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By Root 526 0

A huge shape ploughed forwards out of the darkness. Another of the darts was fired, not slowing the behemoth’s advance at all. Stuart cringed, half in terror and half in helplessness, as he heard a strange electronic scream erupt from Goibhnie's throat. The monster flung itself from side to side, crushing the alien. One foot dug into the earth by Stuart’s head sending splatters of mud - he hoped it was mud - across his face. Still Goibhnie screamed and Stuart found that he had backed up against the wall of the tunnel. He had to do something, despite his loathing of both the alien and the attacking monster. His hand closed around a bone - some distant part of his mind, locked in an anatomy lecture, reeled off 'fractured pelvis of immature stallion' -

and he prepared to use it as a weapon.

The message had gone ahead of them so that, when the Doctor and Dryfid arrived, the earth around the bases of the stones was already being removed.

'Careful!' cautioned the Doctor. 'If you don't know what you're doing with these things they can be terribly dangerous.’ He was of the opinion that they were dangerous even when you did know what you were doing. If the silicon circuits were overloaded, for example by too many people travelling simultaneously, there could be some random mixing of conformations - unpleasant if you didn't enjoy looking like someone else. He stepped up to the first stone and examined its surface closely. It was like peering into infinite space with the light of distant, long burnt-out stars only just penetrating the night.

He pressed his fingers to the stone and the muscles of the distal phalangeal joints rippled almost inconsequentially - except that the lights within the stone winked out. He repeated the procedure with the other stone.

'They should be safe now,' he told the workers.

'Carry on!' 'Dryfid commanded. He stood back with the Doctor and watched the work proceed. One of the circle guards towards them bearing a roll of parchment.

Message from Captain Rhys, sir,' the man said. Dryfid reached out to take the message, but the fool released his hold too soon and it dropped to the floor. Dryfid bent to pick it

'Look out!' one of the labourers cried. The guard was moving forward. Bent over, Dryfid could only stumble backwards to avoid the flash of the weapon.

But it wasn't aimed at Dryfid. The Doctor parried the blade with his forearm and then his index finger stabbed out against his attacker's temple: The man slowed but wasn't hampered much by the blow. His fist slammed into the Doctor's side and sent him reeling to one side. Knife clenched tightly, he followed on foot but the Doctor was ready this time. His fingers pressed into the skin above and below the guard's clavicle, felling him immediately. On the ground, his muscles twitched spasmodically.

Dryfid inched forward and peered down at the man's neck.

'A witch in our midst,' he sighed sadly, 'and how many more? He must be burnt.'

'No,' said the Doctor, but already men were moving forward splashing oil on the prone figure. And then a flame was touched to the oil. The flickering tongues spread quickly as the man began to thrash about. He pushed himself up with his arms and raised his face pleadingly to the Doctor. His skin bulged and grey tissue burst through, forming waving pseudopodia which strained to be free of the fire. The guard collapsed face down to the ground and his roasting arms embraced his head, stopping the protoplasm escaping. Finally he stopped moving.

‘That was unnecessary,' the Doctor told Dryfid, but there was no anger in his voice. If anything, there had been a touch of calculating thoughtfulness.

***

David struggled .to regain control of his aching muscles, stretched into terrible new permutations. From the direction of the tall figure he heard a sharp outlet of air, followed by a soft thud. As Nuada surged forward, his grip on David's mind suddenly released.

David's altered, animal eyes danced hungrily between the cowering forms of Jack and Ace. The creature within him, altered by congress with other creatures, had learnt