“All right,” the Matriarch said finally. “Now I know what they are. Can’t say it’s made me feel any better.”
“I said that!” said Molly.
“I’m sure you did,” said the Matriarch. “Talk to me, people. I need options.”
“Shoot the lot of them,” said the Sarjeant. “No one messes with this family and gets away with it.”
“And if the guns don’t work?” I said.
“I have more guns.”
“Let’s put that on the back burner for now,” I said.
“We need to concentrate on our defences,” said Maxwell. “Our people are assembling something they’re pretty confident will hold the Angels off.”
“At least until we can get back inside the Hall and get our hands on some of the really appalling stuff,” said Victoria.
“The force field around the Hall is gone,” I said.
Everyone looked back at the Hall, and then at me.
“How did you manage that?” said Maxwell.
“The Pook got rid of it,” I said. “After Edmund escaped from the Old Library.”
The Sarjeant-at-Arms shook his head disgustedly. “Some days things wouldn’t go right if you paid them.”
“We will discuss Edmund later,” said the Matriarch.
“Looking forward to that immensely,” I said. I turned my attention to the Armourer. “If you could get back inside without the Angels noticing, could you use Alpha Red Alpha to raise the Shield?”
Maxwell and Victoria looked at each other. “Why would we want to do that?” said Maxwell.
“To put it around the Angels,” I said. “Could you do it?”
“Probably,” said Maxwell.
“And, in your expert opinion, would the Shield be strong enough to contain the Angels?”
“Probably,” said Victoria.
“Not good enough,” said the Matriarch. “Give me some more options, people. Preferably before the Angelic Droods decide to descend from the sky and start laying down the law.”
“I’m going to talk to them,” I said.
A number of quick looks passed back and forth between everyone else. No one seemed to think what I was proposing was in any way a good or even sane idea.
“They won’t listen to you, Eddie,” said Peter. “Angels don’t have to listen to anyone.”
“They’ve been gone a long time,” I said. “They must be curious about what’s happened to the family in their absence. If I can get them talking about one thing . . .”
“Don’t make the mistake of thinking of them as Droods,” said Peter. “They left their humanity behind a long time ago.”
“If nothing else,” I said steadily, “talking to them and holding their attention should buy you time to come up with something.”
“Buy us whatever time you can, Eddie,” said the Matriarch. “But don’t commit the family to anything without consulting with me first.”
“Angels aren’t known for horse-trading,” I said. “I’ll settle for talking them out of killing everyone here.”
“Argue from a position of strength,” said the Sarjeant. “You have the whole family behind you.”
“You really think anything we’ve got will work against an angel wrapped in Drood armour?” I said.
He smiled briefly. “Droods aren’t afraid of Heaven or Hell. It’s our job to make them afraid of us.”
“There’s a reason why we don’t let you take part in negotiations,” I said.
“Eddie,” said Molly, “come over here and talk to me for a moment, away from the crazy man with guns.”
She led me off to one side. I glanced up at the Angels. None of them had moved.
“You don’t have to do this, Eddie,” Molly said urgently. “Let someone else put their life on the line for once.”
“I was there when the Demon Droods died,” I said. “They’ll want to talk about that. And let’s face it: I’ve got a lot less life to lose than most. You stay here and make sure no one interferes.”
“Hell with that,” Molly said immediately. “I’m coming with you.”
“You don’t have to do this, Molly.”
“Of course I do! If only to make sure the Angels don’t ramp up the fascination and put you under their spell again.”
I looked back at Peter, standing off to one side on his own. He didn’t want to meet my eyes. The Demon Droods hadn’t slowed him down one bit, so why were the Angelic Droods putting the wind up him so severely? Did he know something about them that he hadn’t told me? More than likely . . . But I couldn’t just stand around. I had to get the Angels talking, hold their attention, and take the initiative away from them. Before they decided to start the ball rolling for themselves, in a way the rest of us almost certainly wouldn’t appreciate.
I strolled casually across the lawn, heading for the nearest Angel. Molly ambled along beside me, as though we were just out for a pleasant walk. I was pretty sure we weren’t fooling anyone, but it’s the attitude that counts. I armoured up completely as we drew closer, sealing myself inside my strange-matter second skin from head to toe, just to make sure the Angels couldn’t influence me at close range. And, hopefully, to put me on more of an equal footing.
“I think I’ll keep my magics to myself, for the moment,” Molly said quietly. “Just in case you need something to draw their attention away from you.”
“Sounds like a plan to me,” I said. “But don’t do anything to put yourself at risk.”
She laughed. “We’re walking up to a bunch of armoured Angels, with no idea of what they have on their minds. I think the safety boat has sailed.”
“You might well be right about that,” I said. “But wait until you’re sure before you commit yourself to anything. And then hit them hard. Because I don’t think they’d notice anything less.”
“Just what I was thinking,” said Molly.
I looked at her. “What did you do in the angel war, Molly?”
