Simon Green - Daemons Are Forever

“You could have come home any time,” said the Armourer. “The Matriarch might not have been too happy about it, but your father and I would have stood by you. We told you; we both told you, often enough. But you always had some excuse or another.”

“I’m here now, Uncle Jack. Because of my father.”

“You heard,” I said.

“Of course I heard. The whole world knows you murdered my father, dear Cousin Eddie. So here I am, representing all the Gray Fox’s old friends, allies, lovers, and enemies, all of us very upset that the legendary James Drood is dead. We want to know why. We demand answers.”

“It was a duel,” I said simply. “Armour to armour. He fought well, and died honourably.”

I didn’t even glance at Molly. Her part in James’s death was no one’s business but our own.

Harry looked at me, his head cocked slightly on one side. “That’s it? That’s all you have to say?”

“That’s all there is,” I said. “I was at war with my family, and he just got in the way.”

“Then…you didn’t just murder my father, and take away everyone’s torcs … so you could take over the family and run it unopposed?”

“No,” I said calmly. “It wasn’t like that.”

“It really wasn’t,” said the Armourer. “He’s telling the truth, Harry. Don’t you think I would have avenged my brother by now, if I thought he needed avenging?”

“Well, well,” said Harry. “How very intriguing. I can see I shall have to investigate further. Either way, I have come home at last, with my good friend Roger, to serve the family in its hour of need. Tell me how grateful you all are.”

“We can always use another experienced field agent,” I said. “But the hellspawn…”

“Please, call me Roger.”

“Don’t trust him, Eddie,” said Molly, back at my side again. “You can’t trust anything he says. Hell always lies, except when a truth can hurt you more.”

“I’ll say it again, for the benefit of the hard of thinking at the back,” said Harry. “Roger is with me. I vouch for him, and guarantee his behaviour while he’s here at the Hall. And he does have a right to be here. He’s family, just like me.”

“What?” said the Armourer. “Have you lost your mind, Harry? How can a thing of the Pit be family?”

“Because we share the same father,” said Harry.

Roger smiled widely. “Mother was a succubus, my father the illustrious James Drood. How about a big family hug?”

The Armourer shook his head slowly, dully, as though he’d been slapped hard. He looked suddenly older, and frailer. I have to say, it took my breath away. I looked at Molly, but she just shrugged, to show it was news to her too.

“That’s right,” Harry said brightly. “Roger is my stepbrother. And your nephew, Uncle Jack.”

“The old Gray Fox really did put it about,” said Molly. “But even so, a succubus? That’s just…tacky.”

“Lust demons are aristocrats in Hell,” said Roger. “Gathered souls are currency in the Pit.”

“Shut up,” said the Armourer. “Just shut up.”

“Yes, Uncle,” said Roger.

“It’s funny how Roger and I first met,” said Harry. “That was down to the family. Father and I were working together on a mission, as we often did when we ended up in the same part of the world at the same time. We were in Paris, tracking down that legendary thief and assassin, the Fantom, and father took me to a certain little out-of-the-way nightclub on the West Bank, where information of all sorts could be found, with a little effort. Grimy little place, called the Plus Ca Change…And that’s where I met Roger. We got to chatting, while father beat the necessary information out of a bunch of biker loups garou, and the two of us got on famously. Father and I never did catch up with the Fantom, but Roger and I kept in touch.”

“Then welcome home, Harry,” I said. “And you too, Roger. Come back to the Hall with us and we’ll get you settled in. But get out of hand even once, either of you, and I will knock you down and riverdance on your head.”

“It’s just tough love,” Harry said to Roger. “You’ll get used to it. It’s the Drood way. How is the dear old Sarjeant-at-Arms, Eddie?”

“Still running things with an iron fist in an iron glove,” I said, not rising to the bait. “Come along, and bring your swan with you, Harry. Waste not, want not.”

“Good to be home, Eddie,” said Harry. “Can’t say I’ve ever felt this welcome before. I suppose you and I have that in common, at least. We never were our family’s favourite sons.”

There were snorting, coughing sounds, and we both looked around. The gryphons had tracked us down at last, and ambled over to check out the newcomers with a good sniffing. Harry tolerated it in a resigned sort of way, and then the gryphons turned to Roger. They didn’t like his smell at all, and growled at him in deep, rumbling voices. One actually snapped at him, and Roger kicked it in the ribs, sending it flying a dozen feet away. I moved quickly to stand between him and the gryphons.

“Don’t,” I said.

“Or?” he said.

It was a blatant challenge, and one I had to meet if I were to have any authority at the Hall. I subvocalised the Words and armoured up in a moment, the silver strange matter flowing over me like a second skin. I made a silver fist, and held it up before Roger’s face. And as he watched, I grew thick silver spikes out of the knuckles. Roger surged forward inhumanly quickly, his fingers like claws, his impossibly wide smile full of teeth like a shark’s. I stood my ground and punched him in the face with all my armoured strength behind it. The blow stopped him dead in his tracks, the sheer force of the impact slamming his head back so hard it would have broken an ordinary man’s neck. Roger staggered backwards, and then quickly recovered his balance. He shook his head slowly and put a hand up to his face. His nose was broken, though no blood flowed. Roger gripped the broken nose with his left hand and snapped it back into place with a painful-sounding click. I winced at the sound, and I’m sure I wasn’t the only one.

“Show-off,” Harry said easily to Roger. “Now behave yourself. I guaranteed your behaviour, remember? You want to make me look bad?”

“Of course. I’m sorry, Harry.” Roger smiled briefly at me. “It won’t happen again. No hard feelings, I trust?”

I armoured down and looked at him, and then at Harry. It occurred to me that the two of them might have set this up in advance, just to see what the new armour could do… Tricky, underhanded, and just a little paranoid. They were Droods, after all.

“Let’s go back to the Hall,” said the Armourer. “It’s getting cold out here.”

“It’s good to have you home again, Harry,” said the Armourer. “And your…friend. Come with me and I’ll find you someplace to stay. Don’t quite know where I’m going to put you, though. The Hall is so crowded these days you couldn’t swing a cat without taking someone’s eye out.”

“We could always put them in the dungeons,” I said.

The Armourer looked at me coldly. “You know very well we don’t have dungeons anymore, Eddie. They were converted into billiards rooms long ago.”

“You have billiards here?” said Molly, brightening up.

“Oh, yes,” I said. “They’re very popular. In fact, you have to queue to get in.”

“One more joke like that, and I’ll rack your balls,” said Molly.

“What’s wrong with putting me in my father’s old room?” said Harry. “The Matriarch hasn’t got around to reassigning it yet, has she? Thought not. Dear Grandmother always was very sentimental…where her son was concerned. And who has a better right to the Gray Fox’s room, than his only legitimate son?”