Doctor Who_ Time Warrior Part 15

Irongron yawned. 'This stew has made me heavy!' He noticed that the guard by the door was already asleep-and reached for a plate to throw at him, but suddenly the effort seemed too great... He yawned again, and slumped forward on to the table.

One by one the osmic projector had beamed the kidnapped scientists back to the twentieth century. There were three more to go... The cellar door opened with a crash. Linx was at the top of the stairs, ray-gun in hand.

17.

Linx's Departure The Doctor s.n.a.t.c.hed up his silver umbrella. 'I'll keep him busy,' he shouted. 'You two send off the rest of them.'

Linx came slowly down the steps, his eyes flaring red at the sight of the Doctor. He raised the ray-gun-and the Doctor flicked open his umbrella. The red glare crackled around the umbrella. But the Doctor was safe, unharmed behind the deflecting s.h.i.+eld of the metallic foil.

There followed a strange and deadly game of hide and seek. Linx edged slowly around the Doctor, trying to get a clear shot at him. The Doctor dodged about in front of Linx, keeping the umbrella-s.h.i.+eld between them. Linx leaped to one side and fired-but the Doctor leaped too, whipping up his s.h.i.+eld. The deadly game went on.

Meanwhile Rubeish had despatched another scientist, and another... and another. When the last one had disappeared Sarah said briskly, 'Now you, Professor.'

Rubeish peered short-sightedly at her. 'Well, really, I think I ought to stay and help the Doctor.'

'Off you go,' said Sarah firmly. She shoved him into the cone of light. 'Now then-this, this and this, wasn't it?'

Rubeish was still chatting away. 'Well, goodbye, young lady, and good luck. It really has been a most fascinating...'

Still talking, he disappeared.

Sarah turned her attention back to Linx and the Doctor.

They were stalking each other around the workshop, the Doctor swinging his silvery s.h.i.+eld to deflect the blasts from the ray-gun.

Suddenly the nature of the struggle changed. Linx feinted, dodged to one side, then sprang forward with incredible speed. His arm swept out, smas.h.i.+ng the flimsy s.h.i.+eld from the Doctor's hand, leaving the Doctor defenceless. Linx stood gloating for a moment, raised his ray-gun-and the Doctor smashed it from his hand with a precisely-timed kick. For a moment they confronted each other. The lipless mouth of the Sontaran stretched wide in a fearsome grin, and his little eyes glowed red with bloodl.u.s.t. Slowly he began shuffling towards the Doctor.

The Doctor backed away. He was facing an opponent too heavy to throw, too strong to hold, too tough to be disabled by any blow. Unless, unless he could get behind him, and strike at the probic vent...

Well aware of the Doctor's intentions, Linx made sure to keep his front to his enemy. Twice the Doctor tried to get round behind him, but the menace of Linx's slas.h.i.+ng blows kept him back. The Doctor knew that if just one of those blows landed he would be in trouble. And if Linx ever got him in his grip... They shuffled round and round the workshop in a deadly waltz, jockeying for position.

Hal slipped cautiously into the great hall. Irongron and Bloodaxe were snoring at the table, sleeping men-at-arms all round them. Hal slipped from one man to another, taking knives, swords and crossbows and tossing them out of the window. He disarmed Bloodaxe, then turned to Irongron, the last, and the most dangerous.

Hal reached for Irongron's sword and began sliding it from its sheath-and Irongron's eyes came open. Perhaps it was because he was so much stronger than the others, perhaps because he'd eaten less of the stew-whatever the reason, Irongron was suddenly awake. With a roar he surged to his feet, smas.h.i.+ng Hal to the ground with a single blow. He looked muzzily around at his sleeping men. 'Treachery,' he muttered thickly. 'Black sorcery!

That toad Linx has bewitched us all.' Drawing his sword he staggered from the hall.

Sarah looked desperately round the workshop. If she could find some weapon, perhaps she could strike Linx down as Rubeish had done. Before she could act, the Doctor's foot slipped, and Linx was upon him. A smas.h.i.+ng blow sent the Doctor flying across the cellar. He scrambled to his feet and backed away, but the blow had weakened him.

Instantly Linx was upon him again. He seized the Doctor by the arm, and hurled him across the room. The Doctor cannoned against a wall, and almost fell. He shook his head half stunned and backed away. Linx sprang forward again, and grappled with him. The Doctor put forth all his strength and actually succeeded in holding Linx for a moment. The two stood straining, motionless, locked together like some statue. Then Linx hurled the Doctor to the ground. The Doctor struggled to rise and then collapsed.

As Linx went to pick up his ray-gun from beneath the bench, Sarah threw herself upon him but he brushed her casually away. She flew across the room, slammed into a column, and fell.

