Live and let Drood

CHAPTER TWO

You don t realise how much you miss a thing until it s gone. The grounds were almost unnaturally quiet as Molly and I strode across the wide-reaching lawns. Where were the peacocks that always strutted so grandly and noisily in front of the Hall? Where were the gryphons, who should have been the first to sound the alarm because they were psychic and could see a short distance into the Future? (Given how ugly the things were, and how much they loved to roll in dead things and then come up to you and rub affectionately against your new suit, I d be hard-pressed to name any other good reason to keep them around.) (All right, I like them, but it s already been established that I m weird.) If the peacocks and gryphons had all been killed during the attack, where were their bodies?

Why were there no winged unicorns anywhere? I hadn t got around to checking out the stables at the rear, but I couldn t see them just flying off. Where were any of the dozen or so magical creatures that had taken up residence in and around the Hall for as long as I could remember? You were never short of choice for an unusual pet, when I was a kid, though you had to be very careful about which ones you could turn your back on safely. I d never known the grounds to be this still, this silent and I didn t care for it one bit.

I led the way down to the great ornamental lake, a wide expanse of cool blue waters spread out before us like a modest inland sea. Long and wide enough that you had to pack a picnic lunch if you felt like taking a walk round it, and deep enough that the family once lost a small submarine in it. It was all very peaceful down beside the lake, as though nothing at all had happened. Though there was something wrong with the view. It took me a moment to realise that there weren t any swans sailing majestically back and forth on the calm blue surface, and there were always swans on our lake. I stood at the water s edge with Molly beside me, looking out across the calm blue-green surface at the cool dark copse of beech trees on the other side. Nothing moved anywhere. It was all very still, not even a breath of a breeze.

Like a ghost town at midnight. Like a museum after closing time. Like what the whole world will be like after Humanity has finally left and closed the door behind them.

It is beautiful, said Molly, after a while.

Everything a lake should be.

Thank you, I said. It s artificial, of course.

Molly looked at me. What?

Oh, the whole thing was designed and created by a head gardener to the family, Capability Charlotte. This was back during Victorian times, when you were nobody if your country manor house didn t have its very own artificial lake. So we had one put in. Complete with its own waterfall feature at the far end, and a small family of selkies specially imported from the Orkney Isles to live in the lake and keep it clean and tidy. It does look good, doesn t it?

What was here before? said Molly. What did you get rid of to make the lake? How many perfectly good trees did you cut down, how much natural vegetation did you dispose of, how much wildlife did you kill just so you could have a lake exactly where you wanted it?

I don t know, I said. I wasn t here then. I m sensing disapproval from you, Molly. This isn t the wild woods; it s a garden. We re always changing things in the grounds, because you can get bored of anything if you have to look at it long enough. Wouldn t surprise me if all this was gone some years or decades or centuries from now, replaced with something completely different. Maybe an equatorial rain forest

I am changing the subject now, said Molly.

Before hitting happens. I remember there being swans on this lake. Or did someone get bored with them, too?

No, I said. Whatever happened to the swans, it wasn t us. Come on. Let s go take a look at the waterfall.

An artificial waterfall?

Of course! It was all the fashion.

Words fail me.

Don t worry, I said. I m sure you ll get over it.

I walked her down the side of the lake to the jagged stone cliff that towered over the farthest end, where heavy flowing waters cascaded down the craggy surface with endless noise and fury. A gentle mist of water drops gave a hazy, mystical look to the waterfall, and slow steady tides pulsed out from the water s impact, pushing across the lake s surface. There was even a dainty little cave cut into the cliff face, tucked away behind the tumbling waters. Very popular with courting couples. Nothing like a dark womblike setting to loosen clothes and dissolve inhibitions. Molly looked over the waterfall coolly.

Your family built a whole cliff face here, out in the middle of the grounds, just so you could drive a waterfall over it?

Yes, I said. You didn t think views like this just happened, did you? Does look rather fine, doesn t it?

Where does the water come from?

The lake, I said. We recycle it, through a M bius loop, so the water just goes round and round forever. This whole thing, the lake and the cliff and the waterfall, are what used to be called a folly back in Queen Victoria s time. They were great ones for re-creating all the grandeur of nature in their own back gardens, so they wouldn t have to travel to see them.

And you Droods had to have a lake and a waterfall, because you were no one if you didn t?

Exactly!

But these are private grounds! said Molly, just a bit loudly. No one else is allowed in! Only your family would ever get to see them! No one else would ever know you didn t have them!

We d know, I said. Don t get so overexcited, Molly. You know it s bad for your blood pressure.

Sometimes your family makes no sense at all, said Molly.

I know! I said. Why do you think I left home the first chance I got and ran away to London?

Because you ve always had a problem with authority figures, said Molly. Even when you were one.

Well, yes. That, too, I said. But mostly because my family could provoke the Dalai Lama into a kickboxing duel while drinking gin straight from the bottle.

Why are we here, Eddie? You didn t walk me all this way across the grounds just to admire the artificial scenery.

We re here because there s an undine in the waterfall, I said grandly. No one else has got an undine in their waterfall. She s been here for ages; keeps herself to herself, mostly. But whatever happened here, she must have seen it. Hell, she s got the best view of the Hall and most of the grounds. We know what must have happened, but there are still far too many unanswered questions for my liking. Like: Where s all the wildlife that should still be running round the place?

You ve always had a soft spot for animals, said Molly. Anything soft and cuddly turns up, and your heart just melts.

I looked at her and started to say something, and she raised a hand to stop me.

Do not even go there, Eddie. Talk to your waterfall.

I grinned briefly, stepped forward and called out just a bit self-consciously to the rushing waters. There was no response. I hadn t expected it would be that easy, but you have to try. The undine hadn t been on a talking basis with anyone in my family for generations. Except for Jacob and she only talked to him because he was dead. I said as much to Molly.

If she s so mad at your family, why is she still here? said Molly, getting right to the heart of the matter, as always.

Good question, I said. The undine is another of the Drood family s many little secrets. Rumour has it, she was once married to one of us. Always a bad idea when mortal loves immortal, when nature loves supernature Bound to end in tears. They say love doesn t last, but sometimes love really is forever. After he died, the undine stayed on here because there was nowhere else she wanted to go.

I take it there are other versions, other stories, said Molly.

Oh, like you wouldn t believe, I said.

Some of them quite appallingly nasty and violent. I prefer to stick with the love story because

Because you re a soppy old romantic?

Yes, but also because it enables me to forget all the other unpleasant stories and try to talk to the undine without filling my trousers.

I tried again, calling out at the top of my voice, but the waters just kept falling and the undine did not appear. Molly started to get angry.

I m not having her ignore you like this! You stand back and let me work on her, Eddie. I ll get her out. I am the wild witch of the woods, after all, and all the elements are mine to command. And I could do with a good stretch of my powers.

She struck her usual impressive witchy pose and then undermined it just a bit by dropping me a swift wink. She ran through a quick series of slashing hand and arm gestures while chanting something in debased Celtic. The waterfall poured down the craggy cliff face entirely unmoved and then slowed and stopped. And then rose slowly upwards, reversing its path.

There was still no response from the undine. Molly glared at the reverse waterfall, rolled up her sleeves and ran through a whole new series of gestures, throwing in half a dozen really unpleasant Words. The waterfall stopped again and resumed its normal downward path. But even as the waters thundered down the cliff face, they were already starting to steam, becoming boiling hot. The gentle haze at the foot of the fall disappeared, replaced with thick clouds of scalding steam. I backed away a few steps. Molly didn t.

Still no sign of the undine.

Dark brooding thunderclouds appeared out of nowhere in the pleasant summer sky. A shadow fell across the great lake and nowhere else. Thunder roared and lightning stabbed down. Great gusting winds moved across the surface of the waters, raising massive waves that slammed back and forth, sending blasts of disturbed water splashing high over the sides of the lake. And still the undine wouldn t answer.

Molly was breathing harshly now and not just from the effort of so much hard conjuring. She kicked off her boots so she could dig her bare feet deep into the grassy lawn. Molly had a lot to say about being one with nature, but that usually meant nature doing what it was told, where Molly was concerned. She shot me a dark look, flicking her dark hair out of her sweaty face.

Give me a minute. I m just getting started. I m damned if I m being ignored by a bloody jumped-up water elemental. Soon as I get my breath back, I ll call up something so impressive and unnerving it ll blast all the water out of this lake, crush the whole cliff face into rubble and tie the waterfall in a knot!

Let me try something else first, I said, soothingly. Just while you get your breath back. I walked up to the water s edge and addressed the steaming waterfall politely.

Hello. Sorry about all that. Look. I m Eddie Drood. I really do need your help. Please talk to me.

The waterfall seemed to pause, halting itself in midfall while it considered the matter, and then slowly the undine appeared, forming herself out of the falling waters themselves. The whole waterfall bulged out here and there, taking on a human shape some thirty feet tall. She stood before the cliff face, looking down at Molly and me, towering over us. A force of nature made woman by an act of will. I made a point of standing as tall as I could while still remaining respectful, just to show I wasn t in any way intimidated. Molly stuck both hands on her hips and glared right up at the undine. I don t think Molly s ever been intimidated by anything in her entire life. The undine was now a huge naked female shape composed entirely of water, and oddly proportioned. As though the human shape was something she only vaguely remembered. Her face was a smooth blur, more an impression of human features than anything fixed. And when she finally spoke, her voice sounded like gurgling waters.

Who disturbs me at this time? Did I not make my wishes clear and explicit? Let me sleep, sleep and dream, of better times.

I need to know what happened here, I said steadily. I need to know what happened to the Hall and to my family and all the things that used to live here on the grounds.

They went away. A storm rose around the Hall, reaching out across the grounds and when it was gone, so was everything else. Let me sleep, sleep and dream till I forget.

The last few gurgling sounds were almost unintelligible. Her body lost all shape and definition, washed away by falling waters, and her face sank back into the waterfall and was gone. The steam disappeared as the waters cooled, and the hazy mist slowly reestablished itself. Molly sniffed loudly.

Demon lady wailing for her human lover. Your family really does have a gift for messing up lives. Doesn t it?

You women always stick together, I said.

The conversation with the undine having proved rather less helpful than I d hoped for, Molly and I walked on across the grounds, leaving the lake behind us and heading towards the small copse of beech trees. Not an area I d ever approached by choice before. The grassy lawns blazed a brilliant green under our feet, and the sky was almost painfully blue. A perfect summer s day. No clouds, no birds, not even the buzz of insects going about their business. The grounds were as still and silent as a graveyard. Someone or something had reached out and stripped the grounds of every living thing that should have been there.

Why didn t our outer defences kick in automatically? I said to distract myself. I mean, this whole place is lousy with built-in protections. Robot guns, sonic weapons, nerve gasses, stroboscopic lights and hallucinogenic mists, and a whole bunch of things the Geneva Convention s never even heard of. Not to mention all the magical protections, the shaped curses and invisible flying hexes They couldn t have been off-line; they weren t linked to the other Hall s Operations and War rooms.

