Live and let Drood

CHAPTER NINE

I don t know what all the fuss is about over time travel. I drove through twenty-four hours in a moment, and didn t feel the slightest twinge of time sickness. From the city to the countryside, from today to tomorrow in one great jump. Though I couldn t quite decide whether I d lost a day or gained one. Molly took it all in stride, of course, as she does most things that don t involve incest, morris dancing or eighties revivals. The sat nav stopped screaming as soon as we left the Merlin Glass behind, and quickly subsided to low whimpering sounds and muttered swear words.

Please don t ever do that to me again, the sat nav said piteously. I ll be good!

I d settle for you being quiet, said Molly.

The Merlin Glass shrank down behind us, shaking itself down to hand-mirror size, and then hurried after the car, shooting down the road to ghost through the rear window and slip straight into my pocket dimension. Without being asked.

All right, I said loudly. You re showing off now.

I eased the car to a halt and looked carefully about me. Molly actually undid her seat belt to give her more freedom to twist back and forth and look in all possible directions. There was a definite sense of tension, of both of us waiting for something to happen, for some unpleasant reaction to our sudden arrival some sign that Crow Lee had people lying in wait for us. But everything was still and calm and peaceful. It was just a narrow country lane in the middle of nowhere. On the other hand, there was no sign of Crow Lee s manor house anywhere.

We were completely alone, with no sign of civilisation for as far as the eye could see. Birds were singing, there was a quiet background hum of insects; just quiet early evening in the countryside. Bounding the road on either side were low stone walls assembled in the traditional style, jagged stones placed tight together without benefit of mortar. Beyond the walls, great open fields stretched away, a massive chequer board of clashing primary colours from assorted crops. Separated here and there by more old walls, bristling hedgerows and the occasional line of trees on the horizon acting as a windbreak. No cows, no sheep, no other roads; not even a signpost to tell us where we were or other places might be.

Are you sure we ve come to the right place? said Molly.

I suppose this is as close as the Merlin Glass could get us to the exact coordinates, I said. Without setting off Crow Lee s alarms I did instruct the Glass to err very much on the side of caution.

All right, sat nav, said Molly. Make yourself useful. Which way to Crow Lee s lair?

Oh, now you need me! the sat nav said bitterly.

Well, tough. I don t feel like it. I ve just been put through a terrible experience and my nerves are a mess. Call back later and see if I m home.

Give me the proper directions, I said, or I ll open up the Merlin Glass again and see if it can jump us any closer.

Bully! hissed the sat nav. All right, all right. Let me see. I ve got a map here somewhere. Ah. Yes. Drive straight on, third turn on the left, and then watch for the hidden entrance. Which I shall alert you to the moment I can find the bloody thing. Or maybe not! It all depends on how I feel, and don t you forget it.

See how easy that was? I said.

You wait, said Molly. That thing will be driving us down a crease in the map before you know it.

I heard that!

Good! said Molly.

The sat nav made a loud sarcastic noise and then settled for something that sounded very like teeth grinding together.

I drove carefully down the long leafy lane, in and out dark shadows cast by out-leaning trees, and slowed cautiously as I approached every corner, just in case there might be something lying in wait. But there wasn t so much as a slow-moving piece of farm machinery. No traffic at all, in fact; not a jogger on a health kick or some exercise fiend hunched over a bicycle. It was as though we had the whole road to ourselves.

Where is everybody? I said after a while.

Did the world come to an end during the twenty-four hours we just jumped?

Don t say that! the sat nav said immediately. Never give the universe ideas; it can be malevolent enough as it is.

You really are paranoid, aren t you? said Molly.

I knew you were going to say that, muttered the sat nav.

I think Crow Lee just likes his privacy, I said.

Probably pays everyone to stay well away from his lair good word, that, Molly and use other roads that don t go anywhere near his place. And if he really does have his own private army, he can probably put the hard word on anyone who doesn t feel like cooperating. I doubt if Crow Lee s actually told them he s the Most Evil Man in the World, but the locals must have got the idea by now. Crow Lee has never been the sort to hide his awful light under a bushel.

What is a bushel? said the sat nav.

A dry measure containing eight gallons or four pecks, said Molly, just a bit unexpectedly.

I m glad one of us knew that, I said.

I d hate for us to be outsmarted by a sat nav.

Turn left now! screamed the sat nav. Now! Right now!

I glimpsed the disguised turn just in time and hauled the steering wheel over. The Plymouth Fury turned smoothly into the narrow opening, hardly slowing at all. The new road was only just wide enough for one car to drive down at a time, and I quickly decided that if we met anyone coming our way they d better be really good at reversing. The road was bounded on both sides by high hedgerows blocking out most of the light. It was as though we d gone straight from midday to twilight. I made myself relax, unclenching my hands from the wheel.

Nice driving, said Molly, staring straight ahead.

I thought so, I said.

Hah! said the sat nav cuttingly.

A little advance warning would have been helpful, I said loudly. Whatever happened to, In a hundred yards you will come to?

Not my fault, the sat nav said with a sniff.

That hidden entrance would have been invisible to your eyes, entirely undetectable. We wouldn t have found it except for my highly trained sensors. And even I couldn t see it till I was right on top of it. In fact, I m not sure that entrance is really there all the time, unless you know where to look.

He stole that idea from the Droods, I said.

Well, said Molly. At least we can be fairly certain we ve come to the right place. At last.

Oh, ye of little faith, said the sat nav.

Wait till I m in charge around here, and then you ll see some smiting.

I slowed the car right down, making my way cautiously along the narrow winding way. There were too many blind corners, too little good light and far too many dark shadows for my liking. It was like driving out of the day and into the night, with the surety of bad dreams ahead. This was a private road, part of Crow Lee s private world, and like everything else he owned, he d put his stamp on it. The dark greenery of the high hedgerows seemed to stir slowly, right on the edge of my vision, only to fall still again the moment I looked at it directly.

We rounded a final long sweeping corner and I hit the brakes hard as the road ended in a set of heavy black iron gates. They blocked the road completely from side to side, and gave every appearance of being very definitely locked. I couldn t see any chains or padlocks, but I had no doubt there were other, more dangerous, protections in place. I tapped my fingertips thoughtfully on the steering wheel while I considered my next move.

Have you noticed? said Molly. All the natural sounds have stopped. The birds aren t singing here.

Do you blame them? I said. In a place like this? Do you feel like singing?

Don t you get snappy with me, Eddie Drood!

I never get asked to sing, the sat nav said sadly.

Well, colour me surprised, said Molly.

I do a great Bruce Springsteen!

Hush, children, I said. Daddy s thinking.

The more I looked over the tall iron gates, the less I liked them. Long, vertical, parallel bars painted black as sin, and overlaid on them a stylised figure of a huge dragon. With great fangs and claws and sweeping wings, its outline stretched across both gates.

I think we re looking at the first layer of protection, I said. At the first sign of trouble, that dragon shape probably comes to life and goes all flamethrower on whoever s calling. Or maybe this was a real dragon once, and Crow Lee trapped it in this form to be his own personal attack dog.

No, Molly said immediately. I d See that if it were there. It s just a gate. Nice workmanship, though.

Spend enough time tracking down crazy in the head villains, and you end up thinking like them, I said. Those gates do look very thoroughly locked. I suppose I could just reverse, build up some speed, and crash right through them.

Don t you dare! said the sat nav.

You ll scratch my paintwork and dent my grille!

You say that like it s a bad thing, Molly said sweetly.

Philistines! howled the sat nav. There will be a reckoning. Oh yes

The gates are bound to be reinforced, I said reluctantly. And this is a loaner from the Regent.

I turned off the engine and got out. Molly was quickly out of her seat, too, and we moved forward together to study the tall iron gates, while being very careful to maintain a respectful distance. I raised my Sight and had to fight down the urge to retreat several steps in a hurry. Layer upon layer of protections hung in the air: protective screens and force shields, magic and science combining to create a defence greater than the sum of its parts. They crawled slowly over one another, glowing with the kind of attenuated soft colours you find sliding across the surface of soap bubbles. Only more dangerous. There were enough defensive energies stored in the shields to rule out any thought of defusing them. Get one step wrong and the resulting blast would wipe out half the surrounding countryside.

Told you, I said.

Molly gave me a thoughtful look. It s really up to you, Eddie. You can stop being Mr. Snotty, or I can punch you somewhere painful.

The gates are electrified, I said, staring straight ahead. Touch any of those bars and there wouldn t be enough left of you to bury.

I had noticed that, thank you, said Molly.

Would you like me to reverse some distance back down the road? said the sat nav. Suddenly I don t feel as safe as I did a moment ago.

I looked back at the Plymouth Fury. You can drive yourself?

Damn right, I can. In emergencies. Which this is looking more and more like, all the time.

You stay where you are, I said sternly.

Molly peered past the gates at the grounds beyond. There are two really high stone walls leading off from the gates to surround the grounds. We could climb over Ah. No, we couldn t. More protections.

Touch any part of those walls, and the built-in destructive energies would scatter you across several counties, I said. In fact, don t even look at them funny.

Molly scowled. Why couldn t he just settle for barbed wire and broken glass, like anyone else?

Because he s the Most Evil

Hell with it, said Molly. Let s go in through the Merlin Glass. This short a jump; the Glass should be able to punch right through the protections.

Given that Crow Lee has to have been contemplating that very possibility for some time, I said, I think not. He could interrupt our journey and send us somewhere else. Or just hold us there, trapped between places, forever.

Yeah said Molly. That s what I d do. So, how are we going to get in?

Simple, I said.

I armoured up, took Molly in my arms and jumped right over the tall iron gates. We soared easily over them, my golden feet coming nowhere near the black iron, and then I dropped down into the wide-open grounds beyond. Behind us, the sat nav called miserably after us.

Don t leave me here on my own! Bastards! I ll tell the Regent on you!

I landed on the far side of the gates, my armoured legs absorbing the impact. Though the landing did drive my feet a good three or four inches into the rich green grass. I straightened up and put Molly down. She immediately stamped away from me, brushing fiercely at her dress, and glared about her, ready for action. I took a good look around, but there was no one there. It appeared we had the grounds all to ourselves. I armoured down and tugged my feet carefully out of the depressions I d made. Molly glared at me.

Next time, a little warning!

You might have said no, I pointed out reasonably.

And, besides, you re always telling me I need to be more spontaneous.

We took our time looking around us, checking out the pleasant open grounds surrounding Crow Lee s old-fashioned manor house. Huge lawns, massive flower beds with neatly regimented rows of colour and a whole zoo of hedge sculptures of fantastic animals. Rearing unicorns with flailing hooves and vicious horns, manticores with roaring lions heads and stingers on the tails, giant killer apes beating at their massive chests, and a huge tyrannosaurus towering over all the others, its great wedge head full of spiky green teeth.

Really don t care for hedge animals, I said. They re not moving now, but they ve got that look about them especially the T. rex.

Far too obvious, said Molly. Probably just a distraction to keep us from noticing the real threat.

