Doctor Who_ The Awakening - Eric Pringle [37]
Verney shook his head sadly: ‘Years of research, to discover that something as evil as the Malus was more than a legend.’
Turlough thought for a moment ‘It wasn’t active when you discovered it?’
‘No.’ Verney gave a wry, helpless smile. ‘My mistake was telling Sir George Hutchinson. It was his deranged mind which caused its awakening.’
This sort of talk was making Turlough feel even more nervous and agitated. ‘We’ve got to find a way out of here,’
he said urgently. ‘We have to let the Doctor know what is happening.’
Verney shrugged. ‘But how?’ He had tried all the ways there were.
Turlough studied him. The old man had obviously been shaken by his experience and looked tired and worn; if they were going to get out of here it would be up to him to lead the way. He rose from his seat and returned to the barred window. Looking out at the deserted yard, he asked,
‘Are there any guards?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘Guard!’ Turlough shouted through the window. He hurried to the door. ‘Guard!’ he shouted again. There was no reply, and no sound of movement outside. It was beginning to look as if they had been abandoned here.
Turlough tested the door. It was pretty solid too, but at least it was wood, and that would splinter if you applied enough pressure. The planks were old and gnarled, with gaps which let in strips of light. He was sure they could be made to give way.
He looked back at Andrew Verney, still sitting wearily on his seat of straw. ‘What are you like as a battering ram?’
he asked him.
Verney’s eyebrows lifted in surprise.
The underground passage connecting the church with the ancient yeoman’s farmhouse which now belonged to Ben Wolsey was long, narrow, low, winding and – since it was strewn with rocks, pitted with holes and had to be tackled in a crouching position – arduous.
So it was with a promise of considerable relief for her aching back and trembling legs that Jane Hampden negotiated the very last bend and saw, up ahead, the spiral staircase glimmering faintly in the light of the Doctor’s torch. He smiled over his shoulder to encourage her. ‘Not much further!’ he called.
‘Doctor ... Wait!’ Jane panted. Eager though she was to straighten her back and rest her legs, there were some doubts which she had to clear up before she went a step further. Indeed, her understanding of the situation was still minimal – and if she were honest she would admit that even the bits she thought she knew were pretty hazy. So she was relieved when the Doctor waited for her to catch up, and as soon as she reached him she plunged into the sea of doubts which surrounded her.
‘Will said he saw the Malus in 1643 in the church.’
‘That’s right.’
‘Then it’s been here for hundreds of years.’
‘Long before the Civil War started,’ the Doctor agreed.
He set off again.
Frustrated, Jane ran after him. She had only just begun.
‘Then why has it been dormant for so long?’
The Doctor paused at the foot of the staircase and explained it carefully to her. ‘Because it requires a massive force of psychic energy to activate it. When the Civil War came to Little Hodcombe it created precisely that.’
Ah, Jane thought. Another key piece of information brought another lightning flash. She felt the picture filling in, and as they crept quietly up the staircase together she whispered, with more confidence than she had felt at any time, ‘And Sir George is trying to recreate the same event?’
‘Yes. In every detail. Tegan’s grandfather must have told him everything he discovered. It’s the only way he knows the Malus will be fully activated.’
The Doctor’s attention was beginning to stray, as he wondered what they might find at the top of the stairs, but Jane, tugging urgently at his sleeve, brought him back to the reality of the moment and he looked down at her worried face. ‘Doctor,’ she said, ‘I’ve just had a terrible thought – the last battle in the war games has to be for real!’
The Doctor grimaced. ‘Precisely. The slaughter will be dreadful.’
Jane tugged at his sleeve again. ‘You must stop him!’
‘Yes, I know,’ the