Doctor Who_ The Room With No Doors - Kate Orman [33]
The villagers watched in awed silence as their recently deceased protector stormed across the square. ‘Come on, you cowards!’ he yelled. ‘Who’s for a fight?’
The two samurai jumped down from the veranda, forgetting about Chris and the Doctor. Their courage thinned out when they got closer to the enemy and saw it was the man their captain had cut down that morning.
Captain Hadankyou made a half-hearted foray towards Kame, as though to get a better look. Even from the veranda, Chris could see the great splash of blood on the front of the samurai’s armour, the flecks of red across his cheek and jaw.
Chris turned to the Doctor. The Time Lord was transfixed, watching Kame’s progress with his mouth hanging open, the pencil hanging down from his bottom lip.
67
Two of the villagers had broken from their reverie, and were pulling open the gate. The Plum samurai backed towards it, keeping their eyes on Kame.
One by one, they went outside the village wall, the captain last. The two villagers closed the gate behind them without a word.
Kame struck the gate with the hilt of his sword and bellowed, ‘Good riddance! We don’t need noisy fellows like you here!’
He turned back to look around the astonished village, and let out a great laugh.
The Doctor made a beeline for the shrine. Kame was wandering through the square, surrounded by villagers touching his armour and hair to see if he was real.
‘Kuriisu-san!’ roared the samurai, spotting the Adjudicator. Chris stepped down and walked towards him.
The deep wound in Kame’s throat was gone, except for a ragged red line.
‘You look great for a dead man,’ said Chris.
Kame laughed. ‘It is Kannon’s blessing,’ he said. ‘When those barbarians tried to desecrate her shrine, I heard her calling me back from the land of the dead.’ He clasped Chris’s shoulder. ‘At first I was reluctant, having died so well, but then I realized this would be an opportunity to die again for her honour!’
Chris turned. The Doctor had emerged unscathed from the shrine. ‘Things have quietened down again,’ he said, ‘but who knows how long it will last?
Where are Penelope and Joel?’
An elderly couple glanced at each other. ‘We must go and let them out!’
said the woman, and the pair scurried back to their hut.
‘ Kaimon! ’
Everyone turned to look at the gate. ‘Open up!’ shouted the voice again.
Chris sighed. Kame’s hand went to the hilt of his sword. The Doctor tucked his pencil behind his ear.
68
8
Waiting for the demons
Aoi looked up at the crude gate of Hekison village. He stroked his horse’s mane, and the animal quietened. He wished he could soothe away his own apprehension as easily.
They’d taken shelter in the forest, once Aoi’s father was sure the demons were not following. They’d taken turns on watch, but Aoi found himself half asleep almost until dawn, every chittering bird and snapping twig the sound of an approaching demon. When he did sleep, he dreamt of the foreigner’s eyes.
After that mad ride through the blackness it had been impossible to trace their steps. Kiiro had snorted, ‘We won’t find the foreigners again. The demons rescued them or the demons ate them. Forget them.’
‘Then we will proceed to Hekison.’ Father took out his map. ‘First we’ll stop in the town of Toshi for supplies. It’s not far out of the way. We can still reach Hekison by midday.’
It was in Toshi that the messenger had found them. Aoi remembered him from Gufuu’s palace, one of the daimyo’s pages. The young man had jumped down from his horse as they stood outside an inn. He had bowed to Aoi’s father. ‘I was sent to find you,’ he panted. ‘There’s a message from the daimyo.’
‘ Kaimon! ’ shouted Aoi’s father again, bringing the young samurai back to the present.
The gate opened an inch. The little man who called himself Isha put his head around the great wooden door.
‘Hello again,’ he said. He slipped out, and the gate thumped shut behind him.
Aoi’s father dismounted and bowed low.