Linx picked up his gun, took careful aim at the Doctor-and the door crashed open. Irongron stood swaying at the top of the steps. He glared at the glowing scout s.h.i.+p. 'Destroy my castle by sorcery, would you, toad-face? Irongron is too strong for your magic.' Raising his broadsword, Irongron moved down the steps. 'Die, star warrior!' Linx raised his ray-gun and gave Irongron one long blast, the weapon at maximum power. Irongron twisted in the grip of the red glow, then crashed down the steps like a falling tree.

As Linx turned to shoot down the Doctor and Sarah, an urgent bleeping note came from the control room of his s.h.i.+p. He remembered that he had left the s.h.i.+p on automatic countdown. Now there was not so much as a second to spare. Besides, his enemies would die in the blast... Linx s.n.a.t.c.hed up the osmic projector, ran into the control room and took his place in the flight-chair. His stubby fingers flew over the complex controls. The throbbing of the s.h.i.+p rose higher and higher until the castle was shaken to its foundations...

Hal shook his head and staggered to his feet. The whole room was shaking crazily. He lurched across to Bloodaxe and slapped his face. Bloodaxe's eyes came open. He stared dazedly at Hal and reached for his vanished sword. Hal shook him savagely. 'Listen, dog! In minutes now this castle will be destroyed by sorcery. If you'd save your miserable skins, rouse your knaves and get you gone.' Hal s.n.a.t.c.hed up his longbow and ran from the room.

Bloodaxe looked round. The room was vibrating, and great cracks were appearing in the walls. A dull roaring filled the air. Bloodaxe ran about the room, kicking his men awake. 'Flee, dogs,' he yelled. 'Flee for your lives!'

The dazed men-at-arms began stumbling to their feet.

Sarah struggled desperately to get the Doctor on his feet.

He was still half-stunned and she was badly shaken by her own fall. 'Doctor, do get up,' she begged. 'We've got to get out of here.' At last the Doctor managed to stand up and Sarah helped him to stagger up the stairs.

Suddenly Hal appeared at the top of the steps...

Through the open door of the scout s.h.i.+p, he saw Linx in his command chair, and instinctively seized the chance for a last blow at the enemy. Swiftly he fitted an arrow to his bow and loosed it at the half-seen figure behind the already closing door. It was the shot of his life. The arrow took Linx directly in the probic vent, and he slumped forward over the control panel. He was already dead when his hand stabbed down on the firing b.u.t.ton.

In the workshop the roar of the scout s.h.i.+p motors rose to a shattering howl. 'He's. .h.i.t the take-off b.u.t.ton,' yelled the Doctor. 'We've got less than a minute to get out of here.'

Somehow they staggered up the steps, through the corridors, across the courtyard and out of the castle. The roar of the s.h.i.+p's engines was deafening now. Sarah was dimly aware of some of Irongron's men running past them, but she scarcely noticed them. Her one thought was to get the Doctor away from the castle in time. Hal beside them, they stumbled on through the dark forest, trying to put as much distance between them and the doomed castle as they could. At last Sarah collapsed. 'I can't go on any further...'

As usual the Doctor was recovering with amazing speed.

'It's all right, Sarah,' he said. 'This is far enough.'

They turned and looked behind them. Irongron's castle was just visible through the trees. There was a sudden brightness, a blinding flash of light, and a shattering explosion. With an eerie howling sound a glowing fireball rose over the trees and disappeared into the night sky.

Commander Linx was going back to his war at last.

The Doctor paused by the open door of the TARDIS and shook hands with Hal. 'You can tell Sir Edward his troubles are over, Irongron, his castle, his magic weapons and and his sorcerer-all destroyed.' his sorcerer-all destroyed.'

'Will you not tell him yourself, Doctor?' pleaded Hal.

'He will reward you richly. We owe you much.'

'I'm sorry, Hal, but we must go now. Mustn't we, Sarah?'

Sarah nodded. 'I'm afraid so. Goodbye Hal.'

'Goodbye Sarah.' Hal stepped back, raising his bow in salute. 'Goodbye, Doctor. You are truly a great magician.'

The Doctor smiled. 'Nonsense, Hal. As a matter of fact, I'm not a magician at all.'

Sarah looked thoughtfully at him, remembering all that had happened since they first met. 'I'm not so sure about that, Doctor!'

The Doctor bustled her into the TARDIS and closed the door behind them.

Hal watched quite unsurprised as the blue box faded away with a wheezing, groaning noise. How else should a wizard depart? He turned and looked behind him. The fiery red glow from the blazing ruins of Irongron's castle was lighting up the night sky. Hal turned away and began his journey home.