Artemis Fowl: Opal's Revenge, Chapter Seven
Holly stared at Artemis in horror.
"No!" she said loudly. "You can't kill yourself!"
Artemis looked sad. "There's no other way, even No1 can't help. Opal will completely overpower me and kill you all with her magic. I can't allow that to happen."
"You're giving up!" said Holly. "You can't give up! We didn't grow a clone and bring you back only to lose you again! Think of your family! Think of us!"
"I am," replied Artemis, squeezing her hands gently. "If I don't, Opal will use me and murder you all."
Holly slipped off the edge of the desk, their hands still clasped. "Artemis, there has to be another way." She started to cry, tears slipping down her cheeks. "We can figure this out! We faced insurmountable odds before, and still made it!"
"Holly, I have too," replied Artemis calmly.
"NO!" shrieked Holly, wrenching her hands from his. "I won't let you! We can defeat Opal! You're giving up!"
She snatched a letter opener from the desk and flung it across the room, afraid that Artemis might try to take it and stab himself with it. She was considering the stapler next, when Artemis reached forward and grabbed her hands, pulling her closer.
"Holly, I wouldn't suggest this if I thought there was another option," he said softly. "And you don't have to take all the household objects away; I'm not going to stab myself with a letter opener. I could just take some of my mother's own narcotics, the left over ones from her depression, and put a lethal dose in a drink. I would fall asleep and never wake up. It would be quick and peaceful, no blood, no pain. And you would all be safe."
It terrified Holly beyond words to hear Artemis speaking so calmly of how he would do it. She began to sob uncontrollably. "No, I won't let you-I'll find the pills and flush them all down the toilet. Please, Artemis, there has to be another way. Anything-" she cut off, unable to speak through her crying.
Butler was coming from the kitchen, a platter of food and some stacked plates on a tray, No1 trailing behind with a pitcher of ice water. He went to the study door and heard something like sobbing. Balancing the tray on one hand, he held up the other to No1 to be silent for a moment, and then opened the door a crack, looking in.
Holly was in Artemis's lap, her arms wrapped around his neck, sobbing uncontrollably. Artemis had his arms around her, a bit awkwardly, due to the handcuffs. He was rubbing her back, while a couple of tears rolled down his cheeks. The look in his eyes told Butler what he needed to know.
He shut the door. No1 looked anxious. "What's wrong?"
Butler took a breath, dread gathering in the pit of stomach. "Artemis has given up."