
"Good job," crooned Uallach in his ear. "Now go find the others."
Mulch, shaking, stepped around Harry, who appeared to be trying to move and failing. He mumbled something incoherent.
"Sorry," whispered Mulch, barely audible.
"What was that?" asked Uallach.
"Nothing," said Mulch. "Tickle in my throat."
"Just get going," said Uallach.
Mulch entered into the foyer.
Holly had gotten everybody upstairs into Artemis's study and quickly told Artemis what was going on.
"Stay up here!" Holly shouted.
"Holly-wait!" shouted Artemis.
Hermione, Ginny, James and Ron were standing the room.
"Hermione, sit down," said Ron. "I don't want you to over exert yourself."
Artemis was on his cell, calling Butler in the gym, while he unlocked one of his desk drawers. He rattled a quick explanation and hung up.
He opened the drawer and pulled out a smaller version of Butlers Sig Sauer, custom made. Artemis wasn't about to let his fiancé run out into the house and fight by herself.
"Stay here, and lock the door," Artemis told Ron.
"I'm coming with you," said Ron, drawing his wand.
"No, stay here with the girls and James," said Artemis. "That way, if something happens, they'll have someone to protect them. I have a feeling Mulch isn't by himself."
He left the room. Ron tapped a few buttons on a pad by the door and the room was armed.
"I don't have my wand," said Hermione, reaching in her pockets.
"Me neither," said Ginny, clutching James.
"Don't worry, we'll be okay," said Ron, going to the window. He could see the gym, the door hanging open. Butler and Juliet had already left. He thought he seen something flash in the trees and squinted, but he didn't see anything else.
In the hall, Holly had managed to suit up and arm herself in under a minute. She had a pair of wings and was shielded as she crept into the hallway.
She seen Artemis, with his gun that he had been practicing with, at Butlers insistence.
"Artemis!" she hissed. "Get back in the study!"
"I'm not letting my future wife fight by herself!" Artemis hissed back, looking at the shimmer she made. "You get in the study! Butler and Juliet are coming, we'll deal with this."
"I'm not going to run and hide while you guys fight," Holly snarled in a whisper.
Mulch stepped into the hall, holding the gun.
"Artemis," said Mulch, trying to sound menacing, mostly for Uallach's benefit.
"Mulch, what are you doing in my house, shooting?" asked Artemis, raising the Sig Sauer.
Mulch raised his eyebrows and looked at Artemis, right in the eye, and then he slowly shifted his gaze to the bracelet.
Artemis saw it too. Some kind of steel band. Mulch wasn't one to wear jewelry. He would steal it and sell it, but he wasn't one to wear it. Something wasn't right.
"What are you waiting for?" Uallach hissed. "Do it now, before I kill you myself!"
Mulch realized it was hopeless. Artemis had seen the bracelet, but Uallach wouldn't let Artemis come down and get it off. She'd shock him to death before Artemis could figure out what to do.
"Artemis, I'm sorry, Uallach is nearby and she going to kill everybody I don't kill," Mulch babbled out quickly. "I can't do this. Get out before-AAAARRGH!"
Uallach, fuming, raised up the electricity and pushed the button. Electricity coursed through Mulch's body. He screamed as his muscles tensed in pain. Holly shot forward, wanting to do something for him. Mulch's finger had been on the trigger and when he tensed up, his finger pulled it.
"HOLLY!" shouted Artemis, running forward.
The bullet hit Holly and she lost control of the wings. Her suit crackled and she unshielded, her magic going to the wound. She flipped in midair, hit her head on the stair railing and fell flat on her face on the floor, blood spilling out from under her body.
"HOLLY!" shrieked Artemis. Mulch was writhing and shrieking on the floor. The front door banged open and Butler came in, gun drawn. Juliet was behind him.
"Butler, wait!" said Artemis, running down the stairs. He rushed to Holly sides.
"The bracelet!" Mulch managed to shout. Butler knelt down next to him. Mulch had dropped the gun and Butler kicked it away.
"Holly!" Artemis flipped Holly over. The bullet had only hit her shoulder, nothing vital. He took her helmet off.
"It's healing," Holly managed to get out, her eyes shutting. "I'll be fine."
Harry suddenly stumbled into the foyer, clumsily swiping at his head. There were a couple of clinks as bullets fell from the healing wounds in his head.
