Doctor Who_ The Stone Rose - Jacqueline Rayner [36]
‘Tell them you bring them a message of peace and love,’ the Doctor hissed at the confused Tiro, grabbing him by the waist to stop him falling as he staggered forwards. ‘Trust me. Then we can get out of here.’
Tiro, his bewildered eyes barely able to focus on the crowd in front of him, croaked out, ‘I bring you a message of peace and love.’
The crowd went wild, shouting and screaming and cheering. The Doctor passed Tiro down to the stunned Gracilis, waiting below, and whispered, ‘Get him out of sight.’
‘Some entertainment for the festival!’ the Doctor called, trying to regain the crowd’s attention and allow Gracilis and Tiro to make their getaway. ‘And here’s a bit more!’ He produced a small bronze coin. ‘One as! Not worth much. But you wouldn’t want to lose it.’ He opened both his hands, palms flat. ‘And I’ve only gone and lost it!’ He pointed into the crowd. ‘You, madam, have you seen my as? I beg your pardon, sir, I didn’t quite catch that remark. You haven’t? Then what, madam, is it doing in your ear?’
He produced the coin seemingly from the lady’s ear, to much delight. ‘Me next! Me! Me!’ called several children, who seemed more impressed with the Doctor’s parlour trick than with the spectacle of a marble statue coming to life. The Doctor obliged for a while until he considered he’d given Gracilis and Tiro enough time, then made his own escape, leaving behind a number of delighted children who were considering how to spend their bounty.
He found the others lurking discreetly behind a pillar in a quiet street. Both looked rather shaken. ‘If I had not seen it with my own eyes…’ Gracilis muttered.
‘Bit of a shock for you both,’ said the Doctor. ‘Might have made it easier if I’d explained earlier that Ursus is an… evil sorcerer who’s been going around turning people to stone for his own ends. There again, might not’ve. Anyway, we’ve got work to do.’
He strode off again, leaving the stunned pair to follow in his wake.
‘You mean,’ said Gracilis, jogging to catch him up, ‘that Optatus…’
The full horror of the situation suddenly seemed to hit him and he would have fallen to the floor if Tiro hadn’t been on hand to catch him.
The Doctor stopped. ‘Yes,’ he said. ‘I think you’ve got the idea. I’m very sorry. But we’re going to bring him back, just as soon as we’ve done all the rest.’
* * *
The remainder of the day was spent scouring Rome for all Ursus’s statues. Gracilis, as an art lover, knew the right people to talk to, so he was able not only to discover all the locations but also to ascertain that, as far as anyone knew, the sculptor’s statues were exhibited only in Rome itself. Other than Gracilis’s, no one knew of any private commissions outside the city walls.
One by one, the statues were restored to their living states. Diana became a beautiful black woman holding a bow. The Doctor handed over Gracilis’s cloak to an embarrassed Venus. Twins Castor and Pollux hugged each other then the Doctor in delight and relief. Bewildered slave after bewildered slave stepped off their plinths, to be told that they had ‘been under a spell’. To the Doctor’s relief, this inadequate explanation seemed to satisfy them.
‘But who are all these people?’ Gracilis asked at one point.
‘I imagine,’ said the Doctor, ‘that they’re slaves bought by Ursus for this particular purpose.’
Gracilis frowned. ‘Then they still belong to Ursus,’ he said. ‘We have no right to take them away.’
The Doctor fixed Gracilis with