Live and Let Drood

was the armour that was hurt, not me.”
    I armoured down, and the golden metal retreated into my torc with something like relief. I think both of us were surprised to discover just how close a relationship we’d entered into. I stayed on my knees for a while, Molly crouching beside me, until I was sure I was back in control, and then I got to my feet. Molly got up with me, hovering at my side, but didn’t try to help me. I moved across to stand over Hollis. There was blood on his face from where the plant pot had cracked his scalp as itshattered, but he was breathing easily enough. His hands weren’t glowing anymore.
    “Why a potted plant?” I said to Molly.
    She shrugged. “Because it was there. What do we do with him now?”
    I kicked Hollis in the ribs, hard enough to pick him up and send his body skidding across the floor and slam into the opposite wall. I went after him again, but immediately Molly was blocking my way, staring intently into my face.
    “Don’t, Eddie.”
    “He tried to kill me. He would have killed you. He doesn’t deserve to live.”
    “You can’t just kill him in cold blood.”
    “Why not? You didn’t have any problems exploding the Eton Irregulars while they were running away.”
    “That’s different, and you know it. They weren’t human anymore.”
    “I’m not leaving this dangerous an enemy at our back. He dies.”
    “Eddie, this isn’t like you.”
    “Get out of my way!”
    “No!”
    I raised a hand to hit her, and then stopped it in midair. Molly didn’t move, still staring intently into my eyes. The golden gauntlet hung on the air between us, shining brightly. One blow would have been enough to crush her skull. I hadn’t called the armour. I hadn’t. I glared at it, willing it back into my torc. It didn’t want to go. The rogue armour had unfinished business with Hollis. I could feel it. The armour wasn’t talking to me, but I could feel its presence at the back of my mind. I overrode it through sheer force of will, and the golden gauntlet disappeared. I lowered my hand, my whole arm shaking with the effort. Molly moved in close, laying her hands on my chest, looking into my face, making sure it was just me.
    “It’s all right,” I said. “I’m back.”
    “Eddie…”
    “You do know I would never hurt you, right?” I said. “That I would die before I ever let anyone hurt you.”
    “Yes, Eddie. I know. That wasn’t you, was it? That was the rogue armour.”
    “Yes. It appears…we’re more closely linked than I anticipated. More than I ever intended.”
    “You promised me you could control it.”
    “I can!”
    “You could still get rid of it,” said Molly. “Force it back out of your torc.”
    “And leave Moxton’s Mistake running loose in London with no one inside to control it?” I said. “I can’t risk that. And besides, I still need it.”
    I looked across at Hollis. There was fresh blood at his mouth from where I’d kicked him into the wall.
    “Did I do that?” I said.
    “I don’t know,” said Molly. “Did you?”
    “He hurt the armour,” I said. “I didn’t think that was possible. He made the armour angry.”
    “So he brought it on himself?”
    “No…I just lost control there for a moment. I won’t let that happen again. I keep forgetting Moxton’s Mistake is a living thing, not just the armour I usually wear. So now when I get angry, I’m never sure whose emotions I’m feeling.…”
    “This isn’t the first time that’s happened,” said Molly.
    I just looked at her. There was nothing else I could say. For good or bad, I needed the armour. Not for me; for my family.
    I reached into my pocket and took out the portable hole I’d found in the other Hall’s wrecked Armoury. I dropped the black blob onto the floor, spread it out, and it immediately became an open door, revealing the level some distance below. I rolled Hollis across the floor and over the edge, and he dropped through into the floor below, landing with a satisfyingly hard thump. I peeled the portable door back off the floor, rolled it into a ball, and put it away again.
    “Why didn’t you do that before?” said Molly.
    “Because I didn’t think of it. All right?” I said. “You can’t think of everything. Did you remember I had it on me? Well, then…”
    “Don’t you get snotty with me, Eddie Drood!”
    Some conversations you just know aren’t going to go anywhere good. I turned away and started up the hallway.
    “Let’s get