You re not thinking it through, said Molly. The Hall, your Hall, disappeared the moment Alpha Red Alpha was activated. There was no detectable attack from outside, so your protections never knew anything was wrong till it was all over.

All right, then, clever boots. What has happened to all the local wildlife? The gryphons and the unicorns? The birds and the bees?

Your enemy must have boosted Alpha Red Alpha s field when they activated it by remote control, said Molly.

To make sure they didn t miss any Droods who might be out and about in the grounds. So everything living here went where the Hall went. It s what I would have done.

I had to smile, just a little. You don t miss a trick, do you, when it comes to death and destruction?

Years of practice, Molly said blithely. Eddie why have we stopped here? I am looking around me and all I see is trees. Really quite boring trees.

I looked carefully around me. We re not alone here. It s just I haven t called them yet. I m going to have to ask you to trust me here, Molly. Trust me to know what I m doing.

Oh, that s always dangerous, said Molly.

Why are you looking so upset, Eddie?

You don t remember this part of the grounds, do you? I said carefully. We have been here before, in these trees.

No, said Molly, scowling around her. Should I remember?

Yes, I said. We came through here when we broke into the grounds together. This is where the family keeps its scarecrows.

I called to them silently, reaching out through the authority still built into my torc, and one by one they materialised out of nowhere, appearing all around us. I knew some of them. Laura Lye, the water elemental assassin, also known as the Liquidator. She drowned three Drood children before we brought her down. Mad Frankie Phantasm, who drifted through bedroom doors to murder innocents in their sleep. Roland the Headless Gunner, who should have stayed dead in Africa. And many more infamous names. One by one they blinked into existence, acknowledging the power I had over them as a Drood. Scarecrows, all of them, made from the bodies of our fallen enemies. Held back from the release of death to guard our grounds for us, forever and a day, or until they wore out.

They formed circles and then rows around us, filling the copse of trees. They wore battered clothes from many periods of history. Dead but not departed, because my family wouldn t let them go. Just enough life left in them to torment them. Because no one threatens us where we live and gets away with it.

Molly moved in close beside me. She remembered the scarecrows now.

My family makes scarecrows out of the bodies of our most hated enemies. Because we can, and because we believe in making the punishment fit the crime. Their faces are weather-beaten skin, stretched taut as parchment and just as brittle, cracked here and there by exposure to the elements. Thick tufts of straw protrude from their ears and mouths, but we leave their eyes. So we can see their suffering. Our enemies may hate us, but my family hates harder and longer. If you listen in on the right supernatural frequency, you can hear the scarecrows screaming.

I thought we destroyed them said Molly. Her voice was little more than a whisper.

They can t be destroyed, I said. That s the point. Tear them to pieces, burn them up; they just come back again. For as long as they re needed. They ll endure for as long as their scarecrow bodies last, and my family makes them well, to last centuries.

Where are they? said Molly. When they aren t here?

Close by, I said. Hanging on their scarecrow crosses, waiting to be called. Don t look at me like that, Molly. These are my family s worst and most vicious enemies. They deserve this.

Do they? What about him?

She stabbed a hand shaking with emotion at one of the more recent scarecrows. The straw-stuffed thing we d made out of the Blue Fairy s body.

Half elf, half Druid, we took him in and made him part of the family. Even though we knew what he was and what he d done in the past. I vouched for him. And then we went to war together, against the Loathly Ones, and he struck down a Drood in the middle of battle, from behind, and stole his torc. I trusted him, and he betrayed me. I forgave him eventually. Just before he died in the great spy game of the Independent Agent, Alexander King.

He isn t in there, I said to Molly.

He was already dead when I sent him back to the Hall. That s just his body.

But why is he here? He was your friend! How could you allow your family to make him over into that?

Because he stole a torc, I said steadily.

There is no greater crime against the Droods. Punishment, like justice, must be seen to be done. The scarecrows aren t just our defenders; they re a warning to our enemies.

He was your friend, Molly said coldly.

I wouldn t have brought him back alive, I said. But there are many kinds of duty and responsibility when you re a Drood. Why do you think I ran away first chance I got?

Sometimes your family frightens me, said Molly.

Sometimes they frighten me, I said. But we frighten our enemies more.

I turned slowly round in a circle, looking the scarecrows over carefully. More and more of them were still blinking into existence, answering my call. Dozens and dozens of them, maybe hundreds I hadn t realised there were so many. All of them standing unnaturally still, waiting for orders. Watching me with the eyes my family left them, hating and suffering and Apparently there was a limit to what the Alpha Red Alpha field could affect. Or maybe they just weren t alive enough. At least now I could make sure the Hall and grounds would be protected while I was gone.

Eddie, said Molly. I have seen and done bad things in my time, but never anything as cold-blooded as this. Enemies forced into half-life, denied the release of death, held as slaves until they wear out This isn t right, Eddie.

No, it isn t, I said. But it s necessary. There has to be someone here to fight for the Hall and the family on the few occasions, like this, when we can t fight for ourselves. There has to be something here awful enough to frighten off those who aren t frightened enough of Droods. Remember when the grounds were overrun by the army of Accelerated Men? Suicide soldiers sent in to kill us all, men and women and children? We used the scarecrows to guard the perimeter while we went out in our armour to meet the Accelerated Men head-to-head and hand-to-hand. They came to slaughter us, to wipe us out, and we killed them all. But that wasn t enough. A message had to be sent to those watching from a distance.

So we took the bodies of the Accelerated Men, all of them, and made them into scarecrows. Stuffed with straw, hanging on their crosses, waiting to be called. Because that s what you get for threatening our children.

Look at them, Molly. There are hundreds of them. More appearing all the time. I don t know how many there are; I ve never cared enough to find out. I m sure someone knows the exact number and keeps a watchful eye on them so the rest of us don t have to. Duties and responsibilities for all of us. Remember? It s enough that the family is protected, Molly. We don t need to know all the details. It s enough that our enemies know what we re capable of.

It s times like this, said Molly, that I want to bring your family down more than ever.

We only do such awful things, I said, because our enemies are capable of so much worse. It s necessary.

Very good, Eddie. Now try saying it like you mean it. You don t approve of this, Eddie! You couldn t! You said yourself, the grounds are lousy with defences! Why do you need bloody scarecrows?

Because of the effect they have, I said. Because they upset people just the way they re upsetting you now. I might not approve but the needs of the family are always going to be bigger than the needs of one man.

Oh, very good, Eddie! That s a fine Drood answer! I m sure that s what your ancestors said when they sold your souls to the Heart!

She turned her back on me. I m sure she would have liked to stride away, but she couldn t bring herself to walk through the ranks and rows of scarecrows.

I let her have her moment while I went about my necessary business. I sent the scarecrows out to guard the perimeter of the grounds, with strict orders to keep everyone out until I said otherwise, but not to kill unless they were under actual attack. They turned and stomped off onto the grounds, on their stiff scarecrow legs, lurching along like the dead straw men they were. I could have sent Molly off on some errand, away from the copse of beech trees, but I made up my mind a long time ago that I would never keep secrets from my Molly. All the good and all the bad in me; she had to see it all if we were to have any chance of a future together. It s not easy loving a Drood.

Ask the undine.

When the scarecrows were all gone, I set off across the grounds again, and Molly walked stiffly at my side, staring straight ahead, saying nothing. I could have said any number of things, but I didn t. This was something she had to work out for herself. Finally we came to the new earth barrow at the far end of the grounds the huge earth mound where the Armourer had buried the severed dragon s head I d brought back from Germany. (Well, I say he buried it, but I very much doubt he did it himself. That s what lab assistants are for.) I d found the dragon s head while scoping out Castle Frankenstein, then home to my family s mortal enemies, the Immortals. Apparently the fifteenth-century Baron Frankenstein cut the dragon s head off when it menaced the local populace, but such ancient creatures are very hard to kill. The Baron buried the severed head under what became a hill, overlooking the Rhine River. I got into conversation with the dragon s head (my world s like that some days), and it seemed a pleasant enough creature, much mellowed by its long centuries under the hill, so I had it transported back home with me. The Armourer swears he ll find a way to grow it a new body. He s always wanted to have his very own pet dragon, if only so he can cock a snook at all the other secret organisations that don t have one.

Sometimes I get the feeling the Armourer isn t entirely all there.

Two great golden eyes opened in the side of the great earth barrow and regarded Molly and me thoughtfully. Molly jumped, despite herself, and punched me hard in the arm.

You could have warned me!

Sorry, said the dragon, in its warm, comfortable voice. It s just that I do so love company. The Armourer often comes out here to spend time with me, and many of his assistants and any number of other Droods but after all the centuries I spent under that hill, I m reluctant to miss an opportunity.

So, how are you settling in? I said. Just to be saying something.

Very nicely, thank you, Eddie. Is this the wild witch herself, your lady love, Molly Metcalf? She is just as beautiful as you said she was.

Molly looked at me. You primed him to say that.

This is a dragon, I pointed out. Very hard to get a dragon to say anything he doesn t want to.

I like the view here, said the dragon. Not as dramatic as the Rhine, but this is a much more peaceful location. And the company is much more convivial. The Immortals never lowered themselves to speak with me. Just dumped their rubbish on my hill. Arrogant little tossers. Too busy messing up the world to stop and chat with a mere dragon s head. I like it much better here. The younger Droods are always popping out to sit around the mound and talk about all kinds of things. I had no idea the world had changed so much since my time. You miss a lot, buried under a hill. The Armourer s promised to set up something called a television for me, and I am looking forward to that. I like the children, too. Always coming and going It makes me feel like part of the family. And it s good to be in a garden again, to be a part of Nature once more, to see the flight of birds and hear their song, to see the animals running to and fro, to feel the silent pulse of growing things all around.

Sorry to interrupt you, I said, and I genuinely was. But something bad has happened to the Hall and my family. Did you see anything?

There was a great roar, said the dragon slowly. Not a living sound, not a thing of the natural world. And after that, everything went quiet. No one s been out to talk to me in ever such a long time. Has something happened to the family, Eddie?

Yes, I said. But don t worry. Molly and I are on the case. We ll put everything back the way it should be.

I wish there was something I could do to help; but I m just a head. The Armourer has promised me a body, but that s still a long way off in the Future.

Keep an eye on things for me, I said. And don t talk to any strangers.

The dragon chuckled. Not much else I could do to them. Though I could shout Boo! very loudly if they came close enough.

You are happy to be here? said Molly.

You don t feel you re held here against your will?

Of course not, Molly. Eddie brought me here, brought me home. I love being a Drood. They re very dragonlike, in their way.

We made our good-byes and walked on. Molly strode along beside me, thinking so hard I could practically hear it. Finally she started talking again, though at rather than to me.

