Holly watched him go, and breathed a sigh of relief when he was out of sight. She hadn't even really minded the eyeball order at the moment. All she cared about was that he left, because if he stuck around he might have noticed that she really was hurt.

Chapter 5

Artemis stopped and leaned against the wall once he turned the corner. It was obvious that Holy was injured by his comment, despite her futile efforts to cover it up. He hated doing it, but he couldn't involve the People, not until he had a better understanding of the situation. Still, guilt was squeezing his heart.

Oh, please! His pre-frontal cortex scoffed. Stop berating yourself. You're doing this for her own good! Stop being such a useless weakling!

Correct. Artemis straightened and marched up the stairs. He completely ignored another little voice, one that he had learned to stifle years and years ago.

Are you really just trying to protect her? His limbic system asked. Being in the background for so long, his limbic system had developed a way of only asking questions, as Artemis could not resist trying to answer a question. Are you really just thinking of that? Or is there another reason you don't want Minerva and Holly to meet?

Artemis, of course, didn't even notice the protest.

Minerva waited patiently for Artemis to regain his composure and return to the office. It would have been interesting to see when Foaly had his breakdown, but, alas, it was a luxury she could not afford.

"How is your friend Commiphora?" she inquired politely as he closed the door behind him.

"Holly," he corrected.

Minerva waved dismissively. "Some spiky plant."

Artemis frowned with annoyance. "It is not like you to forget something so drastically, Minerva," he commented tersely.

Minerva smiled slightly. "No. It isn't." Of course she had not forgotten Captain Holly Short's name. She was merely gauging Artemis' reaction to her indifference. It was … slightly more intense than anticipated, even if he was allergic to myrrh. Still, Minerva could work anything to her advantage.

"She is well, thank you for asking." Artemis continued firmly. "Although I do not see the purpose in electrocuting her."

"You know my target was never her. I couldn't have any stray camera sending our talk back underground, now could I? Speaking of which, her stay is rather intrusive."

"She is under eyeball orders not to come upstairs. She will remain in the Manor until she leaves of her own choosing."

Minerva studied Artemis for a moment. He was clearly very bothered by her repeated remarks pertaining to Short. Bothered enough that he hadn't even implied anything about her blatant show of mind-reading several minutes before.

Minerva sincerely hoped that the feeling was mutual on Holly's side, as she expected. It made everything so much easier.

Once Holly had regained her rationality, she cursed herself for being so pathetic before. Her priority here was finding out the secret of and stopping Minerva. Artemis hadn't returned her helmet, and she couldn't find it anywhere on the first floor. Furthermore, she couldn't hold any communication with Foaly through her suit. She couldn't do anything else, for that matter. Everything had gone dead. Holly changed out of her now-useless uniform and into something more comfortable. In truth, her closet at the Manor was about as stocked as back home – that is to say, three shirts (black, white, grey), two pairs of pants (black, grey), and one neglected dress (the dust was too thick to tell, and Holly couldn't bother remembering).

Finding nothing of interest on the first floor, she strolled outside, looking up at the windows.

Artemis had forbidden her from going up stairs, but …

It was time to practice some wall climbing.

This Holly really is quite meddlesome, Minerva thought in annoyance. But she wouldn't mention it to Artemis, not now.

She had just explained to him how she had come across a peculiar and overlooked passage in the fairy Book she'd acquired. She had decided that the Book must hold more secrets than was available to every Gnomish-speaking creature. After a moderate amount of searching, she came across what she believed was a piece meant only for the eyes of those who could find it – the elite. It was actually in the form of an acrostic hidden in the second letter of every thirteenth word in the middle seventy lines:

This gift is of the earth's device

No faerie shall this blessing waiver

But should another pay the price

The earth may well transfer its favor

She had extracted several samples of fairy DNA, and after a considerable time, she had managed to "transfer" many enhanced assets to herself.

Minerva failed to mention that she had acquired the Book from one of Artemis' vaults, or precisely how she had extracted the DNA, or the exact amount of time it took, or that it was really more of an exchange than a gift. These things he didn't have to know. The persuasion had gone perfectly thus far, with Artemis expressing all the right reactions and all the right thoughts at all the right times. Manipulation was so effortless when you could tell what the other party was thinking."Now, Artemis," she touched her fingertips together.

"I have," dramatic pause, "a most –"

A sharp crack was heard, followed by "D'Arvit!" and a loud thump.

Artemis stood quickly. "Holly!" he exclaimed. Then, to Minerva, "I'm afraid you'll have to excuse me for a moment, Minerva. Make yourself comfortable. I will return to this intriguing subject matter promptly," and swiftly flew out of the room.

Minerva's hands clenched and unclenched as she gritted her teeth. Forcing herself to calm down, she touched her forefingers to her temples and breathed deeply. That little meddling, idiotic, maladroit chienne … merde!

Holly sheepishly sat up out of a pile of broken boards and splinters. Who knew the Manor walls were booby-trapped with old wood? She heard footsteps rushing over and turned her head in time to meet Artemis' angry glare.

"Damn, Holly! What on earth –" Artemis looked at the debris, noticed what the wood was, and then looked up at a rather conspicuous tear in the joinery. "Oh."

Holly tried to get up. "Look, Artemis, I'm sorry about the wall– ahh!" Her ankle flared with pain, and she collapsed again.

Artemis seemed to soften when he saw her injury. "The wall, Holly? The wall?" he said in a gentler tone. "You could have gotten killed! The odds were three in two thousand five hundred! You're lucky it was only your ankle and –" he glanced at her, "—your left wrist."

"My left wrist is fine," Holly protested. Then she touched it. "Ow! Never mind!"

Artemis sighed. "You see what I mean. I'll help you back into your room, bandage your injuries, and then you will stay in that room until I tell you otherwise. That last one was an order."

Holly hobbled with Artemis back into her room, burning with embarrassment. Now it would be harder than ever to find anything out. After Artemis left her, with a stern "Stay. Otherwise. . .", as she drifted to sleep with an immobile ankle and wrist, she wondered what Foaly was thinking.

Foaly thought over what Minerva had said. Someone like her wouldn't just kill him. She'd have some sort of game prepared.

"You've been locked in before by Koboi, haven't you? Yes, I know all about Koboi. One must learn from history. I have been borrowing a page from Opal's book and erasing her mistakes. And her ego. Ego is so very annoying. Well, Artemis is about to come back, so I'll bid farewell for now. I assure you that Holly won't be harmed unless it is necessary, but you really should be more worried for your own safety at the moment. Good luck!"

Borrowing a page from Opal's book… could it be? Foaly trotted over to a cabinet, selected a file briefcase, and flicked it open.

After a few moments of loading, the hologram popped up.

FILE: OPAL KOBOI

A/N: This chapter has a good amount of trivia. In case you didn't know this, the pre-frontal cortex is the "logical brain", while the limbic system is often called "the emotional brain".

The incense myrrh is commonly extracted from the Commiphora plant.

And from some earlier chapters, the mayfly is the shortest-lived animal. (And therefore the disposable travel capsule is named after it.)