[Hugo Prosperio]

Here is the latest chapter, one I am very proud of. Loosing your power for three days allows you to think things through. I think it paid off. Enjoy (and catch the Artemis Fowl references, if you have read those entertaining books)

Chapter Nine: Daggers and Black Vipers

Siri Oubotoni sat in her flat inside the colony, grooming herself in a mirror. She smiled as she admired her beauty. ?No one is more beautiful than you? she said, pretending the mirror was speaking to her. As she brushed her short pink hair a knock came on the door. ?D?Arvit!? she swore. ?Who is it?? No response came, and Siri concluded that she had been hearing things?until the knock came again.

She stood up and walked over to the door, draping a robe around her body. She opened the door and gasped when before her stood Jadaris Pevnock, and the two human girls who she had left behind when she had invaded the Pevnock summer home.

?Jadaris? she said?still searching for words.

?Yes, Siri. May we come in?? said Jadaris in a uncharacteristically dark voice.

Siri shook her head and ushered the three girls into the room. Her eyes grew wide when she saw the wings on the back of the two girls she had assumed were humans.

?You two? she said, ?You were fairies all the long??

A quick glance from Jadaris told both Caitlin and Jenna not to deny the statement. They nodded, which caused a visible shiver to run down Siri?s body.

?But Siri?the girl you took?? Jadaris said ?wasn?t a fairy, she was a human?a human with a soul.?

For the first time since their arrival Siri laughed. ?A soul. You can?t be serious. They are meaningless creatures meandering about their lives never knowing the wonders around them. Souls??

?They do, believe it or not, and that girl had a family, friends, a life?and you stripped it all away, for what? So you could look good in the eyes of the Magistrate?no I don?t think so. You did it to discredit me, didn?t you?? Jadaris asked, a chill still in her voice, a chill that made even Caitlin and Jenna shudder.

?Of course I did! In school, who was always the better student? Jadaris Pevnock. I worked hard to get my powers, my abilities, and you?you just waltzed right in and mastered the art of Pixie Dust, something most fairies will never do in their lives. No effort, just?talent. You faulted it for the entire time we were in school together, and I when you left, I couldn?t wait to take your place as the proud daughter of the Colony.?

?Only? Jadaris said smirking ?That chance never came, did it. Not until the Magistrate came to you with her plan to discredit me...Well, I am here now, ready to be discredited?You can have the glory, Siri, just give me back my friend.?

?Sorry, no can do. You see, the Magistrate isn?t all that interested in discrediting you for my sake?no?she wants to do it for the entire colony to see. She is going to kill your little human, and you, my dear girl, will get the blame?throw in prison for trying to start a war with the humans.?

Caitlin and Jenna felt the blood rush from their face hearing this. Beth was going to be killed, and Caitlin felt like dying herself. It was all her fault. She whimpered a bit, before Jadaris gave her another glance that told her to be quiet.

?Fond of the human were you?? Siri asked of the fairy-Caitlin. ?Well, I am sorry to say that she won?t survive the night, as with all humans who find their way into the hands of the Magistrate. She toys with them, uses them to continue her studies on human nature, and then disposes of them.?

Jadaris had heard quite enough of this, and reached into her bag?and from it she pulled a bottle of golden powder, that glowed, even in the well-lit room. She waved it front of Siri, whose eyes widened.

?You know what this is, don?t you, Siri Oubotoni?? she said waving the bottle in front of the frightened pixie. ?You know what it will do, don?t you??

?What do you want?? the pink haired fairy stuttered as she kept her eyes on the bottle of dust.

?You will help us retrieve our friend from the High Magistrate, or I will be forced to use this?highly experimental?dust on you.

Jenna leaned into Caitlin and whispered, ?What do you think it does?? To which Caitlin replied, ?Haven?t a clue??

Siri gulped. ?Yes. I will help you. Just?put that stuff away, please.?

-----

The cage loomed in the distance, held firmly by High Magistrate Mabia?s hand. Da?av watched with horror as she placed it on the table.

?What else have you to teach me, Tiny Human?? the fairy said, a smile wider than it should ever be. ?Any words of wisdom left to share.?

Beth couldn?t even fathom what was in the dark cage ahead of her?but she knew she didn?t like it. She looked up at the giant pixie and just sighed.