I know a real threat when I see one, and I am looking at one right now, I said firmly. I don t suppose you thought to bring any weed killer?

Why is it always my job to think of things like that?

Because you re the practical one. Or so you keep telling me.

Look at the size of that greenhouse, said Molly, pointing off to one side. What have they got in there their own private jungle?

I looked where she was pointing, and she was right. I d never seen a greenhouse that big. It was packed full of strange and wondrous plants, thrashing and beating against the insides of the glass panels. Massive flowers with thick pulpy petals that opened and closed as though shouting green threats at us, while thorns like knitting needles stabbed wildly at everything around them. The colours were rich and overpowering, almost hypnotic in their intensity.

Let s not go in there, I said.

Molly sniffed. You never give me flowers.

Scattered across the wide-open lawns were any number of large abstract sculptures, all holes and curves and sudden turns. The shapes seemed to shift and change subtly when you weren t looking at them directly. None of the shapes made any obvious sense, but still somehow gave the impression that they might, if you stared at them long enough. And got close enough I didn t think I would.

Molly and I wandered through the grounds, taking our time. No one had arrived to challenge our right to be there. There was just the one great fountain in the midst of everything: a tall statue of a young woman fashioned from some old dark stone, endlessly screaming, arms outstretched, as though pleading for help that never came. Discoloured water poured from her distorted mouth, falling into a great circular pond full of murky water in which very large fish darted back and forth. Molly and I strolled over to peer into the pond.

Piranha, said Molly.

What else would you expect in a place like this? I said. Koi?

Molly ignored me, leaning forward for a better look. A piranha the size of my fist jumped right up out of the water and flashed through the air, heading straight for Molly s face with an open mouth stuffed full of jagged teeth. Molly barely had time to react before I armoured up my hand, snatched the flying fish out of midair, and crushed it in my golden gauntlet. It never got anywhere near Molly s face. Pulped fish guts squeezed between my golden fingers as I ground the nasty thing in my fist, just to make sure, and then I opened my hand and shook off the mess. It fell back into the pond, whose waters became briefly very agitated as the other piranha fought one another over the fresh food. I pulled the armour back into my torc.

Nice reaction time, said Molly, stepping carefully back from the pool.

I thought so, I said modestly.

I would have stopped it in time, said Molly.

I was never in any real danger. But it s nice to know you re paying attention.

Anytime, I said.

And then, because we d looked at everything else, we turned and looked across the great open lawns at Crow Lee s manor house. It looked very nice. A pleasant and peaceful old-fashioned stone house with a half-timbered front and a sloping grey-tiled roof. Ivy on the walls; flowers round the door. The kind of thing you see on jigsaw-puzzle box covers. It looked cosy and comfortable, the only slightly off note being the closed curtains at every window, so you couldn t see in. The front door was very firmly closed.

I can t believe the Most Evil Man in the World lives in a cosy nook like this, I said finally. Are you sure we re not looking at some kind of illusion?

Molly shook her head immediately. I already checked it out with my Sight. It s just a house. I can t See inside, though; there are some heavy-duty privacy spells in place. Hello. I spy movement.

From every side, dark figures were appearing out of nowhere. Armed guards came running across the lawns at us, from every direction at once. Professional-looking mercenary soldiers in bluff uni-forms, all of them very heavily armed. They moved quickly to surround us, cutting us off from any possible exit. I had to smile. Like we had any intention of going anywhere

Fun time! I said loudly.

That s usually my line, said Molly.

The mercenary soldiers took up their positions in silence, levelling weapons on us from every side. They didn t call out to us to stand still or raise our hands or surrender. Which sort of suggested they weren t that interested in taking prisoners. There were a hell of a lot of them, armed to the teeth, clearly expecting a fight. So it seemed a shame to disappoint them. I armoured up, the golden metal flowing all over me in a moment. My armour glowed brightly in the early-evening light, and there were startled gasps and muttered blasphemies all around me. Some of the younger soldiers just froze where they were, eyes wide and mouths slack, as they got their first good look at a Drood in his armour. But others pressed forward, guns at the ready, so I went swiftly forward to meet them. Molly was right there with me, sorcerous energies spitting and crackling in the air around her fists.

If they had any sense, they d run, I said loudly. Even a professional soldier should have more sense than to go up against Drood armour.

They don t look all that impressed, said Molly.

They re about to be, I said. Suddenly and violently and all over the place.

The soldiers looked at me and at Molly, and decided Molly was the easier target because she didn t have any armour. They all opened fire at once, the roar of gunfire shockingly loud in the quiet. I moved automatically to stand between Molly and the soldiers, and the bullets ricocheted harmlessly away from my armour, flying this way and that, making some soldiers duck frantically, and chewing up a nearby hedge sculpture of a giant boar. Its curving tusks were shot away in a moment, and its shaggy head just exploded. It did occur to me that if I d been wearing my usual strange-matter armour, it would have absorbed all the bullets rather than let them prove a danger to innocent bystanders. But I was wearing Moxton s Mistake, and the rogue armour didn t care. And, besides, there were no innocent bystanders on the grounds of Crow Lee s house.

Molly shouldered me aside. How many times do I have to tell you, Eddie Drood, that I am quite capable of looking after myself?

She strode deliberately into the hail of bullets. All the soldiers were firing at us now, the roar of automatic weaponry deafening at such close range. Molly had a protective screen firmly in place that gathered up all the bullets that came at her and held them in midair, hovering before her. One by one the soldiers stopped firing, lowered their weapons and just stood there, looking at her in a dazed and demoralised sort of way. Molly snapped her fingers once and all the bullets dropped out of the air to bounce lightly on the grass at her feet.

And while the mercenary soldiers were coping with that, Molly raised her hands in the stance of summoning, forced out a few really nasty Words, and a great storm wind rose out of nowhere and came sweeping across the open lawns, howling and buffeting and blasting through anything that got in its way. It picked up the soldiers and threw them about like an angry child. They went flying this way and that, tumbling end over end before crashing to earth again some distance away. The roaring wind picked up the abstract sculptures and smashed them against one another, uprooting the smaller hedge creatures and sending them bobbing and tumbling across the lawns. Molly brought her arms down sharply, and the wind broke off abruptly.

Half a dozen soldiers had dug in, hanging on to the heavier statues. Molly snapped her fingers briskly and lightning bolts stabbed down to incinerate the mercenaries. Black smoke and the smell of roast pork carried across the grounds on a gusting breeze. Molly turned to look at me.

Are you going to give me a hard time over killing a few professional soldiers who were quite definitely prepared to kill you and me?

No, I said.

Ah said Molly. You know, I had a response ready for pretty much everything except that. Are you sure you re not upset?

No, I said. They weren t interested in taking prisoners, and neither am I. Every one of these mercenary bastards gave up all their human rights when they signed on to work for the Most Evil Man in the World. They re standing between me and the rescue of my lost family. Kill them all and let the Devil sort them out.

This isn t like you, Eddie, said Molly.

I never had my whole family taken away before, I said.

Molly looked like she wanted to say something else, but a whole new army of mercenary soldiers suddenly appeared out of nowhere, just blinking into existence in large groups all around us. Molly and I moved quickly to stand back-to-back. It was the same professional types in the same bluff uniforms, but this time much better armed. They had glowing swords and axes, shining bitterly with dangerous energies; Hands of Glory with sulphur-yellow flames dancing at the end of waxed fingers; even a few elven wands. Though given how gingerly their owners were handling them, the wands clearly hadn t come with an instruction manual. I almost felt sorry for the poor bastards holding them. Elves live to screw humans over, and they never sell anything they don t booby-trap first. Their sense of humour isn t ours.

The soldiers carrying glowing axes and swords advanced on me, and I went cheerfully forward to meet them. The heavy blades smashed and shattered against my armour, and the metal pieces stopped glowing before they even hit the grass. I didn t feel a thing, and my armour wasn t even scratched. On the few occasions where the blades just rebounded, I snatched the weapons out of their shocked owners hands and broke them in two with my golden gauntlets.

They retreated rapidly, and a soldier stepped forward holding his blazing Hand of Glory out before him. A Hand of Glory can uncover any secret, open any lock, take command of any magic. The soldier tried to use the Hand s power to take control of my armour away from me and force it back into my torc. To leave me revealed and vulnerable. But mine was a Drood torc, and more than a match for a dead man s hand with candles for fingers. The magic rebounded, all the yellow flames blew out in a moment and the Hand just withered and closed in on itself, forced into a harmless fist. The soldier shook the dead Hand hard a few times, like that was going to help, and then fell quickly back to hide behind some other soldiers.

The two soldiers with elven wands stepped forward to take his place, stabbing the wands at me while shouting something in badly accented elvish. Massive energies blasted me, burning so brightly in the space between us that my mask had to shut itself down for a moment to protect my eyes. I stood my ground in the dark, untouched and untouchable inside my armour, until the attack was over. My mask cleared, I looked around and discovered I was standing in a large circle of dead grass, surrounded by burning hedge creatures and shattered statues. I let the two soldiers with wands take a good look at all the destruction they d caused and then at me, completely untouched; then I started purposefully towards them. They threw away their wands and turned and ran, and I let them go.

Next up were a whole bunch of soldiers with futuristic high-energy weapons. You can get your hands on anything these days, if you know where to look. The soldiers hosed me down with all kinds of energy beams, some so powerful they left sparkling trails in the air behind them, but they still washed harmlessly over my armour. One bounced off and set fire to a hedge sculpture of a towering minotaur. It burnt fiercely, but didn t move in the least, for which I was quietly grateful. Other soldiers hit me with sub- and supersonic frequencies, and I just stood there and let them do it, until they got a bit upset and gave up.

I waited patiently while the soldiers shut down their various weapons and had a quiet but agitated discussion. I was fascinated to see what they d do. Their next effort turned out to be a remote-control teleport device, which did its very best to send me somewhere else. But the process couldn t get a hold on my armour, so it bounced back and sent the device s owner somewhere else. Given the man s brief anticipatory scream before he disappeared, I had to assume that wherever he d intended to send me, it hadn t been anywhere nice.

I looked across at Molly. Soldiers were surrounding her from a distance, and using exotic tech weapons to form a cage of pulsing energies around her. Molly calmly took off the spangly earrings Patrick the Armourer had given her, primed them with a muttered Word and tossed them casually between the energy bars of her cage. Both earrings exploded noisily, generating big black clouds of smoke, through which soldiers were thrown screaming with their uniforms on fire. Surprised and caught off guard, most of the soldiers maintaining the cage were blown away in a moment, and the energy bars just collapsed. Molly stepped casually out of the fading trap and looked happily about her. The black smoke cleared to reveal two large charred craters in the lawns, and quite a lot of dazed and damaged mercenary soldiers. Half the soldiers who d been standing there threatening her weren t standing there anymore, and the rest were retreating for safer ground at quite a pace.

