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'Yes, that's the one. Now have a look and see if you can find a box labelled Tranquilon ... oh, I don't suppose you can read though.'

'Yes, I can!' Bathsheba told him. She turned and leaned over into the boot space of the car. It was littered with all sorts of boxes, bottles and tubes, many bearing unfamiliar names.

'I threw this into the car a few days ago,' Stuart told the Doctor 'because there'd been some reports of a feral dog around Llanfer Ceiriog. Always better to be safe than sorry.'

'It wasn't a dog, it was a wolf,' the Doctor told him, 'I encountered it just before Ace and myself entered Tír na n-Óg.’

'A wolf? From here?'

'Yes. It was one of the humans' tame animals. It was only attacking sheep because it was hungry, I should think. Hungry and frightened.'

'Here you are,' Bathsheba pushed a box under the Doctor’s nose, 'Tranquilon.'

'We can use these against those demons if we come up against them. They may slow them down a little.'

'Only a little,' the Doctor agreed. He opened the box, took out one of the darts and loaded it into the rifle; as an afterthought he slipped several more of the darts into his jacket

'You don't think they'll attack again, do you?' Bathsheba asked anxiously.

'I don't see why they shouldn't,' Stuart told her.

'Don't worry, Bats, we're nearly at the island and we haven’t seen ... '

'Jesus, what was that?' Stuart cried, twisting the wheel to the side.

'What?'

'Something just went through the headlights. Like a dog, only bigger, much bigger.'

'They're coming!'

'Stay calm,' the Doctor advised, 'just keep on driving. Daffyr told us that the causeway will be exposed now. Provided the demons don't catch us we should be able to outrun ... '

Suddenly a huge bulk flung itself against the side of the car, lifting it up and flipping it over.

Bathsheba screamed as the car tumbled over and over. There was a ripping sound as something penetrated the metal of the roof and the front windscreen suddenly filled with cobwebs. The car ground to a halt, right side up, but it had suffered too much damage. Once the engine had faltered to nothing, the silence was complete.

'It's gone,' said Stuart, clutching the rifle to himself. 'It can’t have expected quite such an impressive result. We'll have to walk now.'

'Walk out there?' moaned Bathsheba.

The Doctor's sensitive ears were pricked now, listening. ‘Be quiet, I think it's still out there ... '

The windscreen exploded inwards as the head of a horse, red eyes shining, nostrils flared and mouth agape, plunged through to attack them. Its force was such that it went between the Doctor and Stuart and into the gap between their seats. The Doctor flung his arms around its neck and shouted to the others,

'Quick, get out of the car.’ He had barely registered Stuart opening his door when the creature began to thrash around to free itself. He let go and pushed himself out of his door.

‘Doctor, help me!’ Bathsheba screamed and the Doctor turned and saw that she was still inside. The creature was lunging forward to catch her in its teeth. He tugged her door open and `pulled her out, tossing her to the ground some feet from the car. The monster – if it was a horse then it was the worst kind of nightmare – pulled itself loose from the car’s wreckage and turned to face them.

The Doctor pulled Bathsheba up by his side and cradled her against him. ‘when I say, “Now”, throw yourself under the car and I’ll lead the demon away from you,’ he whispered quickly. The monster took a step towards them and Bathsheba felt the Doctor’s muscles tense.

‘Now!’ he shouted, but before either could move the ground in front of them exploded under the impact of a bolt of fire.

13:

The Land of Shadow

The girl brought the unicorn to a stop just in front of the startled onlookers. The rest of the herd scattered to graze on the lush green vegetation.

'Are you lot friends of dog-breath?' she asked, nodding towards Hughes. He gazed at her with open dislike in his eyes.

'No, I'm a police officer. Inspector