It s from another Drood Hall, from another reality. Long story you really don t need to know for now. But this Glass can do anything the old one can, and then some. It should be able to point the way home for Alpha Red Alpha. It s very eager to please.
Not necessarily a good thing, with anything made by Merlin Satanspawn, sniffed the Armourer. But never look a gift whore in the mouth.
Language, Jack! said the Regent.
Sorry, Dad, said the Armourer. But you re right, Eddie. Let me work on the Glass. If you and the rest of the family can just keep the monsters at bay for a little while longer till I can get this heap of junk working Yes, I m talking about you, you oversized egg timer! Don t think I don t know you re listening!
We left him to it and went back up into the Hall. Which might have been under attack by an army of nightmarish monsters, but was still less disturbing than the cavern below.
Back in the main hallway, we all crowded together in the open front doors, looking out into the clearing. The monsters were pressing closer than ever to the Hall. The shimmering barrier that contained the Earth-normal conditions had been forced back right across the clearing and was now only a few yards away. The creatures seemed bigger and madder and more determined than ever, rising to fill the sky with huge slabs of angry shapes. The armoured Droods defending the perimeter had been pushed back, too, till they were only just outside the Hall. They were hitting the monsters with everything they had, but even the combined clamour of all their weapons was nothing compared to the howls and screams and roars of the massed monsters.
According to some short-range scanners the Armourer rigged up for me, the Sarjeant-at-Arms said tightly, these creatures give off dangerous radiations and toxic emissions. As if they weren t ugly enough already. Together, just their presence is enough to overwhelm our poor Earth-normal conditions. The monsters have been pushing the barrier hard, and it can t stand against them much longer. Soon enough the clearing will be full of those monsters, and we ll have to fight from inside the Hall.
Could they push the barrier back inside the Hall? I said. Push their world s conditions in here with us?
I don t know, said the Sarjeant. The Hall has all kinds of protections, but most of them don t seem to work here. As though we re so far from our own reality that even the laws of physics are different.
Where are the Librarian and Ammonia Vom Acht? I said.
Planning some kind of psychic attack, said the Sarjeant-at-Arms, making clear what he thought of that idea with a very expressive upraised eyebrow. It s a sign of how desperate our situation is that I ve encouraged them to try. It keeps them out of the way.
Just how desperate is this situation? said Molly, peering out the door while tapping one finger idly against her silver torc.
We ve had to ground all our air forces, said the Sarjeant. The skies were getting too crowded. All that s protecting us from death from above are the gun emplacements on the roof. And just like everyone else, they re running out of ammunition. It s been centuries since we had to withstand a siege; we re just not prepared. A lesson for the Future, if there is a Future. Any idea how long it ll be before the Armourer can fire up Alpha Red Alpha and get us out of this hellhole?
He didn t say, I said.
Of course he didn t. He never does.
Pushed back by the monsters, their backs set against the front of the Hall, golden-armoured figures stood side by side, firing every kind of gun I d ever seen. Doing remarkable amounts of damage to the walls of flesh before them, but not enough to stop or even slow them. Vicious steaming fluids fell down to splash across the golden armour, only to fall harmlessly away. The stench drifting in through the doorway was unbelievably vile. I wondered if I should raise the question of the Armageddon Codex with the Sarjeant-at-Arms. He d noticed I was carrying Oath Breaker, but he hadn t said anything. I wasn t looking forward to explaining to him just who had taken the ironwood staff in the first place.
He didn t need to know about the Original Traitor for now.
And then we all jumped and cried out as the shimmering screen slammed back several feet to right inside the hallway. We all fell back from the open doors as harsh air and heavy gravity filled the doorway. The Sarjeant yelled for all the Droods on the perimeter to get back inside, and they lowered their weapons and ran for it. Many of them threw themselves through the open windows, rather than get caught in the crush at the doors. Patrick and Diana each got a chair to stand on and calmly laid down covering fire over the Droods heads to discourage the advancing monsters. I looked across at the Regent, who just shook his head sadly.
Sorry, Eddie. Lateral thinking and tricks of the trade are fine against my usual enemies, but this is all a bit beyond me.
Ethel? I said.
Yes, Eddie, the disembodied voice said immediately. I m right here.
The elderly gentleman here is my grandfather Arthur. I say he is a Drood in good standing once more, so please be so kind as to grant him his armour again.
Of course, Eddie. What about the other two?
I paused. What do you mean, what about the other two? You mean Patrick and Diana? What about them?
Well, they re both Droods, too. Do you want me to give them armour, as well?
I looked at the Regent and then at Patrick and Diana. And just like that, I knew who they were. Who they had to be. And why they d always seemed so familiar. Age had made a big difference. They didn t look anything like they used to in the only old photo I d had of them. Hell, Patrick was bald with a beard now, and that ll disguise anyone. Diana s hair was grey. They d both changed so much, but even so, deep down I d recognised both of them the moment I saw them. It had just taken till now, this moment, for me to see them clearly and admit to myself who they really were.
Mum? I said. Dad?
Emily and Charles Drood smiled at me. The Regent stood between them and put his arms across their shoulders.
My children he said. Don t blame them, Eddie. They wanted to explain everything the moment you walked into Uncanny. I persuaded them not to. Because you already had so much on your plate But they still insisted on meeting you and working alongside you.
I put up a hand, to stop his talking. All right, I said. I get it. But there will be a hell of a lot of questions afterwards.
Yes, said Charles. We ll tell you everything. Afterwards.
There is quite a lot of it to tell, said Emily.
You abandoned me, I said. I hadn t meant for it to come out that harshly, but I couldn t hold it back.
How could you leave me here?
We didn t want to! said Emily.
We had no choice, said Charles.
You see? said the Regent. This is why I didn t want you to know yet! We can t do this now, Eddie. We have to concentrate on the matter at hand.
The front doors exploded inwards as a massive monster s head slammed right through them. A great battering ram of a head more than twenty feet across and half as high, it forced its great bulk into the hallway after us as we scrambled to fall back. Long jaws slammed together in their eagerness to get at us. Charles and Emily opened fire on it, blasting great chunks of its face away, but it just roared deafeningly and pushed more of itself into the hallway, expanding the opening it had made in the doors with brute force. Molly armoured up and punched the head with as much force as the armour could deliver, but still she could only damage it, not hurt it. I yelled for everyone to fall back, and advanced on the snapping head with the ironwood staff in my hand. Huge dark eyes followed me, and the jaws gaped open. I hit the head a mighty blow with Oath Breaker, and the whole head exploded. The force of the blast threw bloody fragments the whole length of the hall and back out the doorway, and in a moment the entire space was empty again. Dark blood and other fluids coated the walls and dripped down from the ceiling, along with misshapen gobbets of flesh.