Free Secret Histories 10: Dr. DOA by Simon R. Green Page B

then? Kate just sniffed.
You’re on a boat, aren’t you? It’s hardly going to sink.
This typical example of Drood tact and consideration is why I ran away from home first chance I got. And yet, I keep going back. I think one of us assumes the other is going to change someday, and I don’t know which of us is the bigger idiot.
    Fortunately, Molly’s magics returned long before the Blackhawke, and she teleported us back into the Drood family grounds, right outside the Hall. She smiled at me, just a bit smugly, because she knew she wasn’t supposed to do that. In fact, technically speaking she shouldn’t have been able to do it, given that the Sarjeant-at-Arms is constantly upgrading all our protections and defences. Droods have spent centuries keeping people safe, and as a result we have a lot of enemies. But no one’s ever been able to keep Molly Metcalf out of anywhere she wants to be. Especially if she thinks someone doesn’t want her to be there.
    “Good to be home, I suppose,” I said.
    The next thing I knew, I was lying on a bed somewhere. Flat out, a pillow under my head, fully clothed but with a blanket over me. I started to sit up, and Molly was quickly there at my bedside, putting a restraining hand on my chest and telling me to lie back.
    “It’s all right, Eddie,” she said quickly. “I’m here. You collapsed, out in the grounds. I couldn’t move you, and you wouldn’t wake up, so I had to call for help. Your family carried you into the Hall and brought you here. We’re in the Infirmary.” She managed a small smile. “You should have seen them panicking. The Sarjeant was convinced you’d been struck down by some unseen enemy, as the start of some major attack on the family. I told them you’d just fainted.”
    “I don’t faint,” I said.
    And then I stopped as I took in the look on Molly’s face. What she was really feeling and that she’d been trying to hide with artificial cheerfulness.
    “Molly? What is it? What’s happened?”
    “The doctors have been examining you,” Molly said carefully. “I was concerned, after what the angel said about death hovering over you. So I insisted they run a full series of tests. Check everything. They were very thorough. You’ve been out for more than three hours, Eddie!”
    I didn’t know what to say. Nothing like this had ever happened to me before. And I once had an entire hotel fall on me, back in the States. Even when I’m not actually in my armour, I’m used to feeling protected against anything the world can throw at me. I did my best to smile reassuringly at Molly, but it didn’t feel like it came out right. There was something in her eyes, something she knew that I didn’t . . .
    “What’s wrong, Molly?”
    “Eddie . . .”
    She couldn’t bring herself to say it. Her voice choked off as tears threatened to spill down her face. I looked at her, bewildered. It takes a lot to make Molly cry. For the first time, I realised half a dozen medicalstaff in white coats were standing around, watching me closely. One of them, Dr Mary Drood, stepped forward. I used to see her all the time, back when I was a kid. When the old Sarjeant-at-Arms would beat the crap out of me on a regular basis, for this infringement or that, she was the one who stopped the bleeding and got me back on my feet again. She was older now, of course; a medium-height middle-aged woman with a calm, professional presence. A warm smile and cool grey eyes. These days, she was in charge of the Special Isolation Area.
    I sat up abruptly, despite Molly’s objections. I didn’t feel feverish, or injured, or in pain. So what the hell was I doing in the Special Isolation Area? That was reserved for the most extreme cases, where the patient had to be kept away from everyone else to protect the rest of the family. I felt the first cold touch of fear in my heart.
    I made a point of ignoring Dr Mary while I took a good look at my surroundings. The whole place had been painted