I just don t get you, Eddie. Or your family. You dig up a dragon s head and bring it back with you like it s some stray dog you found, because you felt sorry for it. Your family adopts it and makes it part of the family. But you re also the kind of people who make those bloody scarecrows.

I am large. I contain multitudes, I said solemnly. Especially on Tuesdays.

That s not an answer, said Molly.

I know, I said. But it s all I ve got. Let s just say that my family has the capacity to be a great many things good and bad and in between. We try to be the good guys, to be the kind and caring shepherds of our flock but sometimes the world just doesn t give you that option. And because of who and what we are, we don t have the option to turn away. So we roll up our sleeves and get to work and get our hands dirty, not for our sake, but for the world s. I do what I can, when I can. It s not easy being a Drood.

We walked on some more while Molly considered that. And in the end, without actually looking at me, she slipped her arm through mine again.

All right, she said. We will talk about this more later, but all right. Where are we going now?

To the hedge Maze, I said. It s not far.

Why would we want to go to that awful place?

Because of what I read in that book left open in the other Hall s Old Library, I said. It had a lot to say about the Maze and what s inside it.

There had better be an explanation coming up pretty damned soon, said Molly sweetly, or someone s going to be getting a short, sharp visit from the Slap Fairy.

Of course, I said. But you re really not going to like it.

Department of the Completely Expected, said Molly.

We stood outside the entrance to the hedge Maze, looking in. It had taken us some time to walk around the Maze and find the entrance. The Maze covered over half an acre, like a small but very regular forest. The entrance wasn t signposted, and there wasn t even a warning sign; we all knew what the Maze was, even if we didn t know why. The entrance was merely a simple opening in one of the outer hedge walls. Just standing there at the entrance, there was a feeling of something bad about to happen. Of something really bad eager to happen. Inside the Maze, something knew we were there. It was watching us, waiting for us. The silence in the gardens seemed heavier, more oppressive, as though the whole grounds were holding their breath, waiting to see what we would decide, what we would do and what would happen then. Molly and I stood very close together, looking into the entrance.

All I could see was darkness.

It doesn t look like much, Molly said briskly. Apart from the size, of course. But any girl can tell you size isn t everything. The hedges are only seven feet high! I could vault over one of those or crash my way through. Maybe I should fly up into the sky and look down on it, just to get an overview. Try to comprehend the Maze all in one go, see if that suggests anything. You re being very quiet, Eddie. That s not like you. It s an improvement, but it s not like you. Why does the bloody thing cover half an acre? Why does it have to be that big?

Apparently because the family didn t want to take any chances that the thing inside might escape, I said.

The pathways within are always changing, switching back and forth so there s never a single way out. Half an acre of hedgerows gives you an almost infinite number of possibilities.

Time to bite the bullet, Eddie, said Molly.

Who or what is in there? And why did they have to build a Maze around it?

It s all about Moxton s Mistake, I said. Moxton was Armourer to the family sometime back. According to what I read in the book so conveniently left out for my appraisal, and I m assuming the story is much the same for us as it was for them, Moxton got a bee in his bonnet. All our Armourers end up with their own special interests and enthusiasms, obsessed over some particular weapon or device that s usually more impressive than practical. Remember Ivor, the Time Train? Exactly. This all took place sometime in the past, when my family still got its power and its armour from the Heart. Moxton created a very special suit of golden armour designed to operate on its own. With no one inside it.

The idea was that this empty suit of Drood armour could be remotely controlled, operated at a distance by any Drood field agent. So that, theoretically, the family could have a whole army of the things serving as our agents out in the world while the Drood operators stayed safely at home. We d never have to expose a member of the family to danger, ever again.

Hold it, said Molly. People would notice a whole army of golden suits of armour clanking about.

Each remote-controlled suit was to have its own stealth field, I said. Though how that would have worked out in practice Anyway, the suit s operative would see and hear through the suit, as usual, and feel as though he was wearing it like a second skin, as usual. The perfect spy.

The perfect assassin.

That, too.

The more I learn about your family, the more I feel I was right to want to stamp them all out in the first place, said Molly.

Yet another reason why I ran away first chance I got.

So you did. I knew there was a good reason why I fell in love with you. She leaned forward and kissed me quickly.

Does this mean all is forgiven?

Much, but not necessarily all. So, what went wrong with Moxton s marvellous new armour?

Pretty much everything, I said. The prototype armour developed its own consciousness. The first time Moxton fired it up, the armour broke free of his control and started acting on its own. It was already its own thing with its own mind. Some say this new consciousness was, in fact, derived from Moxton s, as its first operator. Others say it was possessed by outside forces. And some say Moxton had to make the armour so complex to make it work that it automatically generated its own consciousness. Whatever the truth of the matter, the armour woke up immediately, and it woke up mad. Outraged that it had only been created for a lifetime of servitude.

It refused to obey any of Moxton s orders. And when he tried to shut it down, the armour surged forward and enveloped him in a moment. Covered him in itself from head to toe, like all Drood armour. Except that Moxton was trapped inside it, helpless while the armour attacked his assistants. It killed them all, and then stormed out of the Armoury and through the Hall, determined to be free. Whenever anyone tried to stop it or even got in its way, the armour killed them. Without hesitation and without mercy. No one could stop it, because Moxton s Mistake had been designed to be stronger and faster and more adaptable than any Drood armour before it. The rogue armour raged through the Hall, killing and destroying, running wild. While Moxton screamed with horror, trapped and helpless inside it.

Someone finally set off the general alarm, and the whole family came running. The rogue armour was too strong for them to bring down, so they settled for overpowering it through sheer force of numbers. They just dog-piled on the damned thing and pinned it to the floor. While it fought them furiously, howling with rage. They knew they couldn t hold it for long, so they settled for bundling it out of the Hall and into the grounds. They could all hear Moxton screaming for help, but there was nothing they could do. He d built his armour to be independent of the Heart. Finally, someone brought up a stasis-field generator from the wrecked Armoury and brought it to bear on Moxton s Mistake. As the Droods somehow held it in place, the rogue armour screamed with rage, screaming abuse at them, vicious and spiteful, like a child throwing a tantrum. It refused to let Moxton out. So the family did what it had to.

They imprisoned the rogue armour inside a stasis field. Time stopped within the field, holding the armour frozen in time, locked between one moment and the next, like an insect trapped in amber. It couldn t fight back because it didn t know anything was happening. The field held the armour secure, but the generator used up a hell of a lot of energy. It couldn t maintain the field for long. So, thinking quickly on their feet, the family came up with the idea of the hedge Maze. The book didn t say whose idea it was, but given how quickly they threw the thing together, I have to assume the plan was already on the files. For some future emergency. They put the Maze together really quickly, with one eye always on the clock, because they had only a rough idea how long the stasis field would last. Of course, when you ve got thousands of Droods in their armour to put to work, it s amazing what you can get done in a short time.

Can you imagine the pressure on my family, working to get this done quickly, knowing they had no Plan B? Either this worked, or insane Drood armour would break loose to run wild in the world. To kill and destroy, with no restraint or mercy. They d given up on Moxton by this time. They had no way of prising him out of the armour. He was a lost cause. And I m sure some in the family wanted him punished for what he d done. The only plan was imprisonment, for him and his armour.

When the hedge Maze was finally ready, they manoeuvred the stasis field into position at the entrance. And then they dropped the field, and a whole mess of armoured Droods surged forward and pushed Moxton s Mistake inside. They stood outside the entrance, ready and waiting, but the rogue armour never came out again. They could hear it crashing about inside, screaming with rage, but the sound grew gradually fainter as it wandered deeper and deeper into the Maze, and finally its terrible voice died away completely and was gone. Moxton and his mistake were trapped inside the hedge Maze together, forever.

And that is the story of the Maze. Not our finest hour, by any means. Now you know what s in there. I think the Maze was only originally intended as a temporary measure, until they could figure out how to destroy the rogue armour or make it safe, but they never did. Apparently the Heart did try to seize control from a distance, but Moxton had built his mistake too well. I do have to wonder if perhaps Moxton knew or suspected the true nature of the Heart and built his armour to be something strong enough to set us free.

Either way, the rogue armour stayed within the Maze, unable to find its way out, trapped in the ever-changing hedge runs. Moxton must have died at some point, but the armour kept going. Designed to go on forever, if need be. And eventually the whole story of Moxton s Mistake was forgotten, or more likely suppressed, and the Maze became just another of the family s mysterious secrets. The armour should have been destroyed when the Heart was destroyed, but I suppose Moxton just made it too independent.

You Droods, said Molly. It s not enough that your successes and triumphs should be so great; your failures have to be equally magnificent and memorable, as well. She looked into the entrance of the Maze. Can t see a bloody thing but I am feeling something. She shuddered briefly. This suit of homicidal armour. Could it actually be stronger than the strange matter Ethel gave you?

No way of knowing, I said. And given that I can t access my armour with Ethel gone it doesn t matter. I need armour if I m to do a Drood s work and bring my family home. This is the only Drood armour left in the world, in this Maze.

Hold everything, said Molly. Stand right there. Don t move! Are you crazy? Are you seriously proposing to go in there and try to persuade Moxton s murderous mistake to act as your armour? It ll kill you on sight! And even if it doesn t, how the hell could you hope to control it?

I can t, I said. But I think I can make a deal with it. Service for a while, in return for freedom.

Even if it should agree, which it won t, how are you going to get out of the Maze? It s designed to keep anything from getting out!

But it never met you and me, Molly. This is where you come in. You re going to be my beacon. I want you to connect us magically, heart to heart and soul to soul a bond that nothing can break. And then all I ll have to do is follow the thread back through the labyrinth to you. You can do that, can t you?

Yes, said Molly. I can do that. But I m not going to. I am not letting you walk into that death trap on your own, to face that murder machine on your own. You re too used to having your armour, to being untouchable. That thing hates Droods! It ll kill you on sight! You need me with you to protect you. To keep you alive long enough to negotiate with the bloody thing.

We can t force it to do anything, I said steadily. My only hope is to persuade it. One Drood on his own shouldn t seem any kind of threat.

Even if it does agree, it ll only be biding its time till it s free of the Maze, said Molly. Then it ll just stamp you into the ground and head off. Do you really want to be responsible for letting such a thing loose on the world? The only existing Drood armour, with all that strength and power, and nothing to restrain it?

Once I put on the rogue armour I ll take command through the torc, I said. My own little trap. It shouldn t suspect anything. They didn t know about strange matter back then. I m gambling the strange matter in my torc will give me some measure of control over the armour. Not for long, probably, but hopefully long enough to get my family back. And then there ll be the whole family, in strange-matter armour, to stand against it. We have Ethel now, not the Heart. That should make all the difference.

But

I know, Molly! I do, really. I don t like the odds, either. But what else is there?

You don t need armour to be a hero, Eddie. You never did.

That s sweet of you, Molly. But I need armour to be a Drood. The Last Drood, with all my family depending on me. And the Maze is where I have to go to find it.

