Doctor Who_ Beyond the Sun - Matthew Jones [123]
‘I am not a cog in a machine.’
‘Well prove it, Iranda. Choose not to activate the device.’
Bernice used the tense silence that followed to think about escape. The two Sunless whom Iranda had ordered away had not returned, which left four. A male next to Jason and a female a little way to the left, standing on its own. And then there were two more by the entrance. She frowned.
There wasn’t going to be any escape that way.
As far as she was concerned Iranda and Nikolas were no longer really in the equation. Which left four Sunless and five of them. She chewed on her knuckle. They were not good odds.
Movement distracted her. She turned and saw Nikolas walk across the stone disc to one of the graves. His feet fell heavily on the stone, sending small rocks skittering across the uneven rock floor. He shrugged off his heavy coat and let it fall to the floor. He pulled his mask from his face, keeping his pale head down, not looking at anyone. It was as if he were somehow ashamed of what he was about to do.
Iranda called his name, but he didn’t answer. Didn’t once look up.
And then he lay down in the open grave. For a moment nothing happened and then his body began to shimmer. He gave a short desperate scream, before the colour drained from his face completely. His hair and clothes dropped away as if they had only ever been delicately resting upon him. All that was left of him was a smooth statue, lying in the recess. Simple, crude features cut into a stone face.
Bernice ran her tongue over her teeth, tasting the foul greasy eyeliner. The atmosphere in the room had changed in the moment that Nikolas had died. As if the tension had been turned up a few notches or they were all suddenly sitting under a pylon.
One down, one to go.
Kitzinger was struggling to understand what Bernice was doing. Why was she trying to persuade them to activate the weapon? Even if Iranda died, the Sunless would still inherit it. It didn’t make sense.
Iranda was staring in horror at what remained of Nikolas. Kitzinger reached into the folds of her coat and rested her hand on the crystal dagger. It was clear to her that killing the woman was the best way of preventing the Sunless having access to the weapon.
Iranda looked desperate. She was clutching her stomach protectively as if she were in pain.
She kept repeating the same words over and over. ‘That’s not going to happen to me that’s not going to happen to me that’s not going to happen to me.’
Kitzinger slowly started to move forward, tightening her grip on the hilt of her weapon. She stopped in her tracks when Iranda suddenly ordered the Sunless to put Scott into the second grave.
Emile was on his feet even as Bernice was angrily telling Iranda that the substitution wouldn’t work. Iranda shook her head, as if she didn’t want to hear it. Bernice didn’t sound at all confident.
The Sunless had moved away from him to snatch Scott. Emile had a clear path to the stone disc.
To the hole in the ground. The grave.
Emile ran. He heard Bernice call his name but he didn’t look back. He was just certain that he wasn’t going to let them put Scott in the ground. Wasn’t going to let them turn him into stone.
And he could think of only one way to stop them.
Before he had a chance to have second thoughts, Emile slipped around the Sunless holding Scott and jumped into the grave, screwing his eyes up tight.
***
The boy gave out a high-pitched yell.
‘Emile!’ Bernice screamed, hardly able to believe what he had done. She skidded to a halt at the top of the grave. The pale-faced figure lying at the bottom of the grave stared back at her.
‘Oww,’ Emile said, rubbing his elbow. ‘I duffed my funny bone.’
Bernice wanted to laugh, cry and smack him all at the same time. Instead she turned to the two Sunless who were holding Scott between them.
‘The man you’re holding isn’t the visionary. I don’t know what will happen to him if you place him there. For all I know you may damage the device.’ She stared at them for any sign of a change of heart. Any sign that they