Artemis Fowl and the Master Experimentation

Chapter 8

"He is already powerful," said a voice somewhere in the distance, "his dream-walks have already begun."

Artemis moaned and rolled to his side, falling out of the little bed he was in. He yelped and jumped up from the hard, cold concrete floor and looked about himself frantically. It was a small cell, very similar to the one that they'd found Faylinn in. The door was open and two small, white coated figures stood in it. Artemis started towards them, feeling his anger building, but fighting it as he stood before them.

"I want to know what's going on here," he demanded, his voice tinkling with ice, "and I want to know now." 

"I'm sorry," said one of the little figures, "but we can not tell you. Only the Master can and he isn't inclined to right now."

Artemis's eyes flashed with the glint of something terrible to come.

"I know that what happened to me just then was what Faylinn has been experiencing. Which brings me to the next item of business. Where is Faylinn?"

"We can't tell you," said one of the fairies.

The Irish teenager came forwards, his pale face pulling into a snarl. He grabbed the lapels of the fairies lab coat and shook him a little.

"I asked," he snarled, "where is Faylinn?"

"I- ah-um-" stuttered the fairy.

"Artemis," came a voice behind the two fairies, the rough, growling tones of the Master, "leave him alone. Get back in your bed, there's a good boy and then maybe we will talk."

Artemis let go of the fairie's lapels and stepped backwards into the room, towards his bed, without letting his eyes off of the figures. He didn't trust them in the slightest.

"Now then," said the Master, "Faylinn is alive and safe... For now. We have stopped her supply of the solutions and she is returning to her normal, if receptive, human-ish state. She wasn't entirely human to start with, which is why we chose her. She had some magic in her blood, as do you. She has it by birth, you have it by background radiation, which means you have acquired a building up of it through your system which we can build upon further. Faylinn, however, can not be built upon without her breaking under the pressures. So long as you keep to the program and allow us to continue our works, Faylinn will remain in a stable, safe state. If you refuse to comply, I'm afraid she will be... Indisposed."

"Mr Master," said Artemis coldly, "I will continue with the program to help Faylinn. But first, I want you to explain to me what this facility is all based upon."

"You will find out in due course, I am sure," he said with a smile that made his scars twist oddly.

Artemis stumbled backwards, suddenly dizzy and eyes heavy, like little lead weights. 

"What are you doing to me?" slurred Artemis, holding his head in his hands.

"Time to go to sleep," said the Master, "go for another dream-walk, to someone you care greatly about..."

Holly was laying on the large soft sofa in the living room before the empty fire place, resting for a moment as Butler was in the kitchen preparing something to eat. She'd returned here to help Butler, who was undoubtedly going spare in the very quiet, and controlled manor that he always used. She fiddled with the locator on her wrist absent minded as her eyes felt heavy. Just as she drifted into the realms of dreams she jerked awake, as she'd heard someone calling her name softly. She sat bolt upright to find Artemis sitting next to her on the sofa, a small smile on his thin pale lips. She fought the urge to hug the Mud-Man and went instead with a huge grin.