Chapter 3

Artemis looked at them calmly. Jasper stepped forward to introduce himself.

"I'm Jasper Dash, Boy Technonaut."

The others followed his example:

"Hi. My name's Katie Mulligan."

"Drgnan Pghlik, monk of Vbngoom."

"I'm Lily Gefelty."

Now that introductions were made, the two groups stood in front of each other, filled with awkward silence. There was no telling how long this would have gone on, unless Jasper had not seen someone trying to steal his Amazing Dimension-Hole Maker (as he had decided to name his latest invention) by gradually inching it into a thicket of bushes.

"Jupiter's moons!" yelled Jasper, "Give that back, you thieving miscreant!" He leapt into the bushes, and returned a few moments later pulling his device behind him, looking a bit dissatisfied.

"Who was it?" asked Lily. "Did you see him?"

Jasper shook his head. "I just saw him running away. It was a short fellow, though. He didn't look taller than three or four feet tall."

Artemis, who had been listening in silence to the discussion, added softly, "I think you'd better come inside."

The group slowly filed through the gates, Jasper still pulling the Dimension-Hole Maker behind him, in case some other dastardly thief tried to pilfer it. They were led into a walled area, inside which was the huge house they had thought was a castle. Moving through many corridors, they arrived in what looked like a sitting room. They all sat in various chairs, around the room.

Artemis gestured to Jasper's device. "First of all, what does that do?"

"It makes a hole between dimensions." Jasper replied proudly. "That's how we got here."

Lily nudged him. "Are you sure you should tell him that", she whispered. "He looks dangerous to me."

Drgnan agreed.

"I can hear you, you know," Artemis put in. "After all, we are in the same room." He got up, and closed the navy blue curtains in front of the large window. "About the thief though… does your world have fairies?"

Katie looked at him skeptically. "Does that include zombies, werewolves, vampires, mind-sloths, dinosaurs, kangaroo-riding cannibals, or ghosts?"

"Don't forget mountain squids and sentient lobsters," Drgnan added.

"Remember those walking whales? And Larry? Do those count?" Lily glanced at Jasper for confirmation.

"Hmm, maybe. Oh, yes, and the Curse of the Jaguar. Is there a point?" The four looked across the room at Artemis.

Artemis smiled. It was not a nice smile. "Actually, there is. I wanted to be certain I knew who you were." He turned around, and appeared to be adjusting something in front of his face, and then dropped something on the ground. He turned around. Jasper gasped!

His real head was a foot-and-a-half wide silver sphere, which buzzed with static electricity. He had also dropped the artificial hands and feet. It was Jasper's archenemy Bobby Spandrel!

Jasper automatically reached for his ray gun, but it was out of batteries. He dove to the floor just in time to avoid the blue energy pulse shot at him from Spandrel's missing hands. Lily and Katie had dropped as well, looking at him with horror. Could Spandrel really be back?

As though he had heard them think, he chortled unpleasantly, "I told you, back at Vbngoom that I would return, and now I have! Ha ha ha!" He fired another energy pulse at Drgnan, who managed to duck behind a chair just in time. Jasper swore ("Saturn's Rings!") and jiggled the ray gun. Nothing. The batteries were completely dead.

Katie and Lily looked at each other. What to do? There could be more thugs. The last time they'd fought, he'd had a whole lot of gangsters working for him!

They ran for the exit anyway. On the way, Katie grabbed hold of Drgnan's sleeve, pulling him along. Jasper leapt up, grabbed a vase from a coffee table, and threw it at Bobby Spandrel. While the villain was distracted thusly, he fled the room as well. The four flung open the door and dashed down an unfamiliar corridor with Spandrel's incensed cries echoing behind them.