Doctor Who_ Lungbarrow - Marc Platt [103]
There was a triumphant crescendo of drums and gongs.
And Chris suddenly jumped out of his chair. 'No!' he shouted at the puppets. 'That's all wrong! It wasn't like that at all!'
'Silence!' ordered Satthralope and the House rumbled angrily.
The Doctor held on to Chris, trying to calm him.
'Those aren't his thoughts,' called Glospin, pointing at Chris. 'They're Wormhole's thoughts. He's the serpent who destroyed our Family!'
The grim puppet of the Other rose, towering up from the floor. It gave a fluted shriek and rushed at the Doctor, swallowing him whole in its black cowl.
159
Chapter Twenty-seven
Table Manners
The last rays of sunlight slanted across the gardens and into the shabby hall in the South wing.
Captain Redred was only too glad to escape the House's cloying atmosphere. He checked the documents he was carrying and stepped into the transmat booth. He separated the official documents of interment registration from the item requiring special carriage to the Agency.
Deathdays always brought out the worst in a place, and the summary edict he had delivered could only add to the gloom. Yet the rumours circulating the Chapterhouse, rumours of an illegal birth at Lungbarrow, seemed unheard of at the actual scene of the disgrace. Most Family members he had encountered appeared almost improperly jovial. Only the Cousin Glospin, acting in lieu of a Housekeeper too distressed to deal with official matters, gave the occasion the due weight it demanded. But even Glospin had his own cards to play and Redred found himself acting the messenger. At least his bribe was not an insult.
A Deathday was a private occasion, when a House was left to its own grief. Worst luck, he would have to return to collect the cinerary urn containing the mind of the deceased.
He sent the signal that would transmat him back to Prydon Chapterhouse.
Something crackled. A flash and a shower of sparks. The light dimmed and the booth clogged up with smoke.
Redred wrenched back the door and got out.
Cobwebs caught in his face. He choked. His throat stung. The air outside was stifling. And the shabby hall was suddenly completely dilapidated. Its windows had been boarded up.
Instinctively, Redred accessed the Chapterhouse on his wrist-link. He'd transmatted to the wrong location. He pulled off his helmet and coughed painful y. The link hissed with empty static.
There was a movement behind him. Something grasped on his shoulder and yanked him round.
Redred yel ed as he stared up at the snout of a savage beast with yel ow tusks like knives.
***
The black cowl of the Other puppet crumpled and fell apart to reveal the figure of the Doctor, defiant amid its ruin.
Glospin was slowly clapping. 'Well played, Wormhole. An il uminating performance.'
'That's enough in front of our guests!' Satthralope cracked down her cane. 'Proceed with service,' she told the mountainous Drudges.
The Doctor returned to his place at the table.
Chris had sunk back into his chair. 'I want to tell them, Doctor. I want them to know what I saw.'
The Doctor shook his head. 'Get something to eat first. I'll tell you when.'
The headless Drudge laid a huge platter on the table and a sense of wonderment spread through the Cousins. On it sat the four fish that had come down the chimney. They were cooked whole with the inevitable garnish of mushrooms.
The second Drudge placed a small bowl before Satthralope. Its contents were purple and slimy. The old woman scooped them up and swallowed them.
'Fish tongues,' said the Doctor in answer to Dorothée's quizzical grimace. 'Traditional.'
160
The Drudges served portions of the fish to the company and offered round the ciabatta bread. The Cousins and Leela tucked in heartily. Dorothée and Chris poked at their helpings.
As the glasses were filled