And what if the enemy isn t finished? What if they come back?
Let them, I said. Let them all come. And there was something in my voice that actually made Molly shudder briefly and look away. Anywhen else, that might have bothered me. I looked steadily at what was left of my home. My thoughts kept going round in circles, and returning to the same impossible situation.
How could anyone have got past all of Drood Hall s centuries of layered shields and protections? It s just not possible!
Well, we did, said Molly.
I looked at her. What?
We got in. That time you came back to overthrow the Matriarch and take control of your family.
Well, yes, I said. But we only managed that through my insider knowledge and because we had the Confusulum. Whatever or whoever that annoying alien thing was. And since the Blue Fairy isn t around anymore, I don t see how anyone could acquire another one. But I see what you mean. This was no sneak attack. This was a carefully planned open assault. Which raises even more questions. Look around you, Molly. Look at the grounds. None of the robot gun positions have been activated; they re still sitting in their hidden bunkers under the lawns. And I can t See any trace of the force shields and magical screens that should have slammed into place automatically the moment the Hall came under threat. It s as though the enemy caught my family with all their defences down. Which should have been impossible
Could someone have lowered the shields, from inside? Molly said carefully. Sabotage, in advance of the attack? We never did identify the traitor inside your family, the one who s been working against your interests for so long.
She stopped talking as I shook my head firmly. I wasn t ready to think about that, not just yet. Concentrate on our enemies, I said. Who is there left, who could have done this to us? We stamped out Manifest Destiny, stopped the invasion of the Loathly Ones and the Hungry Gods, wiped out the Immortals and crushed the Great Satanic Conspiracy. I mean, who s left?
Clearly, someone you missed, said Molly. There s always someone.
I thought about it. The Droods are supposed to have made pacts with Heaven and Hell, back in the day, for power and influence and protection, I said. Could this have been the day when all our debts came due?
No, Molly said immediately. I d know.
I managed something like a smile. You worry me sometimes when you say things like that.
She managed a small smile of her own. Can I help it if I m a girl who likes to get around?
I took her hand in mine and squeezed it firmly. Sometimes I forget that I m not alone anymore. That I don t have to do everything myself.
You always were too ready to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders, Eddie. Whatever you decide to do, I ve got your back.
Good to know, I said. Because I m pretty sure this is going to get a lot worse before it gets any better.
I gave her hand a final squeeze, let it go and turned away to look into the open doorway, where the huge and specially reinforced front doors should have been. The empty gap was like an open wound. I moved slowly, steadily, forward, Molly right there at my side. Gravel crunched loudly under our feet in the quiet. The remains of a lone gargoyle lay shattered on the ground before us. As though it had been shot down while flying against our enemies and plummeted to the ground. And maybe it had. I d always been suspicious about the gargoyles. When I was just a kid, sleeping in one of the great communal dormitories along with the other young Droods, I was half-convinced gargoyles would creep down from the roof at night and listen outside our windows, so they could report all our sins and bad intentions to the adults. And maybe they did. Drood Hall is full of secrets. I stopped then and made myself rephrase that. Drood Hall was full of secrets. It was important to remember everything I d lost.
I stepped past the broken remains of the gargoyle, with its shattered face and broken wings, to stand before the open doorway. Something really powerful had blasted both doors right off their hinges and sent them flying a fair distance down the hallway. I could see them lying on the floor, the heavy wood cracked and splintered from some unimaginable impact. And there in the doorway was the half-melted golden figure, the last defender of the entrance hall. The armoured man lay curled into a ball, as though wrapped around his pain. I knelt down beside him, let my fingertips drift gently across the cracked and distorted face mask. The metal was cold to the touch. Cold as death. There was no way to remove the featureless mask, no way of telling who it was inside the armour. Whether it was anyone I knew.
I rose and strode past the dead man into the gloom of the hallway. There were no lights working anywhere, just dark shadows and fire- and smoke-blackened interiors. Loud and dangerous cracking and creaking sounds came from the bulging ceiling overhead, which supported all the weight of the fallen-in upper floors. It could all come down anytime. I knew that. I didn t care. I needed to know what had happened here; needed that more than life itself. It is possible I wasn t entirely sane at that time.
I moved slowly down the dark hallway, through ruin and devastation, and forced myself to be calm and collected, practical and professional. Just from looking around me at the nature of the destruction, I could see they must have used grenades and flamethrowers. No other way to do this much damage in a hurry. Probably some magical and superscience weapons, as well. Someone had been intent on doing a really thorough job here.
I considered all the possibilities as I made my way down the hallway, broken floorboards groaning warnings under my weight. Molly was careful to keep distance between us, to spread the weight out as much as possible. Could there have been sabotage, or even an invasion of the family Armoury our own weapons turned against us? It didn t seem likely. An enemy who d planned such a thorough assault wouldn t have gambled on finding enough weapons here to do the job. They d have brought their own. Could the enemy have teleported inside the Hall if all our shields were down? That would explain how they were able to take all of us by surprise so easily. Maybe even suicide bombers? So many possibilities, so many questions, and no answers anywhere. Molly stepped deftly over the rubble on the floor, looking at everything, touching nothing.
There wasn t any damage out in the grounds, she said, after a while. All the fighting took place indoors. Look at the bullet holes in these walls. And scorch marks from energy blasts, which implies energy weapons or offensive sorceries. Do you suppose there could be any survivors, maybe trapped somewhere in the Hall?
No, I said. We would have fought to the last man rather than let this happen to the Hall. I stopped abruptly, glancing about me, hands clenched into fists at my sides.
But you were right earlier. We can t afford to spend too long here. If all our defences are down, then the shields that hide our presence are down, too. The whole world can see exactly where Drood Hall is, for the first time, and that makes us vulnerable. The vultures will be gathering. They ll descend on us in their hordes to search for loot and overlooked secrets. But I can t leave, Molly. Not yet. I have to know.
Of course you do, said Molly. Every clue the enemy left behind is ammunition we can use to identify and then nail the bastards who did this.
I had to smile at her. There was a time the Droods were your enemies. Not that long ago, you would have been overjoyed by all this. You d have danced on these ruins.
Danced, hell, said Molly. I d have hiked up my skirts and pissed on them, singing hallelujah. But that was then; this is now. Everything changed when I met you. Now an attack on your family is an attack on you. And no one messes with my man and gets away with it.
She struck a witch s pose, and her hands moved through a sinuous series of magical gestures. A slow presence gathered on the air around us and all the hairs stood up on the back of my neck. A sudden cold wind came gusting down the hallway, disturbing the ashes. Molly spoke a single Word, almost too much for human vocal cords to bear, and the echoes of it trembled and shuddered all through the enclosed space.
There, said Molly, relaxing just a little.
I ve put some temporary shields in place: a No See zone over the Hall and serious avoidance spells around the perimeter. Low-level stuff, easily broken by anyone who knows what they re looking for, but enough to buy us some time, so we can make a proper investigation. Where do you want to start, Eddie?
I didn t thank her. It would only have embarrassed her.
I looked up and down the gloomy hallway. It was all so still, so quiet. The only sounds had been our careful footsteps and the quiet shifting noises of broken stone and brickwork. The ceiling made constant ominous noises as the collapsed upper floors settled and pressed down. There was still a little smoke, farther in, curling unhurriedly on the still air, and the odd cloud of soot and ashes drifting this way and that. Molly sneezed explosively, and I jumped despite myself. I looked at her reproachfully, and she stared haughtily down her nose at me, as though she d meant
