Doctor Who_ Silver Nemesis - Kevin Clarke [13]
Your long journey is over. I alone understand you, and I have brought what you need.’
Reverently, he unlocked the flight case and flipped open the lid. Inside lay the silver bow. For a moment, nothing happened. Then through the rock there was a spasm of luminescence like a sudden flash of lightning on a summer night. For a brief instant, the statue of a woman was clearly visible through the rock and mud. The darkness which followed was absolute, as though light had never existed.
Almost immediately there was a second spasm of the dazzling silver light inside the rock, this time even brighter and longer. The silver light picked out the rapt watching face of De Flores and the faces of the young men around him, their expressions caught for an instant half-way between terror and fascination. More spasms followed, building in intensity until the rock was pulsating with light. There was a deafening crack that sounded like thunder, and the rock split in two, its two halves edged with fire as they fell away. The silver woman’s form lay revealed, emanating silver light so sharp it was almost blinding. The young men shielded their eyes. De Flores, however, seemed to thrive on the power he had unleashed and stood firm, appearing to breathe in strength from the very presence of the Nemesis.
‘Your strength returns,’ he whispered. ‘Soon you will be completely restored.’ His voice suddenly rose. ‘But...’ He stepped forward and knocked away the last of the rock casing which covered the statue’s left hand. He was horrified. Suddenly frantic, he turned to the others.
‘Where is the arrow?’
The young men looked at one another,
incomprehensibly.
‘It must be here,’ screamed De Flores, scrabbling wildly in the mud. ‘Find it. Find it! ’
Instantly obedient, they began examining the ground around the comet. Deeply involved in their search, they were unaware of the TARDIS materializing a few yards away, and of the Doctor and Ace stepping out.
‘I do hope we’re not too late,’ yelled the Doctor over his shoulder as he rushed forward. Turning to face the way he was going, he pulled up immediately, but it was too late.
They were staring down the barrels of eight high-velocity weapons. The Doctor was reassuring. Lifting his hat with a polite smile he addressed the young men in his best diplomatic manner. ‘Don’t worry. We’re not going to hurt you.’
Karl was shaken. ‘How did you get here?’ he demanded.
He turned to De Flores. ‘I searched that section. There was no one there.’
De Flores had risen to his feet. ‘Never mind, Karl,’ he said impatiently. ‘You will see many signs and wonders in the days to come. We have only one concern with these...
conjurers.’ He faced the Doctor. ‘Give me the arrow of Nemesis.’
The Doctor, however, was perfectly composed.
‘Fortunately,’ he replied, ‘I haven’t seen it since 1638 when it disappeared with the good Lady Peinforte.’
‘Rubbish.’ De Flores turned to Ace, who shivered involuntarily. ‘You. This is your only chance to save yourself. Where is the arrow?’
‘I know nothing about it,’ said Ace. The Doctor stepped forward protectively.
‘She really doesn’t,’ he told De Flores. ‘Allow me to explain, Ace.’ Turning his back on the guns of the paramilitaries and on De Flores he proceeded to do so with his customary animation. ‘You see, for validium to become active you must have a sufficient quantity of it. A critical mass, in fact. The statue alone is not enough without the bow...’
‘I have the bow,’ De Flores interrupted emphatically.
‘And,’ continued the Doctor, ignoring him, ‘the arrow.
But if someone could put the bow and the arrow into the statue’s hands...’
‘They have the power of life and death, not only over the Earth but over any planet in existence.’ De Flores completed the explanation for him. There was silence. The German stared menacingly at the pair. His voice became sinister. ‘You are,’ he said slowly, ‘remarkably well informed for someone who claims to know nothing.’
The Doctor looked at him, unequivocally. ‘I simply notice what