Stab. He nodded thoughtfully to me and to Molly.
It s been a while, I said, since I invited you into my home, and you repaid my kindness by murdering my cousin Penny.
I told her not to love me, said Mr. Stab, in his cold, calm voice. I told her it could only end badly.
She was my friend! said Molly. And you killed her!
Yes, said Mr. Stab. It s what I do. It s all I can do with a woman now. Not quite the immortality I thought I was buying, with my celebration of slaughter. But then, Hell has always had its own sly sense of humour. You know who and what I am, Molly. I ve never made any secret of what kind of monster I am.
And I m a Drood, I said. That s who and what I am. I protect the innocent, and when I can t, I avenge their murders.
I looked at him steadily, and he stirred uncomfortably for a moment. Crow Lee laughed out loud and clapped his huge hands together.
Bravo, young Drood! I m impressed! Really. There aren t many in this world who can make the notorious Mr. Stab shiver in his shoes.
He spoke directly to me, still ignoring Molly. I could feel her containing herself at my side. She knew he was trying to get to her. Crow Lee s voice was rich and cultured, soft and self-indulgent and oh, so self-satisfied. The voice of a man with nothing to fear.
I don t think I ve ever seen anyone disturb dear Mr. Stab before. So welcome to the Establishment Club, Edwin Drood. You belong here, with your own kind. You really are everything I hoped you d be.
I looked him up and down and then dismissed him to glare at Mr. Stab again. How did he hire you? What could he possibly promise you?
An end to my curse, said Mr. Stab.
There is only one end for something like you, I said. And that s to kill you. And I ll do that for free, for what you did to Penny.
And for so many others, said Mr. Stab. Funny how it s always easier for you to care about the ones you knew. And, anyway, you already tried, and failed.
But this time I ll hold you down while he does it, said Molly. You promised me I could trust you.
Promises are made to be broken, said Mr. Stab.
Who should know that better than I?
Don t, I said. Don t you dare try and make us feel sorry for you. Not after everything you ve done.
I stood beside you, said Mr. Stab. Stood with the Droods when you went to war with the Hungry Gods. Helped you save the world. Shouldn t that count for something?
What do you want? I said. A thank-you?
I tried! I tried because I didn t want to be a monster anymore!
Then what are you doing here with Crow Lee? said Molly.
Because sometimes it takes one monster to destroy another, said Mr. Stab.
Well, Crow Lee said brightly. Isn t this nice? Old friends talking together. Thank you for joining me here in the Club Library, Eddie.
Call this a library? I said. A collected Dickens and a few Trollopes?
If you ve quite finished chatting with the hired help, said Crow Lee, determined to draw everyone s attention back to himself, we do have matters of importance to discuss.
Molly and I both looked at him, and he wriggled delightedly in his chair, enjoying himself; a disturbing movement in one so large. He looked me over, taking his time. Still ignoring Molly.
I never thought I d have to look at a Drood again, said Crow Lee. But then, you re like cockroaches, aren t you? So many of you, and so hard to kill. But worth the effort.
So you admit you re responsible for the attack on Drood Hall? I said.
Crow Lee laughed happily. Admit it, little Drood? I boast it. I glory in it! I ve known all about Alpha Red Alpha for years and years, just waiting for someone in your family to be foolish enough to use it. I had the remote control, you see, the means to override the mechanism, but
I cut in. I knew he was teasing me, but I just couldn t help it. I had to know.
How did you get your hands on the remote control? Who did you get it from?
From the same person who first told me about Alpha Red Alpha, Crow Lee said easily. You have a traitor in your family, dear Eddie. A very old and very well-established, very well-hidden traitor. And I have always been so very well served by traitors. He hates you even more than I do, and with much better reason. But as I was saying before I was so impertinently interrupted I had to wait for someone in your family to feel so threatened that they d actually risk using Alpha Red Alpha, before I could use my remote control. You see, you have to lower all the Hall s protections before you can activate the dimensional engine. They interfere with its workings, apparently. Can you imagine what it was like for me, learning that you d used the thing at last? And that all I had to do was wait for you to return and then hit the button on my special remote control? No, you can t imagine what it felt like, knowing I finally had the means to send your whole stupid, interfering family away, forever.
I struck while you were vulnerable, and just like that, you were gone! Good-bye, Droods, forever! Rotated out of reality and dumped somewhere else. I do hope it turned out to be somewhere really appalling. I sent them there and I left them there, and I laughed and laughed and laughed.
And then you dropped the other Hall in its place, I said, and something in my voice stopped his laughing. To hide what you d done.
Oh no, said Crow Lee. That was just a happy accident. An entirely unanticipated and fortuitous side effect. I did enjoy it, though. A wrecked and ruined Hall and dead Droods lying everywhere what s not to like? They weren t the actual family I hated, but they were Droods, and I m sure I would have hated them if I d known them.
You bastard, I said.
I started forward, and Crow Lee stopped me with an upheld hand.
Think, little Drood. Consider the implications of what I ve done. Whatever happens next between you and me, I want you to understand that you cannot undo the one thing I ve done that really matters. I have proven to the world that Droods can be beaten. The wrecked Hall and dead Droods are proof of that, forever. Even if you do somehow escape my wrath and continue as the Last Drood, even if you somehow find a way to bring your nasty family back the world will never see you as unstoppable again. I ve seen to that.
I had to smile. All right. You re reaching now.
Am I, little Drood?
Bring my family back, I said. And I promise I won t kill you.
Crow Lee lost his easy smile. He scowled fiercely at me. No one gives me orders, boy. I ve never needed a family to make me strong. I ve never needed armour to hide behind. I made myself what I am through sheer force of will!
And by killing a whole lot of people, I said.
Mostly through treachery, backstabbing, and getting other people to do your dirty work for you. Don t try it on me. I ve read your file.
Crow Lee leaned forward in his chair and fixed me with his dark, disturbing gaze. And suddenly he was the most fascinating thing in the room. I forgot about everything else, forgot about Mr. Stab, forgot about Molly, forgot about my poor lost family. I was staring into Crow Lee s eyes and I couldn t look away. Didn t want to look away. Crow Lee spoke directly to me, and his voice was the most compelling thing I d ever heard.
You don t want to fight me, said Crow Lee. I am your friend. You know you can trust me. My enemies are your enemies. You want to protect me against my enemies. Like that woman standing beside you. You can t trust her. You know that. She s always getting in the way, meddling in your affairs. You want to be free of her. So kill her. Kill her for me and for yourself.
All the time he was speaking to me, I knew it was all bullshit. Knew it, knew he was lying through his teeth. I didn t believe a word of it, but still I couldn t stop listening to him. He held me with his dark, hypnotic gaze and his persuasive words. I fought him with everything I had. Fought his influence and the words he was saying, and bit by bit I drew back from him.
I took a deep breath and looked away, breaking Crow Lee s gaze. His influence was gone in a moment. He looked at me openmouthed, as though he couldn t believe it, and I looked back at him and laughed in his face, just a bit shakily.
