“But it seems there are some things you can’t,” Brilliant said heavily. “So let’s get down to business.”
“My thoughts exactly,” said John. “As long as the Nightside’s boundaries remain uncertain, we’re going to have problems with the Droods. Isn’t there anything that can be done to pull back the boundaries, or at least hold them where they are?”
“We have people working on that,” Larry said coldly. “But since we have no idea what’s behind this sudden change . . .”
“Can I just ask, why are we meeting here, of all places?” asked John.
“Because this is the one place we can be sure the Droods can’t listen in,” said Julien.
John nodded reluctantly, acknowledging the point, and started his report on what had happened at Drood Hall. He hadn’t got far before Annie interrupted him.
“We don’t need the details. Just the high points.”
John looked at each of the Authorities in turn, to make sure they were all of the same mind. Brilliant and Larry nodded, while Julien looked troubled but went along. Jessica already looked like she was thinking about something else.
“The Matriarch and I could not agree on a compromise,” said John. “But then, that was never really in the cards. I told her that from this point on, no Drood would be allowed to enter the Nightside, under any conditions.”
“And how did she take that?” said Julien.
“How do you think?” said John.
Brilliant scowled. “So we’re back to relying on the Pacts and Agreements?”
“No,” said John. “Now we’re enforcing them. Droods have been visiting Strangefellows incognito for ages, and no one ever said anything . . . because as long as they were careful to stay under the radar, it wasn’t worth making a fuss over. And, occasionally, they’d tell us things we’d never have found out on our own. But now . . .”
“How, exactly, are we supposed to enforce this ban?” said Annie. “They’re Droods! There are things in the Nightside that might be capable of taking down a Drood in their armour, but do we really want to risk letting them off the leash?”
“Are we ready for a war?” said Jessica.
Everyone jumped, just a little, then looked at her carefully to see if she had anything more to say. When she didn’t, they all breathed a little more easily and pressed on.
“No one wants a war,” said Julien.
“That’s never stopped one breaking out in the past,” said John.
“It all comes down to these changes in the boundaries,” said Larry. “So far, no one I’ve talked to has been able to explain them. They just keep saying it’s impossible. Like that’s ever been a problem for the Nightside.”
“Have you come up with anything yet, John?” said Julien.
“I’d only just started my investigation when you hauled me away to go talk to the Droods,” said John. “It’s always possible people will talk to me, where they wouldn’t to your people, but as far as I can tell, no one’s heard anything. None of the usual Major Players are involved, and no one new of any stature has entered the long night recently. I haven’t a clue who’s behind this or what they might want.”
“They want a war,” said Jessica.
They all jumped again. Brilliant scowled at Jessica, who was already looking somewhere else.
“Maybe we should have her ring a little bell before she says anything. Just to give us some warning.”
“Good luck with that,” said John.
Jessica turned her head suddenly to look at Brilliant. “You’re not wearing a tie.”
Brilliant’s tie disappeared. Everyone stood very still. John could feel his hackles rising, along with a strong desire to be absolutely anywhere else. Because once Jessica Sorrow started not believing in things, there was no telling where it would end. Jessica turned away to study something only she could see, and everyone relaxed a little.
“It could be said that Eddie Drood did us a favour by disposing of the predator house,” John said carefully. “I know from personal experience how hard they are to kill. Does anyone know how the damned things keep getting in?”
“A question for another time,” said Annie. “The point is, Eddie shouldn’t have put on his armour. He should have let us deal with it.”
“Friends of his died in the Wulfshead,” said Julien.
“We all lost someone we knew,” said Larry.
“A Drood would only put on his armour in the Nightside if he was ordered to, by his Matriarch,” said Brilliant. “This had to be a deliberate provocation. To prove he could do something we couldn’t, then see what we would do in response.”
“That’s a bit of a jump, isn’t it?” said John.
“Is it?” said Annie. “We all know the Droods have never approved of the Nightside. We offend their old-fashioned sensibilities. And after everything we’ve been through in the last ten years, from the angel war to the Lilith War to the civil war, they could see us as weakened. Vulnerable.”
“Eddie’s actions must mean a change in Drood policy,” said Brilliant. “That they’re ready to enter the Nightside and impose their authority on us. We can’t let them do that.”
“John has ordered them to stay out,” said Julien.
“And you think they’ll listen?” said Brilliant. “They’re Droods! We have to put plans in place to stop them.”
“No one has ever kept the Droods out of anywhere when they wanted in,” said Larry. “So we do this the Nightside way. Hard, unyielding, and underhanded.”
“You really think the Droods are ready to take on the whole Nightside?” said John. “Word is they’ve had their own problems and reverses in the last ten years. And anyway, all kinds of organisations have tried to take over the Nightside, for all kinds of reasons . . . and every single one of them has had their heads handed to them.”
“But this is the Droods we’re talking about,” said Larry. “They honestly think they can’t be beaten. And history tends to support that.”
