Menagerie - Martin Day [74]
'I should have known,' Jamie had said, disappointed at himself.
Kaquaan had gently reassured him, steering him towards the door. They had descended quickly and, although a number of brothers were already assembling in the main chamber, had found themselves alone in the changing room.
Disguised with Araboam's robes as best they could, they then donned the red cloaks and hoods of the Brotherhood of Rexulon.
Now they stood in the midst of the brothers, waiting for the ceremony to begin.
Jamie's memories of the first meeting were flowing back like an unstoppable spring tide. He remembered seeing Kaquaan on the altar, the smashed machinery, the man with the insect mask, everything. He blinked and gritted his teeth and forced himself back into the present.
This time the leader — Zaitabor — was nowhere to be seen. Jamie wondered how long a locked door and a bashed head would keep Araboam out of action. He hoped that it would be just long enough to allow him to disrupt another ceremony.
He noticed a tunnel in the cave wall towards the far side of the room. He was sure he hadn't seen it on the previous day, so perhaps the oily torch that burnt just above it was a recent addition. The flickering light caught the first of a multitude of moth-creatures who walked slowly into the chamber, standing in rows much like the brothers. Jamie stifled a cry of surprise and heard Kaquaan do the same.
The brothers, their own ranks swelling by the moment, were too preoccupied to notice. Some had already started chanting and swaying.
Jamie stared at the altar and hoped that the ceremony would start soon. He had given Kaquaan the sword. His own hand rested on the blade he trusted most. This time things would be different.
The streets were deserted and silent but for the sound of crying children, muffled in back rooms and soothed in tiny cribs. The Doctor and the others moved unhindered through the streets and towards the castle, although the Doctor felt sure that the terrifying appearance of the android would have been enough to ensure their safe passage.
As they neared the base of the castle the last of the moth-men alighted and strode into a dark passageway set into the rock on which the castle sat. The tunnel was so obvious that the Doctor concluded that this secondary exit was normally hidden in some way.
'Let's hope we find some answers,' the Doctor said,
'wherever the Taculbain are going.'
The Taculbain had no need for artificial light but the Doctor switched on his torch as he stepped inside the entrance. The marks of the tunnel's construction were clearly visible, and the ascent was gentle. The moth-creatures were already well out of sight.
A few moments later the Doctor noticed that the tunnel was becoming brighter and switched off his torch. He crept forward slowly. He knew that he could rely on the android and the Dugraq to proceed silently but was much less sure of the old man's dexterity.
At length the Doctor began to hear muffled voices. The tunnel was beginning to widen, and moments later rounded out into a large chamber, lit by flickering torchlight.
The Doctor and the others stepped quietly into the cave and surveyed the scene.
In front of them were rows and rows of Taculbain, stretching into the darkness at the edge of the room. The Doctor knew that, having lived in the caves for so long, the creatures' senses would be very acute, but so far he and his companions had gone undetected. The lines of carefully folded wings remained motionless.
The chamber inclined down slightly from the Taculbain and towards a flat central area dominated by an altar. On its surface was strapped a struggling young man the Doctor did not recognize.
On the opposite side of the altar was a large gathering of red-robed figures, variously chanting and shaking. Similar garments were worn by the tall man at the head of the altar.
He wore a golden mask of an insect's face and the well polished armour of one of the noblest Knights of Kuabris.
He held aloft a huge weapon resembling a war hammer and an