Uallach was mad. Time to finish the dumb dwarf off and take care of business herself. She upped the electricity.
Mulch, lying on the Tunisian rug, gave a final last shriek and lay still. Butler felt his pulse.
"Artemis, I think his heart stopped," said Butler.
Artemis ran to Mulch and dropped to his knees. He had to get the bracelet off first. He took a small pocket tool out and used a little screwdriver to undo the screw on the bracelet. A tiny little flap of steel lifted up, revealing a small circuit board with a few wires, thin as candy floss. Artemis cut the right wires and the bracelet unhooked, falling to the floor.
"Get him upstairs," said Artemis. "We can use the electric paddles to revive him."
Butler nodded and lifted Mulch up and ran upstairs with Juliet.
"He won't be alone," Harry slurred, sparks healing the bullet holes in his head. Artemis figured one of the bullets had hit the part of his brain that affected speech.
"Get upstairs," said Artemis, lifting Holly up. "Mulch said Uallach is around here."
"She-she's dead," said Harry, looking at Artemis, unsteadily.
He carried Holly upstairs to the study, Harry stumbling behind him. Butler fortunately, had managed to revive Mulch, who was busy now throwing up on the expensive carpet. The surveillance equipment Mulch had had on him lay crushed on the rug.
"Mulch, you sh-shot me in the head, you d-dumb –f-fuc-" Harry's brain was healing, but the brain is full of millions of neurons and cells and takes a little longer, considering the complexity of it.
Mulch was passed back out again.
"Harry!" squealed Ginny. James began to cry.
"Uallach is coming," Artemis said to Butler.
Juliet pulled another gun out of the desk drawer.
"I thought she was dead!" Ginny was saying frantically, trying to help Harry sit a chair. Harry let his claws out and was fumbling for the bronze ring on the chain around his neck.
Uallach, out in the woods, called Conway on her phone. "Ready to help me out? Or you still not healed properly, you worthless piece of crap?" She picked a leaf off of her designer jeans, pilfered from some store in America. She'd made Mulch dig his way into a mall and get them for her.
"I would have healed faster if you just hurried up and made me a vampire," Conway snarled into the phone.
"Just shut up and help me, and you get your wish," said Uallach. "I'm the fairy vampire mother, but you have to keep your end of the deal. Remember the plan."
Conway, on the other end of the property, shut his phone and rolled his eyes. Uallach and her plans. If she didn't have the ability to make him into a vampire, he'd have ditched her ages ago. He let his wings out and flew over the property to the house.
Uallach came running from the other side. She knew where Artemis's study window was. Some of the humans were probably in there. She'd seen someone looking out earlier.
She was pissed her plan hadn't worked. She'd electrocuted Mulch to death and seen through little camera attached to Mulch's collar that the man mountain was picking him up and taking him somewhere to revive him. Uallach hoped it hadn't worked, but she didn't know. She'd been looking at what the camera showed on her cell phone screen and a minute later she'd seen a hand reach for the screen and close around it and then the camera's connection was lost.
In the house, Harry was clumsily trying to cut his arm so he could put the bronze ring in and transform himself to heal faster. He only needed a small cut and ended up accidentally gashing his arm open.
"Shit!"
"Harry, hurry up and get that ring in before Uallach gets in," said Artemis.
"Sh-shut up."
Butler went to the window and looked out, gun ready. He twitched the curtains closed and a crack to look through in the side. Juliet was looking at the surveillance equipment on the computer.
"I don't see anything," she said. "Wait, something flashed by one of the cameras, but it was too fast and too close. And now, a camera has fallen to the ground and all I see are grass blades."
Uallach had jumped up to the second floor windows, passing a camera on her way up. She gripped the edge of the window ledge with her fingers and crept along the building. She knocked a camera off the side and kept going, jumping from window to window. She got to the study window and perched on the ledge.
Butler had moved away from the window. Juliet was covering the door. Harry had gotten the bronze ring in and the sparks were going faster, healing his head. He had a hand on Holly's arm, transferring some his magic to Holly to help her heal faster.
Butler seen the shadow outside the window; obviously human shaped. He fired just as Uallach broke through the window, showering the room with glass. The bullet hit her in the chest, making her yell angrily. Butler aimed for head as she flew toward him but Uallach knocked his hand aside and the bullet went awry, flying out the window instead.
