Chapter One

I was out for a walk when I heard a woman pronounce, "Heat detected, civilian within perimeter. Will interrogate, possibly mesmerize. Assistance requested, from base, time stop requested."

Another voice came through the thicket of trees. "LEP Commander Trouble Kelp. Repeat status, Major, over. Time stop being approved, as the city is in chaos. We've got LEP coming in every available shuttle and pod."

"Thanks, Trouble - Commander. Approaching civilian, may know whereabouts of Koboi."

"Keep your weapon out, Major. We don't want any trouble."

The woman flickered into existence just ten feet in front of me. She was tiny and slender, wearing a strange green suit with wings like an electronic butterfly. In her hands was a weapon that flickered green along its length. She smiled apologetically as she lowered her weapon. "I'm Captain Holly Short of the LEP. I'm going to ask you a few questions…"

I managed to stay in control of myself while she told me about an escaped convict- Opal Koboi. "She's been released, in order to save her past self and thousands of innocent lives. Have you seen her?"

Holly seemed as rattled as I was- a façade of cool military professionalism but absolute and total fear. I had a feeling that this Opal was far worse than she'd told me- and Holly had briefly mentioned a murder.

"No, I haven't seen her. Are you with the poli…" I trailed off as Holly pulled her weapon back out of its sheath, flared up her wings, and zoomed away, flickering into invisibility.

For a minute I stood there, completely detached and confused, staring at the spot where Holly had disappeared. I heard footsteps behind me as a boy ran up behind me. His black suit was impeccable, but his black hair was windblown and he was panting. "Have… seen? Fairy?" he asked, and then flopped down onto the bench by the walking path.

Little people with dresses and big smiles sitting on flowers? I took a deep breath. "No, I've never seen a fairy."

He smiled bitterly, and took a few minutes to breathe. Pushing himself up to an upright position, he laced his hands together like a miniature psychologist and said, "Not little people sitting on flowers. This fairy is armed and she's dangerous." Seeing my look of alarm, he continued , "but she's a friend. She's about three feet tall, with a suit with wings, and she has a gun." He had Holly's façade of confidence, but I could tell that he was crumbling. Wait, Holly…

"She was here about five minutes ago, and she went that way… towards the houses… Holly Short, right?"

The boy stood up. "Yes, Holly Short. Thank you." He walked off.

I ran after him. "Wait! She says that there's a murderer on the loose, and she's trying to track her down!"

He turned. "I know. Opal is hunting me."

He walked on, and I ran to catch up. "Wait, why is Opal hunting you? What does she want? You know Holly?"

He sighed and didn't bother listening to my rapid-fire questioning. "You'd better come with me."

We ran several blocks until we reached his vehicle. The huge man sitting in the driver's seat didn't ask what I was doing there, only saying in a worried tone, "Artemis, where's Holly?"

The boy- Artemis- looked at the man and said, "Butler, I don't know. She's trying to track Opal, but she hasn't had any more luck than us- just a few burning buildings and trashed cars. We might need to go into siege so the LEP can protect the civilians. If we distract Opal, we can save lives."

"If we're going into siege, we should evacuate the manor- the maid and the nanny must go. And her- she can't come either." The man Butler gestured to me.

"Butler, she isn't coming. She just needs to see Holly." Artemis and Butler exchanged a knowing glance.

I was getting worried, and the fact that Butler was pulling a gun out of a gym bag didn't help. I tried to stay calm. "Sorry, but why do I need to see Holly, and what's the gun for?"

"Protection," the man grunted, and then turned the car on, promptly accelerating and taking a turn on two wheels. He roared through the housing division, one hand on the steering wheel, the other holding the tiny fairy rifle. "If you haven't noticed, we have a bit of a problem here."

Within five minutes, we were downtown, watching plumes of fire rise from the burning warehouse several blocks away. A frazzled policeman sprinted over. "Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

Butler didn't bat an eye. "I'm sorry, but I can't, officer. I'm looking for an escaped convict." He showed the officer a card and a badge. "I'm a plainclothesman."

The officer nodded, and moved aside to let us pass.

"You're an officer, Butler?"

He kept his eyes on the road, peering through the smoke. "No, it's my cover."

Butler pulled out a pair of sunglasses and turned to Artemis.

"Opal won't have bothered blocking signals here. She has her base set up nearby, undoubtedly in an undetectable cham-pod. Communication with her mercenaries is necessary," Artemis said. "Keep the sunglasses on and protect us if need be."

Once Butler had jumped out of the vehicle and hoisted his rifle, Artemis swivelled the ring he was wearing and pressed some cleverly hidden button. He put his hand to his ear, like a child talking on an imaginary phone.

"Holly," he said. "Where are you?" He listened for a minute then said "Yes, a girl who knows too much."

He hung up, then said to me, "Holly will be here soon."

Within moments, Butler was opening the door, and Holly climbed in. She turned to me, and her voice was different than it had been before. Like a choir.

"Take off your glasses, and look into my eyes." I complied.

"None of this has happened. Once we are done talking, you will fall asleep and forget our conversation and what happened earlier."

I blinked. "How are you going to do that? An amnesiac mixed with a tranquilizer?"

Holly looked at me. "Your will is mine."

"Are you trying to hypnotize me?" I asked, completely bemused.

"Human, your will is m…"

Artemis interrupted. "Holly, I would guess that she is immune to the mesmer. Her corneas may be deformed, and act as reflective lenses. Hence her vision problem." He sighed. "Since her memory can't be modified, and we have no time left for a selective wipe, she's going to have to come along."