“Hid in a cellar until it was all over.”
Everyone in my family fell back, to give us plenty of room. So we could have a little privacy for our negotiations, and so that if something should go horribly wrong, at least they’d be out of the direct line of fire. I came to a halt before the first hovering Angel. It didn’t react at all.
“Hello there!” I said loudly. “Isn’t it an absolutely lovely day? I’m Eddie. I speak for the Droods, for the moment. Please come down and talk, before the more restless members of my family decide to start using you for target practice.”
If you’re going to bluff, bluff big. The glowing figure before me dropped down out of the sky, taking his time about it. The wings didn’t flap once. The Angel finally came to rest standing right in front of me, so close I could see my face mask reflected in his. I couldn’t help noticing his feet didn’t quite reach the ground, which I thought was showing off. I nodded easily to him.
“As entrances go, I’ll give you ten out of ten for style.”
“I am Uriel Drood.” The voice that echoed from behind the featureless golden mask was so perfectly balanced I couldn’t tell whether the Angel was male or female, both or neither. It was like listening to a statue talking. Molly leaned in close beside me, to murmur in my ear.
“Uriel was the name of the angel God set in place outside the Gates of Eden with a flaming sword, to make sure Humanity could never get back inside.”
“Really?”
“So they say.”
“The things you know,” I said.
“I doubt that’s the real Uriel,” said Molly. “More likely, inspired by.”
“A tribute Uriel,” I said. “I can handle that.”
I started to explain to the Angelic Drood who I was and why I was there, but he just talked right over me.
“You’re a Drood,” he said. “Nothing else
matters.”
“I’m not!” Molly said loudly.
“You stand with them,” said Uriel. “You will share their fate.”
“I only stand with Eddie,” said Molly.
“That is enough,” said Uriel.
“All right,” I said, “love the style, all cool and laconic, but I think it’s time we moved on to what really matters. Starting with why you’re here and where you’ve been all this time.”
“We are here for our revenge,” said Uriel.
“That doesn’t sound very angelic,” said Molly.
“Revenge, justice, retribution for the sins of the family,” said Uriel. “You know what they did to the Demon Droods. We helped them do it, and then they tried to do the same to us. After everything we did for them, they turned on us like ungrateful children. So we escaped in the only way left to us. We flew through Time, into the Future.”
“You came here directly from then?” I said.
“How many centuries is that?” said Molly.
“It doesn’t matter,” said Uriel. “To angels, Time is just another direction to travel in. Our wings carried us through the paradox storms of the chronoflow, fighting the tides of history and the currents of fate. Our burning need for revenge gave us all the strength we needed.”
I remembered the angel I found imprisoned in Cassandra Inc’s flying fortress. It had said much the same thing about angels and Time. I just hoped the Angelic Droods weren’t as powerful as the real thing.
“These Droods aren’t the family who betrayed you,” I said carefully. “Anyone who ever lied to you or tried to hurt you has been dead and gone for hundreds of years. You’re in no danger now. Times have changed, and the family has changed too.”
“They’re still Droods,” said Uriel.
“Can’t argue with that,” said Molly.
“Yes, thank you, Molly. Not really helping,” I said. “Uriel, you could have an honoured place among us. You don’t have to do this.”
“But we want to,” said Uriel. “And we will. You are responsible for the destruction of the Demon Droods. We can feel it on you.”
“Well, yes, indirectly . . .”
“We chose that point for our return,” said Uriel. “Because Droods who were capable of such a thing could also be a threat to us. And would have to be dealt with before we could ever feel safe again.”
“No one here wants to destroy you!” I said. “Well, all right, some do; we are Droods after all, and we haven’t changed that much. But we’re far more civilised these days. We’d much rather bargain and make allies than fight. Usually.”
“We don’t care,” said Uriel. “We will have retribution for what was done to us. For the sins of the family.”
I struggled to keep my voice calm. “What about our reward for all the good we’ve done?”
“Put your case to God,” said Uriel. “Ask for his mercy; we have none.”
“Why not?” said Molly.
He looked at her for the first time. “We gave it up. It got in the way.”
“Molly and I found an imprisoned angel recently and set it free,” I said.
“It’s true,” said Molly. “We really did.”
“Tell it to the Judge of all,” said Uriel.
“This isn’t about justice or retribution,” I said. “It’s about revenge. This is all down to hurt feelings and getting your own back, because the family turned on you. I can understand that; I’ve been there myself. But you can’t move forward if you’re always looking back. I was declared rogue and thrown out of the family, my own grandmother ordered my death, but I still came back to Drood Hall to save the family from itself. Because I believed it was worth saving.”
“As long as one Drood still exists, we could never feel safe,” said Uriel. “We will not risk being betrayed again. So you’re all going to die.”
“Because this is all about you,” said Molly.
“Yes,” said Uriel. “It is.”
“Typical Drood,” said Molly.
“Really not helping,” I said.
