Doctor Who_ The Infinity Doctors - Lance Parkin [59]
The Doctor shook his head. ‘No. Much easier working from familiar surroundings.’ The Magistrate didn’t seemed convinced. ‘My notes are all in the TARDIS.’ Still no response. ‘I work better on my own.’
‘Whatever you say,’ the Magistrate said grimly.
‘There are good people there: Hedin, Norval, the President. You’re not exactly the class dunce.’
‘I hope you know what you are doing.’
The Doctor nodded. ‘So do I.’
Larna bumped into the Doctor as she left her room. ‘We must stop meeting like this,’ he said lightly.
She smiled. ‘I thought you were on your way to the Conference.’
‘Yes, yes, I am.’
‘So why have you got a Time Regulator under your arm?’
‘I haven’t… it’s…’ he faltered, ‘How did you know? It’s in a case.’
‘It’s in a Time Regulator case,’ she giggled. ‘Nothing else is that shape. Look, it’s OK. I’m not going to tell anyone.’
‘Right, right. Thank you.’ He hurried away.
Larna watched him go, then set off in the opposite direction.
If the Watch weren’t going to talk to Savar, then she was going to have to. Lord Savar’s rooms were a few levels below hers – she’d checked with one of the porters exactly which one. Despite his experiences in space, and his erratic behaviour since, he was still a Time Lord, and no one had the hearts to evict him from chambers.
She knocked on the door.
After a moment, it opened. Savar stood there, smiling at her, the way he always did.
‘Can I come in?’ she asked, once she’d realised that he wasn’t going to offer.
He checked his pocket watch. ‘You will have to be quick, I was just about to go to sleep.’
Larna apologised, but wasn’t about to let that stop her. It wasn’t even Nine Bells yet. She pushed her way in before Savar could change his mind.
The room was bland, disappointing. Larna hadn’t known what to expect, but Savar was unique, and she thought his room would be too. But these resembled the guest quarters of a family Home – neutral colour scheme, a couple of decorative objects that wouldn’t offend anyone or make any form of statement. The bookshelf was virtually empty, the battered wardrobe was out of place. The only thing of any note was the huge freestanding clock, ticking its way relentlessly to Nine Bells.
‘Would you like a drink?’ Savar offered, but he had already sat down. The table in front of him had a scattering of charts and notebooks on it. There was also a small hand terminal, which bleeped every couple of seconds. It reminded Larna of a dripping tap.
Savar was cross-legged on his chair, examining a time chart.
‘You know what it is, don’t you?’ she asked. ‘The distortion we noticed.’
‘Yes.’ He looked up at her with eyes full of sadness. ‘The end of the universe.’
‘What do you mean by that?’
Savar coughed. ‘I didn’t realise that the concept was ambiguous.’ He glanced up at the clock. ‘My dear, you really ought to run along, it is getting late.’
‘Waym was murdered,’ she insisted.
‘Yes, yes, I know,’ he returned to his charts, embarrassed.
‘You were the last person that saw him alive.’
He didn’t look up. ‘Yes.’
‘They thought that I did it. Some of them still do.’
‘Well, we both know that isn’t the case.’ He looked up, his eyes were pleading with her. ‘We can discuss this in the morning.’
The clock began to chime.
Larna stood her ground. ‘One of my friends died, one of the guards was kidnapped. This man is vicious.’
Savar looked agitated. ‘Please leave,’ he said.
‘I’m not leaving until I get some answers. This is serious.’
‘Leave,’ Savar said softly.
The Clock chimed for the ninth time.
A shadow fell over Savar, and when it had passed his blue robes had become a heavy grey cloak and his face had become younger, bearded, more distinguished. But there was nothing where his eyes should have been, the sockets were empty, surgically clean, full of shadow.
Larna backed away.
He gave a thin smile, and glanced over at the door. The lock rattled, bolts slammed. Telekinesis.
‘Savar…’ she pleaded. This was the Savar who was found in space without his eyes. The insane one. Somehow the timestreams had become crossed.