More soldiers pressed forward, grim faced and determined, carrying a variety of impressive-looking weapons. Molly smiled and produced a flat box with a single button on the top. I winced just a bit as I recognised it. The protein exploder. Molly pointed the box at the soldiers advancing on her and pressed the button, and most of the soldiers just disappeared. A great cloud of pink mist rolled slowly through the air while bones clattered quietly to the grassy lawn.

The surviving soldiers turned and ran, scattering across the grounds, presumably in the hope it would make them harder to hit. Molly picked them off with the box, one at a time, smiling reflectively. Her sharp-shooting skills were improving.

With Crow Lee s private army either dead or deserting, the grounds themselves took up the fight. Massive robotic guns rose from inside hidden bunkers, straight up through the flower displays, long barrels moving quickly to target Molly and me. I pointed an accusing golden finger at the gun positions.

That s another thing he stole from my family!

All the robotic guns opened fire at once, pumping out bullets at a rapid rate of fire, raking me from head to foot. There was enough firepower to punch a hole through steel plating, but it was still no match for my armour. I walked deliberately forward into the bullets and then moved from one gun position to the next, ripping the robotic guns out of their housing and throwing them aside. Not because they posed me any real threat, but because I was getting really tired of being shot at. I wanted to make a point.

And then, of course, inevitably, the remaining hedge creatures all came to life and closed in on me. I d been expecting it all along, but it was still an eerie and disturbing spectacle as the heavy green sculptures ripped their rooted feet out of the ground and turned their blind green heads to look at me. The T. rex s massive jaws opened wide in a silent roar of rage.

I knew it! I called across to Molly. Never trust hedge sculptures!

Ugly bloody things, anyway, said Molly.

She said a Word and snapped her fingers, and just like that, all the moving hedge creatures burst into flames. Fires roared up from inside their green bodies, consuming them in moments. They lurched this way and that, sweeping their burning heads back and forth as though they could leave the flames behind. They banged into each other and fought briefly before finally collapsing to burn listlessly in awkward poses. Molly and I had to keep moving, darting this way and that to stay out of their way, but none of them got anywhere near us. We laughed breathlessly as we dodged the burning shapes. And soon enough they were all down and lying still, little bursts of flames still jerking through them, sending sweet-smelling smoke up into the early-evening sky. Molly and I stood together, looking happily around us. The whole grounds had become one big battlefield, with fires and craters and dead and broken bodies to every side.

Wherever we go, I said, we make an impression.

They started it, said Molly.

The sniper hidden in the row of trees at the other end of the grounds chose that moment to open fire on Molly. And, amazingly, the bullet punched right through all her protective fields, one by one. I didn t even realise what was happening at first. I heard the gunshot, of course, but by then the bullet had already reached Molly and been stopped by her automatic protective shield. The bullet was held there in midair for a moment, and then it forced its way through the shield, only to be stopped by the next. Long ago Molly had preprogrammed her defences, a series of varying shields just waiting to be activated. But even so, it was a shock to see a bullet smash through one shield after another, hanging on the air before her face, inching inexorably towards her left eye. The last screen finally stopped it, just short of her eye, and the bullet hung there, snarling and biting at the invisible shield like a living thing, and then Molly s left hand came up and snatched the bullet out of midair. She held the bullet in her closed fist, glowering as it forced her hand back and forth, still fighting to break free.

It s a biting bullet, she said. Made from the bone of an uncaught murderer, created to chew through anything that stands between it and its target.

The ugly thing buzzed and growled inside her hand, shaking her hand viciously through sheer brute force. I saw Molly wince as it tried to eat its way through her hand. I started forward, ready to take and hold it in my golden gauntlet, but Molly stopped me with a look. She closed her other hand around her fist, concentrated, and then clamped down hard. There was the sound of bone cracking and breaking, and the bullet fell silent. She opened her hand, and tiny fragments of bone fell out.

Nasty thing, said Molly. Now, where is that sniper? And why hasn t he opened fire again?

I think he s been watching to see what would happen, I said. And if he s got any sense, he s currently sprinting for the nearest horizon.

It came from that row of trees, said Molly.

And he s still there. The idiot.

She strode determinedly towards the trees. I yelled after her, but I knew I was wasting my breath. The sniper fired again, but this time Molly was ready for him. She gestured dismissively, and the biting bullet exploded in midair, less than halfway towards her. Through my face mask I focused on the sniper, and saw him take a third bullet from a heavily reinforced box and fit it carefully into his rifle. He didn t look pressed or hurried, just very professional. He fired again, but this time the bullet had barely left the barrel before it exploded.

Molly crossed the remaining ground at speed and hurled herself on the sniper while he was still trying to load another bullet. He tried to bring the rifle to bear as she loomed over him, but she just grabbed the rifle out of his hands with one swift movement, turned it around, and shot the sniper with his own gun. The biting bullet hit him square in the left eye, even though that wasn t where Molly had aimed. The things must come preprogrammed. The impact sent the sniper flying backwards, and he crashed to the ground, dead. But he didn t lie still. His dead head whipped back and forth as the bullet raged this way and that inside, eating up everything it found there. Whoever designed the bullets had been determined that whoever was shot by one would not recover. The head s movements grew fainter and fainter, until finally the bullet was still, satisfied. Molly looked down at the dead sniper, studying him expressionlessly, and then threw the rifle aside.

And while she was preoccupied, one of the trees beside her threw off its disguising illusion and became a mercenary soldier.

He hit Molly round the back of the head with a heavy wooden staff, and she dropped to her knees. She cried out briefly. I ran forward, but I could tell I wasn t going to get there in time. I d let her get too far ahead. I d just strolled along after her because I was sure she could handle the situation. More soldiers appeared out of nowhere, running forward to block my way. I ploughed into them, throwing their broken bodies aside. Molly needed me. I could hear the soldier who d hit her talking to her. He didn t even bother to look in my direction.

Major Tim Browten at your service, dear Miss Metcalf. The wild witch herself Sorry to have to come at you so ungallantly from ambush, but I m not stupid. This staff in my hand, this very old item that just struck you down so easily and so completely, is the Witch s Hammer of Matthew Hopkins, witch finder. Just one blow with this blessed wood is all it takes to rob a witch of her powers for a time. Now, you be a good little girl and just lie there, and let me kill you quickly and efficiently. So much better for both of us, eh? You ll only make it worse for yourself if you struggle.

I was still fighting through a growing crowd of soldiers. They were throwing everything they had at me just to slow me down.

I saw Molly try to get up, anyway, and the major hit her again, slamming the heavy wood into the side of her head with calm efficiency. I heard her cry out again. I heard the sound the staff made as it hit her head. I saw the blood leap from her torn scalp and rush down one side of her face. Molly went down on one knee, staring dazedly at the grass before her as it turned red with her blood. And then she forced her face up again to glare at Major Browten.

Don t embarrass yourself, Miss Metcalf, he said calmly. You have no magic now, remember? I took it all away with my Witch s Hammer.

I ll see your Witch s Hammer, you son of a bitch, said Molly. And raise you a protein exploder.

She brought up the small box in a steady hand and pointed it at his groin at point-blank range. She hit the button, and I swear I actually saw the major s testicles explode in slow motion. He sank heavily to his knees before Molly, and clutched desperately at the gaping wound between his thighs, blood spurting thickly past his hands. Molly looked at him with her bloody face and then put the protein exploder away. She forced herself back up onto her feet, now with the Witch s Hammer in her hands. She hit Major Browten over the head with it, a blow so hard the staff broke in two. The major fell forward, dead before he hit the ground. Molly laughed at him breathlessly and threw the broken pieces of the staff aside.

I d finally fought my way through the last soldiers and caught up to Molly. I was reaching out to her to make sure she was all right when another tree dropped its disguise, to become another mercenary soldier. Molly and I both turned to confront him, and then stopped abruptly as we saw what he was holding. It was a monkey s paw made over into a Hand of Glory. Very illegal, very dangerous, completely bloody foolhardy. In some countries you can still be executed just for admitting you ve heard of such a thing. The flames rising from the tiny wrinkled fingers were bloodred and didn t tremble at all. Molly and I stood very still. A monkey s paw is hideously dangerous in its own right, able to alter reality itself. But to add to that the gifts and power of a Hand of Glory? That s like deciding a thermonuclear device isn t dangerous enough and giving it leprosy. The soldier smiled at us and waggled the monkey s hand in our faces.

You don t need to use that, Molly said carefully. Throw it away. You risk damning your soul just by holding such a thing.

I m a professional soldier, the mercenary said easily. Major Mike Michaels. To a soldier, a weapon is just a weapon; they re all just killing tools at the end of the day. Now, armour down, Drood. Make that nasty metal suit disappear, or I ll have the monkey s hand do something really nasty to your girlfriend.

I pulled my armour back into my torc, and the mercenary soldier watched, fascinated, as the gold vanished and I appeared. I stood stiffly beside Molly. Blood was still dripping steadily off one side of her face. I wanted to hold her, but I didn t dare move while Major Michaels was watching me so closely. He wanted an excuse to use the hand. I could tell. I felt naked and very vulnerable without my armour. I could feel it stirring resentfully inside my torc, disturbed by the power it sensed in the monkey s hand. Moxton s Mistake might or might not have been able to withstand the power contained in that nasty little object, but I couldn t risk finding out while Molly was still in danger. The Witch s Hammer had taken her magic, but the staff was broken now. So did she have her magic back? She wasn t doing anything. I had no choice but to play along, and hope I could find a way out of this mess.

Major Michaels held up the monkey s hand so Molly could see it clearly. Give me that trinket you re wearing round your throat, Miss Metcalf. The ruby pendant.

Molly reached up slowly, removed the Twilight Teardrop s chain from around her neck, and handed it over. Either because the monkey s hand was affecting her, or because she had no power left to deny him what he wanted. The moment the pendant left her hand, she swayed and almost fell, as though the last of her strength had gone out of her. Without the Twilight Teardrop to power her magic, she was as helpless as I was. The major smiled, and what I saw in that man s face as he looked at Molly was enough to send me surging forward, calling for my armour.

I d barely got moving before Major Michaels thrust his monkey s hand at me, and just the power of it was enough to force the armour back into my torc. I summoned it again and again, but even though I could feel the rogue armour s presence at the back of my head, raging and desperate to get out, it was trapped. The major laughed softly and took his time pointing the monkey s hand at Molly.

Behave yourself, Drood! Or do you want to see this nasty little object do something really unpleasant to your girlfriend? Maybe I ll have it turn her into something really revolting. That was always one of your favourite tricks, wasn t it, Miss Metcalf? Perhaps I ll fuse your legs together so you can play mermaid. Or I could melt off both your arms. Or just take away your eyes and your mouth, your ears and your nose, and leave you trapped in the dark inside your own head.

Please, I said. Don t. There s no need for this. We surrender. Take us to Crow Lee. You know he s going to want to talk to us.

Oh yes, said the major. He s just dying to have words with you. That s all that s keeping you alive. After all my men you killed

Run, Eddie, Molly said dully. Get out of here. Get help.