“Enough talk,” said Uriel. “It is clear that Droods are still Droods, ready to say anything to get what they want. Time for you to die.”
He punched me in the face, his golden fist moving so quickly I never even saw it coming. There was enough strength in the blow to rip the head right off a normal human being. The impact slammed my head round and knocked me off balance, but that was all. I hardly even felt it inside my armour. I turned back to face Uriel, still on my feet, not hurt at all. And he just stood there, astonished. I was grinning like a wolf behind my face mask. It was good to be reminded that the old Heart armour was no match for strange-matter armour.
“What kind of Drood are you?” said Uriel.
“The real deal,” I said.
I held up one fist and grew heavy spikes out of the golden knuckles. And while Uriel was preoccupied watching that, I punched him right in the middle of his featureless face. His armour actually cracked under the impact, and he staggered back, arms flailing. Molly whooped loudly, punching the air and jumping up and down on the spot. I thought for a moment Uriel might fall, but his great golden wings spread out to balance him, and he didn’t. He shook his head slowly and turned back to face me. The cracks in his face mask had already repaired themselves. Behind me I heard the Sarjeant-at-Arms calling out to the family.
“You see that? They’re not so damned special! Take the bastards down!”
Uriel raised his right hand, and a flaming sword erupted out of it. A long, fiery blade, radiating a heat so intense I could feel it even through my armour. A quick glance at the sky was all it took to confirm all the other Angelic Droods had flaming swords now.
“Okay,” said Molly. “Things just escalated.”
I grew a long golden sword out of my right glove. Uriel stared at it. Drood armour couldn’t do things like that in his day.
“You see?” I said to him. “This really isn’t the world you knew. We don’t have to be enemies.”
He struck at me with his flaming sword, inhumanly fast. But I was ready for him this time, and my golden blade shot forward to meet the flaming sword and stop it dead. The weird flames leapt up, trying to consume my blade, but the golden strange matter resisted them easily. I beat Uriel’s sword aside and took the fight to him, cutting and hacking with all the strength and speed my armour could give me. The Angelic Drood blocked my every blow, but was forced back step by step. His parries grew faster and more certain, until suddenly I couldn’t get anywhere near him. I stood my ground and fought on, searching for some sign of weakness in his technique.
The remaining Angels dropped out of the sky like so many golden meteors, to attack the Droods with their flaming swords. My family armoured up, growing golden swords and axes and battle staffs out of their hands. Every single one of them came charging forward, crying out defiantly, to take on the Angels. One Angelic Drood flew straight at the Sarjeant-at-Arms, who opened fire with both guns. The sheer impact of whatever he was using for ammunition was enough to stop the Angel dead in mid-flight, but not enough to do him any harm.
Uriel beat my blade aside with unexpected strength, and his flaming sword came sweeping round in a vicious arc, going for my throat. I couldn’t bring my sword up in time to block the blow, so I instinctively raised my left arm to intercept it. Expecting the flaming sword to just skid harmlessly away, like the Demon Drood’s claws. Uriel’s sword cut right through my armour, and sank deep into the flesh beneath. I cried out, in shock as much as in pain. Blood flew from my wounded arm as the Angel jerked his blade free. Molly howled in fury and rushed forward.
Blood ran thickly underneath my armour, and terrible pain shot through the whole length of my arm. I retreated quickly, sweeping my sword desperately back and forth before me to hold the Angel off. Uriel attacked with everything he had, trying to press h
is advantage. I stuck to purely defensive moves while my armour repaired itself, sealing seamlessly over the wound. My head cleared as the armour pushed the pain away and clamped down hard to contain the bleeding. Anything else would have to wait.
Heart armour might be inferior to mine, but it seemed the flaming sword was another matter.
I stopped retreating and held my ground, parrying the Angel’s blows and refusing to be moved. He tried to overwhelm me with strength and speed, but that was never going to work. A slow satisfaction moved through me as I realised that technically, I was the better swordsman. My family had learned a lot about fighting techniques down the years. Pain still nagged in my arm, flaring up unpleasantly with every movement, but the flaming sword’s edge hadn’t damaged the bone. It was just pain, and I was used to pain. Dying slowly will do that to you.
Molly moved in close and blasted the Angelic Drood with a lightning bolt at point-blank range. The Angel intercepted the bolt with his flaming sword, and the lightning shot harmlessly away into the distance. Molly swore briefly and hit the Angel again and again, with magic after magic. I fell back and let her get on with it, taking a moment to get my breathing under control. Fighting an Angel is hard work, and my stamina wasn’t what it used to be. But Uriel’s flaming sword stopped most of the magics before they could reach him, and the few that got past just crackled harmlessly around his armour, unable to find a way in. It was still Drood armour, after all. I realised Molly was slowing as the strength went out of her. She’d been through a lot and her reserves were running out. I called to her to take a break, and went to confront Uriel again, grateful it wasn’t my fighting arm that had been wounded.