Live and Let Drood

parties.…Martha and I were such happy bright young things, before she was called back to assume the heavy mantle of the Matriarch.”
    He looked at me kindly. “You don’t have to be on your own anymore, Eddie. Would you like to come and work with me here at Uncanny? I know the family is all gone, but you could be part of the new family I’ve made here. Everyone would make you very welcome.”
    And I just couldn’t hold it back any longer. “They’re not dead! They’re still alive! The Droods are still out there, somewhere!”
    “ What ?”
    The Regent jumped to his feet, staring slack-jawed at me. And I jumped to my feet, grinning broadly. I glanced apologetically at Molly, who rolled her eyes and gave me a Go on, then, if you must look.
    “The ruined Hall isn’t our Hall,” I said to the Regent. “It’s another Hall, another Drood family, from a different dimension, with a different history. Our Hall was rotated to another Earth by Alpha Red Alpha.…You do know about that? Of course you do. I’m pretty sure it was operated from outside, by remote control, taking our family by surprise. They probably never knew what hit them, until it was far too late. And now they’re trapped in that other place, unable to get home. Butthey’re still alive! I’m sure of it! The dead Droods in the ruined Hall were just left there to distract us, to keep us from looking for the real thing! I’m working on a way to get our family back, but I need help and resources. That’s why I came here.…”
    “Showing off in front of Grandpa,” muttered Molly. “The horror, the horror…”
    But I wasn’t listening, because the Regent gave a great whoop of delight and burst out from behind his desk to grab me by the arms and dance me round his office, hollering away happily. I laughed helplessly along with him, dancing just as wildly. It felt so good to have someone else to share my good news with. Molly knew, but she wasn’t a Drood. She wasn’t family, with all that meant. So she stood to one side, smiling painfully, waiting for the Regent and I to wear ourselves out. And eventually we did. The Regent dropped back into the chair behind his desk, flushed bright red, breathing hard, grinning. I slumped into the stiff-backed visitor’s chair, fighting to get my breathing back under control. Molly sat down beside me and wouldn’t look at either of us. The Regent and I grinned at each other.
    “If Alpha Red Alpha got rid of our family,” he said, finally, “how in hell are we going to get them back?”
    “I’m working on that,” I said.
    The Regent laughed breathlessly. “Everything I’ve heard about you really is true.”
    “Oh, it is,” said Molly. “Believe it.”
    “Now, you said someone must have activated Alpha Red Alpha by remote control,” said the Regent. “Who do you think was behind that?”
    “I’m pretty sure it was Crow Lee,” I said, and then had to break off as the Regent slammed his fist on the desktop.
    “Of course it’s him! Has to be him! Only he’d have the brass nerve…Cheeky bugger! I was talking to him just the other week, and he never so much as hinted at what he was planning. He must have known I’d have thrown this whole organisation against him if I’d known.…”
    “Would you?” said Molly. “Would you really? You’d have risked everything you’ve built up to save the family that threw you out?”
    “Once a Drood, always a Drood,” said the Regent. “Right, Eddie?”
    “Unfortunately, yes,” I said. “You have to understand, Molly, despite everything, it’s always going to be Anything for the family. It’s bred in the bone.”
    “Trust me, I had noticed,” said Molly.
    “Crow Lee…” said the Regent, rubbing his hands together briskly. “I’ve been searching for some way to bring down that arrogant little shit for years. They don’t call him the Most Evil Man in the World for nothing. But as I’m sure I’m not the first to say…he’s always been too well connected for me to touch. I couldn’t even get near him because of his powerful friends in high and low places.”
    Molly looked at me. “If the Droods knew what Crow Lee was, why didn’t they take him down? Connections in high places shouldn’t have been any obstacle to your family.”
    “Crow Lee’s connections aren’t just with the Thrones of this World,” I said patiently. “We’re not just talking about the everyday movers and shakers of politics and big business. Though he