Casino Infernale by Simon R. Green Page A

free, as you were meant to.
    “My people are the Droods. If you ever get tired of running, and you’d like some company, come and find us. You’d be very welcome. We’ve already got a dragon. You would be safe there, I promise you; free from all harm. But for now . . . run free!”
    The White Horse reared up, growing larger and larger, until he was as big as the night sky, and then he turned and ran off across the sea, his hooves pounding on the waves until he disappeared into the night.
    “You old softy, you,” said Molly.
    “I’ve always had a fondness for wild things,” I said. “How are you feeling now, Molly?”
    “More like myself,” she said. “I wanted answers, and I found them here; just like the Regent promised. But I can’t say I’m any wiser, or happier. We have to go back, Eddie. I need to talk to your grandfather about all the things he did as the Regent of Shadows.”
    “Of course you do,” I said. “I have a few questions I need to put to him myself.”
    “I know he’s your long-lost grandfather,” said Molly. “I know how much he means to you, and I know he’s done a lot to redeem himself. But I still have questions.”
    “Take it from me,” I said. “Answers aren’t everything. Are you ready to go?”
    “Hell, yes,” said Molly. “I never want to see this place again.”
    “Then let’s get out of the cold,” I said.
    I took out the Merlin Glass, and this time it worked perfectly. I shook the hand mirror out to full size, big as a door, and concentrated on the coordinates of the Regent’s private office at the Department of the Uncanny. We both stepped through the dimensional door. And then we both stood very still, as the mirror snapped shut behind us.
    We were standing in the Drood family Armoury, deep under Drood Hall, facing my uncle Jack, the Armourer. I glared at him.
    “You interrupted the spatial transfer!” I said. “You diverted us here! I didn’t know you could do that.”
    He smiled smugly. “I am the one who wrote out the operating manual for the Merlin Glass, remember? Which I am ready to bet you still haven’t finished reading yet. It doesn’t matter. Eddie, Molly—you need to come with me. You’re needed. All hell has broken loose.”
    “Oh, not again,” said Molly.

CHAPTER TWO

    Half as Old as Time
    M olly gave my uncle Jack her best cold hard glare, the kind that could punch a hole through a stone wall. The Armourer glared right back at her. And I quietly took several steps back to let them get on with it, because I knew better than to get involved. There was no way this was going to end well, for anyone involved, and the best I could hope for was to find something large and solid to hide behind, for when they started throwing things. There was nothing I could say that wouldn’t just make things worse, so I removed myself from the firing range, and took a look around.
    The Drood family Armoury looked much the same as it always did. Lots of sound and fury, signifying things going bang. Lots of white-coated lab assistants hurrying back and forth between workstations and testing grounds, trying out brand-new versions of weapons of messy destruction. You have to be brave and talented and a mechanical genius to work in the Armoury; but it does also help if you’re completely lacking in self-preservation instincts. It’s a wonder to me we haven’t bred the lab assistant gene out of the Drood family, through extreme testing to destruction. But, there’s always a long waiting list to get in, proving once again the triumph of optimism over experience. There’s pride and honour and worth to the family to be found in the Armoury, if you last long enough.
    One young woman was knocking chunks off a stone golem, using depleted-uranium knuckle-dusters. The golem was looking pretty peeved about it. Someone who’d turned himself invisible could be heard barging about and banging into things, while swearing loudly and bitterly at the world in general,