ask again. And, no, I m not even a little bit kidding. Word is the Regent s going up in the world. Probably because he knows all kinds of things he isn t supposed to He s been making a lot of people nervous. Anything else you want from me before I invite you to go to hell by the express route? The last thing I need around here is your kind, lowering the tone and attracting the kind of attention I can well do without. You re bad news, Molly Metcalf, and you always were.
How can you say that, Madame O, after all we ve been through together? said Molly.
Madame Osiris glared at me. Run, boy, while you still can. She ll get you killed. Just like everyone else who gets close to her. The Metcalf sisters have never cared for anyone but themselves. There s a reason why they re still alive and the rest of their family isn t.
Never meet up again with old friends, Molly said to me. They ll always let you down.
And I can t believe you re stepping out with a Drood! snapped Madame Osiris. You have better reason than most to know what they really are! But then, you never did listen to me. I could have made you big!
This from someone hiding out in a fortune-teller s stall on Brighton Pier, said Molly. How have the mighty fallen
You little cow
That s enough! I said. I didn t come here for this!
And something in my voice snapped both their heads round to look at me. Madame Osiris actually looked startled for a moment, and Molly looked at me as though she didn t know me at all. And then they looked at each other.
Is he? said Madame Osiris.
Just a bit, said Molly.
You always did know how to pick them, dearie. Whatever happened to Roger Morningstar?
Dead, finally, said Molly.
Then we can all sleep a little more safely in our beds, at last. Are you in trouble, Molly?
Perhaps a little more than usual.
I always did have a soft spot for you, much against my better judgement. Like the daughter I never wanted. Lose the Drood, Molly, while you still can.
I can t, said Molly. He s the only one who ever really mattered to me.
Madame Osiris sighed. And love makes fools of us all. One more question, dearie, on the house, and I ll see what I can do.
Where are my sisters? said Molly. Right now.
Madame Osiris raised a heavily painted eyebrow. Don t you know?
Obviously not, or I wouldn t be asking! They ve got their auras turned off, and that isn t like them. So where are they?
Madame Osiris sat thoughtfully for a long moment, her dark eyes staring off into the distance and then she sat up straight and shrugged quickly. Sorry, dearie. Outside my range. But then, they always were. Come on, Molly. You know as well as I do that no one finds Isabella and Louisa if they don t want to be found. And wherever they are right now, they clearly don t want anyone else knowing.
But I m not anyone else! I m their sister!
Then the question you should be asking yourself, said Madame Osiris, is, What could they be up to that they know you wouldn t approve of? Maybe you should go talk to the Regent of Shadows. He knows everything about everyone. That s his job description. In fact, it s probably engraved on his business cards.
Molly nodded brusquely and turned to leave. You do know Osiris is a man s name, right?
Madame O laughed in a good-natured way. It s all Egyptian to me, dearie.
Molly and I made our way back down the Pier. Neither of us was in a hurry to get anywhere. We both had a lot to think about.
Well, I said finally. That was pretty much a waste of time.
Did you know the Regent of Shadows was now in charge of the Department of the Uncanny?
I d heard rumours.
Did you know he was hiding out at Big Ben?
Nice to have the rumours confirmed, I suppose, I said. Your Madame O gave me the impression of being just a bit rattled by our sudden appearance. She wasn t pleased to see you, and she definitely didn t like having me around.
Of course not, said Molly, smiling briefly.
You re a Drood.
The point I m making is, Do you think someone else might have got to her first? Crossed her palm with a hell of a lot of silver to point us in the wrong direction?
She didn t know we were coming to see her, said Molly. She couldn t. Hell, we didn t know until I made the decision just a few hours ago.
But if she can see the Future
Grow up, Eddie. Of course she can t! You are so gullible sometimes. That whole Madame Osiris thing is just for show! Just another con for the unwary It takes a hell of a lot of power to look into all the future timetracks ahead of us.
Someone with real power like Crow Lee? I said. My old tutors always said no one understood the Theory of Magick like Unholy Crow Lee. Molly, is it just me, or is it getting dark in a hurry?
We both stopped and looked around us and then up at the sky. Grim, overbearing clouds were forming out over the ocean, filling the sky and cutting off the sunshine. The temperature dropped perceptibly as something leached all the summer s warmth out of the day. A great grim fog was forming, rising up off the sea and heading straight for the Pier.
Okay, said Molly. That is not natural.
The fog surged forward, racing across the ocean, and fell upon the end of the Pier like a beast on its prey. It consumed the whole end of the Pier in a moment and then moved slowly, purposefully forward, enveloping the Pier foot by foot. I lost sight of the huge rides and then everything else at the rear of the Pier, unable to see more than a few feet into the thick pearlescent fog. Molly was right: There was nothing natural about this. We both backed carefully away from the fog, sticking close together. We couldn t risk being separated.
People farther down the Pier began to cry out as even the everyday tourists sensed something was wrong. Panic moved quickly through the crowds as they felt what Molly and I already knew: that there was something in the fog. Something bad. In ones and twos and then in groups, they headed for the exit. Walking quickly and then hurrying, and finally breaking into an undignified run as the fog struck a chill into their hearts. Young lovers held on to each other tightly, running hard and not looking back, while parents dragged screaming and protesting children along with them by brute force. The retired senior citizens abandoned their deck chairs, and hurried after the departing crowds as best they could. White-faced staff abandoned the stalls and shops and the games arcade, and ran for their lives. Even the fake ghosts came running out of the fake haunted house, throwing aside their sheets and costumes so they could run faster.
None of them wanted any part of the advancing fog and what was moving inside it.
I looked round just in time to see Madame Osiris s tent disappear abruptly, just before the fog reached it. She may not have seen the fog coming, but she knew enough to get the hell out of Dodge. Molly and I looked at each other and smiled briefly. It would take a lot more than some sudden bad-tempered weather to scare us. We stood our ground, facing the fog as it crept towards us. I peered into the thick fog as it ate up foot after foot of the Pier, but though I could sense something moving along with it, I still couldn t see a damned thing. And suddenly I had a very bad feeling about this fog.
We could depart, I said carefully to Molly. If you like. To a better position I m just mentioning the possibility.
No, said Molly, just as carefully. We don t back down, ever. Might give other people ideas Besides, aren t you curious to see what s inside it?
Well, yes and no, I said. There s curious, and then there s curious.
The temperature plummeted. My breath was suddenly steaming on the air before me, along with Molly s. All the hairs were standing up on my arms and the back of my neck. I shuddered briefly despite myself, and it wasn t because of the cold. I had a sudden sharp feeling of my own mortality. The fog advanced deliberately towards us,
