I don t know, I said. I want to blame the new armour, but maybe this is what I m really like without my family.
Bullshit, Molly said briskly. That is not what you are, and I should know. Proof in point: You said yourself the spell broke the moment you looked back at me.
What if I hadn t?
But you did.
I had to smile. You always were a good influence on me.
Not if I can help it, said Molly, and kissed me firmly on the mouth.
Time to be going, I said after a while. Unless we want to hang around and be asked a whole bunch of questions we don t have any good answers for.
I ve got just enough magic left in me for one short-range teleport, said Molly. Enough to drop us off right next to the Phantom V. But, Eddie, that s all I ve got left. I need time out to recharge my batteries.
And I doubt we re going to be left in peace that long, I said. I won t leave you alone again, Molly, I promise.
Will you stop beating yourself up? I saw you; you were busy kicking the crap out of dead things. Doing your job.
I m not so sure about that, either, I said. If there were spirits trapped inside those bodies, if they were just innocents
Very unlikely, said Molly. That was just Crow Lee speaking through them, playing games with your head.
And if it wasn t?
Why do you keep asking questions when you know I don t have the answers? Let s get to Crow Lee and then we can beat the answers out of him.
Sounds like a plan to me, I said.
CHAPTER FIVE
Molly snapped her fingers and the air before us split obediently in two, forming into a shimmering portal that crackled with something very like static for a moment, like a television caught between stations, before finally condensing into a familiar silver tunnel. Molly had tried to explain to me that what I see when I look at her magic is largely symbolic; just my mind trying to make sense of something it can t cope with. Personally, I think she has the same relationship with magic that I have with science; we just pretend we know what we re doing and hope it all works out for the best. Molly strode into the silver tunnel and I hurried in after her, not wanting to be left behind or have important parts of myself sliced off by the portal closing after me.
Molly had clearly been refining her teleport spell on the quiet, because we didn t just end up back at the car. Instead, we both materialised inside the Phantom V, sitting in the front seats. Only because it was her spell, Molly was sitting behind the wheel and I was in the passenger s seat. She smiled at me triumphantly, running her hands over the steering wheel in a distressingly sensual way.
I ve always wanted to drive one of these! Give me the keys, Eddie. Then it s atomic batteries to power, turbines to speed and everyone else get the hell out of the way!
Sorry, I said. There are no keys. This is a Drood car, programmed only to accept a Drood driver. Basic security measure.
Molly glared at me. You re making that up!
Not even a little bit. There are no keys because the car knows who I am and does what I tell it to. So I m afraid we re going to have to switch seats if we re going to go anywhere. Really.
Someone s going to pay for this, said Molly.
It s all down to torc envy, I m sure, I said.
Molly sniffed loudly, kicked the driver s door open, and got out of the car. I got out my side, and we crossed in front of the car without speaking. The engine turned itself on as I sat down behind the wheel, and Molly banged her door shut with added violence. And that was when I heard sirens approaching. I looked in the rearview mirror, and sure enough several police cars were heading our way at speed sirens, flashing blue lights, the works. The large crowd of tourists and others who d been chased off the Pier by recent supernatural events waved excitedly at the approaching police. A few of the braver elements were hovering outside the Pier s main entrance, though as yet none of them felt brave enough to go back in without some official presence to lead the way. And, if need be, hide behind.
Let them look, said Molly. They won t find anything. The fog wiped all its traces away as it retreated. A built- in clean-up factor is the mark of a real magician.
Crow Lee didn t get where he is today by leaving evidence behind to reveal his presence, I agreed. Come back here in a few years and all of this will be just another urban legend. A story to tell visitors in an enjoyable and not-to-be believed way. They ll probably be selling the tourists Fog in a Can.
So, said Molly. Let us adjourn to pastures new before the boys in blue come knocking on our window, inviting us to answer some pointed questions. Which I have no intention of answering. Where are we going next?
Back to my old stomping grounds, I said. London. They call it the Smoke, and everyone knows there s no smoke without fire. Street by street and block by block, London s still the most magical city in the world. And not always in a good way.
I suppose you intend to drive all the way there? said Molly, just a bit sullenly.
No, I said. We don t have the time, and I don t think I trust the car s shields to hide us for much longer. Crow Lee found us here quickly enough. And don t look at me like that, Molly. In situations like this, paranoia becomes a survival skill. No, I think we d better use the Merlin Glass.
And risk attracting attention?
Crow Lee already knows where we are, I pointed out.
So we re leaving the car here? said Molly.
Hardly, I said. I d have to hit the self-destruct button to keep it out of official hands, and Uncle Jack would have my scalp if I lost another of his favourite cars.
I already had the Merlin Glass in my hand, and I hefted the silver-backed hand mirror thoughtfully. Like its predecessor, the Glass always seemed so small and innocent in its dormant state, like a vampire hiding its sharp teeth behind a polite smile. I fed the Merlin Glass the correct coordinates through my torc, and the Glass shot out of my hand and passed right through the windscreen without affecting it in the least, to hover on the air in front of the car. It grew quickly in size, becoming a great doorway through which I could see a familiar London street. I sent the Phantom rolling smoothly forward and we left Brighton behind, in search of fresh prey.
The Glass shut itself down behind us, ghosted through the back window, and nestled into the hand I put up to catch it. I put the Glass away, and tried to concentrate on my driving. This new Merlin Glass seemed to take a delight in demonstrating all the many tricks at its disposal. It seemed to have a lot more character than the one I was used to. I wasn t sure whether that was a good thing or not. We d appeared on a deserted side street, as I d requested, and the few people walking up and down paid us no attention. I eased the Phantom V down the street and out into the main flow of traffic.
I know this is London, said Molly, but surely even the most blas Londoner should have been a bit startled by a bloody big car appearing right in front of him.
It s all down to the Armourer, I said.
Uncle Jack built some serious blending-in tech into the car s shields.
But the Phantom must have been identified by now, said Molly. And you can bet Crow Lee will have put out its description to everyone who answers to him. Or owes him favours, of which there are no doubt many. Why not just drop the car off somewhere safe and we ll take the Tube? Who s going to notice just another couple of tourists in London?
Because I m not ready to give up the car just yet, I said stubbornly. It contains many useful items, courtesy of my uncle Jack. And a whole armoury of heavy-duty weapons that I want close at hand, ready for when I need
