“How did you find me?” asked Artemis, though he could guess.
“Oh, I saw a huge explosion and wondered, Now who could that be?”
“Hmm,” said Artemis. “A bit of a giveaway.”
“Also, I followed my old suit’s radiation trail. I’m still following it.” Holly touched a finger to her visor, and the filter changed. “That’s quite a pile of rocks you dumped on Opal. It’s going to take a Retrieval team some time to dig her out. She’s cursing like a tunnel dwarf down there. What did you do to her?”
“The seventh kraken,” explained Artemis. “The one Foaly missed because it was tubular rather than conical, I would guess. I picked it up on a weather satellite.”
Holly placed a finger on Artemis’s forehead. “Typical Artemis Fowl. Beaten to a pulp and still he delivers a lecture.”
Magical sparks flowed from Holly’s fingertip, engulfing Artemis like a cocoon. He felt comforted and peaceful, like a baby in its blanket. His pains were wiped away, and his shattered collarbone liquefied, then solidified whole.
“Nice trick,” he said, smiling. His eyes were glassy.
“I’m here till Tuesday,” said Holly, smiling back. “No1 filled my tank.”
Artemis gazed up at his friend through a red haze. “I’m sorry I lied to you, Holly. Truly. You’ve done so much.”
Holly’s eyes were distant. “Maybe you made the wrong decision; maybe I would have made that decision myself. We’re from different worlds, Artemis. We will always have doubts about each other. Let’s just carry on and leave the past in the past, where it should be.”
Artemis nodded. That was as good as he was going to get, and better than he deserved.
Holly pulled a tether from her belt and looped it under Artemis’s arms. “Now, let’s get you home before the villagers start building a gallows.”
“Good idea,” mumbled Artemis, drowsy with the aftereffects of his magical makeover.
“Yes, believe it or not, other people do have those occasionally.”
“Occasionally,” agreed Artemis; then his head lolled back and he was asleep.
Holly reset her wings for the added weight and launched them both off the lip of the sea stack, flying low to avoid the flashlight beams of the locals, which strobed the night sky like searchlights.
Foaly tuned into Holly’s helmet frequency while she was airborne.
“The seventh kraken, I’m guessing. Of course, I had my suspicions.” He paused. “This would be a good opportunity to mind-wipe Artemis,” he said. “Save ourselves a lot of grief in the future.”
“Foaly!” said Holly, horrified. “We don’t wipe our friends. Artemis brought Jayjay back to us. Who knows how many cures lie in that lemur’s brain.”
“I’m kidding. I’m kidding. And guess what, we won’t even have to ask Jayjay to donate some brain fluid. No1 synthesized it while he was waiting for the shuttle. That kid is one of a kind.”
“I seem to run into a lot of those. By the way, we need to send a team in for Opal.”
“They’re en route. I think you’re in for another rake over the coals from IA when you get back here.”
Holly snorted. “What’s new?”
Foaly fell silent, waiting for Holly to share the details of her adventures. Eventually he could wait no more.
“Okay, you win. I’ll ask. What happened back then— almost eight years ago? My gods, it must have been mayhem.”
Holly felt a phantom tingle on her lips where she had kissed Artemis.
“Nothing. Nothing happened. We went, we got the lemur, we came back. A couple of glitches, but obviously nothing we couldn’t handle.”
Foaly didn’t press for details. Holly would tell him when she had processed it herself.
“Do you ever think you might like to go to work and then just come home? No drama?”
Holly watched the ocean flash by below her and felt the weight of Artemis Fowl in her arms.
“No,” she said. “I never think that.”
CHAPTER 16
A TEAM OF HAIRDRESSERS
Less than an hour later they landed at Fowl Manor. Artemis woke up just as Holly’s heels hit the gravel, and was instantly alert.
“Magic is wonderful stuff,” he said, pinwheeling his left arm.
“You should have held on to yours,” quipped Holly.
“Ironically, if I had not attempted to cure Mother, Opal would have allowed her to recover. It was my journey into the past that gave Opal the basis for her plan, which she instigated by following us to her future.”
“I liked you better asleep,” said Holly, retrieving her tether. “My head hurt less.” “It’s the big time paradox. If I had done nothing, then nothing would have needed to be done.” Holly touched her helmet. “Let me get Foaly on the com. You two could both talk at the same time.”
The exterior lights cast a soft glow on the gravel, setting the stones shimmering like gems. Lofty evergreen trees swayed in the gentle breeze, rustling with life. Like Tolkien’s creatures.
Artemis watched Holly stride toward the main doors.