The doorbell rang. I jumped up, ran to the door, and opened it.

“Hel-” I stopped. I could look straight out into our yard, without some woman’s head in my way.

“Down here.”

I looked down. Holly glared up at me. Unconciously, I moved a few steps away from the door.

“Come in?”

“Thank you. Now, what’s the plan?”

I glanced guiltily at the computer, where my fifty-second game of Spider Solitare was up, unfinished.

“Um… there sort of…. isn’t one.”

Holly stared at me in disbelief. “You have no plan.”

“That’s what I said.”

“How can you not have a plan?”

“Well, I–”

“You’re the daughter of Artemis Fowl and Minerva Paradizo!”

“Yes, I realize that.”

“And you have no plan!”

“No.”

“None whatsoever.”

I was getting annoyed. “Oh, you meant the plan!”

“Yes, the plan.”

“The one where we save my parents.”

“Yes.”

“The one where we probably end up all dying.”

“The one you agreed to have for me.”

“Let’s see… nope. Sorry. No plan.”

“No plan? What?”

“Yes! I have no plan! We’ve discussed this!”

Holly banged her head against the wall. I winced. It sounded like it hurt. She rested her head against the cool bricks. Her voice was muffled as she spoke.

“Waldon, hut duhyoo ecpect tado?”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t quite catch that.”

She rolled her head to the side to look at me. “Well then, what do you expect to do?”

I chewed on my lower lip, looking up. “An was always better at the whole plan thing than I was.”

Holly froze. “An?”

“Yeah, sorry. She’s my sister. Well, I thought she was, but then it turned out that I was the daughter of these two genius billionaires, maybe you know them. Does the name Fowl ring a bell?”

Holly smacked my arm, and I got the impression it would have been my head if she had been able to reach it. “Can you trust An?”

“With my life. Well, probably not that, cause she’s pretty sadistic and would probably end up making me regret that decision, but you get the idea.”

Holly was staring at a space above my shoulder, her eyes unfocused. Wary, I glanced over my shoulder, to see what she was looking at, but there wasn’t anything there. Well, there was that painting that Minerva bought last year, but that was pretty ugly.

“Like that painting? Apparently the artist is a really famous modern artist. He likes to get drunk and then paint what he sees. Minerva says people really go for that kind of stuff, although I have no idea why.”

Holly shook her head violently, and focused on me again.

“Oh, you don’t like it either?” I asked pleasantly.

“What are you talking about?” Holly sounded irritable.

I folded my arms across my chest. “Nothing.” I told her moodily.

“Good. Call your sister. Tell her what’s happening, and that she needs to come here. How soon can she get here?”

“Well, she lives on the other side of Ireland…”

“Can you fly the jet?”

“Jet? What jet? Does Artemis own a jet?”

“I’ll take that as a no.” She rubbed her hands together in what looked suspiciously like glee. “Looks like I’m driving.”

I blinked at her.

“Sister! Call! Now!”

“MA’AM, YES MA’AM!” I saluted, and goosestepped my way to the phone in the kitchen.

Holly started banging her head against the wall again.

“That’s killing brain cells that won’t grow back!” I called from the kitchen.

“You’ve been around Artemis too long!”

“Tell me about it!”