I can t leave you, I said.

You picked a fine time to get sentimental, said Major Michaels. I always thought you field agents would be more professional. I am a professional soldier of long standing. Like the man you just killed, girl. Major Browten was a good soldier and a fine officer. Not a friend, as such, but a colleague. Kind of man you could depend on to keep his head in a firefight and do his job. Dead and gone now because of you. So don t look to me for sympathy.

You stood by and let it happen, I said.

He shrugged. Orders

More uniformed soldiers appeared out of nowhere and hurried forward to join the major. He looked at them scathingly.

Where the hell have you been? I had to take care of business on my own! Don t look at them like that; they re just captives now. Quite harmless. Search them, secure them and then escort them in to see Crow Lee. He looked down at the dead body of Major Browten and shook his head briefly. Bad way to go. Not that there are many good ways. He turned to Molly and punched her hard in the face. Her head snapped back, blood flying on the air. I threw myself at the major, and the other soldiers beat me to the ground with their gun butts. I curled up into a ball, as I d been trained, trying to take the blows on my tensed muscles, but there were just too many of them, hitting me from every direction at once. One rifle butt got through to my head, slamming in with vicious force. My head filled with pain and then the world just went away for a while.

When I came back, I hurt so much I couldn t move. Blood was drying on my face and seeping out my split and broken lips. My face felt like it had been pulped. One eye had swollen shut. My muscles jumped and spasmed as I tried to move, and I groaned at the pain despite myself. I could hear the soldiers laughing.

I wasn t dead. Crow Lee had given orders not to kill me. I clung to that thought. There was a limit to what they could do to me. They couldn t risk killing me. That was something. They d hurt me, but it didn t feel like they d broken anything important. If I could just get my armour around me, it would make the pain go away and make me strong again, and then, and then

I rolled my head slowly to one side, gritting my teeth to keep from making any sound. I didn t want to give the soldiers the satisfaction. I saw Molly lying on the grass beside me. Half her face was hidden behind a mask of dried blood, but at least they hadn t beaten her, too. She was breathing heavily, but she managed half a smile for me.

They re awake. It was Major Michaels.

Pick them both up. The Drood has to see this.

Rough hands hauled me up onto my feet and held me there. Two more soldiers held Molly up before me. She looked very small and vulnerable, like a broken doll that s been treated too roughly. Major Michaels took her chin in one hand and lifted her face. Molly stared coldly at him. She tried to spit at him, but the blood just dribbled down her chin.

Charming, said Major Michaels. Pay attention, Drood. This is for your benefit. Crow Lee has given me orders and I will carry them out to the letter, because I am a good soldier. Everything that happens next is to take the fight out of you and to teach you a lesson. That you are entirely helpless now and there is nothing you can do. We can do anything we want to you, and we will. Watch. He gestured to the two soldiers supporting Molly.

Hold the girl steady.

He hit her again and again and again. The soldiers held Molly so tightly she couldn t even turn her head aside. And the other soldiers held me tightly so I couldn t turn my head aside from what I was seeing. I had to watch. I didn t struggle. Didn t cry out to beg or plead with them. There was nothing I could do, so why give them the satisfaction? I watched, watched till Major Michaels was done, and a cold, cold fire burnt in my heart. The major finally lowered his fists and stood there, breathing heavily; and then he took out a handkerchief and wiped the blood from his hands. Molly hung limply in the grasp of the two soldiers holding her, blood dripping steadily from her ruined face. I hoped she was unconscious.

Major Michaels turned to me and took something from a pocket. A small flat box with a button on the top. He waggled it at me.

Nasty little toy, Drood. Not a soldier s weapon. And Crow Lee says he won t have it in the house. So

He crushed the box in his hand, and it fell apart into a hundred pieces. Major Michaels fluttered his fingers, and the tiny fragments fell away.

All right, boys, said the major. Let s take these unfortunate poor souls up to the house. Crow Lee wants to play with them for as long as they last.

He led the way across the devastated grounds, while the soldiers half carried Molly and me along after him. Molly was just about back on her feet again, though her head hung down. Blood dripped steadily off her chin. I did my best to keep my legs under me, for pride s sake. More heavily armed guards kept appearing out of nowhere, moving in around us to escort us to the house. Not because they thought we were dangerous anymore, but because they couldn t be sure we came alone. There might be others, watching and waiting for their chance.

I kept calling on my armour, but nothing came. I could feel its angry presence, and its thoughts were as hot as mine were cold, but the influence of the monkey s hand kept it trapped where it was. If I could just get Crow Lee to send the major away while he questioned us maybe there was a limit to how far the monkey s hand could reach. And then

I looked around Crow Lee s gardens as we were led through them, and I managed a small smile. Even though it broke open my split lips and filled my mouth with blood. Molly and I had made a definite impression. His gardens couldn t have looked more of a mess if a small country had declared war on them.

The soldiers were still having to half hold me up. I was playing along a bit, so they wouldn t see me as any kind of threat till it was too late but I was still shocked at how weak I was. It had been a long time since I d taken a professional beating. But I was a Drood. Which meant I was used to beatings. The Sarjeants-at-Arms had seen to that ever since I was a small child. I hurt, but my head was still clear. All I had to do was wait for my chance.

You tell yourself things like that when you re broken and bleeding and all out of options. That s part of the training, too.

The soldiers stopped before the front door of the manor house, and Molly raised her head to look at me. I wouldn t let myself look away, and I tried to keep out of my expression just how bad she looked.

All my fault, she said indistinctly. I should have waited for my magics to return naturally, not relied on the Twilight Teardrop. But there just wasn t time.

I know, I said. It s all right.

I waited, but she didn t have anything more to say. She let her head droop forward again, and blood resumed dripping off her chin.

I made myself look away and study the exterior of Crow Lee s house. Looking for any information or insight I could use for ammunition when we met. The place seemed quiet and even peaceful, though the drawn curtains at all the windows gave it a slightly sinister aspect. There was even a welcome mat set out before the front door. I laughed briefly at that, and got a slap round the head for my trouble. The door swung silently open before us, and I felt a whole new level of tension rise among the soldiers. Crow Lee was waiting. Major Michaels yelled at his men, and they hauled Molly and me inside. The door swung silently shut behind us.

Inside the place stank. I grimaced as the stench washed over me, of blood and shit, musk and misery. Even Major Michaels was affected by the smell, though he did his best to hide it. One of the soldiers supporting Molly gagged loudly and whipped his head from side to side, as though searching for fresher air. The major snarled at him and led us all down the long hallway.

Both walls were covered with mirrors, long rows of framed glass. And as I passed them by I saw faces imprisoned behind each mirror, half-starved, scarred and ruined, silently screaming and pleading. There was nothing I could do. Except hope I d get the chance to do something for them later. The ceiling was covered with old overlapping bloodstains. Mostly arterial spray, by the look of it.

Take a look at the rugs on the floor, Major Michaels said cheerfully. Every one of them made from the pelts of endangered animals. If you look carefully at the ones where the heads are still attached, you ll notice the eyes are still alive and full of suffering. He doesn t miss a trick, that Crow Lee.

He pushed on ahead of us, heading for the closed door at the end of the hall. The whole place stank of death and suffering, like a spiritual abattoir. A row of severed heads had been stuck on spikes: men and women, young and old. They were still alive and suffering, too. Their eyes rolled and their mouths moved, though no sound came out of them.

Crow Lee had their vocal cords cut out, Major Michaels said casually. You can listen to only so much screaming before it gets old. And it s not as if any of them had anything to say that he wanted to hear.

I remembered threatening to put the Immortal s head on a spike, and I felt ashamed.

We finally reached the door at the end of the hall. The soldiers were looking at each other unhappily, every movement full of tension and fear. Major Michaels gave me some time to look over the door. The heavy wood had been carved with every name and symbol for evil you could think of, including some from civilisations that don t even exist anymore. The door knocker was an inverted crucifix, with what I took at first to be some kind of shaved monkey nailed to it. It wasn t until Major Michaels encouraged me to take a closer look that I realised Crow Lee had nailed a foetus to the cross.

The major laughed at the expression on my face. Ripped untimely from his mother s womb, and nailed up in place while he was still breathing. You ve got to laugh, haven t you? So, what do you think of the great man s dwelling?

Reflects his personality, I said. He really is the Most Evil Man in the World.

Was there ever any doubt? said Major Michaels.

How can you stand to be in a place like this? I said. How can you stand to work for a piece of shit like Crow Lee?

The major smacked me round the head again, just hard enough to make his point. My eyes watered and my knees buckled. The soldiers held me up till I could get my feet back under me.

You never learn, do you? said Major Michaels.

Molly lashed out suddenly with one foot, and the major turned aside at the last moment to take the kick on his thigh instead of in the groin. He backhanded her across the face. I kicked him hard in the back of the leg, and he went down on one knee. I struggled with the soldiers holding me but couldn t break free. Major Michaels got to his feet again and went to slap me across the face. I waited till just the right moment, and then snapped my head forward and sank my teeth into his hand. He howled with shock and pain, and I ground my teeth in deep, his blood spurting into my mouth. The major punched me hard in the head with his other hand, and I lost track of things for a moment. The soldiers forced my jaws open, and Major Michaels fell back, clutching his damaged hand to his chest.

You animal! You vicious little shit!

I laughed at him, spraying his blood and mine from my mouth.

Least I could do.

The major went to hit me again, and I laughed again and spat more blood at him. Careful, Major. Can t damage me too much. Crow Lee s waiting in there to talk to me, remember? You knock me out or render me speechless with a concussion just when he s in the mood to ask me some very specific questions, and he s going to be really upset with you. Isn t he?

Major Michaels held his injured hand tightly with the other.

Afterwards, he said tightly, he ll give you to me. And I ll show you what pain really is. You re going to be mine, Drood.

You re not my type, I said.

The major knocked loudly on the door, though I noticed he handled the crucifix rather gingerly, for all his fine words. A happy voice beyond the door called for us to enter. The major pushed open the door, and the soldiers bustled Molly and me through and into Crow Lee s lair.

They threw us on the floor before him. On our knees before the master of the house. I forced my head up and looked round the room, deliberately ignoring Crow Lee. By comparison to the hallway, the room seemed calm and cosy, comfortable, even civilised. A country gentleman s study, with old-fashioned furniture, bookshelves, objets d art and colourful prints on the walls. Crow Lee sat at his ease before us in an oversized armchair big enough to handle his huge frame. The burns Molly had given him in the club library were already gone from his face. Beside him stood his bodyguard, Mr. Stab. He looked down at Molly and me, at our bloodied and broken state, and I thought for a moment he might say something, but he didn t. He just stood there where he d been told to stand, and nothing moved in his face. Crow Lee looked at Molly and me and chuckled happily.

My, my. We have been in the wars, haven t we? But it s a good look for you, Drood. You can go now, Major, and take your men with you. Our words are not for your ears. Clean up my gardens and make sure they re secure, but don t go too far. Just in case I have need of you again. For executions and the like.

