“You must realise this is over, Drood. You can’t kill us all.”
“Want to bet?” I said cheerfully. “I’m certainly ready to give it a bloody good try.”
A certain ripple of unease ran through the crowd. They may not have encountered Drood armour before, but they’d certainly heard things about it. There was a lot of looking at one another, and a general willingness to let somebody else be the first to start something. Some of them were even trying to hide behind one another. To his credit, Dusk didn’t seem at all impressed. He stood his ground and gave me his best smile.
“We might or might not be able to kill you, Drood. But we can quite definitely kill your companions, the infamous Metcalf sisters.”
“Watch your language, Dusk,” said Molly. “We are not infamous; we are legendary.”
“Right,” said Isabella. “Especially legendary when it comes to taking out the trash. Hands in the air, people; who wants to die first in an interesting and possibly explosive way?”
“I’m bored with turning people into toads,” said Molly. “What’s ickier than toads?”
“How about worms?” said Isabella. “They make such a satisfyingly squishy sound when you tread on them.”
“Locusts are good,” said Molly. “They go crunch!”
“You talk a good fight,” said Dusk. “But we have the numbers. And the weapons, and the magics, and all the powers of darkness. Armour off, Drood, and let us take you prisoner. Or you can watch us pull your little friends down, and kill them by inches right in front of you.”
“You’d kill them anyway,” I said. “You’re Satanists, and so by definition your word is worthless. But you won’t kill them, Dusk.”
“Really? Why not?”
“You really want Louisa Metcalf mad at you?” I said.
Another ripple ran through the crowd. They’d all heard of Louisa Metcalf. A general feeling of unease was making itself apparent in the crowd. They’d thought this was going to be easy. I don’t think any of them had ever been in a real fight before. Some were backing away; some were lowering their weapons and looking around for the exits. The confidence was oozing out of them. I had to fight an impulse to shout, Boo! just to see how many would faint or wet themselves.
Dusk must have realised what was happening. His voice cracked like a whip. “A witch is just a witch, and a Drood is only as strong as his armour! We . . . are so much more. We are the blessed children of the dark.”
“A few of you, maybe,” I said. “Most of your people look like they’re up way past their bedtime.”
Dusk shrugged. “You simply can’t get good followers these days. But there’s enough of us here to get the job done. Surrender now, and we’ll hold you somewhere secure till we can contact your family and make a deal. I’m sure they’ve got something we’d like that we can swap you and the witches for. I don’t want to have to kill you, not when you’re worth so much more to us as bargaining chips.”
I considered him thoughtfully. “Droods don’t surrender. You must know that. You’re stalling; buying time to hit us with some big secret weapon. You really think you can take us?”
“Anything will break, if you hit it hard enough and often enough,” said Dusk.
“It’s going to get messy,” I said. “Loud and messy. You ready to draw that much attention from outside?”
“The building is very thoroughly shielded,” said Dusk, confirming my suspicions. “I could sacrifice a busload of blind orphans in here, and no one outside would see or hear a thing. Don’t think we can’t hurt you inside that armour, Drood. We know all there is to know about hurting people.”
I had to laugh. “Droods have been honing their fighting skills for centuries. You’re amateur night.”
Dusk looked me over thoughtfully. “So which Drood are you, exactly?”
“Any Drood is every Drood,” I said.
“You think we fear the Droods?”
“You do if you’ve got any sense.”
A wild-eyed young man ran suddenly forward out of the crowd, screaming at the top of his lungs and wielding a long glowing sword. He brought the blade swinging round in a vicious arc, moving almost too fast to see. It hit me on the side of the neck and shattered into a dozen pieces. The young Satanist stood there with only the hilt in his hand. I leaned forward a little, so he could see his own reflection in my featureless golden mask.
“Run,” I said.
He sprinted back into the crowd and disappeared. I looked at Dusk, who shrugged.
“There’s always one.”
“There’ll be one fewer if he tries that again,” I said.
“I’m curious,” said Dusk. “Why didn’t you kill him?”
“Because I kill only when I have to,” I said. “That’s the difference between us.”
“Oh, I think we’re a lot closer than you care to admit,” said Dusk. “We’re both quite capable of doing whatever we consider . . . necessary. And you can’t stop us.”
“I wear the Drood armour,” I said. “You can’t stop me.”
“Oh, please,” said Dusk. “There’s nothing about you that couldn’t be cured with the right kind of can opener.”
“And there’s nothing about all the people in this lobby that a good kicking couldn’t help to put right,” I said. “Shall we get started?” I looked about me, and people actually fell back. “I mean, come on! Worshipping the Devil? When has that ever been a good idea? I put it all down to poor toilet training, myself.”
Dusk looked at Molly and Isabella. “Since your companion seems impervious to good sense, have you anything useful to say?”
“Fuck off and die,” said Molly.
“Apparently not,” said Dusk.
“Why are we still talking?” I said. “Are we waiting for your marvellous secret weapon to make its appearance? Or has one of its wheels come off?”
“No,” said Dusk. “I’m curious. I’ve never met a Drood before. Don’t know anyone who has. You’re the urban legends of the invisible world. How did you come to be here? How did you know I was going to be here today? Which of my people betrayed us?”
I had to smile behind my mask. I could have told him it was all down to chance, but he wouldn’t have believed it.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” I said, to sow a little mischief.
“At least my power is my own,” said Dusk. “How does it feel, knowing that your only power comes from your armour? That you can have power over the world only by sealing yourself off from it? We glory in our power, and know sensations you can only dream of.”
“It’s not the armour,” I said. “It’s never the armour. It’s the Drood inside it. And to attack one of us is to attack the whole family. Are you really ready to declare open war on the Droods?”
There was a long pause. He was actually thinking about it. I really wasn’t sure what he would do next. He had the numbers and the weapons . . . but he wasn’t sure. I was still a Drood in my armour, and Molly and Isabella both had reputations for blood and mayhem. It would be a brave bookie who’d set the odds on this one. I was ready to fight if I had to, but I was really hoping I wouldn’t have to.
“Let them go,” Dusk said finally. “It’s not as if they know anything important. Run back to your family, Drood. Tell them their time is almost over.”
He gestured with his left hand, and his people obeyed him immediately, falling back to open up a narrow aisle between us and the lobby entrance. Molly and Isabella and I moved slowly but steadily over to the doors, not dropping our guard for a moment. Molly pushed the doors open, and she and Isabella slipped quickly out onto the street beyond. I paused to look back at the watching crowd.
“You did a lot of damage while you were here, Drood,” said Dusk. “There will be a reckoning.”
“Send the bill to Drood Hall,” I said. “And we’ll all take turns officially ignoring it.”
I left the lobby, and the doors slammed shut behind me. There was the sound of a great many locks slamming shut. I quickly armoured down, before any passersby could notice, and then Molly and Isabella and I strode perfectly normally down the street, away from Lightbringer House. It felt good to be back in the real world again, in the natural sunshine and the easy calm of everyday life. I could feel my muscles slowly unbunching as I was finally able to relax. That had all been a lot closer than I cared to think about.