spanking.
I laughed despite myself and leaned forward to study the silver scallops that lined the rigid steel frame enclosing the portrait. And sure enough, there it was: a very small keyhole hidden in the details of the silver scrollwork. I eased the key into the lock, turned it carefully and then relaxed as I felt the mechanism turn. I pulled out the key, and just like that the painting before us was no longer canvas and paint and a work of art, but an actual view. A doorway into the Old Library.
It was dark and gloomy in there, with not a light to be seen anywhere. This Hall s family had never found their Old Library. Molly conjured up some witchlight, a cheerful golden glow that surrounded her hand as she held it up. The light shined out into the Old Library, challenging the shadows and pushing back the gloom before us. I stepped carefully over the frame of the portrait and into the Old Library. Molly was right there with me, holding her glowing hand high above her head. The air was cold and stale but perfectly breathable. The old protections had preserved the place perfectly. Clearly, though, no one had been here in ages.
I called out, anyway, to William the Librarian and his assistant Ioreth. Because you never knew My voice seemed a very small and weak thing in such a huge and silent place. There wasn t even much of an echo; the sound was soaked up by the rows and rows of book-packed shelving, stretching away for as far as I could see into the general gloom. There was no reply I even called out to Pook, but no one answered. I think I was actually a little bit relieved at that.
One of these days, said Molly, just a bit tartly, you are going to have to tell me the whole story about this Pook thing.
I m not sure I know the whole story, I said. Or that I want to.
This setting feels longtime empty, said Molly.
Look at the dust everywhere just like when we found the original Old Library. What, exactly, are we looking for here, Eddie?
Maybe that, I said, pointing. Look
Not far from where we were standing, an old-fashioned brass reading stand was set up, supporting a single large leather-bound volume, its pages open to one particular place. Just waiting to be read. I took a good look around and then approached the reading stand cautiously. Molly stuck close behind, all but treading on my heels. The book looked as though it had been deliberately set out and arranged. (I was reminded of Alice in Wonderland, and wondered if I should look for a sign saying READ ME. As a kid, I never liked Alice. Far too spooky.) I leaned in close to study the open pages, careful not to touch anything. I read for some time, fascinated. I could feel Molly hovering impatiently behind me.
What? What? said Molly, when she couldn t stand the suspense one moment longer. What the hell is it?
It s about the Maze, I said. This is a history of the Drood family hedge Maze.
Maze? said Molly. What bloody Maze?
I finished reading, shuddered briefly and then made myself smile condescendingly as I turned back to Molly. Partly so she wouldn t get too upset, and also because I knew that particular smile drove her crazy.
This book tells you all you need to know, and some things you d be better off not knowing, about the massive hedge Maze standing in the Drood grounds, I said with exaggerated patience. It covers half an acre. You must have noticed it.
Don t you get snotty with me, Eddie. I know where you re ticklish. All right, you ve got a Maze! Big deal! Whoop-de-do! What makes it so special?
The hedge Maze is one of the great mysteries of the Drood family, I said, carefully not looking back at the open book. I still hadn t decided whether it was a gift or a trap. One of those disturbing bits of family history that just fell between the cracks and disappeared. The hedge Maze was put in place a long time ago, so long ago that no one now remembers who had it designed and constructed. Or why. There are indications the knowledge was deliberately suppressed at some point. All we know for sure is that the Maze was constructed to contain something really nasty. Too powerful for us to destroy, something so bad it could only be imprisoned
What could be so powerful that even your family couldn t destroy it? said Molly.
Good question, I said. No one alive today knows the answer.
And you think this evil thing is still trapped inside the Maze?
Oh, I m pretty sure it s still in there. Every now and again the family takes someone they really don t like and throws them in the Maze to see what happens. None of them ever come out again. And don t look at me like that. If you knew the kind of people I m talking about, you d be first in line to kick their arses through the Maze entrance. And when I had my near-death experience just recently When I was wandering inside the Winter Hall, I looked out the top-floor window and saw something moving inside the Maze, raging back and forth, still trying to break out, after all this time.
I am being very patient, said Molly. Look! This is me being very patient! But if you don t tell me why this is suddenly so important
Relax, I said. It s the book. It describes exactly what we put inside the Maze and why. And I think it s something we can use. I looked around the rows of silent stacks, holding dark shadows between them, and at the greater gloom that surrounded them, beyond the reach of Molly s witchlight. Was Pook out there, perhaps? Being helpful? But it s not something I feel comfortable talking about in a place like this.
But what is it? said Molly. What are we talking about?
Moxton s Mistake, I said.
Something moved out beyond the light. A cold breeze blew suddenly through the Old Library, disturbing air that hadn t been breathed in centuries. Molly shuddered despite herself.
Okay, I can take a hint, she said. Let s get the hell out of here.
There was the sound of something moving out in the dark. Something large and heavy.
Try the Merlin Glass, Molly said quickly.
We ve got to give it a trial run sometime, and this is looking more and more like a really good time. Get us out of here, Eddie.
Cross your fingers, I said. And anything else handy.
I took the Glass out of its subspace pocket and subvocalised the activating Words, praying they were the right ones for this Glass. Something in the dark said my name in a not-human voice. All the hairs on the back of my neck went up, and Molly grabbed my arm with both hands. The Merlin Glass glowed with a sudden fierce light, coming alive in my hand, as though eager to be used. I shook the hand mirror out till it was the size of a door and it automatically locked on to the coordinates I had in mind. Bright sunlight from the Drood grounds shone through the new doorway, pushing back the dark of the Old Library. Molly snuffed out her witchlight, and together we stepped quickly through the Glass, out of the Old Library and into the open air of the Hall grounds.
I shut the Glass down immediately, shook it back to hand-mirror size and put it away. And then I just stood there, looking out over the extensive grassy lawns, breathing in the sweet and pure open air. Molly stood there with me, both of us quite happy not to talk about whatever it was that had just spooked us. Sometimes you just know you re in a bad place. After a while we went for a walk across the lawns, taking our time. Without actually discussing it, we both kept our backs to the ruined Hall. It was easier that way. It might not have been my family, my Hall, but they were still Droods, and I had known people very like them. I would avenge their deaths. After I d rescued my family. I couldn t risk losing them twice. Molly turned her head abruptly to look at me.
Eddie, I have to wonder What happened to the other Eddie? Their Eddie? I don t think he was there when the Hall was attacked.
Seems like he was declared rogue, I said.
Much like me. Only I met you and came back. He never did. He might not even know this has happened yet.
How terrible, said Molly. An Eddie Drood out there in the world, all on his own. An Eddie who never met me.
Yes, I said. How terrible.
We shared a smile and kept on walking. There was still something we needed to do, but we weren t ready to do it just yet.
Or, I said, he could be where we are right now; standing in the grounds of his world, wondering what the hell happened to his Hall. There could be nothing but a bloody big hole in the ground where his Hall used to be.
Or, said Molly, there might be another Hall. A third Hall, rotated into place to replace his