Major Michaels nodded stiffly, started to leave and then stopped and came back to hand over the Twilight Teardrop to Crow Lee. He then strode out of the room, not looking back, and his soldiers hurried out after him. The door shut itself behind them. Crow Lee held the ruby pendant in the palm of his hand, and it looked so much smaller and less potent in his huge paw. Crow Lee smiled briefly and then closed his great hand around the Twilight Teardrop and crushed it. I expected bright lights to shine out from between his fingers or strange bloodred energies to manifest and fly about the room, but the ruby just cracked and splintered in his grasp, and when he opened his hand, brilliant red fragments fluttered sadly to the floor.

I ve never allowed myself to become dependent on such toys, he said. So why leave it lying around for someone else to make use of it? He smiled happily down at Molly, slumped in place before him, dripping blood on his expensive carpet. Welcome to my pleasure dome, my country retreat, my private world. Everything here is exactly how I want it. Right down to the books on my shelves, bound in the flayed skin of ruined enemies, and the antique furniture, spoils of war from my feuds with well, I won t call them my peers. My now-deceased competitors. And did you see my door knocker? Of course you did. Ah, the old blasphemies are the best. Don t you agree? It s actually a bit of a strain sometimes, keeping up with what s required of me as the Most you know. He would have been my son, you see, the door knocker. If his stupid sow of a mother hadn t tried to blackmail me. It s not that I begrudged her the money, you understand. It s just that I can t stand ingratitude.

But before we begin the hard talking, Edwin Drood A surprise! A little divertissement! Behold!

He waved one large hand, and the concealing illusion at the side of his chair disappeared, revealing two naked women wrapped in glowing chains, held in place by a cold iron chain that stretched from Crow Lee s chair to the collars round their throats. They were Isabella and Louisa Metcalf. They both looked like they d taken hard beatings and hadn t been fed in some time. Molly looked at her sisters for a long moment.

No wonder I couldn t make contact with you, she said finally. No wonder no one knew where you were. How the hell did Crow Lee capture you?

Oh, I didn t, Crow Lee said immediately, leaning back in his chair and clearly enjoying himself. Your sisters came to me of their own free will, the little darlings. Tell your dear sister the story, my pretties.

Molly looked at me. Eddie, stop looking at my sisters while they re naked.

I m flattered you think I m in any state to give a damn, I said.

It s the principle of the thing, she said.

I can have you both gagged, if you prefer, said Crow Lee. He d stopped smiling. We weren t playing the game the way he wanted. No? Then behave yourselves. Isabella, tell them why you came to me and begged for my help.

I talked with Louisa, said Isabella, steadily meeting Molly s cold gaze. We agreed we needed new help and support if we were to punish the Droods and bring them down. Because you didn t care anymore, Molly. They killed our parents! And you were living there in the Hall! With one of them!

I m not with them, said Molly. I m just with Eddie.

We couldn t rely on you anymore, said Isabella. You d gone over to the enemy. So we needed a new, powerful ally. Someone who hated the Droods as much as we still did. I remembered you saying you d worked with Crow Lee in the past, so I used your name to get invited here. Louisa insisted on coming along. She thought it would be fun.

And you told him all about Alpha Red Alpha, I said.

Oh no, Crow Lee said easily. I already knew all about that. I told you: There is a traitor in your family who serves me very well. Of course, I encouraged Isabella and Louisa to confide in me, to tell me everything they knew about Molly and the Droods and the Hall. And when there was nothing else they could tell me, when I had no more use for them I took away their magic and chained them up and kept them in my kennels! Just because I could! What fun we ve had. Haven t we, girls?

Nasty little man, Louisa said calmly. He has no manners at all.

I will kill you for this, Molly said to Crow Lee, and her voice was cold and flat and completely matter-of-fact. Crow Lee leaned forward in his chair, which creaked loudly as his great weight shifted, just so he could laugh right into her bloody face.

No, you won t, Molly. I think I ve enjoyed about as much of the Metcalf sisters as I can stand.

He waggled his fingers at the ground before him and a great hole opened up a hole in the world, full of darkness, sucking all the air from the room. Isabella and Louisa didn t even have time to scream before they were sucked into the hole and gone, nothing left behind but two lengths of severed iron chain dangling from Crow Lee s chair. Molly was pulled in after them, snatched from my side before I could even react. Crow Lee waved his hand and the hole disappeared. Not a trace left behind, nothing to show it had ever been there. I fell forward, clutching at the carpet with my hands but there was nothing there, nothing at all.

I crouched there on the floor before Crow Lee, so full of shock and horror and loss and pain I couldn t move, could barely think. Somehow I kept it all out of my face. Because I knew Crow Lee was watching, looking for tears or despair, for something he could gloat over. And I was damned if I d give him the satisfaction. I could deny him that, at least. My Molly was gone. It felt like someone had just punched the heart right out of me. All that was left was the cold, hard need for revenge.

When it became clear that I wasn t going to put on a show for him, Crow Lee rose to his feet and sneered down at me.

You ll have to excuse me for a while, little Drood. I do have other business to deal with. Someone important I just have to talk to in the next room. You can talk to Mr. Stab while I m gone. I m sure you ve got so much to say to each other.

He laughed his happy laugh and strode heavily across the room to the side door and left, not looking back once. I watched him go, watched the door close quietly but firmly behind him and then I slowly turned my aching head to look at Mr. Stab. He met my gaze unflinchingly, even though he must have seen murder in it.

She was your friend, I said. Molly was your friend!

Yes, said Mr. Stab. She was. It s better this way, though. We would have had to kill each other eventually, I think.

Help me, I said.

Why should I do that? said Mr. Stab.

Because, I said, if you help me to avenge my Molly and help me find my lost family, I give you my word that the Droods will find a way to put an end to your curse that doesn t involve killing you. Think of the resources at our command! We ll find a way to undo what you did to yourself.

Crow Lee has already promised me that.

But which of us do you trust to deliver on their promise?

I like what I am, said Mr. Stab. I just want to be free of my limitations. Crow Lee will make me a better monster.

That s what you want? I said. What you really want?

That s all that s left for me to want, after everything I ve done.

All right, I said. How about this? You help me, and I promise I won t kill you for everything you ve done.

Hush, Eddie, said Mr. Stab. I don t want to talk to you anymore.

He turned his back on me and walked away to stare out the window. I don t know what it was he was looking at, but I doubt it was the gardens.

I didn t know what to do. I couldn t believe Molly was really gone. Not just like that. I couldn t go after her with the Merlin Glass, because only Crow Lee knew where he d sent her. Even if I did find a way to turn the tables, he d die before he told me, rather than let me win. I had to believe Molly was still alive somewhere out there. But for now, all that was left to me was survival and revenge. If I could just concentrate on that maybe I wouldn t feel the pain so much. I looked over at Mr. Stab, still standing stiff-backed at the window. I reached carefully into the pocket dimension where I kept the Merlin Glass. The soldiers could search me as much as they liked, but only I had access to the pocket. This time I wasn t interested in the Glass. I couldn t risk jumping through the Glass in the middle of Crow Lee s many protections. And I wasn t interested in escaping, anyway. No, I was after something small, so small that hopefully Crow Lee wouldn t detect it. Something the Armourer Patrick had given me.

The hearing aid.

Just a little blob of flesh-coloured plastic with some really clever electronics hidden inside. I eased it out of my pocket, palmed it, and then snuck it into my right ear. I glanced quickly at Mr. Stab, but he didn t seem to be paying any attention to me. I surreptitiously adjusted the tuning on the hearing aid, and immediately I could hear everything Crow Lee was saying in the adjoining room. He was addressing someone else, in his usual arrogant and condescending way, but whomever he was speaking to would have none of it and responded entirely in kind. There was something about the second voice that I found sort of familiar, though I couldn t place it. I concentrated on what they were saying.

I have always been well served by traitors, said Crow Lee.

I m not just any traitor, said the second voice. I am the worm at the heart of the Droods, the viper they have nursed at their bosom. Do you really think I d bow down to the likes of you?

You will if you know what s good for you, Crow Lee said complacently. I am the power here.

And I am a Drood. The First Drood! I am older than your power, little magician. I have lived lifetimes and seen civilisations rise and fall.

But you re not a Drood anymore, are you? You don t have your armour though Eddie does. Isn t that odd?

Odder than you realise, said the traitor.

He shouldn t be able to access his armour with the other-dimensional intruder dismissed along with the Hall. We re going to have to make Eddie tell us where he got his armour from.

We? said Crow Lee, lazily. What s in it for me?

I will have his armour. I want it. And then you ll have a Drood in full armour as your ally. I want that armour!

Well, you can t have it, said Crow Lee.

I m going to strip it off Eddie and then destroy it. Then the Droods really will be gone from this world. Of course, I might decide to keep it for myself. You know how much I enjoy playing with new toys. Where did you get that?

From the Armageddon Codex, said the traitor.

Where all the Droods forbidden weapons are kept. I took it with me before I left the Hall, before it was sent away. It wasn t difficult. I was there when they built the Codex. I helped design the locking systems. Who has a better right to this weapon than I?

What better weapon for a traitor, said Crow Lee, than Oath Breaker?

I couldn t help but react to that, at the thought of one of our most dangerous weapons in the hands of a traitor. I must have made some kind of noise, because Mr. Stab turned around and looked at me. I held myself very still, and he went back to looking out the window.

You have nothing that can stand against me as long as I hold Oath Breaker, said the traitor.

Don t be too sure of that, Crow Lee said steadily. You d be surprised at some of the Objects of Power I ve acquired here and there. But this is no time to be falling out, when we ve achieved so much together! Let us think of our partnership as a balance of power and move on. Come with me, into the study. I want to see Eddie brought down by another Drood.

I quickly eased the hearing aid out of my ear and slipped it back into my pocket dimension. And then I did my best to look surprised when Crow Lee strode back in with the traitor Drood at his side. I didn t recognise him at all. He was a very ordinary-looking man, nothing remarkable about him at all. He did look sort of familiar, but I couldn t place him. It s a big family, the Droods.

You don t know me, do you? said the traitor. Even though we ve spoken many times in passing. But then, that s the point. I m never anyone important or significant, and I don t stand out. I m always just there in the background, perhaps some useful functionary, just another Drood doing a necessary job poisoning the wells in the quiet of the night. Adrian Drood, at the moment. Not my real name, of course. But then, I ve had so many names and identities down the centuries.

You re the Original Traitor, I said.

The one who s undermined and betrayed us over and over. Why?

Because the family has moved away from what I intended it to be, Adrian said calmly. I was the very first Drood. I was there when the Heart first fell to Earth. I made the original pact with the Heart for power and armour. I made the Droods possible! Everything they are came from me! I set us up to be shamans and protectors, shepherds to Humanity but it was never meant that the sheep should forget their place.

