'People?' said Rafe.
Roger smiled unpleasantly. 'You know I don't like to name-drop.'
'Hold it, hold it!' said Harry. 'I don't like the sound of any of this. What if they don't let you out again? This is Hell we're talking about, the afterlife, not some road trip to a holiday dimension!'
'My body won't be going anywhere, Harry,' Roger said patiently. 'Just my spirit. My body will remain here, in the Hall, properly guarded. I have done this before, you know. In fact, I'm quite in the mood to pay a visit to the old homestead. I've done far too many… good things, since I joined up with this family. I feel the need to… rededicate myself. It's not easy being a half-breed; you get drawn in so many directions…'
'If you're going, I'm going with you,' said Harry.
'No you're not,' Roger said immediately. He took both of Harry's hands in his, and looked at his partner firmly. 'You can't go where I must go. You're only human. You wouldn't get out again. I need you here, to stand guard over my body while I'm gone. Protect me, from my enemies.' He didn't look at me. He didn't have to. 'Listen to me, Harry. The Hall is a dangerous place, these days. Who else can I trust, but you?'
Harry glared at me. 'This is just your way of keeping me out of circulation, while you're gone!'
'No,' I said. 'Just a useful side effect.' I paused, as a thought struck me. 'Should we send an emissary Above, as well? To the Court of the Holy, on the shimmering plains? Just to let them know what's going on?'
'I think we can be pretty sure they already know,' said Rafe. 'Comes with the territory…'
'The last thing we need is for this to escalate,' said William. 'Or we'll be hip deep in angels and smiting. You know what they did in the Nightside; the poor bastards are still rebuilding. Angels are even more hardcore than Droods.'
CHAPTER SIX
Lord of the Flies If there's one thing in life I can rely on, it's that every time I go home to Drood Hall, just when you think things can't get any worse, they do. We all looked around, as yet again there came the sound of approaching footsteps. They were slow and unhurried, not even trying to hide themselves. Rafe threw up his hands, and looked like he might actually stamp his foot. I'd never seen him this angry before. It was quite entertaining.I'd 'I don't believe it! Who the hell is it this time? Am I going to have to put up barbed wire and lay down some land mines, just to have to put up barbed wire and lay down some land mines, just to get a little privacy around here? This is not a lending library!'
'I came down here to get away from the family,' said William, wistfully. 'Now it seems they're following me down here. Maybe we should lay in some more cots. And another chemical toilet. I'm not sharing.'
'I don't think they're here for you,' I said.
'How very typical,' murmured Harry. 'You always assume it's all about you, Edwin.'
'To my continuing displeasure, mostly it is,' I said. 'I think I recognise those arrogant, overbearing footsteps. Over here, Cedric.'
The Sarjeant-at-Arms appeared at the end of the stacks, paused briefly to fix us all with a fierce glare, so we could all get a good look at him, and then he strode officiously forward, heading straight for me. I struck a casual pose, just to annoy him. He crashed to a halt before me, sniffed loudly, and glared right into my face.
'Edwin Drood,' he said, in his best formal voice, 'I am here to arrest you, on behalf of the family.'
'You see?' I said to Harry. 'It is all about me. Aren't you jealous? Don't you wish he was here to arrest you?'
'I told you I always know where everyone is,' said the Sarjeant-at-Arms, as if I hadn't spoken. 'There's nowhere you can run, nowhere you can hide in the Hall, that I can't find you.'
'Hide from you?' I said. 'Perish the thought. We always have such fun together. Are you here on your own, Sarjeant? No backup? You really think you can take me, without an army to drag me down?'
'I don't need an army. I'm the Sarjeant-at-Arms. You will come with me, Edwin, because to do otherwise would be to defy the will of the family. Are you really ready to be declared rogue again?'
'Arrested,' I said thoughtfully. 'For what, exactly?'
'As a material witness,' the Sarjeant said calmly. 'For suspected involvement in the murder of Martha Drood. As a suspected accomplice of the suspected murderer, the witch Molly Metcalf. I am sorry about what happened to her. You have my word that I will track down whoever it was that drove the mob to a killing madness, and I will see them punished. But it doesn't change anything.'
'No,' I said. 'Nothing ever really changes, when it comes to me and the family. How many times do I have to prove myself?'
'No one is bigger than the family,' said the Sarjeant. 'Now come along with me. You'll be kept safe and secure, until your trial.'
'Like Sebastian was kept safe, inside the isolation ward?' I said. 'No one even saw his killer come and go. Lock me up, and I won't live long enough to stand trial.'
'That will not be allowed to happen to you,' said the Sarjeant, his face and voice entirely unmoved. 'You? will be kept under twenty-four watch, for your own protection.'
'This must feel like all your birthdays come at once, Sarjeant,' I said. 'But what about the Apocalypse Door, and Doctor Delirium?'
'The family does have other field agents, Edwin. Really quite competent ones. They will deal with the problem. You are not irreplaceable. Now come with me. The needs of the family must always come first.'
'No,' I said. 'Not always. Because the family doesn't always know what's best for it.'
'And you do?'
'Sometimes, yes.'
'And you say I'm the arrogant one,' said the Sarjeant-at-Arms.
We were staring right into each other's faces when William suddenly pushed himself between us.
'You can't fight here!' he said sharply. 'What are you thinking of? This is the Old Library, repository of Drood knowledge! I will not risk these books being destroyed, and precious knowledge lost! You can't fight here; I forbid it!'
'Step aside please, Librarian,' said the Sarjeant. 'I must do my duty. Some things are more important than books.'
William suddenly threw his arms around the Sarjeant, pinning his arms to his sides and holding him in place. Since he was only half the Sarjeant's size, this was impressive.
'Go, Edwin!' William said loudly. 'Do what you have to do! I'll hold him!'
The Sarjeant stood very still, though he could have thrown the Librarian off just by flexing his chest muscles. He looked rather embarrassed.
'Please, Uncle William. Let me go. I have no intention of taking Edwin anywhere.'
We all looked at him. William let go, just a bit shamefacedly, and stepped back. The Sarjeant cleared his throat, and looked at me.
'As you said, Edwin, if I? was going to take you away by force, I'd have brought reinforcements with me. A lot of them. But from what my CSI people have already told me, it's clear neither you nor Molly were involved in Martha's murder. However, there is still a large faction in the family who want you arrested, on general principles, and it will make my investigation easier if people don't know I've already cleared you. Since I know where every member of the family is, at any given time, it wouldn't be plausible for me to say I couldn't find you. So I have tracked you down here, and arrested you, in front of these impeccable family witnesses. Not my fault that you got away afterwards, is it? I told you, Edwin. I'm the sneaky one.'
'So you are,' I said. 'But why are you letting me go?'
'It is clear to me that Molly Metcalf was murdered because you were getting too close to the truth, over whatever is going on with Doctor Delirium and the Apocalypse Door,' said the Sarjeant. 'So it is clearly in the best interests of the family to let you continue your investigations.'
I looked at Harry, who shrugged. 'Far be it for me to stand in the way of greatness. Off you go, and save the world again. I'll do my best to hold the family together in your absence.'
Roger Morningstar just smiled briefly. 'Bye, Eddie. See you in Hell.'
