Slipping through the various tunnels at the outskirts of Haven, Raven tried her very best not to wrinkle her nose in disgust. The fairies may have been the most technologically advanced race, but their home still smelled. It was better than it could have been, yes, but she still missed the clean air of the surface, polluted though it was.
It had been easy enough to get here. The chute from Paris was completely unmanned, although it was often closely watched. But the LEP watched it for visible shuttles; hers could shield. It had taken all of her father's creative genius and Foaly's technical know-how, but she now had a ship that vibrated faster than the eye could perceive, and at a different frequency than a fairy. She had one of the few filters that made the shuttle visible.
Not only was the shuttle invisible, but like so many fairy gadgets, it was silent, and emitted no radiation. Undetectable unless you knew exactly what you were looking for, and perhaps not even then.
She had left the shuttle, still shielded, amongst the refuse of the terminal, noting as she did the silent pod that would hold some LEP or other, clamped high on the wall. Whichever officer needed some time out of the public eye, Root had told her once. Considering how little activity seemed to have gone on here in the past twenty years, the notable exception being her mother's fire fight, they needn't have bothered.
They hadn't been doing a thermal scan, or she may have been caught. Her flight suit was the most advanced Foaly could make, with resistance to heat, cold, and almost every type of scanner. But sometimes the thermal coils took a moment to adjust, and in that crucial second she would have been seen. There was no fear of that here, though, deep in the tunnels. This was goblin territory.
Fingering the little Neutrino blaster that she'd been given on her seventh birthday, Raven eased herself around a corner. No sense getting caught unawares. She had to know what she was up against before she made her presence known, although it might be better to stay hidden as long as possible. The silver gun at her hip had a reassuring weight to it as it rested against her leg. She wished she could use that, but it was the sort of thing better kept in reserve. If it surprised anyone she came up against, even a little, it would swing the balance in her favour.
This next tunnel smelled particularly rank. Troll, she guessed. Big bull, about two thousand pounds. Even troll didn't make that stench, though. The night vision on her visor brought up a rotting mound. Troll, yes, but a smaller male. A fight, from the look of it, and lots of flesh and blood lost on both sides. She couldn't tell how long ago it had died, but she guessed it to be at least a week. Things didn't get that ugly that fast.
Fighting her rebellious stomach, she made her way carefully down the tunnel, past the carcass. She'd never been much of a meat eater, though the rest of the family had never seen much point in vegetarianism. She wouldn't have minded eating meat, really, but her body couldn't process it properly. It was one of the few downsides to being one of the People.
To counterbalance it, she was faster than any of the other girls at school, and stronger than almost any of them. And, she could shield. They never knew where she would turn up, smiling that innocent smile of hers, the one with the slightest touch of malice, ready to do whatever she felt like. They had long ago stopped talking about her behind her back, afraid she would overhear. After what she'd done to Olivia, it was a valid concern. The girl still hid behind trees whenever a hawk came by, though she had started eating foods other than nuts again. Dr Po was adamant that this was a major improvement.
She was lost in thought, no longer paying as much attention as she should have been. Still, she heard the dirt crunch slightly behind her. She spun, cursing her inattention. As an arm caught her and placed the dark muzzle of an ancient blaster to her head, the stopped cursing inwardly and started swearing as colourfully as she could. It sometimes surprised people just how eloquently she could swear. It came with the gift of tongues, which let her speak any language in the world. She was pretty sure her captor took a surprised breath at her outburst.
Whoever it was pressed the barrel a little harder to her skull, and ripped the blaster from her hand. She fell silent, and it was retracted just a hair. What she could see of it showed her it was an old gun, refitted a dozen times or more. The blast wasn't designed to kill, but it might have been modified. Even if it wasn't, she would be out for days, and probably loose a good chunk of memory and intelligence.
Her captor began to walk her through the tunnels, taking seemingly random tunnels. It was highly uncomfortable walking this way, with the blaster never more than a half inch from her head. It could have been worse, she reminded herself, as they took their fourteenth left turn. The fairy could have been shorter than her, in which case she would have had to walk stooped. Or they could have been trigger-happy.
From her own experience, Raven was sure the other person wasn't that happy either. Holding a gun, even as light of one as the fairy weapons were, was tiring, as was keeping up a menacing air. It was often surprising how much it took out of you.
According to the tiny clock in the corner of the visor, they'd been walking that way for about twenty minutes when she was stopped by a rough jerk at her neck. She couldn't help but make a slight choking sound as a forearm jerked up under her helmet, the bone digging painfully into her windpipe. "Watch it," she growled, unable to stop herself. If it weren't for the gun, he'd be dead by now. If only she had paid more attention!
"You aren't in any position to make demands," a voice growled back. Though her knowledge of fairy voices was very limited, she could tell her captor was male. The lighter, higher voice pointed to a lighter fairy of some sort, probably an elf, although he may have been a sprite. Certainly not a goblin or a dwarf. Not that the thought had ever crossed her mind. Those tended to be too short, as did gnomes.
