Artemis Senior closed his laptop. He was pale and obviously exhausted, but the old determination shone brightly in his eyes.
‘The plan is a simple one. We must seek out not just a second opinion, but as many opinions as possible. Butler will take the jet and go to China. No time for official channels, so perhaps you could find a strip where immigration is a little lax.’
Butler nodded. ‘I know just the place. I can be there and back in two days, all going well.’
Artemis Senior was satisfied. ‘Good. The jet is fuelled and ready. I have already organized a full crew and an extra pilot.’
‘I just need to pack a few things, then I can be on my way.’
Artemis could imagine what kinds of things Butler would pack, especially if there were no officials at the airstrip.
‘What will you do, Father?’ he asked.
‘I am going to England,’ said Artemis Senior. ‘I can take the helicopter to London City Airport and from there a limousine to Harley Street. There are several specialists I can talk to, and it will be far more efficient to send
Artemis nodded. Wise tactics. Still, he would expect no less from the man who had successfully run a criminal empire for over two decades, and a humanitarian one for the past few years.
Everything Artemis Senior did now was ethical. From his fair-trade clothes company to his shares in Earthpower, a consortium of like-minded businessmen who were building everything from renewable-fuel cars to geothermal rods and solar panels. He’d even had the Fowl cars, jet and helicopter fitted with advanced emission filters to lighten the family’s carbon footprint.
‘I shall remain here,’ announced Artemis, without waiting to be told. ‘I can coordinate your efforts, set up a web cam so that the Harley Street specialists can see Mother, supervise Doctor Schalke and Miss Book, and also conduct my own Internet search for possible cures.’
Artemis Senior half smiled. ‘Exactly, son. I hadn’t thought of the web cam.’
Butler was anxious to depart, but he had a point to make before going. ‘I am not comfortable about leaving Artemis alone. A genius he may be, but he is still a habitual meddler and a magnet for trouble.’ The bodyguard winked at Artemis. ‘No offence, young sir, but you could turn a Sunday picnic into an international incident.’
Artemis accepted the accusation graciously. ‘None taken.’
‘That thought has occurred to me,’ said Artemis Senior, scratching his chin. ‘But there is nothing for it. The nanny has agreed to take the twins to her cottage in Howth for a couple of days, but Arty is needed here and so he will have to fend for himself.’
‘Which will not be a problem,’ said Artemis. ‘Have a little faith, please.’
Artemis Senior reached across the table, covering his son’s hand with his own. ‘Faith in each other is all we have now. We have to believe that saving your mother is possible. Do you believe it?’
Artemis noticed one of the upper windows swinging slowly ajar A leaf curled into the room, riding a swirling breeze, then the window seemed to close itself.
‘I absolutely believe it, Father. More with every minute.’
Holly did not reveal her self until Artemis Senior’s modified Sikorsky S-76C had lifted off from the rooftop heliport. Artemis was busy rigging a web cam at the foot of his mother’s bed when the elf shimmered into view with her hand on his shoulder.
‘Artemis, I am so sorry,’ she said softly.
‘Thanks for coming, Holly,’ said Artemis. ‘You got here quickly.’
‘I was above ground in Finland, chasing a kraken.’
‘Ah yes, Tennyson’s beast,’ said Artemis, closing his eyes, remembering a few lines from the famous poem.
‘Sleepeth? Not any more. Watch the news headlines later. There was a natural gas explosion apparently.’
‘I would guess that Foaly is up to his old spin-doctoring tricks.’
‘Yes.’
‘Not many kraken left now,’ commented Artemis. ‘Seven by my reckoning.’
‘Seven?’ said Holly, surprised. ‘We’re only tracking six.’
‘Ah yes, six. I meant six. New suit?’ he asked, changing the subject a little too quickly.
‘Three years more advanced than the last one,’ replied Holly, filing the kraken titbit for investigation at a later time. ‘It has auto-armour. If the sensors feel something big coming, the entire suit flexes to cushion the blow. It’s saved my life once today already.’
A message icon beeped in Holly’s helmet, and she took a moment to read the short text.
‘Number One is on the way. They’re sending the Section Eight shuttle. No way to contain this now, so whatever we need to do has to be done fast.’
‘Good. I need all the help I can get.’
Their conversation petered out as Angeline Fowl’s deathly illness completely occupied their thoughts. She radiated pallor and the smell of lilies hung yellow in the air.
Artemis fumbled with the web cam and it rolled under the bed.
‘Hellfire,’ he swore, kneeling to reach an arm into the dark space. ‘I can’t… I just can’t …’
And suddenly the enormity of the situation struck him hard.
‘What kind of son am I?’ he whispered. ‘A liar and a thief. All my mother has ever done was love me and try to protect me and now she may die.’
Holly helped Artemis to his feet. ‘You’re not that person any more, Artemis, and you love your mother, don’t you?’
Artemis huffed, embarrassed. ‘Yes. Of course.’
‘Then you are a good son. And your mother will see that as soon as I cure her.’
Holly clicked her neck and magical sparks leaped from her fingertips, spinning in an inverted cone.
‘No,’ blurted Artemis. ‘Wouldn’t it be wise to check the symptoms first?’
Holly closed her fist, smothering the sparks. Suspicious.
She took off her helmet and stepped close to Artemis, closer than he liked people to be, staring hard into his mismatched eyes. It was strange to see her own eye looking back at her.
‘Have you done something, Artemis?’
Artemis met her gaze steadily. It seemed that there was nothing in his eyes but sadness.
‘No. I am more cautious with my mother than I would be with myself, that is all.’
Holly’s suspicion was born of years of experience with Artemis and so she wondered why he would be reluctant to allow her to use magic now when it had never bothered him before. Perhaps he had already tried this route himself. Perhaps the time stream had not stripped him of his stolen magic, as he had claimed.
She clamped her hands to the side of Artemis’s head, then laid her forehead against his.
‘Stop this, Holly,’ objected Artemis. ‘We have no time.’
Holly did not answer, closing her eyes, concentrating. Artemis felt heat spread across his skull and the familiar buzz of magic. Holly was probing him. It lasted barely a second.
‘Nothing’ she said, releasing him. ‘Echoes of magic. But no power.’
Artemis stumbled backwards, dizzy.
‘I understand your suspicion, Holly. I have earned it repeatedly. Now would you please examine my mother?’
Holly realized that up to this point she had avoided doing anything more than take a cursory glance at
