Part 28 (1/2)

He turned and saw what I had been trying to draw his attention to.

Two Mongol soldiers stood in the TARDIS doorway.

XXIV.

Auditui meo dabis gaudium et laet.i.tiam Dodo's face cracked into a bitter grin. The situation she found herself in was so ludicrous, so awful, it was almost funny.

Almost.

With the Mongols audibly coming closer, and no sign of the Doctor's return, she and the others had agreed to retreat into the tunnels as before. Dmitri had said little on the matter: he would have followed them meekly to h.e.l.l and back. But it was his life they were all trying to save, still cl.u.s.tered tightly around him. As they shuffled away from the creature's casket, they found themselves stumbling into each other and treading on one another's feet. It was like a three-legged race at school with the added incentive that a monster was tracking their every movement.

Dodo risked turning her head towards the 'angel' and saw to her horror that it was again following them. Its face moved from side to side, watching them with interest. Spines appeared and disappeared on its hands with awful regularity, as if reflecting its breathing... Or its growing impatience.

'What are we going to do now?' Dodo asked, panicked.

'We do what we must to stay alive,' said Nahum vaguely.

'Only by doing so will we remain true to our humanity.'

But Dodo wasn't in the mood for philosophising. She was just about to tell Nahum this, in no uncertain terms, when the first Mongol soldiers appeared.

Given that the fear the Tartars had inspired in the people of Kiev, they weren't quite what Dodo had imagined. All were small, and lightly built. The knights of Christendom, the full-time Russian soldiers, were much more what she expected medieval warriors to be, with s.h.i.+ning armour and elaborate helms, and s.h.i.+elds that seemed big enough to cover a horse.

These Mongols, though, were lightly armoured, and they moved at a steady, swift trot. Most carried small bows with arrows notched in readiness. A cry went up, and the first soldiers were joined by another group with unsheathed swords that seemed to glow in the light of their torches. They appeared unperturbed by the creature, which turned towards them. They aimed most of their arrows at it, as if in recognition of its otherworldliness, but other than that gave no sign of being frightened or amazed. They had come so far, mused Dodo, crus.h.i.+ng everything before them, that not even the monster could upset their awful self-belief.

She and the others halted in their tracks, their thoughts of escape ebbing away. The dark angel looked closely at the newcomers, then deliberately turned its back on them. It was still Dmitri that it wanted.

Dodo risked a glance sideways, and saw that Lesia was almost shaking with fear. The monster had been bad enough but, to her, each Mongol was just such a monster. She had been fed on terrible stories of Tartar atrocities for many years; to now come face to face with these 'demons' was almost too much for her to bear.

Nothing was said for many minutes, and n.o.body dared to move. Dodo had the impression the Mongols were sending word down the tunnels. It was as if somebody, somewhere, was trying to gather as much information as possible before putting in a personal appearance.

Eventually more reverberating footsteps and flickering torchlight heralded the arrival of another Mongol, a leader in gold-hued robes whose demeanour more than made up for his diminutive stature. He wore little armour, though his companion who also had an aura of leaders.h.i.+p about him was covered from head to toe in ornate folds of pale leather.

The man in gold stopped, flanked by the Mongol soldiers.

'Batu Khan, leader of the Mongol army on behalf of the Great Khan Ogedei, who is himself the power of G.o.d on Earth and Emperor of Mankind, has captured Kiev.'

There was a pause. Dodo wondered if he expected the news of his butchery to be greeted by a spontaneous round of applause.

'The adviser called Yevhen has been executed,' Batu continued, his voice as cold as the steel of his sword.

'No!' cried Lesia, falling to her knees. 'Father!'

Nahum stooped to comfort the young woman, whose body was racked with sobs. 'He was not a bad man!' he snapped at the Mongol leader, angry. 'He was only trying to protect his people.'

Dodo, too, tried to comfort Lesia. She noticed the creature take a few steps forward, manoeuvring itself towards Dmitri, but still it did not attack.

'The adviser was a coward,' explained the second Mongol leader. 'Others who have survived will be allowed to live.'

'Two things remain,' observed Batu, his voice cold over the sound of Lesia's inconsolable sobbing. He extended a calm finger in the direction of the skeletal creature, which had come to rest at a point equidistant between the two groups. 'Is this the great dark angel, the awesome weapon, the defender of Kiev?'

There was a pause. For a moment no one seemed to realise that a question was being asked. Then Isaac, who was towards the front of the group, spoke up. 'There are some that call it so,'

he said. 'Though, as you can see, it is a sovereign creature. It does not dance to the tune of the people of Kiev.'

'To whom am I speaking?'

'My name is Isaac,' the old man replied, managing a half-bow. 'I too was an adviser to Prince Michael, and latterly to Governor Dmitri.'

Batu snorted. 'Did your cowardice make you flee down here like a rat from daylight?'

Isaac shook his head. 'We were ordered down here,' he said.

'I think Yevhen hoped we would die.'

'Then I was right to put him to the sword,' said Batu simply.

His precise words sent a s.h.i.+ver down Dodo's spine. 'I decree that families and friends of n.o.ble adviser Isaac shall live. We are mindful of your bravery whereas news of the cowardly flight of Prince Michael and his family has reached even our ears. How dare he leave his people behind to suffer! When we capture him, he will pay a price in keeping with his neglect of his people!'

'But my lord '

'Silence!' snapped Batu Khan. A pause, a brief whispered conversation with the other man, and Batu continued. 'Your mention of Governor Dmitri reminds us of the second thing that needs our attention. Where is the governor? He must kneel before us.'

'He is here,' said Isaac, pointing to Dmitri, who sat on his haunches towards the rear of the group, drawing geometrical shapes in the dust on the floor. 'Though I am afraid he is quite mad,' the old man continued. 'You will get no sense out of him.'

'Stand aside, and let me see my adversary.' Batu took a few steps forward, his hand resting on his sword. 'Let me see the man who executed my trusted envoys, and then hurled the bodies over the walls!'

'He was gripped by lunacy,' repeated Isaac. 'His final orders were not those of '

'Stand aside.'

'No!' shouted Dodo. 'He'll be killed!'

Batu turned towards Dodo, his eyes the colour of glowing ashes.

'Who are you?'

'I'm Dorothea.. Dodo... Dodo Chaplet,' she stammered. She wasn't quite sure which of the two men to address.