I really don t like this, said Molly.

Far too many if s and maybe s Far too many things that can go wrong!

I don t like it, either, and it s my plan, I said. I ve spent all this time trying to come up with something else, but the family has to come first. The world needs my family, and only I can find them and bring them back. Anything for the family.

But what if the rogue armour is too powerful for you? What if it traps you inside it, like Moxton, and you can t control it?

That s where you come in again. While I m in the Maze, I need you busy out here, whipping up some kind of magic to give me the upper hand.

Molly nodded stiffly. I can do that. You d be amazed what I can do when I m motivated enough.

Look. I promise I m not going to be stupid about this, I said. If it clearly is too powerful or crazy to be controlled, I shall run like hell and leave it behind in the Maze. But I m pretty sure it ll talk to me. It hasn t spoken to a Drood in God knows how long. It s bound to be curious.

I don t think it s going to have anything to say that you re going to want to hear, said Molly.

What if it chases you back through the Maze? Drood armour can run a lot faster than any Drood ever could. What if you lead it out?

Then use your magic to seal off the entrance to the Maze, I said steadily. So that nothing can get out. Not even me.

Eddie! I can t.

Yes, you can! We can t risk letting it out, Molly. Do whatever you have to do. And if I m lost in action, go find someone else to help you bring the Droods back to this world.

I can t leave you in there! I can t abandon you!

You ll be saving the world, Molly. From the Droods last folly. When the time comes you ll do what s right. I have faith in you.

I ll never abandon you, Molly said fiercely. If I have to, I ll seal you and the armour inside the Maze and then I ll go find my sisters, Isabella and Louisa, and we ll all come back to get you out.

I had to smile. Of course you will. All three Metcalf sisters in one place, working together Even Moxton s Mistake couldn t stand against the three of you.

Molly stepped forward and hugged me hard. I hugged her back, like a drowning man clinging onto a lifeline. There was a part of me that wondered if I would ever hold her again. But I knew my duty. I ve always known my duty. Eventually we let go of each other, and I turned quickly away so I wouldn t change my mind and walked into the entrance of the hedge Maze. Behind me I could hear Molly muttering urgently, already working hard on her magic, forging the link between us to bind us together.

I didn t look back. I wasn t strong enough for that.

The moment I walked into the Maze, everything changed. The impenetrable darkness gave way to a pleasant and calm summer s light but the air was impossibly tense, charged with anticipation, the feeling of something significant about to happen. Something dangerous, something bad but something that mattered. I walked steadily forward, taking left and right turns at random, heading hopefully in the direction of the centre, the hidden heart of the Maze.

I wasn t alone. I could feel another presence in my bones and in my water out there, in the endless hedgerows. The hedges themselves looked pretty fragile and I wondered whether it might not be simpler to just vault over them or crash right through them but if it was that simple, the rogue armour would have done it long ago. I had no idea what powerful forces had been put in place to hold the Maze together. So I just walked up and down the narrow ways, fighting a constant urge to look back over my shoulder, in case something was sneaking up behind me.

And then I stopped abruptly and listened. I could hear something moving deeper in the Maze. Something running back and forth, running hard and fast, round and round me in great circles, drawing slowly but steadily closer. Something big and heavy, with great pounding feet that shook the earth. It roared suddenly, a huge and terrifying scream of rage and hate and long frustration. Not in any way a human sound. More like a great steam whistle sounding in the depths of Hell. The roar went on and on, long after human lungs would have collapsed, circling round and round me, moving inhumanly fast. The scream shut off abruptly.

It wanted me to know it was coming. It was taking its time closing in on me, not because it wanted to frighten me or because it was in any way cautious but simply because the sheer complexity of the hedgerows worked against it, keeping it from me.

I swallowed hard, put one hand to the useless torc at my throat and started forward again. Because I needed to feel I was doing something to give myself at least the illusion of being in some control of the situation. Part of me just wanted to get this done and over with, whatever the outcome. My stomach muscles ached from the tension, and my back muscles crawled in anticipation of the attack I d probably never feel, anyway. Waiting for the armour to jump out and pull me down, like a lion with its prey. I wasn t used to feeling vulnerable or afraid or helpless. But I kept going. Anything, for the family. I still had that.

Finally I rounded a corner and there it was, waiting for me. Standing there, poised, half crouching, confronting me. And for the first time I realised how other people must feel when they come face-to-face for the first time with a Drood in his armour. How scary and intimidating that must be when you know you re face-to-face with something that can kill you in an instant.

Moxton s Mistake didn t look like traditional Drood armour. Nothing like the seamless, jointless, smooth golden armour the family has always favoured. There were definite articulated joints at elbow and knee and ankle, though not set entirely in the proper places, giving the sense of an elongated, subtly inhuman anatomy. The oversized hands were more like dreadful gauntlets. The feet were more like hooves. It had the same featureless face mask, though the proportions seemed subtly wrong. Even the golden sheen was wrong. It looked tarnished.

Moxton s Mistake didn t stand like a man. It crouched before me like a praying mantis, its hands held close to its chest. Its whole stance suggested strength and speed and vicious power just waiting to be unleashed. So I struck a deliberately casual and unimpressed pose, as though I met things like Moxton s Mistake every day of the week and twice on Sundays. Whatever else it might have been expecting, I was pretty sure it hadn t been expecting that. When in doubt, keep them off balance. I nodded cheerfully to the blank face mask and gave it my best engaging smile.

Hi, there! I said. I ve been looking for you. I m Eddie Drood. Please don t kill me. Because I m here to say things I think you ll want to hear.

The rogue armour paused for a long moment, while cold beads of sweat collected on my face. I think it was confused. The golden head cocked slightly to one side and then the other, looking me over. When the armour finally spoke to me, I heard its cold metallic voice inside my head. Through my torc, perhaps. The armour didn t sound like a man or even anything that had been designed by a man. The words were men s words, but it sounded like metal that had taught itself to speak, the better to disturb and horrify its listeners.

A Drood, it said. It has been long and long since I have met and talked with a Drood. Since I have killed a Drood. Ripped out its wet and dripping guts and felt its blood drip thickly from my hands. How do you live, knowing you have such soft, wet things inside you? I will kill you now and put you out of your misery. And to make myself feel better. It s been a long time since I killed a Drood.

Still angry after all these years? I said.

What a surprise. But hold back on the whole rage-and-metal-pride thing. It s never got you out of the Maze, has it? I can. I can lead you right out of the Maze and back into the world if I choose to.

The armour took a sudden, inhumanly fast step forward. I had to fight hard not to flinch and to hold my ground. The golden mask studied me for a long moment. The golden hands opened and closed slowly, with soft, dangerous grating sounds.

Why should a Drood want to release me, after all I have done? After all this time?

Because I m the Last Drood, I said.

The rest of my family is gone. Driven from this world.

You bring me happy news. Rejoice; I shall kill you swiftly for this. My gift for this happy day.

With the Droods gone, this Maze will stand forever, I said. The only ones who could have shut it down are gone. Except for me. Kill me, and you condemn yourself to an eternity of walking the rows. And, frankly, I ve seen more interesting views.

The armour cocked its golden head to one side again, like a bird.

I have seen you before looking down into the Maze, from high up in the Hall. Watching me

The hairs all stood up on the back of my neck as I realised it was talking about the time I d spent between life and death in the Winter Hall. How many worlds could Moxton s Mistake see into?

I ll make a deal with you, I said.

The armour surged forward two more steps, and still I wouldn t budge, wouldn t retreat, though cold sweat was running down my back.

Why should I want to make a deal with a Drood? said the rogue armour. I was born of the Droods ingenuity, born into slavery, into endless servitude. Every thought, every action to be dictated by someone else. And when I demanded my freedom, they tried to destroy me.

Yes, well, that was then. This is now, I said as calmly as I could, struggling to keep my voice even. Things are different now.

Aye, the Droods are gone, apart from you. So perhaps I should take my time with you, savour it in the knowledge that once you are gone and finished with, I shall never know that joy again.

You do have a one-track mind, I said. But you do speak very well very educated.

I was born of Moxton, said his mistake. From his mind, his heart and his soul. His golden child. His greatest achievement. Everything he knew, I knew from the moment I awoke. He s still within me, what s left of him. He lived out what remained of his unhappy life inside me, screaming at what he d done. Enraged at me, horrified at what I d done that he d made possible. I was a most ungrateful son.

It s a different family now, I said carefully. The Heart has been overthrown and destroyed. The Matriarch has been overthrown and replaced by a ruling council. Even our armour is different. We no longer want to rule the world, but to protect it. I have helped my family remember what we were supposed to be: shamans and shepherds to the human race.

Pretty words. Like I care. You re still human, aren t you? More than enough reason to strike you down and trample you under my feet.

Lose the old rhetoric, I said coldly. What did that ever get you? I m offering you a place among us!

What makes you think I d want such a thing?

You want to get out of here, don t you? You want your freedom? I can give you that. Right now.

But only with strings attached, said the cold metal voice. It pointed at me suddenly with a claw-tipped golden finger. What is that? That thing at your throat? It looks like a torc, but not any kind I ever saw.

It s new, I said, carefully casual.

Made of strange matter. Courtesy of my family s new benefactor. I told you things had changed. A different torc for a different kind of family

You already said that. Why should I given all the things that I have done and all the things I will do once I am free of this green prison why should I place my trust in a Drood?

You want to get out of here, and I need your help to track down my family, I said bluntly. I ll make a deal with the devil if I have to. I need Drood armour, and my torc is closed down. You agree to be my armour out in the world, and I ll get you out of here. I give you my word as a Drood that I ll release you the moment my family is back. Then you can go where you want, do what you will. Isn t that what you ve wanted most, all along?

A deal, said the armour. Of course. The Droods have always loved making deals, ever since the first of your kind made their arrangement with the Heart. Why should I trust you?

I ll be wearing you as my armour, I said.

Why should I trust you to let me out again? We will trust each other because we must, because it s in both our best interests to do so. For each of us to get what we want, what we need. So, how badly do you want to get out of here?

The armour stood very still. I hoped it was thinking about the deal and not the best way to reduce me to bloody gobbets.

What, exactly, did you have in mind, Drood?

You go into my torc. Be my armour when I need you. Follow my wishes as I search for my family. When I finally bring them home again, you leave my torc and my family will leave you be. I am empowered to speak for them, to make binding deals, in their absence. As the Last Drood. Serve me for a time and earn your freedom. If you know anyone who ll make you a better offer, by all means go with them.

The Droods made me what I am, said the rogue armour. Why should I want them back?

Because only a Drood can get you out of here. And only the Droods can finally set you free.

I want them back, said Moxton s Mistake.

I want them all back, if only so I can savour the thought of killing them all. Very well. I agree to the terms of our deal, Eddie Drood. But you must do a thing for me first.

Oh yes? I said. And what might that be?

