‘So why lie?’
Artemis walked round to the far side of the bed, grasping Spiro’s right hand.
‘Because there is no way to fool the gel scanner. It has to see the real thumb.’
Holly snorted. ‘What do you want me to do? Cut it off and take it with us?’
Artemis silence was response enough.
‘What? You want me to cut off his thumb? Are you insane?’
Artemis waited patiently for the outburst to pass.
‘Listen to me, Captain. It’s only a temporary measure. The thumb can be reattached. True?’
Holly raised her palms. ‘Just shut up, Artemis. Just close your mouth. And I thought you’d changed. The commander was right. There’s no changing human nature.’
‘Four minutes,’ persisted Artemis. ‘We have four minutes to crack the vault and get back. Spiro won’t feel a thing.’
Four minutes was the textbook healing deadline. After that there were no guarantees that the thumb would take. The skin would bind, but the muscles and nerve endings could reject.
Holly felt as though her helmet were shrinking.
‘Artemis, I’ll stun you, so help me.’
‘Think, Holly. I had no choice but to lie about my plan. Would you have agreed if I had told you earlier?’
‘No. And I’m not agreeing now!’
Artemis’s face glowed as pale as the walls. ‘You have to, Captain. There is no other way.’
Holly waved Artemis aside as though he were a persistent fly and spoke into her helmet mike.
‘Foaly, are you listening to this insanity?’
‘It sounds insane, Holly, but if you don’t get this technology back, we could lose a whole lot more than a thumb.’
‘I can’t believe it. Whose side are you on, Foaly? I don’t even want to think about the legal ramifications of this.’
The centaur snickered. ‘Legal ramifications? We’re a tad beyond the court systems here, Captain. This is a secret operation. No records and no clearance. If this came out, we’d all be out of a job. A thumb here or there is not going to make any difference.’
Holly turned up the climate control in her helmet, directing a blast of cold air at her forehead.
‘Are you sure we can make it, Artemis?’
Artemis ran a few mental calculations. ‘Yes. I’m sure. And anyway, we have no option but to try.’
Holly crossed to the other side of the futon.
‘I can’t believe I’m even considering this.’ She lifted Spiro’s hand gently. He did not react, not so much as a sleep murmur. Behind his eyelids, Spiro’s eyes jittered in REM sleep.
Holly drew her weapon. Of course, in theory, it was perfectly feasible to remove a digit and then magically reattach it. There would be no harm done, and quite possibly the injection of magic would clear up a few of the liver spots on Spiro’s hand. But that wasn’t the point. This was not how magic was supposed to be used. Artemis was manipulating the People to his own ends, once again.
‘Fifteen-centimetre beam,’ said Foaly in her ear. ‘Very high frequency. We need a clean cut. And give him a shot of magic while you’re doing it. It might buy you a couple of minutes.’
For some reason, Artemis was checking behind Spiro’s ears.
‘Hmm,’ he said. ‘Clever.’
‘What?’ hissed Holly. ‘What now?’
Artemis stepped back. ‘Nothing important. Continue.’
A red glow reflected from Holly’s visor as a short, concentrated laser beam erupted from the nozzle of her Neutrino.
‘One cut,’ said Artemis. ‘Clean.’
Holly glared at him. ‘Don’t, Mud Boy. Not a word. Especially not advice.’
Artemis backed off. Certain battles were won by retreating.
Using her left thumb and forefinger, Holly made a circle round Spiro’s thumb. She sent a gentle pulse of magic into the human’s hand. In seconds the skin tightened, lines disappeared and muscle tone returned.
‘Filter,’ she said into her mike. ‘X-ray.’
The filter dropped and suddenly everything was transparent, including Spiro’s hand. The bones and joints were clearly visible below the skin. They only needed the print, so she would cut between the knuckles. It would be difficult enough reattaching under pressure without adding a complex joint into the equation.
Holly took a breath and held it. The Sleeper Deeper would act more effectively than any anaesthetic. Spiro would not flinch or feel the smallest jolt of discomfort. She made the cut. A smooth cut that sealed as it went. Not a drop of blood was spilt.
Artemis wrapped the thumb in a handkerchief from Spiro’s closet.