Free The Time Paradox by Eoin Colfer Page B

twelve plasma rifles pointed at her head.
    “Hi,” said N o 1 cheerily. “I love everyone, so no need to feel threatened.”
    Miss Book’s smile faltered. “Threatened? Of course not. Are you looking for someone? Are you playing dress-up?”
    Artemis appeared at the doorway, interrupting the conversation.
    “Ah . . . Ferdinand, where have you been?” he said, quickly shepherding N o 1 past the nurse. “This is the gardener’s boy, Ferdinand,” he explained. “A dramatic type. I’ll summon his father to collect him.”
    “Good idea,” said Miss Book doubtfully. “I know your mother’s room is sealed, but don’t let him upstairs all the same.”
    “Of course not,” said Artemis. “I’ll send him out the back way.”
    “Good,” said the nurse. “I just need a breath of fresh air, then I will come to check on your mother.”
    “Take your time,” said Artemis. “I can read the instruments.”
    I designed a few of them, he thought.
    As soon as Miss Book disappeared around the corner, Artemis escorted his demon friend up the stairs.
    “We’re going upstairs,” objected N o 1 mildly. “Didn’t that young lady tell you not to allow me upstairs?”
    Artemis sighed. “How long have you known me, N o 1?”
    N o 1 nodded craftily.“Ah, I see. Artemis Fowl never does what he is told to do.”
    Holly greeted N o 1 on the landing, but refused to hug him until he dropped the shape-shifting spell.
    “I hate the feel of those things,” she said. “It’s like hugging a wet sponge.”
    N o 1 pouted. “But I enjoy being Ferdinand. Humans smile at me.”
    Artemis assured him that there was no surveillance in his study, and so the demon warlock waited until the door was closed behind them, then banished the spell with a click of his fingers. Ferdinand unraveled and fell from N o 1’s body in a flurry of sparks, leaving the small gray demon warlock wearing nothing but a wide grin.
    Holly hugged him tightly.“I knew you would come. We need you desperately.”
    N o 1 stopped smiling. “Ah, yes. Artemis’s mother. Does she want a magical cure?”
    “That’s the last thing she wants,” said Holly.
    Once the situation was explained to N o 1, he immediately agreed to help.
    “You are in luck, Artemis,” said the little demon, wiggling his eight fingers. “I did a module on time travel last week for the warlock diploma course I’m taking.”
    “Small class, I bet,” commented Artemis dryly.
    “Just me,” admitted N o 1. “And Qwan, of course, my teacher. Apparently I am the most powerful warlock Qwan has ever seen.”
    “Good,” said Artemis. “Then transporting us all into the past shouldn’t pose any problems for you.”
    Foaly had projected himself onto five of Artemis’s various monitors. “All?” spluttered each image. “All! You can’t take N o 1 with you.”
    Artemis was not in the mood for argument. “I need him, Foaly. End of discussion.”
    Foaly looked as though his head would bulge through the screens. “It is most certainly not end of discussion . Holly is an adult, she can make her own decision, but N o 1 is little more than a child. You cannot jeopardize him on one of your missions. A lot of hopes rest on that little demon. The future of the fairy families.”
    “None of us will have a future if N o 1 doesn’t bring us to the past.”
    “Please stop,” said N o 1. “All this arguing is making me dizzy. There is no time for it.”
    Artemis’s face was red, but he held his tongue, unlike Foaly, who kept shouting, but at least he muted the screens.
    “Foaly needs to vent,” explained Holly. “Or he gets headaches.”
    The three waited until the centaur calmed himself, then N o 1 spoke. “In any event, I cannot go with you, Artemis. That’s not how it works.”
    “But you transported us from Limbo.”
    “Qwan did that. He is a master, I am but an apprentice. And anyway, we had no desire to go back to Limbo. If you wish to return here , I need to stay as a