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Before any of them could move, one of the Drudges turned and left its position at the Loom, moving urgently away into the House.

***

'So when's it due?' said Dorothée.

'What?' said Leela, her mouth full of dried magenta. They had stopped in the kitchen, because Leela felt peckish again.

'You're eating for two, aren't you?' Dorothée said. 'So how long gone are you?'

Leela fingered her knife. 'You will not speak of that again, Dorothée.'

'You'l have to tell someone sometime. Anyway, I thought Time Lords couldn't do that.'

200

'The Doctor said my ancestors were from Earth.'

'You must have had a hell of an effect on what's his name?'

'Andred.'

'Yeah. Or maybe he's just into raw leather.'

Leela had walked across the kitchen towards an alcove. 'These are yours,' she said, fishing up Dorothée's plastic shopping bags.

There was nothing left except a box of peppermint teabags, which Dorothée pocketed.

Leela was examining the bars across the alcove door. 'Someone has tried to hack through these.'

'Wonder why they gave up,' said Dorothée. 'That's nearly sawn through.'

Something slobbered on the other side. The two women backed away from the door.

'We have disturbed it,' said Leela and she pul ed out her knife.

With a crash, something hurled its weight against the barrier. The bars splintered.

The door thundered repeatedly under the onslaught. 'Time to move,' said Dorothée. She turned and ran straight into a Drudge, looming above her like a fairytale ogre.

As it snatched at her, the door smashed off its hinges. Out of the pantry, with a growl and a stench like old cheese, stalked a white dragon. A black tongue coiled from the centre of its wide orchid-like head. Three eyes waved on thin stalks above its beautiful ruff of blotched petals.

The Drudge caught up Dorothée, lifting her as a missile. The brute moved fast on stubby crocodile legs. Its tongue shot out, curling around the servant's wooden body.

Dorothée tumbled clear as the Drudge was dragged in. The constricting tongue tightened and splintered the huge servant in two.

The animal was blocking Leela's escape. It turned towards her with a snarl. She aimed and threw her knife, striking the creature right in the mouth.

201

It spat out the blade. Its tongue frothed white blood, but it still ambled straight at her.

Dorothée had grabbed a heavy fork. She brought it down on the thing's muscled haunches and almost bent the prongs.

Its long tail lashed her aside like a whip.

Leela was fumbling inside a small pouch. She pulled out a small brown spike, holding it between her fingers, but the thing was on her before she could act. The tongue coiled round her arm, dragging her down.

The spike flicked out of her grasp.

'Use it,' she yel ed, struggling to pul free. Dorothée dodged the swinging tail and scooped the spike off the floor. It was some sort of dried thorn.

Leela's head was only inches from the creature's maw as Dorothée jammed the barb into the back of its flower head.

It shrieked, turned and froze where it stood, its sleek muscles solidified.

'Impressive,' said Dorothée, cutting Leela's arm free of the white statue's tongue.

'Janis thorns. The Doctor forbade me to use them,' said Leela, holding her arm where bruises were already flaring.

'Same with me and explosives.' Dorothée pulled the cans of nitro-nine from her pocket.

'I think my wrist is broken,' Leela added.

Dorothée sighed. 'Something tells me you should be taking things easy in your condition.'

'Would you?' said Leela.

Dorothée stifled a grin.

***

'You are charged with consorting with innumerable restricted off-Gallifreyan species. You have interfered, without due cause or instruction, in their temporal development and evolution, far beyond the dictates of dutiful observation.'

'Oh, is that all?' sniffed the Doctor.

'Furthermore, there are allegations that you have transgressed the law protecting the preteritive time of Gallifrey, in that you did travel back into the history of the world, thus endangering the