father had it specially modified. There’s air-conditioning, a stay-cool light, soft suspension, and even drinking water.”
“Is it secure? Remember, our captives already broke into the manor.”
Butler closed the trunk. “Titanium lock, reinforced trunk door. No way out whatsoever. Those two are staying in there until we let them out.”
“Excellent,” said Artemis, sliding into the Bentley’s rear seat. “Just give me a moment to do this one little thing, then let’s forget about them and concentrate on the lemur.”
“Excellent,” echoed Butler, and then under his breath, “Monkey business. My favorite.”
Rathdown Park
Even though Holly was ten pounds lighter than Artemis, she came to her senses before him. She was glad to be awake, as her dream had been terrible. While she was asleep, her knees and elbows struck the metal walls of the Bentley trunk, and she had imagined herself in an LEP submarine.
Holly lay huddled in the dark, swallowing and blinking to conquer the phobia. Her mother had been mortally injured in a metal box, and now she was inside one.
And it was thoughts of her mother that finally calmed Holly. She opened her eyes and explored the confined space with her vision and fingertips. It didn’t take long to find the bubble light set into the steel wall. She snapped it on to find Artemis stretched beside her, and the sloping metal sheeting of a trunk door curling down past his arm. Her own borrowed shoes rested on the shining curve of a wheel arch. They were inside a vehicle.
Artemis groaned, twitched, and opened his eyes.
“Sell the Phonetix shares,” he blurted, then remembered Butler and the darts. “Holly. Holly?”
Holly patted his leg. “It’s okay, Artemis,” she said in Gnommish, in case the car was bugged. “I’m here. Where else could I be?”
Artemis shifted onto his side, flicking back the dense black hair obscuring his features, and spoke in the fairy tongue.
“We received the same dosage of tranquilizer, and yet you, the lighter person, are awake first. Magic?”
The side of Holly’s face was thrown into deep shadow by the bubble light. “Yes. N o 1’s signature magic is powerful stuff.”
“Powerful enough to get us out of here?”
Holly spent a minute exploring the trunk’s surface, running her fingertips along each weld in the metal. Finally she shook her head, silver wig sparkling. “Not a weak spot I can find. Even the air-conditioning vent is completely flush. No way out.”
“Of course not,” said Artemis. “We’re inside the Bentley. The trunk is a steel box with a titanium lock.” He breathed the cool air deeply.“How can this have happened? Everything is different. Butler was supposed to have deposited the cage in my study. Instead he creeps in through the bedroom and sedates us both. Now we don’t know where we are, or indeed where the lemur is. Do they have it already?”
Holly pressed one ear to the trunk door. “I can tell you where we are.”
Outside, the sounds of snuffling and snoring animals drifted on the air.“We’re close to animals. A park, I would guess, or a zoo.”
“Rathdown Park,” exclaimed Artemis. “And that fact tells us they do not, in fact, have the lemur. The schedule and situation have changed.”
Holly was thoughtful. “We are not in control of this situation anymore, Artemis. Perhaps it’s time to admit defeat and return home, when your younger self brings us back to the manor. Perhaps you can discover a cure in the future.”
Artemis had been expecting this suggestion. “I considered that. The lemur is still our best option, and we are just a few feet away from it. Give me five minutes to get us out of here.”
Holly was understandably dubious. “Five minutes? Even the great Artemis Fowl might have trouble breaking out of a steel box in five minutes.”
Artemis closed his eyes and concentrated, trying to ignore his cramped surroundings and the sheaves of hair brushing his cheeks, and the itch
“Is it secure? Remember, our captives already broke into the manor.”
Butler closed the trunk. “Titanium lock, reinforced trunk door. No way out whatsoever. Those two are staying in there until we let them out.”
“Excellent,” said Artemis, sliding into the Bentley’s rear seat. “Just give me a moment to do this one little thing, then let’s forget about them and concentrate on the lemur.”
“Excellent,” echoed Butler, and then under his breath, “Monkey business. My favorite.”
Rathdown Park
Even though Holly was ten pounds lighter than Artemis, she came to her senses before him. She was glad to be awake, as her dream had been terrible. While she was asleep, her knees and elbows struck the metal walls of the Bentley trunk, and she had imagined herself in an LEP submarine.
Holly lay huddled in the dark, swallowing and blinking to conquer the phobia. Her mother had been mortally injured in a metal box, and now she was inside one.
And it was thoughts of her mother that finally calmed Holly. She opened her eyes and explored the confined space with her vision and fingertips. It didn’t take long to find the bubble light set into the steel wall. She snapped it on to find Artemis stretched beside her, and the sloping metal sheeting of a trunk door curling down past his arm. Her own borrowed shoes rested on the shining curve of a wheel arch. They were inside a vehicle.
Artemis groaned, twitched, and opened his eyes.
“Sell the Phonetix shares,” he blurted, then remembered Butler and the darts. “Holly. Holly?”
Holly patted his leg. “It’s okay, Artemis,” she said in Gnommish, in case the car was bugged. “I’m here. Where else could I be?”
Artemis shifted onto his side, flicking back the dense black hair obscuring his features, and spoke in the fairy tongue.
“We received the same dosage of tranquilizer, and yet you, the lighter person, are awake first. Magic?”
The side of Holly’s face was thrown into deep shadow by the bubble light. “Yes. N o 1’s signature magic is powerful stuff.”
“Powerful enough to get us out of here?”
Holly spent a minute exploring the trunk’s surface, running her fingertips along each weld in the metal. Finally she shook her head, silver wig sparkling. “Not a weak spot I can find. Even the air-conditioning vent is completely flush. No way out.”
“Of course not,” said Artemis. “We’re inside the Bentley. The trunk is a steel box with a titanium lock.” He breathed the cool air deeply.“How can this have happened? Everything is different. Butler was supposed to have deposited the cage in my study. Instead he creeps in through the bedroom and sedates us both. Now we don’t know where we are, or indeed where the lemur is. Do they have it already?”
Holly pressed one ear to the trunk door. “I can tell you where we are.”
Outside, the sounds of snuffling and snoring animals drifted on the air.“We’re close to animals. A park, I would guess, or a zoo.”
“Rathdown Park,” exclaimed Artemis. “And that fact tells us they do not, in fact, have the lemur. The schedule and situation have changed.”
Holly was thoughtful. “We are not in control of this situation anymore, Artemis. Perhaps it’s time to admit defeat and return home, when your younger self brings us back to the manor. Perhaps you can discover a cure in the future.”
Artemis had been expecting this suggestion. “I considered that. The lemur is still our best option, and we are just a few feet away from it. Give me five minutes to get us out of here.”
Holly was understandably dubious. “Five minutes? Even the great Artemis Fowl might have trouble breaking out of a steel box in five minutes.”
Artemis closed his eyes and concentrated, trying to ignore his cramped surroundings and the sheaves of hair brushing his cheeks, and the itch
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