The IW was a prototype that Foaly had donated; they were supposed to be able to unfold and be ready for flight at a moment's notice. In truth they looked like a heap of hay with a few metallic glints here and there. Holly did not intend to try to use them until she was desperate, hopeless, and all but dead.

As she approached the Manor, shielded, however, she saw something that sent her running back to her equipment and flying full-speed to LEP Headquarters.

The girl was just arriving. But that wasn't all. Where Minerva Paradizo walked, a trail of golden sparkles glittered in the air.

Magic.

Chapter 3

The doorbell rang.

Artemis stood. He had expected Minerva's arrival, of course. He had prepared for it but one minute and fifty-five seconds after he had hung up. But so soon? Artemis weighed the possibilities and decided that she must have come before any potential surveillance could be set up. Fowl Manor was several dozen kilometers from any real settlement, and Minerva had arrived in less than three minutes.

That was strange. Artemis was certain that her call had originated from France. How had she come so quickly?

Artemis glanced at the monitors, checking that everything was secure.

Front garden. Normal.

Front streets. Normal

Front gate. Abnormal.

Artemis sat back down, bewildered. Where Minerva should have been standing, there was nothing. He tapped a few keys, confirming that there was no one invading his system. Everything seemed to be clear. Then something occurred to him. Artemis switched on the shield filter. He should have thought of it earlier. After all, hadn't Minerva implied something about the People in her call?

Artemis watched with incomprehension as Minerva flickered into being on the screen –then disappeared again. He was reaching for the keyboard to type in another command sequence when a pale slender hand pushed it away.

"Salut, Artemis. Pardonnez-ma dérivation de l'entréetraditionnelle."

"… So it must've been Minerva, not Artemis!" a breathless Holly concluded. "At least with Artemis we could half-anticipate his next move. But Minerva Paradizo is almost completely foreign territory! We hardly know anything about her!"

"I would disagree with that last statement, but there's no time right now," Foaly replied, equally agitated about his own findings. "I just received the reports from the fairies without magic – we have two new cases, by the way – and it's not good, not good at all. We have a sprite, and elf, and a dwarf. They're all growing taller. The sprite's wings are withering, the elf's ears are shrinking, and the dwarf can no longer tell the difference between clay and compost by its taste. In short, the doctors think that magic was not the only thing stolen – it was just the most obvious. They believe that the three patients are gradually turning human."

Holly took a minute to absorb that, stunned. "Human? That's horrifying! But that means that Minerva… this reminds me of something. Kind of like, hmmmm, kind of like Koboi."

Foaly sighed. "Exactly like Koboi—in reverse. But while the change was part of Opal's downfall, I think it's our second biggest problem now. First we need to stop Minerva before she causes any more damage."

"Okay, that's all relatively straightforward," Holly said, "but why would Minerva visit Artemis? Why do anything other than soak up magic? Isn't that the fastest way to world domination?"

"Well, first of all, we don't know for sure that her objective is world domination. And second, both of us have dealt with these too-D'Arviting-smart-for-their-own-good Mud People long enough to know that nothing is ever simple, fast, or straightforward."

"So? Why aren't I over at the Manor arresting a French girl for felony?"

"And an Irish boy as suspected accomplice."

"We don't know that Artemis had anything to do with this!" Holly snapped, the comment pricking at her already high-strung nerves.

"And I don't know that you could take Minerva."

"What are you talking about?" Holly demanded, offended. "Sure, she's got magic now, but so what? How many magic-wielding People do you think I've caught? What difference does it make?"

"How did you know Minerva had magic?"

"Can you think of some other reason there would be gold sparks trailing her?"

Foaly sat back and clasped his hands. "Exactly."

Grave silence.

Then Holly raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Exactly what, pony?"

Foaly rolled his eyes. So much for the dramatic moment of mutual understanding. "Gold sparks, Holly. Gold. Do you really need me to tell you why that isn't right?"

"Oh." Holly frowned. "So why?"

"Why what?"

"Why are they gold? Don't you have a big scientific speech prepped?"

Foaly shifted uneasily. "As much as I hate to admit it, no. I, well, I have no idea why, actually. I can't find any records of this ever happening before. I can't risk sending you out without any information."

Holly crossed her arms and stood up determinedly. "So I'm supposed to just sit here while some super-smart human-fairy hybrid takes over the world? Not happening, pony."

"What are you planning to do, hm? That's right; you can't plan because you have no idea what you're up against! And what am I supposed to do here, watch while you get killed?"

"I don't know, Foaly. Maybe you should work harder on finding an explanation. If the records are empty, look for that legendary file cabinet. But I am not sticking around here doing nothing. Now if you don't mind, I'd like to try my luck in another Mayfly."

Artemis activated the alarm system embedded in his teeth. Or, at least, he tried to.

Minerva chuckled softly. "Don't even bother, Artemis. Juliet is on vacation with your parents, and Butler will be waking up in a very secure wine cellar in four hours. Besides, I crippled your computer system. Look," she gestured to the surveillance screens. As her hand passed over them, the screens turned gold, one by one. Finally, the thousands of normally colorful lights around the vast office all grew dark – and then flickered back on, gold.

"Very well, then." Artemis took half a second to regain his composure. "What do you want?"

"What do I want?" Minerva laughed again, and the sound was like crystal wind chimes – clear and beautiful, but ready to shatter into a million deadly fragments if the wind picked up. "You make it sound so vulgar, darling. I simply wish to chat. In a civilized manner."

"I see. And this 'chat' somehow required the sedation of my bodyguard and the complete annihilation of my system?" And since when were we on "darling" basis?

"Well, I didn't want any interruptions, dear," Minerva said smoothly. "Speaking of which, there is a literally old friend of yours about to burst into the Manor in five. Four. Three. Two. One—"

A loud crack was heard downstairs followed by a distinct "D'Arvit!" as something collided with the invisible barrier that Minerva had apparently left intact.

Artemis cringed internally. Holly, Holly, Holly. . .

"Oh, and Artemis?" the silky voice caught his attention. "Before you rush off to deal with this little crisis, dear, I wanted to answer your other question. I didn't start the "darling" basis, as you mentally named it. You did, remember?"