From Hell with love

"How?" I said finally. "How did you survive, Molly? I saw the blades… and the blood…"

She put her fingertips on my mouth to stop me talking. "I did tell you once, but you clearly weren't paying attention. I'm a witch, Eddie. We all keep our hearts separate from our bodies, safely stored and hidden in a protected place. As long as they don't actually cut my head off, I can survive anything. I always come back. Isabella got me out of the Hall, and then watched over me while I slowly healed myself."

"But… why didn't you come back to the Hall?" I said. "Why couldn't you at least contact me, tell me you were still alive?"

"I had a lot of time to think, while my body was repairing itself," said Molly. "Everything that had happened only made sense if the Droods had been infiltrated. And the only ones who could do that, were the Immortals. And that meant I couldn't trust anyone, anymore. It was safer for both of us if our enemies thought I was dead. So I came here, to break into their computers and search out a list of everyone they've replaced inside your family."

"Hold everything," I said. "You knew about the Immortals? Why didn't you ever say anything?"

"You never asked. I know all kinds of things, Eddie."

"We will come back to that, at a later date," I said. "For now, how did you get into the Castle?"

"I made a deal with these people, remember? And while I was here, I was allowed to come and go as I pleased; so I took the opportunity to set up my own little back door teleport. Just in case I needed to come back again, without their permission. It never even occurred to the smug little bastards that I might not be as completely taken in by them as they thought I was. How did you get in?"

I smiled. "The Armourer makes the very best toys."

She gri

"Don't know what you're talking about," I said loftily. "I am a thing of mists and shadows."

"How were you able to look like one of the Immortals?" she said abruptly. "That wasn't an illusion; I would have Seen through that."

I explained to her about the Chameleon Codex, and the Gemini Duplicator, and she gri

"So… you can make two of yourself, or even more? You can change to look like anyone at all… Including celebrities? Male and female? Oh, Eddie… we are so going to give these toys a workout in your bedroom when we get back!"

"How well we know each other," I said.

The computer made a polite noise, to let us know it was done doing what Molly had told it to do, and we both looked round, and leaned over the monitor to study the long list of names scrolling down on the screen.

"You don't look happy anymore, Eddie. In fact, you look like you want to kill someone. I know it's a lot of names, but is it really that bad?"

"So many names," I said. "Past, and present. People I've known all my life. Trusted faces. I can't believe we were infiltrated this badly, and never knew. And from outside. We should have spotted them, we should have noticed something… But we were too arrogant. We just couldn't believe it was possible…" And then I saw one particular name. "Damn. I know now. I know who killed the Matriarch. I know who murdered my grandmother, and how."

"Who?" said Molly, peering past my shoulder at the screen. "Who was it?"

I set the computer to downloading the list onto a disc, and turned away from the screen. "It doesn't matter now. That's family business. It can wait. We have work to do, Molly. I don't know if you've been keeping up with everything that's happening here, but we only have eight hours or less to get to Area 52, and deal with the Apocalypse Door, before some poor fool opens it."

"Damn right," said Molly. "The old team, back in action again! I've missed you, Eddie."

"I missed you, Molly. More than life itself."

"All right, you're pushing it now…"

We hugged each other again, but broke apart almost immediately as we heard a whole crowd of people approaching, at speed. Molly grabbed the disc with the list, and tucked it away about her person.

"Must have set off a silent alarm, this time," I said. "You've got better long-range senses than me. How many are coming?"

Molly concentrated briefly, and then frowned. "At a conservative guess, I'd have to say… all of them. If I'm reading the signs right, and I am, every Immortal in the Castle is up in arms, loaded for bear, and headed this way with vengeance on their minds. All right, Eddie, what have you done this time?"

"Why is it always my fault?" I said i

"Because it is always your fault!"

You can't argue with logic like that. "How far to the nearest exit?"

"Eddie, they've blocked off every exit, including half a dozen I didn't even know existed until now. And I'm very thorough about things like that."

"So," I said. "You and me, up against the whole family of Immortals. Not good odds…"

"Can't you just open a doorway for us, with the Merlin Glass?"

"It won't work inside the Castle's protections. Nothing living can pass through their defences. What about your teleport spells?"

"Same problem," said Molly. "We're going to have to fight our way out."

"Works for me," I said. "Don't suppose you happened to bring any really nasty and powerful magical weapons with you, by any chance?"

"I don't normally need them," said Molly. "I take it you can at least armour up?"

"Oh yes. Ready to rock and roll."

"Oh good. I was almost worried there, for a moment."

"Here they come," I said. "Don't hold back, Molly. They won't."

"The thought never even crossed my mind."

"Of course. Don't know what I was thinking of. Now, let us go forth and smite the ungodly with malice aforethought."

"Let's," said Molly. "I can do malice. I am just in the mood to do appalling things."

"Never knew you when you weren't," I said. "You're a bad influence on me."

"And you love it."

We left the computer room and headed down the stone corridor to the back stairs. I was still sort of hoping the Immortals might have overlooked them. I didn't want to fight down in the dungeons if I could help it. Not enough room to manoeuvre. But by the time we'd got to the foot of the stairs, I could already hear a host of angry voices hurrying down towards us. They sounded really quite upset about something. I smiled, and I could feel it was not a very nice smile. Now they knew how it felt to be infiltrated, violated, where they lived. I armoured up, gleaming golden strange matter sweeping around me in a moment. I felt stronger and faster and more focused, more alive. I was a Drood, in my armour and in my fury, and the Immortals were about to learn what that meant. I extended golden spikes from my knuckles, and took up a position blocking the foot of the stairs. I didn't want anyone getting past me. I wanted them blocked in, only able to come at Molly and me a few at a time. Molly moved in beside me, disturbing energies already spitting and crackling around her hands, waiting to be unleashed. I reached inside my armour, and drew my Colt Repeater. I like to think of myself as an agent and not an assassin, but sometimes the enemy just doesn't give you any choice. The first Immortals came charging round the corner and down the stairs, and I opened fire.

The first few were thrown back by the bullets' impact, but you can't kill an Immortal with lead. The fallen were already healing as the next few jumped over them, to get at us. They flesh danced in midair, growing their thick bony plates, and my bullets ricocheted away harmlessly. I tried silver bullets, to no better effect, and then called on cursed ammunition, and that did the job. The cursed bullets punched right through the bone protection, and the Immortals cried out in pain and horror as the curse took root in their Immortal flesh. Their skin cracked and burst apart, the meat beneath corrupting and rotting from the inside out, eating them up. The Immortals died horribly, screaming, and the ones coming next hesitated. I raised my Colt, but when I pulled the trigger nothing happened. I called for more bullets, for any kind of ammunition; but nothing came. The Immortals had found a way to block the Colt, so its bullets couldn't reach it. Clever Immortals. I put the gun back inside my armour, and grew long golden blades from my fists. The Immortals found their courage again, and came forward, howling ancient war cries.