I leaned forward and peered through the hole I d made. Molly immediately moved in close behind me, breathing hard on my neck.
Well? Well? What do you see?
Can t see a damned thing, I said.
Are you sure there aren t any mummies in there? said Molly. I ve always been just this little bit freaked out when it comes to mummies. Ever since I saw that old mummy film with Boris Karloff on late-night television when I was a kid.
I liked the Hammer version, I said, with Christopher Lee.
Blasphemer.
Listen for the beat of the cloth-wrapped feet. No, that was a later one. Wasn t it?
It s all about the bandages, said Molly, squeezing in close beside me so she could see into the hole, too.
The feeling that it was only the rotting bandages that were holding the mummy together
She brought her glowing hand forward and sent cheerful amber witchlight through the gap I d made and into the chamber beyond. It looked like just another stone chamber, but this time with a raised slab in the centre of the dusty floor that bore a small wooden box. I took my time looking the chamber over, but I couldn t see anything else.
That s it? said Molly. That tiny box is what we came all this way to find? Oh, is it a wishing ring? I ve always wanted one of those.
That is very definitely it, I said. Just as Uncle Jack described it to me. And, no, it is not a wishing ring. They re just myths and legends.
Lot you know, said Molly. Get out of the way.
She shouldered me aside and thrust her arm into the gap, reaching for the box on the raised slab. I stuck my face into the gap with her. It soon became clear that she couldn t touch the box. Every time her fingers came anywhere near it, they seemed to just slide away no matter how hard she tried, or how much she swore.
Told you, I said after a while. It s protected in a very small and subtle way; only Droods can touch it.
Molly jerked her shoulder back out of the hole, stretched her arm a few times and then glared at me. You did not tell me that, or I would have remembered. Why didn t you tell me?
I wanted to see if the story was true, I said.
There are a lot of stories about this place, about this box and what it contains. Once people found out that Uncle Jack had told me the secret, they couldn t wait to come forward and confuse the issue with all the different versions of the story they d heard. I needed to see if this box is what it s supposed to be, so I can be sure the thing inside the box can do what I need it to do.
So I m your lab rat? said Molly. Your canary in a cage? Are you about to use the words booby trap, by any chance?
I was pretty sure my being here would defuse them, I said. Anyway, I knew you could look after yourself. If you had to. If anything went wrong. Besides, I was here. I would have protected you.
You are so full of yourself, Eddie.
I m a Drood.
Same thing.
I reached through the gap and my golden fingers immediately locked onto the box. In fact, it seemed almost to leap into my hand, as though it had been waiting all these ages just for me. I pulled my arm back and held the box out on the palm of my metal hand. Molly leaned in for a really close look, while being very careful not to touch any part of it. I had to say, after coming all this way and placing all my hopes on it, it didn t look like much. Just a small, flat, square box made from some dark wood, with Druidic stylings carved into the lid. Molly finally decided enough was enough and reached forward to lift the lid. Only to find she still couldn t touch it.
Told you, I said. This is a Drood secret. Only Droods can access Drood secrets.
If I wasn t so eager to see what s inside the box and you weren t the only person here who could open it, I would drop-kick you right through that wall, said Molly.
I rolled the armour up my arms and back into my torc and then gently ran one fingertip across the lid of the box. It sprang open of its own accord, reacting immediately to Drood contact. Molly and I watched the lid rise, holding our breath. And there inside the box was an old-fashioned compass. Copper surround, glass top, ivory base and a lead needle. There were no markings anywhere on the ivory base.
A compass? said Molly. It really is just a compass? I may spit. We came all this way for a bloody compass?
Getting a bit loud there, Molly, I said. We don t want to disturb the neighbours.
What use is a compass with no directions? said Molly. Or is this supposed to be some kind of Zen thing?
Wait, I said, trying hard to sound confident. I tapped the clear glass with one bare fingertip and the needle immediately spun round and round before settling firmly on one direction. And then, no matter how much I shook the compass, the needle wouldn t nudge from its chosen direction.
Okay, I am seriously confused now, said Molly.
Tell me there is an explanation on its way, Eddie, or there is going to be serious trouble breaking out right here, right now.
When we finally have the means to go after my family, I said, This compass will point whatever device we end up using in the right direction. It will provide exact coordinates. That s what it s for. No matter where my family is now, no matter how far from our reality Alpha Red Alpha has sent them, they can t be hidden from this. It was created for this one vital purpose: to point to my family.
All right, I ll bite, said Molly.
How does it work? And why can t I touch it?
Well, basically, I said. Very basically the compass locks onto Drood DNA. Our whole bloodline is unique. Right back to our beginnings. The Heart had to make subtle alterations in our DNA to make us compatible with our torcs and armour. To make sure no one without Drood blood could ever use them against us. Ethel did offer to change us all back when she gave us our new torcs, but she couldn t be sure what the side effects might be. So I said, Thank you, but no. Respect what works, and leave us the way we are.
So Droods aren t human? said Molly.
Think of us as more human plus, I said.
Yeah, said Molly. You would think that. Are you sure Ethel didn t make any changes to your family s DNA to make you compatible with her strange matter? I mean, that stuff nearly killed you the first time it got into your system.
She swears she didn t. And I don t see why she d want to hide it when she s been so open about everything else.
Yes, but
I know. We have to trust her, Molly. Because my family doesn t have any other source for our armour. Don t you trust her?
I like her. She s very likeable. But you ve always been far too trusting, Eddie.
That s not an answer.
I know.
We looked at each other for a long moment and then both decided that this was a subject for another time. We looked back at the compass, sitting there so quietly and patiently on my palm.
This compass is specifically attuned to our altered Drood DNA, I said. It s powerful enough to detect it and point to it, no matter where it may be. In this world or out of it.
What powers the compass? said Molly. I mean, there s not much of it.
I was afraid you were going to ask that. I did ask the Armourer, and he gave me a half-hour speech that had all my little grey cells lined up and kicking the crap out of one another. Let s just say one of our previous Armourers hit this thing with the science stick until it agreed to work and leave it at that.
Hold everything. Go previous. Hit the hand brake, said Molly. You said this whole scheme was cooked up centuries ago. Are you telling me Droods knew about DNA way back then?