“Are you sure about that?” said Daniel.
“Of course,” said Edward. “Or you wouldn’t be here.”
“My friend Paul came to see me,” said Daniel. “He’s a vampire now. And that word didn’t throw you at all, did it?”
“Not in the least,” said Edward.
“He told me about the vampires, the werewolves, and the Frankenstein family.” Daniel made himself say the incredible names steadily, not allowing himself to sound uncertain. “Paul proved to me that he was . . . undead. So I have to believe.”
“Then let’s start with the Frankenstein Clan,” said Edward. “The gods of the living scalpel, the sculptors of flesh. Always on the cutting edge of medicine, and what it can do to people. Some of which you saw, during that ill-judged raid of yours.”
“It wasn’t my idea,” said Daniel. “I had no idea of what I was getting into.”
“What did Commissioner Gill think she was sending you into, I wonder?” said Edward. “I don’t suppose it matters now. You’ve seen what the Frankenstein Clan does. To them, we’re all just grist to their mill. But if you think they’re bad, they’re nothing compared to the Vampire Clan.
“Their elders are centuries old, steeped in blood and horror. They specialize in the more lucrative forms of seduction—everything from high-priced escorts to targeted honey traps. Because you only ever see what a vampire wants you to see, they can be anyone you ever dreamed of.”
Daniel wondered if the Paul he saw was the real thing, or just a mask Paul allowed him to see. But then, why would Paul want to look that bad? Unless there was something even worse, underneath . . . He realized his thoughts were drifting, and made himself concentrate.
“Vampires can be your first love, or anyone you’ve ever lusted after from afar,” said Edward. “Your wildest dream and most secret fantasy. But of course once they’ve fed on you, you’re their slave forever. You’d be surprised how many powerful people bare their throat in secret. And then, there are the mummies . . . ”
“Hold it,” said Daniel. “You mean . . . actual mummies?”
“Of course,” said Edward. “When those Victorian archaeologists started breaking into long-lost Egyptian tombs, some of them were astonished at what they found waiting beyond the locked doors. The mummies weren’t supposed to survive what the priests did to them, but the drugs they’d already taken kept death at arm’s length. So that when their tombs were finally opened, the mummies got out.
“And now the Clan of Mummies deals in drugs—everything from out-of-this-world highs to the promise of immortality.” Edward shook his great head. “I’m not convinced by that last one. The mummies aren’t immortal, just remarkably well preserved.
“The werewolf clan was pressed into service long ago, to provide protection for the other monsters. They’re really just attack dogs on short leashes, used to keep peace between the Clans and deal with any outsider who might pose a threat. Second-class monsters, because sometimes they’re only human.
“And finally, the ghouls are there to dispose of anything incriminating—including all the inconvenient corpses that inevitably pile up in the monsters’ wake.”
“What are ghouls, exactly?” said Daniel.
“Appalling creatures with revolting table manners,” Edward said briskly. “Useful enough, but trust me when I say you wouldn’t want to know them socially. Of course, they don’t get out much.”
He stopped and leaned back in his chair, still smiling his unpleasant smile, while he studied Daniel to see how he was taking all of this. Somewhat to his surprise, Daniel found he believed every word. Partly because of what he’d seen in Paul’s face, but mostly because of what he’d discovered in the cellar. You have to believe in monsters, when they kill your friends and ruin your life.
“Where do you fit in?” Daniel said finally.
“I’m the only monster who wouldn’t lower himself, to hide from the world inside organized crime,” Edward said flatly. “For me, it was never about the money. I glory in being what I am. And now . . . I’m the only monster prepared to do it to his own kind. Just for the fun of it.”
Daniel sat back in his chair, fighting hard not to wince as stabbing pains shot through him. He kept his gaze fixed steadily on Edward, his face calm even as beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. It seemed to Daniel that he was being asked to take an awful lot on trust, just because Edward Hyde said that was the way things were. All of Daniel’s old policeman’s instincts stirred at the back of his mind, reminding him that he was being told all of this by a man who repulsed him on every level. A man who claimed to be the incarnation of pure evil. Hardly a basis for trust . . . Daniel met Edward’s sardonic gaze with his best hard look.
“You’ve been Edward Hyde for . . . how long now?”
Edward grinned. “I have seen London rise and fall, seen generations come and go, but I go on.”
Daniel wasn’t quite sure what to say to that, but felt he should say something.
“The world must have changed a lot since your day.”
“The world changes, but I don’t,” said Edward, with a certain grim satisfaction. “I’m as perfect now as when I first escaped from the shadows of a lesser man.”
Daniel pressed on, in search of a weak spot he thought he could sense, if not actually name.
“But . . . don’t you feel lost, out of place, in a world that’s so different from the one you were born into?”
Edward shrugged his heavy shoulders. “People are still people. They just have more toys. And the monsters are still monsters.”
“But do you see yourself as a monster because you don’t belong? Do you stay a monster because that’s all you know?”
Edward’s frown lowered, becoming threatening. “Don’t think this little chat we’re having is in any way personal, boy. We’re not here to get to know each other. I’m just offering you a chance to become so much more than you are, so you can get your revenge. Because I have a use for a man like that.”
“And I have to decide whether I trust you enough to take that offer,” Daniel said flatly.
Edward smiled, though it didn’t even come close to touching his eyes. “What’s trust got to do with it? You’ll take Dr. Jekyll’s marvelous Elixir because it’s in your best interests to do so. Unless you want to stay a cripple all your life . . . while the people who did this to you get away with it.”
Daniel winced, just a little, at the word cripple, though he couldn’t deny it. All the muscles in his back, and in his legs, were screaming at him for having sat still for so long. He wasn’t even sure he’d be able to get up out of the chair without having to ask for help. If the Elixir really could do everything Edward said it could, then it was everything he needed, an answer to all his problems and all his prayers. And yet, still he hesitated. Because the man offering him a hand out of hell made his skin crawl every time their eyes met. A man who boasted of being evil. And Daniel knew what happened to people who made a deal with the devil.
He thought hard, letting Edward wait. Why would a man like that offer a second chance at life to a man like him? Daniel fought down the pains that threatened to unman him, and concentrated on what to say next, determined to drag some useful information out of the man who sat watching from behind his desk, like a spider contemplating a fly hesitating on the edge of its web.
“Do you understand the modern world?” he said slowly. “You know an awful lot about the monsters, but what do you know about phones and computers and social media? Does any of that make sense to you? Or do you feel abandoned by a world that’s moved on and left you behind? So all you have left is your own private war; a monster fighting monsters . . . ”