Hermione, Ginny, and James were hiding under Artemis's desk. Harry flew toward Uallach just as she stood up and they both went clean out the window. They fell two stories and landed hard on the grass, Uallach underneath Harry.
"I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD, YOU BITCH!" snarled Harry slashing her face open.
"Someone took the stake out," Uallach lied smoothly, not wanting Harry to know it took more than a silver stake through the heart to kill a spell made vampire.
They fought, rolling and tumbling on the grass, lazy drops of blood flicking through the air as they fought. Uallach seemed to have sharpened her nails into points, so she could scratch. She pulled a silver stiletto dagger out of her Prada knee high boots. Harry and Uallach circled each other for a moment, looking for an opening.
Harry heard gunshots from the study, several in rapid succession and then he heard Ginny scream.
In the second he took to look up, panic blossoming in him, Uallach lunged and stabbed him in the stomach. Harry grunted, the silver making his claws go back in. The wound in his stomach started burning like fire. Uallach must have put some kind of poison on it.
Up in the study, Butler lay on the floor, having been shot in the shoulder. It burned worse than a normal bullet. He realized it was almost impossible to move. That wasn't right…it was only a shoulder shot. Juliet's arm had been grazed by one and she was having trouble moving. She was crawling across the floor to the desk where Conway was dragging Ginny out. Artemis was down the hall, having been flung there by Conway. Artemis had hit his head on the floor about halfway down and bounced like a ragdoll another ten feet. Butler frantically wanted to get to him, to see if he was okay, but he couldn't move. Ron, with a roar of rage, went for Conway, wand ready. He shouted a spell and Conway ducked and avoided it before letting his claws out and stabbing Ron in the side. He pushed him against the wall. Ron hit his head and fell down, unconscious. Hermione was screaming and holding onto Ginny's leg. Conway yanked Ginny away. He shoved James away who was clinging to his mother bawling.
Harry saw Conway jump out the window and flap down to them, holding a knife to her throat.
"You haven't killed him yet?" asked Conway. "I got the girl you said you wanted to drain first."
"Let her go!" shouted Harry, realizing he couldn't move very well. Whatever poison Uallach had on the blade was paralyzing him. Uallach yanked the blade up higher, ripping through flesh until it went into his heart. Harry gritted his teeth in agony. The silver in his heart started to make his skin go grey.
"Slit the girls throat first," said Uallach, dropping Harry on the ground. Harry couldn't raise his hands enough to take the knife out. He could barely move. "I want him to see his wife die before he dies."
"You and your theatrics-" Conway began.
BOOM!
A gunshot came from the window. Harry's eyes flicked up and he seen Hermione duck back behind the windowsill. The shot hit Conway right in the neck. He yelled and let go of Ginny who, quick as a flash, grabbed the knife and stabbed Conway in the eye with it. Another gunshot rang out, hitting Uallach along the side of the head, which did nothing more than annoy her and cause some flesh and hair to come off.
If only Hermione had been a better shot.
Uallach looked up at Hermione and Harry could think she was thinking of something mean, planning something cruel and cunning. She grabbed Conway and lifted him up and ran for the trees, disappearing.
Ginny ran to Harry and yanked the blade out.
Harry started to feel better, but couldn't move very well still.
"There was poison on it," said Harry. "Are you okay Ginny?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," said Ginny, tears spilling out.
"Pretty good what you did with the knife," said Harry, trying to smile. "Go check on the others."
"I don't want to leave you out here," said Ginny, helping Harry to get up. Harry could walk, slowly and clumsily, the poison making is legs feel almost asleep.
In the study, Ginny set Harry in a chair and ran for Hermione who was holding James. James was wailing and bawling his eyes out, but he was unhurt.
Hermione was okay, and Butler could move a little.
"Poison on the bullets too I guess," said Harry, wincing at the pain in his torso. Sparks were healing it.
"Ron was cut in the side," said Hermione. Holly lay still unconscious on the floor. Despite Harry helping to heal her, he hadn't been able to finish fully and she had lost a lot of blood. The wound appeared fully healed, but Holly's magic was probably gone.
Harry got up and stumbled over. He used his bronze ring for transformation and healed Ron's wound, then Butlers. Juliet had gone down the hall to check on Artemis.
"I'm getting old for this," Butler grumbled, getting up and heading out of the study.
"Where's Artemis?" asked Harry.