"Open up," he yelled louder. She resisted the urge to wince as he shouted in her ear. The crack in the stone beside her opened, spilling out light. An angry looking elf peered out, his scared face drawn in suspicion. She was pushed past him into the room beyond, the door whispering softly as it closed behind her captor. She was shoved towards the fall wall. Stumbling, she tried to catch herself before she hit, and half succeeded, but still hit with enough force to drive the wind from her lungs.
Gasping, she turned, swearing as elegantly as she could while her world whirled around her. She made it half way around before falling to her knees. She'd been thrown that hard by Butler before, and never felt this way. It must have been the pressure down here, or something.
"Why did you bring her here?" It wasn't the voice of her captor. It must have been the surly elf.
"She's prime meat. Look at her. She's got top of the line LEP equipment my friend. This is one of their shining stars. They'll give anything to get her back." So they thought she was LEP? How far wrong they were. She bit back a harsh laugh.
"Do you really think they'd let us go after they got her back, boy?" the scarred elf growled. Boy? She wasn't one to be captured by a mere boy. "They'll grab us and stuff us in Howler's Peak faster than you'd think possible."
"But..."
"They could," Raven said slowly, turning to face them. She could see the blaster pointed at her even as she did. "But they probably won't."
"Don't try to bargain with me, girl," the scarred elf warned.
This time she couldn't help but laugh harshly. This poor, poor fairy. He thought he was the tough guy on the block. He had no idea who he was dealing with. Right now, it was to her advantage to go along with them. If they got ideas, well, she still had her blaster, and she was dying to try it out.
"I'm not. I'm simply telling you the way things stand." He looked at her considering. Her helmet finally found a match for him. The LEP helmets were quicker, but they didn't have to hide their access to the data stream.
Oak Thon had been a member of Reacon One, the best and the brightest of the LEP. He had served under her father during what had become known as the Fowl Affair, and during the goblin rebellion. Known simply as 'Three' to most, he was a well recognised combat veteran. While his bio said he was missing, possibly dead, Raven now knew better. Thon was here in front of her, in the persona of a scarred and angry elf.
His companion, the boy, wasn't recognised by the database. Which was odd, because everyone had a file on that computer. Every fairy in the Lower Elements, and every person recognised by any international police or security force. She herself had no fewer than a dozen pages, small font. Her dad and Butler together might well have comprised half the data on the computer. This boy shouldn't exist, and certainly not in the Lower Elements.
That he might be an unidentified human didn't even cross her mind. A mudman would be killed quickly by the pressure, but he seemed to have no problems. At the same time, he could have passed for one easily enough. She doubted there was an inch difference in their heights. His skin was pale, but no more so than most European humans, and his hair a sort of light brown. Only his ears, slightly pointed, pointed to any connection to the People. Plus a few other things, like the blaster and his perfect Gnomish.
"You may be right," Thon said simply. "But then, you might be lying."
"Sir - ?" began the boy.
"Quiet. Take off your helmet, girl. And don't try anything." Raven shrugged. She wouldn't try anything, not without a good opening and a better reason; the blaster was still pointed at her chest. She slid the helmet off her head, blinking to help her eyes adjust to the dim light. The night-vision on the helmet was so good she hardly noticed it. She wasn't sure, but she thought she saw the scarred face tighten, perhaps in thought. She didn't bother looking at the boy, but her sharp ears kept careful track of his position.
She smiled wryly up at the weathered face. "Another throwback. Funny how they turn up, isn't it?" She directed a certain cutting edge at the boy. She didn't know he was nor why she disliked him so, but it felt good to send cruel comments his way, even if he didn't understand them. "Now do you believe I'm not LEP?"
"Not quite yet. What's your name?"
Of course. He knew who she was, of that she had no doubt. His file said he'd been gone just over six years. He would certainly have seen her file; she'd had it since she was seven. The question was, did he know her real name, or just her mudman one? "An interesting question. Why don't you tell me?"
"You are Artemis Fowl the third. Quite probably as much of a bane to the People as your accursed father."
"Am I, indeed? Well, sir, let me ask you this then: why am I still alive?" He started to retort angrily, something about him asking the questions, she was sure, but paused. He seemed to think for a moment, putting things together.
"Who are you?" he demanded. Like so many of the People would be, she was sure, he seemed shaken. She could understand that. It was hard to have your perceptions of a person so forcefully changed by things which you could not deny or explain away.
She cocked her head slightly, as was her habit. Every teacher at Saint Agnes's had tried in vain to cure her of it. A ghost of something like a smile played around her face. Not a kindly smile, but a cruel, sarcastic one. "No one you need be concerned with. Please tell your young idiot to put his gun away. I'm not likely to try anything with one on me, so two are unnecessary." His head jerked involuntary to where the boy had levelled a blaster at Raven.
"Put that up, boy," he snapped. He did, though reluctantly. "Could you tell me your name, please?" he asked his captive with forced patience.
She considered a moment. There were many answers she could give, most of which gave away more than she could afford to. "They call me Raven," she said at length. He seemed to relax at hearing a name that, while it was doubtless uncommon for any earthbound fairy to be named for a bird, was at least passable as something one of the People would name their child. "Though that should do nothing to reassure you."
I didn't want to finish the chapter here, but it was getting too long, and I wanted to get it posted. So here it is, and I'll hopefully have more of the story before too much longer. Thanks to all of you who reviewed.