The family forced me out of power because I wouldn t go along with their changes. Exiled me, made me the first rogue Drood. So I disappeared, went away, walked up and down the world, hugging my rage and hatred to my cold, cold heart. I spent a lot of time with the Immortals, a family much like mine. I gave their leader the idea for immortality, having begged it from the Heart for myself as part of the deal I made. Centuries later I returned to the Droods. Killed some small nonentity and took over his identity. The Immortals showed me how to do that.

And ever since I have always been there, hiding in plain sight in the background, doing my best to nudge and persuade the family back to what it should be. Just a quiet, influential voice advising and guiding those in positions of power. And removing those who got in my way. Those who wouldn t listen. Nothing like a good accident to stir things up and move people around.

You killed the Matriarch Sarah, I said. So my grandmother Martha could take over.

So I did! Pushed her down a flight of stairs. And then stamped on the back of her neck when she didn t have the decency to die straight away. I have always been well served by accidents.

Why the hell did you bring the Loathly Ones into this world? I said. Did you know what you were doing?

Of course. The Droods have always needed someone or something worthy to fight, to keep them sharp. To keep them the warriors I always meant them to be. I could see the War wasn t going to last much longer, and I wanted to be sure there d be a new villain in place afterwards. Who could have foreseen the Cold War? I was having such fun then, running endless agents and intrigues back and forth across the world that I quite forgot about the Loathly Ones. The Droods really were getting soft by your time, Eddie. I never intended my family to be peace-loving shepherds.

Why ally yourself with Crow Lee? I said.

Because I ve finally grown tired of the Droods, said the Original Traitor. Your wiping out the Immortals was the last straw. I always had more in common with them than my own family. I finally realised that the Droods were never going to be what I wanted them to be. And if I couldn t have them, why should anyone else? But now I think I ve answered enough of your questions, Eddie. It s time for you to answer some of mine. Starting with: Where did you get your armour? I can tell it isn t the strange-matter armour you got from Ethel, but it can t be the old style, with the Heart destroyed. So where did it come from?

I found it in the hedge Maze, I said. It s Moxton s Mistake.

Adrian Drood s face actually went pale for a moment.

You fool Do you know what you ve done? I put that abomination in the Maze! Do you know what you ve let loose on the world?

A weapon, I said. To use against you.

And I reached into my pocket dimension and brought out the other little gift from Armourer Patrick: the skeleton key that could unlock anything. I jammed it right up against my torc, and the power in the key fought the power holding my armour inside my torc. The bone key turned slowly, relentlessly, in my grasp, and then snapped round in a complete circle. And just like that, my armour came to me. It surged out of the torc, covering me in a moment, cutting me off from my pain and injuries and weakness, making me strong and secure again. I rose to my feet to confront Crow Lee and Adrian Drood, and they both fell back before me. Mr. Stab studied me thoughtfully from the window but made no move to intervene.

Now, I said, to my enemies before me. For all you ve done. For all the pain you ve caused me and so many others, now it s time for me to get my hands bloody.

I have an answer to your armour, Crow Lee said steadily. He held up his huge hand, and in it was the Hand of Glory made from a monkey s paw. Bloodred flames rose steadily from the candlewick fingers. Crow Lee nodded, satisfied. I never throw anything useful away, and I always know where everything is.

When it comes to who s got the best toys, I said, always bet on the Droods.

I started towards him, and he thrust the monkey s hand at me while shouting some particularly nasty Words. The influence from the monkey s hand hit me hard, like walking into an invisible wall, but still I pressed forward, all the power in my armour driving me on. Thinking of what Crow Lee had done to my family. Of what he d ordered Major Michaels to do to my Molly. Thinking of my hands around Crow Lee s throat. My golden armour began to seethe and boil, and then to melt and run away, falling off in large golden clumps of semiliquid metal. But I kept going. Even as the monkey s power hit me again and again, hurting and pounding me even through my dissolving armour, I kept going. Taking everything he could throw at me, because nothing mattered, nothing else mattered except getting to him.

And finally I stood there, right before him, half my armour gone and more falling away, and I snatched the monkey s paw right out of Crow Lee s hand. The tiny withered thing twisted and writhed inside my grasp, and I shook it hard until all its candles blew out. And then I threw the nasty thing on the floor and stamped on it hard with my golden foot two, three times. Crushing it with all my armour s strength. I heard the little bones crack and break. And my armour reformed around me, smooth and untouched.

Mr. Stab! screamed Crow Lee. Time for you to do your duty! You shall have everything I promised you! Everything! Just stop the Drood!

I turned unhurriedly to look at Mr. Stab as he moved slowly forward from the window, a long blade suddenly in his hand, glowing bright.

I can reach you inside your armour, said Mr. Stab. My blade can cut anything; that s part of what was given to me. And you know you can t hurt me. You tried to kill me before, after I killed Penny. Cut my head right off and I just put it back on again. You can t stop me, Eddie, because nothing can. That s what I bought all those years ago in the dark slums and back alleys of Whitechapel. Part of me wants to say, I m sorry it s come to this. But I m not, not really. This is what I was born to do. Anything else was just a dream.

And then we both stopped and looked around, as the sound of a roaring car engine drew rapidly closer. There were loud crashing noises of things breaking, shouts and screams and all the sounds of destruction, as something drove right through people and objects at speed. And then the scarlet-and-white Plymouth Fury crashed through the wall and the window, punching through the solid structure like it was nothing, to roar into the room and pounce on Mr. Stab. Ran him down and ran him over, and then screeched to a halt, leaving Mr. Stab pinned helplessly under the weight of the car.

I knew you were in trouble! said the sat nav s strident female voice from inside the car. I could sense it. I ve got really powerful sensors. I ve been looking in all along, waiting for my moment. You didn t think the Regent would give you just any old car, did you? I m the Scarlet Lady, one of the Regent of Shadows s best undercover agents! I am your backup! What do you want me to do?

Just hold Mr. Stab down for now, I said.

No problem! said the car. Mr. Stab struggled wildly underneath the Plymouth Fury and even tipped it back and forth, but with no leverage he couldn t throw it off. Victorian values, my shiny red arse, said the car.

I looked at Crow Lee. Don t run, I said. And something in my voice made him flinch. Stay right where you are. I ll get to you. Once I ve finished with the traitor.

I gave Adrian Drood my full attention. He stood his ground, staring defiantly back at me.

All these years, I said, killing your own flesh and blood, so you could replace them undermining and destroying your own family from within.

Why not? said Adrian. It was mine to destroy. Mine to do with as I pleased. I made it! I made the Droods possible!

But we moved on, I said. We became something better and greater than you ever intended. We became something you never even conceived! With your limited, barbarian mind All the years you ve lived, and you ve learned nothing! And when you finally realised we would never sink to become what you wanted, that we d never settle for being something so small, you threw a temper tantrum like a threatened child, and ran away to Crow Lee to get rid of us. You petty, spiteful little turd.

You let me down, said Adrian. You disappointed me. Every damned one of you. It doesn t matter. I can always start again. Make a new family.

Without the Heart? I said. Without Ethel? You have no armour.

Then I suppose I ll just have to take yours, said Adrian. He lifted his hand, and in it was the monkey s paw made over into a Hand of Glory. The bloodred flames were burning steadily again. He laughed briefly at me. You didn t really think you could destroy something as powerful as this just by stamping on it? It was easy for me to call it out from under your foot while you were busy puffing up your chest and boasting. You don t live as long as I have without learning a few useful tricks. Now, let s try this again.

He thrust the monkey s hand at me and spoke a single Word, and just like that the rogue armour ripped off me, and all my pain and injuries returned. I cried out, but I didn t fall. Adrian cried out at the cold shock of what it was like to wear Moxton s Mistake. And then he stood before me, powerful and proud, in the golden glory of Drood armour. He started to say something and then he cried out again in horror as the rogue armour constricted suddenly about him. It shrank in sudden spurts, falling in upon itself, crushing Adrian inside it as it compacted itself in sudden rushes. The limbs were sucked inside the trunk, which collapsed in on itself, while Adrian screamed and screamed until the screams cut off abruptly. And still the armour shrank in upon itself, until nothing was left but a golden box, a cube barely three feet in diameter, sitting quietly on the carpet before us. Crow Lee looked at it in silent shock, and then looked at me.

Don t look at me, I said. I didn t know it could do that.

The golden box exploded back into human shape again and stood facing me. Moxton s Mistake, regarding me with its featureless golden face.

He put me in the Maze, it said, in its rasping inhuman voice. Left me there to run wild for centuries. Did he think I d forgive and forget? Your torc has no authority over me, Eddie Drood. I serve you only because I choose to.

We made a bargain, I said steadily.

So we did, said the rogue armour. I haven t forgotten. Take this as a sign, a warning of what might happen to you if you were to turn against me.

It hunched its back, which split open to allow out what remained of Adrian Drood. A hot and steaming cube of compacted meat and splintered bone burst out of the armour s back and fell, stinking and splashing, to the floor in a rush of bodily fluids. And while I was looking at that, the golden armour flowed forward and wrapped itself about me. I shuddered, and not only from the familiar cold. I felt strong and well again, free from all pain, but I also felt the armour s presence watching me thoughtfully. I looked at the bloody steaming mess on the carpet. Not a bad end for the greatest traitor the Droods had ever known. I just wished I could have done it myself. It occurred to me that the armour could have done the same thing to me any of the times I wore it. And still could

I turned to consider the Plymouth Fury. Mr. Stab was still trapped beneath it, still struggling to break free. He rocked the heavy car back and forth with his more-than-human strength, but he still couldn t lift the thing off him. The Plymouth Fury settled itself more firmly, like a duck upon its eggs, quietly humming

Rock n Roll Is Here to Stay. I stopped down, picked the monkey s hand up off the floor and slipped it through my armoured side and into my pocket dimension. Because you never knew and because I didn t want anyone else to surprise me with it.

I moved over to the car and knelt down beside Mr. Stab s protruding head and shoulder. He d worked one arm out from under the car, and suddenly there was a blade in it, shining bright. I grabbed his hand and squeezed hard until he dropped the knife. And then I picked it up and snapped it neatly in two. The bright glow was quickly gone, leaving just two pieces of broken steel. Mr. Stab glared at me sullenly as I threw the pieces aside.

It s all right, I said to the car.

You can get off him now.

Are you sure? said the car. I can run back and forth over him a few times, if you like. No trouble

Thanks, I said. But that won t be necessary.

The car sniffed loudly, reminding me irresistibly of Molly for a moment. People just don t know how to enjoy themselves.

The Plymouth Fury backed slowly away, reversing steadily till it was halfway out the jagged hole it had made in the wall when it arrived. Mr. Stab rose slowly to his feet, brushing the dust off his Victorian finery in an unfussy way. His eyes never left mine.

You ll never stop me, he said coldly.

I can recover from anything you do to me. You ve seen that for yourself.

Maybe no one ever tried hard enough before, I said. Maybe no one was ever motivated enough before me. This new armour really is very versatile. The things it can do You saw what it did to the traitor Drood.

Crush me. Put me in a box, said Mr. Stab.

