Doctor Who_ Bunker Soldiers - Martin Day [55]
Isaac watched him go, and Dodo saw the unease that creased his features. ‘It will, perhaps, be heaven to be away from you,’
the old man whispered.
Still boiling with contempt, and knotted with worry about his daughter, Yevhen marched down the corridor towards his rooms. He hated being away from his usual dwellings, and the madness of Dmitri’s decree only inflamed his irritation further.
A soldier passed by, his eyes turned away from the adviser.
For a moment Yevhen watched him go, then he snapped ‘Boy?’
The lad paused, then turned. ‘My lord?’ he queried nervously.
Yevhen shook his head sadly. A broadsword hung from the boy’s belt, a reminder that the defence of Kiev rested with such as him – but his voice had barely broken!
‘Come with me,’ said Yevhen.
‘But I have been ordered to search for a beast, at liberty within these walls.’
‘You will have time enough to complete your search when you have performed an errand for me.’
‘And the tunnels, sir. We must look out for secret passageways.’
Yevhen’s eyebrows arched, but he made no comment on the young soldier’s revelation. ‘There are enough dark monsters and tunnels in Kiev to last you a lifetime, boy. I merely wish you to deliver a letter.’
The soldier nodded curtly, and followed Yevhen into his room. The adviser strode over to a desk, rummaged for a small scrap of parchment and a quill, and began to write.
After a few minutes, he looked up. ‘Have you ever wondered what the holy scriptures truly say, boy? Or imagined how they would sound in our own tongue?’
The soldier’s eyes widened, and he stammered as he searched for an appropriate response. ‘I am content,’ he said,
‘with... with what I hear. What I know. What I am allowed to know.’
‘But of course,’ smiled Yevhen. ‘I was like you once. But I had a desire to learn, to realise for myself. I had to teach myself Latin.’ He watched as the ink dried on the parchment. ‘Let me be honest with you. I am not sure the reward was worthy of the effort.’
‘No, sir?’
Yevhen shook his head. ‘We only want an illusion of freedom, do we not, boy?’
‘I do not know, sir. You may be right.’
Yevhen handed over the sheet of parchment. ‘Give this to Bishop Vasil.’ He paused for a moment, thinking. ‘I suppose he may already be... busy. In which case, give it to the most senior cleric you can find. They will know what to do.’
‘My lord.’ The boy bowed quickly, and headed for the door.
‘One last thing,’ said Yevhen, stopping him in his tracks.
The boy turned.
‘The letter instructs that, once read, it is to be burnt in flame.
See that this is done.’
The soldier nodded.
‘Soon there will be flames enough to burn all the vile libraries of Kiev,’ said Yevhen quietly as he watched the boy go.
Dodo was escorted into the debating chamber. Steven and Dmitri looked up from their discussion, the former breaking immediately into a broad smile.
‘Dodo!’ he exclaimed. ‘I’m so glad to see you!’
She hugged him, squealing in delight. ‘You’re a free man now!’
‘Was it ever in doubt?’ Steven laughed.
‘Come, sit with us,’ said Dmitri, his grave tones cutting through their celebration. ‘We were discussing the Doctor.’
‘Have you heard from him?’ asked Dodo, unable to contain her excitement.
Dmitri shook his head. ‘No, and neither would I expect to.
Even if the Doctor is, in time, victorious, I must assume for the moment that he fails. We may not see him again until the Tartars are at our very doors.’
‘Or we just may not see him again,’ said Dodo, copying his deflated tone.
‘Try to understand why I must speak in this way,’ said Dmitri. Dodo instantly felt ashamed of her irritation. ‘The Doctor has told me. .’ The governor struggled to articulate his thoughts. ‘You come from a time that has yet to happen, a world that has yet to be – yet it is our world, our earth, and we people are to you the corpses of history.’
‘The Doctor said that?’ queried Steven.
‘Not in his words,’ said Dmitri, ‘but in the pauses between his words.’ He sighed. ‘I am beginning to wonder if