Doctor Who_ The Bodysnatchers - Mark Morris [108]
Suddenly a thought came to her and she looked at the Doctor. 'That thing you chucked at the Skarasen, that firework thing.'
'What of it?'
'How come you were able to light it when you'd been in the water?'
'It wasn't a firework,' said the Doctor. 'It was a Pridian flare. Coated in dilumium. Completely waterproof.'
'You haven't got any more, have you? I thought maybe we could distract the Skarasen and rescue the horses.'
'Alas, no. I used all but one at the Festival of N'tapu on my last visit to Kakara. Nearly got executed for it, too.The locals thought I was trying to assassinate the High P'nbar.' He clapped Sam's upper arms lightly with both hands in a gesture of brisk affection.'Why don't you go and rejoin Emmeline and Nathaniel? I'll be with you in a minute.'
'Why?' she asked suspiciously.'What are you going to do?'
'I'm going to get the horses, as you so brilliantly suggested.'
She hated it when he was condescending, but this time she let it pass; there were more urgent matters to worry about.
'You can't,' she said.
'Why not?'
'Isn't it obvious? Go anywhere near that lot and you'll either end up as a Skarasen's dessert or get cut to ribbons by Hying hooves.'
He glanced at the feeding Skarasen and rearing horses. 'Oh, I don't think so,' he said airily.'The Skarasen's quite happy there. He won't bother me.'
'What about the horses?'
'I have a way with animals,' said the Doctor. 'See you in a minute.'
Before Sam could protest further he was heading towards the Skarasen at a brisk pace, his damp coat-tails flying behind him. Sam huffed angrily and almost went after him just to drag him back, but then thought better of it. He was exasperating sometimes, but she had to admit, however reluctantly, that his judgement was usually pretty sound. He never did something stupid just to make a point, though by the same token there were occasions when he seemed to think himself invincible.
What she didn't like really, she supposed, was the fact that he still saw a need to protect her at times, to keep her out of things, which seemed to suggest that he didn't think her as capable or as helpful as she liked to think she was. She wanted to be indispensable to him, wanted to be an equal half of a dynamic duo that would become feared and revered throughout the galaxy. She knew she'd made mistakes, shown weaknesses, but how could she put that right if he shielded her by rushing forward alone whenever they were in a perilous situation? For all that, she thought that now probably wasn't the right time to show her worth or argue the toss. She'd talk to him later, once all this was over, find out where she stood.That, of course, was if he didn't get gobbled up by a Skarasen or trampled to death by horses in the next couple of minutes.
She walked back to where Emmeline and her father were waiting, though kept her eyes on the Doctor the whole time, ready to rush in and provide what help she could if things got difficult for him. She saw the Doctor walk fearlessly up to the Skarasen, saw him stroll right past the end of its gore-coated snout, his body less than six feet from its massive, taloned claws.
He stepped over the legs of the dead horse and came to a halt beside the two which were still rearing and whinnying, their bodies now coated in sweat so thick it was like foam. To Sam's horror, the Doctor suddenly slipped lithely beneath the body of one of the horses as it reared, ducking to evade its flailing hooves.
Now he was standing between the two frenzied animals. Sam expected him to be crushed between them, expected him to fall and be trampled into the ground. She saw him reach up and take hold of the reins of first one horse and then the other. Then she heard a strange, oddly haunting sound that it took her a moment to realise was the Doctor singing.
His voice was soft and lilting, but it seemed to fill the air. He was singing in a language she had never heard anyone speak on Earth, but for all that the words were soothing, hypnotic; incredibly she found herself wishing she