(P.S. For the sake of the story, I decided that Commander Root should be, as it were, not dead. This story takes place 5 years after "The Opal deception". That original story shall remain the same, except that Commander Root didn't die. Again, I say that if you have issues with that, either stop reading, or just suffer in silence and review at the end.)
Disclaimer: I do not own anything associated with Artemis Fowl, the characters therein, or any incidents that take place in any of the Artemis Fowl series. Please do not sue me. The characters that have never been heard about in the books are of my own imagination, and are not copied. At least I hope not. Please inform me if they are.
This is my therapy...
Chapter One
Fowl Manor, Ireland Present Day
Artemis was thinking. Not an unusual situation to find him in. Actually it can be said that there isn't any situation that is unusual to find him in. What was unusual was what he was doing. Nothing. That was all he was doing, just nothing. Artemis was in fact, bored. This can be said to be unusual. After all, those who have heard of Artemis' previous encounters can never find a moment in time when he was bored. So here he was, sitting in his favorite chair, staring into space, thinking about how he wished he was doing something. Anything at all. A sigh escaped his lips as he thought about his previous escapades when he was younger. Memories flashed into his mind: first kidnapping Holly Short when he was twelve, slipping money out of the fairies own pockets by holding Holly for ransom. Running through the Arctic in pursuit of his father. Creating the C-Cube and then being held captive by Jon Spiro. Running underground through the Eleven Wonders of the World. Tricking Opal Koboi at her own game. Good times, good times. Of course he still kept in touch with Holly, doing the odd consulting business now and again. But he hadn't seen Holly in person since she resigned from the LEP. That whole mess was all Sool's fault. It was a good thing that Commander Root hadn't died, and just laid low until everyone and everything was safe. Of course this wasn't until Holly had resigned and had no chance of being reinstated. So he decided to resign himself. After all the years he had worked for the LEP, now was a good a time as any. Anyway he hadn't fully retired from helping the People. Except now he was working with Holly and Mulch in the P.I. business. A small smile attempted to pull up the corners of Artemis' mouth. Root as a private investigator. Now there was something to make you laugh. Artemis could just imagine Root on the phone. Quite the comical image.
Artemis was interrupted from his perusing by a knock on the door. Standing up in the silence that ensued, he walked over to the door and paused to look into his mirror. We all know that Artemis cannot be described as the Narccist type, except when it comes to his brilliant mind. But yet, here he was, admiring his reflection. Shortly after coming back from Haven, Artemis wanted to make good his promise to himself to at least try to get into shape. So with Butler as his personal trainer, along with five years of hard-core training, Artemis had grown. Actually the more appropriate word would be he 'bulked up'. At nineteen, he was physically and mentally in perfect health. He wished Holly could see how much he had changed. No longer was he that small, slight fourteen-year-old boy who couldn't run for five minutes to save his life. Now he was taller than his father, and only about a foot shorter than Butler. That might sound short, but remember that Butler is over seven feet tall.
The knock interrupted yet again. Artemis dragged himself out of his musings and opened the door. It was his mother. The smile on her face radiated the loving emotion that she felt for her son. Arms outstretched, she reached to hug him. Well, she reached up anyway.
"Your father and I are leaving now," she said, her voice hinting that she didn't really want to go. She would much rather stay at home, and make up the lost time she hadn't spent with her son.
"I hope you enjoy your stay in Florence, Mother," Artemis replied, hugging her back. Not only had Artemis grown physically, he was now incredibly close to his parents. "How many times have I asked you to call me 'Mom' instead of 'Mother'?" she said, stepping back and looking at him from arms length. "Every time you see me," he retorted, a small smile playing around his lips.
"Angeline, the car is ready. We have to hurry or we will be late for our flight," a voice called from the main foyer down the hall. "Coming!" Angeline called back, turning to her son.
"Are you sure you don't want to come with us, Arty?" she asked, a hopeful look in her eyes.
"No, this trip is for you and Father," Artemis said, and started to walk down the hall, his mother on his arm.
They descended the staircase and walked up to a man who was leaning heavily on a cane. Yet he appeared to young to have that cane. Artemis Fowl the First looked at his son with pride in his eyes. "Well, my boy you will have to figure out what you're going to do with yourself for a month," he said, smiling as his wife came and slipped her arm through his. They looked like the picture perfect example of a happily married couple. Which they were.
"I think I can figure something out," Artemis said, walking with them as they headed out the door. All three of them walked down the steps and over to the Bentley that was waiting with Butler standing beside it. The large Eurasian man held the door open as both Angeline and her husband hugged Artemis goodbye, said a last few words and then climbed in the car.
Artemis waved goodbye and watched the car cruise down the driveway, and then turned the corner towards Dublin. Turning, he went back up the steps and into the house, closing the massive doors behind him. He returned to his giant study. Flopping down at his desk, he swiveled to face the door. After what seemed like a very short time to Artemis, Butler walked through the door. He was carrying a stack of books in his arms, and Artemis watched as he came up to the desk.
"Is there something you wish to discuss, my friend?" Artemis asked, resting his elbows on the armrests of his chair, and steepling his fingers.