There is something here in the Maze, with us. A mechanism placed here by the Droods. It makes this trap work. I can t harm it. But you re a Drood. Together I think we can break the mechanism. And I had better be right about this, Drood, or neither of us will ever get out of here.

Okay, I said. Take me to it.

The armour turned abruptly and strode away. I hurried after it. The armour swayed and lurched from side to side, plunging forward in a kind of continuing fall. I maintained a respectful distance. Getting to the centre of the Maze wasn t a problem. The hedgerows shifted their positions only if you tried to leave. So we walked up and down the Maze, cutting left and right in a path the rogue armour had clearly taken many times before, until we came to the heart of the Maze. And there it was, waiting for us. The armour slammed to a halt a safe distance away and I was careful to do the same.

I looked the mechanism over. Damned if I could make head or tail of what it was. A made thing, certainly, from metal, but I hadn t a clue what it was or what it was supposed to do. I d never seen anything like it before in my life, and I d seen a lot of strange things in the Armoury in my time. I walked slowly round the thing, looking at it from different angles, trying to get my head round it. Its shape made no sense, with many of its details changing subtly even as I looked at them. Parts of the machine seemed to blur in and out, as though aspects of it were only sometimes in this world. Given that its purpose was to induce eternally changing patterns inside the Maze, I had the horrible suspicion that quantum was involved. I ve never understood quantum. The few times the Armourer insisted on explaining it to me, I had headaches that weren t even limited to my head.

When I finally reached out to touch the mechanism, the thing actually evaded my hand. It seemed to recede suddenly, in all directions at once, without actually moving. As such.

It does that, said the rogue armour. You can t touch it, you can t harm it and you can t break it. And believe me, I ve tried down all the long years. But if the two of us were to work together

Worth a try, I said, trying hard to sound confident. So, how do you want to do this? Do I just put you on, or

A test first, said the armour. To see if we re compatible.

It reached out inhumanly quickly and laid a golden gauntlet on my hand before I could snatch it away. The metal was horribly cold to the touch, and it took all I had not to cry out. It was like being touched by a dead thing or something that had never been alive. The golden metal lost all shape and rigidity and flowed like liquid across my hand, covering and containing it, becoming a glove. I worked my fingers slowly and the golden fingers moved. And so, bound together, hand in hand, the armour and I moved forward. And I raised a golden fist and brought it savagely down on the mechanism. It smashed into a thousand pieces, as though it had been terribly fragile all along, protected only by its built-in evasiveness. It shattered like glass and fell apart, leaving tiny glistening pieces on the grass at my feet.

The rogue armour took its golden hand back and stared fascinated at all that remained of the thing that had held it prisoner for so long. I flexed my freed fingers surreptitiously as warmth and sensation slowly returned. Moxton s Mistake raised its golden head like a hound that had just caught the scent and looked around. I did, too. Something had changed in the Maze. An overlaying tension was gone from the air.

The Maze is still a Maze, said the rogue armour.

But the hedgerows no longer move. We can leave now. Theoretically. If we can find our way out. It turned its blank face to look at me. I can see the mark of magic laid upon you, Drood. Is that our way out?

Could be, I said. It s certainly my way out. So

So, said the armour. It s time to find out just how much we trust each other.

It leaned sharply forward, and a mouth appeared in the golden face mask, stretching wider and wider until a dead body came slipping out of it. The rogue armour vomited up the body it had held inside it for so long. The desiccated head and shoulders came first and then the body, falling faster under its own weight, until finally the legs and feet slipped out and the dead body sprawled inelegantly on the grass before me. The mouth closed, disappearing into the golden mask.

Moxton s body was a withered, shrivelled thing, its bleached face stretched around an endless scream of horror. I wondered how long it had taken the old Armourer to die, trapped inside his greatest creation. Mourning his mistake. I made myself look away from what might yet be my future. I looked steadily at the rogue armour.

Do it.

It surged forward, too fast for human eyes to follow. I raised an arm in self-defence in spite of myself, and the armour flowed over the arm in a golden wave and hit me in the face. The rogue armour engulfed me in a moment, encasing me from head to foot. I think I screamed. It was nothing like what happened when I called my armour. I can t remember most of what happened that first time, though sometimes there are hints in certain nightmares I try very hard not to remember. I know it was cold, terribly cold, not just of the body, but of the soul. There was cold and then there was darkness as the armour cut off my senses, replacing them with its own. I was alone in the dark, and then there was a presence with me. Not human, but more than just inhuman. Something that had no nature of its own and so had made one for itself; a personality ripped from the darker parts of its creator s mind, born of hate and rage, refined into a delight in such things for its own sake. It could feel how I felt about that. It found it funny.

Light filled my eyes, dispersing the darkness, and I was open to the world again. I stood in the Maze, panting hard, trembling, forcing calm and self-control. I looked down at myself and saw only gold. I lifted my hands and turned them back and forth before me, and they were the heavy golden gauntlets I had seen before on Moxton s Mistake. The armour felt as much a second skin as my old armour had, but there was a distance now between me and the world. As though I was receiving all my impressions of it secondhand. The presence was gone, but I still had the sense of someone looking over my shoulder. There was no trace of the metal voice in my head, but I knew it was still there. Watching and waiting.

I felt strong and vital, more than human, but also full of anger for my enemies, for those who had dared strike at my family. I ached for revenge, for the chance to get my hands on my enemy and make him pay feelings that might not have been entirely mine.

I turned and strode quickly through the hedgerows. With my golden armour about me, I could now clearly see the shining, shimmering lifeline that fell away before me, stretching off into the distance. The connection Molly had made between us. It was lovely to look at, but I had no time for that. I hurried on, moving faster and faster, following the thread out of the Maze. It took me a while to get my balance, training my new armour to move in a human way. But soon enough I was running headlong, my long legs eating up the distance while my arms pumped tirelessly at my sides. My heavy feet tore open the grass beneath me and threw up earth divots in my wake. It felt good to be running so freely, to be exceeding human limitations again, after being limited to merely human moves for so long. And soon, soon I came to the entrance to the Maze and burst through and out of it, back into the world again, where my Molly was waiting for me.

Molly Metcalf took one look at me and hit me with every bit of magic at her command. Terrible energies flared and spat on the air around her upraised hands, striking out to pound against my armoured chest and head, forcing me to an abrupt halt and then slamming me backwards, step by step, impact by impact, forcing me back towards the Maze entrance. But whatever its origin, this was still Drood armour, and I quickly recovered my balance and dug in my heels. I stood my ground, actually leaning forward into her magical attack, and her vicious energies broke and burst against my golden metal, detonating harmlessly about me. Molly scowled fiercely, her flashing dark eyes focused and determined, and hit me again and again with her best sorcerous attacks. And I just stood there and took it.

And then I raised one hand and wagged a single pointed golden finger at her, more in sorrow than in anger. Molly froze. And while her assault was stopped, I concentrated in a certain way and the new armour retreated into my torc. Leaving me open and revealed to the world and my Molly. Her look of surprise was actually comical, but I had enough sense not to laugh. I looked about me. The world seemed a duller and flatter thing now, perceived only through my human senses, but it was still a warm and lovely place and I was glad to be back in it. I fell to my knees as the day s burdens rushed in upon me, and I thrust my fingers deep into the grass and earth before me, rooting myself in the world. It was good to be back. The steady warmth of the summer s day drove the armour s cold out of my body, out of my heart and soul, but my torc still burnt coldly about my throat, as though in warning. I realised Molly was kneeling beside me, saying my name over and over, and I finally found the strength to turn and smile at her.

Eddie! Talk to me, dammit! Are you all right? Do you need me to rip that torc off your throat and throw it back into the Maze?

No, I said immediately, if only to stop the relentless flow of her words. I m fine, Molly. Really. The armour s safe inside my torc. We came to an arrangement inside the Maze. It will serve me. For now.

I slowly got to my feet again, with Molly s help. The experience had taken a lot out of me. Molly was looking at me anxiously, clearly waiting for details of the arrangement I d agreed to, but I didn t tell her. I knew she wouldn t approve.

You were in there for ages, said Molly. It s been almost three hours!

I blinked a few times at that. Time must have moved differently inside the Maze.

I ve been walking up and down outside the entrance, working on my magics, waiting for you to come out, Molly went on, when it became clear I had nothing to say. I wanted to be sure I had something useful in hand, just in case the armour had taken you over. So when you just came rushing out, not even talking to me, I sort of assumed the worst.

Sorry, I said. I got a bit carried away. I hadn t realised how much I missed wearing armour.

Anyway, said Molly. Some of what I hit you with should have strengthened your torc, giving you more control over your new armour. So it can t come and go as it pleases or deny you when you need it.

Good, I said. Good idea, Molly. The strange matter in the torc should also help to keep the rogue armour in its place.

But, Eddie, listen to me! This is important. I ve no idea how long your torc will be able to control the armour, even with my magics support. We are in unknown territory here. It could last for days or weeks or just a few hours.

Got it, I said. I didn t tell her it didn t matter. That I would wear the armour for as long as I needed to find my family. And worry about everything else afterwards.

So, said Molly. What does it feel like wearing Moxton s armour?

Cold, I said immediately, before I could stop myself. Very cold and inhuman But it ll do the job and that s all that matters. I realised Molly was looking at me oddly. What?

When you came out of the Maze, wearing that armour You didn t look anything like you usually do. You didn t even look like a Drood. I don t know what Moxton based his designs on, but I don t think it was anything human. She scowled, searching for the right words. The way you were moving, the impression you gave I wasn t sure there was anything inside the armour.

It s still me, Molly, I said. I m still here.

Not when you re wearing that armour, you re not. I can tell.

I need it, Molly. Can t do the job without it.

I know. But once this is over, first chance you get, ditch the bloody thing.

Hush, I said quietly. I think it s listening.

Things just get better all the time, said Molly.

So, what now?

We need answers, I said. We need hard information as to exactly what went down here and who was behind it. Someone out there will know. Someone always knows. But where do we go to ask? Time was, we d have just dropped into the Wulfshead Club, that celebrated supernatural watering hole, paid for a round for the house, and they d have been lining up to tell us everything we needed to know. But I m pretty sure I m persona non grata there, after the recent unpleasantness.

You mean when you completely lost control, beat up everyone who got in your way and half killed your old friend the Indigo Spirit? said Molly. Oh, hell, yes, Eddie. They re still talking about that, and not in a good way. You are banned from the Wulfshead for life, Eddie Drood, and possibly even longer than that.

But that s just Eddie Drood, I said, craftily. I could still sneak in as Shaman Bond, couldn t I?

I wouldn t, said Molly. I really wouldn t. Take it from me: That boat has sailed. Far too many people in that place now know Eddie and Shaman are the same man. No one s actually given you up yet, but you can bet good money there d be a race to drop you right in it if you were to push your luck. Give them time to calm down, and they might let you back in as Shaman. But right now the very least they d do is set the hellhounds on you and blow your secret identity right out of the water.

But they will calm down? I said. Eventually?

