“Isn’t she lovely?” said Ioreth, not opening his eyes.
“Get some rest, Ioreth,” said William. “Conserve your strength while I work out what to do.” He looked at the endless stacks of books, thinking hard. “I need books on healing magical wounds, and everything we have on the Infernal Devices. And I want them right now!”
His voice crackled with authority, and a whole bunch of books jumped off their shelves and flew through the air to hover around him. William grabbed the nearest and slammed it down on a reading-stand. He leafed quickly through the massive leather-bound volume, while the other books waited patiently. He couldn’t find anything he needed so he threw the book to the floor and grabbed the next. He searched through one book after another, and discarded volumes piled up on the floor around him.
“If you’re part demon, you must be magical,” he said to Bettie, not looking up. “Can’t you do anything to help him?”
“It’s not in my nature,” she said miserably. “I never wanted to help anyone before . . . He told me to bring him here! He said you could help him!”
William threw a book away with extra force and reached out for another. “I’m trying!”
An alarm-bell rang: a harsh and strident sound. Bettie looked quickly around her. William didn’t look up from his book. Ioreth didn’t open his eyes.
“What is that?” said Bettie.
“Drood Hall has been invaded,” said William. “Don’t worry. The Hall can look after itself.”
* * *
• • •
Hadleigh, Larry, and Tommy Oblivion appeared outside Drood Hall. The Detective Inspectre, the dead detective, and the existential private eye. (Who specialised in cases that might or might not have actually happened.) Tommy had limp hair, a horsey face with a toothy smile, and long-fingered hands he liked to flap around while he was talking. A studiedly effete young fellow, in brightly coloured New Romantic silks, Tommy was far more dangerous than he looked. He was an Oblivion Brother, after all.
“Why do I have to be here?” he said peevishly. “You’re the ones built for fighting; I just reason with people.”
“You’re here because we’ve tried everything else against the Droods,” said Hadleigh.
“And because we’re desperate,” said Larry.
Tommy sniffed loudly. “Typical.”
They looked at the scattered remains of the scarecrows. Some of the hands were crawling around like oversized spiders.
“What the hell happened here?” said Larry.
“Someone got here before us,” said Hadleigh. “And made our job that little bit easier. One less defence for us to get past. Now, Tommy . . . Tommy!”
“What?” said Tommy, staring raptly at the front of Drood Hall. “Look at the size of this place! Isn’t it magnificent?”
“Yes,” said Hadleigh. “And we’re here to seize it on behalf of the Nightside.”
Tommy turned to look at him, and not in a good way. “You really think we can do that?”
“With the power the Dark Academie put in Larry, and the three of us working together . . . Maybe,” said Hadleigh.
Tommy looked dubiously at Larry. “I don’t know what they did to you, Lar, but you really don’t look good. Even for a dead man.”
“We can do this,” said Larry.
“Of course we can!” Tommy said proudly. “The Oblivion Brothers, together again for the first time!”
Larry winced. “Must you?”
“Almost certainly,” said Tommy. “What’s the matter with you? I mean, yes, you’ve been grim and depressed and downright grumpy ever since you were murdered by your own partner and brought back from the dead as a zombie, though you don’t need to eat brains, so I can’t help feeling you dodged a bullet there, but . . .”
“Breathe, Tommy,” said Hadleigh.
“But you’ve never been this bad!”
“I took him with me, to see where I work,” said Hadleigh.
“You took him down to the Deep School?” said Tommy. “But that’s not fair! You know I’ve always wanted to see that!”
“No, you don’t,” said Larry. “Trust me. There’s nothing there you’d want to see.”
“You wouldn’t have survived the trip, Tommy,” said Hadleigh.
“Larry did!”
“No,” said Larry. “I didn’t.”
“If we could please get a move on,” said Hadleigh. “Drood Hall isn’t going to conquer itself.”
They studied the huge expanse of the Hall, with its towering walls and hundreds of windows. There were no lights on anywhere. Nothing to show anyone was home.
