I didn t kill them, I said. I executed them. Because they earned it.
And yet, strangely, I don t see that argument going down terribly well with the other rogues when you catch up with them. If I were one and I saw you walking up my front path, I think I d set fire to my own house and shoot myself in the head, just to get it over with. On the other hand I know a few rogue Droods. Sort of. They might be willing to talk to me, where they wouldn t want anything to do with you.
You know everyone, don t you? I said admiringly. And mostly not in a good way. You ve done deals with rogue Droods in the past, haven t you?
I was at war with your family, said Molly.
And when you re at war, you go looking for allies. This was all long before I hooked up with you, Eddie.
Even so, I said. You can bet they know about you and me now. And that you re no longer at war with the Droods. You still think they d talk to you?
They ll tell me anything I want to know, if they know what s good for them, Molly said firmly. She paused as a thought struck her. I could practically see the wheels turning. Wouldn t the rogue Droods be happy to hear that the Hall and the family are gone? They d finally be free to emerge from the shadows or whatever holes they ve been hiding in, and come out into the world again. No more looking over their shoulders all the time for someone like you
You d think so, wouldn t you? I said. But no. They ll be far more interested in having the family back so they can get their armour back. With Ethel gone, they re all suddenly as vulnerable and helpless as I was. No, they might not be part of the family anymore, but they still like being Droods, with all the power and privilege that comes from wearing the torc.
Hold it. Are you telling me that Ethel gave all the rogues new strange-matter torcs, along with everyone else? said Molly.
I did argue very strongly against it, I said.
But Ethel was very firm on the subject and would not be moved. Either everyone in the family got one or no one did. Sometimes there s just no arguing with the whims of an immensely powerful other-dimensional entity.
That might be enough to put pressure on the rogues, said Molly. And then she stopped and looked at me carefully. There is one very powerful rogue Drood that we could call on. I suppose. Someone in Ethel s league. The one you told me about. The one the family buried long ago, deep in the permafrost under Tunguska
Gerard Drood, I said. Grendel Rex. The Unforgiven God. No, Molly. Things haven t got that bad yet. In fact, I think the whole world would have to be ending before I even considered disturbing him again. And even then I d think twice.
But
No, Molly. I didn t tell you the whole story about Grendel Rex because I wanted you to be able to sleep nights. I didn t tell you everything about what happened in Tunguska, either, for the same reason. If the Unforgiven God ever wakes up, if he ever breaks the chains we bound him with and rises it would take the whole family and every other group of power we could bring on board to put him down again. He is the end of the world just waiting to happen.
All right, then Heading a hell of a long way in the other direction to the most harmless rogue Drood I know What about the Mole?
I looked at her sharply. I thought you said he d disappeared. Gone deep underground, dropped into a hole and then pulled it in after him?
Well, yes, but there s disappeared and then there s disappeared, said Molly. I haven t a clue where to look for him, but I m sure if I put the word out, he d hear it eventually. Just because he s stopped talking doesn t mean he s stopped listening. And who else is there who has access to as much information as he does?
To get the news to him, it would have to pass through too many people, I said. No way we could control it. I can t have that, Molly. The Mole is out.
Well, who else is there that we know of? Molly said impatiently. Sebastian is dead, murdered. Freddie is missing in action, presumed dead. Arrabella fell into a mirror and never came out again. What other rogues do you know?
I m not as up-to-date as I should be, I admitted. I haven t kept up on the files or any of the required reading since I got involved in running the wars against the Hungry Gods and the Immortals and the Great Satanic Conspiracy. There s only so many hours in the day. I concentrated, organising my thoughts. There s old Mother Shipton, last heard of running a baby-cloning clinic in Vienna. Nasty piece of work. Manfred Drood was last heard of in Moscow, running the Baba Yaga Irregulars. Fighting Russian supernatural crime, for a healthy profit. I doubt we could afford him. Then there s Anastasia Drood, last heard of in darkest Peru. And if she really is doing what she s supposed to be doing down there, I will kill her dead before I ever willingly exchange a word with her.
There are always stories and rumours of other rogue Droods, under this grand-sounding alias or that. Good and bad and in between The details and locations are always changing, scattered across the world. And the family just doesn t care enough to check them all out. Besides, we might need them someday. The family can be very pragmatic about some things. The whole point of being a rogue Drood is to never be who or what or where the family thinks you are. If only so they won t send someone like me to come and drive a stake through your rotten heart.
What about your late uncle James s many and varied illegitimate offspring? said Molly. The Grey Bastards?
Them? They re never on anyone s side but their own! I did think about it for a moment, which only goes to show how desperate I was. The family has always employed as many of them as we can, from a distance, if only to keep them from straying and falling under bad influences. But I wouldn t trust a single one of them farther than I could throw them into the wind with both hands tied behind my back. No, Molly. Much as I hate to admit it, there s only one rogue Drood we can go to. The most infamous rogue of all. The Regent of Shadows.
What? Hold everything. Go previous. Wipe my face with a cold sponge, said Molly. He s a rogue Drood? The Regent of Shadows, the secret master of hidden information is just another member of your extended family? No one ever told me that! Of course, your family never tells me anything it doesn t absolutely have to. I mean I ve heard of the Regent of Shadows everyone has. Runs his own secret organisation, beholden to no one, gathering information in all the areas no one else wants to admit even exist. Tell me, Eddie: Why is it that whenever anyone in your family even mentions him, someone else always says, We don t talk about him!?
I don t know! I said. They don t talk about him! I only know he s a rogue Drood because I used to run this family. Briefly. And even then you d be surprised at the sheer number of things I ve found out since that they thought I didn t need to know.
No, I wouldn t, said Molly. Nothing surprises me about your family anymore.
Smugness does not become you, Molly.
How are we supposed to find the secretive and almost legendary Regent of Shadows, anyway? Put an ad in The Times?
I haven t the faintest idea where to look, I said. I was hoping you d have some ideas.
She thought about it, frowning fiercely. We need a source of information that no one else would expect us to go to, who wouldn t sell us out or spread the story to unfriendly ears. That narrows the field considerably but if it s just information you re after, I may know someone. She s a hell of a way off the beaten track, by her own decision, and really small-time, because that s the way she likes it so we should be able to consult her without even being noticed.
Sounds good so far, I said. Who are we talking about?
And then we both stopped and looked round sharply. There was the growing sound of approaching engines coming right up the main drive, by the sound of it. I was off and running immediately, with Molly right there at my side. I had no idea who it might be or what they wanted, but I didn t care. A threat to the Hall and its grounds always takes precedence. And I was just in the mood to be distracted from my many problems.