Daemons Are Forever

“Well, unfortunately the Mole refuses to leave his hole,” said Pe

I nodded and slowed my pace a little. Pe

“We’ve put the word out,” said Pe

“Anyone in particular?” I said. There must have been something in my voice, because she looked at me sharply.

“Not that it’s any of your business, but yes. I’m going to see Mr. Stab.”

“You really don’t want to talk to him,” I said. I stopped, and she stopped with me. I considered her thoughtfully. She had a fierce, defiant look, so I chose my words carefully. “You don’t know what he is, Pe

“You don’t know him like I do,” said Pe

I was still struggling for something to say when she turned on her heel and strode away. I could have gone after her, but I didn’t. It wouldn’t have done any good. Some people just won’t be told. They have to find out for themselves, often the hard way. And what man ever understood what a woman sees in another man? And just maybe… she was right. Maybe Mr. Stab could be saved. Molly believed in him. I … didn’t. This was Mr. Stab; murderer and ripper of women for over a century. A century of slaughter, of women who also probably thought they understood him, right up to the point where he drew his knife.

So I went off and found a private place, locked the door, and called on Merlin’s Glass to show me what Pe

You’re using the Glass too much, Molly said. Getting dependent on it. But I was just doing what I had to. For the family.

Pe

“So,” Pe

“Not really,” said Mr. Stab. “They didn’t die like people do. There was no real suffering, no horror in their eyes, and such things are meat and drink to me.”

“Was the whole thing as big a disaster as Harry keeps saying?”

“No,” said Mr. Stab after a thoughtful pause. “We stopped the Loathly Ones from bringing their unholy master through from Outside. Destroyed their tower, killed most of them, and scattered the others. Edwin came up with the plan that made that possible. If he hadn’t, if that Being had come through, that would have been a disaster, and the whole world would have paid for it. Humanity itself might have been wiped out…even me. It was an interesting sensation to find myself face to face with something worse than I am.”

“Do you still feel the need to kill?” Pe

“I still feel the need,” said Mr. Stab. “I always do.” He looked at her bluntly. “Why do you seek me out, Pe

“Of course not!”

“Then why, Pe

“No one’s ever as bad as they’re painted,” she said after a while.

“I am.”

“Perhaps. I’ve heard all the stories. But I wanted to meet the man behind the stories. Something…draws me to you.” Pe

“What if they don’t want to be saved?”

“If that were true,” said Pe

“Molly believes…what she wants to believe,” said Mr. Stab.

“So do I,” said Pe

Mr. Stab nodded slowly. “Yes. You might be able to, at that.”

“I thought a picnic,” Pe

“Why not?” said Mr. Stab. “It’s been a long time since I did anything so … civilised.”

“We need to get to know each other better,” said Pe

“A long time,” said Mr. Stab. “I have been alone … a very long time.”

“I can’t keep calling you Mr. Stab,” said Pe

He smiled. “Call me Jack.”

“Oh you,” said Pe

And they walked on together, arm in arm.

I put the Merlin Glass away and headed for the front entrance at speed. I didn’t want Pe

“Look what I found!” Molly said cheerfully. “Sneaking around in the grounds…”

“We were not sneaking!” protested the familiar face, with as much dignity as could be managed when someone is twisting your ear into a square knot. “We were just…taking our time about making our presence known.”

“Hello, Sebastian,” I said. “Been a while, hasn’t it, since you betrayed me to Manifest Destiny, and then tried to kill me. Who’s your wriggling friend?”

“Hold still!” snapped Molly. “Or I’ll rip them right off and make you eat them.”

“It’s all right, Molly,” I said soothingly. “You can let go now. Even a notorious thief and con man like Sebastian Drood has better sense than to start any trouble at Drood Hall. Right, Sebastian?”

“Of course, of course! Leave off, woman, before my ear is permanently malformed! I’ll be good. I promise.”

“Damn right you will,” growled Molly.

She let go, reluctantly, and Sebastian and his companion straightened up and felt gingerly at their reddened ears. Sebastian’s usual air of sophistication was in tatters, but he still looked very prosperous in his expertly cut suit, and in really good shape for a man in his sixties. Even if his thi