Part 10 (1/2)

'You can say that again!' Rose grinned. 'They've got a pile in one room under that ruined temple place. I couldn't believe what I was seeing.'

Alarmingly, the professor took her arm, like they were old friends or something. 'Can you show me?' she asked, moving her mouth into an unfamiliar shape.

Rose realised with a start that the woman was trying to smile! She looked over in the direction of the shaman's tent but there was no sign of the Doctor.

'Don't worry about them. We won't be long,' the professor urged her.

'I should just tell him where we're going,' Rose insisted. The professor sighed and nodded. 'OK, then, if you have to.'

Inside the shaman's brightly decorated tent the Doctor and Rez were with Brother Hugan. That is, they were inside the tent with the old man, but to what extent he was actually there was open to debate. He was rolling back and forth on his sleeping blankets, sweating and s.h.i.+vering in equal measure. And all the time he was muttering about Laylora.117.

'Laylora demands. . . Laylora needs cleansing. . . ' The words kept tumbling out, hardly audible.

Rez looked to the Doctor, willing him to do something, but the stranger in the brown coat just stuffed his hands into his pockets and shuffled around, looking concerned.

'I think the poor bloke's lost his mind,' he speculated. 'A side effect of becoming a Witiku.'

'So will this happen to the rest of the missing, when we find them and give them the cure?' Rez asked, alarmed.

The Doctor didn't meet his eyes when he replied. 'I really don't know. Not necessarily. I hope.' And behind his back he crossed his fingers.

The tent flap was pushed open and Kaylen appeared with a steaming cup of jinnera.

'Are you sure this is a good idea?' she asked as she handed the cup to the Doctor.

The Doctor shrugged. 'You said you used this stuff to help you relax, didn't you? I think that's just what this poor bloke needs to do right now.'

Rez still looked doubtful. 'But the last time he went near the stuff he didn't exactly relax, did he?' he said, remembering what he had seen earlier that day.

'But he was a Witiku then. Now he's back in his own natural form. And to you Laylorans, this is the original Horlicks, right?'

He winked at Kaylen, who had no idea what he was talking about. She took a hasty step back, as if worried that the twitch in his eye might be catching.

The Doctor bent down by the side of the shaman. 'Here, help me get him into a sitting position,' he said.

Rez hurried across and a moment later the Doctor was able to raise the cup of jinnera to the old man's lips. He drank and almost choked in his enthusiasm.

'Steady on, old fella. There's no rush,' muttered the Doctor, but a moment later the man lurched violently backwards and then forward again, spitting out all of the liquid he'd swallowed. 118 The Doctor and Rez both jumped backwards instinctively, giving the shaman the opportunity to leap up and push them both back on their heels. Brother Hugan then rushed towards the tent flap. Kaylen made a half-hearted attempt to stop him, but he just tossed her to one side, back into the path of the Doctor and Rez. In a moment he was out of the tent and away.

By the time the Doctor, Rez and Kaylen had disentangled themselves from the pile of arms and legs they had collapsed into, the shaman was long gone. They rushed out of the tent and tried to see which way he had gone, but there was no sign of him. He had disappeared completely.

They were still frantically looking a moment or two later when Rose and the professor joined them. Rose began to tell the Doctor about wanting to take the professor to the temple.

The Doctor suddenly clicked his fingers. 'The temple! Of course, that's where he'll be heading.'

'Rose and I can go and look for him,' the professor said quickly, to everyone's surprise. 'You need to get the jinnen back to the s.h.i.+p to make up a batch of Witiku cure, don't you? While you do that, we can find the shaman.'

'I'll go with them,' volunteered Rez.

The professor shook her head. 'You should be careful with that head wound of yours,' she said. 'You need rest.'

Rez insisted that he was fine now, but the Doctor, who had been considering the situation for a moment, decided he wanted Rez to help him.

'Rose can look after the professor, can't you, Rose?' he said, looking Rose in the eye. She was about to argue, but the Doctor gave her a sly wink he needed her to do this for him. 'But take care,' he added, 'Brother Hugan's not himself and the rest of the Witiku must be round here somewhere.'