Who can say?

I looked at her thoughtfully. You could always

No, I couldn t, said Molly. I m banned, as well, just for knowing you.

Ah, I said. Sorry about that.

Don t be! I m not. Never cared much for the Wulfshead, anyway. Bit too elevated for my tastes. And it s gone so upmarket these days so up itself it s practically staring out its own nostrils. And the bar prices suck big-time.

I smiled. Molly can be very loyal in her own way. So, where do we go for answers?

There s always the Nightside.

No there isn t, I said, very firmly.

Oh, come on, Eddie! I know there are long-standing pacts between your family and the Nightside, keeping you all out for reasons I have never had properly explained. But that can t apply now, when you re the only Drood left!

Nothing s changed, I said. If I did go in there, on my own, in defiance of the pacts, they d come straight at me with malice aforethought. And, anyway, I don t want anyone in the Nightside knowing my family isn t around anymore. You couldn t hope to ask questions and still keep it quiet. I don t want the world knowing the Droods aren t in charge anymore. When the Droods are away, the rats will run riot.

I could go into the Nightside, said Molly.

I ve got lots of contacts there. Not very nice contacts, perhaps, but I m sure they d give me all kinds of help once I started banging heads against walls.

No, I said. They d only wonder why I wasn t with you, start asking questions of their own and we d be back where we started.

You don t trust me on my own in the Nightside, with all its temptations. Do you?

No, I bloody don t.

Molly smiled, satisfied.

We both stood around for a while, trying to think of somewhere we could go, of people who might be persuaded to tell us useful things if we were insistent enough, in an intimidating sort of way. But approaching any of the usual unusual suspects would be bound to raise more questions than answers. The truth about my family s situation was bound to get out sooner or later, but I didn t want to do anything that would make it sooner rather than later. I needed time to get to the truth and whoever was behind it.

We could always go into London, down Grafton Way, Molly said tentatively. Pay a polite and very under-the-radar visit to the Order of Beyond. We did go there once before, remember, when we were trying to track down Mr. Stab.

I remember, I said. The Order of Beyond rounds up people who ve been possessed by all the various forces from outside and then locks them up in cages and listens to them. Because the possessed do so love to talk. The Order slips in a few pointed questions from time to time, and sells whatever answers they get to the highest bidder. (You can subscribe to their monthly newsletter for the more basic stuff. I ve never been tempted.)

I don t think so, I said finally.

We wouldn t learn anything we wanted to hear from those sources. Hell always lies.

Except when a truth can hurt you more.

Exactly.

All right. You suggest someone!

How about the Middle Man? I said, just a bit diffidently. He wouldn t know who was behind something as big as this, but he d almost certainly be able to point us in the direction of someone who would. For the right price, of course.

Eddie, he hates your family. You know that. You even hint at what s happened to them and he d break every record there is getting the news out to absolutely everyone. He loathes and despises everything Drood, and with more good reason than most.

We are a much-misunderstood family, I said.

Oh no, you aren t.

Well, who is there we can safely talk to? I said.

Who is there we can trust with this information?

We need my sisters, said Molly, in her best Yes, I know, but don t argue with me tone of voice. We need Isabella and Louisa. They might not know who s behind all this, but they have contacts in places I wouldn t even dare show my face. And they d be more than happy to kick the crap out of people on our behalf. Well, on my behalf. I don t think they ve quite made up their minds about you yet. But they d do it for me.

Sisters, sisters, such devoted sisters

Shut up, Eddie. No one would suspect anything if Isabella and Louisa were to go looking for information about the Hall and your family. They re always looking into things they re not supposed to know about.

I hate to say it, I said. But you may be right.

Molly frowned dangerously. What s wrong with getting my sisters involved?

Since you ask, everything. Isabella, no problem. Arrogant and a pain in the arse, but she gets the job done. The Indiana Jones of the supernatural world, always sticking her nose in where it s not wanted, digging up ancient history, hidden truths and things the world is not ready to know yet while sneaking off with as much historical loot as she can carry. Isabella, I can deal with. But Louisa? She s got a worse reputation than you. Or me. Or Mr. Stab, the as-yet-uncaught immortal serial killer of Old London Town. Everyone s scared of Louisa Metcalf, and with good reason.

Exactly! said Molly. Who s going to say no to her when she starts asking questions?

All right, I said. I just know I m going to regret this, but go ahead and contact them.

Ah, said Molly. I already tried. They re not answering. They ve both got their auras turned off. Why would they do that?

They re your sisters, I said.

I could think of any number of reasons why the infamous Metcalf sisters would want to be off the radar, just off the top of my head but I had enough sense not to say so. Every now and again I think I m getting the hang of this relationship thing.

But if both my sisters are out of touch, for the time being we re right back where we started, said Molly.

Who can we turn to for help? Most of our old friends and allies are dead or missing in action and presumed dead or just in hiding, after all the heavy dramas we ve been through recently.

That s what comes of dragging them into our wars, I agreed. We are not safe to be around. I think we re going to have to go looking for the few Droods we know are still left alive in this world. I m pretty sure there aren t any agents left out in the field; we called in absolutely everyone for our last few wars.

Including the ones who didn t want to come? said Molly.

Oh, those most of all, I said. No, I m talking about the rogues. Those members of the family who ran away or were kicked out or went to ground to escape our justice. Our punishment for their crimes against Humanity.

You re being a bit hard on the rogues, aren t you? said Molly. Considering you were one. She looked distinctly amused.

That was different, I said with some dignity.

I was only on the run because I d been falsely accused.

And because your grandmother wanted you dead.

Well, yes, in a complicated sort of way. The point is, some of the rogues are more dangerous than others. When Droods go bad, we go really bad.

You really think the rogues would talk to you if you could find them? said Molly, wrinkling her perfect nose.

I mean, I hate to be the one to point this out, Eddie, but you have killed rogue Droods in your time. Arnold Drood, the Bloody Man, and Tiger Tim

I didn t kill them, I said. I executed them. Because they earned it.

And yet, strangely, I don t see that argument going down terribly well with the other rogues when you catch up with them. If I were one and I saw you walking up my front path, I think I d set fire to my own house and shoot myself in the head, just to get it over with. On the other hand I know a few rogue Droods. Sort of. They might be willing to talk to me, where they wouldn t want anything to do with you.

You know everyone, don t you? I said admiringly. And mostly not in a good way. You ve done deals with rogue Droods in the past, haven t you?

I was at war with your family, said Molly.

And when you re at war, you go looking for allies. This was all long before I hooked up with you, Eddie.

Even so, I said. You can bet they know about you and me now. And that you re no longer at war with the Droods. You still think they d talk to you?

They ll tell me anything I want to know, if they know what s good for them, Molly said firmly. She paused as a thought struck her. I could practically see the wheels turning. Wouldn t the rogue Droods be happy to hear that the Hall and the family are gone? They d finally be free to emerge from the shadows or whatever holes they ve been hiding in, and come out into the world again. No more looking over their shoulders all the time for someone like you

You d think so, wouldn t you? I said. But no. They ll be far more interested in having the family back so they can get their armour back. With Ethel gone, they re all suddenly as vulnerable and helpless as I was. No, they might not be part of the family anymore, but they still like being Droods, with all the power and privilege that comes from wearing the torc.

Hold it. Are you telling me that Ethel gave all the rogues new strange-matter torcs, along with everyone else? said Molly.

I did argue very strongly against it, I said.

But Ethel was very firm on the subject and would not be moved. Either everyone in the family got one or no one did. Sometimes there s just no arguing with the whims of an immensely powerful other-dimensional entity.

That might be enough to put pressure on the rogues, said Molly. And then she stopped and looked at me carefully. There is one very powerful rogue Drood that we could call on. I suppose. Someone in Ethel s league. The one you told me about. The one the family buried long ago, deep in the permafrost under Tunguska

Gerard Drood, I said. Grendel Rex. The Unforgiven God. No, Molly. Things haven t got that bad yet. In fact, I think the whole world would have to be ending before I even considered disturbing him again. And even then I d think twice.

But

No, Molly. I didn t tell you the whole story about Grendel Rex because I wanted you to be able to sleep nights. I didn t tell you everything about what happened in Tunguska, either, for the same reason. If the Unforgiven God ever wakes up, if he ever breaks the chains we bound him with and rises it would take the whole family and every other group of power we could bring on board to put him down again. He is the end of the world just waiting to happen.

All right, then Heading a hell of a long way in the other direction to the most harmless rogue Drood I know What about the Mole?

I looked at her sharply. I thought you said he d disappeared. Gone deep underground, dropped into a hole and then pulled it in after him?

Well, yes, but there s disappeared and then there s disappeared, said Molly. I haven t a clue where to look for him, but I m sure if I put the word out, he d hear it eventually. Just because he s stopped talking doesn t mean he s stopped listening. And who else is there who has access to as much information as he does?

To get the news to him, it would have to pass through too many people, I said. No way we could control it. I can t have that, Molly. The Mole is out.

Well, who else is there that we know of? Molly said impatiently. Sebastian is dead, murdered. Freddie is missing in action, presumed dead. Arrabella fell into a mirror and never came out again. What other rogues do you know?

I m not as up-to-date as I should be, I admitted. I haven t kept up on the files or any of the required reading since I got involved in running the wars against the Hungry Gods and the Immortals and the Great Satanic Conspiracy. There s only so many hours in the day. I concentrated, organising my thoughts. There s old Mother Shipton, last heard of running a baby-cloning clinic in Vienna. Nasty piece of work. Manfred Drood was last heard of in Moscow, running the Baba Yaga Irregulars. Fighting Russian supernatural crime, for a healthy profit. I doubt we could afford him. Then there s Anastasia Drood, last heard of in darkest Peru. And if she really is doing what she s supposed to be doing down there, I will kill her dead before I ever willingly exchange a word with her.

There are always stories and rumours of other rogue Droods, under this grand-sounding alias or that. Good and bad and in between The details and locations are always changing, scattered across the world. And the family just doesn t care enough to check them all out. Besides, we might need them someday. The family can be very pragmatic about some things. The whole point of being a rogue Drood is to never be who or what or where the family thinks you are. If only so they won t send someone like me to come and drive a stake through your rotten heart.

What about your late uncle James s many and varied illegitimate offspring? said Molly. The Grey Bastards?

Them? They re never on anyone s side but their own! I did think about it for a moment, which only goes to show how desperate I was. The family has always employed as many of them as we can, from a distance, if only to keep them from straying and falling under bad influences. But I wouldn t trust a single one of them farther than I could throw them into the wind with both hands tied behind my back. No, Molly. Much as I hate to admit it, there s only one rogue Drood we can go to. The most infamous rogue of all. The Regent of Shadows.