?No. Do what you will with me?? she said, giving in to her fate?however strange and unusual it may be.

?No, human, you don?t get out of this that easy.? Mabia said pushing Beth over with her finger and pinned her to the table with her index finger. ?I want to see how you deal with my friend in the cage?then, just maybe, we?ll let you expire.

Mabia removed her finger from Beth?s torso and walked over to the cage, and unlocked it. It creaked open with a hinge, and for a moment all Beth could see were eyes, two red, glowing slits in the darkness. The creature made a sickening noise and then moved slowly out of the cage?What she saw was beyond anything she had experienced so far, beyond being shrunk, beyond being tortured?before her sat a creature she never knew existed, but it stood before her. It stood on eight legs, and a thick bulky body like that of a spider, but it?s neck and head were that of a venomous snake, hissing and squealing in delight at it?s new plaything.

Mabia smiled, something she had been doing a lot of in the past few moments. ?Do you like it, my dear? I created him myself, a cross-breed between a black widow spider, and a viper. Illegal of course, but what the senate council doesn?t know won?t hurt them.? She said with a throaty laugh.

Beth stepped back, trying to slowly move away from the creature, which was flitting it?s snake-like tongue, awaiting it?s latest meal. As she moved backwards, she tripped over something, and she looked and saw the stick with the blade that Mabia had been using against her only moments ago. She picked it up, and for the first time since arriving in the colony, felt a surge of confidence. She waved the stick madly, causing the snakehead?s slits-for-eyes to follow.

?Come and get me, big boy? she said.

-----

Lorna Pevnock rapped on the door of one of her fellow senators. The door seemed taller than she remembered it, but, then again, Da?av?s magic hadn?t been strong enough to return her to her full height. The door opened to reveal a older woman, with sliver hair. ?Lorna?? she asked, not quite believing the sight before her eyes.

?Yes, Oolna. We have trouble?? Lorna said, catching her breath.

?What kind of trouble??

?the Mabia kind.? Lorna replied.

?Figures? The head of the Senate Council responded. ?Come in?and tell me everything.?

-----

Siri lead the girls down the hall, silently kicking herself. She should have known this would happen. The price she had to pay for a little bit of glory.

?Keep moving, sister? Caitlin said as they walked.

?What Colony are you two from, anyway? Siri asked, turning around.

?None of your business? Jadaris interjected as the hall branched off into several directions. ?Which way??

Siri looked?she had only been to the throne room once, and she knew it?s location changed once a week.

?I?m not sure? Siri said truthfully. ?You know the location changes??

?That?s true? Jadaris stated. ?But I am sure you can find it, if you know what?s good for you.?

Siri?s thoughts flitted to the small orb shaped bottle, and she deicided that it was best to do what Jadaris said.

?This way? she said, guessing as they walked down a branch. As they walked, the could see the center of the colony, the entire tree hollowed out, and fairies all around, doing various tasks. Caitlin and Jenna watched in amazement as hundreds of creatures flitted about their daily lives. It was truly a wonder to watch.

?D?Arvit? swore the pink haired Pixie. ?Wrong way.? She said, pointing at the door at the end of the hall which read ?Senate Council Chambers?

They left, not knowing that at that very moment, something very important was happening behind those very doors.

-----

?This session is in order? said Lady Oolna as she watched the ten other senators take their seats. ?This session was called by my dear friend, our fellow senator, Lorna Pevnock?

Lorna stood up from her seat, and the other senators all gasped at her height.

?I am here to report a major crime. A crime that has been in motion for ages, and yet we have never seen it.?

?The culprit? spoke the only male on the council.

?Yes, Senator Ioan, I was getting to that. The culprit is none other than our elected leader, Jesarai Mabia.?

This elicited a groan from most of the senators as they drank from their goblets of fine fairy wine.

?We?ve heard it before, Lorna?your Husband tried in vain to tell us, and all it got him was jail time and?? A younger female said.

Oolma interrupted??Look, Lorna has some serious accusations and I think we?d better hear them. We all knew that Mabia would be an unorthodox leader, but what I have been hearing, whispers and screams, as of late is that she is now guilty of treason to the fairy world.

