Doctor Who_ Cats Cradle_ Witch Mark - Andrew Hunt [98]
'And who are these others?' Nuada asked.
'Bring them in! Bring them in!' Dryfid croaked. Nuada beckoned for them all to come in and shut the large wooden doors behind them.
'Who are you?' one of the seated men asked.
Captain Rhys stepped forward. 'For some reason Emrys thought they should be brought to Tír na n-
Óg.'
'So what are their names?' Nuada bellowed.
'David Gibson,' David said waving his hand. 'This is Jack Pilgrim.'
'Hi!' Jack smiled uncertainly.
'I'm Inspector Graham Stevens of Scotland Yard Metropolitan Police Force, Paranormal Investigations Team.'
. A large title for a large man,' laughed Nuada. 'I am General Nuada. The man seated in the chair is our leader Dryfid.'
Another of the assembled men jumped up. 'I want the girl burnt. She is a witch. She deserted me and took up with the company of Ceffyl. Burn her.'
'Chulainn,' Ace gasped. Her face twisted and with a low scream she collapsed to the floor as though events had overcome her.
Stevens dropped to her side. 'What's the matter with her?'
Chulainn sneered. 'More proof that she is a witch. She cannot face the accusation.'
‘Chulainn , ' Dryfid spoke quietly. 'There is only one proof that she is a witch - the witch mark. She did not carry it when she last passed through Dinorben, but you may look again.'
Chulainn bent over and pulled Ace's hair aside. 'Nothing. Maybe they have become more adept at disguising themselves. '
'She is not a witch.'
Jack asked, 'What do you mean by witch?' .
‘All will be explained in time.'
David rubbed his hand against the back of his neck and looked down at Ace. 'We haven't got much time. We're going right back to Llanfer Ceiriog.'
'I'm afraid we cannot allow that,' Dryfid told him.
‘Ace has already explained that to us,' Stevens reminded David. 'But I'm a representative of the police force in England. Ace thought that if you could get in contact with the British government they might supply you with weapons to combat your enemies. I'm willing to act as a go-between.'
‘I fear it is too late for that. Some days ago I might have agreed to such a scheme, but now the land is growing colder, colder than it has ever been. The world is ending - the sky has fallen, maybe it will not be long before the oceans overflow their limits.'
'Superstition,' Nuada said.
'Probably, probably, but ... '
Stevens interrupted. 'And with this catastrophe you'd exile us to remain here?'
'Once we have escaped you will be allowed to return to Earth. It will be too late for you to stop us then.'
'Ace is coming round,' Jack said. He knelt down beside her and lifted her head from the floor. 'Ace, Ace, can you hear me?'
'What happened? My head hurts.'
'It was a wild party,' David said.
Stevens told her, 'You fainted.'
'Me? Faint?' Ace's voice was filled with disbelief. With a resounding crash, the council room doors were flung open. Emrys strode in, carrying a large bloodstained sack. He bore it like a trophy, and pride shone through on his ichor-streaked face.
'My lord Nuada,' he said, 'the problem has been dealt with. He poured the contents of the sack out on to the table. They skittered, twisting and turning, across its polished surface. One of them fell to the floor by Ace. She picked it up and gazed at it with horror in her eyes. Her mind grew numb and her fingers with it - so much so that the bloodied unicorn's horn slipped from her hand.
'Bat,' she whispered.
14:
There ...
The first blast threw the Doctor and Bathsheba to the ground and filled the air with an acrid smell of burning. The creature let out a wailing cry as if it was in pain. The Doctor raised his head just as a second bolt of light hit the car and ignited the petrol seeping from the damaged tank. The car was turned into a ball of flame that engulfed the creature but passed with little effect over their heads.
The Doctor stood up and looked at the burning wreckage.