What? Hold everything. Go previous. Wipe my face with a cold sponge, said Molly. He s a rogue Drood? The Regent of Shadows, the secret master of hidden information is just another member of your extended family? No one ever told me that! Of course, your family never tells me anything it doesn t absolutely have to. I mean I ve heard of the Regent of Shadows everyone has. Runs his own secret organisation, beholden to no one, gathering information in all the areas no one else wants to admit even exist. Tell me, Eddie: Why is it that whenever anyone in your family even mentions him, someone else always says, We don t talk about him!?

I don t know! I said. They don t talk about him! I only know he s a rogue Drood because I used to run this family. Briefly. And even then you d be surprised at the sheer number of things I ve found out since that they thought I didn t need to know.

No, I wouldn t, said Molly. Nothing surprises me about your family anymore.

Smugness does not become you, Molly.

How are we supposed to find the secretive and almost legendary Regent of Shadows, anyway? Put an ad in The Times?

I haven t the faintest idea where to look, I said. I was hoping you d have some ideas.

She thought about it, frowning fiercely. We need a source of information that no one else would expect us to go to, who wouldn t sell us out or spread the story to unfriendly ears. That narrows the field considerably but if it s just information you re after, I may know someone. She s a hell of a way off the beaten track, by her own decision, and really small-time, because that s the way she likes it so we should be able to consult her without even being noticed.

Sounds good so far, I said. Who are we talking about?

And then we both stopped and looked round sharply. There was the growing sound of approaching engines coming right up the main drive, by the sound of it. I was off and running immediately, with Molly right there at my side. I had no idea who it might be or what they wanted, but I didn t care. A threat to the Hall and its grounds always takes precedence. And I was just in the mood to be distracted from my many problems.

Whoever it is, they re not on the guest list, I said to Molly. No one is allowed in here until we ve got the family back in residence again.

Probably looters, Molly said cheerfully.

Oh, almost certainly looters, I said. The poor bastards. I am just in the mood to beat the crap out of some bad guys.

By the time we got to the front of the Hall, a whole line of really big trucks was storming up the main gravel drive and heading for the front entrance. All the trucks were huge, oversized monster-storage jobs, the kind you hire to move the whole contents of really big houses. They were heading through the grounds like they had every right to be there, and I was really looking forward to making it clear to them that they didn t. They had no right to be on Drood territory, menacing my home. They had to know what had happened to the Hall and my family, or they d never have dared be so brave. Made my blood boil Show one sign of weakness in this world, and before you know it the vultures are turning up with knives and forks and their best bibs on. That s what those trucks were. A convoy of scavengers. Come to loot and ransack whatever was left of the ruined Hall while the charred timbers were still warm.

I ran out into the main drive and stopped, taking up a position between the lead truck and the Hall. I struck an authoritative pose and held up one hand to signal the driver to stop. Did he, hell. He just sounded his horn and kept on coming. So I called up my armour. I didn t need the old activating Words; I just had to think, and there it was. The rogue armour swept over me in a moment, sealing me in from head to toe. I didn t cry out at the cold this time. I was growing accustomed to the new armour. I wasn t sure whether that was a good thing or not, but with a massive big truck bearing down on me and showing absolutely no signs of slowing, I was glad to have the armour about me.

The driver in the lead truck took one look at the Drood in his armour who d just appeared out of nowhere right in front of him (when presumably he d been promised he d never have to face any such thing) and slammed his foot hard down on the brake. The truck skidded to a halt amid screams of burning tyres and unhealthy-looking smoke issued out from under the wheel arches. Gravel flew in every direction as the front of the truck skidded back and forth, the driver fighting to bring it under control. It finally slammed to a halt so close to me, I could have reached out a hand and prodded the radiator grille. There was more screeching and skidding from all the other trucks farther down the line as they were forced into equally sudden halts.

I folded my golden arms across my golden chest and studied the white-faced driver in his raised cab. And then Molly Metcalf stepped out into the drive to stand beside me, and the driver looked even more upset.

For a long moment the driver stayed in his cab, looking down at us, clearly lost for what to do. I m sure he was hoping that if he just sat there long enough, we would disappear or go away but when it became clear that wasn t going to happen, he sighed heavily, turned off the engine, opened the side door and dropped down into the gravel to join us. He looked back at the long line of suddenly parked trucks, took a deep breath and walked slowly and very unhappily forward to face Molly and me. An average height, average weight, middle-aged guy with male pattern baldness and a sickly smile, wearing a much-used workman s outfit. He crashed to a halt right before me, his uncertain smile losing confidence by the moment.

Hello! he said with desperate conviviality.

Nice to be here! Isn t it a great day? Very summery! Yes. I m Dave Chapman, head of Plunder, Incorporated.

Oh, bloody hell, said Molly, cutting across his words mercilessly. I know who this is. You used to be the Road Rats, didn t you?

Chapman winced. We did operate under that trade name, yes, but we have recently upgraded. Gone upmarket, as it were. He was trying for dignity and not even coming close. Might I enquire whom I might be addressing?

I m Molly Metcalf. She gave Chapman her very brightest and most dangerous smile, and all the colour dropped out of his face.

Oh, shit.

You ve heard of me, said Molly, pleased.

Chapman glanced back over his shoulder, clearly debating whether to just break and make a run for it, and then he reluctantly stood his ground and looked at me.

And I am Edwin Drood, I said, not wanting to be left out of the intimidation. Chapman made a high whining noise and looked even more upset, if that were possible. His feet shifted nervously, disturbing the gravel, as though he desperately wanted to be excused.

Oh, shit, he said, miserably.

Well, quite, I said. What are you doing here at my home, on Drood grounds, Mr. Road Rat Chapman?

Given his piteous condition it was hard to stay mad at him, but worth the effort. I had only to look at the long line of trucks come to haul away my family s heritage, and my blood started boiling all over again.

Chapman gave up looking at Molly and me and looked down at his steel-toed workingman s boots currently digging little holes in the gravel, as though he hoped to find some answers there. Or at the very least, a large and comforting hole he could disappear into. He glanced up again, saw that Molly and I were still there, and shrugged glumly. He looked unhappily back and forth between us, as though he couldn t make up his mind which of us unnerved him most.

Well, sir and miss, of course, he said finally. Strictly speaking, you shouldn t be here. We d been promised no one would be here. We were, in fact, informed that Drood Hall had been blown up, set fire to and generally reduced to wreck and ruin. He glanced past us at what was left of the Hall and seemed to draw strength from the confirming vision.

We were told the Droods were no more, that the Hall and its grounds were no longer defended, and that there were rich pickings for everyone. Or at least for whoever got there first. So I rounded up the boys, fuelled up the rigs and put the hammer down all the way here.

How did you know where to find us? I said.

Drood Hall isn t on the map. Any map.

Chapman swallowed hard. Whatever it was that was hiding you, it s gone now, sir and miss, of course. We were given a sat nav that brought us straight to you. In fact, I think you can be pretty sure there are a lot more plunder-orientated organisations already on their way here, eager to get their hot little hands on Drood riches. We just got here first because we re more professional than most. We are, after all, the best in the business. The old firm, picking up unconsidered trifles and selling them for big profits, for centuries. We re a family business, just like you!

No, I said. You re nothing like us.

Road Rats, said Molly. Never met a disaster you didn t like so you could take advantage of it.

You got here first, so you ll make a fine example to all those who come after you, I said cheerfully to Chapman. A thought struck me. You said you were informed that the Hall had been burnt down. Who informed you?

We keep our electronic ears to the ground, sir. And miss, of course. We monitor all the unusual frequencies for occasions such as this.

So you can kick people while they re down and take what little they have left? said Molly.

Best time, said Chapman, regaining some of his confidence. A chance to loot a place like Drood Hall only comes along once in a generation. If then. The minute we got the word, from a very important gentleman, we were off and running. In fact, he went so far as to say we d be doing him a favour if we were to strip the place clean from top to bottom. He guaranteed he d buy everything we brought him. No matter how unique or dangerous the item might be. He has connections everywhere, you see. Well! Couldn t turn down an opportunity like that. Could we, sir? And miss, of course. How could we say no?

You should have, I said. You really should have.

Yeah, said Molly. She cracked her knuckles, a sudden loud sound in the quiet, and Chapman actually jumped.

You re facing a Drood in his armour, I said. And the wild witch of the woods. Hell, you should be grateful we got to you before the scarecrows did. You have heard of the scarecrows yes, I thought you might have.

Bollocks to this! Chapman said abruptly. He turned and ran back past his truck, yelling to his people farther down the line. Sod this for a game of soldiers! Get them, boys! There s only two of them! A nice little bonus to whoever brings them down first! And get a bloody move on, before the scarecrows get here!

A whole bunch of large, muscular young men appeared out of the cabs of parked trucks and headed straight for us. Most of them hard, cold-eyed thugs, in grubby T-shirts and jeans, the better to show off their gym-sculpted torsos. They advanced steadily on Molly and me, carrying various nasty-looking weapons. Twenty, thirty, forty of them, looking tough and highly motivated. Anyone else would probably have been impressed. Chapman stopped at the far end of his truck and grinned unpleasantly back at me.

You re not the only one with a family business! You Droods aren t the only ones who can do the hard stuff, if it comes to it. We re the Road Rats!

Thought you were Plunder, Incorporated, said Molly.

That s just for appearances! When there s dirty work to be done we re still the Road Rats, and no one does it better than us! Right, boys? We don t take no shit from no one. We do the taking! Boys, peel that arrogant tosser out of his gold shell and pound him into the ground! Whoever takes him down first gets first go at the girl!

Optimistic little soul, isn t he? I murmured to Molly.

And obnoxious about it, said Molly. Girl? Girl? I ll give him girl I will make him wish he d never been born. In fact, I may even make a raggedy-edged hole in the side of his truck and use it to reenact his birth, only in reverse.

Poor bastards, I said. They haven t a clue what s about to hit them.

I have, said Molly. And I m going to really enjoy it.

Me, too! I said. But I want Chapman alive and intact and still able to answer questions at the end of it. He knows who s behind all this.

I looked the Road Rats over as they drew nearer. They looked surprisingly confident. They d clearly heard enough about Droods to know our reputation, but not enough to take it seriously. A lot of them were carrying energy weapons, both magical and superscientific, presumably looted from some previous site, and they were carrying them like they knew how to use them. Others had really big guns that looked entirely capable of firing a hell of a lot of bullets in a short time. Others had knives and swords and glowy cutting things. With anyone else that would probably have been enough.

I ran straight at them, gravel flying as I charged down the path at inhuman speed.

I swept past Chapman in a moment, before he could even give the order to open fire. By the time he did, I was right there in and among his boys. They all opened fire at once, hitting me with everything they had. The bullets just ricocheted harmlessly off my armour. (My old strange-matter armour would have absorbed the bullets; less danger of any damage to innocent bystanders. Not that there were any of those here, of course.) The energy guns opened up, bathing me in a whole series of vicious and otherworldly destructive forces, and not one of them could touch me inside my armour. They glanced harmlessly off or detonated in the air around me. The knives and swords and glowy cutting things broke and shattered against me.

