Don t look at me, I said. I didn t know it could do that.
The golden box exploded back into human shape again and stood facing me. Moxton s Mistake, regarding me with its featureless golden face.
He put me in the Maze, it said, in its rasping inhuman voice. Left me there to run wild for centuries. Did he think I d forgive and forget? Your torc has no authority over me, Eddie Drood. I serve you only because I choose to.
We made a bargain, I said steadily.
So we did, said the rogue armour. I haven t forgotten. Take this as a sign, a warning of what might happen to you if you were to turn against me.
It hunched its back, which split open to allow out what remained of Adrian Drood. A hot and steaming cube of compacted meat and splintered bone burst out of the armour s back and fell, stinking and splashing, to the floor in a rush of bodily fluids. And while I was looking at that, the golden armour flowed forward and wrapped itself about me. I shuddered, and not only from the familiar cold. I felt strong and well again, free from all pain, but I also felt the armour s presence watching me thoughtfully. I looked at the bloody steaming mess on the carpet. Not a bad end for the greatest traitor the Droods had ever known. I just wished I could have done it myself. It occurred to me that the armour could have done the same thing to me any of the times I wore it. And still could
I turned to consider the Plymouth Fury. Mr. Stab was still trapped beneath it, still struggling to break free. He rocked the heavy car back and forth with his more-than-human strength, but he still couldn t lift the thing off him. The Plymouth Fury settled itself more firmly, like a duck upon its eggs, quietly humming
Rock n Roll Is Here to Stay. I stopped down, picked the monkey s hand up off the floor and slipped it through my armoured side and into my pocket dimension. Because you never knew and because I didn t want anyone else to surprise me with it.
I moved over to the car and knelt down beside Mr. Stab s protruding head and shoulder. He d worked one arm out from under the car, and suddenly there was a blade in it, shining bright. I grabbed his hand and squeezed hard until he dropped the knife. And then I picked it up and snapped it neatly in two. The bright glow was quickly gone, leaving just two pieces of broken steel. Mr. Stab glared at me sullenly as I threw the pieces aside.
It s all right, I said to the car.
You can get off him now.
Are you sure? said the car. I can run back and forth over him a few times, if you like. No trouble
Thanks, I said. But that won t be necessary.
The car sniffed loudly, reminding me irresistibly of Molly for a moment. People just don t know how to enjoy themselves.
The Plymouth Fury backed slowly away, reversing steadily till it was halfway out the jagged hole it had made in the wall when it arrived. Mr. Stab rose slowly to his feet, brushing the dust off his Victorian finery in an unfussy way. His eyes never left mine.
You ll never stop me, he said coldly.
I can recover from anything you do to me. You ve seen that for yourself.
Maybe no one ever tried hard enough before, I said. Maybe no one was ever motivated enough before me. This new armour really is very versatile. The things it can do You saw what it did to the traitor Drood.
Crush me. Put me in a box, said Mr. Stab.
I ll still bounce back. Like the worst jack-in-the-box you ever saw.
He held up his hand, and there was a new shining blade in it. He swept it back and forth before him, smiling coldly.
I am never without a blade. This, too, was given to me.
But all the other attacks were from outside, I said. I m thinking about inside.
And before Mr. Stab could react, I stepped quickly forward and punched him in the mouth. The golden armour didn t stop at his mouth; it carried on, flowing down his throat, filling up his insides. I held him firmly with my left hand as he struggled wildly, my right hand pressing down on his mouth. The golden metal flowed off me and into him, inside him, filling every space, every little nook and cranny. He couldn t scream, but his eyes were full of a terrible horror. He still couldn t die, despite what was being done to him. So I sent a final command through my torc, and the golden metal inside Mr. Stab exploded. The blast tore him apart, blasting him open from inside, every bone and organ reduced to fragments and less than fragments.
I d got the idea from watching Molly s protein exploder.
A familiar pink mist rolled and roiled in the air, but this time there were no bones. The bloody mist fell slowly out of the air to soak and stain the carpet. I could feel the rogue armour s presence at the back of my mind. Felt its satisfaction.
I just felt cold.
For you, Penny, I said. And for all his victims down the years. And especially for six poor women in Whitechapel, who never wanted to be part of a legend.
The Plymouth Fury whistled loudly. Way to go, Drood! Let s see the evil little scrote come back from that!
I ignored the car and turned to look at Crow Lee, who was standing very still, exactly where I d left him. He smiled briefly.
People can always surprise you. Have to say, Eddie, I didn t think you had it in you.
I didn t, I said. He had it in him. And I did it for the victims.
No, said Crow Lee. You did it for yourself. I know about these things.
Why didn t you run? I said. I was distracted. You might have got away.
Where could I go that you wouldn t find me? You re a lot more than I thought you were I m bad, Drood, but you re the biggest monster in this room. So, better to stay and work out some kind of agreement that will get you off my back.
You took away my family and my Molly.
The least of my many crimes, but let s not dwell on the Past. I still have something to bargain with. Something you want.
Can you bring back Molly and her sisters?
No I m not exactly sure where that particular spell sends people. Not that I ve ever given a damn, as long as they disappeared from my life. It can t be that bad; no one ever comes back to complain! Little joke there No. All right. I can help you recover your lost family! I still have the remote control I used to send Drood Hall away. It still contains the exact coordinates of the dimension I had Alpha Red Alpha send them to. A place so remote and distant you ll never find them, Eddie, never track them down. Not without the exact coordinates contained within my remote control.
You still have it? I said.
Not here, Crow Lee said quickly. Not actually on me but it is somewhere near. Somewhere safe. We can make a deal, Drood: I give you the remote, and you agree to let me live.
Let you live? I said. Let you go unpunished after everything you ve done? I remembered the major hitting Molly, his fist smashing into her face over and over, saying, This is Crow Lee s orders. I shook my head. I don t think I can do that.
Isn t it worth it? To get your family back? Immunity for one man, to have the mighty Droods back in the world again?
But you re not the only game in town, I said. I have the monkey s hand. It can find anything. It can make changes in reality. Put that together with my Merlin Glass, and what do I need you and your remote for?
Well, yes, technically speaking, said Crow Lee.
But, unfortunately, I know more about these objects than you do. So I know it s already pretty much used up. It can only hold a certain amount of magical energies, and it has been very busy. You see, a monkey s paw isn t supposed to be a Hand of Glory. And vice versa. The two contrasting natures are always fighting it out, which is why it can never hang on to its various powers for long. See for yourself.