Live and Let Drood

neighbours.”
    “What use is a compass with no directions?” said Molly. “Or is this supposed to be some kind of Zen thing?”
    “Wait,” I said, trying hard to sound confident. I tapped the clearglass with one bare fingertip and the needle immediately spun round and round before settling firmly on one direction. And then, no matter how much I shook the compass, the needle wouldn’t nudge from its chosen direction.
    “Okay, I am seriously confused now,” said Molly. “Tell me there is an explanation on its way, Eddie, or there is going to be serious trouble breaking out right here, right now.”
    “When we finally have the means to go after my family,” I said, “This compass will point whatever device we end up using in the right direction. It will provide exact coordinates. That’s what it’s for. No matter where my family is now, no matter how far from our reality Alpha Red Alpha has sent them, they can’t be hidden from this.…It was created for this one vital purpose: to point to my family.”
    “All right, I’ll bite,” said Molly. “How does it work? And why can’t I touch it?”
    “Well, basically,” I said. “Very basically…the compass locks onto Drood DNA. Our whole bloodline is…unique. Right back to our beginnings. The Heart had to make subtle alterations in our DNA to make us compatible with our torcs and armour. To make sure no one without Drood blood could ever use them against us. Ethel did offer to change us all back when she gave us our new torcs, but she couldn’t be sure what the side effects might be. So I said, ‘Thank you, but no. Respect what works, and leave us the way we are.’ ”
    “So Droods…aren’t human?” said Molly.
    “Think of us as more…human plus,” I said.
    “Yeah,” said Molly. “You would think that. Are you sure Ethel didn’t make any changes to your family’s DNA to make you compatible with her strange matter? I mean, that stuff nearly killed you the first time it got into your system.”
    “She swears she didn’t. And I don’t see why she’d want to hide it when she’s been so open about everything else.”
    “Yes, but…”
    “I know. We have to trust her, Molly. Because my family doesn’t have any other source for our armour. Don’t you trust her?”
    “I like her. She’s very likeable. But you’ve always been far too trusting, Eddie.”
    “That’s not an answer.”
    “I know.”
    We looked at each other for a long moment and then both decided that this was a subject for another time. We looked back at the compass, sitting there so quietly and patiently on my palm.
    “This compass is specifically attuned to our altered Drood DNA,” I said. “It’s powerful enough to detect it and point to it, no matter where it may be. In this world or out of it.”
    “What powers the compass?” said Molly. “I mean, there’s not much of it.”
    “I was afraid you were going to ask that. I did ask the Armourer, and he gave me a half-hour speech that had all my little grey cells lined up and kicking the crap out of one another. Let’s just say one of our previous Armourers hit this thing with the science stick until it agreed to work…and leave it at that.”
    “Hold everything. Go previous. Hit the hand brake,” said Molly. “You said this whole scheme was cooked up centuries ago. Are you telling me Droods knew about DNA way back then?”
    “Who knows what my family knows, or when they knew it?” I said. “Though I have a sneaking suspicion, from certain hints Uncle Jack couldn’t keep himself from dropping, that time travel may have been involved at some point. I hate time travel; it really messes with your head.…”
    And then both our heads came up as we looked around sharply. We stood very still, listening.
    “Did you just hear something?” said Molly.
    “I was really hoping that was just me,” I said. “What did you hear?”
    “Something moving. Something that might have been footsteps…”
    “Listen for the beat of…”
    “ Shut up! ”
    We looked carefully around us, Molly holding her left hand high to spread the witchlight evenly around the chamber. She even raised theintensity of the light, making the shadows seem very deep and very dark. Molly moved her hand jerkily back and forth, and shadows jumped violently all around us. But there was definitely no one else in the chamber.
    “When I broke into the adjoining chamber,” I said slowly, “it is entirely possible that I broke all the