“How many Droods do you think are in there?” Tommy said finally.
“Not many,” said Larry. “According to our informants, most of the family is out in the streets. Killing people for the sin of not being Droods.”
Tommy frowned. “Did something happen to them? They’re not usually like that.”
“It’ll just be a few really old people, looking after the children,” said Hadleigh. “We can handle them.”
“They’re still Droods,” said Larry. “Which means they’ll have armour. And they won’t surrender.”
“Then we’ll just have to play hardball,” said Hadleigh.
Tommy stirred uncomfortably. “Are you talking about killing them? Even the children?”
“Hopefully, a strong enough show of force will be enough to help them see reason,” said Hadleigh. “If not, we’ve got you to help persuade them to see our side of things.”
“If I’m your secret weapon, we’re in real trouble,” said Tommy. “I’m not hurting children!”
“Even if they’re in armour and trying to kill you?” said Larry.
Tommy scowled. “There has to be another way.”
“The Droods have already killed hundreds of people in the Nightside!” said Larry. “Who knows how many by now.”
“We’ll do what we have to, Tommy,” said Hadleigh. “Hopefully, with the power the Dark Academie gave Larry . . .”
“What power?” said Tommy.
“The Black Fire,” said Hadleigh.
“It burns . . .” said Larry, not looking at anything.
Hadleigh strode forward into the Hall, and the others followed him in. They stopped just inside the great entrance-hall, awed despite themselves by the sheer scale of the place, and its opulence. Tommy oohed and aahed as he pointed out valuable paintings and statues that should have been in museums. He almost went into ecstasies over the antique furniture. Hadleigh studied the lay-out, and looked around for guards or protections. Larry got out his elven wand.
“This should give us the advantage . . .”
And then he stopped and looked at the wand. He shook it a few times.
“What’s wrong?” said Tommy.
“It’s not working,” said Larry. “I just tried it, to make sure I could stop Time inside Drood Hall, and nothing happened.”
“Wait just a minute!” said Tommy. “You tested it on us?”
“There was no one else here,” said Larry. “The point is, I was relying on the wand to freeze the Droods in place, so we wouldn’t have to fight them. So I wouldn’t have to use the Black Fire.”
“The Hall’s defences must have shut the wand down,” said Hadleigh. “I can feel them churning on the air around us. The only reason they haven’t killed all three of us is that they’re confused by our various natures. You’re dead, Tommy’s existential, and I . . .”
“Yes,” said Tommy. “What are you, exactly?”
“Complicated,” said Hadleigh. “Let’s get moving.”
“Fine,” said Tommy. “Any idea where we should go? It’s a hell of a big place.”
“You’re not going anywhere,” said a calm, steady voice.
The Oblivion Brothers moved quickly to stand
together and looked down the hallway to find an old man and a young man staring back at them. The old man had to be in his late seventies, wearing a battered dressing-gown and carpet slippers. The young man was barely into his twenties, wearing a Black Sabbath T-shirt, faded jeans, and sneakers. He was clearly not well. His face was flushed with a fever, and he was trembling all over just from the strain of standing upright.
Tommy turned to Hadleigh. “Are they Droods? They don’t look very scary.”
“Of course they’re Droods,” said Larry. “Can’t you See their torcs?”
Tommy looked closely. “No.”
“The dead see many things that are hidden from the living,” said Hadleigh.
Tommy glared at him. “Can you See them?”
“Of course,” said Hadleigh. “I’m the Detective Inspectre.”
“I’m Maurice,” said the old man, his calm voice breaking across theirs. “I used to work on the accounting side before I retired. And this is David, from Operations. He’s not well, which is why he didn’t get to go with the others.”
“I’m still a Drood!” David said loudly. “And I’ve still got my armour! What are you people doing here, inside our home?”
“Are you the only guards?” said Hadleigh.
“We’re just the first to get here,” said Maurice. “More are on their way.”
