Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer Read Free Book Online Page B

reach him. He’s coming, sir. Right now, sir!”
    “Shields!” barked Root. “Everyone!”
    Holly tried. She really did. But it wouldn’t come. Her magic was gone. A toddler waddled out of the bathroom, his eyes heavy with sleep. He pointed a pudgy finger directly at Holly.
    “ Ciao, fulletta ,” he said, before climbing into his father’s lap to continue his snooze.
    Root shimmered back into the visible spectrum. He was, if possible, even angrier than before.
    “What happened to your shield, Short?”
    Holly swallowed.
    “Stress, Commander,” she offered hopefully.
    Root wasn’t having any of it. “You lied to me, Captain. You’re not running hot at all, are you?”
    Holly shook her head mutely.
    “How long since you completed the Ritual?”
    Holly chewed her lip. “I’d say . . . about . . . four years, sir.”
    Root nearly popped a vein.
    “Four . . . Four years? It’s a wonder you lasted this long! Do it now. Tonight! You’re not coming below ground again without your powers. You’re a danger to yourself and your fellow officers!”
    “Yessir.”
    “Get a set of Hummingbirds from Retrieval and zip across to the old country. There’s a full moon tonight.”
    “Yessir.”
    “And don’t think I’ve forgotten about this shambles. We’ll talk about it when you get back.”
    “Yessir. Very good, sir.”
    Holly turned to go, but Root cleared his throat for attention.
    “Oh, and Captain Short . . .”
    “Yessir?”
    Root’s face had lost its purple tinge—he almost seemed embarrassed.
    “Well done on the life-saving thing. Could have been worse, an awful lot worse.”
    Holly beamed behind her visor. Perhaps she wouldn’t be kicked out of Recon after all.
    “Thank you, sir.”
    Root grunted, his complexion returning to its normal ruddy hue.
    “Now get out of here, and don’t come back until you’re full to the tips of your ears with magic!”
    Holly sighed. So much for gratitude.
    “Yes, sir. On my way, sir.”

CHAPTER 4
ABDUCTION
    Artemis’s main problem was one of location— how to locate a leprechaun. This was one sly bunch of fairies, hanging around for God knows how many millennia and still not one photo, not one frame of video. Not even a Loch Ness-type hoax. They weren’t exactly a sociable group. And they were smart, too. No one had ever got his hands on fairy gold. But no one had ever had access to the Book either. And puzzles were so simple when you had the key.
    Artemis had summoned the Butlers to his study, and spoke to them now from behind a mini-lectern.
    “There are certain rituals every fairy must complete to renew his magic,” explained Artemis.
    Butler and Juliet nodded, as though this were a normal briefing.
    Artemis flicked through his hard copy of the Book and selected a passage.
    “From the earth thine power flows,
Given through courtesy, so thanks are
owed.
Pluck thou the magick seed,
Where full moon, ancient oak and twisted
water meet.
And bury it far from where it was found,
So return your gift into the ground.”
    Artemis closed the text. “Do you see?”
    Butler and Juliet kept nodding, while still looking thoroughly mystified.
    Artemis sighed. “The leprechaun is bound by certain rituals. Very specific rituals, I might add. We can use them to track one down.”
    Juliet raised a hand, even though she herself was four years Artemis’s senior.
    “Yes?”
    “Well, the thing is, Artemis,” she said hesitantly, twisting a strand of blond hair in a way that several of the local louts considered extremely attractive. “The bit about leprechauns.”
    Artemis frowned. It was a bad sign. “Your point, Juliet?”
    “Well, leprechauns. You know they’re not real, don’t you?”
    Butler winced. It was his fault really. He’d never got around to filling in his sister on the mission parameters.
    Artemis scowled reprovingly at him.
    “Butler hasn’t already talked to you about this?”
    “No. Was he supposed to?”
    “Yes, he certainly was. Perhaps he