Doctor Who_ Cats Cradle_ Witch Mark - Andrew Hunt [115]
Almost as clear as the day, he could see the scattered remains of the centaurs. He had dragged them into the tunnel for Nuada
to absorb so that he could become the depraved monstrosity that swayed back and forth with the limp silver-suited figure clenched between the claws on his forefeet. Inspector Stevens lay in a daze alongside Nuada's heavy tail and another human crouched by the wall, fumbling with a piece of bone from which tattered shreds of muscle and tendon still hung.
David shivered inside, but the creature sprang forward and buried its teeth into Nuada' s neck. Nuada let out a roar of such pain and magnitude that David felt his eardrums bulge inwards - almost to breaking point. The scream reverberated across the enclosed space.
Nuada dropped Goibhnie and struggled to flail round at the back of his neck. His first wild blow crashed into the wall of the tunnel crushing his hand to pulp. David dug his teeth further in and felt the warm spurt of blood against his palate. The muscles at the back of Nuada's neck tensed, squeezing at his jaw and in a rapid movement, he flung himself over on to his back, trying to flatten David. Still David gripped tightly: He found a foothold in the mud and tugged backwards. With a satisfying tearing of flesh, one of Nuada's vertebrae was ripped out with a chunk of soft tissue. Nuada stiffened, all the nervous pathways to his limbs cut off. Only his head still moved, and in its dying moments, it whipped round and crashed against David's skull, plummeting him painfully into unconsciousness.
Several of the Firbolg allowed themselves to be put into harness. The situation was so extreme that the capriciousness of horses could not be allowed to play any part. Thick ropes were passed around the stones and the Filbolg began to pull. The slippery mud, whilst hampering them to some extent, also facilitated the passage of the stones, and once speed was attained their own momentum kept them moving. As they were approaching the tunnel through the wall, Stuart and Stevens emerged, carrying the unmoving body of Goibhnie. Ace and Jack were close behind; between them they carried a distorted figure, half human, half beast. The Doctor hurried forward to meet them.
'Ace, what have you been up to?’ he asked harshly, but not concealing the relief in his voice.
'Professor!' Ace ran to him and hugged him. The Doctor grinned in embarrassment 'Thanks for leaving me,'
'I knew you'd be all right. And that you’d get back here.’
'Who's this?' asked Jack.
'It's the professor. Professor this is Jack, and this is Inspector Stevens.'
‘Yes, we've already met.'
‘And this is David.' She pointed to the poor, deformed creature on the floor. The Doctor knelt by him and ran his fingers lightly across the altered flesh.
'Doctor,’ Stuart said 'Goibhnie’s injured. He was attacked by that thing in there.'
'But we need him,’ the Doctor groaned. He turned to look at the people of Tír na n-Óg. Some of them were looking at David with fire in their eyes. ‘Don’t touch him,’ he warned. ‘I don’t want him hurt.
Position the stones on either side of the entrance,' he commanded. He looked back at David.
‘Can anything be done for him?’ Ace asked.
‘He’s infected by Goibhnie’s protoplasmic material. His body and mind have been taken over by the alien presence.’
‘He’s possessed?’ asked Stevens. ‘Maybe I can help. I have some experience with these things.
Perhaps I could perform an exorcism?’
‘I haven’t got time to deal with him now,’ the Doctor told Ace. ‘Come with me, I’ll need your help.’
He led her over to the stones which were now in place. ‘Once I’ve reactivated the transmat device, you must keep