“I was worried I was going to miss out on the action,” said David. “But now the Nightside has sent people into the Hall, just so I can have the fun of throwing them out!”
“Cocky, isn’t he?” said Tommy.
“He’s a Drood,” said Larry.
“There doesn’t need to be any unpleasantness,” said Maurice, looking severely at David. “All these gentlemen have to do is turn around and leave, and we can all pretend they were never here. Which is probably best for everyone.”
“That’s not going to happen,” said Hadleigh. “Your family have brought war to the Nightside. Did you really think it wouldn’t come home to haunt you? We’re here to take control of Drood Hall. Stand down, and you won’t be hurt.”
“No one speaks like that to a Drood,” said David. His eyes were over-bright from the fever, and his hands were shaking, but his voice was steady.
“You shouldn’t have brought your home into the Nightside,” said Hadleigh. “That made it vulnerable. And now it’s ours. Along with any useful weapons or devices you might have that we can use to put a stop to what your family is doing.”
“Really not going to happen,” said Maurice.
“Who the hell are you people?” said David.
“The Oblivion Brothers!” Tommy said proudly.
Maurice and David looked at each other.
“You’ve heard of us!” said Tommy.
“Run,” David said to Maurice. “You can’t fight these people. Have the others lock down the Armoury and the Old Library, then hole up inside the Redoubt. Let these bastards wander around the Hall, looking for something to steal. We can wait them out.”
“I can’t leave you here, on your own,” said Maurice. “You’re in no condition to fight monsters like these.”
“Neither are you,” said David. “But I can slow them down, buy you some time. Go on, get out of here. Before I come to my senses. Anything, for the family.”
Maurice nodded jerkily and squeezed David’s shoulder once. And then he armoured, turned, and sprinted down the long hallway at incredible speed. In just a few moments he was lost to sight. Tommy stepped forward and smiled at David.
“Come,” he said, smiling. “Let us reason together.”
“Let’s not,” said David.
He armoured up, and golden strange matter covered him from head to toe in a moment. Tommy scowled and looked at his brothers.
“I can’t reach him through that stuff. It’s unnatural. It’s doing something to my mind. Or his.”
“Then we do this the hard way,” said Hadleigh.
David surged forward, inhumanly fast and strong in his armour despite his illness. Black flames burst up around Larry. Fires dark and deep as midnight, and so fiercely hot Tommy and Hadleigh flinched back from them. The floor-boards under Larry’s feet scorched and charred, but though the Black Fire burned hot enough to burn the world, it didn’t touch the man who carried it. Larry thrust out a hand, and the black flames shot forward to engulf David from head to toe. The midnight fire hit his armour so hard it cracked and broke open, shattered by a force greater than it could stand. The golden strange matter melted and ran away, and David burned alive. He didn’t even have time to scream. His body crashed to the floor, already blackening and curling up as the flames consumed it. Larry lowered his hand, and the Black Fire shut off. A few crackling flames still burned where the floor-boards had caught alight around the body. Smoke rose up, to curl lazily on the air.
Tommy looked at his brother.
“Don’t look at me like that,” said Larry. “Like I’m the monster. You haven’t seen what the Droods have been doing.”
“No,” said Tommy. “But I saw what you did. And I saw that you didn’t care.” He turned to Hadleigh. “What did they do to him in the Deep School?”
“He asked for power, and they gave it to him,” said Hadleigh.
Tommy looked back at the body. “We just killed a Drood in cold blood. They’ll never forgive us for this. They’ll never stop coming after us.”
“Then we’d better take control of the Hall,” said Hadleigh. “That will give us all the bargaining power we need.”
“I never thought it would be so easy to kill a Drood,” said Larry.
Tommy looked at him again. “You don’t sound at all well, Larry.”
“I’m dead,” said Larry. “And the Black Fire is burning me up inside. Just like the Drood. So let’s do this while we still can.” He pointed down the Hall. “We need to go this way.”
