"I'm sorry," I said. And I was, in a way. "I'm sorry, but we could never trust you."

I took his head between my two golden hands, and twisted it hard. His neck broke and I let go, and he fell away, dead at my feet.

"Typical Drood," said the Bride. Her voice was cold and flat, and she could have meant any number of things.

I showed her my featureless golden mask, and she stirred uneasily.

"Would you have done anything else?" I said.

"Probably not." She shrugged and turned away, draping one long arm companionably over Springheel Jack's shoulders. "Come on, Jack. Let's take a walk around our new home."

"Ifyou hadn't killed him, I would have," said Molly Metcalf. She was standing a little straighter now, absorbing strength and magic from the air around her. "Are you all right, Eddie? You should be happy. Rejoice; your greatest enemy has been defeated and destroyed."

"I'm an agent," I said. "Not an assassin. But sometimes… your enemy just doesn't give you any choice."

"I know," said Molly. "I know."

"Anything, for the family."

"I know."

Some of the remaining Immortals flesh danced, trying to pass themselves off as Droods, but we could always tell. And some tried to surrender, even though they must have known by now that we were taking no prisoners. It didn't come easy to any of us, to kill the defenceless, but we did it anyway. Because we had to. Because we could never trust them. The Sarjeant-at-Arms came over to join me.

"You're holding back, Edwin. This is war. They have to be stamped out. Because they're not human; they prey on humans. We're fighting for the safety and security of the human species. For our freedom, from our secret overlords. We can be sentimental later, when the work's done."

"What good does it do us to win?" I said. "If we have to act like Immortals to do it?"

The Sarjeant shrugged and turned away, and went off to finish his bloody work. I armoured down. Molly moved in close beside me, slipping an arm through mine.

"You're a good man, Eddie, in a bad world. The Immortals made themselves into monsters, by their own choice. Look at the Bride, and her people. Made to be monsters, they chose to be people. Think of all the things the Immortals could have done, could have achieved, with all the years and experience and knowledge they acquired. They could have made a Golden Age for all Humanity, but they chose to be teenagers forever, and never grow up. We were their playthings, and they played with us till we broke, because there were always more. I love it that you care, Eddie, but I don't. You kill monsters because you have to, because they don't give us any other choice. People can change, but monsters will always be monsters."

The hall was quiet now. Droods and Spawn moved slowly around, making sure none of the bodies were faking it by cutting off their heads. The last time I saw so many bodies piled up, it was at Drood Hall, after the incursion by the Accelerated Men. The air was so full of the stench of blood I could taste it in my mouth. The Armourer came over to join me, picking his way carefully through the bodies. He'd armoured down, and was beaming happily.

"Eddie, there you are! I found these wonderful little people, emerging from their hiding places! Slaves to the Immortals… They say they know you."

"We are not little people!" said a kobold, peering suddenly out from behind the Armourer. "We are underpeople! Are we free now?"

"Yes," I said. "To stay or to go, as you please. Your masters are dead. I'm afraid I had to promise the Castle to the Spawn of Frankenstein…"

"Our tunnels are waiting," said the kobold. "Still, they're going to need people, to help them settle in. We can do that. For gold… We like gold."

"I'm sure we can negotiate a fair agreement between you and the Bride," said the Armourer, still beaming happily. "It's a big Castle; I'm sure there's room for everyone."

The Sarjeant-at-Arms came striding over to join us, also armoured down. He was frowning, which is never a good sign.

"There's no sign of the Immortal Leader," he said flatly. "We've checked all the bodies, and he's not there. He could have got out through the teleport ring, before we destroyed it."

"The ring," I said. "He's gone to Area 52, to get his hands on the Apocalypse Door. I have to go after him."

"Me too," said Molly. "I am never leaving you alone again."

"Yes!" said the Armourer. "It is good to see you alive and well, Molly. May I ask, how exactly did you…"

"Later," I said. "Oh, Uncle Jack… While I'm off saving the world one more time, there is something I need you to do for me. There's something rather special living under the hill, on the road leading up from the Hotel. I promised him he could come back to the Hall, and live with us. Could you take care of that for me?"

"Of course," said the Armourer. "No problem. Why are you smiling like that?"

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Knock Knock Knocking on Heaven's Door "S o," I said. "Molly and I have to to get to to Area 52, the most heavily shielded and guarded military base in the world, stop Doctor Delirium or Tiger Tim from opening the Apocalypse Door and unleashing all the horrors of Hell upon the world, and also stop the Immortal leader Methuselah from transforming the Door into the Paradise Door, so he can open it and go through to take Heaven by storm."

"And give everyone present a good kicking, just on general principles," said Molly. "And then afterwards, I thought we might have a little light supper, with some of that nice peach brandy you like."

"I could eat," I said wistfully. "Seems like ages since I had the chance to sit down and tuck in. But, needs must when the Devil's peering over your shoulder and sniggering. The Merlin Glass can't take us directly into Area 52; the place has far too many shields and protections. But I think I've persuaded it to drop us off close to a main entrance. So, let's to it. Busy, busy, busy, and never a moment to rest."

"You can't just run off and leave me to deal with transporting a dragon's head the size of a mountain!" said the Armourer, just a bit shrilly.

"Of course I can," I said.? "Watch me."

I moved over to one side with Molly, while the Sarjeant-at-Arms did his best to restrain the Armourer. We both knew he'd cope; this was just his little way of telling me not to take him for granted. I summoned up the Merlin Glass, and instructed it to show me the hidden entrance it had found for Area 52. But when I looked into the hand mirror, all I could see was an endless vista of snow and ice, without a single structure or a living thing for as far as the eye could see. I gave the mirror a good hard shake, but the view didn't change. At least it wasn't an aerial view this time. Either the base was invisible behind its shields, or it was underground, or this was just as close to the entrance as the Glass could get us. I shrugged, and commanded the Merlin Glass to open a doorway.

It leapt out of my hand, and then hung on the air before me, growing rapidly in size until it was big enough for Molly and me to walk through. And then the door opened, connecting here with there, and brilliant light shone out, throwing back the darkness of the German night. I had to look away for a moment, dazzled, and then shuddered suddenly as a bitter cold wind came howling out of the doorway, shot through with snow and ice crystals. Molly squeezed in close beside me, and with our eyes narrowed against the Antarctic light, we stepped through the doorway.

The terrible cold stopped me dead in my tracks, piercing my flesh and sinking into my bones. The wind cut me like a knife, and my lungs filled with razor blades as I tried to breathe the frozen air. Snow swirled around me, driven this way and that by the blustering wind. I armoured up, and cried out in relief inside my golden mask as my armour shielded me from the bitter cold. It took me a moment to stop shaking and clear my head, and then I looked quickly around for Molly. Who was quite happy, inside a personal shield so powerful I could actually see it shimmering on the air around her. She stood hands on hips, looking about her with an infectious grin.