Doctor Who_ All-Consuming Fire - Andy Lane [82]
Maupertuis was up and out of his chair, gazing around and trying to find the source of the shot. His gaze flickered wildly around the cavern. He didn't think to look upwards.
The Doctor managed to poke the ferrule of his umbrella into the thorny face of his rakshassa opponent. The creature hissed at him and sprang into the air, spraying pink blood from the wound. The Doctor bounced to his feet and held the umbrella before him like a sword as the beast dived at him, neatly impaling it. Its death cry rang out across the cavern, almost drowning out the constant chanting of the fakirs and causing the rent between Earth and Ry'leh to wobble alarmingly. The onward marching regiments hesitated for a few moments, waiting for their destination to come back into focus.
Roxton was throwing rocks at the rakshassa that had been harrying him. It flew higher and higher, striving to escape the persecution. As it came, within range of her weapon, Bernice fired. A small rent appeared in its wing. Its blind head snapped around, targeting her for death, but the rent suddenly opened out into a tear and its wing folded up. It fell into a spiral, screaming all the while, and hit the ground in a crumpled heap.
The shot had attracted Maupertuis's attention. His face convulsed with rage. Gesturing to Surd, he shouted, 'Kill them! Kill them!'
Surd lumbered towards the rocky stairway and began the long climb up to the apex of the conical cavern, and us.
The fourth rakshassa was stalking Moriarty across the cavern floor. Holmes and Roxton were shadowing it, but it lashed its tail violently to discourage them from getting too close. It was gaining on the Professor as his stamina gave out. I would have been quite happy to see him perish, but I knew that for the moment we were all in it together, and so I shot at the back of its head. The wound would have been fatal in a human, but it just jerked slightly, then turned its head to fix me with a blind and baleful gaze.
Holmes took his chance. Springing on the back of the beast, he took hold of the shafts of its wings and jerked backwards, as one would pull the wishbone of a turkey. A distinct snap reached my ears. The spines of its face seemed to bulge, and it slowly fell forward into one of the pools that dotted the cavern floor. Holmes clambered off its back and kicked it a few times, but it remained still.
We had killed all four of the rakshassi.
I waved a triumphant hand at Holmes. He grinned and waved back. Nearby I could see Moriarty bending over one of the fallen creatures, examining the carcass. The rank and file of Maupertuis's army marched past them, still heading for the dimensional gateway. Maupertuis himself was standing on the dais gazing malevolently up at Bernice and I. Suddenly he switched his gaze to the section of stairway leading up to us, and smiled in triumph.
Without thinking, I flung myself backwards, hitting Bernice. We fell in a tangle of limbs onto sharp rock.
'What the...'
Fire exploded across the cavern wall where we had been standing. Hot air washed across us, blistering our skin. I threw an arm across my eyes to protect them. Bernice cried out in pain behind me.
When I lowered my arm, Surd was standing in front of us. The jigsaw of scars that made up his face were distorted into a leer. Pinpricks of insane flame danced in his eyes.
I scrambled back slightly to shield Bernice as best I could. Her breath was warm against my neck.
'It's been fun,' she whispered.
'We must do this again,' I murmured in reply. She laughed, bright and clear.
Hell reached out for us.
And then there was nothing but blessed coolness. Where Surd had been standing there was just an expanse of seared rock. A faint crack! drifted up from the cavern below.
Bernice twisted her body to gaze over the edge. I edged closer and looked out into the void.
Turning like a sycamore seed, Surd's body fell away from us. For a long while he seemed to move very slowly,