Doctor Who_ Beyond the Sun - Matthew Jones [118]
‘Don’t be silly, Benny, of course not. There aren’t any mothers on Ursu. Kitzinger tended the Blooms when I was born.’
Kitzinger was struggling to follow their conversation. The woman was either an idiot or . . . or she wasn’t an Ursulan. Kitzinger was distracted by the object in the boy’s hand. ‘You have the female visionary,’ she said, hardly able to believe her eyes.
He held it up for her to see. ‘Yep.’
‘But do you know what it is? What will happen if your brother and sister get hold of them both?’
The woman next to her spoke. ‘Ah, that’s a rather contested topic at the moment.’
‘We have to keep them apart. Apart they are nothing. Together they could give the Sunless the power to spread across the galaxy.’
Scott became serious. ‘What do we need to do?’
‘Separate. I was trying to get outside to hide or destroy this,’ she said, indicating the male figurine. ‘But there were too many Sunless around the entrances. I couldn’t get out without being seen.’
The woman Bernice shook her head. ‘We’re safer together.’
Ahead of them, from the direction Scott and the woman had come from, Kitzinger heard the sound of booted feet crunching on the loose rock floor.
‘We’re not safe anywhere,’ Kitzinger snapped, preparing to run. ‘Make up your mind, Scott.’
The dragon boy looked between them and then nodded at her before hurtling off. Kitzinger grabbed hold of Bernice’s arm and dragged her towards a side passage. ‘Come with me. There is so much I need you to tell me and so much I need to know.’
24
REUNION
Scott wasn’t at all sure where he was heading. Just away from Kitzinger and Bernice. He needed to find somewhere to hide the little figurine or else find something to smash it to smithereens. He struck the walls of the ice corridors with it as he ran, feeling like a kid trailing a stick against a metal fence, but only succeeded in chipping off splinters of rock from the wall. Whatever material the visionary was made of, it was tough.
He decided to head for the entrance. Kitzinger had spoken of hiding her figurine in the desolate landscape outside. If he kept moving he ought to be able to get two or three kilometres away before the temperature got to him, unless his respirator gave out. The only problem was that he was no longer sure which way led out.
The tunnel he was running down suddenly opened out into a vast circular chamber. Huge ice walls leading up to an enormous glittering crystal canopy. But he was most struck by the two ribbed domes which sat opposing each other, partly submerged in the rocky floor. Clams on the ocean bed.
The Blooms.
He hadn’t seen them since he was a child. His heart fluttered when he caught sight of them. He knew it was stupid, but he felt a little awed in their presence. Like every Ursulan, he had sprung from them a half-grown child, ready to grow into an adult among his family of peers. It was shocking to see them here, buried in the ice. He was so overcome by their presence that it was a moment before he realized that he wasn’t alone.
Iranda was walking towards him from the dark scarlet shadows on the other side of the room.
She was wearing a respirator and a heavy coat. At this distance she looked little more than a bundle of furs, but he still had little trouble recognizing her. She had always exuded confidence and charisma.
He hadn’t seen his sister in several years. He had lived most of his life in the country and she had chosen to live in the cities with Nikolas. After the Sunless came he had been shocked to hear that she and Nikolas had been among the first to collaborate. He had never dreamt that one of his family would have sided with the invaders. He had wanted to travel to see them, to confront them, but movement between zones had been forbidden.
Iranda paused when she was standing directly between the two curved shadows and removed her respirator with a flourish. ‘Hello, Scott,’ she said, smiling. ‘Have you got something for me?’
Not bothering to reply, he turned and headed back the way he had come.
Nikolas stepped