Rose nodded, accepting her mission, and set off with the professor. The Doctor looked at Rez and Kaylen. 'Come on, then. Where's all this jinnen you promised me?'119.

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It struck Rose that the days couldn't be very long on Laylora because it was already getting dark as she and the professor set off from the village. Rez had given her instructions on how to find the temple and the ruins, but she was beginning to be able to recognise the path through the trees now. The professor had set off at a brisk walking pace but had soon slowed down in the heat of the late afternoon sun. The forest was alive with life. Not just the plants, which were vibrant and sweet-smelling, but insects and animals too. There were little midges, but they were less irritating than any Rose had ever encountered before and didn't seem interested in biting her. There were also some beautiful b.u.t.terfly-like creatures that flitted about between the bushes and flowers. And above them was a canopy of leafy branches, through which the sun burst in mottled patterns. The air was filled with the songs of numerous birds. Rose couldn't help but smile as they walked though this sensual delight. The professor, striding alongside her, didn't seem to be interested in her surroundings; she just wanted to get to the ruins of the ancient temple as quickly as possible. Couldn't she appreciate the beauty of this place? In the end Rose asked the woman straight out.

'Beauty fades,' was the professor's only reply.121.

This made Rose study the woman's lined face again. Had she once been beautiful herself? She had good cheekbones and perfectly balanced features it was certainly possible that she'd been a looker when she was younger. Still could be, if she'd just chill a little and smile occasionally.

The professor looked up at the darkening sky. 'Sun's going down. We should get a move on.'

Rose stepped forward to lead the way.

'We'd better take care, though,' she warned. 'We don't want to frighten him.'

'Who?' asked the professor, confused.

'Brother Hugan, of course.' Rose was surprised. Had she forgotten the reason for their journey?

They moved on into the gathering shadows.

Petra Shulough glanced at the young woman beside her. She envied Rose her confidence she seemed utterly devoid of doubt and fear. One of the great freedoms of being young, she supposed. Just like the boy Rez.

As she followed Rose through the trees, the professor was aware of a strange feeling of emptiness coming over her. The trisilicate had been the final piece of the jigsaw; now there was no doubt that this was indeed the planet that Guillan had found. . . Guillan and her parents. But somehow the knowledge that she had succeeded in her quest was not giving her the satisfaction that she had expected. Instead of joy she just felt numb.

Her mind kept going back to the teenage orphan. Like Petra, Rez had lost his parents at an early age, but he had never really known them. What must it have been like for him, abandoned as a baby and brought up by aliens? Had this been a paradise for him? Elsewhere in the forest the Doctor, Rez and Kaylen were arriving back at the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p, each of them carrying bags of the heavy jinnen seed.

'Shame you lot haven't invented the wheelbarrow,' muttered the Doctor as they came in sight of the crashed s.h.i.+p. 122 To his delight, as they got closer Hespell came out of the airlock to give them a hand. With him was Ania Baker, who was now looking in much better health than when he had last seen her. She seemed to be over the shock of witnessing the Witiku's transformation and back to her normal bubbly self.

'Feeling better?' asked the Doctor, pleased to see that his patient was out and about.

'Much better,' she said, returning his smile. 'Thanks to you.'

The Doctor noted the way she was standing very close to the redhaired lad. He thought it was sweet; the long-limbed and slightly awkward Hespell and the tiny, precise Baker would make a nice couple. He hoped they'd have the chance to become one. While Hespell and Baker started taking the jinnen to the lab, he Doctor sought out Kendle. As expected, the exmarine was on the bridge, alone.

'Did you get what you went for?' he asked, as the Doctor joined him.

'I think so. But have you managed to rig some suitable delivery systems? The solution will be no good as a cure if we can't control the dosage.'

Kendle shrugged. 'There were some bits and pieces of cleaning equipment that I've managed to make something out of,' he told the Doctor. 'Do you really think spraying the creatures with this stuff will turn them back to their native form?'

The Doctor pulled a face. 'That's the theory.'

He leaned over Kendle's console and scanned the information on the screen. 'Talking of theories oh, systems at 95 per cent, that's good. . . Where was I? Oh yes, theories. . . ' He paused and frowned, as if marshalling his thoughts. 'What's the deal with Professor Shulough and you, then?'