Daemons Are Forever

“We do have extensive grounds,” I said. “You could walk in them all day and all night, and still not see everything there is to see. And you know I wouldn’t want to keep you here if you were unhappy.”

“Of course I know that, Eddie!” She kissed me quickly. “This is coming out all wrong … I want to be with you, and you have to be here. I know that.”

“We won’t always have to be here. As soon as the new Council’s ready to take over ru

“But how long will that take, Eddie?”

“I don’t know. It’ll take … as long as it takes. Molly…”

“Hush. It’s all right. We’ll work something out.”

“Yes,” I said. “We will.”

And all the time I was holding her, I was thinking, If she couldn’t stay here…If she left, would I go with her? And leave my family to tear itself apart? Risk the whole future of humanity, because I left my job unfinished? Would I damn the world, to be with her? Would I do that? Could I do that?

In the end, she let go first and went to check the state of her makeup in the bedside hand mirror.

“So,” she said brightly. “What’s the story with the Time Train?”

“I was hoping you’d forgotten about that,” I said.

“Is it really a time machine?”

“Oh yes. Well, sort of. It started out as someone’s pet project. Sooner or later every Armourer gets a bee in his bo

“What happened?” said Molly, fascinated.

“When the Matriarch couldn’t make him see what a really bad idea that was, she had him put in suspended animation.”

“Why not just kill him?”

“Because someday we might need a bomb powerful enough to destroy the whole world.”

Molly shuddered. “Your family can be downright scary sometimes, Eddie. So the Time Train is one of these obsessions, is it?”

“Pretty much. I don’t think we’ve used the thing a dozen times in the two centuries since it was constructed.”

“Why not?” said Molly. “I mean, I can think of a dozen really good uses for a time machine, any one of which could make us impossibly rich…”

“Thought you didn’t care about things?”

“It’s the principle of the thing.”

“It’s not that simple,” I said. “The possibilities for really appalling cock-ups, disasters, tragedies, and paradoxes are enough to give anyone nightmares. Don’t even ask me how the Time Train works, or I’ll start to whimper. Time travel, theory and practice, makes my head hurt. Do me a favour, Molly, and change the subject again.”

“All right…Let’s talk about the people we suggested bringing in as tutors. And don’t pull a face like that, Eddie Drood. The wind might change and then you’d be stuck that way. You know we have to discuss this.”

“Only because my choices were sane and practical, and you chose two monsters!”

“They are not monsters! Or at least, not all the time…And really, Eddie, sane and practical? Yeah, right…Janissary Jane has a good reputation as a fighter, especially when she’s got a few drinks in her, but let’s be real about this; she is way past her prime.”

“She’s a veteran demon fighter,” I said. “Do you have any idea how rare that is? She’s been killing demons for longer than most demon fighters live. There’s a lot she could teach us, if we can persuade her to come here.”

“All right, what about the Blue Fairy?” Molly pulled a sour face. “He’s weak, Eddie, and always will be. And he’s a risk. He’s half elf, and you can never trust an elf. They always have a hidden agenda. Trust me, I know.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Are you about to tell me of another old boyfriend?”

“An elf? Please!” Molly shuddered theatrically. “I’d sew it up first.”

“Pushing that unexpected mental image firmly to one side,” I said, “my choices are defendable. Yours are completely unacceptable. I mean, come on … a psycho killer and a luck vampire?”

“They’ve been good friends to me,” Molly said firmly. “And they can tell your family about a world they know nothing of. Weren’t you the one who said that there was more to this world than just good guys and bad guys? Subway Sue and Mr. Stab can open your family’s eyes to a whole new way of looking at things…That is what you wanted, isn’t it? To break wide open the Droods’ narrow worldview, and teach them new ways of thinking? Like I did with you?”

“Well, yes, but…”

“No buts. They’ll make excellent tutors. As long as they’re watched carefully. And maybe even excellent warriors in our upcoming war against the demons.”

“If Mr. Stab even looks at a girl in a way I don’t like, I will kill him,” I said.

“You can try,” said Molly. “And trust me, I’ll kill that Roger bloody Morningstar first chance I get. You should never have allowed him inside your home. I don’t care what he says, or who vouches for him; his first allegiance will always be to Hell.”

“Don’t worry,” I said. “He won’t be here long. The family doesn’t allow outsiders to move into the Hall.”

“I’m an outsider,” said Molly.

“But you’re with me. We’re a couple, sharing a room. Such things are…accepted, if officially frowned upon. Provided you’re senior enough to get away with it.”

“The more I learn about your family, the less I like it,” said Molly.

“You see?” I said. “We have so much in common. Come on, let’s get out of the Hall for a while, and away from the bloody family and its demands.”

“Right,” said Molly. “Let’s go pick up the tutors. They’re all going to take some persuading to come here, and who can be more persuasive than us?”

“Exactly,” I said. “I just need to look in on Harry first, before we leave. I want to make it very clear what will happen to him if he tries to stir up trouble for me with the family while I’m away.”

“You really think a few harsh words are going to stop him?” said Molly.

“No, but hopefully it will make him think twice, and by then we should be back again. Especially if I remind him that I have a torc, and he doesn’t.”

Molly considered me thoughtfully. “Are you pla

“Of course,” I said. “He’s James’s son, and an excellent field agent in his own right. The family needs experienced men like him. But I don’t think I’ll tell him that, just yet.”

“And what if, after he gets his torc, he challenges you to a duel for the leadership of the family? What if he doesn’t even bother with a challenge, and just ambushes you?”

“Oh, I don’t think he’d do that.”

“Why not? He hangs around with a hellspawn!”

“Yes, but he’s a Drood. The family would never accept a backstabber as leader, and he knows it.”

Molly sighed. “You have such faith in your family, Eddie. Even after all the things they’ve done to you.”

“The Droods are good people, at heart. We’re all trained from childhood to fight the good fight. We just…lost our way, that’s all. And Harry does have an excellent reputation. If he can do a better job than me as leader, let him. I’d be quite happy to stand down and go back to my old job as field agent, with no responsibilities to anyone save myself.”

“You really think he’d let you go?”

I gri

Molly laughed and hugged me hard. “That’s my Eddie! You could be the most powerful man in the world ru

“First chance I got,” I said. “I never wanted any of this. I’ve always had issues with authority figures. I certainly never wanted to be one. All I want is you, and a life for us together.”