Doctor Who_ The Banquo Legacy - Andy Lane [110]
‘Can we make an educated guess?’ Kreiner asked. ‘Meaning can you?’
‘Something that wouldn’t look out of place in the period,’ the Doctor said. He tapped his chin with his index finger as he considered. ‘Wouldn’t want to use up a lot of its limited power by altering the form too much. A sophisticated electrical component of some sort perhaps?’
‘Nothing like that here,’ Kreiner said.
‘Except Harries’s equipment,’ Stratford offered. ‘It’s in the study.’
‘That’s right,’ I agreed. ‘I could see one of the valves glowing still when we were sneaking out earlier. I suppose –’ But I got no further. The Doctor and Kreiner had both pushed past me and were already out of the door.
‘Is it just me,’ Stratford asked slowly, ‘or are we missing something important?’ There was a bang as the study door was slammed.
‘I think if anyone’s missing something important…’ I began. But again I stopped. Susan suddenly gave a shriek of pain and collapsed to the floor.
‘What is it? What’s wrong?’ Stratford immediately helped her up and out of the small room back into the corridor. I joined them and together we guided her to the dining room and sat her on a chair by the table. As we went, I realised she was no longer limping.
When she looked up, the change in the woman was startling. She seemed to have recovered her strength. Her eyes were shining and bright, deep whirlpools of experience.
‘Are you all right?’ I asked her, concerned more than I care to recall.
She tilted her head slightly to one side as she replied, as if amused by the question. ‘Obviously,’ she said.
‘Ah, there you are.’ The Doctor strode into the room, Kreiner close on his heels. He too looked at Susan. ‘Feeling yourself again, I trust?’ He held the shattered remains of a valve, and tapped the metal base against his palm as he spoke. Several shards of smoky glass still clung to it.
‘You could say that, yes,’ Susan replied. Her voice seemed harsh suddenly.
‘Excellent.’ The Doctor clapped his hands together in delight.
‘Can we leave, then?’ Kreiner asked wearily. I got the impression the weariness was part of an act.
‘Better ask Comp– er, the young lady,’ the Doctor told him. Then he turned to me and Stratford. ‘It’s been such fun,’ he said. ‘A delight. In parts.’ He grasped my hand, then Stratford’s. ‘We live and learn,’ he said. ‘If we’re lucky, that is. Now, I hope you won’t think us rude, but perhaps you’d be kind enough to wait outside just for a moment.’
‘I beg your pardon?’ Stratford said. I was too surprised to say anything.
‘I’m sorry I can’t explain,’ the Doctor said gently, as if to children. ‘But if you could give the three of us a minute or two. Please.’
He ushered us out of the room. I caught sight of Susan’s face as she watched us leave. If she had given the slightest hint of anxiety or suspicion I would have objected, but she seemed calm and relaxed. And after all, where could they go?
‘What’s all that about?’ Stratford wondered as we stepped out into the corridor.
My reply was drowned out by the noise. I have never heard anything like it. A rasping, throaty cacophony of sound that seemed to be in competition with its own echo as it built and built and then simply faded away.
Stratford and I did not hesitate. We ran back into the room.
The Doctor and Herr Kreiner were gone. Impossibly, they were no longer in the room. I even looked under the table. Susan was sitting where we had left her, but her expression was one of wide-eyed surprise. She looked from Stratford to me and back again.
‘Where have they gone?’ Stratford demanded.
She shook her head in confusion. ‘My memory,’ she gasped.
‘Amnesia? The shock perhaps?’ I said.
‘It’s not unusual,’ Stratford told her gently.
‘No, no,’ she said. ‘You don’t understand. I haven’t lost my memory. It’s…’ She struggled towards the right word. ‘It’s changed. I remember such strange things. Things that I know are impossible. Have never happened. Could never have happened.’ She got unsteadily to her feet, and took a limping step towards us, wary of her bad ankle.
‘Where did they go?