“How can you be so sure?” said Tommy. “Don’t tell me; the dead see many things.”
“I didn’t see what the Black Fire would do to me,” said Larry. “Or what it would make me do.”
“You asked for it,” said Hadleigh.
“Yes,” said Larry. “I did, didn’t I?”
He led the way deeper into the Hall, and the others followed.
* * *
• • •
In the Old Library, William had found a book of healing spells for magical wounds. He ran through one chant after another until his voice grew hoarse, but none of them worked. Ioreth’s wound refused to heal. Fortunately, Ioreth was so out of it by now, he didn’t realise what was happening. William finally threw the book away and went back to a volume dealing with Infernal Devices. Bettie sat beside the cot, holding Ioreth’s hand. She wasn’t even sure he could feel it.
“I think I’ve identified the sword in question,” said William. “It’s called Wulfsbane. It has the power to corrupt its owners, body and soul. Any wound the sword makes will rot till the body dies. Nothing can stop the process once it’s begun. The sword has travelled through many worlds for many years, and isn’t as powerful as it once was. But it’s still strong enough to cut through Drood armour. Ioreth’s torc is fighting the corruption, or he’d be dead by now; but it can’t save him. And neither can I.”
“He can’t die!” said Bettie. “I only just found him. He said if I got him here, you could help him!”
William closed his book and came over to crouch beside the cot. He said Ioreth’s name several times until finally Ioreth opened his eyes.
“I need you to put on your armour, Ioreth,” said William. “That should help keep you stable. For a while.”
“It’s hard to concentrate,” said Ioreth. His voice was little more than a whisper.
“I know,” said William. “But you have to try, boy.”
“Do it for me,” said Bettie. “Please, sweetie . . .”
/> Ioreth smiled. “Anything, for you.”
He frowned, slowly mouthing the activating Words, and the armour crept out of his torc, unnaturally slow. It took awhile, but eventually the strange matter covered him completely, sealing him in. A golden statue, lying unmoving on the cot. Like a carving on a tomb. Bettie couldn’t even hold his hand any more. She rose to her feet, and William got slowly to his.
“He is going to die, isn’t he?” said Bettie. “All the books in this Library, all the knowledge in the world, and you can’t save him.”
“I still have more books to check,” said William. “I won’t stop trying. I’ll never stop trying.”
“Yes, you will,” said Bettie, fighting to keep her voice steady. “Because eventually, there’ll be no point.”
“Don’t cry,” said William, helplessly.
“What else is there?” said Bettie, turning her head away.
* * *
• • •
Maurice returned with over twenty Droods in their armour, everyone who could still fight. They could have been young or old behind their faceless golden masks. It didn’t matter. Their armour made them strong. They could have remained safe inside the Redoubt, but they were Droods, and they were needed, so they locked the door on everyone else and came to face the enemy. They saw the Oblivion Brothers at the end of the corridor and started towards them.
“We can’t go easy on them,” said Larry. “They must know by now that we’ve killed a Drood. They’ll tear us to pieces.”
“Please,” said Tommy. “Let me try. I’m sure I can persuade them to stand down. Isn’t that why you brought me, because I can talk anyone into anything?”
“Go ahead,” said Hadleigh. “Try.”
He didn’t look at Larry, to tell him to be ready. He didn’t have to. Tommy strode down the corridor to meet the on-coming Droods, trying hard to look like a man without a care in the world because he just knew things would work out for everyone.
“Come,” he said. “Let us reason together.”
He gave it his best shot. He tried to persuade the Droods that they had no quarrel with the Oblivion Brothers. That there would be no shame in surrendering Drood Hall to the Nightside because of all the lives that would save. When that didn’t work, he tried to persuade them they weren’t really in Drood Hall. He used the full force of his existential nature to confuse them as to whether they were in their armour or out of it, and even whether they were really Droods at all. None of it worked. In their armour, in the Hall, the Droods were strong and certain.