From a Drood to a Kill - Simon R. Green Page 0,140

they grabbed me from the Wulfshead.”

I looked at her, and then at the others. They were all nodding in agreement.

“It’s only been a few hours for us,” said Charles. “Since we were abducted from the hotel in Nantes.”

The others all chimed in, saying the same thing. No matter how long they’d been gone from the world, as far as they were concerned they’d been in the Shifting Lands only for a few hours. Everyone turned to Walker for an explanation.

“Time is a matter of choice and intent here,” he said, just a bit grandly. “Like Space, Time is made to serve the purposes of the Powers That Be. You were all taken from your world at different positions in Space/Time, but arrived here at the same moment. Because that’s what the Powers That Be wanted.”

I turned to Molly. “He must be finished, because he’s stopped talking, but I can’t say I feel any wiser. Do you feel any wiser? No? Thought not.” I glared at Walker. “Just tell us what we need to know! Tell us what the Big Game is, and what it’s for.”

“And what the rules are,” said Molly. “If only so I can have the fun of breaking them.”

“There is only one way out of the Shifting Lands,” said Walker. “A Door is waiting, to take you home. But it will only open once, for one person. So the only way to be sure of winning the Game, of freeing yourself from your obligations and returning home . . . is to kill everyone else in the Game.” He smiled about him, into the sudden silence. Everyone was thinking hard, and looking at one another speculatively. Walker carried on. “Let me be very clear; there can only be one winner, one survivor. If you want your debts paid.”

“No,” I said immediately. “I won’t do it. I won’t kill for you. I don’t do that any more.”

“Not even to save Molly?” said Walker.

“I don’t need saving!” said Molly.

“Or your parents?” said Walker, still looking at me. “Though of course, in the end, you could only save one of them. Would you give up your life for the parents who abandoned you? And if so, which one would you choose?”

I gave him my best cold smile. “Like Molly said, rules are made to be broken. I’ve spent my whole career winning games by kicking over the board and scattering the pieces.”

“But you never played a Game like this,” said Walker.

Everyone else in the group was still staring at one another, weighing people up and judging the competition.

“You’re a Drood,” Tarot Jones said to me suddenly. “I can See your torc. My people have heard of you. The authority figure’s authority figures. You maintain the status quo, by any means necessary. I don’t think I’d have any problem killing you to protect my Tribe.”

“Butt out, hippy,” said Molly.

“I have a mission and a cause to return to,” said the Sin Eater. “Nothing can be allowed to stand in the way of that.”

Chandarru remained quietly thoughtful, as though still considering the odds, and the possibilities.

Charles and Emily looked at each other and smiled over some shared secret thought. They took each other’s hands, and turned to face Walker.

“Screw the rules,” said Emily. “We won’t kill our son, and we won’t kill each other.”

“You can’t make us play the Game if we choose not to,” said Charles.

“Damn right,” said Emily. “Any debts or obligations we may have incurred, we’ll take care of ourselves.”

“We defied the Droods,” said Charles. “Do you think it bothers us to defy your precious Powers That Be?”

“You can’t leave here except through the Door,” said Walker.

“Then we’ll stay here together,” said Emily. “To protect our son.”

“Damn right,” said Charles. “We understand duty, and sacrifice.”

“We’re Droods,” said Emily.

Molly shot me a quick grin. “All right, Eddie . . . Your parents have style!”

I looked coldly at Walker. “I can see why everyone else is here, but why my parents?”

“They made deals,” said Walker. “To be able to leave the Droods and remain undetected by your family.”

Emily nodded slowly to me. “We had to disappear completely, Eddie. Become entirely different people, to protect you.”

“Some people might have put pressure on you,” said Charles, “if they thought we were still alive. To get us to return.”

“Or they might have hurt you, even killed you, to get at us,” said Emily. “Your grandfather, as Regent of Shadows, was able to hide us away in his organisation, but only as long as we