"Down the hall," answered Butler while Harry followed him, holding James to get him to stop crying.
Artemis was being brought back to conscious but Juliet, a process that involved poking and smacking his face. Whatever wounds Artemis had had, they had been healed by his fairy magic.
"Ugh, stop," mumbled Artemis, opening his eyes. Butler checked him for broken bones but of course there weren't any.
Holly finally awoke and she and Artemis went to the stream, accompanied by Juliet, just in case. Artemis declared nobody was to walk about the grounds unless they were with someone else, and preferably with either Butler or Juliet.
Once wounds were healed, Butler tried to fix the door to the study, but that was pretty much impossible. Conway had smashed through it, which seemed a bit odd, actually.
"This door is specially reinforced," said Artemis, squinting at it. "Maybe Harry could bust through it, being a vampire, but Conway is not a vampire."
They had no answer for this though, so Butler said he would tell Angela he tripped and fell into it. It was the best idea they could think of. When Artemis's parents came home with the twins, that was what Butler had told them, and she believed it, considering how big he was. Only Myles squinted and looked suspicious.
They had cleaned up any blood or broken items around the house. Artemis didn't want to tell his parents that a vampire had tried to kill them. Mulch was watching TV in the living room, convalescing from his near brush with death. Artemis parents went upstairs with the twins to pack. They were taking them to America to visit Washington D.C. One of their study groups in town was asking for a short paper on the Capital of America. Most kids would be using books and the internet to do their research but Myles and Beckett actually got to go. It helped having rich parents. Myles paper would probably end up being forty pages long.
Artemis questioned Mulch about everything that happened. He told them how Uallach got into his apartment and clamped the bracelet on him and then they took train across America and got onto Uallach's boat and sailed across the sea. There had only been Uallach, Conway, and some other guy who was on the ship and cooked and had medical training. Mulch was kept below decks, with the threat that if he tried to escape, he would get zapped to death.
"She told me I had to try and come in here," said Mulch, finishing off a monstrously huge roast beef sandwich. "And she said if I took the ear piece out or the camera on me off, she'd electrocute me. So I dug under the ground and came out in the wine cellar and Holly came down. Uallach said shoot to kill, but I made sure to miss.
"You grazed my arm!" said Holly.
"I didn't mean too!" said Mulch, looking guilty. "I was scared. Harry came in the kitchen so I shot him twice in the head, to knock him down-sorry Harry- and I figured if I could find Artemis, he'd figure out some way to get the thing off me, but then I figured it wouldn't matter, because Uallach would see that and give me the zap, so I just told you she was here."
"Thanks for shooting me and causing me to crack my head on the railing," said Holly, looking ready to punch Mulch.
"I was kind of being shocked," said Mulch. "I didn't even realize my finger had pulled the trigger."
"I thought she was dead," said Ron.
"We all did," said Harry.
Uallach sat in the cabin of her boat, healed up fine. Conway however had to be patched up by the doctor guy.
"There, we just have to wait for it to finish healing on its own," said the doctor, sitting down. He had been quite happy actually when Uallach had brought Conway back injured. It meant he had something to do, something useful, so hopefully Uallach wouldn't get hungry one night and set her sights on him.
"Hmph," grunted Uallach, looking at the doctors touch screen phone. She rather found the internet to be quite interesting.
"You need to stop playing games Uallach," said Conway from the bed, bandages covering his eye. "Quite the theatrics and just kill him. Stop plotting ways to set them upon each other, or trying to make one watch another die and all that crap. We could done better tonight but nooo, you wanted to-"
"Shut up!" snarled Uallach. "They are going to pay. That Hermione bitch, for what she did, I'm going to cut her baby out of stomach and kill it before her very eyes, right in front of her husband, if I can-"
"That's what I mean," snapped Conway. "Just slit Hermione's throat. Baby and mother die, end of story. But no, you want to do things to make them suffer and they're not just going to sit and take it. They fight back. Notice that so far you haven't succeeded in killing any of them."
"So?" asked Uallach. "I'm immortal. I have time. Now shut up, before I get hungry and decided to make you into a snack."
Yay, big chapter. So as for Holly's present, I was wondering why they didn't just make something like that in the books, like in the first one when Holly had no magic after the whole troll thing, and had to fly all the way to Ireland. Anyway, hope you liked this chapter.