“That was different. Your father wasn’t dead. He wasn’t even critical. I hate to say it, but Butler is gone. Long gone.”
Artemis pulled a gold medallion from a leather thong around his neck. The disk was perforated by a single circular hole. Dead center.
“Remember this. You gave it to me for ensuring that your trigger finger got reattached to your hand. You said it would remind me of the spark of decency inside me. I’m rying to do something decent now, Captain.”
“It’s not a question of decency. It just can’t be done.”
Artemis drummed his fingers on the gurney. Thinking. “I want to talk to Foaly,” he said finally.
“I speak for the People, Fowl,” said Holly testily. “We don’t take orders from humans.”
“Please, Holly,” said Artemis. “I can’t just let him go. It’s Butler.”
Holly couldn’t help herself. After all, Butler had saved all their hides on more than one occasion.
“Very well,” she said, fishing a spare com-set from her belt. “But he’s not going to have any good news for you.”
Artemis hooked the speaker over one ear, adjusting the mike stem so it wound across his mouth.
“Foaly? Are you listening?”
“Are you kidding?” came the reply. “This is better than human soap operas.”
Artemis composed himself. He would have to present a convincing case, or Butler’s last chance was gone.
“All I want is a healing. I accept that it may not work, but what does it cost to try?”
“It’s not that straightforward, Mud Boy,” replied the centaur. “Healing isn’t a simple process. It requires talent and concentration. Holly is pretty good, I grant you, but for something like this, we need a trained team of warlocks.”
“There’s no time,” snapped Artemis. “Butler has already been under too long. This has to be done now, before the glucose is absorbed into his bloodstream. There is already tissue damage to the fingers.”
“Maybe his brain, too?” suggested the centaur.
“No. I got his temperature down in minutes. The cranium has been frozen since the incident.”
“Are you sure about that? We don’t want to bring Butler’s body back, and not his mind.”
“I’m sure. The brain is fine.”
Foaly didn’t speak for several moments.
“Artemis, if we agree to try this, I have no idea what the results would be. The effect on Butler’s body could be catastrophic, not to mention his mind. An operation of this kind has never been attempted on a human.”
“I understand.”
“Do you, Artemis? Do you really? Are you prepared to accept the consequences of this healing? There could be any number of unforeseeable problems. Whatever emerges from this pod is yours to care for. Will you accept this responsibility?”
“I will,” said Artemis, without hesitation.
“Very well, then it’s Holly’s decision. Nobody can force her to use her magic, it’s up to her.”
Artemis lowered his eyes. He could not bring himself to look at the LEP elf.
“Well, Holly. Will you do it? Will you try?”
Holly brushed the ice from Butler’s brow. He had been a good friend to the People. “I’ll try,” she said. “No guarantees, but I’ll do what I can.”
Artemis’s knees almost buckled with relief, then he was in control again. Time enough for weak knees later. “Thank you, Captain. I realize this could not be an easy decision to make. Now, what can I do?”
Holly pointed to the rear doors. “You can get out. I need a sterile environment. I’ll come get you when it’s over. And whatever happens, whatever you hear, don’t come in until I call.”
Holly unclipped her helmet camera, suspending it from the cryo pod’s lid to give Foaly a better view of the patient. “How’s that?”
“Good,” replied Foaly. “I can see the whole upper body. Cryogenics. That Fowl is a genius, for a human. Do you realize that he had less than a minute to come up with this plan? That’s one smart Mud Boy.”
Holly scrubbed her hands thoroughly in the medi-sink. “Not smart enough to keep himself out of trouble. I can’t believe I’m doing this. A three-hour healing. This has got to be a first.”
“Technically it’s only a two-minute healing, if he got the brain down to below zero straightaway. But . . .”
“But what?” asked Holly, rubbing her fingers briskly with a towel.
“But the freezing interferes with the body’s own biorhythms and magnetic fields, things even the People don’t understand fully. There’s more than skin and bone at stake here. We have no idea what a trauma like this could do to Butler.”
Holly stuck her head under the camera. “Are you sure this is a good idea, Foaly?”
“I wish we had time for discussion, Holly, but every second costs our old friend a couple of brain cells. I’m going to talk you through it. The first thing we need to do is take a look at the wound.”