“Now, we should celebrate,” enthused Artemis, deftly changing the
subject. “Some champagne, I think.”
The boy strode to the kitchen before Butler’s gaze could dissect him.
By the time the others caught up, Artemis had already filled three
glasses with Dom Perignon.
“I’m a minor, I know, but I’m sure Mother wouldn’t mind. Just this
once.”
Butler felt that something was afoot. Nevertheless, he took the crystal
flute offered to him.
Juliet looked at her big brother.
“Is this okay?”
“I suppose so.” He took a breath. “You know I love you, don’t you,
sis?”
Juliet scowled—something else that the local louts found very
endearing. She smacked her brother on the shoulder.
“You’re so emotional for a bodyguard.”
Butler looked his employer straight in the eye.
“You want us to drink this, don’t you, Artemis?”
Artemis met his gaze squarely. “Yes, Butler. I do.”
Without another word Butler drained his glass, Juliet followed suit.
The manservant tasted the tranquilizer immediately, and although he
would have had ample time to snap Artemis Fowl’s neck, he didn’t. No
need for Juliet to be distressed in her final moments.
Artemis watched his friends sink to the floor. A pity to deceive them.
But if they had been alerted to the plan, their anxiety could have
counteracted the sedative. He gazed at the bubbles swirling in his own
glass. Time for the most audacious step in his scheme. With only the
barest hint of hesitation, he swallowed the tranquilizer-laced champagne.
Artemis waited calmly for the drug to take hold of his system. He
didn’t have to wait long, since each dose had been calculated according to
body weight. As his thoughts began to swirl, it occurred to him that he
might never awaken again. It’s a bit late for doubts, he chided himself, and
sank into unconsciousness.
…

“The flight path is preprogrammed,” explained Foaly, though no one
was paying a blind bit of attention. “She’ll sail into the lobby and detonate.
The casing and firing mechanism are plastic alloy and will completely
disintegrate. Clean as a whistle.”
Root and Holly followed the bomb’s arc. As predicted, it swooped
through the decimated doorway without knocking so much as a sliver of
stone from the medieval walls. Holly switched her attention to the
missile’s nose-cam. For a moment she caught a glimpse of the grand
hallway where she had, until recently, been a prisoner. It was empty. Not a
human in sight. Maybe, she thought. Just maybe. Then she looked at Foaly
and the technology at his fingertips. And she realized that the humans
were as good as dead.
The bio-bomb detonated. A blue orb of condensed light crackled and
spread, filling every corner of the manor with its deadly rays. Flowers
withered, insects shriveled, and fish died in their tanks. Not one cubic
millimeter was spared. Artemis Fowl and his cohorts could not have
escaped. It was impossible.
Holly sighed, turning away from the already dwindling blue-rinse.
For all his grand designs, Artemis had been a mere mortal in the end. And
for some reason she mourned his passing.
…

Artemis could hear a voice calling his name. There was a face behind
the voice, but it was blurred, hard to make out. His father, perhaps?
“Father?” The word was strange in his mouth. nused. Rusty.
Artemis opened his eyes.
Butler was leaning over him. “Artemis. You’re awake.”
“Ah, Butler. It’s you.”
Artemis got to his feet, head spinning with the effort. He expected
Butler’s hand at his elbow to steady him. It didn’t come. Juliet was lying
on a chaise longue, dribbling onto the cushions. Obviously the draft hadn’t
worn off yet.
“It was just sleeping pills, Butler. Harmless.”
The manservant’s eyes had a dangerous glint. “Explain yourself.”
Artemis rubbed his eyes. “Later, Butler. I’m feeling a bit—”
Butler stepped into his path. “Artemis, my sister is lying drugged on
that couch. She was almost killed. So explain yourself now!”
Artemis realized that he’d been given an order. He considered being
offended, then decided that perhaps Butler was right. He had gone too far.
“I didn’t tell you about the sleeping pills because you’d fight them.
It’s only natural. And it was imperative to the plan that we all go to sleep
immediately.”
“The plan?”
Artemis lowered himself into a comfortable chair.
“The time-field was the key to this whole affair. It’s the LEP’s ace in
the hole. It’s what has made them unbeatable for all these years. Any
incident can be contained. That and the bio-bomb make a formidable
combination.”
“So why did we have to be drugged?”
Artemis smiled. “Look out the window. Don’t you see? They’re gone.
It’s over.”
Butler glanced through the net curtains. The light was bright and
clear. Not a hint of blue. Nevertheless, the manservant was unimpressed.
“They’re gone for now. They’ll be back tonight, I guarantee it.”
“No. That’s against the rules. We beat them. That’s it, game over.”
Butler raised an eyebrow.“The sleeping pills, Artemis?”
“Not to be distracted, I see.”
Butler’s answer was an implacable silence.
“The sleeping pills. Very well. I had to think of a way to escape the
time-field. I trawled through the Book, but there was nothing. Not a clue.
The People themselves have not yet developed a way. So I went back to
their Old Testament, back when their lives and ours were intertwined. You
know the stories—elves that made shoes during the night, sprites that
cleaned houses. Back when we coexisted to a certain extent. Magical
favors in exchange for their fairy forts. The big one, of course, was Santa
Claus.”
Butler’s eyebrows nearly jumped off the front of his face.
“Santa Claus?”
Artemis raised his palms. “I know, I know. I was a tad skeptical
myself. But apparently our little corporate-image Santa Claus is not
descended from a Turkish saint, he is a shadow of San D’Klass, the third
king of the Frond Elfin dynasty. He is known as San the Deluded.”
“Not a great title, as titles go.”
“Admittedly. D’Klass thought that the greed of the Mud People in his
kingdom could be assuaged by distributing lavish gifts. He would marshal
all the great wizards once a year and have them throw up a great time-stop
over vast regions. Flocks of sprites would be sent out to deliver the
presents while the humans were asleep. Of course, it didn’t work. Human
greed can never be assuaged, especially not by gifts.”
Butler frowned. “What if the humans . . . we, that is . . . What if we
had woken up?”
“Ah yes. Excellent question. The heart of the matter. We wouldn’t
wake up. That is the nature of the time-stop. Whatever your state of
consciousness going in, that’s how you stay. You can neither wake up nor
fall asleep. You must have noticed the fatigue in your bones these last few
hours, yet your mind would not let you sleep.”
Butler nodded. Things were getting clearer, in a roundabout sort of
way.
“So my theory was that the only way to escape the time-field was to
simply fall asleep. Our own consciousness was all that kept us
imprisoned.”
“You risked an awful lot on a theory, Artemis.”
“Not just a theory. We did have a test subject.”
“Who? Ah, Angeline.”
“Yes. My mother. Because of her narcotic-induced slumber, she
moved with the natural order of time, unhindered by the time-field. If she
had not, I would have simply surrendered to the LEP and submitted to
their mind wipe.”
Butler snorted. He doubted it.
“So, because we could not fall asleep naturally, I simply administered
us all a dose of Mother’s pills. Simple.”
“You cut it pretty fine, though. Another minute . . . ”
“Agreed.” The boy nodded. “Things were tense there at the end. It
was necessary in order to double-bluff the LEP.”

- Artemis Fowl, Chapter 9