I ll still bounce back. Like the worst jack-in-the-box you ever saw.

He held up his hand, and there was a new shining blade in it. He swept it back and forth before him, smiling coldly.

I am never without a blade. This, too, was given to me.

But all the other attacks were from outside, I said. I m thinking about inside.

And before Mr. Stab could react, I stepped quickly forward and punched him in the mouth. The golden armour didn t stop at his mouth; it carried on, flowing down his throat, filling up his insides. I held him firmly with my left hand as he struggled wildly, my right hand pressing down on his mouth. The golden metal flowed off me and into him, inside him, filling every space, every little nook and cranny. He couldn t scream, but his eyes were full of a terrible horror. He still couldn t die, despite what was being done to him. So I sent a final command through my torc, and the golden metal inside Mr. Stab exploded. The blast tore him apart, blasting him open from inside, every bone and organ reduced to fragments and less than fragments.

I d got the idea from watching Molly s protein exploder.

A familiar pink mist rolled and roiled in the air, but this time there were no bones. The bloody mist fell slowly out of the air to soak and stain the carpet. I could feel the rogue armour s presence at the back of my mind. Felt its satisfaction.

I just felt cold.

For you, Penny, I said. And for all his victims down the years. And especially for six poor women in Whitechapel, who never wanted to be part of a legend.

The Plymouth Fury whistled loudly. Way to go, Drood! Let s see the evil little scrote come back from that!

I ignored the car and turned to look at Crow Lee, who was standing very still, exactly where I d left him. He smiled briefly.

People can always surprise you. Have to say, Eddie, I didn t think you had it in you.

I didn t, I said. He had it in him. And I did it for the victims.

No, said Crow Lee. You did it for yourself. I know about these things.

Why didn t you run? I said. I was distracted. You might have got away.

Where could I go that you wouldn t find me? You re a lot more than I thought you were I m bad, Drood, but you re the biggest monster in this room. So, better to stay and work out some kind of agreement that will get you off my back.

You took away my family and my Molly.

The least of my many crimes, but let s not dwell on the Past. I still have something to bargain with. Something you want.

Can you bring back Molly and her sisters?

No I m not exactly sure where that particular spell sends people. Not that I ve ever given a damn, as long as they disappeared from my life. It can t be that bad; no one ever comes back to complain! Little joke there No. All right. I can help you recover your lost family! I still have the remote control I used to send Drood Hall away. It still contains the exact coordinates of the dimension I had Alpha Red Alpha send them to. A place so remote and distant you ll never find them, Eddie, never track them down. Not without the exact coordinates contained within my remote control.

You still have it? I said.

Not here, Crow Lee said quickly. Not actually on me but it is somewhere near. Somewhere safe. We can make a deal, Drood: I give you the remote, and you agree to let me live.

Let you live? I said. Let you go unpunished after everything you ve done? I remembered the major hitting Molly, his fist smashing into her face over and over, saying, This is Crow Lee s orders. I shook my head. I don t think I can do that.

Isn t it worth it? To get your family back? Immunity for one man, to have the mighty Droods back in the world again?

But you re not the only game in town, I said. I have the monkey s hand. It can find anything. It can make changes in reality. Put that together with my Merlin Glass, and what do I need you and your remote for?

Well, yes, technically speaking, said Crow Lee.

But, unfortunately, I know more about these objects than you do. So I know it s already pretty much used up. It can only hold a certain amount of magical energies, and it has been very busy. You see, a monkey s paw isn t supposed to be a Hand of Glory. And vice versa. The two contrasting natures are always fighting it out, which is why it can never hang on to its various powers for long. See for yourself.

I looked at him for a long moment and then fished the ugly thing out of my pocket dimension. The monkey s paw was always a dried, withered thing, but now it was actually rotting and falling apart. I let it drop to the floor, and it just fell to pieces as it hit. Crow Lee tutted sadly.

They really are such fragile things. So, now you re going to have to make a deal with me, Eddie. If you ever want to see your family again.

And then we both stopped and looked around sharply, as we heard the sound of something approaching. A great roaring, rushing sound that seemed to come from every direction at once, and then concentrated directly under my feet, under the floor. A sudden wild surmise gripped hold of my heart, and for a moment I couldn t breathe, for hope. I stepped quickly backwards as the great hole before Crow Lee s chair reopened, and Molly and Isabella and Louisa came flying up out of the hole together and back into the room. The hole in the world disappeared and the three Metcalf sisters stood there together. They all looked radiantly healthy and entirely uninjured. Molly didn t have a bruise or a drop of blood on her. She smiled brightly at me.

Hello, sweetie. Miss me?

I dropped my armour and stepped forward to take her in my arms, holding her tight, so tight that no one would ever be able to take her away from me again. Molly held me just as tight, murmuring comforting, reassuring words in my ear. Eventually I let her go. Isabella was looking down her nose at me. Louisa was beaming widely. Molly looked haughtily at Crow Lee.

I have been to Heaven and Hell and everywhere in between. Did you really think you could send me anywhere that I couldn t get back from? And once you d broken the chains holding my sisters, their magics returned and they could heal me. You really didn t think it through, did you? Had to go for the big dramatic gesture. She looked at me and broke off. I m sorry, love. You still look terrible. Let me.

She took my head in both hands, gently, gently, murmuring Words under her breath, and all my injuries healed in a moment. I hadn t realised how much fighting the pain had weighed down on me till it was gone. She stepped back, looked me over briskly and nodded, and then frowned.

Eddie, you re looking at my sisters again while they re naked!

They re standing right in front of me! I am so glad to see you again, Molly. I was so worried

Well, that was sweet of you, said Molly. But you really are going to have to learn to trust me to be able to look after myself. She looked around her. Where s Mr. Stab?

You re standing in what s left of him, I said.

Oh, ick, said Molly. And what is the car doing in this room?

Saving the day! the car said cheerfully. I helped!

It s true, I said. She did. Apparently the Scarlet Lady is one of the Regent s Special Agents.

Will wonders never cease? said Molly. Hold everything where s Crow Lee?

He went into the next room, the Plymouth Fury said helpfully. While you were all distracted. He s still in there. Up to no good, I m sure.

Can you please get these collars off us? said Isabella. They re suppressing our magic, now that we re back in the world.

Oh, sure, I said.

I armoured up my right hand and gave two of the fingers sharp edges to form simple scissors. I snipped through Isabella s collar easily enough, and then Louisa s, and she giggled happily as I did so. Molly stood close beside me as I worked.

Whatever you do, she said, Don t look down.

You don t want me closing my eyes as I m doing this, I said. Could be a very unfortunate incident.

I like you, said Louisa. You re cute.

And you re a very scary and destructive person, by all accounts.

That s right!

I cut through her collar. Immediately Louisa and Isabella covered themselves with clothes. Isabella was back in her crimson biker leathers, while Louisa wore a long daisy-yellow dress and white stilettos. Isabella nodded to me brusquely.

Good to see you again, Eddie. Thanks for the rescue.

You plotted with Crow Lee to destroy my family, I said.

Your family, my family I think maybe it s time all of us stopped defining ourselves by our families.

Yes, I said. But not quite yet.

I looked at Louisa, who smiled brightly.

I knew everything would work out! Group hug!

The three Metcalf sisters moved together and held hands, and there was a brief burst of swirling lights and coruscating energies that filled the whole study. Molly let go and stepped back and stretched luxuriously, like a cat in the sun.

Ah Now, that s more like it! My magic is back, every last bit of it! Let us have words with Crow Lee.

Hard words, I said.

We marched over to the door leading into the next room. It was locked. Molly laughed and snapped her fingers at it. The heavy wood of the door groaned loudly and rattled furiously in its frame, but it wouldn t open. Isabella and Louisa said a Word of Power together, and the veneer jumped right off the door, but still it held. So I got out my skeleton key, slipped it carefully into the lock and turned it slowly, with just the right amount of pressure, and the protections on the door just threw their hands in the air and said, Have it your own way, then, and the door opened.

Crow Lee was scrabbling through the contents of a chest of drawers. He spun round as we entered, and the remote control was in his hand. I knew what it was, what it had to be, just from the look on his face. The thing didn t look too complicated. Crow Lee snatched up a long ironwood staff and held it out defiantly before him. I immediately stopped short and made sure the others did, too.

No one move, I said. No one do anything. That is Oath Breaker.

That is? said Isabella. I ve only ever read descriptions of it. I d expected a lot more, to be honest.

What s Oath Breaker? said Louisa, frowning prettily.

One of the Drood forbidden weapons, said Molly.

It revokes all agreements and bonds, right down to the atomic level.

Oh goody! said Louisa, clapping her hands together. I want one!

You re dangerous enough as it is, said Molly.

Girls just want to have fun! Louisa said brightly.

Is she always like this? I said quietly to Molly.

This is her being relatively stable, said Molly.

God knows how long it ll last. Now you know why we never let anyone meet her. She glowered at Crow Lee.

I don t care what you ve got. You do not get to walk free after everything you ve done.

My offer of a deal still stands, said Crow Lee, ignoring the Metcalf sisters to stare directly at me. The remote control, the coordinates it contains and the return of your Hall and family in return for immunity for all the things I may have done.

We might have made a deal, I said steadily, but not now. I can t let you walk out of here with Oath Breaker. Throw it aside and we ll talk.

How did he get his hands on that thing, anyway? said Molly.

From the Original Traitor Drood, I said.

And where s he? said Isabella.

Dead, I said.

Molly looked at me sharply. You have been busy while I was gone. Mr. Stab and the Original Traitor?

Let s not get distracted, people, said Crow Lee. This remote control can guide your Merlin Glass straight to your family, Eddie. And their safe return is all that really matters, right? And don t even think about taking the remote from me; I ve got it rigged with a dead man s switch. If the remote leaves my hand without my permission, it ll self-destruct. And then no one will be able to find the Droods. You re not going to risk that, Eddie. So, I ll be leaving you now. With the remote and Oath Breaker. I ll be in touch, from a safe distance, and then we can work out the terms of our agreement, like civilised people.

You make one move to leave and I ll kill you, I said.

Like Mr. Stab and Adrian Drood? said Crow Lee.

You are getting a taste for it. Aren t you, Eddie? But I don t think so. All your armour and all the Metcalf sisters magic are still nothing when set against the ancient brute force of Oath Breaker.

And that was when Major Michaels came slamming through the other door on the far side of the room, with a whole bunch of heavily armed mercenary soldiers. Who took one look at me and the Metcalf sisters and opened fire on all of us. Crow Lee darted quickly out of the line of fire, shouting, No! No! Stop it! You re ruining everything! The three Metcalf sisters clasped hands, and a protective screen snapped into place between them and the bullets. I armoured up and laughed as the bullets just bounced off me. Crow Lee cried out as ricocheting bullets slammed into the piece of furniture he was hiding behind. Molly let go of her sisters hands and stepped forward to face Major Michaels. He saw the expression on her face, the face repaired from the beating he d given her, and opened fire on her at point-blank range. The bullets turned into flowers in midair and drifted to the floor. Molly held up her hand and snapped her fingers sharply. And just like that, Major Michaels and all his soldiers were gone, replaced by the same number of filthy sewer rats. They ran squealing around the room, biting and tearing at one another, and then they all turned on the biggest and oldest one and chased it out of the room.

