Live and Let Drood

sense of something it can’t cope with. Personally, I think she has the same relationship with magic that I have with science; we just pretend we know what we’re doing and hope it all works out for the best. Molly strode into the silver tunnel and I hurried in after her, not wanting to be left behind or have important parts of myself sliced off by the portal closing after me.
    Molly had clearly been refining her teleport spell on the quiet, because we didn’t just end up back at the car. Instead, we both materialised inside the Phantom V, sitting in the front seats. Only because it was her spell, Molly was sitting behind the wheel and I was in the passenger’s seat. She smiled at me triumphantly, running her hands over the steering wheel in a distressingly sensual way.
    “I’ve always wanted to drive one of these! Give me the keys, Eddie. Then it’s atomic batteries to power, turbines to speed and everyone else get the hell out of the way!”
    “Sorry,” I said. “There are no keys. This is a Drood car, programmed only to accept a Drood driver. Basic security measure.”
    Molly glared at me. “You’re making that up!”
    “Not even a little bit. There are no keys because the car knows who I am and does what I tell it to. So I’m afraid we’re going to have to switch seats if we’re going to go anywhere. Really.”
    “Someone’s going to pay for this,” said Molly.
    “It’s all down to torc envy, I’m sure,” I said.
    Molly sniffed loudly, kicked the driver’s door open, and got out of the car. I got out my side, and we crossed in front of the car without speaking. The engine turned itself on as I sat down behind the wheel, and Molly banged her door shut with added violence. And that was when I heard sirens approaching. I looked in the rearview mirror, and sure enough several police cars were heading our way at speed—sirens, flashing blue lights, the works. The large crowd of tourists and others who’d been chased off the Pier by recent supernatural events waved excitedly at the approaching police. A few of the braver elements were hovering outside the Pier’s main entrance, though as yet none of them felt brave enough to go back in without some official presence to lead the way. And, if need be, hide behind.
    “Let them look,” said Molly. “They won’t find anything. The fog wiped all its traces away as it retreated. A built-in clean-up factor is the mark of a real magician.”
    “Crow Lee didn’t get where he is today by leaving evidence behind to reveal his presence,” I agreed. “Come back here in a few years and all of this will be just another urban legend. A story to tell visitors in an enjoyable and not-to-be believed way. They’ll probably be selling the tourists Fog in a Can.…”
    “So,” said Molly. “Let us adjourn to pastures new before the boys in blue come knocking on our window, inviting us to answer some pointed questions. Which I have no intention of answering. Where are we going next?”
    “Back to my old stomping grounds,” I said. “London. They call it the Smoke, and everyone knows there’s no smoke without fire. Street bystreet and block by block, London’s still the most magical city in the world. And not always in a good way.”
    “I suppose you intend to drive all the way there?” said Molly, just a bit sullenly.
    “No,” I said. “We don’t have the time, and I don’t think I trust the car’s shields to hide us for much longer. Crow Lee found us here quickly enough. And don’t look at me like that, Molly. In situations like this, paranoia becomes a survival skill. No, I think we’d better use the Merlin Glass.”
    “And risk attracting attention?”
    “Crow Lee already knows where we are,” I pointed out.
    “So we’re leaving the car here?” said Molly.
    “Hardly,” I said. “I’d have to hit the self-destruct button to keep it out of official hands, and Uncle Jack would have my scalp if I lost another of his favourite cars.”
    I already had the Merlin Glass in my hand, and I hefted the silver-backed hand mirror thoughtfully. Like its predecessor, the Glass always seemed so small and innocent in its dormant state, like a vampire hiding its sharp teeth behind a polite smile. I fed the Merlin Glass the correct coordinates through my torc, and the Glass shot out of my hand and passed right through the windscreen without affecting it in the least, to hover on the air in front of the car. It grew quickly in size, becoming a