"Yes," Butler replied, taking hold of one of the books, "I decided that, since your parents are out of town for a month, and knowing that you are, shall we say," he attempted to have an intelligent look on his face," bored, as it were, that we should plan at least some kind of expedition. We haven't done something like that for a long time, you know"
"Yes, old friend, I was just thinking about the same thing myself," Artemis answered, sitting up and leaning on his desk.
"What did you have in mind"
Butler paused to lift the cover of a book.
"Egypt?"
"Too much sand."
Pause to lift cover.
"South America?"
"Too hot. Bad for the equipment."
Another pause.
"What about Taiwan?"
This received a raised eyebrow.
"Not Taiwan then."
After a long pause, mainly because Butler was thinking, Artemis spoke.
"What about East India?"
Butler looked up from the mounds of information that he had piled upon Artemis' desk.
"But East India has about the same climate as South America? Why would you want to go there"
Artemis stood up and walked over to the window, hands in pockets.
"It's quite strange, actually. It just came into my head. Rather a pathetic excuse, I know, but its just," he paused, as if, for the first time, at a loss for words.
"It just feels like I'm supposed to go there and I have no idea why."
A small smile placed itself upon Butler's face. Artemis still had his back to him, looking out the window. Butler knew that there wouldn't be anything that could hope to deter Artemis from going somewhere he wanted to go.
"Shall I tell Juliet to start packing then?"
But Artemis wasn't listening. He had that Familiar electric tingle running along his skin. And that could only mean that there was an adventure ahead. Artemis turned around, and didn't even need to say anything. Butler saw that most familiar vampire-like smile come to Artemis' face. That same smile had almost gotten them killed quite a number of times. But, in a way, Butler was very glad to see it.
Grey Castle, Ireland Present Day
It would have been very interesting to Artemis to know that, about an hour away in Ireland, there was someone else who had just started making plans to go to the very place he was. Of course, neither of these two people had ever met, but they did have something in common.
"Listen, I don't know what I'm going to do," said a female voice from a fairy communicator. The voice that emanated from the device belonged to none other than Holly Short. "I told you that you should go and investigate," chimed another voice, this one from the above ground realm. "I guess you're right," said Holly, "So what have you been up to lately?"
"Nothing really. I'm just packing. I'm on my way to India. I have some excavating I want to do there."
"Ah I see," said Holly, "well I guess I should wish you an enjoyable voyage then. I have to cut this conversation short. It's just costing me too much."
"Alright then, take care Holly."
"You too, and don't drive Mac insane like you always do," Holly retorted, "Talk to you later, Anna."
The girl named Anna pressed a button on the communicator and turned the unit off. Swiveling around, she turned her back to the view of the grounds that surrounded Grey Castle. Actually it wasn't really a castle as so much as an oversized manor house. Really oversized. Now she sat facing her desk, and placed the communicator in a drawer and locked it. Standing up, she headed towards the ornate door that, at the moment, was closed. She opened it, and walked towards her rooms down the hall. But, the description is getting to far ahead. You're probably still wondering about this girl named Anna. Maybe it's time to describe her then, is it not?. Anna Grey, who is the human heroine of our story, was quite the character herself. In fact, Butler at a later point in time, referred to her as the female equivalent of Artemis Fowl himself. Confused? First a little background then?
Anna had been the daughter of Henry and Brianna Grey. They had owned one of the biggest shipping companies in Ireland that had been in the family for decades. But their lives were cut short prematurely when, on the way to a connecting flight at Heathrow airport in London, their plane had exploded five seconds after taking off. Unfortunately, Anna had been there, with her grandmother and Anna's older brother Seth. Also accompanying them was Anna's personal bodyguard Mac, who was the female equivalent of Butler. Shortly before their parents left, Anna and Seth had been complaining that they weren't allowed to go with them. Mac and Christine were glad now that Henry and Brianna had refused to let the children come. But after that day, when Anna had been six, and Seth had been ten, neither of them were to be considered children. Neither cried, but simply cast their glances down and turned to walk away. There wasn't even a glance backwards. Some time later, they all found out that the explosion wasn't an accident.
So that is Anna's story. But what, you may ask, does it mean that Anna is the female equivalent of Artemis? Two points shy of Artemis' I.Q. might have something to do with it. Anna had spent every waking moment in the company of some of the greatest minds of that time. Henry, Anna's father, had been quite the adventurer in his day. Storming castles in Europe, raiding temples in South America, tramping through tombs in Egypt. Henry Grey had done it all. And always took the time to talk to his daughter about his adventures. By the age of ten, Anna could read and write in over fifteen languages and speak in almost twenty-five. But we'll find out about that stuff later. Back to the story.
In her room, Anna was packing her bags for India. When she was there, she liked to wear native dress sometimes. It helped that she was a quarter East Indian and half Egyptian. She could blend in basically anywhere. There was a knock at the door.
"Come in," she said, looking up. It was Mac, Anna's bodyguard.
"Are you ready yet?" she asked, looking at Anna's numerous bags.
"Just about."
Mac shook her head. She wanted to ask the question that had been annoying her for some time now.
"Why are we going to India on such a spur of the moment anyway?"
Anna turned around, and Mac felt a chill go up her spine. Anna had that look again. The look that almost got them trapped in asandstorm in Egypt last year. That look wasn't very comforting.
"Because, my dear friend," Anna said, the mischievous half-smile that she often had when planning something.
"It's time for an adventure."