“If we could prove to them that we’re dealing with the problem of the boundaries . . .” said John.
“But we aren’t,” said Brilliant.
“They’d find some excuse anyway,” said Annie. “Tell everyone that if we can’t enforce our own boundaries, they’ll do it for us. For everyone’s good. And then they’ll start sending in field agents, to sort out this problem or that, taking over more and more of our responsibilities, till they’re ready to shoulder us aside and lay down the law. Drood law.”
“And that would be the end of the Nightside as we know it,” said Larry.
“No more party time,” said Jessica.
It was a measure of how disturbed everyone was that they hardly reacted at all.
“The Droods must know we’d never accept that,” said John. “And not just us . . . no one in the Nightside would stand for having all their fun taken away. They’d rise.”
“But the Droods are an army,” said Larry. “We’re not. And they have that armour.”
“They’re testing us,” said Annie. “Deciding whether we’re prepared to fight back. If we don’t make a stand right now, that’s all it will take to convince them they can do this.”
“But any over-the-top reaction from us could start the war anyway,” said John.
“We have to send them a message,” said Larry. “No Droods in the Nightside. For any reason.”
“I already told them that,” said John.
“And you think they’ll listen?” said Annie. “They’re Droods!”
“We can’t risk antagonising them!” said Julien.
“They only respect force,” said Brilliant.
“We have to send them a message they can’t ignore,” said Larry.
“The next Drood who comes here . . .” said Annie. “Make an example of them.”
The Author
ities looked at each other, but none of them said anything. The silence dragged on.
“You need to be very specific here,” John said finally. “What exactly do you want me to do, as Walker?”
“It doesn’t have to be you personally,” said Annie.
“It probably shouldn’t be you,” said Larry. “Plausible deniability, and all that. It’ll be enough that the Droods know even if they can’t prove it.”
“But it has to be done,” said Brilliant.
“If a Drood enters the Nightside, despite everything you’ve told them, that’s an open act of defiance,” said Larry. “And that has to mean . . . the Drood doesn’t get to go home again.”
“Kill him,” said Brilliant. “It’s the only action they’ll pay any attention to.”
“I can’t condone murder,” Julien said flatly.
The others looked at Julien Advent for a long moment, and he stared unflinchingly back.
“It isn’t murder if we authorise it,” said Brilliant. “It’s an execution.”
“One life,” said Annie. “To save many. On both sides.”
“I could do it,” said Jessica.
Everyone turned to look at her. She was such a small thing, to be so powerful and so terrible.
“I could decide I didn’t believe in him,” said Jessica Sorrow. “That way there wouldn’t be any body or any evidence.”
“You haven’t disbelieved a living person in some time,” said Julien.
“I know,” said Jessica. “You’ve been helping me. You’re very kind.”
“Because every time you disbelieve anything,” said Julien, “you believe in your own reality a little less. You could just disappear. You mustn’t do this, Jessica.”
“That’s why I found you that teddy bear,” John said carefully. “To remind you that you’re real. So you wouldn’t need to do this any more.”
“I believe in the world,” said Jessica. “Enough to fight for it.”
“Please don’t,” said Julien.
“You don’t have to do this, Jessica,” said John. “It’s not like there’s any shortage of killers here. If this has to be done . . .”
“You know it does,” said Larry.
“That’s easy for you to say,” said John. “What do you care about who’ll die in the war? You’re dead.”
“I still care,” said Larry. “That’s why the Drood has to die.”
John looked at Jessica. Now she’d decided she wasn’t needed after all, her eyes were already far away. John looked steadily at the other Authorities.
“How do you kill a Drood?”
“Before he puts his armour on,” said Brilliant.
“We can’t depend on catching a Drood field agent off guard,” said Larry.
“I still have contacts, among my old professional killing fraternity,” said Annie. “I’ll ask around. Discreetly.”
Julien Advent shook his head. “How have we come to this?”
“We didn’t start it,” said Annie.
“We’re just doing what’s necessary,” said Brilliant.
“You knew this was a dirty job when you took it,” said Larry.
“I thought I could make a difference,” said Julien. “It seems I was wrong. I’m sorry. I can’t be a part of this. I’m sure you’ll have no trouble finding a replacement for me.”
He walked out of the church and didn’t look back once. Larry started to go after Julien, but Annie stopped him.
“It’s better that he’s not involved. We can live with this; he couldn’t.”
“And you know Julien,” said Brilliant. “Once he’s made up his mind . . .”
“We need him!” said Larry. “He’s our moral compass. I mean, look at us . . . An ex-enforcer, an ex-assassin, a dead man, and a crazy woman.” He stopped and looked at Jessica. “No offence.”
Jessica looked at him. “What?”
“We don’t need a moral compass,” said Brilliant. “Not for this. All we need is the guts to see it through. Julian can rejoin us afterwards. Without a stain on his character.”
