But that s just Eddie Drood, I said, craftily. I could still sneak in as Shaman Bond, couldn t I?
I wouldn t, said Molly. I really wouldn t. Take it from me: That boat has sailed. Far too many people in that place now know Eddie and Shaman are the same man. No one s actually given you up yet, but you can bet good money there d be a race to drop you right in it if you were to push your luck. Give them time to calm down, and they might let you back in as Shaman. But right now the very least they d do is set the hellhounds on you and blow your secret identity right out of the water.
But they will calm down? I said. Eventually?
Who can say?
I looked at her thoughtfully. You could always
No, I couldn t, said Molly. I m banned, as well, just for knowing you.
Ah, I said. Sorry about that.
Don t be! I m not. Never cared much for the Wulfshead, anyway. Bit too elevated for my tastes. And it s gone so upmarket these days so up itself it s practically staring out its own nostrils. And the bar prices suck big-time.
I smiled. Molly can be very loyal in her own way. So, where do we go for answers?
There s always the Nightside.
No there isn t, I said, very firmly.
Oh, come on, Eddie! I know there are long-standing pacts between your family and the Nightside, keeping you all out for reasons I have never had properly explained. But that can t apply now, when you re the only Drood left!
Nothing s changed, I said. If I did go in there, on my own, in defiance of the pacts, they d come straight at me with malice aforethought. And, anyway, I don t want anyone in the Nightside knowing my family isn t around anymore. You couldn t hope to ask questions and still keep it quiet. I don t want the world knowing the Droods aren t in charge anymore. When the Droods are away, the rats will run riot.
I could go into the Nightside, said Molly.
I ve got lots of contacts there. Not very nice contacts, perhaps, but I m sure they d give me all kinds of help once I started banging heads against walls.
No, I said. They d only wonder why I wasn t with you, start asking questions of their own and we d be back where we started.
You don t trust me on my own in the Nightside, with all its temptations. Do you?
No, I bloody don t.
Molly smiled, satisfied.
We both stood around for a while, trying to think of somewhere we could go, of people who might be persuaded to tell us useful things if we were insistent enough, in an intimidating sort of way. But approaching any of the usual unusual suspects would be bound to raise more questions than answers. The truth about my family s situation was bound to get out sooner or later, but I didn t want to do anything that would make it sooner rather than later. I needed time to get to the truth and whoever was behind it.
We could always go into London, down Grafton Way, Molly said tentatively. Pay a polite and very under-the-radar visit to the Order of Beyond. We did go there once before, remember, when we were trying to track down Mr. Stab.
I remember, I said. The Order of Beyond rounds up people who ve been possessed by all the various forces from outside and then locks them up in cages and listens to them. Because the possessed do so love to talk. The Order slips in a few pointed questions from time to time, and sells whatever answers they get to the highest bidder. (You can subscribe to their monthly newsletter for the more basic stuff. I ve never been tempted.)
I don t think so, I said finally.
We wouldn t learn anything we wanted to hear from those sources. Hell always lies.
Except when a truth can hurt you more.
Exactly.
All right. You suggest someone!
How about the Middle Man? I said, just a bit diffidently. He wouldn t know who was behind something as big as this, but he d almost certainly be able to point us in the direction of someone who would. For the right price, of course.
Eddie, he hates your family. You know that. You even hint at what s happened to them and he d break every record there is getting the news out to absolutely everyone. He loathes and despises everything Drood, and with more good reason than most.
We are a much-misunderstood family, I said.
Oh no, you aren t.
Well, who is there we can safely talk to? I said.
Who is there we can trust with this information?
We need my sisters, said Molly, in her best Yes, I know, but don t argue with me tone of voice. We need Isabella and Louisa. They might not know who s behind all this, but they have contacts in places I wouldn t even dare show my face. And they d be more than happy to kick the crap out of people on our behalf. Well, on my behalf. I don t think they ve quite made up their minds about you yet. But they d do it for me.
Sisters, sisters, such devoted sisters
Shut up, Eddie. No one would suspect anything if Isabella and Louisa were to go looking for information about the Hall and your family. They re always looking into things they re not supposed to know about.
I hate to say it, I said. But you may be right.
Molly frowned dangerously. What s wrong with getting my sisters involved?
Since you ask, everything. Isabella, no problem. Arrogant and a pain in the arse, but she gets the job done. The Indiana Jones of the supernatural world, always sticking her nose in where it s not wanted, digging up ancient history, hidden truths and things the world is not ready to know yet while sneaking off with as much historical loot as she can carry. Isabella, I can deal with. But Louisa? She s got a worse reputation than you. Or me. Or Mr. Stab, the as-yet-uncaught immortal serial killer of Old London Town. Everyone s scared of Louisa Metcalf, and with good reason.
Exactly! said Molly. Who s going to say no to her when she starts asking questions?
All right, I said. I just know I m going to regret this, but go ahead and contact them.
Ah, said Molly. I already tried. They re not answering. They ve both got their auras turned off. Why would they do that?
They re your sisters, I said.
I could think of any number of reasons why the infamous Metcalf sisters would want to be off the radar, just off the top of my head but I had enough sense not to say so. Every now and again I think I m getting the hang of this relationship thing.
But if both my sisters are out of touch, for the time being we re right back where we started, said Molly.
Who can we turn to for help? Most of our old friends and allies are dead or missing in action and presumed dead or just in hiding, after all the heavy dramas we ve been through recently.
That s what comes of dragging them into our wars, I agreed. We are not safe to be around. I think we re going to have to go looking for the few Droods we know are still left alive in this world. I m pretty sure there aren t any agents left out in the field; we called in absolutely everyone for our last few wars.
Including the ones who didn t want to come? said Molly.
Oh, those most of all, I said. No, I m talking about the rogues. Those members of the family who ran away or were kicked out or went to ground to escape our justice. Our punishment for their crimes against Humanity.
You re being a bit hard on the rogues, aren t you? said Molly. Considering you were one. She looked distinctly amused.
That was different, I said with some dignity.
I was only on the run because I d been falsely accused.
And because your grandmother wanted you dead.
Well, yes, in a complicated sort of way. The point is, some of the rogues are more dangerous than others. When Droods go bad, we go really bad.
You really think the rogues would talk to you if you could find them? said Molly, wrinkling her perfect nose.
I mean, I hate to be the one to point this out, Eddie, but you have killed rogue Droods in your time. Arnold Drood, the Bloody Man, and Tiger Tim