Chapter 1: Journey

Butler was preparing himself for bed, when the ringing tone of his alarm—which was the sign when Artemis was calling him—began to ring constantly. The giant Eurasian sighed and walked to his young charge's room.

Being a bodyguard, Butler knew that he was supposed to take a dangerous route in the crime industries or at least, risk his life for the welfare of his charge. But Butler also knew that the young Fowl made his life more complicated by involving himself with the biggest criminal businessmen in the international underworld.

The bodyguard sighed again, and knocked on the door.

"Come in," came the clipped tone of Artemis's reply.

Pushing the door open, Butler stepped into the child's bedroom, which wasn't as filled to the brim with electronics like in the study he had inherited from his Father, but was just as high-tech.

"Butler, I will need a ride to the Ring of Tara tomorrow, you do know where that is don't you?" Artemis asked, looking at him with a piercing blue stare.

Butler nodded. Of course he knew. It was situated to the North of Dublin. The Hill of Tara itself was believed to have 142 kings reigning from its mount in prehistoric times.

"Good," came the reply. "We will leave tomorrow, prepare anything you might need, otherwise, I don't believe that we'll have any problems."

Butler knew that was the you-can-go-now phrase, shooing him away, but he couldn't hold himself quiet enough to ask, "Why are we going to the Ring of Tara Artemis?"

Instead of getting annoyed like Butler thought he would, Artemis just grinned his trademark vampiric grin, and replied, "Aurum Potestas Est Butler, Aurum Potestas Est."

Butler knew that this was the final warning and exited the room, aware that the phrase Aurum Potestas Est was the family motto, Gold Is Power.

Ireland, en route from Fowl Manor to the Ring of Tara

Juliet Butler grinned as Artemis scowled again for the nth time. She had forced Artemis to take her along this trip, but he refused to tell her what was so special about The Ring of Tara.

"Arty…plweeze…" Juliet begged, making a puppy dog look on her face and using the pet name Artemis's Mother, Angeline, had given him.

Artemis grimaced at the colloquialism but he didn't mind so much about Juliet using his pet name. Somehow, he thought of her as a sister, or maybe a bit more…but of course, Artemis would never accept that conclusion, even if it was a small part of reality.

"Plweeze…" Juliet repeated. He knew that she was doing it to drive him up the wall, but he still wouldn't budge, even if he went insane. The time wasn't right, and Artemis would decide when it was.

"Juliet, enough," Butler scolded from the driver's seat of the Bentley. Being Juliet's older brother, Butler had control over his sister's immature behavior. The blonde girl pouted and said, "You just don't care brother, because Artemis has already told you everything."

That was true enough. Before leaving Fowl Manor, Artemis had informed Butler regarding the part where the Ring of Tara was believed to be the sacred dwelling of gods, and was the entrance to the otherworld. Artemis had explained that the entrance story was true, as there were a whole new species under civilization right now that he planned to exploit. But he was still skeptical about the dwelling-of-gods belief being fact.

Butler had asked, "How do you know all this Artemis?" which was a sort of silly question, considering the hours Artemis had spent trawling through the Internet. Artemis just told him the truth.

"This is just simplifying it Butler," he had said. "The fairies under us are considered to have something called The Book, which is their bible, this is what I wish to obtain. And after I found out that Holy water is poisonous for fairies alike, I also found that there is a well Butler, a well under the Ring of Tara that possibly has the most magical water on Earth. This will counteract the Holy water. All I have to do is find a fairy, make he or she drink the Holy water, and blackmail that fairy to lend us their Book."

But the Eurasian still had one more question, and was surprised when Artemis voiced his thoughts.

"You are wondering why I don't use this magical water to cure my Mother's current situation correct?"

Butler nodded.

Artemis sighed. "Unfortunately, this well has been protected from the same person going in twice. Not that it would be a problem. But you can also only take one vial at a time, otherwise something very nasty is going to happen that I won't mention. This also won't be a problem. The real complication is that this water cannot heal psychological disorders like my Mother's. Only the magic the fairies possess can heal her."

For a second, Butler saw the 12-year-old Artemis should have been had his Father not disappeared, before this expression faded away and Artemis returned to his usual stoic state.

"After that information, I found out that the entrance to this well is at the Stone of Destiny, which was originally used for an artificial hotdog in a pizza stand, which I believe was what Stone Henge was used for. Funny how a pizza stand turns into a pagan centre of worship. Anyways, that stone is the entrance to the well. I know that you are wondering how to get in, but I will tell you when we arrive at the destination."

Even now, Butler was still afraid of what the long version would be, if this was just simplifying it but he questioned Artemis no more, as his jolly temper was sure not to last long, as proved with Juliet.