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"No!" said Oddly John, suddenly banging his frail fists on the arms of his chair. "That’s not enough! The family must be wiped out, slaughtered, down to the very last of us. Including you and me. We have to die. The Drood family is vile, evil, utterly corrupt. Because of what we did, and what we all are…There can be no forgiveness for such a sin. Only death can make up for such a crime." He grabbed my hand in a painfully tight grip. "Are they still looking for me? After all this time?"
"Yes. Of course. You’re very important to the family."
"They’re looking for me because of what I know." He let go of my hand and stared out the window again. "They’ll never stop looking for me."
"What is it?" said Molly. "What do you know?"
"Their agents could be anywhere," Oddly John said craftily. "Visitors, patients, guards. But they’ll never find William Drood, because he’s not here. Only Oddly John is here. I hide inside him, so deep no one can see me…But you’re here. If you found me, so can they!"
He grew really agitated then, whipping his bony head back and forth. It took Molly and me some time to calm him down again, hushing and comforting him like a small child after a nightmare. "Why does the family want to find you so badly?" I said. "What is it that you know?"
"I don’t know," Oddly John said miserably. "I can’t remember. I made myself forget, you see. I had to. It was the only way to stay sane…I found out something; I know that. I read a book I shouldn’t have, a very old book, and it told me something terrible about the family. About what we really are."
"I know," I said. "It was a shock to me, too, to learn that we’re the secret masters of the world."
"Not that," Oddly John said scornfully. "Who cares about that? I could live with that…No, this was much worse…Sometimes, I dream I’m back in the Hall. I walk into the Sanctity, and stand before the Heart…and then I wake up screaming. There’s something I don’t remember, something I mustn’t remember, because it’s too awful, too terrible to bear. The secret at the heart of the Droods…I left the Hall. I ran and I ran and I ran, and finally I came here. I’m safe here. Safe from everything and everyone; even myself. I don’t know what’s happening out in the world anymore, and I don’t care. Knowing things doesn’t make you happy."
"No one followed me," I said quickly. "Noone knows we’re here. You’re still safe."
"Bless you, Eddie," he said. "I wish there was something I could do for you. But I can’t help you. I can’t help any of us. We’re all damned, you see. All damned, because of what we did, and what we are…"
And just like that, he went back inside himself again. William Dominic Drood disappeared, and there was only Oddly John. The personality drained out of his face, leaving just the empty shell behind, sitting quietly in his chair, looking out through the bars on his window at the things only he could see. Hiding from my family, and from whatever it was he was so desperate not to remember. What could he have discovered, what truth could he have stumbled over, that was so much worse than what I already knew? There was no point in asking Oddly John or William Drood.
If he hadn’t been crazy when he came in here, he sure as hell was now.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Chasing Eddie
Back at the top of the grassy hill I turned slowly, looking out over the small town of Flitwick. Picturesque houses, narrow streets, farms and farmlands off in the distance. All so very ordinary, so everyday, so unknowing of all the terrible things that shared the world with them. Once it was my job to protect people like them from all the bad things that hid and lurked in the shadows; but the more I investigated, the deeper I dug, the more I discovered just how deep and dark the shadows really were. And now it seemed my family were looking back at me, out of the shadows. What could William have found out? What could be so terrible he had to wipe it from his mind? If I found out, would I end up having to do the same?
I shivered, standing on the top of a hill in the middle of nowhere, looking out over a world I no longer recognised.
My arm hurt. Even when I was careful not to move it, the damned thing ached like a bad tooth. There was something inside me, eating me alive. Three days, four at the most. And always, this constant pressure of needing to be doing something, anything, so as not to waste a moment of the precious time I had left to me. And yet for all my digging, all my questions, I still had nothing certain to lash out at. I knew the names of my enemies, but not their reasons. I had to think, to plan; and still the clock was ticking, ticking…I looked at Molly, standing silently beside me.
"Well," I said. "Thank you for bringing me here, Molly. That was…seriously depressing. Are there any more bright and helpful fellow rogues you think I ought to meet?"
"I could just portal out of here and abandon you, you know," said Molly.
"You’d miss my sparkling personality."
"Look, don’t knock yourself, Eddie. You got a lot more out of Oddly John than I ever did. And I do have another rogue in mind. Someone who could be very helpful. He knows a lot of things. He’s called the Mole."
"Now there’s a name that inspires confidence."
"Do you want to meet him or not?"
"Does he have three friends called Ratty, Toad, and Badger?" I said hopefully.
Molly sighed. "This is revenge for me introducing you to Mr. Stab, isn’t it?"
"No, really, I can’t wait to meet Mr. Mole in his hole."
She looked at me. "Your arm’s worse, isn’t it?"
"Yes. Let’s go."
Molly summoned up another spatial portal, frowning with concentration. The process seemed to take longer this time, and sweat ran freely down her face. The air churned and whirled before us, spi
When Molly and I reappeared, we were standing in a toilet cubicle. It was very cramped. Molly and I were pressed tightly together, face to face. Anywhen else, I might have taken a moment to enjoy it, but unfortunately I had one leg jammed down the toilet bowl.
"Oh, shit," said Molly.
"Don’t even go there," I said, struggling to remove my foot from the bowl. "Do I take it we’re not where we were supposed to be?"
"Of course not! But it could have been worse."
"Oh, shit," I said.
"What?"
"It would appear the previous occupant didn’t flush. Would you please breathe in so I can get my foot out?"
We struggled together for a moment, banging loudly against the sides of the cubicle, and finally I was able to jerk my foot free. The bottom of my trouser leg was soaked, and I didn’t want to think what with. I glared at Molly.
"Today started out with a knife at my throat and yet still has managed to go steadily downhill. Where the hell are we?"
"Paddington railway station."
"Really?" I said. "I remember it as being somewhat bigger."
"Fool. We’re in the ladies’ toilet at Paddington. Which means…someone tried to intercept my portal spell."
Getting out of the cubicle took some cooperation and a certain amount of brute force, as the door opened inwards, but eventually we spilled out into the main toilet area. Half a dozen women stopped adjusting their dress and repairing their makeup to stare at us. Molly glared right back at them.
"Come on; don’t tell me you’ve never thought about doing it in a cubicle."
"I feel like such a slut," I said. "Promise me you’ll spank me when we get home, mistress?"
The half dozen women couldn’t get out of the toilet fast enough. I gri
"All right," I said. "On a scale of one to ten, how bad is this?"