Daemons Are Forever

“No,” Pe

“Another good reason why I want you on my side.”

“What makes you think I’m on your side?”

It was my turn to consider her thoughtfully. “You were my contact for years,” I said finally. “You know me better than most. You know the things I’ve done for the family; the missions they gave me because they were too dangerous or too dirty for anyone else. You know I’ve always believed in what this family is supposed to stand for. I want to rebuild the family in its own image, not mine.”

“Against my better judgement, I think I believe you,” said Pe

“Of course not,” I said. “You know me better than most.”

We both managed a small smile. I looked at my watch and winced.

“The I

“There’s somewhere else we need to go first,” Pe

“Oh hell,” I said. “It’s going to be one of those days, isn’t it?”

So we went down into the War Room. Which meant going all the way over to the north wing, and down underground past all the security measures and the goblin watchdogs, and finally into the huge steel-lined stone chamber that holds the family War Room. It’s always a sight to set you back on your heels; the nerve centre of all our secret wars, and the invisible armies who clash by night and by day. Huge display screens covered all the walls, showing every country and major city in the world, along with a whole bunch of places that only people like us know are important. Bright coloured lights indicated people we were watching, and ongoing problems in which we had an interest.

Family members sat in long rows at their workstations, concentrating on their work so they wouldn’t have to look at me. Farseers covered potential trouble spots with their thoughts, while technicians worked their more-than-state-of-the-art computers for up-to-the-moment intelligence. Most of our secret wars are won in this room before a shot is fired, due to our superior pla

“Nothing’s happening,” I said finally. “The maps on the walls should be lit up like Christmas trees, and the operations-pla

“Which is why I wanted you to see this for yourself,” said Pe

“I thought that was just my presence.”

“Oh, get over yourself. Everyone here is ru

“None of the lights show agents in the field,” I said suddenly. “No ongoing operations.”

“That’s because there aren’t any,” said Pe

I realised people all around me had looked up from their workstations to stare at me accusingly. I glared back, and they quickly returned to their work. I stood still, scowling furiously, thinking hard. This was all my fault. I hadn’t thought it through. When I discovered the family’s golden armour was powered by the trapped souls of sacrificed children, all I could think of was to put a stop to it. I hadn’t stopped to consider that I was putting other lives at risk. I don’t think it would have stopped me anyway, but I hadn’t thought. And ever since, I’d been too caught up in ru

“All right,” I said to Pe

“That could be dangerous for some of them,” said Pe

“Well, tell them to use their best judgement,” I said impatiently. “But unless they come back to the Hall to be vetted, they won’t be considered for one of the new silver torcs. Tell them they can use the old secret paths; I’ll authorise the extra expense.”

I moved over to the main operations table, picked up a sheaf of the latest reports, and thumbed quickly through them. People around the table looked scandalised. Such material was only for the eyes of the Matriarch. Everyone knew I’d replaced Martha as head of the family, but it clearly still hadn’t sunk in for a lot of people.

“Where’s Truman?” I said finally. “I don’t see anything about him here. Don’t we have any recent updates about Manifest Destiny? They must be regrouping by now, so why don’t I see anything on their new base, their new centre of operations? Come on, people; I’ll settle for a best guess. An organisation that big can’t hope to start up again without leaving all kinds of telltale traces. Follow the leader, follow the money, follow the threads on the message boards; but find them! They can’t just have vanished!”

“Intelligence is working on that,” Pe

“I never had the chance,” I growled.

“What do you think he’ll do now?”

“Hard to tell. He’s a genuine fanatic, dedicated to his cause; ru

“His old base, down below the Underground train system, is completely deserted,” said Pe

“Hold it,” I said. “There were only two field agents in London: me, and Matthew. I’m here, and he’s dead, so who have you got ru

“Volunteers,” Pe

“Don’t lecture me,” I said. “Just…don’t. Not after everything I’ve seen, and done. But you’re quite right, of course. The work does have to go on. The world won’t stand still, just because we’re having a crisis in the family. Volunteers, eh? It’s good to know we’ve got a few brave souls left. Have they turned up anything useful?”