“It has to be me,” said John. “It’s my responsibility as Walker.”
The Authorities didn’t say anything, but he knew they’d all been waiting for him to say that.
“What am I supposed to do in the meantime?” said John. “While I wait for a Drood to show up to be executed?”
“Reach out to everyone you know,” said Brilliant. “Somebody must know something about what’s happening.”
“We’ll do the same with our people,” said Larry.
“You don’t suppose . . . this could be some natural occurrence?” said Annie. “The Nightside feeling its age and the need to stretch out a little?”
“No,” said John. “The boundaries of the long night haven’t changed by so much as an inch since they were first laid down by my mother, at the Nightside’s creation.”
Annie looked at him sharply. “Could this be a sign she’s returning? You promised us she was gone forever!”
“She’s gone,” said John.
“This is Lilith we’re talking about,” said Larry.
“If she were back, I’d know,” said John. “Trust me; everyone would know.”
“But who is there, powerful enough to undo something Lilith created?” said Larry. “That has to be a pretty short list.”
“It isn’t going to be anyone obvious,” said John. “Because whoever it is would know that’s the first thing we’d think of. No . . . this has to be someone new. Someone or something we’ve never faced before.”
“Who would want to bring down the Nightside?” said Annie.
“Someone who disapproves of our very existence,” said Larry. “Like the Droods.”
“Someone who’s afraid of us,” said Brilliant. “Or of something we might do . . .”
“Unless this is someone’s idea of helping us?” said Annie. “Making the Nightside bigger, to make us more powerful?”
“We can’t hope to understand any of this till we know who’s behind it,” said John. “Put out a reward for information. A really big one. Because people in the Nightside will do anything for money. Let them do all the hard work and bring the answer to us.”
“Good idea,” said Larry. “We’ll do that while you think about the best way to kill a Drood.”
A look passed between the Authorities.
“You can go now,” said Brilliant.
“We need to discuss the situation further,” said Annie.
“In private,” said Brilliant.
“We’ll call you back when we need you,” said Larry.
“And, John . . .” said Annie. “This would never have happened under the old Walker.”
John turned his back on them and walked out of the church.
* * *
• • •
Outside St Jude’s, John found the Lord of Thorns looking up at the night sky and frowning. Which was never a good sign. John went over to stand beside him. He studied the flaring stars and the oversized moon but couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary.
“What are you looking at, Thorns?” he asked finally.
“Does the moon seem bigger to you than normal?” said the Lord of Thorns.
John considered it carefully. “No.” He looked thoughtfully at the Lord of Thorns. He was pretty sure he already knew the answer to the question he was about to ask, but he had to try. “You were put here to be Overseer to the Nightside. Isn’t there anything you can do, about the changing borders? If you could just put them back where they were, you could prevent a war.”
“Everything has a beginning and an end,” said the Lord of Thorns, still staring at the night sky. “No one ever said the long night was forever.”
“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” said John. “The end of the
Nightside. Because then your position as Overseer would finally be over.”
“No,” said the Lord of Thorns. “I need the Nightside to continue, so I can continue my penance.” He turned suddenly to look at John with his fierce, cold eyes. “You’re asking the wrong questions. The change isn’t what matters; it’s who stands to gain. Ask yourself: Who do you know, who would be pleased to see the Nightside destroyed?”
“You mean the Droods?” said John.
But the Lord of Thorns had already gone back to scowling at the night sky.
John Taylor walked away from St Jude’s, thinking hard. The only thing he was sure of was that he couldn’t let a Drood be killed in the Nightside. The whole Drood family would rise up to avenge one of their own. There would be war. But given that open war between the Droods and the Nightside wouldn’t be in either side’s best interests, whose interest would it be in? Who was there who’d go to these lengths to see the Droods and the Nightside humbled and possibly even destroyed? Who would want that?
John’s head hurt. He growled under his breath, and people on the street fell back to give him even more room. John decided he didn’t understand the situation because he didn’t know enough about it. Therefore, he needed more information on the subject. He took out his gold pocket-watch and opened it, and the Timeslip swept him away to where he needed to be.
* * *
• • •
There are a great many repositories of rare and arcane knowledge in the long night. The Prospero and Michael Scott Memorial Library, the Museum of Unnatural History, Savage Hettie’s Lost and Found, the Linda Lovecraft Library of Spiritual Erotica, and the H P Lovecraft Memorial Library. Those last two were really just different versions of the same thing, from two very different dimensions. Both buildings had been squabbling over the same location in the Nightside for some time, popping in and out and shouldering each other aside, replacing each other over and over again . . . Until John negotiated a truce, by threatening to blow both of them through a hole in reality if they didn’t stop messing him about. Now the two buildings settled for standing side by side, engaged in a silent battle to see which could attract the most patrons. John had already decided on the H P Lovecraft Memorial Library, for its Really Restricted Section.
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