Doctor Who_ Bunker Soldiers Part 28

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.

'You have many names. Are you a woman of rank?' asked Batu.

'No, I'm n.o.body special. I'm just a traveller.'

'Cousin Mongke tells me he is well inclined to those who describe themselves thus.' Batu nodded towards the other man, who smiled though his eyes remained cold.

'A traveller?' asked Mongke. 'A friend of the Doctor's?'

Dodo nodded.

There was a pause, which Dodo took to mean that she should elaborate on her original interjection.

'Look, if we move away,' she said, trying hard to quell her nerves, 'this monster will attack Dmitri. The Doctor thinks it's programmed to attack just him we've worked out that if we stand here, he's OK.' Her words came out in a rush, and she realised much of what she said would mean little to anyone living in the thirteenth century.

'Then perhaps this "angel" and I have something in common.' Batu took another step forward. 'Stand aside, by order of Batu Khan!'

The great, curved sword was unsheathed to underline the point.

Dodo and the others exchanged worried glances. It seemed they were now protecting Dmitri against the Mongols. Dodo had little doubt in her mind that the Khan would kill him, and there seemed to be nothing any of them could do to stop him.

Without warning Dmitri started to push his way towards the front of the group. Dodo placed a hand on his arm, to try to halt him, but the man looked back at her with a sad, placid smile. The insanity, for the moment at least, was gone. Now there was only grim resignation on his face, and unfathomable tiredness behind his eyes.

Dodo and the others parted for him, and he stood tall at the front of the group. 'I am Governor Dmitri of Kiev,' he said, his voice strong and unwavering. 'I hail you, Batu Khan, and your victorious army.' He bowed his head as a mark of respect.

Before Batu could respond, the beast drew itself to its full height, its mouth and claws a mess of barbs and spines. Then it flew through the air towards Dmitri.

XXV.

Libera me de sanguinibus I watched nervously as the Mongol soldiers stepped into the control room. If they were amazed by what they saw, they did not show it.

The Doctor turned to face them, an imperious figure. 'And what is the meaning of this intrusion?'

You can't fault him for trying.

One of the soldiers turned to him, while the other inspected the controls, the screen, the items of furniture that dotted the room. 'What is this place?' the leading Mongol asked.

The Doctor returned to the controls, pressing switches here and pulling levers there. 'I will explain everything,' he said, 'but first I must finish my work. It is vitally important!'

'No,' said the soldier. 'We must report to the Khan. He has scientists and sorcerers who may explain this. Come!'

The Doctor refused to move. 'I cannot comply, sir,' he said through gritted teeth. 'There are other matters to consider.'

'You will do as I say,' snapped the soldier.

'The creature must be destroyed!' exclaimed the Doctor, anguished.

The soldier paused, saw that the Doctor did not obey him, and nodded to the other. He strode towards me, and held my arms behind me.

I struggled, but the Mongol was surprisingly strong. In any event, he held a sword to my throat. I could feel his breath on my neck, and with every moment that pa.s.sed he gripped me more closely, the cold steel pressed more tightly against my neck.

'Do as I say,' the leading Mongol ordered the Doctor, 'or your friend will die.'

XXVI.

In extremis Reloading test signals...

Complete.

Reloading heuristic diagnostics...

Complete.

Loading of situational archives...

Skipped.

Loading present mission diagnostics...

Complete.

Initial summary: Una.s.signed bunker penetrated. Provisional target GJU-435- FBK attacked and compromised. and compromised.

Mission success index: 87.1%.

The creature's attack on Dmitri brought an instant response from the Mongol archers. Arrows whistled through the air, raining down on its slender back. Most fell away the skin of the creature was tougher than it appeared but many impacted, bringing forth trickles of grey-blue blood.

None of them stopped the beast arcing through the air towards Dmitri. In the blink of an eye, it landed its clawed feet clicking on the rough stone floor just as a second hail of arrows fell. One arrow embedded itself in the soft tissue at the base of its skull, and the creature paused, flapping at it with its claws. Then its arms powered forwards, lifting Dmitri bodily from the ground.

A Mongol soldier ran forward, attempting to attack the beast with his sword, but the monster did not even turn to look at him Instead its jaws and fists, now a mess of barbed spines, came down towards Dmitri's terrified, screaming face.

XXVII.

Deus ex machina 'Very well,' announced the Doctor suddenly. 'Let us go to Batu.'

I let out a sigh of relief, and the Mongol at my back lowered his sword. He began to usher me towards the TARDIS door.