The Man with the Golden Torc

"Any idea who it might have been?" I said. The state of the body didn’t bother me. I’ve seen lots of bodies.

"No," said Molly, scowling. "The only bounty hunter I know is Janissary Jane, and that isn’t her armour."

"You know Jane?" I said, surprised.

"We’ve worked a few cases together. I keep telling you, Eddie: the world isn’t as neatly divided into black and white as your family wanted you to believe."

I picked up a machine pistol lying abandoned not far from the body and examined it closely. "Doesn’t look like she got a shot off. But…where are the rest of the weapons? I can’t believe any bounty hunter would go after trolls with just the one gun."

We looked around, but there was nothing else on or around the body. Molly and I looked at each other.

"They couldn’t have taken them," said Molly.

"Why not?"

"Trolls are just animals! They don’t use tools or weapons."

"Animals evolve," I said. "Particularly under pressure from outside forces. Trolls who’ve learned to use weapons; now, that is seriously scary."

"We need to get moving," said Molly, rising to her feet and looking quickly about her. "Get in to see the Mole and get out again before the trolls swarm."

"Relax," I said. "They can’t touch us. I’ve got my armour, and you’ve got your magic."

"Your armour might protect you from direct attack, but a whole swarm of trolls could knock you on your arse, carry you away to their deep larders, and just keep you there till you had to come out of your armour. And then…" We both looked at the half-eaten bounty hunter.

"There’s a limit to what I can do with my magic now," Molly said reluctantly. "I’ve used up most of my stored resources. Anything big would wipe me out."

"You couldn’t have mentioned that before we came down here?" I said.

We both looked around sharply. There were sounds in the darkness around us. Molly waved her witchfire back and forth, illuminating the dark mouths of tu

The deeper we went, the shabbier the tu

I could have armoured up and left them behind in a moment, but trolls were sensitive to magic. They could have tracked my armour easily, even in complete darkness. Even the small magic of the witchfire was a calculated risk.

"How much further to the Mole?" I said between panting breaths.

"I’m…not exactly sure," said Molly.

"What?"

"Hey, it’s been a long time since I was last down here! And I may have got a bit…turned around."

Without slowing my pace at all, I reached inside my jacket and brought out the emergency compass the Armourer had given me back at the Hall.

"I know which way is north," said Molly. "And it really isn’t helping."

"This particular compass is supposed to show me the best way out of any emergency situation," I said, trying to hold the thing steady as I ran. The compass needle flicked back and forth and then settled on northeast just as a new tu

"Your family always has the best toys," said Molly, and we plunged into the new tu

We ran on, following the needle from tu

"We’re in trouble," said Molly.

"No, really?" I said. "You do surprise me. Show us the way to the Mole, you useless piece of crap!" And I slapped the compass a few times, to show it I meant business.

"No," Molly said. "I mean, I don’t recognise this place at all. I’ve never been here on any of my previous trips to the Mole’s lair. Are you sure that thing is reliable?"

"Of course," I lied. The compass needle finally settled for pointing straight ahead. I looked at Molly. "Ready to run some more?"

She managed a quick grin. "I find the imminent prospect of being eaten alive tends to concentrate the mind wonderfully."

"I love it when you talk literary," I said.

And that was when a whole crowd of trolls burst out of a side tu

I didn’t look back. I knew how fast they could move. And what they would do if they caught us.

They were close, and getting closer. My breath burned in my heaving chest, and my bad arm and shoulder shrieked with pain. I could hear Molly straining for breath beside me. We were slowing down, even though we knew it was death to do so. So I armoured up, grabbed Molly in my strong golden arms, and sprinted through the dark tu

The trolls couldn’t match my augmented speed, but they didn’t give up either. I could still hear them pounding along behind us. Cracked brick walls flashed past as I sped on, concentrating on the needle of the compass set flush into my golden palm. Molly suddenly cried out and pointed, and I skidded to a halt. Molly wriggled impatiently out of my arms as I set her down, and she ran over to a recess in a stone wall that looked just like all the others to me.

"This is it! This is the place! I recognise it…The door’s right here, Eddie! Right here…somewhere…"

She leaned in close, ru