Part 38 (1/2)

'Gracious, my child,' comes his voice in our head. 'What is it you have there, hmm?'

We let him work it out for himself. We feel warm all over as he starts to chuckle.

'Hidden in the stars,' we whisper.

'You know, I believe we stand a real chance now, my dear.

Yes, Denni won't have expected such resourcefulness. Those crystals were hidden most ingeniously, most ingeniously indeed.' He t.i.tters to himself. Then his voice hardens. 'I shall contact the others and inform them. Don't be tempted to broadcast this good news across our little network.

Remember, the Schirr infection is intensifying in Roba and Tovel, and poor Frog. If they overhear... so might others.' It's strange, we can hear an echo of his voice in our mind, but it's other words that are sounding. As though he's having other conversations too, even as he speaks to us. 'Those little gems may yet give us the advantage in this struggle. Once you've finished here, head for the control room. Be on your guard. I shall join you.'

Shade's just looking at us, the smile gone from his face.

He's puzzled. We realise the Doctor was speaking to us in private. We tell Shade the gist of what he said.

'It doesn't feel right, keeping this some sort of secret,' he says. 'You heard Haunt. We're supposed to work together. A team. If we don't trust each other...'

He tails off, looks at us, pained. 'The Doctor wouldn't have told us to keep it secret if he didn't think it important,' we say. 'We should go straight to the control room like he asks.'

Shade nods doubtfully. We press on regardless.

To witness these events from Shade's viewpoint, select section 24 on page 237

To switch to Ben 's viewpoint, select section 10 on page 214 To switch to Creben's viewpoint, select section 15 on page 223

13.

Roba

We're - We're looking through Schirr eyes, sat our friends, our fellow disciples lined up on the platform in heroic golden light.

We all feel so old. Relics. Old and hollow as human threats.

Empty promises.

Pallemar has betrayed us all and the master knows it now.

He towers over the traitor, covered in blood. He's bludgeoned Pallemar's body, torn his flesh open as if looking for a thing in him that has turned him from our cause.

How much Pallemar has told the humans we can't know.

Enough to buy his life and diplomatic immunity... He thought the master's ambition too overreaching. In contrast his own stretches no further now than to be allowed to live.

He wriggles in his chair, begging. Ten make the rituals strong. Pallemar must live. It must be ten.

Like him we watch his deep dark blood spurt out sluggishly from the holes the master has torn in him.

It doesn't matter that Pallemar will die. The master has learned something new. He says we will become more than ten, many more. All we need shall be supplied. The plan will will go ahead. go ahead.

Puny, we stumble and blunder up on the stage. With the others we take our places. The master speaks of unexpected saviours.

He teaches us our lives will go on even as he blows open our bodies with his gun.

The air begins to hiss out of the stronghold we have fas.h.i.+oned here. It will not fill this room again until salvation is at hand. The master will be waiting, ready. For time will touch us soon and put us to sleep. We may know rest now while he will go on, surviving his single endless moment of death. When we are all dead he will stand alongside us and turn his gun on himself.

A shard of gla.s.s hovers charmed in the air to our left. The master's key. An escape switch to be thrown the day new life shall come to us. Time will run back. Our wounds shall be undone and we shall live again.

The others are screaming out as they die. Our nose twitches in pleasure at the sweet smell of their open flesh.

The master's gun fires. We scrabble with both hands for our precious guts as they dribble out, feel heat and darkness.

The last of the air seeps from the room leaving only death, only darkness as time stops.

Blackness. Cold.

Blackness.

To switch to Frog's viewpoint, select section 16 on page 224 To return to Haunt's viewpoint, select section 17 on page 226

14.

Ben