But Molly had already gone back to studying Buckingham Palace.
Why is the Carnacki Institute based here, of all places? I mean, I know they re part of the Establishment, but Is the queen an honorary ghostbuster? Is Prince Philip bothered by poltergeists?
Not officially. It s because the Institute is a royal charter, not a political department, like Uncanny. Apparently Elizabeth I wanted the Institute where she could keep an eye on it, and subsequent monarchs continued the tradition. It does mean that Catherine Latimer s private office is protected not only by its own shields, but also by the palace s. Of course, the Merlin Glass should be able to punch right through them.
Should? said Molly, immediately. I really don t like that word in this context, Eddie. What if it can t?
Bugs on a windshield, I said. Raise your Sight, Molly. Take a good look at the palace, and See what I m Seeing.
With the Drood torc at my throat, I can See the world as it really is and not as most people think it is. Though mostly I choose not to, for my own peace of mind. With the Sight, Buckingham Palace and its immediate surroundings all but disappeared under layer upon layer of powerful protections: overlapping screens and shields and deadly defences laid down over centuries.
Okay, said Molly, after a while. Those are serious protections. How the hell did that burglar get in? You know, the one who just wandered around till he ended up in the queen s bedroom and she had to call for help?
Simple answer: He didn t, I said.
They let him in. To make the rest of the world think they only had standard protections. Anyone who tried to follow in that guy s footsteps got flash-fried into free-floating atoms for some time afterwards.
Molly gave me a stern look. And the Merlin Glass should get us past all that?
Oh, almost certainly, I said cheerfully. If I understand how the Glass works, and I m perfectly ready to be told I don t, I think it opens a door on this side of the shields and another door on the other side. And then we step through without bothering the shields at all. They don t even know anything s happened.
But if they do detect us?
It s been fun knowing you, Molly.
Let s go somewhere else.
If there was somewhere else, I d be there, I said. But we need access to the Regent of Shadows, and Catherine Latimer is the only one I know who can get us there. And as long as Crow Lee is on our trail, the clock is ticking. He can t let even one Drood live, for fear I ll find a way to bring the rest back. And then everything he s risked will have been for nothing. Now grit your teeth and be a brave little witch, and there shall be dark chocolate Jaffa Cakes for tea.
Let me get this straight, said Molly. We re dropping in on the very dangerous boss herself, in her very own private and heavily defended office? Because you ve been there once before? Colour me officially uneasy, Eddie. Not many get in there and get out again with all their favourite parts still attached.
I did her a favour once on a case I still don t care to talk about. She wasn t exactly happy with the way I handled it, because the Droods got more out of it than the Institute did, but we still parted on pretty good terms.
So she isn t necessarily going to be pleased to see you?
Is anyone?
What if she point-blank refuses to help you, said Molly, now that the rest of your family isn t around to intimidate her into playing nice?
She doesn t get to say no, I said.
I m a Drood.
My tough guy, Molly said admiringly. Still, weren t we worried that using something as powerful as the Merlin Glass might attract all the wrong kinds of attention?
Oh, sure, I said. But not until it s far too late. I m not planning on sticking around here that long.
They might try to stop us leaving.
Like to see them try.
Okay, said Molly. We have now officially crossed the line from tough guy into cocky and downright arrogant. That s not like you, Eddie.
I m the Last Drood, I said. I can t afford to be stopped by anything or anyone. Not even myself. Not when my whole family is depending on me.
You can t help them if you re dead or stripped of your torc in some underground prison!
Well, then, I said. I d better not let that happen. Had I?
Cocky and arrogant, Molly said sadly. I am a bad influence on you, Eddie. She looked dubiously at the Merlin Glass as I held it up before us. Was the Glass we knew ever this powerful? I m not sure I would have trusted the old Glass in this situation.
It got you into the Timeless Moment to rescue me from Castle Shreck, I said. But it doesn t really matter. Needs must, when the Devil is breathing heavily down the back of your neck. One thing on our side: once we re in the boss s office, her shields should be more than enough to hide us from our enemies.
Including Crow Lee?
Let us both fervently hope so.
I concentrated on the Merlin Glass through my torc, visualising the exact coordinates for Catherine Latimer s very private office, and the Glass just sat there in my hand and refused to budge. I kept telling it where to go, and it just kept refusing. The shields around the office were so powerful the Glass couldn t find anything to lock on to. Buckingham Palace s shields weren t the problem, just the office s. Which told me rather more about the nature of the Carnacki Institute s shields than I was comfortable knowing. I looked reluctantly at Molly.
Problem We can t go straight to the boss after all. She s protected by something so powerful it even spooks the Merlin Glass. You know it might actually be safer if you were to stay here, Molly. In the car. Uncle Jack s protections will look after you, and you can always do a runner if necessary.
No way in hell, Molly said flatly. You re not going anywhere without me. Not while you re still pretending to be all cocky and arrogant to hide the fact that you re still grieving for your family. Someone s got to be there with you, to be reasonable on your behalf. And, yes, I do know that by volunteering myself in that department I am indulging in cosmic levels of irony, but How about this: If you can t go directly to the boss, can you get to her indirectly?
Of course! Yes! Molly, you re a genius. I had to wait in the secretary s office before I got to see Catherine Latimer, her own bad self, last time I was there. I concentrated on the Glass again, and it locked onto the secretary s office immediately. There you go! A definite weak spot in the Institute s security, Molly, which I shall be quite sure not to mention to the boss. In case I need to use it again.
You see? said Molly. You re getting smarter all the time just from being around me. Come on, let s do this. Before we have a rush of common sense to the brain. I m just in the mood to bully a functionary.
Ah, I said. Clearly you have never heard of the boss s secretary. Heather does not just type and file; she is also the boss s last line of defence. In that you have to get past Heather to get to the boss. Heather is the most heavily armed person in the whole place. She s not just there to smile politely at visitors; she s there to be very, very dangerous. So be prepared.
Oh, I am, said Molly. Really. You have no idea.
Cocky, and arrogant with it, I said.
You know you love it.
I armoured up. The golden metal swept over me in a moment, sealing me off from the world. The bitter cold was still there, but I was getting used to that. Which would have worried me if I d had the time to be worried. Molly looked at me dubiously.
Is that really necessary? Just for a quick drop-in and a chat?
Oh yes, I said. Really. You have no idea.
Shut up and get on with it.
Yes, mistress.
I shook the hand mirror out to door size, and immediately I could see Heather s office through it. I stepped quickly through, Molly all but treading on my heels in her eagerness, and the Merlin Glass immediately slammed itself shut behind me, pushed through my armoured side, and hid in my secret pocket. Out of harm s way. It occurred to me that if the Glass was that scared, then I ought to be, too. But I just didn t have the time.