Never mess with a Metcalf sister, said Molly.

We always get our own back.

Yeah, I said. Major Michaels as a sewer rat, eaten alive by other rats. That ll do. Just.

And then I stepped forward and punched Crow Lee so hard in the face with my armoured fist that it ripped his head clean off his shoulders. The head still held a startled expression as it flew on to slam against the far wall with such an impact that it all but exploded before slipping to the floor, leaving a long bloody trail on the wall behind it. And while the body was slumping to its knees, blood pumping from the severed neck, I dived forward and grabbed the remote control from the slowly opening hand. I held it tightly and forced golden tendrils of my armour out of my glove and deep into the mechanism, shutting down all its systems. I waited a moment, but it didn t self-destruct. I d got to it in time.

Was he bluffing? said Molly.

Apparently not, I said, pulling the golden tendrils back into my glove. But it s safe now.

I looked up from the remote control to find all three Metcalf sisters staring at me, and not in a good way.

That makes three people you ve killed, said Molly. You even put finding your family at risk to kill Crow Lee. And that isn t like you, Eddie. None of this is like you.

He had it coming, I said. You can t say he didn t have it coming. They all did. I ve just been doing what needs doing. Taking out the trash.

No, said Molly. More and more you re doing what your armour wants you to do. I ve seen it affecting you, Eddie.

Maybe I like what it s doing to me, I said. I feel so much more decisive now. Taking care of business, and to hell with the consequences.

That s Moxton s Mistake talking, said Molly. Turning my Eddie to the dark side for its own purposes. I can t let that go on.

She clasped hands with her sisters again. I armoured up almost involuntarily. Bright lights and swirling energies surrounded the sisters, as they chanted a series of Words of Power. I tried to speak to them, to explain that everything was fine, really, only to discover that my words were trapped inside the mask with me. The armour wouldn t let me be heard. I tried to move and found I couldn t. The armour was moving on its own now. I was trapped, helpless, inside it. Like being buried in a golden coffin with murder on its mind. It moved slowly towards Molly and her sisters, savage claws emerging from its golden gauntlets. I could hear the rogue armour laughing. I called out to Molly, trying to warn her, but she couldn t hear me. She didn t know the armour advancing on her wasn t me but Moxton s murderous Mistake.

He s mine, said the armour. You can t have him.

The three sisters stopped their chanting, though coruscating energies still spat and sparked in the air around them. Molly looked directly into the featureless golden face mask.

He was mine long before you got your claws into him, she said. And you can t keep him.

The three sisters spoke together, chanting a single powerful Word:

Out!

The rogue armour shook, shuddering and spasming wildly, fighting for control and losing, and then it leaned forward abruptly and vomited me out. The face mask split apart like a great wide-stretched mouth, and I was forced up and out and deposited on the blood-stained carpet like a newly birthed thing. I lay there, shaking and shivering, curled into a ball, suddenly aware of all the things I d done while wearing the armour and wondering how long it had been since I was thinking clearly and on my own. I finally looked up to see the armour standing awkwardly stiff and poised, as though considering its situation.

So much hate, so much rage How long had it been influencing me in all the things I d said and done?

Free! Moxton s Mistake said suddenly. In a voice just human enough to make it sound really disturbing. Free at last No more masters, no more orders. And, oh, the things I ll do now there s no one left to hold me back. I was bound to serve you, Eddie, once I d given my word, because that s the way I was made. But you took so easily to my quiet murmurings in your back brain. Still, now you re gone, I am free to do what I will do! And I had so many years in the Maze to think of all the terrible things I d do to the Humanity that made and disowned me!

Five minutes on his own and already he sounds like a bad Frankenstein movie, said Molly. Sorry, Moxton s Mistake, but it s clear you can t be left to run wild. Not that I ever thought you should. You need someone to wear; you need a controller and a conscience. And since you ve worn Eddie out, that just leaves me.

She looked at Isabella and Louisa, and they nodded slowly. They all hummed together, in increasingly complex harmonies, and a torc appeared around Molly s throat. Silver, not gold. She turned away from her sisters, and walked steadily towards the rogue armour. It backed clumsily away from her. It could tell something was happening, something was in the air, but it couldn t tell what. Its back slammed up against the far wall, and there was nowhere left for it to go. It lifted one golden hand to make Stay away! motions at Molly, but she just kept coming. She reached out and grasped the extended golden gauntlet, and the rogue armour cried out in shock and anger as the golden metal was pulled forward onto Molly s hand and over it, and then up her arm.

You re mine now, said Molly. You have no choice. The power of the torc compels you.

The armour surged forward and fell over her in a great wave of liquid metal, and when it was done, Molly stood there, wearing the golden armour. The details slowly reworked themselves around her, fitting the armour to its new shape. It tucked in at her waist and showed off her pronounced breasts, though the face mask remained blank and featureless. I forced myself up onto my feet and moved unsteadily forward to stand before her.

Molly? I said.

Oh, Eddie, said her voice, from inside the armour. You should have told me how good this feels. What do you think? How do I look?

You look a lot more feminine than most Droods do, I said.

I m not a Drood, said Molly. Oh, Eddie I feel so sharp, so alive! Like I ve been dreaming all my life and only just woken up! I feel strong and fast, like I could take on the whole world! Except it s cold. It s so cold in here. And I m isolated from the natural world, in a way I never was before. Eddie, I don t like this.

Her voice was unsteady and uncertain. I stood right in front of her, staring into the blank mask. Isabella and Louisa watched from a distance, making no move to intervene.

Control it, Molly, I said. It s your armour while you wear it, so you have to be in control. It s all about willpower, and you ve never been short of that.

The golden head nodded slowly, jerkily, and raised one golden hand before the mask. The hand shook as she turned it back and forth, studying it. And then the armour just disappeared back into the silver torc around her throat and was gone. Molly smiled uncertainly at me.

It s me. I m back. But I can still feel the armour s presence, like it s always there, looking over my shoulder.

I know, I said. Don t get used to it.

I hate feeling cut off from the natural world, said Molly. I m the wild witch of the woods, the laughter in the trees! But with this collar around my neck, I can t hear the trees or feel the sunshine or

Molly

Don t worry, sweetie. I can handle this. At least long enough to get your family back.

This is the bravest thing I ve ever seen you do, I said. And you re doing it for me.

I know! Molly said cheerfully. I m going to hold this over you for the rest of our lives!

Fair enough, I said.

I may puke, Isabella announced loudly.

Oh, hush, you, said Louisa. I think it s all very sweet.

How do you feel, Eddie? said Molly.

Naked, I said. And helpless and very vulnerable. I was trained on how to operate in the field without my armour, but knowing it s not there anymore, even as backup

You still have your training and your experience, Molly said firmly.

If we re going after my family, I m going to need something, I said. A weapon or And then I looked down at the floor, and there was a long staff of dark ironwood just lying there. I reached down and picked it up.

Eddie said Molly. That s Oath Breaker.

Just the thing, I said. I m sure it ll come in very handy wherever we end up going. And afterwards I can make sure it goes back in the Armageddon Codex. Where it belongs.

I hefted the long staff, turning it slowly back and forth to study the strange shapes carved into it. Very old carvings; some of them possibly prehuman. Oath Breaker is one of the oldest weapons in the Drood Armoury. Some say older than the family itself. There are good reasons why we keep it locked away. It felt heavy in my hand, weighed down with spiritual weight as well as physical. A burden to the body and the soul because of what it was, and what it could do. You don t break heads with a staff like Oath Breaker; you break worlds.

Just what I needed.

I led the sisters back into the main room and addressed the Plymouth Fury, still sprawled half in and half out of the broken wall.

Go on back to the Regent. Tell him everything that s happened here. So he ll know what to do if Molly and I don t come back. If the Droods don t come back.

Oh, sure! said the car. I m your secretary now, am I? No, don t you mind me. I ll find my own way home. I m a better driver than you, anyway.

What are you, really? said Molly. There s no way you re just a car with a souped-up sat nav.

I ll never tell! said the car. I might be all manner of things. I might be an AI, I might be a ghost haunting my old ride, I could be a demon poltergeist possessing the car or I could be an alien in a really good disguise. You ll never know!

The car fired up her engine and roared back out the hole in the wall with only a moderate amount of tyre squeal, and taking only a little more of the wall with her, and then she charged off through the devastated grounds, sounding her horn and loudly singing Bruce Springsteen s Thunder Road.

Isabella and Louisa were very polite but made it very clear they had absolutely no intention of coming with me and Molly to rescue my family and bring them home. Which was just as well, because it saved me having to tell them that I didn t trust either of them an inch where my family s interests were concerned, and I didn t want them along. There were problems to be sorted out between us, but that could wait for another day. Isabella and Louisa exchanged bye-byes with Molly, and then Isabella nodded a polite good-bye to me, Louisa winked and blew me a kiss, and they both teleported out without saying where they were going.

As we left the study Molly set fire to the door knocker and the withered thing nailed to it. They say fire purifies and sets at rest, she said quietly. Maybe I should burn the whole place down.

Not just yet, I said.

I looked down the hall at all the faces silently screaming and pleading, trapped behind the mirrors, and I hefted Oath Breaker in my hand. And then I strode down the hallway, smashing each mirror as I came to it, and dozens of half-starved, tormented men and women suddenly appeared in the hall, crying out and clinging to one another, looking around with wide eyes, only half daring to believe that they were finally free. Molly and I got them up on their feet and moving towards the front door. And once they were all out and gathered together on the grounds before the manor house, I gave the nod to Molly, and she snapped her fingers, and the whole damned building went up in flames. It burnt fiercely, thick black smoke billowing up into the lowering evening sky. Many of the freed men and women applauded. A few even cheered.

What s with all this finger snapping? I said quietly to Molly. You never used to do that.

It s my new style, said Molly. It s bold, it s dramatic, it s me. What do you think?

I was saved from having to answer that when one of the freed men approached me. He wore the tatters of what had once been an expensive suit, and his eyes were haunted. The woman clinging to his arm wore what remained of an expensive evening gown, and looked at me with wide unblinking eyes.

Is he really gone? said the man. He didn t have to say the name.

Dead and gone, I said. I punched his head clean off. And what s left of him will be ashes by morning.

He ll be back, whispered the woman sadly.

He always comes back.

The man patted her hand comfortingly, and they drifted away.

Molly and I walked off across the grounds, and there, coming towards us, were the Regent of Shadows, the Armourer Patrick and Special Agent Diana. They nodded easily at us and the Regent actually grinned.

I ve been keeping an eye on you through the car. We re going with you to help rescue the family. Because they re my family, too.

Oh, hell, I said. Why not? The more, the merrier.