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'You've been mixing freely with humans,' Dupre observed with more acuity than the Doctor had given him credit for. 'I don't think you'd wilfully put strangers at risk. Anyway -' he started picking up the scattered bottles - 'if I get what I want, no disease will ever be able to harm me.'

'Except the disease of terminal stupidity. Will whatever you're going to do cure that?'

This time Dupre kicked him in the temple. The Doctor's head snapped to the side and he tasted blood. 'Dupre -' he began after swallowing a couple of times.

Dupre had sat down next to him again. Now he took the razor blade and placed it against the Doctor's neck. 'If you don't shut up, I'm going to cut your larynx.'

Knowing Dupre, the Doctor thought he'd probably miss and hit an artery.

But he decided not to bring this up. He lay quietly while Dupre finished unbuttoning his shirt. The magician stared at his bare chest.

'You look like us,' he whispered.

'All the difference is inside,' said the Doctor tiredly. 'You can take me apart later and see. Oh, I forgot, there's not going to be anything left.' Dupre put aside the razor blade and picked up a felt-tip pen. 'Is it too much to ask exactly what it is you're planning?'

'I intend to utilise you as a power source. Also as a reward for that which I summon.'

'Isn't that - just leave the razor blade where it is, please, this is a serious question - isn't that rather wasteful? I mean, if I'm this terrific source of power, why dispose of me so quickly?'

'Because,' Dupre said frankly, 'you're dangerous. I have the upper hand now, but I could never be sure I'd keep it.'

A patch of smartness, thought the Doctor, and just where he didn't want it.

Dupre began to mark on his chest with the pen.

'Do you mind if I ask you another question?'

'I'd rather you didn't disturb my concentration.'

'Short one.'

Dupre sighed. 'All right.'

'What do you know about a summoning charm that was stolen from Chic's?'

Dupre looked blank. 'Summoning charm? For what?'

'A water spirit.'

'He was holding out on me!' said Dupre furiously. 'The little shit!'

'I'm guessing that means you don't know anything about it.'

'I will,' said Dupre grimly, continuing with his work.

But I won't, thought the Doctor. The whole thing is going to remain a mystery to me. At least he had the satisfaction of having set something right. Mrs Flood was free. The strange story that had begun at the Delesormes plantation all those years ago was over. But the charm was still out there, capable of causing mischief. Could she be called back, trapped again, this time by someone who knew what they were doing? like whoever was tracking him. The Doctor couldn't shake his feeling that the two were connected somehow. Of course, if he didn't survive this encounter with Dupre, as seemed probable, the point was moot.

All these years, he thought unhappily, all those enemies defeated, all those dangers skirted, and now I'm going to be killed by a fool.

'What are you doing?' he asked. 'I mean, at the moment.'

'I'm inscribing the necessary runes so that I can cut them into you accurately'

Oh.'

There was silence for a few minutes. 'And then what?'

"Then I rub the appropriate powders into the wounds, to facilitate the summoning.' Dupre smiled. 'That will hurt.'

'How nice for you. What happens next?'

'I construct a magic circle for myself, and perform the necessary spells.'

'What do you draw the circle in? My blood?'

Dupre nodded towards the bucket. 'Graveyard dust.'

'Ah,' said the Doctor thoughtfully. 'How about a last request?'

Yes?'

'Make your circle as far away from me as possible. I really don't want my last sight to be of you gesticulating like an idiot.'

For a second Dupre's eyes blazed, then he smiled. 'We'll see,' he said silkily.

Anji ran stumblingly up the dark road. It was cold. She could see her breath, a cloud on the edge of the torch beam, and wished she had grabbed her gloves as well as her jacket. She was on