The Bellini Theatre was a bodyguard’s nightmare. Multiple entrances and exits, more than a thousand patrons that refused to be frisked, hundreds of golden arches that could conceal a gunman, and countless nooks, crannies, and corridors that probably didn’t appear on the theater plan. Nevertheless, Butler was reasonably confident that he had done all he could to protect Artemis.
Of course, there were certain things that bodyguards could not guard against, as Butler was about to find out. Invisible things.
Artemis’s phone vibrated gently. Usually Artemis deplored the kind of person who kept their phone on during a performance, but this phone was special and he never turned it off. It was the fairy communicator given to him by Holly Short, plus a few modifications and add-ons made by Artemis himself.
The phone was the size and shape of a quarter with a pulsing red crystal at its center. This was a fairy omnisensor, which could interface with any communications system, including the human body. The phone was disguised as a rather ostentatious ring on Artemis’s middle finger. Artemis twisted the ring so that the phone sat on his palm, then closed his middle fingers, extending his thumb and little finger. The sensor would decode vibrations in his little finger and send them as voice patterns. It would also use the bones in his hand to transmit the caller’s voice to the tip of his thumb.
Artemis looked for all the world like a young boy talking on an imaginary phone.
“Holly?” he said.
Butler watched as Artemis listened for a few moments, hung up and twisted the phone back into ring position.
He looked steadily at Butler. “Don’t draw your weapon,” he said.
Which of course had Butler reaching for the butt of his Sig Sauer.
“It’s fine,” said Artemis reassuringly. “Someone is here. A friend.”
Butler’s hand dropped to his side. He knew who it was.
Holly Short materialized in the velvet-covered seat beside Artemis. Her knees were drawn to her chin, and her pointed ears were covered by a black helmet. As she fizzled into the visible spectrum, a full-face visor collapsed into sections and stored itself in her helmet. Her arrival among the humans was covered by the theater’s darkness.
“Afternoon, Mud Boys,” she said, smiling. Her hazel eyes sparkled impishly, or more accurately, elfishly.
“Thanks for calling ahead,” said Butler sarcastically. “Wouldn’t want to spook anyone. No shimmer?”
Usually when fairies used their magic to shield, the only thing visible was a slight shimmer, like a heat haze. Holly’s entrance had been completely undetectable.
Holly patted her own shoulder. “New suit. Made entirely from smart wafers. It vibrates with me.”
Artemis studied one of the wafers, noting the microfilaments in the material. “Foaly’s work? Section Eight issue.”
Holly could not hide her surprise. She punched Artemis playfully on the shoulder. “How do you know about Section Eight? Aren’t we allowed any secrets?”
“Foaly shouldn’t spy on me,” said Artemis. “Where there’s a way in, there’s a way back. I suppose I should congratulate you on the new job. And Foaly, too.” He nodded at the tiny lense over Holly’s right eye. “Is he watching us now?”
“No. He’s trying to figure out how you know what he doesn’t. We’re taping, though.”
“I presume you’re talking about demons.”
“I might be.”
Butler stepped between them, interrupting the verbal sparring that was bound to follow.
“Before you two get into negotiations, how about a real hello?”
Holly smiled fondly at the huge bodyguard. She activated the electronic wings built into her suit and hovered to his eye level. Holly kissed his cheek, then wrapped her arms all the way around his head. They barely made it.
Butler rapped her helmet. “Nice equipment. Not run-of-the-mill Lower Elements Police.”
“No,” agreed Holly, removing the helmet. “This Section Eight stuff is years ahead of standard LEP. You get what you pay for, I suppose.”
Butler plucked the helmet from her hands. “Anything an old soldier would be interested in?”
Holly pressed a button on her wrist computer. “Check out the night vision. It’s as clear as . . . well . . . day. And the clever thing is that the filter reacts to light as it passes through, so no more being blinded by camera flashes.”
Butler nodded appreciatively. Night vision’s major drawback had historically been that it left the soldier vulnerable to sudden flashes of light. Even a candle flame could blind the wearer momentarily.
Artemis cleared his throat. “Excuse me, Captain. Are you two going to weep salty tears of admiration over a helmet all night, or do we have matters to discuss?”
Holly winked at Butler. “Your master calls. I’d better see what he wants.”
Holly deactivated her wings and settled into the chair. She folded her arms, looking Artemis straight in the eyes.
“Okay, Mud Boy, I’m all yours.”
“Demons. We need to talk about demons.”
Holly’s eyes lost their playful twinkle. “And why are you so interested in demons, Artemis?”
Artemis opened two shirt buttons and pulled out a gold coin on a leather necklace. The coin had a circular hole in the center. Put there by a blast from Holly’s laser.
“You gave this to me after you saved my father’s life. I owe you. I owe the People. So now I’m doing something for them.”
Holly wasn’t entirely convinced. “Usually before you do anything for the People, you negotiate a fee.”
Artemis accepted the accusation with a slight nod. “It’s true. It was true, but I have changed.”
Holly folded her arms. “And?”
“And it’s nice to find something Foaly missed, even if I did stumble onto it by accident.”
“And?”
Artemis sighed. “Very well. There is another factor.”
“I thought so. What do you want? Gold? Technology?”
“No. Nothing like that.”
Artemis sat forward in his seat. “Have you any idea how difficult it is to have had all those thrilling adventures with the LEP, and suddenly not be a part of that world anymore?”
“Yes,” replied Ho
lly. “Actually, I do.”
“I went from saving the world to geometry in a week. I’m bored, Holly. My intellect is not being challenged. So when I came across the demon gospel in the Book, I realized that here was a way to be involved without affecting things. I could simply observe, and perhaps refine Foaly’s calculations.”
“Which are not actually in the Book,” Holly pointed out. “Simply observe, my foot.”
Artemis waved Holly’s point away. “Some harmless hacking. The centaur started it. So I began traveling to materialization sights, but nothing happened until Barcelona. A demon showed up, all right, except he showed up in the wrong place, and late. I simply stumbled across him. I would be floating in prehistoric space right now if Butler hadn’t anchored me to this dimension with silver.”
Holly stifled a laugh.“So it was luck. The great Artemis Fowl trumps the mighty Foaly thanks to dumb luck.”
Artemis was miffed. “Informed luck I think is a better description. Anyway, that is unimportant. I have recalculated with the new figures, and my conclusions, if borne out, could be calamitous for the People.”
“Go on, tell me. In short words, though; you wouldn’t believe the amount of science I had to listen to today.”
“This is serious, Holly,” snapped Artemis. His outburst was followed by a chorus of shushes from the audience.
“This is serious,” he repeated in hushed tones.
“Why?” asked Holly. “Surely it’s just a matter of sharing your new figures and letting Foaly take care of the rest with light-distortion projectors?”
“Not quite,” said Artemis, settling back in his chair. “If a demon appears on that stage in the next four minutes, then soon there won’t be enough projectors to go around. If I’m right, and the time spell is unraveling, then Hybras and everyone on it will soon be dragged back into this dimension. Most of the demons won’t make it alive, but those who do could pop up anywhere and at any time.”
Holly switched her gaze to the stage. A raven-haired woman was holding ridiculously high notes for a ridiculously long time. Holly wondered would the woman even notice a demon popping out of the air for a second or two. There wasn’t supposed to be a materialization today. If there was, then that would mean Artemis was right, as usual, and a lot more demons were on the way. If that happened, then Artemis Fowl and Holly Short would be up to their necks in the whole saving-the-fairy-race thing yet again.