?Oh, you mean like Lorna?s heathen daughter?? spat one of the senators. Lorna shot her a long gaze, but was stopped when Oolma started in again.

?Jadaris Pevnock is not the reason for this hearing. Now, let us focus. Lorna, please tell the council what Magistrate Mabia said to you.?

?That she was planning a war on the humans?that she wanted to destroy them!?

?Nonesense? said Ioan. ?Mabia is still a fairy and as such, she wouldn?t harm a fly, let a lone a human?:?

-----

The Creature hissed and scuttled about the table, trying to snatch up the naked little human. It could taste the blood from the wound Mabia had given Beth earlier by flicking it?s snake tongue in the air, and Beth could swear the creature smiled as it lunged for her. She blocked it?s lunge with the stick, but was knocked down.

?Ooof? she said as she hit the ground. Da?av gasped, and Mabia shot him a death stare that made him stay in his place. Beth hopped back up and swatted the creature in the face several times, making it back off.

?Oh, Beth you are only making it angry. My little Black Viper??

Beth interrupted ?Is that what you call it? Aren?t you just a pantheon of creativity??

?If you survive him, you shall pay for that.? Mabia snapped.

?I?m sure,? Beth said, keeping her focus on the eight legged animal scurrying towards her.

As she dodged several lunges from the snake head, the bark doors to the chamber flew open. A male guard bowed to Mabia and then spoke.

?Your Majesty?

?Not now!? the Magistrate hissed like her venomous creation. ?I?m busy.?

?But?? The guard stammered, not seeing Beth fighting the Black Viper.

Beth was full of tricks the creature had not seen before. She hopped around like a rabbit on drugs, avoiding all of it?s attacks, not only confusing it, but making it very angry.

?Your Majesty, It can?t wait!?

?It?s about to? she snarled, looking back to see Beth using the stick as a pole to fling herself in the air. She then caught the pole again mid-air and landed smoothly on the hairy back of the bulky creature.

?Gross? she mumbled as she rode around, the creature trying frantically to get her off.

?The Senate Council has called an emergency meeting. You are the subject matter? The guard blurted out, causing Mabia to turn.

?They what? How is this possible. I am to be informed of ever Senate hearing?Jadaris!? she snapped. ?The little witch is trying to take control out from under me before I can set my plan into motion.?

?Actually, it was Lorna Pevnock that called the meeting.? He gasped.

For a moment all that could be heard were the Black Viper?s high pitched squeals of annoyance as Mabia?s eyes turned to Da?av.

?Well?what have you to say for yourself, dolt?? she asked of the guard, who for once, smiled.

?the time has come for you to suffer for your actions. I?ve watched you torture and kill humans long enough. They?they are living beings; they have souls just like us. It?s over, Mabia. The Senate will vote to expel you from power, and there is nothing you can?? he was interrupted by a dagger, silver and gold, entering his torso at the hands of the purple haired pixie.

?That is enough from you? she said, pulling the blade from him, red blood spilling over his body. He dropped to the floor, quivering.

?NO!? Beth screamed. She had grown fond of the guard in her short time in custody, and she watched him quake on the floor, blood pooling around him.
Beth mustered all her strength and plunged the blade end of the torture stick into the skull of the creature. It didn?t penetrate.

?Son of a bitch, just die!? She screamed as she jumped off it?s back and ran in front of it. She closed her eyes, and simply waited. The hot breath of the Black Viper closed in, and she was surrounded by its mouth. It had taken her, whole.

Outside, Mabia couldn?t help but smile as she watched her latest human play thing be devoured by the creature she designed using black magic.

She went over and rubbed her hand on the back of the hairy creature. ?Good Boy? she said, but the creature started to look sick. Something was wrong.

A moment later a loud ?SCHLICK? Noise occurred and she watched in horror as the silver blade she had fashioned to torture the human plunged between her creatures eyes?

The mouth of the viper dropped open, and Beth rolled out, covered in sticky saliva, but otherwise unharmed.

?Take that, you prehistoric bitch!? she called up to the pixie glaring down at her, as the creature slumped down, dead on the table. She then added a raised right hand, middle finger extended.

Mabia had no time to react to the little one?s taunting, because at that very moment, the voice of Jadaris Pevnock rang through the chamber.

?I?ve come for the Human!?