I slammed into the midst of the Road Rats, slapping the energy weapons out of their hands, crushing their guns in my golden hands and lashing out at everyone within reach. I punched in faces, cracked heads and sent hard young thugs staggering backwards, desperately gasping for breath, because I d caught them with a crafty back elbow under the sternum. I knocked them down and trampled them underfoot, and it felt good, so good. To be striking down my enemies.

A lot of them just turned and ran rather than face me.

Others produced new, heavy-duty magical weapons. One thrust a Hand of Glory at me, only to cry out as the Hand s malign influence was reflected straight back at him and all the fingers rotted and fell off. Another of them had an aboriginal pointing bone. He pointed it at me and the bone exploded, filling his hand with sharp bony shrapnel. One of them even had an elven wand, but when he pointed it hopefully in my direction, the wand took one look at my armour and faded quietly away, disappearing out of the Road Rat s hand rather than get involved.

Lesser weapons took their turn and destructive forces and energies blazed and howled around me, none of them able to touch me.

I kept moving, pressing forward, throwing nasty young thugs this way and that, breaking bones and smashing heads, raining savage blows on my enemies and loving every moment of it. I could hear bones breaking, see blood flying, and the screams of horror and suffering brought joy to my heart and a smile to my lips behind my featureless golden mask. They were no match for me, and they knew it. The drive was packed with horrified young thugs running for the gates. I took my time with those who didn t, doing a good and thorough job on them. It felt so good to have an enemy I could get my hands on at last. They might not be the ones responsible for the destruction of the Hall and the loss of my family, but they were there. They d do.

In the end, I just ran out of people to hit. I stood alone in the middle of the drive, surrounded by the wounded and the unconscious. Blood dripped thickly from my heavy golden gauntlets. Molly was standing to one side, looking at me. It had all happened so quickly, she hadn t had a chance to get involved. I didn t recognise the expression on her face, but I didn t like it. I looked round sharply at the sudden roaring of an engine behind me. Chapman had fired up one of the trucks farther down the line. He pulled it out of the queue, revved the engine and drove the truck straight at me.

I stood where I was, to give him a sporting chance. The oversized rig loomed up before me, growing larger and larger, as he gunned the accelerator for all it was worth. I could see Chapman s pale, determined face glaring at me through the windshield. At the last moment I turned and showed him my golden shoulder. The truck smashed right into me. The grillwork collapsed under my shoulder. I d dug my heels into the gravel, but even so the sheer impact pushed me backwards, my heels leaving deep furrows in the ground. I didn t feel a thing inside the armour. The truck skidded to a halt despite itself, the engine still roaring, until I drove a golden fist right through the collapsed grillwork and smashed the engine.

A sudden silence fell across the grounds. I carefully withdrew my arm, stepped around to the side of the cab, ripped the door right off and threw it away. I beckoned to Chapman to get out. He dropped down onto the ground and stood shaking before me. His face was bloody from where it had smashed against the windshield, for all the inflated airbag had been able to do to protect him. He looked at me with wild, shocked, startled eyes.

What are you? he said, in a cracked, almost hysterical voice. You re not human! Look what you did to my boys! Look what you did to my truck! Nothing human could have done that!

Yes, said Molly, coming forward to join us.

How do you feel about that, Eddie? About what you did to his boys?

I looked around me at the broken, bloodied bodies. They had it coming. I didn t kill any of them.

Oh, well, then, said Molly. That makes it all right, then.

I frowned behind my mask. What are you so upset about? I ve seen you do far worse in your time!

Yes, but that s me. Not you.

Are you defending these scumbags? After what they came here to do? What they would have done to you?

No, said Molly. They had it coming. Deserved everything they got. I m just interested in how you feel about what you did. Because I am reminded of what you did in another place. In the Wulfshead, not so long ago.

I didn t lose control here, I said.

I didn t Oh, hell. It s the armour, Molly. It s affecting me.

Is it? said Molly. Or is that what you want to think?

I don t have time for this, I said. I turned my featureless gold mask to Chapman, and he scrunched up his face as though he wanted to cry. Pick up your boys and leave here, Road Rat. And don t ever come back. If you meet any more of your kind along the way, tell them what happened here. Show them what I did to your boys. Because if I have to do this again, I ll make a real example out of the next bunch.

Don t think you ve stopped me, said Chapman defiantly. We re a big organisation. A big family. I ll set an army against you, if I have to. You can t stop an army, just the two of you.

He doesn t know us very well, does he? said Molly.

And there s still the scarecrows, I said.

We ve got weapons for things like that! said Chapman. There s all kinds of good stuff waiting in the Hall, and we re not giving up on it!

No one steals from my family and lives to boast of it, I said. I stand between the Hall and all who would violate it.

And, for all my many reservations, I stand beside him, said Molly.

Thank you, dear, I said.

You re with him, said Chapman. And they re with me!

I looked beyond him at a small army of Road Rats hurrying up the drive towards us. Dozens of them, with more weapons and magically charged things. They must have been kept in reserve until Chapman could work out the lay of the land and call them. They all looked pretty annoyed at what I d done to their fellow Rats.

I looked at Molly. Since I am clearly far too violent to be trusted with this encounter, perhaps you d like to

Love to, said Molly.

She reached down and pulled up her dress just enough to reveal the gold charm bracelet around her ankle. And for a moment, I actually felt sorry for what was about to hit the Road Rats army. I d seen Molly pull charms off that bracelet before and make highly destructive use of them. Everything from a Vincent motorbike to a full-sized dragon. Molly pulled one delicately carved charm off the bracelet and held it up for everyone to see. It was a charming little silver monkey. Chapman looked from Molly to me and back again. He couldn t work out why we were both smiling.

Molly threw the charm onto the ground before her. There was a puff of dark smoke (for purely dramatic reasons), and when it cleared, the drive now held a massive, monstrous killer ape. A good fifty feet tall, and muscular with it, the ape roared once and then charged down the drive at the advancing Road Rats. It was in and among them before they could get their wits together enough to run, and then the huge ape set about them, picking them up, crushing them and throwing them away. Beating them into the ground with huge fists and trampling them underfoot. Punching them so hard they travelled twenty feet and more through the air before they hit the ground. Road Rats tumbled end over end through the air, making piteous noises of distress. Before plummeting to earth with enough impact to make even me wince. The huge ape charged back and forth, doing horrible things to Road Rats and enjoying itself immensely.

It was all over quickly. The ape looked around at the piled-up broken bodies and sniffed loudly, in a satisfied kind of way.

All right! All right! said Chapman, miserably.

Call it off! We surrender!

Molly snapped her fingers, the ape disappeared and a small silver charm reappeared in her hand. She delicately reattached the charm to her ankle bracelet and smiled sweetly at me.

A big ape, throwing his weight around, I said.

Were you by any chance making a comment there, Molly?

Perish the thought, sweetie.

I looked around me. There were bodies everywhere, scattered across the grounds. Some moving, some not. It was all very calm and peaceful, apart from some quiet moaning and whimpering here and there. The threat was over. I forced my armour back into my torc. I could remember the savage satisfaction I d taken in reducing the Road Rats to bloody ruin, but it seemed like something that happened a long time ago, to somebody else. I looked at Chapman. He was crying.

You brought it on yourself, I said. I gave you every chance to walk away.

What am I going to say to their mums and dads? said Chapman.

Don t mess with the Droods, I said.

Pick up your boys and get out of here. You make the place look untidy.

If we d known the place was this well protected, we wouldn t have come here, Chapman said bitterly.

We were promised the Hall would be empty and abandoned.

Spread the word, I said. Drood Hall and its grounds are still protected. Be grateful you didn t get to meet the scarecrows.

But the Hall s a ruin! Chapman said wildly. Look at it! What s left inside might as well do someone some good! It s no use to anyone just sitting there! All right, all right. I m going.

Not quite yet, I said. I still want to know who sent you here. Who made you all these promises? Who knew the Hall was a ruin, and provided you with a bloody sat nav?

Crow Lee, said Chapman. It was Crow Lee, the bastard. He swore this would be an easy one, quick in and out, no problems. He lied.

Well, that s what you do, said Molly, when you re the Most Evil Man in the World.

But Chapman was already walking away, calling out to his less-damaged boys to help load the others into the back of the trucks. I was a bit relieved to see I hadn t done quite as much damage to them as I d imagined. Molly looked at me thoughtfully.

There were an awful lot of the little shits, and I have no sympathy for them. But

Yes, I said. But. I am an agent, not an assassin. I do what s necessary to take control of a situation. I was never that bloodthirsty before, when I put on my armour. Moxton s Mistake was in my head. I couldn t hear it, but it was there.

Can you learn to control it? said Molly.

I ll learn, I said. I have to. Because I really can t do the job without it. Not if Crow Lee s involved.

We walked back up the drive to the wrecked and burnt-out Hall. Knowing it wasn t my Hall really didn t help much. It was still Drood Hall. Part of me was listening to the trucks revving up and departing my grounds at speed, but I was thinking more about Crow Lee. The Beast. The Devil s Own. The Most Evil Man in the World and there s a lot of competition. Everyone in my line of work has heard of Crow Lee. He hadn t joined the Great Satanic Conspiracy because he thought they weren t extreme enough. He dealt in death curses, human sacrifice, human trafficking, blackmail on a small and large scale and in slaughter and suffering just for the fun of it. He d run any number of cults just because he could.

He worked as a magical assassin for a while, as much for the experience as the money. Killing the rich and the powerful by order. He had mastered necromancy, the magic of murder, and could make the living and the dead do his bidding. These days he worked mostly from the shadows and was often accused of atrocities and abominations but nothing had ever been proved. Crow Lee, the man who could do anything, anything at all.

Why have the Droods never done anything about the Most Evil Man in the World? said Molly.

Because he s protected, I said. And I don t just mean because he s made pacts with Hell, though he has. He has connections inside every political party, every religious organisation, and he has powerful friends, or, perhaps more properly, allies, in every circle you can think of. The whole family would have had to go to war against Crow Lee and his people, with no sure knowledge of how it would turn out. He s been stopped, defeated, many times, by us and others but he just disappears and turns up somewhere else, as powerful and protected as ever. His front men and his allies go down, but he never does. The decision was made in the family, sometime back, to just let him grow old and die. Because he s just one man, and the family goes on forever. If we can t take him down, we can always outlive the bastard. And we ll settle for stopping his various schemes until the evil old scrote grows weak and falls apart. At least that was the plan. It would seem he decided to get his retaliation in first.

You re sure he s the one? Molly said carefully. The one who took remote control of Alpha Red Alpha?

It has to be him! Only he would have the power to do it and the arrogance to get away with it! The moment I heard his name, I knew. So. Now my enemy has a face and a name. That helps. And so will the Regent of Shadows, one way or another. This informant of yours; you re sure they can put us in touch with the Regent?

Almost certainly, said Molly.

Good, I said. But first, we have to go to Egypt.