You know, I m really not in the mood to do the whole severed-head thing. I m just not angry enough anymore. Let his body send the message.
Molly glared quickly about her. All right, everyone. Listen up! Do not take this as a sign that we re getting soft! None of you are to leave this bus until the nice agents from the Regent of Shadows arrive to take care of you! Anyone tries to do a runner, we will find out and we will track you down and perform acts of massive unpleasantness on you! Any questions?
A surly-looking gunman raised a hand, and Molly punched him in the head so hard that everyone around him winced in sympathy.
Any other questions? Molly said sweetly. I love answering questions.
I armoured down, and we got off the bus and strode unhurriedly back to the Plymouth Fury, ignoring the screeching of brakes and hooting of horns from the resumed traffic. First rule of being a pedestrian in London: Never let the traffic intimidate you. I opened the driver s door and then paused.
Diana s probably making a report on us to the Regent right now, I said. She seemed disappointed in me.
She doesn t know you like I do, said Molly. And, anyway, why should you care what she thinks about you?
I don t know, I said. I shouldn t care, but I do. She reminds me of someone.
I shrugged quickly, slipped into the driver s seat and settled myself comfortably behind the steering wheel, and then slammed the door shut. The sat nav immediately raised its strident female voice again.
Don t slam the door! You ll damage something! And can I remind you that you re supposed to be looking after me? The Regent made me your responsibility! What were you thinking of, letting me be shot at like that? I m a classic!
I looked at the sat nav thoughtfully. Are you speaking for the car, or are you the voice of the car itself?
I ll never tell! the sat nav said smugly.
Is there any way to turn that thing off? said Molly as she settled into the passenger s seat beside me and deliberately slammed her door shut.
Is there any way to turn you off? said the sat nav.
Shall I go back to the bus and get a gun? said Molly. Or perhaps a really big hammer?
You wouldn t dare! said the sat nav.
I m a loaner!
I know something that ll shut it up, I said.
I took the Merlin Glass out of its pocket dimension and fed it the revised time and space coordinates for Crow Lee s place through my torc. The Glass jumped out of my hand, ghosted straight through the Plymouth s windscreen, and shot forward to hover in the air ahead of us. It grew quickly in size until it was more than big enough for the Plymouth to drive through. On the other side of the opened doorway, I could just make out a leafy country lane. The sunlight there was subtly different. It felt odd to know I was looking at tomorrow.
What is that? said the sat nav nervously.
What the hell is that? I don t like it. Just looking at it makes me feel funny.
No one else is paying any attention to the big dimensional door hanging in midair, said Molly, peering quickly about her. The Glass is pumping out a really heavy-duty, don t-look-at-me aversion field. I didn t know the Merlin Glass could do that. Could the old Merlin Glass do that?
Beats the hell out of me, I said. But this new version is certainly keen to show off all the clever tricks it can do. Very eager to please
Do you find that as worrying as I do? said Molly.
Oh, at least, I said.
What? What? said the sat nav. What do you mean, worrying? What is there to worry about? Okay, forget it! I m not going anywhere!
Oh yes, you are, I said.
Heh heh, added Molly.
I fired up the Plymouth s engine, set the car rolling forward and aimed her right at the Merlin Glass hovering before us. The sat nav made loud whining noises of distress. I put my foot down hard and drove the Plymouth Fury through the gateway and into tomorrow.
CHAPTER NINE
I don t know what all the fuss is about over time travel. I drove through twenty-four hours in a moment, and didn t feel the slightest twinge of time sickness. From the city to the countryside, from today to tomorrow in one great jump. Though I couldn t quite decide whether I d lost a day or gained one. Molly took it all in stride, of course, as she does most things that don t involve incest, morris dancing or eighties revivals. The sat nav stopped screaming as soon as we left the Merlin Glass behind, and quickly subsided to low whimpering sounds and muttered swear words.
Please don t ever do that to me again, the sat nav said piteously. I ll be good!
I d settle for you being quiet, said Molly.
The Merlin Glass shrank down behind us, shaking itself down to hand-mirror size, and then hurried after the car, shooting down the road to ghost through the rear window and slip straight into my pocket dimension. Without being asked.
All right, I said loudly. You re showing off now.
I eased the car to a halt and looked carefully about me. Molly actually undid her seat belt to give her more freedom to twist back and forth and look in all possible directions. There was a definite sense of tension, of both of us waiting for something to happen, for some unpleasant reaction to our sudden arrival some sign that Crow Lee had people lying in wait for us. But everything was still and calm and peaceful. It was just a narrow country lane in the middle of nowhere. On the other hand, there was no sign of Crow Lee s manor house anywhere.
We were completely alone, with no sign of civilisation for as far as the eye could see. Birds were singing, there was a quiet background hum of insects; just quiet early evening in the countryside. Bounding the road on either side were low stone walls assembled in the traditional style, jagged stones placed tight together without benefit of mortar. Beyond the walls, great open fields stretched away, a massive chequer board of clashing primary colours from assorted crops. Separated here and there by more old walls, bristling hedgerows and the occasional line of trees on the horizon acting as a windbreak. No cows, no sheep, no other roads; not even a signpost to tell us where we were or other places might be.
Are you sure we ve come to the right place? said Molly.
I suppose this is as close as the Merlin Glass could get us to the exact coordinates, I said. Without setting off Crow Lee s alarms I did instruct the Glass to err very much on the side of caution.
All right, sat nav, said Molly. Make yourself useful. Which way to Crow Lee s lair?
Oh, now you need me! the sat nav said bitterly.
Well, tough. I don t feel like it. I ve just been put through a terrible experience and my nerves are a mess. Call back later and see if I m home.
Give me the proper directions, I said, or I ll open up the Merlin Glass again and see if it can jump us any closer.
Bully! hissed the sat nav. All right, all right. Let me see. I ve got a map here somewhere. Ah. Yes. Drive straight on, third turn on the left, and then watch for the hidden entrance. Which I shall alert you to the moment I can find the bloody thing. Or maybe not! It all depends on how I feel, and don t you forget it.
See how easy that was? I said.
You wait, said Molly. That thing will be driving us down a crease in the map before you know it.
I heard that!
Good! said Molly.
The sat nav made a loud sarcastic noise and then settled for something that sounded very like teeth grinding together.
I drove carefully down the long leafy lane, in and out dark shadows cast by out-leaning trees, and slowed cautiously as I approached every corner, just in case there might be something lying in wait. But there wasn t so much as a slow-moving piece of farm machinery. No traffic at all, in fact; not a jogger on a health kick or some exercise fiend hunched over a bicycle. It was as though we had the whole road to ourselves.