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'Ah well,' he sighed, flicking idly at a small, grey fleck adhering to his jacket, 'that could have been useful in the TARDIS.' Ace wondered what he was referring to.

They examined David where the Doctor had laid him. His skin was perhaps a bit loose-fitting, and there were welt marks on his stomach, but otherwise he looked normal.

'It worked!' Jack cried happily.

The Doctor was grim. 'It took some encouragement, but I didn't really doubt that it would work. He's asleep now, but he'll recover fully. Now we must go.'

Dryfid was waiting for them by the restored circle. With him, on a small stretcher, was Herne.

'You got him here,' the Doctor congratulated Dryfid.

'Yes, we followed your instructions and the soldiers took turns in carrying him.'

'None harmed?'

'No,' Dryfid confirmed.

'What are you talking about, Doctor?' Stevens asked.

'The chronons and antichronons being released by Herne can badly affect short-lived species if they are overexposed. Herne was carried here by about two hundred men, I should guess. I'll take him to the TARDIS and see if I can help him. Have you got the explosives, Dryfid?'

'They've got twenty-second fuses,' said Ace, 'so you should have plenty of time to get clear.'

'We shall destroy the circle as soon as you are gone,' said Dryfid, 'and it will herald a new era of peace between the peoples of Tír na n-Óg.'

'I think you may have to work harder than that,' the Doctor told him, 'but good luck, anyway.' He bent and picked up Herne with some effort.

Ace moved to help him. 'Are you all right, Professor?'

'Don't come too close, Ace, I don't want you affected. Well, goodbye, Dryfid, Bats.' The small girl waved to him with her good arm. 'Look after her, Dryfid.'

'I will, Doctor.' Dryfid had willingly taken the crippled girl under his wing as a surrogate for the family he had never had time to start with Wynne. 'Goodbye.'

The air shimmered as the Earth people left and then Dryfid planted the explosives at the bases of the keystones of the circle.

'Everybody get down,' the Doctor called. 'There'll be some feedback when the stones are destroyed.'

'What do you ... ?' Jack asked.

'Don't argue, just get down!' The Doctor flung himself to the ground just as the first shockwave crashed through the circle. The keystones began to fragment and then they too exploded. Ace covered her head against the rain of rock. One piece landed before her, and looking into the obsidian fragment she saw the light of ancient stars. Full of wonder, she took the stone and slipped it into her pocket.

'What the hell?' Stevens cursed. 'I think I've been hit. To think that I made it through a battle against demons without injury but get hit by an exploding rock. Is David all right?'

'I think so,' said Jack. He stood up and brushed himself down.

Stuart sat up rubbing his head. 'I think I must have cracked my head against a root.'

'Maybe you should get the Doctor to have a look at it.'

'I don't think you're that sort of doctor, are you, Doctor?’ Stuart looked around the clearing but the small man had vanished. 'Doctor? Where's he gone?'

The Doctor and Ace hurried through the trees. The Doctor stumbled frequently because of the weight of Herne over his shoulder, but he refused Ace's offers of help. As they ran along the road Ace felt a sense of mounting dread. What had happened to Bat? She had felt no trace of the contact which had existed between them, and yet …

'There's something coming this way,' panted the Doctor. 'Hoofbeats!'

Ace's heart leapt at the sight of the group of Ceffyl heading towards them. The central one was Bat.

She reached out a hand and touched the stump that remained of the horn.

'Bat, are you all right?'

'Not exactly . .. the soldiers . .. not thorough . .. some horn left … will recover eventually ...’

'I'm so glad you're alive, Bat. When Emrys brought those horns, I thought ... well, what else could I think?'

'You ... the Doctor .. .'

'That's right. Can we keep moving?' The Ceffyl turned and followed the Doctor and Ace along the road.